Big Green Egg

[Nathanrtaylor]

With the base egg, what would I looking at as far as accessories goes to get me into smoking? Thermometers, any recommendations? The previous Webers did fine as grills for burgers, chicken and steaks. I'm really looking to get into slap-yo-mama brisket/ribs/etc. Brisket first because I'm from Texas and cannot find anything proper up here. The butchers typically even remove the fat cap (Heathens!).

I have an iGrill 2. It works fine, but doesn't have very good range. Bluetooth connection sometimes drops from my phone requiring a restart of the thermometer base. Best thing is it isn't very expensive.

Get the ceramic heat diffuser thing. I think BGE calls it a plate setter? These two things, good charcoal, and some big oak lumps and you'll be all set.

Run your brisket however Aaron Franklin tells you to (though he isn't a big fan of these types of smokers) ... coarse black pepper, salt, no more than 0.25 inch thick fat cap, 275 degrees, wrap when the bark color is right. Run it with heat until it is done (skewer test, it's tough to put a probe in a brisket, though I always run one for smoker temp anyway) Rest it 1.4 times as long as you can stand to. At least an hour. I've gone as long as 4 hrs foiled and wrapped in towels in a cooler and it was still too hot to hold.

I highly recommend smoking a decent number of chickens to figure the thing out before buying a brisket.

[CXinNH]

Made Josh's spatchcock chicken couple days ago when it was -15F.
The BGE ability to keep constant temps even in extreme weather is amazing.
Dialed it in at 350F after 20min, never moved.

[dgaddis]

Is that the case? I'm in the market. Options would be a BGE or other ceramic "grill", or a separate grill and smoker. Spring is approaching, and I haven't cooked in the backyard since we moved out for the remodel back in June of last year. Talk to me, Goose.

The Kamado Joe is really nice as well. My buddy Greig who owns Fireside Outdoor Kitchens actually stopped dealing BGEs after getting the shaft several times on warranty issues, and he's since picked up KJ instead. The designs are basically identical, paint them the same color and you can hardly tell the difference. They use the same type gasket, two pieces of ceramic inside, etc. The KJ comes with more stuff right out of the box, with the BGE everything is sold separately. At my local Ace the KJ is $1k, the BGE is $850, but again, it doesn't come with the accessories. I also like the look of the stainless steel topper that I've seen on several of the KJs...and I wonder if they'd fit the BGE.

So....if I were buying today, I would certainly take a good hard look at both. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

[Bobonli]

Run your brisket however Aaron Franklin tells you to (though he isn't a big fan of these types of smokers) ... coarse black pepper, salt, no more than 0.25 inch thick fat cap, 275 degrees, wrap when the bark color is right. Run it with heat until it is done (skewer test, it's tough to put a probe in a brisket, though I always run one for smoker temp anyway) Rest it 1.4 times as long as you can stand to. At least an hour. I've gone as long as 4 hrs foiled and wrapped in towels in a cooler and it was still too hot to hold.

I highly recommend smoking a decent number of chickens to figure the thing out before buying a brisket.

I cannot get enough of this guy. He makes it look so simple. In my mind the Alton Brown of bbq in the sense that you can watch what he does and reproduce it with good results.

What the difference in terms of mechanics and price of the little unit he uses in his yard (barrel smoker?) and the BGE? The price of the BGE is little discouraging ( to my wife) when we have a perfectly functioning gas Weber.

[Too Tall]

Winmonster - Nathan has it. I'd just pile on. He's right about pizza too. Once you learn how to control temps. everything is possible. My accessories consist of a plate setter, diffuser and a three tier rack for when I'm cooking a mess of chicken for the masses. If you are trying to save a few $$s look for post BGE cookoff where they sell the used units afterwards. That's how I got mine it was the only unit not sold. Apparently they thought it was defective. (laughing) the Firebox was installed offset such the air holes would not draw. Somebody had a very bad day.

[Nathanrtaylor]

I cannot get enough of this guy. He makes it look so simple. In my mind the Alton Brown of bbq in the sense that you can watch what he does and reproduce it with good results.

What the difference in terms of mechanics and price of the little unit he uses in his yard (barrel smoker?) and the BGE? The price of the BGE is little discouraging ( to my wife) when we have a perfectly functioning gas Weber.

You'll still spend several hundred on an offset smoker with metal thick enough to maintain temps. I would love to have a big enough offset smoker to be able to burn logs in for heat and smoke, but it'll probably never happen. (I would build a dedicated brick pizza oven before a bigger smoker, in fact)

If all I wanted was the ability to smoke and was otherwise satisfied with the Weber gas burner, I would pick up either a Weber Smoky Mountain or an offset smoker and play with it until I was confident in how it performed in different conditions.

If you got an egg and kept the Weber, one of them would end up being under-used. Preference and time would indicate which one. On the other hand I do know people who like to smoke stuff like wings on the egg, then sauce and finish them fast over gas. There's a lot of ways to cook food.

[CXinNH]

I highly recommend smoking a decent number of chickens to figure the thing out before buying a brisket.

For the ignoramii like me, can you enlighten us with some tips for smoking chicken before I dare a brisket?

[dgaddis]

This is a great resource for BGE and other charcoal cookers: Naked Whiz Ceramic Charcoal Cooking, Kamado Style Cookers and Lump Charcoal)

(it's safe for work I promise)

[dogrange]

For the ignoramii like me, can you enlighten us with some tips for smoking chicken before I dare a brisket?

I'll tell you what I do, it is easy. Not really a "smoked" chicken, but more of a grilled chicken with a lot of smoke flavor. IMHO, atmo and YMMV, this is much better than trying to smoke a chicken low and slow like a brisket or whatever as chicken does not have near enough connective tissue and fat to take to that cooking method.

1. Get a whole chicken
2. "Butterfly" or "spatchcock" the chiocken ( this means cut the spine out, lay chicken on cutting board with sternum facing up and press with the heel of your hand to crack ribs from sternum so chicken lays flat)
3. Not necessary for everyone, but I like to trim off hanging weird fatty pieces to clean up the presentation
4. Rub under skin with some non-iodized sea salt or kosher salt - not a ton, just enough to draw out some water and give some seasoning.
5. Rub with rub of your choice on skin and under skin (if desired) - rub under the skin won't integrate with the meat, so be judicious. The key under the skin is the salt rub in step #4
6. Get fire going in egg - set around 350-375 degrees
7. put a piece of hickory or other desired smoke wood on fire - use big chunks, not chips (chips just burn up and don't produce enough smoke). I also advocate the hickory over a lot of internet advice advising "milder" woods like pecan or pear for chicken - IMHO (and others may disagree), these woods are too wimpy and don't add much to the cook. Hickory is an all-time classic smoke-fired taste in most of the US and works great on any meat, including chicken. I also like Apple (tastes like hickory but is a bit milder). If you really want to get crazy, seek out some grapevine - is also mild but more distinctive and interesting than common alternatives like pecan or pear or maple. I would avoid mesquite on chicken, again IMHO, atmo and YMMV.
8. Place chicken over direct heat, skin-side up.
9. If chicken is standard 4lbs or so, go turn it over around 25 minutes into the cook
10. leave on for another 20 mins or maybe 25 or maybe 30 - until it is done. Cooking time takes some feel it all depends on chicken size, heat, etc.
11. Enjoy chicken! Skin should be nice and crisped, will have a lot of nice smoke flavor and all that

[Tamu8104]

My brother-in-law has a thick walled, 3 chamber, offset smoker. It's nice but any cook takes a lot of work to keep the fire going at the right temperature. My BGE can cook nearly the same amount (an XL with the multi-tier rack) plus the temperature range is larger and much easier to manage. Having had Franklin's brisket multiple times, what I can produce in the BGE isn't exactly the same but it's damn near close, definitely close enough that I wouldn't wait in line for 3 hours to get Franklin's.

I would agree with Dustin and look at both the KJ and the BGE. I looked at both but ultimately was able to buy the BGE on sale and they threw in some accessories. Ceramic Grill Works is also a good option for different set-ups versus the traditional plate setter.

[dgaddis]

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.

[jjmstang]

Any BGE users use this ?

http://www.amazon.com/BBQ-Temperatur.../dp/B00UIA3WRU

[dgaddis]

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

[Too Tall]

You earned every bit of that Dustin.

[TMB]

Wings.
Should have left them on a bit longer...

They kind of look like they may have been attached to something when you put them on.

[Tamu8104]

Learned a lesson recently on my BGE... Don't leave the drip pan in when you are doing a high heat cook like pizza. Ended up with a raging fire that when I burped the lid, jumped up to the grease pan. Then I had a 2 layer fire, the first below the lower stone and drip pan, and a second on the drip pan below the upper stone. It was spitting flames like crazy out the sides and the top if I cracked it open. The only way to get things back under control was to completely kill the fire. No pizza that night...

[Too Tall]

Nate, laughing a little at myself having been there. How's the hair on your forearm?

[dogrange]

Another lesson learned on pizza - don't put so much olive oil on the crust that it runs off the edges and burns on the fire. Welcome to a pizza fully caked in what appears to be burned motor oil . . .

[Too Tall]

Hey Andy. I started making pizzas directly on the grate. Works like a charm. Lightly oil the dough close your eyes and toss it on than wait a couple mins. and flip it. Remove and add ingredients while the BGE comes back to temp. and go nuts. It's different but really good.

[Tamu8104]

Nate, laughing a little at myself having been there. How's the hair on your forearm?

Somehow not too bad. I'm probably overly cautious when opening at high heat because I had a buddy that literally took off his eyebrows when he was a little over-enthusiastic when opening his BGE at high temp. That caution probably saved me this time. It was crazy to watch it belch flames out the top vent....