Does everything cooked on the egg taste smokey ?

Unknown

I am considering investing in an egg. My wife does not care for "smokey" tasting food. Is it possible to cook on the egg without food tasting "smokey" ?

mad max beyond eggdome

Craig McCrary,
it doesn't have to taste 'smokey'. .. .i cook a lot of stuff on the egg like casseroles, lasagna, wokked food, stews, baked desserts, tortes, etc. . .. i particularly like to try italian and french provencial recipes on the egg .. .the taste i'm looking for when i do this is not a 'smokey' taste, but a 'rustic' flavor, something that was probably true to the original recipe when it was cooked in a wood burning stove or oven in the old country....this can easily be achieved by making sure you have a really clean burning fire and not using any wood in the egg. . . also, after cooking something that leaves a lot of grease in the egg or on the plate setter (like a pork butt or brisket), i leave my egg running at fairly high temps afterwards in order to clean it, much like you would with a self cleaning oven. .. .then i let my new fire burn for a good 45 minutes to an hour to insure a good clean, no smoke, fire for one of these dishes.. .[p]you also have to experiment to see what foods pick up more smoke than others . .. .i find that apples pick up more smoke than peaches when i bake a 'crisp'. ... likewise, wet breads (as in stuffing) will pick up a lot of smoke where as a dry bread dough (pizza crust) will only pick up a little. ...cheeze and potatoes can also absorb a lot of smokey flavor, so when i bake a lasagna, i make sure to lay a thin layer of sauce over the top layer of cheese to get just the 'rustico' flavor i'm looking for. . .[p]my wife is also not a big smoke fan, yet i have mostly been succesful in creating dishes for her that have the extra depth of flavor offered by the egg without the extra smoke. ..HTH

Nature Boy

Craig McCrary,
My wife is very much like yours in this regard. No problem. Just get your fire going well ahead of time. If you can use just enough lump for the job, that helps a lot. A full firebox is not always necessary. [p]Good luck with your purchase! Your wife will end up being its biggest fan.
Chris[p]

Eggecutioner

Craig McCrary,[p]I will second what natureboy said.[p]It is actually something that I haven't seen posted here that I can remember.[p]I found out by accident. There was only a small amount of charcoal left, I was cooking chicken breasts, so I figured there would be enough. I stirred the lump to get out the ash and lit the lump. As it turns out almost all of the lump was burning to get to 300-350 degrees. Resulting in a really clean burning fire. This clean fire made the food less "smokey" and my wife and son made comments at dinner that it was less "smokey." Up until that point, I always filled up the fire box half way up the fire ring. Now I only fill if I am going to do a lo and slo.[p]I think as one piece of burning lump tries to get an adjacent piece burning you get more of the charcoal flavor.[p]HTH[p]Eggecutioner

Smokey

Craig McCrary,[p]My wife was very clear that she did not like the smoky flavor (I owned an egg before we got married). She liked the flavor of briquettes (I hate it) [p]That was four years ago. She now asks for steaks on the egg. When I smoke a turkey, she LIKES the flavor (poultry absorbs smoke flavor more that meat).[p]Best of luck to ya!

Eggtuary

Craig McCrary,
Your wife's aversion may be to foods where too much smoke was used, which often happens. Many people who like smoke agree that you can have too much of a good thing. A lot of the folks here when using smoking chips or chunks will wait until after the initial blast of smoke settles down before putting their meat on. That way, they get a more subdued smoke taste.

Clay Q

Craig McCrary,
Baked blueberry pie in the egg over the weekend. No smokey flavor. My wife thinks the egg does a better job of baking than the kitchen oven. You know......she's right. [p]

Unknown

Craig McCrary,
I don't like smokey at all. (Actually, I think what I don't like is the artificial smokey they put in things like lunch meats.) That was a concern of mine too when considering the egg. [p]We've had ours since beginning of June and I have yet to cook anything that tasted 'smokey' to me. (I have cooked a lot of stuff that was really delicious tho.)[p]I bought our egg as a father's day gift for my husband. He has yet to touch it. I use it 3-4 times a week.[p]Trying to decide what to get him next year. <g>[p]Gwen

ted

My wife also did not like smokey foods... at least that is what she thought pre-egg. She was surprised to discover that she actually does like some smokey flavor. I think what she did not like before was artificial smokey flavors.

Only once has it been excessive. I had some leftover lump with some leftover hickory in it once when I made burgers. They got way too smokey... too much for me too.

grillnut at Norcross Ace Hardware

Craig McCrary,
Like several who posted here already, I have found that giving the lump a little extra time to burn reduces the
smoke and a level just above the side vent holes produces
less smokey flavor than a full fire box.
Also, the brand of lump you use makes a difference. Don't
hesitate to experiment with different lumps available in
your area. I'm in the Atlanta area and use Wicked Good when
I don't won't alot of smokey flavor or when I want a specific flavor from wood chips without interference from
my lump. I use BGE lump when I want what I call a more
"oakey smokey" flavor and don't usually use chips.
Even with BGE lump, you can reduce the smokey taste by letting it burn 30 minutes plus before putting your food on.[p]A great web site to compare lumps on for flavor effect and
lots of other characteristics is Nakedwhiz.com.[p]One more thing. I have a 2 year old $1,100 Weber Summit with a smoker which my 3 month old Large BGE outperforms
for juiciness and flavor.
Good luck convincing your wife[p]Grillnut

Unknown

Craig McCrary,
Thanks to all for the advice ! You sold me!