My wife bought me a BIG GREEN EGG

I guess she wants some smoked and grilled stuff this weekend! Any owners here and what do you particularly like about them?

Drew

I am interested in what others might say because #1 - my Webber is starting to show its considerable age and #2, a store that sells the Big Green Egg just opened up near my home. They are certainly curious looking things with the advantage of being a real grill and a real smoker, too.

[Jenise]

My neighbor has one and I've grown quite envious of it. Too, I like the things Bob H has said about his Komodo, and the BGE gives you that kind of service (ability to hold and maintain heat for a looooooooooong time) without the headache of the world's worst customer service meted out by nefarious individuals.

[Robin Garr]

One of the best restaurants in Louisville (Corbett's - An American Place) uses a Big Green Egg heavily for grilling - it sits right outside the kitchen door - and Chef Dean Corbett, a veteran who's worked at and owned some outstanding eateries, says he's sold on it.

I just went to the BGE Website. I think I need to head over to my local retailer (3 miles away) Saturday, to check them out.

My wife, Eileen, and I assembled it yesterday afternoon. Not the easiest due to poor, imho, directions and even with the accompanying DVD the camera work was consistently too close so you couldn't get a perspective. After several mistakes involving positioning of the "bands" (these are what connect the spring hinge to the top lid and bottom, think Faberge egg hinge), we successfully assembled the egg. We did have a cracked fire box in which the crack was perfectly straight with an even 1/8" width, we almost thought it was a design feature but a call to the dealer and short drive trip, 3 miles, we learned it was a flaw and they swapped it out on the spot for a perfect fire box. I haven't seen that kind of customer service for a long time. This thing weighs 150 lbs. and I dreaded the idea that I'd have to box the entire thing back up for return or return the fire box and wait for the company to send a new one. All in all just a 30 minute distraction. I'm smoking 10 lbs of ribs for its' debut this afternoon and I'll post some pictures with taste test results.

Drew

Hi Drew, you have a nice wife! We've had BGEs for years. I've mentioned this before here, but we kept having them built into our bbq areas and when we'd move we'd have to leave them for the new homeowner(s). We've stopped doing that. We love them, though, in all these years have never "grilled" on one. We've only done low and slow -- pork butt, brisket, and whole turkeys, but our favorite is back ribs. We bought these little "rib rack holders" that work great. You cut the racks of ribs in half and they fit perfectly standing upright on their bones like files in a little rib filing cabinet. They are great for fitting more on. I think we can get three or four racks on at one time, but the overall cook time will be longer. We keep the temp around 225 and the ribs take about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

ribrack.jpg

This is the rub we usually use. It started out as Steven Raichlen's but I've tweaked it a bit over the years.
1 tablespoons coarse salt (kosher or sea)
1 tablespoon Lawry's seasoning
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon hot paprika
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dry mustard (preferably Colman’s)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

I'd really like to try smoking a whole or half salmon on the BGE, but Len has such a salmon aversion, he's afraid it will permanently taint his beloved smoker.

Thanks Carrie for the rub recipe. We smoked all weekend, ribs and chicken. The ribs were great but I'm having problems with the chicken skin. The meat is moist but the skin is like paper...any recommendations?

Drew

Thanks Carrie for the rub recipe. We smoked all weekend, ribs and chicken. The ribs were great but I'm having problems with the chicken skin. The meat is moist but the skin is like paper...any recommendations?

Drew

Like paper? Hmm. I assume you don't mean thin and crispy...? I've never done chicken on the BGE. I wonder...did you try flipping it over so the skin could get the heat from below? I do remember when we did the turkey, the skin became sort of tough and rubbery. (Inedible.)
Maybe someone else can weigh in. Maria?? You out there?

Thanks Carrie...I am here..mostly lurking these days!

Re the chicken...what I do it Spatchcock it first, which is just cutting out the backbone and butterflying it. Then I cover both sides with olive oil and a dry rub. I leave this, uncovered, in the fridge for at least 4 days. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the only way, I've found, to get the skin crispy. The skin dries out, once it cooks it become crispy and delicious. It also marinates and dry ages the chicken, so the meat is flavorful and super moist.

After the chicken has been in the fridge for 4 days or so, I heat up my ceramic cooker to 375 degrees. I place the chicken open side down (breast/skin side up), on the grate over direct heat, close the lid, for 1 hr (try and maintain the temp at 375). No need to flip or anything. I take it out and let it rest for 5 minutes. This works everytime and the chicken is spectacular (and the skin is absolutely amazing!).

Carrie - I love that rib rack...it looks pretty cool. I have been using Bob H's method of taking the ribs and curling them up...placing a skewer through them. I have been able to do 6 racks of ribs at a time. I also like that the inside ribs are moister and softer, while the outer ribs get more crispier and still have some tooth to them.

My rib method is to take a rack of baby back ribs...remove the membrane, spread some yellow mustard on each side, and sprinkle both sides with a dry rub (mine has brown sugar, garlic salt, paprika, chili powder, tumeric, ginger, and thyme). Next I roll each rack up, place a skewer through it to keep it rolled up and place on my cooker, over indirect heat at 260 degrees. I cook for 3hrs, then baste each rack with honey and apple juice. I cook for another 1 1/2 and baste with a BBQ sauce (I use a version of Chef Carey's...it's really delicious!). I cook for another 30 min, remove from the cooker, wrap each rack in foil, and place in a cooler for 30-60 min.

Congrats on the BGE Drew...I have heard amazing things about them...you are going to LOVE the food it makes.

Thanks Carrie...I am here..mostly lurking these days!

Re the chicken...what I do it Spatchcock it first, which is just cutting out the backbone and butterflying it. Then I cover both sides with olive oil and a dry rub. I leave this, uncovered, in the fridge for at least 4 days. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the only way, I've found, to get the skin crispy. The skin dries out, once it cooks it become crispy and delicious. It also marinates and dry ages the chicken, so the meat is flavorful and super moist.

After the chicken has been in the fridge for 4 days or so, I heat up my ceramic cooker to 375 degrees. I place the chicken open side down (breast/skin side up), on the grate over direct heat, close the lid, for 1 hr (try and maintain the temp at 375). No need to flip or anything. I take it out and let it rest for 5 minutes. This works everytime and the chicken is spectacular (and the skin is absolutely amazing!).

Carrie - I love that rib rack...it looks pretty cool. I have been using Bob H's method of taking the ribs and curling them up...placing a skewer through them. I have been able to do 6 racks of ribs at a time. I also like that the inside ribs are moister and softer, while the outer ribs get more crispier and still have some tooth to them.

My rib method is to take a rack of baby back ribs...remove the membrane, spread some yellow mustard on each side, and sprinkle both sides with a dry rub (mine has brown sugar, garlic salt, paprika, chili powder, tumeric, ginger, and thyme). Next I roll each rack up, place a skewer through it to keep it rolled up and place on my cooker, over indirect heat at 260 degrees. I cook for 3hrs, then baste each rack with honey and apple juice. I cook for another 1 1/2 and baste with a BBQ sauce (I use a version of Chef Carey's...it's really delicious!). I cook for another 30 min, remove from the cooker, wrap each rack in foil, and place in a cooler for 30-60 min.

Congrats on the BGE Drew...I have heard amazing things about them...you are going to LOVE the food it makes.

Good on you Maria. If one has a lot of racks of ribs, the roll them up, skewer and cook them on edge (bone side on the inside) is definitely the way to go. This maximizes the amount of ribs you can cook, yet allows basting on the meaty side of the ribs. on my #7 (same as yours) I can easily get 7-8 racks using the upper and lower grids. As an after thought, I can easily get 5-6 boston butts to cooking all at the same time too. I love Hot Mama, but have learned to refrain! Speaking of Joesph's sauce...I make a half gallon at a time, and can't keep it in stock long. My Sister visited a couple weeks back, and I made sauce. Sent her home with a quart of it.

I am interested in what others might say because #1 - my Webber is starting to show its considerable age and #2, a store that sells the Big Green Egg just opened up near my home. They are certainly curious looking things with the advantage of being a real grill and a real smoker, too.

If I were in the market for a replacement, I would buy one of these in a heartbeat. I am now using my second different model of smoker and experience a lot of challenges in keeping the cooking temp where it needs to be. Based on previous comments from BobH, I conclude that these ceramic gizmos have no difficulty keeping temps up.

An acquaintance is both the corporate chef for a national steakhouse operation and the executive chef of their Las Vegas store. He has a BGE and loves it.

Mike, having used the new egg about 6 times, it consistantly holds the temp once it's set. I've never used a smoker that holds so true.

Drew

I have been using Bob H's method of taking the ribs and curling them up...placing a skewer through them. I have been able to do 6 racks of ribs at a time. I also like that the inside ribs are moister and softer, while the outer ribs get more crispier and still have some tooth to them.

Ingenious! I'm going to have Len try this.

Drew, you really do have an awesome wife! Please visit eggheadforum.com if you have any questions about the BGE, lots of friendly folks there eager to help and share techniques, recipes, ect. -RP

My wife, Eileen, and I assembled it yesterday afternoon. Not the easiest due to poor, imho, directions and even with the accompanying DVD the camera work was consistently too close so you couldn't get a perspective. After several mistakes involving positioning of the "bands" (these are what connect the spring hinge to the top lid and bottom, think Faberge egg hinge), we successfully assembled the egg. We did have a cracked fire box in which the crack was perfectly straight with an even 1/8" width, we almost thought it was a design feature but a call to the dealer and short drive trip, 3 miles, we learned it was a flaw and they swapped it out on the spot for a perfect fire box. I haven't seen that kind of customer service for a long time. This thing weighs 150 lbs. and I dreaded the idea that I'd have to box the entire thing back up for return or return the fire box and wait for the company to send a new one. All in all just a 30 minute distraction. I'm smoking 10 lbs of ribs for its' debut this afternoon and I'll post some pictures with taste test results.

Drew

Actually the new fireboxes are saw cut up one side to allow them to expand and contract without cracking, your dealer must not have known about it or he wouldn't have swapped it out for an older style. Either way they are covered under the warranty, mine is in at least 6 pieces. They gave me a new one but the cracked one still works so I haven't installed it. -RP

Drew, you really do have an awesome wife! Please visit eggheadforum.com if you have any questions about the BGE, lots of friendly folks there eager to help and share techniques, recipes, ect. -RP

Yea...no denying that and she knows who the cook is ,as for the "Crack" I thought as much as it was too smooth and straight. Thanks for the info.

Drew

Just thought I'd share a pic of the configuration.

Drew

[Robin Garr]

Just thought I'd share a pic of the configuration.

Very nice! I've got to ask a really dumb question, though: The base doesn't get hot enough to scorch the wooden table? I assume this is obvious from the fact that it's working, but I would have thought a ceramic cooker would get fairly warm on the outside.

The very bottom sits on a 16"x16"x2" concrete paver and the lower unit at the hole in the cart gets very warm but not nearly enough to scorch the wood.

Drew

Just thought I'd share a pic of the configuration.

Very nice! I've got to ask a really dumb question, though: The base doesn't get hot enough to scorch the wooden table? I assume this is obvious from the fact that it's working, but I would have thought a ceramic cooker would get fairly warm on the outside.

Robin,

While I don't know about the EGG, I do have a ceramic cooker, and even with a cooking chamber at 700 degrees, one can touch the outside and hold ones hand in contact without burning. It might get uncomfortably warm, but it will not burn.

Spatchcocked chicken for the Ravens vs Steelers game The trick to a good, crispy skin I've found is to rub the chicken with mayonnaise, season and cook for approx. 1 hour at 300 degrees for the internal temp to be 165 to 170.

Drew