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First Cook Ideas

CSmith
CSmith Posts: 44
in EggHead Forum
I built the table for my green egg. The concrete top didn't turn out perfect, but could be worse. Don't have a finished picture, but I'll post up one of it unfinished. 

Ive been reading for quite some time to learn a bunch of different things from everyone. Well I finally got my egg! So I'm going to be doing my first cook sometime this week! I was planning on doing some steaks, but read that something low and slow should be my first cook because of the gasket. So looking for some good easy first cook recipes! 

And to make things better, I was able to get my large egg, plate setter, grill gripper, ash tool, box of charcoal starters and three 20# bags of BGE lump charcoal and a table nest, all for $500!! 
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Comments

  • CountryBoy
    CountryBoy Posts: 102
    When I first got my egg in February I kept the first four or five cooks under 400 degrees but don't know if it'll make a difference or not. I've read some crank it up from the start and some take it easy! All up to you I suppose. Spatchcock chicken is always a good first cook. I like to do raised direct around 375 or indirect at 275 smoking temp . May be wise to play with your settings so you understand temp control first. It's not hard as long as you start low and creep up to temp. In no time you will have it dialed in to whatever temp you are shooting for. 
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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 17,095
    Bone in pork butt is easy. Long cook in a low and slow or turbo at 300-350F. Delicious pulled pork, with tons of options for methods to cook. I smoke mine with peach, always great. 
    Keeps it below 400F threshold, and provides a lot of delicious food for many meals. Freeze after cook what you don't eat for later. Great first cook, let's you learn much about your BGE.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • gerhardk
    gerhardk Posts: 942
    Pork ribs really easy and show off the egg.

    Gerhard
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  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,483
    If you looking for a little quicker meal, chicken raised direct or indirect at 300-350?  Indirect is about an hour.  Just spatchcock a chicken, season and put it on for some the best you have ever had.

    Have you thought of polishing the concrete to make it smooth?
    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
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  • CSmith
    CSmith Posts: 44
    Yeah, I just bought a wet orbital grinder yesterday. Once I get some time, I'm going to try and polish the top. 
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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,232
    Spatchcock Chicken

    A Rite of Passage
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,232
    $500?

    What?
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • CSmith
    CSmith Posts: 44
    @THEBuckeye yeah $500! Found a listing online with someone saying they won it all in a golf event and they didn't want it. Had it listed for 750. I jokingly emailed and said I'll give you $500 and he agreed!
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  • ColtsFan
    ColtsFan Posts: 6,577
    CSmith said:
    I built the table for my green egg. The concrete top didn't turn out perfect, but could be worse. Don't have a finished picture, but I'll post up one of it unfinished. 

    Ive been reading for quite some time to learn a bunch of different things from everyone. Well I finally got my egg! So I'm going to be doing my first cook sometime this week! I was planning on doing some steaks, but read that something low and slow should be my first cook because of the gasket. So looking for some good easy first cook recipes! 

    And to make things better, I was able to get my large egg, plate setter, grill gripper, ash tool, box of charcoal starters and three 20# bags of BGE lump charcoal and a table nest, all for $500!! 
    I'll take two, please...What a steal
    ~ John - https://www.instagram.com/hoosier_egger
    XL BGE, LG BGE, Med BGE, BGE Chiminea, KJ Jr, PK Original, Ardore Pizza Oven
    Bloomington, IN - Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,232
    @pgprescott I wonder if the guy gave the $500 bucks to the charity?
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • da87
    da87 Posts: 640
    Just faced the same question - landed on Chef Randy Hamlin's Smoked Spanish Chicken for the first real cook in order to stay under 350.  Used hot chorizo and couldn't find Landshark in a can so used a local craft Helles - flavor was great and chicken was tender and moist.  Much better than any grocery store rotisserie (probably because it was the first time with the BGE and after 2 1/2 hours smelling the spices we were famished...).  Please forgive the newbie error with the dirty spoon!
    Doug
    Wayne, PA
    LBGE, Weber Kettle (gifted to my sister), Weber Gasser

    "Two things are infinite:  the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe"   Albert Einstein
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  • da87
    da87 Posts: 640
    Doug
    Wayne, PA
    LBGE, Weber Kettle (gifted to my sister), Weber Gasser

    "Two things are infinite:  the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe"   Albert Einstein
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  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    THEBuckeye said:
    @pgprescott I wonder if the guy gave the $500 bucks to the charity?
    Uhhh, No!
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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,232
    Ha!
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    THEBuckeye said:
    Ha!
    He gave it to the adult beverage fund I bet!
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  • CSmith
    CSmith Posts: 44
    Idk what he did with it. That's on him, I'll be cooking good food with no worries. Lol I also don't know if it was an actual charity, as much as winning a golf tourney. Either way, I got a deal. 
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  • Dyal_SC
    Dyal_SC Posts: 6,278
    Congrats!!  You scored big time. Nice looking table!!  For my first cook, I smoked a few BCC's in order to figure out temp control.  
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  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,287
    edited June 2016
    Start with something easy like others have suggested. Also something cheap. Hate to overcook some good steaks. The vents have a small learning curve to them. Play around with the vents to learn the different temp settings. Just remember it takes a lot longer to get the temperature back down if you pass the initial target temp. So start slowly closing temps until you get near the temp and the egg should settle in nicely. 

    The top vent (daisy wheel) isn't really needed with temps above 300 degrees. You can control the temperature from just the lower vent. I think the top vent just makes extra work. The top daisy wheel helps with low temp settings and with smoke but I find it to be a pain anything above 300 degrees. Just my opinion though 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
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