Together again - man and egg cohabitate once more

20stone

caliking said:

You may find the top vent more "accommodating". The lower intake will likely end up in yet another cracked-base-warranty thread. 

I can just imaging having someone walk in your backyard when you are perched on the dome on all fours "working the top vent"

"It's not what it looks like!!!"

"My thermometer was broken"

The Cen-Tex Smoker

20stone said:

caliking said:

You may find the top vent more "accommodating". The lower intake will likely end up in yet another cracked-base-warranty thread. 

I can just imaging having someone walk in your backyard when you are perched on the dome on all fours "working the top vent"

"It's not what it looks like!!!"

"My thermometer was broken"

Dosen't anybody f-ing knock anymore?!?!?!

Foghorn

This has taken a turn I never expected. 

Mostly because it became clear at the pig farm that 20Stone is more of a receiver than a giver. At least the donkey seemed to think so. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Foghorn said:

This has taken a turn I never expected. 

Mostly because it became clear at the pig farm that 20Stone is more of a receiver than a giver. At least the donkey seemed to think so. 

I pray for anyone that finds themselves on the business end of that donkey. 

20stone

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Foghorn said:

This has taken a turn I never expected. 

Mostly because it became clear at the pig farm that 20Stone is more of a receiver than a giver. At least the donkey seemed to think so. 

I pray for anyone that finds themselves on the business end of that donkey. 

Business?  I think he uses it mostly for pleasure. Maybe he gigs a little on weekends to put himself through college. That doesn't mean he can't "relax" on the weekends. Don't judge. 

20stone

A couple buddies came over last night to help us celebrate the new house and having the LBGE within arm's reach again.  We are in fix up mode (redoing the floors is next) so it was more of an EggFest with better toilets.

After all this time, what is the first thing that gets cooked?  Beef ribs?  Brisket?  A proper 25 hour pork butt?.....Nope....

Eggplant!

Indian was the cuisine de jour, and baingan bhartha was first up:


I hear you thinking "Wait a sec? Isn't this the Hairy Hog Club for Men guy?  How is it possible that he doen't have some swine on there?"

We then turn to Valentina, our MM that was chugging away on my tailgate covered with.....

Skewers of paneer (homemade cheese) and tomato (pics to come).

I suppose your now wondering "What Gawddam dirty vegan hippie hacked 20stone's account?  If I don't see some creature sizzling soon, I'm calling the investigative branch of the Buffalo, and getting to the bottom of this!"

Back to the LBGE, we have......wait for it.....naan!


One of our guests was adamant that it isn't naan unless it "sees fire".  The "tandoor in an egg" still has some kinks to work out, but shows promise.

Due to the expirimental nature of the flower pot/tandoor, we ate pretty late, but we ate very well:


Clockwise, from upper left:
- Black eyed peas (Indian style)
- SPICY pork w peppers
- Clay pot naan
- Curried Brussel sprouts
- Baingan bhartha

Not pictured:
- Paneer and tomato skewer app

Many thanks to @The Cen-Tex Smoker, @calking, and their better halves for helping us break the new place in.  

Next time, more meat!

DoubleEgger

Since you've been out of the game for a while, I'll leave you with a piece of advice. Don't tie your dog to the egg. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Paneer Tikka-

The Cen-Tex Smoker

More Tandoor pics- 

blind99

Looks great. This naan cooking is getting real! Very creative. 

I just watched the chefs table episode on Gaggan last night. You guys will be giving him a run for his money soon!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

The flower pot naan oven was genius. He cut out the wedge with an angle grinder. That not only allowed the naan to go on the inside o the pot so it could "see the fire" it also allowed the thermo to clear so the dome would close. We had about 1" of clearance from the top of the pot to the dome. Tolerances were tight but it fit like a glove and worked remarkably well for the maiden run.

Canugghead

LOVE the clay pot idea, Genius indeed!  I'm stealing it ... less work and more forgiving than my real tandoor when I drop the naan 
Not to mention you don't need to use half a bag of lump to heat up triple platesetters/stones!

Edit:  I'm thinking if I just cut the side and leave the bottom whole, will it trap heat better?  It won't be as user friendly for sure, will have to peek from the side.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I don't know how to say "curry that burns twice" in Cali's native tongue but that should be the name of the pork curry he brought last night. It was so good but holy crap it was hot. had the meat sweats bad. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Canugghead said:

LOVE the clay pot idea, Genius indeed!  I'm stealing it ... less work and more forgiving than my real tandoor when I drop the naan 
Not to mention you don't need to use half a bag of lump to heat up triple platesetters/stones!

Edit:  I'm thinking if I just cut the side and leave the bottom whole, will it trap heat better?  It won't be as user friendly for sure, will have to peek from the side.

From watching Cali in action I would say that heat was definitely not an issue and if you didn't cut the top you you definitely have more singed arm hair getting the naan in and out of the pot. Ill
let him explain his little naan pillow that he used to get the naan in to the pot but it was still pretty tight with the top cut away. Not saying you couldn't or shouldn't but there was a method to the madness and heat was not an issue. 

thetrim

Gotta feel so good!  Welcome home, Big Green Egg, Welcome Home!!!

caliking

Gotta love cooking Indian grub with a couple of honkies who know their stuff. All items were on point . I could have polished off the paneer tikka and ghee- laden sprouts by myself. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

caliking said:

Gotta love cooking Indian grub with a couple of honkies who know their stuff. All items were on point . I could have polished off the paneer tikka and ghee- laden sprouts by myself. 

Well lookie who's up! Welcome to the party.  Good food and good times had by all! 

caliking

Canugghead said:

LOVE the clay pot idea, Genius indeed!  I'm stealing it ... less work and more forgiving than my real tandoor when I drop the naan 
Not to mention you don't need to use half a bag of lump to heat up triple platesetters/stones!

Edit:  I'm thinking if I just cut the side and leave the bottom whole, will it trap heat better?  It won't be as user friendly for sure, will have to peek from the side.

Gary, The wedge needs to be cut out of the bottom of the pot as well. 1. It allows the thermo to clear the pot. The pot cleared the top of the dome by barely an inch, but we were able to shut the egg completely. 2. It allows you to see the inside of the pot better. I can get you the dimensions of the pot I bought at Lowes later. Had some operational issues because I forgot to bring some flour to roll out the naans. Tried dough with and without egg, but one of the doughs was too wet and could not be rolled out well. Egg could have been a bit hotter too. I think naans turn out better at 600F on the egg. We made do, and had a fantastic meal with wonderful company. Its a work in progress, but we may be banging out fresh naan at an eggfest soon.

caliking

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I don't know how to say "curry that burns twice" in Cali's native tongue but that should be the name of the pork curry he brought last night. It was so good but holy crap it was hot. had the meat sweats bad. 

Woke up this morning and could have sworn I was in a gas chamber. Made myself scarce before SWMBO woke up.

Canugghead

Thanks @The Cen-Tex Smoker and @caliking . I'm staying tuned to see what you guys do next 

Star_TrEGG

Now that's creativity at its finest.

blind99

think it would work on the inside of the dome if it were clean? Maybe in a small egg, going nuclear?

caliking

blind99 said:

think it would work on the inside of the dome if it were clean? Maybe in a small egg, going nuclear?

Absolutely. I've thought of that, but my eggs are never that clean.  It will definitely work though. Its as close to an actual tandoor as  you can get . 

caliking

I forgot to add kudos to Cen-Tex for making the paneer from scratch AND not losing any off the skewers. That's hard to do pull off especially with homemade paneer.

blind99

@caliking yeah I was going to mention the problem of how dirty my dome is but it's Sunday, not Friday 

20stone

caliking said:

blind99 said:

think it would work on the inside of the dome if it were clean? Maybe in a small egg, going nuclear?

Absolutely. I've thought of that, but my eggs are never that clean.  It will definitely work though. Its as close to an actual tandoor as  you can get . 

The dome on my 9 yo LBGE definately does NOT qualify. @caliking left the pot here, and I am going to work on seasoning it to help the release.  I have a fair amount of "pork butter" on hand, so I'll likely use that. 

Canugghead

@20stone if not too inconvenient can you measure the pot for me please? saves @caliking looking for it.  I still have leftover traditional 'spinach cure' that was used for my tandoor, not sure how pork butter will turn out, Ashish can chime in?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

caliking said:

I forgot to add kudos to Cen-Tex for making the paneer from scratch AND not losing any off the skewers. That's hard to do pull off especially with homemade paneer.

No kudos here. Janell made the paneer. I put it on a stick a grilled it. 

caliking

I wouldn't recommend seasoning the pot with fat @20stone. I'll look for the spinach cure ive used in the past. Brine made of just salt and water works too. 

caliking

Found it. This is the spinach cure I've used  for my tandoor in years past. @Canugghead may have a different one, which probably works just as well.