Wanna be Egger

Grillmama

Hey Folks,

I wanted to commend you all for a very informative blog. I have been one of the "lurkers" for the past couple of weeks. My husband and I are going to make the plunge into a large BGE. We have made this decision because we are tired of buying gas grills every two-three years. I went to the egg store (is that what you all call the mothership?) this last week to inquire and get a more hands on feel for the BGE. My neighbor has one that we admire from afar, but have never cooked nor tasted food on one. My husband and I grill 2-3 times per week, and have decided because of your blog that the large will be best for us. I plan on buying a plate setter, and I already have a pizza stone, that I assume I can use from Pampered Chef. I am hoping that my husband will take up the smoking end of the menu, while I still maintain my grilling status. We will then invest in a DigiQ.

I have a couple of questions. You all talk about pulling the meat off the grill at certain temps. Is there a chart or something that I can refer to to know what cuts need to be pulled off at what temps? Or else how do I know if the cut of meat is done? On the gas grill I pretty much used the touch test. I have never used a meat thermometer, but will buy one.

Next question. What does the drip pan sit on if we are going to smoke or cook in direct heat? Or do you only smoke in indirect heat? Being that the plate setter is set on top of the coals. Or on whatever.

Forgive me if this sounds ignorant, but we want to know that the BGE is for us before making a substantial investment.

I like to grill, low and slow and I don't want to have to babysit it every minute.

BTW we enjoy the forum checks for Spring Chicken.

Thanks in advance for your help and support.

FlaPoolman

This site has almost all the info you need and most if not all questions can be answered here on the forum

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm

Also GG put these sites together

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=452251&catid=1

Welcome and we look forward to your posts & pics.

UnConundrum

There's not a chart that I know of, but there are tons of recipes out there. Temperature depends on what you want to do with it. For example, I've made some large chuck roasts that I pull around 165 for slicing. If I wanted to try to pull it for pulled beef sandwiches, I'd probably have to go to about 195. The variables are vast, but, like I said, ton of recipes out there.

My family isn't into the "char" taste, so most of our cooks are indirect. That means there is "something" blocking the direct heat from the charcoal. The plate setter can be used legs up or down. When used legs up, it makes a great tray for something to collect drippings. If I'm cooking a big chunk of meat, like the chucks, I'll put them in a rack, and the rack in a large raised rim pizza pan to catch the drippings. That pan makes the cook indirect. If you're cooking direct, there is no drip pan...

Welcome aboard. You won't be sorry with your purchase

East Cobb Eggy

Check out the Whiz's site on general information and the issue with using a Pampered Chef stone.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/pizza.htm

Use the drip pan inside the platesetter when cooking indirect. It is not needed for direct.

There are many charts detailing meat temps and when the temperature needed to achieve certain results.

Welcome to the club.

Greg

stike

the pampered chef stones don't seem to last long in the egg. whenever someone reports their stone breaking, invariably it's a Pampered Chef one. dunno why. might want to keep it for the indoor oven, and use the platesetter (or get the BGE pizza stone).

"doneness" is a taste thing, for roasted and seared meats. i personally don't have a chart, pretty muich pull steaks at 135 (for med rare), 140 (for medium). poultry i take to 155 in the breast, 175 or so in the dark meat. fish and other meats usually around 145/150.

barbecue is different. it's cooked until it becomes tender. for butt and picnic shoulders that's usually 185 (low end) to 200 or 205. at those temps it'll pull apart.

ribs don't usually get tested with a thermometer simply because that can be inconsistent. better to pick them up in the middle and see if they bend easily

welcome aboard, and be sure to ask questions if you need help

BamaFan

You can't go wrong. Get the large..

Broc

I have come to a conclusion.

The BGE isn't really a big investment. Example -- how much money have you dumped into buying gassers, and guts for gassers... as you mention? Add it up over twenty years or so...

Now -- buy an Egg and some accessories, and you're done.

That doesn't mean you're done... that nothing will go wrong...

Expect the fire box to disintegrate, and the fire ring to disintegrate, in about two to three years [judging by your reported grilling activity]. But -- Lo and Behold!

These ceramic items are covered by Lifetime Warranty! When your fire box and fire ring start to crack [early signes of disintegrating], let your dealer know. The dealer will order your replacement, have it shipped along with his "regular" stuff, and -- no extra cost to you -- your replacement will come to your dealer.

It's sorta like magic!

The warranty also extends to the Egg itself [though not to gaskets] -- Though it is seldom that an Egg cracks in normal use. Fire it up every day with confidence. Warranty does not extend to dropping it into the swimming pool, off the back of a low-flying truck, or whatever... your two year old smashing it with dad's hammer...

But -- in the long run you're going to save money with your ceramic Egg... and be way ahead in the Taste Bud Department.

Expect to use your Egg for... well... a lifetime!

~ Best

~ B

East Bay Al

Hello and welcome. You are on the right track. You got a good handle, and you already own the best BGE accessory- this forum!
It seems you already have a pretty good idea of what you want to do, you just need some fine tuning on how to do it. And the good folk here are plenty supportive.

Learn to cut and paste recipes/ tips/ ideas into folders on your computer, so when you see something that looks good, you can refer to it later.

The Egg is really easy to learn to cook on. It sounds like you are an experience cook and griller, so this will come natural. You will be glad you bought an Egg.
Good luck and post questions, comments and cooks.
Al

TNmike

If you wanna just grill the BGE is great for that, but!! It's so much more- and soon you will be trying other things. As far as thermo-meters, had one before the Egg and for consistant results on the Egg, grill, smoker, or in the oven it is a must have. Once you get a 'good thermometer' you'll wonder why you didn't have one before. Mike

Grillmama

Thank you for the wonderful support! I had seen the naked whiz website, but I guess I just wasn't using it correctly. I started using the search engine and got better results.

I hadn't thought about saving recipies on my computer.

One last question.

If any of you live in hurricane country, what do you do with your eggs during a hurricane? I am not sure my husband and I would be able to roll the small table with the large egg on it across the grass to the garage. Too much weight over thick grass. If I were to push it up against the patio wall would it be safe?

Thanks again!

Jupiter Jim

Hi Grillmama,
First let me say that I love my Large Egg and I would not want to go back to the old Weber gasser that I had for ten years.
The egg is to me more work, you will have to get rid of the ashes from time to time and you will get dirty from the lump and ashes. For me it is worth it and I enjoy all of it. I have used wood chips and chunks and just don't like the flavor it gives the meat and for me and the wife the lump is all the smoke we need.
As for an indirect cook any time you have a barrier between the food and the fire it is an indirect cook and the drip pan is to catch all the drippings that would drip into the fire and make some nasty smoke that will give the meat a not so good taste.
This forum is a wealth of information and all of the people who post are great caring folks who really like to help others. I spend as much time reading post as I do cooking on my egg.
You really need to go to an Eggfest, It is by far the best way to learn about the Egg and meet some of the best teachers and great Egg people.
The large is a good choice for your first egg. I started with a large and one year later got a medium for our NC home and hope to get a small at next years Florida Eggfest.
Hope this information helps you with your decision.
Jupiter Jim

Firestarter21

This is nothing I live by and you can google many more like it, by just searching safe meat temps or something of the sort, but this is the one I use.


Like the others said, welcome to the community and we look forward to seeing more post from you in the near future. As for drip pan, it sits directly on a plate setter that is inverted, or legs up, most common method for long and slow cooks. The plate setter will sit on your fire ring, not directly on the coals, you will see when it is all there in front of you. As for the hurricane protection. I live in Atlanta, Ga so I don't have much room to speak, but you may consider moving the egg inside. This is a link, which I plan to purchase eventually, the Potlifter off the following website looks like it will help a ton when moving the egg.
http://www.farmwholesale.com/tools.php3

You may look into one of these especially if you will be moving it more than once a year. It is heavy, but my girlfriend (5'3" medium build) and I can move it from point A to point B together, without the aid of the potlifter, which is on my wish list.
Congratulations to you and your husband on the new journey you are about to embark upon.

Semolina Pilchard

For big chunks of meat you will want a leave in thermometer. I suggest one that is wireless so you can monitor the temps while in the house. Route the wire on the way out of the egg over a leg of the plate setter to protect it from direct heat. You may want to also spring for a thermapen, the only true instant read thermometer.
A plate setter is a must. When you use a drip pan set it on the plate setter and put some spacers underneath the pan to keep the drippings from burning and stinking up the cook. Small balls of foil work great. I like to wrap my plate setter with foil to keep it from getting all nasty.
You asked about rolling the small table across grass. Do you mean the metal stand called a nest, or a wooden table. If you mean the nest, I highly doubt it will roll across grass, plus, with a nest NEVER push it, ALWAYS pull it. If you are pushing it and it goes to flip over you would have to be The Hulk to stop it. Many have been there, done that. If you mean a wooden table, most wheels on those would have a hard time rolling on grass. Some tables have bigger wheels that have air in the tires, those roll better in grass. The Naked Whiz has tons of pics of Egger's tables on his site, along with an unbelievable amount of all things Egg.
As for temp charts, I have seen a few online. If you are planning a cook and still have not found the correct temp, just ask on here. I learned on here to cook a brisket to 195, sounded nuts to me, but they are very tender that way. If the manual still says to use 2 handfuls of lump, use the manual for kindling. I assume you know not to use lighter fluid in a ceramic cooker. You can use an electric starter, starter cubes, charcoal chimneys, Stike's olive oil on a napkin, all work well, but the master is a Mapp torch. Some say the master is a weed burner, but that is just too Tim Taylor from Tool Time to me. :woohoo:
Don't be afraid to ask questions, and welcome to the cult.

BENTE

he is 96 out of 100 times right

Stanley

I think it's closer to 97.

Mainegg

should you guys really be telling him that???????? :cheer:

Chef Charles

You have certainly received lots of good advice from all of the previous posts. I have had my large BGE for the last three months and I am totally satisfied.

I want to personally echo Stike's advice on the Pampered Chef pizza stone. I naively thought that our Pampered Chef stone would work just fine. However, it only lasted two cooks! We replaced it with the BGE pizza stone and have not looked back. In fact, the BGE stone cost less than the original pampered chef one!

Grillmama

Thank you to everyone for your advice and help. In the mean time I will be watching and reading until my big day comes, the purchase of the LBGE.