Friday, May 27, 2011

The big green egg

This thing is a beast when it comes to grilling, smoking, or roasting.
I purchased a medium BGE last summer and it has more then made up for the cost already because the food that this thing produces is soo good. Meats have an amazing charcoal flavor which i have come to love.
The egg is like a charcoal grill that can be setup in a multitude of ways
-typical grilling = the hot coals are directly under the food / grill rack
-roasting (oven style) = a large ceramic disc rests between the coals and the grill rack
-smoking = large ceramic disc set up and wood chips thown ontop of the coals

each of these cooking styles has its own strategies which i will discuss briefly. also ill list a couple of quick ideas for each.

Grilling... well you had better know how to grill. Get your coals nice and hot, The egg can get up near 700 degress when air flow is fully opened; which is great for searing those steaks.
-grill mode is good for any meats really
-one of my favorites, salmon on a plank (ill post this recipe )

Roasting (oven style)- this turns the egg into an oven basically. once i got the hang of temperature control i could just leave and go play videogames for 2 hours and come back...voila. dinner is ready. Roasting mode is generally for temperatures around 200-500. I made thanksgiving dinner for my family (roasted 20lb. turkey) it was the best turkey any of us had ever had.
- great for whole chicken, turkey, duck etc.
- roasting vegetables or fruits.
-roast pork tenderloin and biscuits

Smoking- ah this is the reason i bought the egg in the first place. I really wanted to learn how to smoke foods and thus become an ultimate BBQ Champion. Smoking can be a little more complicated but if done right the results are fantastic. First of all pick your woodchips out and soak them in water. When smoking, the temperature should be low...around 200. You also want air flow at a minimum and try to keep the coals/temperature under control. You can also sort of hybridize roasting and smoking; i have done this multiple times.
-smoked BBQ ribs
-smoked bacon


I still have a gas grill which is more convinient because it is so quick and easy; but if i am ever going for a 5star recipe or am in serious cooking mode i will start up the egg.

Introduction

Hey everyone. This blog will mainly be me posting some awsome cooking recipes. And basically discussing anything about cooking. I have been cooking now for around 6 years and i have gotten to be a pretty amazing chef. My favorite thing about cooking is how creative and fun it can be; mixing and matching ingredients. I love all sorts of food as well so its nice to be a good cook.
Well i will throw down some ground rules i like to use while cooking
1. have fun with it
2. fresh ingredients >
3. spice is nice