Minimax fun - bone marrow, ribeye, LOTS of flames ... part 1 (with pics)

Stormbringer

I love experimenting with the MM, it's such a versatile little beastie. I've done bone marrow and ribeye in the past, with a two level setup, however yesterday I changed it so that the meat was on the bottom. This allowed me to get some sweetcorn and mushrooms cooked at the same time. Full method description is here (although with the meat on top):

https://thecooksdigest.co.uk/2017/06/01/bone-marrow-glazed-steak/

TL;DR: cooked 2 x 4inch bone segments above a 7cm thick ribeye and two sweetcorn. Ribeye rubbed with a 75%/25% mix of Dizzy Pig "Cosmic Cow" and "Crossroads" rubs. Sweetcorn in silver foil with some butter and Dizzy Pig "Pineapple Head" rub. Cooked in MM at 250F until ribeye had IT 120F, then FTC-ed, MM raised to 570F direct with CI grid, marrow extract from bones, poured over meat.

Conclusion: this worked well, the crust was on point. However there was a little too much char and smoke on the ribeye. Maybe a bit less marrow.

Part 2 is next weekend, and will involve a CI plancha in the MM ... actually a Lodge CI pancake pan with the handle cut off.

The two level setup with bone marrow on top:




Pouring some melted marrow onto the ribeye (note the use of heat resistant gloves):

Fire in the hole:




Plated and ready to eat:

NPHuskerFL

I'm liking what I see here. 

EggNashville

Cool post. Great looking plate!

Killit_and_Grillit

Great pics. I like that little setup. 

Mickey

Your cook is outstanding. Never thought of the bone marrow trick. 
Offer one suggestion for next time. When you go to direct cook do your corn without foil on the direct cook. Corn is a quick cook anyway and you get some char. Have put butter or oil or marrow on it. 

SamIAm2

Stormbringer said:

Full method description is here (although with the meat on top):

https://thecooksdigest.co.uk/2017/06/01/bone-marrow-glazed-steak/

TL;DR: cooked.... 

Very nice and thanks for the link.
";Did read" and found the information for the new improved setup you showed here:
https://thecooksdigest.co.uk/2017/06/30/maxing-out-a-minimax-big-green-egg/ 

I am going to build that for my MiniMax real soon now! I'm beginning to think your handle should be updated to Firebringer after seeing the 4th and 5th photos . Did you singe the top gasket? 

kweitz

I've been thinking about adding a MM to my large. This post kinda seals the deal! Very nice job. 

Stormbringer

Thanks folks!

@Killit_and_Grillit details of that setup are in the link below, although most people here are nuts-y bolts-y and could probably work it out. The main factor is the height of the uprights, 80mm bolts, with butterfly nuts to vary the height depending on what you're cooking:

https://www.thecooksdigest.co.uk/2017/06/30/maxing-out-a-minimax-big-green-egg/

@Mickey interesting idea. I put it in silver foil because I cook it with a mix of butter and Dizzy Pig Pineapple Head, the rub really gives a great flavour to the corn. However I think basting with a bit of marrow over direct heat could work. How long does corn take to cook direct?

@SamIAm2 the blog post is for making a rig in a MM with the original ceramics. If your ceramics are the newer version, you can use a 90mm upright bolt for even more flexibility.

@kweitz we added the MM over a year ago, for the two of us we rarely use the large now. Also to seal the deal even more (maybe) the MM uses around 20% of the lump that the large consumes. So over time, it pays for itself.

SciAggie

That looks great. The marrow treatment is new to me. 

Mickey

Rolling around 5/6 mins hot works   

cookingdude555

Nice fireball shot.  Impressive.

CincyTiki

@Stormbringer. Nice blog, fun read, now added to my Feedly 

Stormbringer

@SamIAm2 missed your question, not burned, the shot was a very brief flash with the camera on sports setting. Having said that, I do have a Rutland from @RRP which I should really install soon.

SamIAm2

Stormbringer said:

@SamIAm2 missed your question, not burned, the shot was a very brief flash with the camera on sports setting. Having said that, I do have a Rutland from @RRP which I should really install soon.

Rutland from @RRP, well no problem then.

SamIAm2

Stormbringer said:

Thanks folks!

@Killit_and_Grillit details of that setup are in the link below, although most people here are nuts-y bolts-y and could probably work it out. The main factor is the height of the uprights, 80mm bolts, with butterfly nuts to vary the height depending on what you're cooking:

https://www.thecooksdigest.co.uk/2017/06/30/maxing-out-a-minimax-big-green-egg/

@SamIAm2 the blog post is for making a rig in a MM with the original ceramics. If your ceramics are the newer version, you can use a 90mm upright bolt for even more flexibility.

@Stormbringer I used the 90 mm bolts and will test this rig out in the near future. The bottom of the bolts rest on the fire ring indentations so adjustment is not possible for this particular setup.
I have two 13" grates - the top one fits solidly over the bolt heads and the dome closes without touching the top grate! 

I have enough skewers to make up an additional set up with 80 mm bolts for other cooks which will be more adjustable. Another trip to the hardware store. 

Stormbringer

@SamIAm2 nice work! I can adjust the height of mine, so let's look at this with the assistance of our good friend ... geometry.

With my setup none of the supports touch the ring, they are just inside it:



I suspect that you need to make a small adjustment to move the bolts closer in by a few mm and/or shorten the support bars. This is the measurement on my setup, with this width (and assuming your fire ring is the same width as mine) the bolts won't touch it:



The skewers go the full width of the washer. I noticed that your washers are quite narrow, I think if you used wider washers you'd be able to do this easily. I'm not sure of US measurements, in the UK I use M8 bolts but M10 washers.



If this doesn't work, your fire ring is slightly narrow than mine. I don't have access to the new ceramics to take a measurement. I think it would be better to adjust the width of the support bars so that the legs go down inside the ceramic.

Having said all of that, if 90mm still doesn't work for you and 80mm does without having adjustable legs, great! Whatever works for you, bud . Enjoy the flexibility of two level cooking in the MM.

One last thing ... please ensure you do this to stop the thermometer skewering your food on the top level. If you're using the BGE thermometer, there is a groove halfway up the shaft, that needs to be (just) inside the Egg.

SamIAm2

Stormbringer said:

@SamIAm2 nice work! I can adjust the height of mine, so let's look at this with the assistance of our good friend ... geometry.

With my setup none of the supports touch the ring, they are just inside it:



I suspect that you need to make a small adjustment to move the bolts closer in by a few mm and/or shorten the support bars. This is the measurement on my setup, with this width (and assuming your fire ring is the same width as mine) the bolts won't touch it:

The skewers go the full width of the washer. I noticed that your washers are quite narrow, I think if you used wider washers you'd be able to do this easily. I'm not sure of US measurements, in the UK I use M8 bolts but M10 washers.

Having said all of that, if 90mm still doesn't work for you and 80mm does without having adjustable legs, great! Whatever works for you, bud . Enjoy the flexibility of two level cooking in the MM.

One last thing ... please ensure you do this to stop the thermometer skewering your food on the top level. If you're using the BGE thermometer, there is a groove halfway up the shaft, that needs to be (just) inside the Egg.

Thanks @Stormbringer. I moved the clip to the outside of the egg to keep the tip at the correct height for temperature readings.


Made the adjustment to the skewers and distance is now close to your measurement, sorry I don't have a metric capable tape measure. The bolts are now inside the fire ring when I adjust the height  so thanks for that.



I did ask ask for stainless steel M10 washers but those I used originally could have been smaller washers in the M10 bin. I used zinc washers I had at hand to make it easier to connect the skewers as you suggested. I will get SS washer replacements later this week from local hardware store S.F. Travis, which is NOT a big box store. They have been in business here for 125 years.
Focus in the camera decided to choose the far post instead of what I wanted. I also made sure to cut off the flattened portion of the skewers so the flat rod was the same diameter on both ends. Made it less fiddly to put together.
Thank you for taking the time to add your suggestions. Looking forward to two layer cooking adventures real soon now!

Stormbringer

@SamIAm2 Good stuff. If you (or others) are planning on doing the steak I posted in this thread, I recommend waiting until after I've completed the experiment this weekend. I'm convinced that it can be improved by using a CI plate.