First cook for the newbie

Devo

I'm finally going to bite the bullit and buy that large that I've been going buy the dealer and drooling over for the last month or two. Any body got any suggestions as to what I should cook first to break it in? :cheer:

Austin Smoker

Most of the advice I got when I asked the same question had a couple things in common:

- Nothing too hot (keep it 450 or less for the first six or seven cooks)
- Nothing to long (doing a low and slow for your first cook can be daunting)
- Nothing you haven't had before (you'll have a comparison!)
- To me, this screamed out for chicken thighs marinated in italian dressing or burgers.

Last advice - ALWAYS let the grey smoke clear from the fire before putting your food on.

Bacchus

Devo, welcome to egging. I am a newbie myself, just a month or two in. It is awesome. I did pork shoulder for my first. The egg is my first grill that I didnt break in with burgers and dogs.

Eggtucky

Devo!..congrats and its ABOUT time!! :laugh: ...you may be new to egging but I know you arent a new cook..I suggest something that meets pretty much all of the suggestions above... surf 'n turf kabobs...get you some nice sice fresh shrimp, peel and de-vein, and a pound or 2 of some nice ribeye cut up into 2-3" kabob cubes..I prep the ribeye as following:
1 Cup Soy Sauce
• ½ Cup Olive Oil
• ½ Cup Whiskey
• 1-3 Clove Garlic - smashed
• 1 Medium piece of Ginger - sliced
• 2-3 lb Ribeye
• Tomatoes
• Pineapple
A simple, yet very tasty, shish kabob recipe. It starts with a good piece of ribeye....cubed into 2"-3" cubes. Simply mix all of the marinade ingredients into a gallon size ziplock bag and then add the cubed ribeye. I marinde for a minimum of 1 day, turning every few hours or so.

Place the meat on 1 set of skewers and your vegtables/fruit (I like pineapple and small tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, zucchini, squash, any or all of these) on another and cook to medium rare (or however you like yours). I save the marinade from the bag and baste the meat and vegtables/fruit while they are cooking. The overall cooking time is not too long for medium rare.

Prep your shrimp for skewers with AZRPs spicy shrimp recipe as follows..
INGREDIENTS:
1 15-20 Ct Lb Shrimp, peeled to the last section leaving the tail for a handle, butterflied
2 Clove Garlic, minced
1 Tbs Kosher salt
1 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Cayene pepper
2 tsp Lemon juice
2 Tbs Olive oil

Cooking Directions:
1 These shrimp are really killer. The recipe comes from a Mark Bittman cook book, and about the only thing you can do wrong with it is to over cook the shrimp, or try to use ones that are too small and they fall through the grid. I use the frozen U-15 ones from Sam's club. Take 1 Tbs of kosher salt and 2 garlic cloves(minced) and mash them into a paste with the side of your knife or a mortar and pestal(easier). Add to that paste 1 tsp paprika, ½ tsp cayene pepper, 2 tsp lemon juice, and 2 Tbs olive oil. Thaw and peel the shrimp, all but the tail section, for a handle. Butterfly them by cutting down the back halfway through the shrimp. If they have a vein remove it now. Mix the shrimp with the marinade then grill direct. Go about 2 minutes on the first side at about 400 dome, when they start to curl up, flip them and watch until they curl fairly tight and remove immediately. Some of them won't curl tight but you can pretty much tell when they are done, don't overcook! Let them rest for a few minutes and enjoy. -RP

You don't have to but I put veggies, meat, and shrimp on separate skewers due to the difference in cooking time for each....crank the egg to between 350-400 and stable for at least 30 mins before you start...then cook direct turning the skewers regularly to prevent burning...serve with fav rice and cold brewski!

Devo

That looks great Tucky, I'm going to go pick it up Wednesday so I think I'll try that Wednesday night. I can't wait to do a pork butt though, I'll try that on the weekend. Thanks for the suggestions.

JLOCKHART29

Spatchock chicken cooking to internal breast temp of 165-170 at coldest part indirect at 300-325 pit followed by AZRP shrimp!

BENTE

congrats on the new purchase... you will love it.. keep in mind what austin smoker said it is good advice here is a simple recepie for you:::

Chicken, Breasts, Grilled with Smoked Mushrooms


1 Chicken breast per person
pasta
1/3 lb mushrooms per person
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
Salt and Pepper



1 On the BIG GREEN EGG get the temp up to about 400 degrees and add some of your favorite smoking chips. I prefer cherry or apple.
2 Smoke your mushrooms for about 15 mins so they absorb a deep smoke flavor.
3 Grill the breasts with only salt and pepper.
4 Cook the pasta per directions.
5 When chicken is done remove it from the EGG and let it rest bout 5 minutes.
6 In a large bowl mix the pasta with a little olive oil(not extra virgin).
7 Cut the mushrooms to bite size, along with the chicken.
8 Mix well and add a drizzle of Balsamic vinegar.
9 Season to taste.


Servings: 1

Recipe Type
Main Dish, Poultry

Recipe Source
Source: Chef and The Fat Man (www.chefandthefatman.com)