Be careful with mesquite lump

KennyG · May 2000

We had a welcome home party for Humpty this weekend as he rejoined his friends after a 6 week sabbatical over the home of RhumAndJerk.
What a guy. When I came to pick up the Egg, I was treated to some World Class fajitas and a couple bottles of Tequiza left over from Mike's Cinco de Mayo party. Life is good.[p]It was great to have Humpty back and I had picked up some filets for the occasion. Mike was also kind enough to give me a sample of the mesquite lump he had just acquired. Man does this stuff ever burn hot!! Using a load equivalent to about 2/3 the capacity of the firebox, I had well over 1000* about 20 minutes after lighting the starter cube. The sparks flying out of the chimney gave me an early taste of July 4th fireworks.[p]I used a mustard rub and Char Crust roasted garlic peppercorn (our favorite) on these 1 1/2 inch thick beauties. Shooting for medium rare, 2 minutes per side and then a 6 minute "dwell" yielded a pair of overcooked steaks. They were medium well to well with scarcely any pink on the inside. Although still tasty, they were far too well done for my liking and the wife in particular was not pleased. I guess I should have known that something was strange when the dome temp of the Egg was still 750* at the end of the dwell period.[p]Don't get me wrong, I like the the flavor that this stuff infuses into the meat during grilling. Mesquite lump is a very different animal than hardwood and will take some getting used to.[p]K~G[p]

RLA · May 2000

KennyG,
And, I just bought a 20lb bag of mesquite lump at a cost of $8.00. I was hoping that I had discovered a lower cost alternative to the $12.00/bag of BGE lump! And, now to cast even more doubts, the authors of Spice and Smoke also question the use of mesquite...they say the longer it burns, the more bitter the taste becomes?? Any comments?
Bob

KennyG · May 2000

Bob,[p]This was my first experience using mesquite. Although the steaks only cooked a total of 10 minutes,there was still a distinct presence of mesquite in the flavor. I guess I would think twice before using this stuff to do something that would require many hours at low and slow temps. I'm going to reserve it for grilling and then blend just a little bit in with the regular hardwood lump.[p][p]K~G

RhumAndJerk · May 2000

KennyG,
I sure am going to miss Mr. Big.[p]On Saturday, I used the rest of the Mesquite lump and what I removed from Mr. Big to Grill some Italian Sausage. Boy, did it ever come out good.[p]I posted the recipe for the fajitas.[p]Happy Grilling,
RhumAndJerk[p]

BBQ-BoB · May 2000

KennyG,[p]I have used mesquite lump almost exclusivley for about a year. I can get 40 pounds for 9 dollars. The brand is El Diablo. It comes from Mexico. I talked to this old guy in charge and he has pictures on the office wall of the big fire pit it is made in and explains the process to make it. He has rejected loads before because it was the wrong kind of mesquite or it had bitter qualities to it.[p]I have never had any bad mesquite from him. They (American Charcoal) supply mesquite lump to alot of the BBQ places and steakhouses in the Phoenix metro area.[p]Mesquite does burn hotter, but once you know,you just adjust your cooking times accordingly. I use it for all aspects of cooking on the BGE. I also use hickory chunks to blend with the mesquite flavor.[p]So you might want to try some different brands until you find a reliable one. Happy cooking...........[p]BBQ-BoB

Be careful with mesquite lump

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