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Storing the Egg for a while

2

Comments

  • newegg13
    newegg13 Posts: 231
    Does anyone else feel like this is an intervention?

    In all seriousness, it's great we are all so passionate about egging that we try to save someone from quitting.  Keep fighting the good fight!
    Amateur Egger; professional rodeo clown. Birmingham, AL
  • COegger
    COegger Posts: 58
    A bit like an intervention for the egg, too - and the Forum needs an occasional healthy thread. 
  • lakewade
    lakewade Posts: 385
    I do not have time for a BGE cook between lighting it and waiting an hour for it to come up to temp and an actual cook 

    If this is a real reason for kicking the Egg to the curb, it is invalid.  You can get the Egg up to whatever temp you want by simply using a fan, a box fan or whatever, pointed into the lower draft door (adjustable intake door).  I do this all the time when I am in a hurry.  You can get it from the initial light of the lump - I use sawdust/paraffin - to steak searing 500-600 degrees in about 10 minutes.  It makes it easy and it works.

    -----------
    I feel a whole lot more like I do now than I did when I got here.
  • COegger
    COegger Posts: 58
    wow - I've been know to occasionally (not recommended) blow into the intake door to speed things up.  This sounds like a better idea!
  • BGE4Life
    BGE4Life Posts: 34
    Don't quit using the egg....  IT is the one thing that can make you healthier.  Cook at home don't eat fast food ever.  Check out the book Wheat Belly by the cardiologist William Davis from Milwaukee Wisconsin.  If you follow his advise I suspect your triglycerides and good and bad cholesterol levels will be mostly normal within 8 weeks.  I have had great success and have many friends and family with great success as well.  No failure from anyone I know that has read and followed Dr. Davis' advise.  Check out http://www.wheatbellyblog.com and just read some of the comments and posts there.  I have lost 35 lbs since January without being hungry without excess exercise and my blood sugar, blood pressure and blood tests are all normal.
  • Baysidebob
    Baysidebob Posts: 489
     

    lakewade

    Whoa!  Another level.  So post some pics of the setup including sawdust,  never heard of sawdust to start.  Someone out there will market a BGE bellows and I'll buy it.  I'm serious.  My wife has all sorts of fans for hot flashes.  I'm gonna give this one a try.


    My actuary says I'm dead.
  • double
    double Posts: 1,214
    I use my fireplace bellows to blow in some air.
    Lynnwood WA
  • gte1
    gte1 Posts: 379
    edited August 2012
    Dr said to cut out red meat and basically anything with fat. Cholesterol/triglycerides are too high. The pasta/ carbs issue would help the weight. Only using the egg maybe once a week on a weekend is one reason I want to just put it away or get rid of it. Not enought time to cook on it. During the week I get home too late.

    Sounds to me like you need a new Dr. :))
    George
  • lakewade
    lakewade Posts: 385
     never heard of sawdust to start. 
    Simply sawdust / wood shavings dipped in a little food-grade paraffin wax.  They work great.  No smell or taste added and they fire up the Egg every time.  Add a fan to the starting process and it is almost like cheating.

    -----------
    I feel a whole lot more like I do now than I did when I got here.
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    did the doctor check your thyroid, that causes high cholesterol/triglycerides if its not working correctly. we had a bicycling healthnut working here with the worst blood work ive ever seen or heard about given a low fat diet sheet that had more redmeat and fat listed than he was eating at the time. told him to go have his thyroid checked, now he has to eat more meat than before and take pills for the thyroid. doctors assume its diet all the time
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    Still learning i guess as well.

    If I do not burn off the lump for an hour the food tastes bad like bad smoke.  Ruined meatloaf and a chicken this way by putting it on too soon.  I thought about using a fan or something but that will heat the Egg up and I will still have to wait for the "Bad Smoke" to burn off. 

    Unless I am cooking a pizza or a steak (If I try to get the temps that high (Scared) the 300-350 range tamps take forever to get there and forget about staying there.  I do not know how to get this Egg to remain STABLE.  275-350-400.  Then come back an our later and its a 100 degrees off in either direction.  I let it ride without touching the Egg and I can see the temps move all over the place. 

    Maybe I just have not had a good meal on the Egg yet to justify it.  Yes I am a perfectionist that never sees it.

    I doubt triglycerides will drop from 400 to normal in 8 weeks and cholesterol from 250 to 100 in 8 weeks not mater what I do.  I can't take the meds (allergic).  Surprisingly my sugars are low and that does make sense as the family has a BAD history of diabetes.

    I have the Weber Genesis that is all messed up as well.  Cant get hot or fire goes out.  I called Weber and they replaced the regulator/hose already but dont know what else.  Another aggravating item.

    Its a mess I tell ya,


    As for lean meat - What are recommendations that I can find in a grocery store?  I went looking the other day and nothing caught my eye.  I guess I need to find a way to cook and make a meal plan that I will eat and not get aggravated.

    _______________________________________________________________
    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    i would still make sure the doctor checked your thyroid, the guy here had cholesterol over 300 and trig over 2000 and he was a thin tofu and chicken eater riding his bycle 50 to a hundred miles a day. with the egg, for those shorter cooks, it lights fast with less lump and with a weedburner, it shouldnt take an hour for most short cooks to burn clean, 15 maybe 20 minutes unless you have moisture in there from humid rainy days
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • lakewade
    lakewade Posts: 385
    Sell it!
    Agreed!  It takes a certain sensibility to be an Egghead.  Some just don't have it.

    -----------
    I feel a whole lot more like I do now than I did when I got here.
  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    I am overweight so I have no doubt that is the cause of the cholesterol/tri's.

    How do you guys store leftovers so they are not dried out cardboard?

    For example - We cooked flank steaks a few weeks ago.  They were juicy when we tok them off.  The dinner was OK.  Lots of leftovers.  The next day when we wanted to use the leftovers the steaks (uncut) were dry as can be.  We added them to whole wheat wraps but I had to add lots of sour cream, salsa jalepeno peppers(juice) to make them edible but the steak was hard and chewy.

    I still dont get the burn off fast and getting the egg to stabilize at all.

    _______________________________________________________________
    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY
  • hopkinsusmc87
    hopkinsusmc87 Posts: 250
    edited August 2012

    Sell it!

    This is why I say sell it!  The reason I say this is, because it seems you have too many cons than pros! for using the EGG. The egg was never intended to burden someone's life.  It was designed for the enjoyment of cooking.  If cooking on the egg has become a task or chore I say sell it to someone who can enjoy it!  You are picky about what you do and do not like, and that has limited you. Can the egg provide you with great low fat foods? Heck yea! but it seems like you do not have, or are unwilling to find the time to use it. You got to find time to slow down and enjoy what free time you do have. Rather it be cooking on the egg or spending some quality time with the family. I am a retired US Marine and trust me after doing two deployments in Iraq I was happy to retire, and I enjoy every free minute I have either cooking or hanging with the wife. Life is too short to be unhappy or stressed out all the time. The egg is a stress reliever for me as it helped me to slow down and enjoy the cook.  So I say find something you enjoy cooking and eating or sell the egg. Either way I wish you the best of luck and hope you find some time to slow down and enjoy the weekend.

  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    Thanks hopkins - I am searching for HOW to use the damn thing then.  Fail after fail is frustrating.

    I just do not know any better.  I did enjoy it when i first got it.  Ended up buying a adjustable rig and still would liek to use it.  I still have a drive for it (Why I am here).  I just have not had that AH HA I know how to use it now moment.  I have been obsessing on how to use it and what to cook.  Then add the health issues and I get frustrated.

    I wish I lived closer to work so I could use it more during the week.

    On the weekend I would love to do a long cook but I have to babysit the egg all day as the temps are all over the place. 

    Do I just light the lump - wait 20 minutes and throw a steak/fish on the fire for 15 minutes then pull it off and eat it?   I do need to slow down but where can I learn to cook on this the right way and get the right meats.  I walk into the grocery store and see meat in the meat section.  I have no idea if it is good or bad for me.


    _______________________________________________________________
    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665
    heres some visual vent settings for temps, its not how i set it up but everyone just seems to adapt to their own method with some time with the egg.

    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/696662/visual-guide-to-vent-settings/p1

    thyroid problems can increase weight, increase cholesterol, increase your trigs. its a simple blood test that can be done with your next blood work visit, but you dont have to ask your doctor if you dont want to
    :Dits the same with the egg, somepeople arent meant to have an egg even if we push it on them
    :D
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • AleBrewer
    AleBrewer Posts: 555
    edited August 2012
    Ok...since you are willing to keep trying.....take it slow. The Egg does make great food.....but it aint a magic cooker! Did you do much cooking before you got the Egg? I do most of the cooking in our house....has been that way for years, and I prefer it that way.
    If you don't have good, basic cooking skills.....then start there. But don't start them while trying to learn the Egg too.

    You can't put an exact time on when the Egg is gonna be ready to cook on. It's not a time thing.....most of cooking is not a time thing, but so many people get hung up "how long should this take?" I always tell them..."till it's done"

    Getting the egg ready for a quick weeknight cook is pretty easy, start with a smaller amount of lump....if you're grilling a few things, you don't need to fill it all the way up.
    Get your lump lit, and start to prep your food.  I keep my bottom vent wide open whin lighting the Egg, and no Daisy Wheel on top. Let it warm up for awhile, when the temp starts to raise up, I'll close the vent, and put on the Daisy Wheel and adjust both to where I think they should be for my desired temp. Again....it will take some experimenting to get to know those settings.

    When you no longer smell that funky smoke coming out of the top....you can put your food on, if you're at the desired temp. If the smoke smells good...it's ok to cook on. It shouldn't even be close to an hour before you cook on it.

    As for losing weight....I can tell you that cutting out most carbs has really helped me out. I don't eat pasta, bread, potatoes, sugar(except for small amounts in rubs), etc....
    I get my carbs from Veggies....which I do love! We have a whole garden full of lettuce and veggies.  I don't worry a whole lot about eating lean meats right now.

    The hard part for me was giving up the 2-3 beers every night!

    I wish you luck......start taking baby steps....you will get there.
  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    This stems from more than the Egg.  My wife makes the dinners now as she is home during the week. I have been battling this health stuff for years and its getting worse.  I get mixed messages about what I can and can not eat.  Some say red meat is no good and other say its good.  Some say eat what ever as long as its the size of your fist.  Some say no fat, some say no carbs.  very confusing. 

    Next DR appointment is in about 2 months as that is the next available appointment.

    I have tried that visual guide and its gotten me closer but it wont stay stable.  Others here have worked with me to explain this but for a 250/275 dome I have to get the bottom door open about 1/4 inch or more and the DW open a 1/4 inch.  The temp will stay at 275 through the burn off and the start of the cook for a little while but I will come back in 45 minutes and it will be at 400.  I will close the vents a little and come back 45 minutes later to the temp below 200.  No wonder the meat does not come out good.

    My daughter loves the spatchcock chicken on the Egg - I will eat it but not fond of chicken period.

    I am in search of a healthy good cook on the Egg that is not Chicken of fish or just vegetables that is easy to cook and not low and slow as I have given up on that for now?  If I did a low and slow on a Sunday what is healthy?  Pork butt is loaded with fat, ribs are loaded with fat.

    Someone want to come over and show me how to use this thing?  I will buy the food and beer.

    _______________________________________________________________
    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY
  • robnybbq when you set the egg up did you do the dollar bill test (Tug test) around the dome to ensure it was adjusted evenly all the way around? If your dome is not adjusted correctly it will allow more air in increasing your grill temps.  Also is your gasket good or is it all burned up? That is not a big deal but if the dome is not fully flush to the egg it will leak.  You stated "The temp will stay at 275 through the burn off and the start of the cook for a little while but I will come back in 45 minutes and it will be at 400" It sounds like you have an air leak?
  • AleBrewer
    AleBrewer Posts: 555
    edited August 2012
    I hear you about confusing diets! Some people can eat just about anything and stay fit and healthy.

    I tried eating low fat and counting calories.....didn't work for me.

    I found that sugar really affects me....so I cut it out as much as possible. You need to find what will work for you.

    Most low and slow things will be fatty....that's what makes it possible to do it low and slow. I don't do pork butts, except to make a Porchetta. I find pulled pork boring. When I do ribs, my wife prefers baby backs cause they a bit less fatty than regular spares.

    As far as adjusting vents.....try just adjusting one. For a low and slow on my Egg, the bottom vent is about 1/4-3/8" open. If you overshoot you target temp, try just adjusting the top vent a bit. A small adjustment can make a big change over time. Once you adjust the vent, it will a bit of time to actually see the temp difference.
  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    I have done the dollar bill test.  The gasket is getting burned up and I have a replacement but avoiding that chore.

    I also have not been craving pulled pork but something better like a brisket.  Dont have the courage to try that until I can get the Egg to stabilize.

    I just do not know what else to try on it that will make it worth while for a quick cook. 

    _______________________________________________________________
    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY
  • AleBrewer
    AleBrewer Posts: 555

    I just do not know what else to try on it that will make it worth while for a quick cook. 
    Tuna, sea bass, scallops, salmon?

    How about Bison steaks.....which are pretty lean.
  • Mighty_Quinn
    Mighty_Quinn Posts: 1,878
    Are there any dealers doing demo cooks or an eggfest coming up near you??? Both are great ways to learn HOW to use the egg.
  • brianwdmn
    brianwdmn Posts: 371
    Are there any dealers doing demo cooks or an eggfest coming up near you??? Both are great ways to learn HOW to use the egg.

    +1 on the dealer or fest.
    Marietta, East Cobb, GA
  • gte1
    gte1 Posts: 379

    I just do not know what else to try on it that will make it worth while for a quick cook. 
    Tuna, sea bass, scallops, salmon?

    How about Bison steaks.....which are pretty lean.


    Chicken, Pork Loin Chops, Pork Tenderloin, any fish, beef filet.

    I have to strongly agree with the previous posts that the meat in your diet is most likley not the issue, but the sugar/carbs.  From personal experience, and that of friends and realitives, every time someone is on a low carb diet their cholesterol levels get way better.  If you are a diabetic the doctors will put you on a "diabetic" diet.  This diet consists of meats, veggies, high carbohydrate foods in very limited amounts, and basically no foods consisting of sugar only (candy, cakes etc..)  God forbid that you tell the same Dr. that you are on the Atkins diet which: consists of meats, veggies, high carbohydrate foods in very limited amounts, and basically no foods consisting of sugar only (candy, cakes etc..) 

     

    I too struggled with cooking on the egg at first, my wife actually said many times "why don't you just do these on the gas grill like before".  Once you get it, you will more that likely like it much better that the gas grill.  Take all the parts out and shop vac it clean if you are having trouble with temp control.  I do this probably monthly, it only takes about 5min.  Also if you are doing any cooks where you are at 350 or above forget about the DW you can control with the bottom only.  One less varriable and I think less smokey also.

    George

    George
  • Tons of how to's on You Tube as well. Type in Big Green Egg and take your pick. I wish you the best of luck and hope you find the enjoyment and time in cooking on the egg.  

  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,665

    I just do not know what else to try on it that will make it worth while for a quick cook. 
    Tuna, sea bass, scallops, salmon?

    How about Bison steaks.....which are pretty lean.


    Chicken, Pork Loin Chops, Pork Tenderloin, any fish, beef filet.

    I have to strongly agree with the previous posts that the meat in your diet is most likley not the issue, but the sugar/carbs.  From personal experience, and that of friends and realitives, every time someone is on a low carb diet their cholesterol levels get way better.  If you are a diabetic the doctors will put you on a "diabetic" diet.  This diet consists of meats, veggies, high carbohydrate foods in very limited amounts, and basically no foods consisting of sugar only (candy, cakes etc..)  God forbid that you tell the same Dr. that you are on the Atkins diet which: consists of meats, veggies, high carbohydrate foods in very limited amounts, and basically no foods consisting of sugar only (candy, cakes etc..) 

     

    I too struggled with cooking on the egg at first, my wife actually said many times "why don't you just do these on the gas grill like before".  Once you get it, you will more that likely like it much better that the gas grill.  Take all the parts out and shop vac it clean if you are having trouble with temp control.  I do this probably monthly, it only takes about 5min.  Also if you are doing any cooks where you are at 350 or above forget about the DW you can control with the bottom only.  One less varriable and I think less smokey also.

    George

    i think the nutritionists hate the atkins diet because it does exactly what they want it to do by going against the way they want you to do it
    :))
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    Thanks guys.

    No fests around me on the lists I have seen.  I want to go to a BBQ competition to see what the pros are doing.  Watching the Food Network and Pitmasters started me on this Egg path.

    _______________________________________________________________
    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY