Taking the plunge this weekend - Without a net!

Unknown · May 2007

So I talked my wife into buying a Large BGE this week. Had it ordered through BBQs Galore. What I didn't know is that there were TWO boxes I needed to pick up! So I have the shell, and all my eggcessories (ash tool, extended grate, BBQ tools, bag o' BGE lump, BGE starter cubes, etc.) But no daisy wheel, hinges, or grate. I'll have to pick the other parts box up on my way home today. As such, I haven't had an opportunity to "break-in" or practice with the egg at all. And the in-laws are some of their friends are coming this weekend!!! (In-laws come tonight. Their friends come tomorrow.)[p]I had intended on just doing some brats on Wednesday night when I brought the egg home. My wife doesn't eat meat, but doesn't mind when her veggie burgers and veggie brats (yes, such things exist) are cooked on the same grill. for the in-laws, I want something else. Maybe something a bit mroe elaborate, but still in the "beginner" realm. I'm not about to tackle a pork-butt my first time around.[p]What safe things should I try to cook this weekend? Keep in mind that I don't know squat about regulating the temp on this thing or much BBQ experience besides the propane-kissed burgers of my youth.

Rusty Rooster · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
Look over the recipiies linked to this forum and you will find more great ones than Carter has peanuts. Just pick something and go for it, your egg will reall help you. Do not be afraid of a butt. They are one of the easiest and most forgiving cuts you can try. Just plan on plenty of time, 12-14 hours is quite normal.

fishlessman · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
chicken or prime rib/ribroast. theres a big fear factor putting a prime rib in the egg the first time but its one of the easier cooks. you would need either a platesetter or a raised grill. steaks are always an option

tach18k · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
dont rush things, make sure the Egg is setup correctly, there is a learning curve, I would start with a chicken or just plain hamburgers, even hotdogs. Biggest mistake by new users is burning everything, or unsafe low temps. Better safe then sorry.

FlaMike · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
My first cook about 2 yrs ago was a beercan chicken, I believe. It came out great, was easy to do, and gave me a chance to get acquainted with the skills of starting, adjusting, and maintaining a steady temp. All of this is part of the learning curve. So, take your time, let the egg settle into a steady temp before adding the food, and get ready for the best meals ever. Congratulations, the ride has just begun.
Mike

BENTE · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
i'm with rusty pork butt is one of the most forgiving cooks i have had. with the crunch time you have look over wessb's site for info on what to cook. i don't know what you like to eat!! i have tried several things from his site and all have been eggcellent.
welcome to the "CULT" it is a tastey eggsperience[p]
happy eggin
tb

Unknown · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,[p]The one piece of advice I would give is to make sure you start the egg earlier than you think you need to and give yourself enough time to get a good fire going. I alot one hour to get my lump to a point where there is no smoke coming out the top. If you rush it - your food will have a smokey taste (which my wife HATES!)[p]Jake

BENTE · May 2007

BENTE,
also you need to read as much of this page as possible
happy eggin
tb
[ul][li]FAQ's from naked whiz[/ul]

gdenby · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,[p]You know burgers, start with burgers. Get some 70/30 grade burger, not the lean or extra lean. You have starter cubes. Break one in half, or use 2 on the left and right shoved into the lump. Open your bottom vent wide. Lite cubes, and leave top open while they're flaming. When the open flames subside, put on grate and extended grill. Close top, and put on the daisy wheel, holes open. Close the bottom vent to about an inch. The dome thermometer may read rather high from being exposed to the flames. It will drop as the remenant of the fire starter cubes' heat disapates. The dome may drop to 200, or even less. Give it awhile, maybe 10 or 15 minutes. With the vents set at those positions, the fire should top out at about 350. Let the fire continue burning till thicker white smoke is replaced by thin bluish smoke. Put on your burgers. Close lid, make sure the daisy is open just the way it was. In a few minutes, the temp will get back to where it was. The time it takes to a first flip depends on the thickness of the burger, and how cold the meat was when you piut it on. Check at about 15 minutes. If the bottoms getting nice and brown, time to flip. Flip again after another 15 minutes. Check temp. Hopefully, the thermometer will read about 160. When it does, drop on some cheese, wait a few minutes, and its dinner.[p]good luck[p]gdenby

Pdub · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
Make sure you let the lump burn till you don't see a thick white smoke. If not your food will taste bad. I did this the first time I fired up the egg, not so fun. Also you may want to try keeping a notebook of your cooks it helps to manage the learning cure. I say go with burgers there nice and easy. Or a Fatty there easy and pretty quick(hmmm)

BENTE · May 2007

BENTE,
ooops!!! forgot the link to wessb's cook's section
[ul][li]WessB's cooks section[/ul]

Bordello · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
Be careful, BBQ Galore often sells the daisy wheel seperate so it may not be in the 2nd box. Open it up an check that you have everything or you may be making another trip.[p]I had to buy the daisy wheel, thermometer, ash tool, grid lifter as extra items. That was about 7 years ago. It came with the dome,base,hinge, fire box,fire ring,lower grate, cooking grate and 3 feet for the egg to sit on.[p]Welcome and the best of luck to you,
Bordello

Essex County · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
You got some good advice on building a clean fire. Make sure you use enough lump. Fill it to the top of the fire ring. You won't use it all and can just relight it the next time. My first cook was a spatchcock chicken. Very easy and a good one to learn with. But I think burgers makes sense as well. The other thing that works well, especially with a vegetarian in the house, is roasted corn. I've also made veggie ABTs using tempeh or veggieburger in place of the sausage and skipping the bacon wrap.
Good luck!
Paul

Unknown · May 2007

Bordello,[p]Oh, I'm definitely getting them. It's part of a new package they've got. I think they just started carrying them all together, which is why the sales girl didn't know that there was a second box. She thought it was all in one. But she checked for me and it's waiting behind the counter with my name on it.[p]But I will open the box to see for my own eyes. ^_<!

Unknown · May 2007

FlaMike,[p]Hmmm. Beercan chicken is a thought. My mother gave me this strange stoneware chicken stand that she got from some thrift store. It's like a large bowl with a beercan sized "chimney" for lack of a better description. You're supposed to pour the beer into the chimney and sit the bird on top of it. Worth a shot for tonight.[p]Since my wife won't be eating any of the meats, I'm thinking teriyaki steak and shrimp for tomorrow.[p]http://bbq.yyyz.net/R_Teriyaki_steak.asp

stike · May 2007

Essex county,
fire ring? ...or fire BOX?[p]i once filled to the top of the fire ring for a lo and slo, and i was burning the leftover lump for weeks it seemed. hahha
woops[p]for most cooks, i'm filled to the top of the fire box (bottom of the fire ring).

Flashback Bob · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
If you have a chance, try to light a fire and practice with temps before you cook the first time. Keep it simple, this is completely different than cooking with gas. I have heard lots of different ways that temps can be controlled, so pick one that makes sense to you. I only use my daisy wheel for cooks under 300, otherwise I leave the top wide open.[p]The prevailing sentiment these days is to hold off on high temp cooks (650 and up) until you've had a few (half dozen or so) cooks in the egg. This helps the felt gasket get "broken in". What happened to me on day 5 is I fired up the egg and walked away, came back about a half-hour later and the temp gauge was on it's second time around the dial. I lifted the dome and the felt gasket had fused together in some places and tore off in others as I opened the lid.[p]That being said, my favorite and easiest cook is thick steaks (1.5" - 2") where you sear them (700) at 60 sec/side/inch of thickness, pull them off, shut down all the vents and in about 20 minutes when the temp is down to 400, open the vents to hold 400 and put the steaks back on to cook till done. [p]pork chops are good - cook indirect at 290-300, turn every 15 minutes, pull them off when internal reaches 140. Check the temp at 30 minutes and again before 45-they probably won't take longer than 45 min.[p]I improvised something the other night that came out great - boneless breast of chicken, sliced down the middle, inserted a slice of provalone, honey ham and genoa salami. put toothpicks through it to hold it together. Rubbed the outside with EVOO and DP Tsunami Spin. Cooked Direct at 400, flipping every 2 minutes. Was done in about 10 minutes. It was good, easy and tasted great!

Essex County · May 2007

stike,
My bad. Fill with lump to the top of the fire BOX. (Why do they call it a "box" when it has no square corners?)
Paul

BENTE · May 2007

Flashback Bob,
man that chicken sounds good i have been throwing the idea around lately and looking at wessb's chicken cord on blue (i live in the south not the south of france). how did it taste to the traditional "breaded" type of chicken cord on blue.[p]happy eggin
tb

YYZash · May 2007

Don’t forget appetizers. A must to impress are ABT’s they have never failed to impress my guests. They take a bit of prep time but not much grill time. Enjoy your new egg if your beginning experience is like mine the magic of the egg will boost the quality of whatever you choose to serve.

http://www.wessb.com/Cooks/abt/Abt.htm

The Virginian · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
Well, my first question is why the heck the BBQs Galore staff is not assembling the cooker for you. I just finished putting a new hinge on another ceramic smoker and its a royal pain in a rear. Unless they have little experience in assembling Eggs, I would make sure their staff did the assembly as long as they know what they are doing.
If that is not possible, take your time, be gentle, and you can get the hinge on yourself I am sure, though it may not end up aligned as well as would be ideal.
Also know that you need to wait to cook on the thing until the gaskets have had 24 hours to set, at least that is what it says on the instructions they give out, so don't wait on the assembly, I would get started today if BBQ Galore won't step up and assemble it. [p]Brett

Unknown · May 2007

The Virginian,[p]Well, I didn't want to wait for them to deliver. And it would have been a pain to transport assembled. I'm pretty sure I can handle it. I'm really anal about making sure things like up properly. [p]The gaskets are already on the halves, so it should be good.[p]BBQs Galore have been nothing but great this whole time. Theit store is in the same outdoor mall area (The Avenue in White Marsh, MD for those of you up here) as my favorite brewpub. So I've been in and out of there once a week for like the past three months.

Flashback Bob · May 2007

BENTE,
Think of it more in terms of grilled chicken. It was great, though I don't know how it would compare to a fancier preparation. [p]The outside was browned, but not blackened though it could be if you like it that way. Inside was moist and tender- it was one of those BGE moments you hear so much about.

fishlessman · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
when you put the bands on the band bolts need to be tightened until they bend about 15 to 20 degrees, they need to be tight. when your cooking and the egg is hot, retighten them again to make sure, then check them over the next few weeks and 6 months later. the bands need to settle in or the dome may fall out when opening it. its good to check on every so often til you feel everything is ok, then check it yearly.

egginator · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
Check out this link on clean smoke:[p][p]
[ul][li]wait 'till the fire burns clean[/ul]

BENTE · May 2007

Flashback Bob,
thanks i will try in the near future.
happy eggin
tb

stike · May 2007

Essex County,
wait... what were we talking about again?

Flashback Bob · May 2007

ThinkandDrive,
"The gaskets are already on the halves, so it should be good"[p]They always start that way. Don't leave they egg unattended for long enough to go nuclear, or they'll begin to fuse together and peel off when the dome is lifted.[p]And on an unrelated note, read TNW's primer on Flashbacks.
I believe that charcoal dust (at the bottom of the bag) can be a great contributor to this. Also, with fast burning lump that is rising rapidly in temperature I've experienced flashback. Burped the lid at 700, put it down and it was up to 750 just like that!
[ul][li]Flashback[/ul]

Unknown · May 2007

Flashback Bob,[p]Thanks. I'll take that into advisement. I thought Brett meant that if I was peelin' and stickin' the gaskets on for the first time.[p]Looks like I'll be doing some simple brats tonight. In-laws aren't coming in until very late tonight. So the real cook will have to happen tomorrow. Maybe I can squeese breakfast, lunch and dinner out of this thing. Haha!

Taking the plunge this weekend - Without a net!

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