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An Assortment of Recent Cooks (Pic Heavy)

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Comments

  • SPRIGS
    SPRIGS Posts: 482
    Simply outstanding!  I seriously need to get paella pan and start learning how to do that!
    XL BGE
  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    Outside of the brisket (maybe it's the pic), everything looks awesome!  I'm with @NDG the steak and taters look off the chain.  Nice plating across the board.
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • GATABITES
    GATABITES Posts: 1,260
    Outstanding Craig! 
    XL BGE 
    Joe JR 
    Baltimore, MD
  • SciAggie
    SciAggie Posts: 6,481
    Wonderful presentation for all the cooks. My first paella was inspired by one of your earlier cooks. My family loves it now - especially the socarrat. 
    Coleman, Texas
    Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
    "Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
                                                                                                                          YukonRon
  • stv8r
    stv8r Posts: 1,127
    That tuna looks amazing!  The rest as well too, but now you've got me researching butcher paper lol!
  • NDG said:
    JUST BEAUTIFUL !!  :o  that steak w/ mashed taters & gravy is talking to me.  @Big_Green_Craig can you explain to me how you reverse sear AND make pan gravy?  I assume you sear in C.I. skillet on the egg, but use any fat or go dry?   
    Thanks! The reverse sear is exactly that. A restaurant will sear a steak and then throw it into an oven to finish. The result is the very center of the steal is perfectly cook, but gets overcooked towards the outside. The reverse sear has the roasting phase at the beginning and the sear at the end. Phase 1 is the Roast. Phase 2 is the Sear.
    Set up you Egg for indirect cooking and preheat to 250. Then, remove the plate setter, open all vents and let it climb to 600 for the sear. Monitor the internal temp using a wired thermometer. The key is to subtract cooking degrees/time from the final internal temp. Example: I like my steak on the south side of Med Rare. I know that Med Rare is 130-135F IT. I know that the steak will continue to cook during the rest for an average of 5 degrees. I know the sear will also cook the steak approx 8-10 degrees. I pull my steaks off during the roast phase at an internal of 115-117 (thicker steaks will be the higher temp). By the time I sear it and let it rest, the steak has risen to an internal temp of 130-132.

    Here's a video that buddy Jason did on the method:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF0VUUGp6Kk

    So the pan sauce:
    I've started searing my steaks in a cast iron skillet. The crust is remarkable. Anyways, after I've seared the steak and remove it to rest, the pan has a ton of drippings from the steak. I add a little oil and saute some mushrooms. Once done, I melt in 2 pats of butter and whisk in 2 tbs of flour. (your basic roux) Once the flour is cooked to a nice golden brown, I start adding cold milk slowly. (There is no measurement here, it's more about what texture you prefer) Continue whisking until your desired thickness or texture. (don't forget to season it)

    Good luck and I hope you have great results! 
  • cazzy said:
    Outside of the brisket (maybe it's the pic), everything looks awesome!  I'm with @NDG the steak and taters look off the chain.  Nice plating across the board.
    Yeah, it finished at 7am and we weren't scheduled to eat until 2. It sat in the Cambro way longer than expected, but I know it was meat jello when I pulled it. I don't cook briskets often, so either way I was happy with the results. 
  • That brisket looks amazing. What's the process for lighting the wood and lump? How do get to your desire temp? 
  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    edited September 2015
    cazzy said:
    Outside of the brisket (maybe it's the pic), everything looks awesome!  I'm with @NDG the steak and taters look off the chain.  Nice plating across the board.
    Yeah, it finished at 7am and we weren't scheduled to eat until 2. It sat in the Cambro way longer than expected, but I know it was meat jello when I pulled it. I don't cook briskets often, so either way I was happy with the results. 
    Did you put it in your Cambro straight from the egg and was it preheated?  I ask because that could have been your problem, as it looks like you had a carryover issue if it was meat jello.  I always let it sit on a cooling rack or a sheet pan with ventilation under the pan for about 30 minutes.  That really helps with carryover.  

    Does your oven have a warm feature?  Mine can be set to warm from 145-170.  Even though I have a Cambro, I've had exceptional results holding in my oven. 

    Oh yeah...I love brisket, especially chopped.  If my flat thins out towards the end, I always make some chop.  That pleases everyone in my house, especially the wife.
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
  • Super fan here outstanding as always 
    Tallmadge Ohio, XL and S eggs 
  • Great looking cooks. I feel so inadequate after seeing cooks like this. 

    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
  • bo31210
    bo31210 Posts: 715
    Looks good
    @Big_Green_Craig
    In the middle of Georgia!    Geaux Tigers!!!!!
  • JRWhitee
    JRWhitee Posts: 5,678
    Nice job Craig, when is the house warming party?
                                                                
    _________________________________________________
    Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!
    Large BGE 2006, Mini Max 2014, 36" Blackstone, Anova Sous Vide
    Green Man Group 
    Johns Creek, Georgia
  • Big_Green_Craig
    Big_Green_Craig Posts: 1,578
    edited September 2015
    @cazzy I did let it sit out for about 20 minutes before resting. Most of this is going in chili anyways. It will work out fine. 

  • JRWhitee said:
    Nice job Craig, when is the house warming party?
    Soon! I've got a crew coming in the next week or so to start the outdoor kitchen. I'll have a football party when It's done. 

  • Great looking cooks. I feel so inadequate after seeing cooks like this. 
    Nah, you shouldn't. Egg on. 

  • Great looking cooks. I feel so inadequate after seeing cooks like this. 
    Nah, you shouldn't. Egg on. 
    I am a novice egger, and I don't try a lot of new things. Hopefully that will change. I love seeing your cooks!

    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • bob.bud
    bob.bud Posts: 297
    Impressive! They all look fantastic, but I have to say that tuna presentation is awesome. It looks like something you would find it some fancy joint where the wait staff won't let a bread crumb sit on the linen.
    Bloomfield Hills, MI | LGBE : AR R & B Oval Combo w/Extender and Sliding D Grid : Kick Ash Basket : Smokeware Cap : Smobot Beta
  • NDG
    NDG Posts: 2,431
    NDG said:
    JUST BEAUTIFUL !!  :o  that steak w/ mashed taters & gravy is talking to me.  @Big_Green_Craig can you explain to me how you reverse sear AND make pan gravy?  I assume you sear in C.I. skillet on the egg, but use any fat or go dry?   
    Thanks! The reverse sear is exactly that. A restaurant will sear a steak and then throw it into an oven to finish. The result is the very center of the steal is perfectly cook, but gets overcooked towards the outside. The reverse sear has the roasting phase at the beginning and the sear at the end. Phase 1 is the Roast. Phase 2 is the Sear.
    Set up you Egg for indirect cooking and preheat to 250. Then, remove the plate setter, open all vents and let it climb to 600 for the sear. Monitor the internal temp using a wired thermometer. The key is to subtract cooking degrees/time from the final internal temp. Example: I like my steak on the south side of Med Rare. I know that Med Rare is 130-135F IT. I know that the steak will continue to cook during the rest for an average of 5 degrees. I know the sear will also cook the steak approx 8-10 degrees. I pull my steaks off during the roast phase at an internal of 115-117 (thicker steaks will be the higher temp). By the time I sear it and let it rest, the steak has risen to an internal temp of 130-132.

    Here's a video that buddy Jason did on the method:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF0VUUGp6Kk

    So the pan sauce:
    I've started searing my steaks in a cast iron skillet. The crust is remarkable. Anyways, after I've seared the steak and remove it to rest, the pan has a ton of drippings from the steak. I add a little oil and saute some mushrooms. Once done, I melt in 2 pats of butter and whisk in 2 tbs of flour. (your basic roux) Once the flour is cooked to a nice golden brown, I start adding cold milk slowly. (There is no measurement here, it's more about what texture you prefer) Continue whisking until your desired thickness or texture. (don't forget to season it)

    Good luck and I hope you have great results! 
    Craig, thanks so much for the detailed response.  I cant wait to try that pan sauce.  Born and raised in Ohio . . . I am clueless on gravy.   

    Quick Tip:  do you have a grid extender of some sort?  Assuming you do . . . try skipping the annoying plate setter for the Roast . . instead, for the ROAST just place your Cast Iron Skillet on the factory level grate, then your steak on the grid extender above.  BINGO now you have indirect cooking perfect for reverse sear, plus your skillet gets a nice preheat (for the later sear) during the roast. 
    Columbus, OH

    “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as if everything is” 
  • Quick Tip:  do you have a grid extender of some sort?  Assuming you do . . . try skipping the annoying plate setter for the Roast . . instead, for the ROAST just place your Cast Iron Skillet on the factory level grate, then your steak on the grid extender above.  BINGO now you have indirect cooking perfect for reverse sear, plus your skillet gets a nice preheat (for the later sear) during the roast. 
    Thanks for the tip, I like that method. 

    I typically use 2 Eggs for this technique, 1 at roasting temp and the other at searing temp. 

    However, not everyone has multiple Eggs, nor a grid extender so the plate setter method is the route some will have to take. 
  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
    @Big_Green_CraigGreat looking grub man. Awesome pics. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

  • ChuckR
    ChuckR Posts: 248
    Craig since your wife and girls eat like birds just let me know when you need me to come over and help out by eating plenty of that good looking food.
    Suwanee, GA
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    ChuckR said:
    Craig since your wife and girls eat like birds just let me know when you need me to come over and help out by eating plenty of that good looking food.
    Good luck CRAIG is a fat ass. He has his own titty jiggling GIF.
  • SkinnyV
    SkinnyV Posts: 3,404
    Lit said:
    ChuckR said:
    Craig since your wife and girls eat like birds just let me know when you need me to come over and help out by eating plenty of that good looking food.
    Good luck CRAIG is a fat ass. He has his own titty jiggling GIF.

    Interwebs can't get one this riled up can they? It goes on and on.....
    Seattle, WA
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    SkinnyV said:
    Lit said:
    ChuckR said:
    Craig since your wife and girls eat like birds just let me know when you need me to come over and help out by eating plenty of that good looking food.
    Good luck CRAIG is a fat ass. He has his own titty jiggling GIF.

    Interwebs can't get one this riled up can they? It goes on and on.....
    I am super riled up. Just mad I never won Eggtoberfest. 
  • Hawg Fan
    Hawg Fan Posts: 1,517
    All I can say is WOW!
    Ditto.  Certainly some outstanding food.  I'm sure it was fantastic!

    Any road will take you there if you don't know where you're going.

    Terry

    Rockwall, TX
  • logchief
    logchief Posts: 1,415
    Beautiful food and presentation
    LBGE - I like the hot stuff.  The big dry San Joaquin Valley, Clovis, CA