New Egg Owner Question-Lack of Color

BBQPHX

Hi everyone, my name is Tracy and I am a long time BBQ'er and competitor and I recently won a Large BGE in a contest.  I've cooked on it a few times and while the meat is beyond delicious, I'm a bit disappointed in the appearance that I'm getting.  For instance, I cooked an apple brined pork loin the other night and it hardly got any color on the roast (though I did get a baby smoke ring go figure).  Temp was 325 for the whole cook which should be well into the Maillard reaction range.  I used BGE lump, not sure how long it was on I cooked it to 145 degrees.  Cooking this on my other charcoal cookers with briquettes at the same temperature yields a beautiful mahogany exterior, what am I doing wrong?  Thanks very much

BBQPHX

Oh, and I did indeed calibrate the thermometer

Mickey

Can't say but toss a little cherry chips or chunk in. Did I say welcome? Welcome to the forum.

hapster

Welcome...

More smoke should give you some color, or get it closer to the fire

The Naked Whiz

Also finishing at a higher temperature would help.

BBQPHX

Thanks guys, guess I'll just have to cook more stuff on the Egg aw shucks

The Naked Whiz

Interesting tid bit I just dug up.  You can increase the effect of the Maillard reaction (actually lower the temp where it occurs) by increasing the PH of the food.  Wikipedia suggests baking soda, lol!

Here is a link to some interesting information: http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/03/the-maillard-reaction/

It suggests that if the surface of the meat is wet, the temperature of the surface may not get hot enough for the Maillard reaction to occur.  Remember, just because the air temperature in the cooker is 350, the surface of the meat itself is nowhere near that hot.

GK59

Welcome aboard!

You did nothing wrong. My first cook was bone in /skin on chicken breasts. They never got a char on them.The internal temp was close to 165* . Yes they looked pale, but dang moist and at that point I could of cared less . 

It's a terrible thing you'll need to use the egg more often. Have to agree with Whiz  to.

  Bill

BBQPHX

Interesting, I wouldn't have thought that the Egg would be that much more of a moist cooking environment vs. my other cookers.  I'll try putting some paper towels to the meat before throwing it on.

lousubcap

Welcome aboard and great contest prize.  Enjoy the journey.

fishlessman

with the egg ive found that you can cook 50 or so degrees hotter than you can with an oven or other style grill. this is especially true if you use and indirect setup like a platesetter but overall i just find myself cooking hotter since getting the egg. definatly pat it dry before putting it on the grill, even with hot cooks like a steak it helps.

YEMTrey

That pork loin looks delicious.

outrageous1

When cooking pork loin , I use a few apple chips.  Seems to help on color and taste.  Your cook looks fine to me

caliking

I can't tell what you're doing wrong, so I won't be bale to help until you send me an awesome looking plate like that one so I can taste and critique your method.

RLeeper

Whenever I brine pork the meat has a more pale appearance.....idk if anyone else has that same experience

Nature Boy

I agree with Fishless. More heat. Also, consider cooking direct. It's wonderful.

Chris

bbqlearner

Welcome.

BBQPHX

Wow, I certainly appreciate all the responses!  Guess I have to realize the BGE is not like any of my other cookers and I need to learn how it likes to roll.  Like Jaybird says (sorry, it's an AZ thing) practice, practice, practice

Lit

Not sure what accessories you have but I like to do a reverse sear on my pork loins. Check your different options of accessories at theceramicgrillstore.com to raise the grate but keep the heat direct. The most popular are the woo and adjustable rig. Both options will raise your grate to atleast the felt line. I cook there till the loin hits 140 or so then take the accessory out and lower the grate to the fire ring and kick your temp for a quick sear.

bbqlearner

I use a spider to get it close to the fire for searing. I usually get temp to at least 500 or more to sear.