Big Green Egg Dreams Really Do Come True!

My friends told me to get a Big Green Egg. I didn't.

I used the Sears grill to do ribs, burgers, butts, and more. It was fun and everyone raved about my bbq.

A good friend told me she found a Weber Smokey Mountain and I could have it for free! It turned out to be a Brinkmann charcoal smoker that didn't seal correctly. I put new furnace rope around the lid, drilled more and bigger air holes, added a second thermometer in the side, and bought a Maverick remote thermometer. 

My bbq was getting better and my friends told me to get a Big Green Egg. I didn't.

Then I decided on a serious upgrade- a new Weber kettle with an upgraded cast iron grate. It would solve all my problems and make me a bbq superstar. After all, it was almost as big as the Smokey Mountain. When I would complain about temperature control, the fire going out, getting too hot, not being direct or indirect enough, getting cold, etc., I heard it again. I tried just using the Weber for some things and the Brinkmann for others. Reverse sear using two separate units! I'm brilliant!  And... I heard it again:

My friends telling me to buy a Big Green Egg.  I didn't.

The night before Halloween 2014 I put two big butt roasts on the Brinkmann and set all my vents just right. I checked everything and set the remote temp alarm. When the temp alarm went off at 1AM I just shut it off, knowing the temp was creeping a bit but it wouldn't go out.. it had never let me down... and I dreamed of pulled pork. In the morning, I rolled out around 8AM to find the fire had gone out. The meat was at an internal temp of 100. It was just warm enough to be dangerous. I called a buddy who owns a bbq restaurant and he said that doesn't sound good good... just before he hung up, he said "just don't die from eating that meat." So... I threw it all away and my wife made lasagne for all of the families with kids who were planning to come and trick-or-treat and have bbq. They were not happy when they learned that the bbq was cancelled. Seriously, they were ready to eat pork and there was none.

Again, my friends told me to buy a Big Green Egg. I told my wife Christmas was coming. She agreed. The stars aligned... and on Christmas morning there was a little miniature green egg under the tree with my name on it. My ship was coming in... yet we were out of town for Christmas and there has been a lot of work and traveling to do and I have had to be patient. 

Finally, today I made my way to the store and loaded the BGE into my truck, with my 11 year old son by my side. We talked about pork, burgers, pizza, brisket and everything else under the sun all the way home. We stopped and picked up a flank steak to make fajitas for the first cook. We spent two hours carefully assembling our new egg and the store owner even called to ask how it was going. He told me as I was cranking down the bands that this was probably the only thing I ever buy that will last my entire lifetime. He told me to light the fire and let it go for an hour or two to season a bit before putting the meat on. 

So, an hour ago we loaded some BGE lump into our new large BGE and I let my son ceremoniously light the first fire. While it stayed cozy at 350 surrounded by snow, I thought I would write a little story, so here it is. 

It's time to go cook some fajitas. My Once Upon A Time is now turning into a Happily Ever After. 

I can hardly wait for Fedex to get here with my adjustable rig R&B, extender and third hand tool!