Big Green Egg

[dgaddis]

2nd attempt at steaks on the BGE this weekend. Last time I overcooked them. This time = perfection.

Marinade for ~10hrs (1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup worcestershire sauce, 1/4 olive oil, some ground black pepper, and some garlic powder) in a gallon ziplock bag. Set the bag out about 45mins before putting them on the grill to let them get up to room temp.

I had one big chunk of mesquite in the egg. Got the egg hot, over 500degrees, put the steaks on for 2mins on each side (with the lid closed, but vents all fully open) then pulled from the grill and wrapped in tinfoil and set aside for about 6 or 7 minutes. While they were sitting, I closed all the vents on the grill and put some asparagus on. At the high heat, that 5mins or so was all they needed.

The steak was PERFECT. Nice sear on the outside, warm pink center, super tender. The marinade was great, no sauce needed. I'm going to add some parsley flakes next time too.

[winmonster]

In the vein of asking for and subsequently ignoring advice, I'm probably going another direction. Dedicated "smoker" and dedicated grill. Is my great idea a bad one?

[Tamu8104]

Personally, I think you could do everything that you could in the "smoker" and "grill" in an BGE plus you could do things like pizza and bread. I have a Weber grill along with my BGE and the only time I use it is when I'm cooking for a large group and running meat on the BGE and veggies on the Weber. It's probably been used twice in the past year while the BGE gets used at least once a week.

[Tamu8104]

Winging dinner tonight...

[robin3mj]

I use my gas Weber multiple times per week, mainly week nights, cooking fish, etc.
the BGE is for low and slow or cranking up to a million degrees on the weekend to cook a nice steak or pizzas.

[dgaddis]

Did another pork butt last weekend, and learned a lesson. I wanted a ~5lbs butt. For just me and wife, that's plenty, and gives us some decent (but not too much) leftovers. Couldn't find one with the bone in, there was one little 3lbs, and lots that were over 9lbs. So we got a boneless 4.5lbs. It was really good, but, it was a little dried out. I won't do boneless again.

[dgaddis]

The wife found a recipe for crab cake patties for sandwiches. The recipe said to cook them in a little oil in a pan...we put 'em on the BGE. The crab meat was already cooked and ready to eat, so we really just had to heat them through on the BGE, they spent ~10mins or so at ~380*F. Gotta be careful flipping them, and they sort of fall apart while eating them. Put the patties on some potato buns with spinach and a homemade remoulade the wife made.

Hot. Dayum. Sooooooooo good. Not cheap, $23 for a pound of lump crab meat, which made 3 big patties, but really good with a little smokey flavor.

[MasterOMayhem]

Just like bikes you need to upgrade your BGE.

my recommended upgrades: In no particular order

good gloves Amazon.com : Steven Raichlen Best of Barbecue Extra Long Suede Gloves (Pair) - SR838 : Outdoor Cooking Gloves : Patio, Lawn & Garden
new fire grate Amazon.com : Stainless High Heat Charcoal Fire Grate Upgrade for Large and MiniMax Big Green Egg Grill : Grill Parts : Patio, Lawn & Garden
bbq guru for smokin Amazon.com : CyberQ Wifi BBQ Temperature Controller, 3 Digital Meat Thermometers, Big Green Egg or Ceramic Adaptor and Pit Viper Fan : Patio, Lawn & Garden
cast iron place setter Amazon.com : Cast Iron Plate Setter - Fits LARGE Big Green Egg : Patio, Lawn & Garden
PS Woo https://ceramicgrillstore.com/collec...ast-iron-combo

smokeware chimney https://ceramicgrillstore.com/collec...himney-cap-bge

[MasterOMayhem]

I was finally able to get the ceramic out of our grill. When cleaning it out before tonights cook I found a sizeable piece of ceramic that had broken off from where the firebox was cracked. I used a flat head screw driver to 'break the seal' as much as possible around the top piece of ceramic and the main grill body, then slipped it between the two pieces and pried them apart (gently). Turns out the firebox is broken all the hell, I'm kind of amazed I got it out and back in without ti crumbling to pieces. Looks like a replacement part is going to be about $150 or so.

Doesn't look too bad from the top.


But....it's able to crumble I'm afraid.


The newer ones are split which is supposed to help with preventing cracking by allowing it to expand and contract as it heats/cools

You maybe able to jb weld it HighHeat Epoxy Putty


| J-B Weld

[MasterOMayhem]

PS woo in action 2016-06-19 14.43.27.jpg2016-06-19 15.34.13.jpg

[MasterOMayhem]

Okay egg gurus, need some advice. 2nd time doing pulled pork. First time was good, but cooked a little too hot with a little much hickory flavor. This time we had a true low and long cook, and it was AWESOME. 7lbs shoulder, cooked at 225* for 18hrs.

Here's where I need advice. I got the temp settled and locked in at 225 (vents were just barely cracked open, not even 1/16") and went to bed and it held rock steady all night long. After about 12hrs tho the temp dropped a little, so we adjusted the vents, then it yo-yo'do up and down the rest of the cook while we adjusted the vents a smidge here and there as needed. Still kept it between 210-230 tho. Any advice to make it more stable long term?

After about 17hrs, once the meat was thru the plateau stage, I opened the vents up a little more and brought the temp up to 300 for a final push to get it done, otherwise we'd have been waiting forever to eat.

Also - remote thermometer = awesome piece of kit. Get one if you haven't yet.

BBQ Guru. https://www.bbqguru.com/StoreNav/Gur...viceModelId=21

[Tamu8104]

To me, the BBQ Guru is like an e-bike. It's not wrong but not my style. Part of the fun with smoking is can you master the elements to deliver the perfect piece of meat.

[dgaddis]

To me, the BBQ Guru is like an e-bike. It's not wrong but not my style. Part of the fun with smoking is can you master the elements to deliver the perfect piece of meat.

My thoughts too. It's cheating. And expensive.

[MasterOMayhem]

#smokedoping. BBQ guru great for long and low. Look on grill masters and you will find the bbq gurus on the contestants gear. but to be honest the PSwoo is an absolute game changer, I can take the meat ( both levels) the grill grate, drip pan and plate setter all out of the pit in one swoop. you just pick it up and pull it out. this way you can adjust the coal and wood etc. I would recommend the cast iron grate model rather than the stainless as you can use both grates . the guru is great for low and slow.

The new chimney cap is set and forget as you dont have to readjust after you open the BGE... if you dont have a plate setter the cast iron one is more forgiving as i have broken the ceramic one... and fixed with JB weld.

[Too Tall]

I have the same cast iron piece and yeah it is excellent.

Tell me true, is that fancy vent really better than the daisywheel?. I disagree the daisywheel requires adjusting. Mine is so well "loved" it needs a tap with a metric crescent wrench to move!

[dgaddis]

I have the same cast iron piece and yeah it is excellent.

Tell me true, is that fancy vent really better than the daisywheel?. I disagree the daisywheel requires adjusting. Mine is so well "loved" it needs a tap with a metric crescent wrench to move!

My daisy wheel will move when opening the hood if you don't position it right, it will pivot on the hinge. So the trick is positioning it so when you do open the grill, the hinge is positioned so the wheel wants to swing down right where you have it set. If that makes sense.

But for low-and-slow I don't open the grill until it's done. I've done an 18hr cook and still had lots of coals left...I bet I could get 30hrs out of it if I wanted.

I do like the fancy chimney though and will get one eventually. I like that it's got a roof to keep rain out.

[Tamu8104]

Absolutely agree on the PSwoo. I loved all the stuff I've bought from ceramicgrillstore.com. I think my next purchase may be a Big Ash Basket. One of my coworkers swears buy it and has convinced a couple of the BGEers in the office to get them. Everyone has really liked them so far.

[Tamu8104]

Edit above, should be Kick Ash Basket, not Big Ash...

[dgaddis]

Absolutely agree on the PSwoo. I loved all the stuff I've bought from ceramicgrillstore.com. I think my next purchase may be a Big Ash Basket. One of my coworkers swears buy it and has convinced a couple of the BGEers in the office to get them. Everyone has really liked them so far.

Oh man. Hadn't stumbled across that site yet....lots of good stuff there though.

The kick ash basket looks great, gets a good review here: Kick Ash Basket Review -- Naked Whiz Ceramic Charcoal Cooking

[Too Tall]

Ahhh that ash thing is great. I keep a hardwood stick for stirring the dead coals after it is cold....same same just lowbrow ;)