New to the forum

StillwaterOKGriller · June 2013

I am new to this forum and pretty much new using my Big Green Egg. I bought it (a large) a couple of months ago and due to rain and other activities I have only been able to cook on it twice so far. I think my main problem is knowing the correct temperature to cook. This is a picture of country style pork ribs and chicken breasts. I had the Egg at 400 and turned every five to six minutes, direct heat. The chicken was tender off the grill but it was kind of stringy and rubbery once reheated the next day. So should I have cooked the chicken longer on each side but like at 375 or just leave it on longer at 400? I am not sure if it was how I cooked it or how I reheated the meat. Do you reheat your food in the oven or in the microwave? It's just my wife and I so, yeah, the food lasted us a good five days. I was a little overzealous with my second grilling.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · June 2013

Cook chicken thighs instead of breast. There is no fat in a breast so they are very difficult to get perfect without brining or using other tricky methods to get them right. Thighs are much more flavorful, moist and easier to reheat. They are still much leaner than all-dark meat so you are adding a little fat but gaining a ton of flavor and flexibility. I'm assuming since you are cooking country ribs too that a little added fat in the yard bird won't kill you

r270ba · June 2013

The Cen-Tex Smoker is right. They just aren't as good as thighs! Welcome to the group.

J_Que · June 2013

Totally agree with CTS on the thighs. There is a reason why thighs are the #1 pick of competitors in BBQ competitions nationwide.

StillwaterOKGriller · June 2013

Thanks! I never thought of cooking thighs. Would I still cook them at 400?

Mickey · June 2013

I would suggest you get three split fire bricks and raise the hight of your cook. Much more forgiving raised. I am a fan of raised / direct / 400.

chris123stock · June 2013

Welcome, where you from?

Mickey · June 2013

Maybe Stillwater, Okla Chris. :-B All in fun Chris.

chris123stock · June 2013

Mickey said:

Maybe Stillwater, Okla Chris. :-B All in fun Chris.

Oh I thought it was a code name or somthing,

dougbacker · June 2013

I did not like chicken breast till I got my eggs(to dry and tough) Did breasts on the mini tonite and they were great.
Did em at 350° CI Grate covered with foil (no woo yet) for about 10 mins on each side. pulled em off removed foil and let the mini go nuclear. seared each side at about 700° for 30 sec. They were tender and moist.
But I will agree They sure don't beat thighs. But remember SWMBO

TexanOfTheNorth · June 2013

I agree with @Mickey about raising your grid level. And, whether you eat the skin or not, I find the cooking breasts with the skin on and the bones in gives better results than boneless, skinless.

CharlieTN · June 2013

Welcome aboard. Part of the fun with the Egg is experimenting to find that perfect way to cook whatever. The test cooks might not be the best but they're still better than what you get from most grills.

bbqlearner · June 2013

Welcome aboard and have fun.

StillwaterOKGriller · June 2013

chris123stock said:

Welcome, where you from?

Stillwater, Oklahoma but I guess you could interpret my name as an okay griller in Stillwater.

I love my Egg. I just need to get out and cook more on it. Thanks for the welcomes!

watergirlb · June 2013

StillwaterOKGriller said:

I am new to this forum and pretty much new using my Big Green Egg. I bought it (a large) a couple of months ago and due to rain and other activities I have only been able to cook on it twice so far. I think my main problem is knowing the correct temperature to cook. This is a picture of country style pork ribs and chicken breasts. I had the Egg at 400 and turned every five to six minutes, direct heat. The chicken was tender off the grill but it was kind of stringy and rubbery once reheated the next day. So should I have cooked the chicken longer on each side but like at 375 or just leave it on longer at 400? I am not sure if it was how I cooked it or how I reheated the meat. Do you reheat your food in the oven or in the microwave? It's just my wife and I so, yeah, the food lasted us a good five days. I was a little overzealous with my second grilling.

Honestly I am relatively new too. I do my chicken breasts on @ 325, and I do not turn them until they are basically cooked maybe 20 min? I can tell the doneness by the feel, breast is all my family will eat so I have TONS of practice at it. When I cook them this way, even the reheated leftovers are juicy and delicious. As far as cooking in the rain, I do it all the time, the best thing about the Egg is not opening the top, remember, If your lookin', you're not cookin'! I have an old market umbrella in a patio table i have sitting right next to my LGE, I have cooked some fantastic beer brine chicken, pork butts, baby back ribs and all kinds of goodies even in the drenchiest downpours!

watergirlb · June 2013

watergirlb said:

StillwaterOKGriller said:

I am new to this forum and pretty much new using my Big Green Egg. I bought it (a large) a couple of months ago and due to rain and other activities I have only been able to cook on it twice so far. I think my main problem is knowing the correct temperature to cook. This is a picture of country style pork ribs and chicken breasts. I had the Egg at 400 and turned every five to six minutes, direct heat. The chicken was tender off the grill but it was kind of stringy and rubbery once reheated the next day. So should I have cooked the chicken longer on each side but like at 375 or just leave it on longer at 400? I am not sure if it was how I cooked it or how I reheated the meat. Do you reheat your food in the oven or in the microwave? It's just my wife and I so, yeah, the food lasted us a good five days. I was a little overzealous with my second grilling.

Honestly I am relatively new too. I do my chicken breasts on @ 325, and I do not turn them until they are basically cooked maybe 20 min? I can tell the doneness by the feel, breast is all my family will eat so I have TONS of practice at it. When I cook them this way, even the reheated leftovers are juicy and delicious. As far as cooking in the rain, I do it all the time, the best thing about the Egg is not opening the top, remember, If your lookin', you're not cookin'! I have an old market umbrella in a patio table i have sitting right next to my LGE, I have cooked some fantastic beer brine chicken, pork butts, baby back ribs and all kinds of goodies even in the drenchiest downpours!

Oh yeah, I use a bit of olive oil to coat the breasts then use one of my homemade rubs to coat.

TexanOfTheNorth · June 2013

@watergirlb... sounds like you need to be starting some threads and sharing some of your cooks (i.e., pictures) with us. Welcome to both of you!

watergirlb · September 2013

I've been cooking a while on my LGE now and today is brisket day. I'll post some picks in my thread about the Travis method on a 2.8 lb brisket.

Tesslar · September 2013

If using breast meat just wrap in bacon, win win flavour and it retains moisture.

khristyjeff · September 2013

All good tips. If your wife insists on breast meat (mine does), full breasts I don't cook beyond 160 internal temp. Also, we cook the small Schwan's boneless, skinless chicken breast filets (they're maybe 3-4 oz. and no thicker than 3/4"). Those I will cook direct at 550 for 2 minutes per side. They get nice color but still juicy inside. Good luck and we'll look forward to your future cooks!

Mikehayes69 · September 2013

I'm new to the forum and have had my LBGE for about a month now. I struggled at first with the temperatures until I realized the same rules apply pretty much as other cooking and grilling. My wife likes for me to cook the bone in chicken breasts and save the fat calories for ribs . I found if you cook them indirectly at 350 for about 40 minutes they're juicy and delicious with a crisp skin!

smokesniffer · September 2013

Welcome here, hope you enjoy the cult we got going here.

I would like to throw my .02 in, invest in a thermapen.http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/ One thing that was brought to my attention was, "Cook to internal temp, not time." This has helped me doing a far better job of grilling. And maybe start a bit of a journal and record some of your cooks so you can tweak them as needed. Good Luck.

shurt · September 2013

I'm cooking chicken tonight DIRECT for the first time. I love this forum! Without it, I would not have known to raise my grill to the top with a couple bricks to get away from the flames / heat. Yes, cooking tonight will be like going to prison ...... a little scared and excited all at the same time! Wish me luck.