Big Green Egg

[Too Tall]

Prepping lamb for this evening. Looks good. I can't in good conscious serve it how I like or folks might get turned off. For smaller parties I'll cook it quite rare. The rosemary, smoke and garlic have permeated the meat and Sully gets the bone. Win win win.

lamb.jpg

sully.jpg

[nahtnoj]

That knife and cutting board. Lots of hard, loving use right there.

[rwsaunders]

A friend of mine just retired last week after almost 40 years as an ophthalmologist. We had a surprise party for him a few weeks ago and knowing that he's a bourbon drinker, I "gifted" a bottle of Clyde May's Straight Bourbon to him...small world. PA Wine and Spirits carries the product in select stores. I saw him again the other night and he told me that the botttle won't make it past the holiday week.

Clyde May's Whiskey

[mg2ride]

Glad to see this thread is still active. A very good friend of mine just received a egg (Mini max) for Christmas. Only thing is I do more of the small event cooking at his house then he does.

I came here to get a crash course!

[Too Tall]

Glad to see this thread is still active. A very good friend of mine just received a egg (Mini max) for Christmas. Only thing is I do more of the small event cooking at his house then he does.

I came here to get a crash course!

Let us entertain you.
PS what the he!! is a mini-max big green egg?

[mg2ride]

Let us entertain you.
PS what the he!! is a mini-max big green egg?

I'm hoping it is something other than a royal waste of $. Only time will tell.

Seems suitable for cooking for 2-4 people.

MiniMax-Specs.jpg

[Too Tall]

Oh wow. Bet you can do lots of fun things with that. Main point is that the beast is portable. Mine is most definitely not.

[Ras72]

*RAS I'm always interested in local booze. If you like I like, where can I get a snort?

Partial to the old old version using Rye (bullitt). Goes like this:
Ice the glass first. Dump the ice.
One brown sugar cube
Couple dropsnot.water
Put the bitters directly on the cube
Toss in a small orange peel
Mash both than add bourbon, swirl and add ice
No cherry

We have several bourbon on hand so folks can pour their favorite brown liquor.

Josh - Our process is very similar. Mine goes like this...
In a beaker (stored in the freezer) I toss in a sugar cube, a Jack Rudy cherry and two dashes of bitters. Muddle.
Once muddled, I throw in two large blocks of ice and a jigger or two of your favorite Rye, Bourbon or Whiskey. Stir.
I stir for about 60 seconds. But time can be adjusted to your liking. Shorter if you like it stiff.
Pour into a heavy bottom old fashioned glass (also stored in the freezer) while straining. Add large ice cube before straining if desired.
Finish with a nice zest from the orange. Run orange peel around the rim and enjoy.

IMO, the zest is the key. Smelling that orange while sipping the drink is what dreams should be made of. I put it up with that 68F, sunny afternoon, smooth asphalt, no traffic, 6 mile descent.

Take a look to see if Clyde Mays is available to ya:
Clyde May's Whiskey
Jack Rudy cherries. Devine!
Bourbon Cocktail Cherries - Jack Rudy Cocktail Co.

[Too Tall]

Ras I most certainly would drink that. I like how you control the temps. and yeah I'm nodding my head. The smell of orange and inhale of bitters with the booze is what makes it. No wonder this is a drink bartenders make for each other, there are so many nuanced possibilities.

Time to make a massive salad with bitter greens, mushrooms and Tahini dressing.

[dgaddis]

The MiniMax seems like a great, although $$$$$$, portable grill, but seems too small to do much good at home cooking for any size crowd.

Gadget alert - I just picked up a Tip Top Temp Controller. Terrible name, very cool gadget. It's not made specifically for the Egg tho, but can be used on one. It's essentially an all-mechanical temperature controller. Compared to the $300+ electronic controller + blower units it's a total steal, I paid $32 shipped. Since I have a Smokeware cap on my Egg I just put it down inside the SW cap base on top of the Egg's chimney, and the SW cap base keeps it from falling off when opening/closing the Egg. I'm going to cut mind down so it's shorter, then I can put the top of the SW cap on over it to protect it from rain/wind/etc.

Did my first cook with it yesterday, little bit of a learning curve but I think it's going to be awesome. It held in an 11 degree window for 4 hours, and I think if I had it adjusted properly (learning curve, remember?) it would have kept the window tighter and held it until the Egg ran out of lump.

Did I mention it's only $32???

TipTopTemp | Grill Temperature Regulator Controller

Sitting on the Egg inside the SW base.

[Ras72]

I'm liking that contraption! Controlling the temp from the top vent is much preferred over the bottom vent. And using a bi-metal coil is brilliant. I wonder how many old thermostats he destroyed throughout his prototype phase.
I'm not crazy about the materials used for the body, but at $32, you can't expect much. It does make me wonder if you can mount the business end of this thing to the top of the originall cast iron unit.

[Too Tall]

I'm liking that contraption! Controlling the temp from the top vent is much preferred over the bottom vent. And using a bi-metal coil is brilliant. I wonder how many old thermostats he destroyed throughout his prototype phase.
I'm not crazy about the materials used for the body, but at $32, you can't expect much. It does make me wonder if you can mount the business end of this thing to the top of the originall cast iron unit.

From the amount of smoke residue that I have to clean after nearly every use I'M WONDERING if it will last. Seriously. I'd rather see a sealed thermocoupler running the show.

[Ras72]

Whoa. You clean after a couple uses? I've been known to wipe it down with a rag twice a year. Although, I mostly do high heat, fast cooking, i.e. steaks, burgers, pizzas...
What do I not know about this cleaning regimen? Specifically asking about the BGE here...

[Too Tall]

Whoa. You clean after a couple uses? I've been known to wipe it down with a rag twice a year. Although, I mostly do high heat, fast cooking, i.e. steaks, burgers, pizzas...
What do I not know about this cleaning regimen? Specifically asking about the BGE here...

Just the fancy pants stainless steel chimney. https://smokeware.com/collections/chimney-caps The Smokeware chimney is the $hit but it has what amounts to an interference fit between the base and moveable vent portion. Thus, when it gets gunked up with smoke/grease/schmutz the silly thing is disgusting and I'm compelled to clean. The egg itself I don't touch. Might burn it off every few times but like you that's it.

[dgaddis]

I've never cleaned my Smokeware cap. The gunk build up just provides a better seal ;-)

[Too Tall]

I've never cleaned my Smokeware cap. The gunk build up just provides a better seal ;-)

Ewwwwwwwww ;)

[dgaddis]

Ewwwwwwwww ;)

In all seriousness though, if you could soak the cap in some hot water, get all the gunk off and as dissolved/dispersed as possible in the water, and then reduce the water/gunk mixture down I bet it would make one hell of a dippin' sauce!

[Too Tall]

In all seriousness though, if you could soak the cap in some hot water, get all the gunk off and as dissolved/dispersed as possible in the water, and then reduce the water/gunk mixture down I bet it would make one hell of a dippin' sauce!

My inner chemist just fainted.

[dgaddis]

New favorite cook on the Egg :: rack of lamb. My wife liked it okay but said she likes beef better, the lamb was a bit gamey. I LOVED it. First time doing a reverse sear, can't wait to do steaks this way.

Split the rack in half so we'd have more crust, and make leftovers easier. Trimmed the fat off to meat, light coating of EVO, some chopped rosemary and thyme leaves, and a coating of Dizzy Pig Red Eye Express, and back in the fridge for a few hours. When it was time to cook they went onto the Egg at 225° until the IT hit 120, and I pulled them off to rest for ~five minutes.

Removed the plate setter, added an extra fire ring and opened the vents to send it to about 500°, then back on for the sear. 45secs per side, about 6mins total, to an IT of 130°.

They were amazing. Perfectly cooked. Will do again!!

Before the sear.


Nice crust.


So, so good!

[Too Tall]

Oh wow D. That looks amazing. Yeah, some folks do not love lamb. When I lived in Wyoming it was call all sorts of unpleasant names. Consequently, I could buy it for very little at the grocery store :) Oh yeah "Prairie Maggots" what was popular.