Cooking Good Food

wbradking · January 2014

All,

I think I'm not alone in that before I got my Egg, I lurked around on this forum for a while it get the "flavor" of what was to come (pun intended

). One thing that struck me about most of the posts was the amount of time and energy that people would spend on creating great flavor profiles. Rubs, sauces, brines, smoking wood, cooking levels, direct, indirect, etc.... all seemed to be debated and discussed to come up with the ultimate cooking method for any type of food to be prepared. For example, when I first started lurking in the forum the T-Rex method seemed to be the preferred method for handling a nice steak. Lately, however, the pendulum has swung to the reverse sear. Going along with this banter was the underlying notion that it was the Egg that made everything taste soooo good.

Having said all of that, I've always wondered if it wasn't necessarily the Egg that made the food taste so good, but the preparation in general that should be credited. Having said that, in the last six months that I've had my Egg, I have at least two meals in which the guests have said that it was the best food that they've had (pulled pork and turkey breast). I've done each before but never spent the amount of effort towards the preparation. Before the Egg, for instance, I hadn't brined anything. I've done pulled pork on my Weber Kettle, but not to the extent that I would did on my Egg.

So I guess my questions are: Do you find yourself preparing more flavorful meals because you have the Egg or, when you are doing non-Egg meals, do you adhere to the same processes to create such great tasting food? Could it be that it isn't the Egg per se that makes everything taste good, that it might just be the preparation that creates the flavor. Or, maybe, I'm missing the point in that it is the Egg, because it is such a flexible cooking device, is the only thing that can handle rosting, searing, baking and smoking all at the same time? Any thoughts?

terry_b · January 2014

Yeah, I agree with you. I used to grill a lot of food on both a Gasser and a regular Charcoal Weber. I had never heard about the reverse sear or the T-Rex method until I started reading through this forum and reading up more in general on the subject. I even find myself watching the Cooking channel with my wife nowadays. The egg has definitely contributed towards my general education towards cooking.

I find the egg is like taking a leap from a point and shoot camera in auto mode to a DSLR camera. The DSLR has a learning curve but puts you in complete control and you can create supremely better images. To get there takes time and effort.

However I wonder how the average egg owner compares with an egg owner that frequents egg sites like this one? I have a friend that bought an egg and love it, however I was shocked that they didn't know what a plate-setter was.

Chris_Wang · January 2014

The egg gives you an advantage over weber grills and gassers. The fact that you can lock a temp in, open the egg, close it, and the temp lock back in within a matter of seconds is amazing. The ceramic is magic.

My buddy does some killer ribs on his weber. If we do the same recipe, my ribs cook more evenly, look better plated, and the meat is more tender all the way through. They may taste the same because we used the same ingredients, but my ribs get better reviews from our co-workers.

jhl192 · January 2014

I think the good results from my first EGGsperinces inspired me to learn more from this forum and try more things. For example, I can't even get my Weber down to 250 degrees with the top closed.

gdenby · January 2014

The Egg is a fine instrument. It enhances the results of minor effort, and allows greater effort to flourish.

gerhardk · January 2014

I think this is one case where the tool does make you a better cook. I remember my first meal cooked on the egg was ribs and they where the best I had ever made. Good results encourage you to learn more which results in even better results and once you set the bar at a certain level you need to work to meet expectations which seem to always increase.

There haven't been many failures in the last 3 years. Most memorable failure was an indirect cook of chicken legs where I forgot to put the platesetter in, the results where charcoal.

Gerhard

30yearegger · January 2014

I have an idea, why don't you buy a slab of ribs and prep, cut in half cook one half in egg and the other half any other way before the egg and compare the two. This should give you a true and scientific answer.

JohnInCarolina · January 2014

I love threads like this. My folks moved down here a few years ago to be closer to their granddaughters. My father is 70 and very skilled with a grill - he is one of those people who routinely gets tapped to do all the cooking at various cookouts and barbecues - you know how it goes. Whenever we'd have cookouts at our place for my students, invariably I'd let him take over (happily I might add). The Egg has basically turned that upside down. I think my proudest accomplishment with the Egg so far has been to cook him a steak that he is still talking about months later.

Cymbaline65 · January 2014

My take is that most folks here are into cooking in general. Those that are into it will take the time and effort (and expense!) to go the extra mile and I think that shows in the final product. The Egg is just another tool in the arsenal that is extremely flexible - I would almost call it a "Swiss Army Knife."

Foghorn · January 2014

Chris_Wang said:

The egg gives you an advantage over weber grills and gassers. The fact that you can lock a temp in, open the egg, close it, and the temp lock back in within a matter of seconds is amazing. The ceramic is magic. My buddy does some killer ribs on his weber. If we do the same recipe, my ribs cook more evenly, look better plated, and the meat is more tender all the way through. They may taste the same because we used the same ingredients, but my ribs get better reviews from our co-workers.

This is the key. The original post is spot-on though. Because of my time cooking on the egg and hanging around eggers I put more effort into it no matter where I am cooking. Over the holidays, I did 3 great meals at my parents house on a Weber kettle and a wheelbarrow - and another one at my mother-in-law's 2 days ago on her Weber kettle. The meals would have been much easier and probably a little better on an egg, but I worked with what I had using my cumulative cooking experience and knowledge built up over the years. 80 - 90% of that knowledge came from this forum.

Cymbaline65 · January 2014

Agreed, Foghorn. I've been able to pull off some crazy meals with other people's hardware. The Weber kettle being the most common device. That's OK as I have a Kettle too. I've been spoiled using my Weber Genesis gasser so when I'm relegated to using someone's two burner Charbroil P.O.S with massive hot and cold spots, things don't always come out too well.

Skiddymarker · January 2014

True enough that the perfect piece of meat treated with extraordinary ingredients, just the right marinades and sauces will often come off excellent wether cooked on any reasonable grill from a table top Lodge to a Komodo Kamado.

The real issue with a kamado like the egg is that a simple grill or roast is better. Better than any other style of grill and even better than the $2000 oven in the house. Once you attain good food and master simple, it is only a matter of time before the cooks become more complex and the food even better. Good tools simply make and inspire better cooks.

msocko3 · January 2014

I've always been particular about what I cook whether in the house or outdoors, I have a bit of culinary training from a local vocational school and times wished I would have pursued it farther. I'm new to the egg world and anticipate raising my game with the egg. I like its ability to hold a temp and its flexibility. I still use my Broilmaster gasser when I'm feeling lazy, don't know when I'll use my 2 other smokers now I have the egg.

wbradking · January 2014

Thanks for the feedback. Just to be clear: I am extremely happy with my Egg and am glad that I got it. I think the references to a fine instrument and a DSLR are pretty accurate. Also, the importance of this forum is not to be overlooked!

Little Steven · January 2014

Apples to apples the egg is a better cooker than most. You can go out and spend 50 grand on a tech-oven and get great results. IMHO you cook a chicken on an egg with salt and pepper and it's going to be better than an identical bird done on a gasser, weber or kitchen oven. Once you do that I think there is a natural drive to do better. That's when the prep work, flavourings and sauces start.

Cooking Good Food

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In the Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GA
Med BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating

In the Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GA
Med BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating

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Cooking Good Food

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In the Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GAMed BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating

In the Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GAMed BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating

Categories

In the Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GA
Med BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating

In the Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GA
Med BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating