Big Green Egg

[SeanB]

So I finally picked up a Medium size BGE today. I paid full price, but got some freebies, bag of charcoal, upgraded hing thing, upgraded top damper, a tool to remove the ash, a box little bricket things to light the fire, and a thermometer. I did not get any legs because I plan to build a stand to put it on, maybe out of cedar, for now it is just sitting on the patio. Attaching the hing assembly was pretty staight foward, aside from that there really is nothing to assemble.

The first fire...

So I take one of the little fire starter things (the box says use three, but the lady at the store said one should work) and put it in the BGE dump in a couple of inches of charcoal and light it. I swear the thing was up to two hundred degrees in a matter of minutes...I mean like two of three... So I run in the house and throw some boneless chicken pieces in the microwave to thaw. I had opened the lid a couple of times to check on the fire (something you would not normally do, but you know new toy and all...) so when I get the chicken ready (about 10-15 minutes after lighting the fire) the temp is at about 450. I put the chicken on and closed down the dampers. The temp held at about 300. After the chicken had cooked for about 20 minutes (with a flip at 10) I closed the dampers all the way while we finished the rest of the meal.

And the result....

It came out great! So far I am very happy with the Egg. I am very impressed with how quickly I had it up and cooking. I will post more as I play with it some more.

[sharky]

I've been thinking of a BGE for a while now. The Place where I bought my whole outdoor kitchen setup sells them. I've heard nothing but good things about them

[SeanB]

I was holding off because of the the cost, but I think I paid $400 or so for my gas grill and it is pretty close to needing an overhaul...and I am sure you paid more than that for you setup. ;) I paid $499 for the BGE and is supposed to last a lifetime with no burners to replace.

[sharky]

Not to bad of a proce to be honest...

[StPeteBBQ]

Congrats on the BGE, Sean. I'm sure you'll be very happy together ;)

[StPeteBBQ]

Hey Sean,

I posted a recipe in the Recipe category that would be great on your new Egg. ABT's... Give 'em a try.

[StPeteBBQ]

Hey Sean,

Here's a great accessory for your new BGE:

BBQ Guru (http://www.thebbqguru.com)

Mine's getting here tomorrow... :)

[SeanB]

That looks very interesting...hopefully I won't need it. ;) This thing is supposed to be really good at holding the temp. I am going to smoke a pork shoulder tomorrow night so we will se how it goes.

This is what is on my shopping list... Remote Smoker Thermometer (http://www.thegadgetsource.com/011502013733.html)

Oh and an update on the BGE...I have coked on it every night this week and I am loving it. Tonight some flank steak.

[StPeteBBQ]

You're gonna love that Thermo... I've got one and it's the best accessory I've purchased for my Weber Smokey Mountain. When I'm smoking butts, it can be as long a 14 - 16 hours and I can sleep knowing that the remote alarm will wake me if there is a problem. So far it's been rock solid.

With the Guru, there is no worry about long cooks. It maintains the temp by increasing or decreasing the airflow, from wide open to totally off.

Gotta love the toys!

[sharky]

How's the BGE?

Did the flank steak turn out good?

[SeanB]

The Flank steak came out great, a little bit more done than I wanted it, but it still tasted great. It is a little bit hard to get used to how fast meat cooks at 600+ degrees.

Tonight I tested out my indirect setup with some chicken peices. BGE sells a ceramic stand that you can use for indirect cooking, it costs about $30. My setup is 4 fire bricks and an extra grate that I picked up at wallmart. I put 2 bricks on their side and 2 flat over the fire, then set the grate on top. The chicken sat in a jerk marinade all and cooked at 325 for 90 minutes. Served over rice with some mango salsa.