First Fire Suggestions to Make Right First Impression

Unknown

I travel for my job. Wind up eating a lot of good barbecue and other meals. The wife and kids have been deprived. I got a large egg today and want to make the right first impression. Experience helps, and I have none, so I'm looking for something without too many ways to screw up. Ideas?[p]p.s. no finicky eaters as long as it isn't too spicy for wife.

mad max beyond eggdome

Petear,
here are a couple of foolproof ideas for you to get started. . [p]go to the naked whiz's website and look up the spatchcocked chicken and the trex steak method. . .both are fantastic. . .when doing steaks, w/out reading trex. . .get minimum 1 1/2 inch thick sirloins or filets or ribeyes (i usually buy large pieces of meat like whole tenderloins at costco and cut my own to 2" thick). . .coat your steaks with olive oil/koshersalt/black pepper. . .get your egg going up to 700 degrees. . . throw the steaks on for 90 seconds per side, then remove them and let them rest for 20 minutes. ..during the rest, close your vents and let the egg come down to about 400 degrees, then throw the steaks back on for approx 5 minutes per side. ..they will be a nice medium rare. . .your family will never want to go out for steak again[p]or get chicken parts and simply grill them at around 325 dome temp for about one hour or until done, using whatever marinade/rub suits you. . ..[p]or simply make up some big honkin burgers, coat them with kosher salt and black pepper and grill at around 400 degrees until done. ..they will be the best burgers you ever ate. . [p]couple of tips. .. [p]1. ignore the manual that came with the egg. . come here to the forum for help
2. always load up the egg with lump up above the holes on the side of the firebox (i usually fill almost to the bottom of the fire ring
3. to get real high temps, remove the daisy wheel completely while you get the fire going good
4. with very few exceptions, you want to keep the dome closed while cooking in order to retain the moisture produced by the ceramics, and to keep any flames down so your food doesn't get charred[p]enjoy, you and your family are gonna love it. ..[p]

Unknown

Petear,
Gotta be hamburgers!
80/20 Black Angus beef if you can, salt and cover with fresh ground black pepper, crank it up to around 700, 2minutes a side and shut down and let it dwell for 5 minutes if it is a 1/2 pound pattie, smokin wood of your choice.
WARNING! Open the top and bottom draft doors of your Egg for a moment to let it breathe and "burp" for a moment before opening after the dwell or you will be eating supper with no eyebrows due to a fun little thing called flashback!
Have fun and good cooking!

The Other Dave

Petear, Congrats on your new egg! I guess the regular answer gurus are at the Eggfest, so let me opine.[p]I would not recommend a "lo-n-slo" for a first cook since the egg can "get away" and mess up that cook. So I would recommend cooking at a temp with the daisy wheel slots opened but with the "flap" still in place. With the bottom vent open, this gives me appox 350*. Believe it or not, for this temp range, I would recommend a standing rib roast! Just cook to internal 130 (rare) to 135 (med rare) and you're a pro. Keep in mind the temps mentioned are in relation to the fact I like my beef RARE. If you don't, maybe cook to 140,(Yuck.) Hard to mess this up. Remember, the temp will continue to climb 5-10 degrees after you pull it. Let us know what you decide!

mad max beyond eggdome

The Other Dave,
gee, i'm insulted. . .i'm not a 'regular answer guru'?? . .LOL[p]i also really like doing prime ribs . ..did a three ribber a couple of weeks ago for my parents and they raved. . .coated the roast with olive oil, kosher salt and herbs de provence. .. but i seared first at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then set up inverted plate setter with grid on top and let it roast at 325 till 125 internal (about 2 hours for a 6 pounder). . .came out great. .. .and i agree, prime rib is very impressive, yet simple and hard to screw up unless you overcook it. . .

The Other Dave

mad max beyond eggdome, I was afraid that would happen, that I left my computer in the middle of my reply, then posted. Presto! A couple of replies preceded mine :([p]Anyway, Thank you for the agreement regarding the rib roast, I was feeling out on a limb with that one!

Unknown

Petear, The fun of having the BGE is to experiment. My advice is to FIRST CALIBRATE THE THERMOMETER. I was informed by BGE experts that they never found it off by more than 5 degrees. Mine was reading 95 degrees to low. After 5 cooks I. Calibrated. Every thing was still great because I always had a cold one watching the EGG. 95 degrees off is still better that anything ever cooked on ANYTHING ELSE! Start the charcoal in the front third by the bottom vent. You'll figure out why in time. Fire Start'r sticks are great for weekend cooks. Get some Greenheat at Walmart for during the week. Because my best friend is a 10 year master egger, my wife has never questioned the purchase of the egg. Side bar: Last week my son & I walked outside and I said "smells like someone is cooking out" his reply was "smells like burnt meat

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Must be a gas grill.[p]Colin - proud rookie 7 weeks

chuckls

Petear,[p]Well maybe not for the first cook but for the second definitely make Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABTs). If you're like many of us, you will end up cooking up a batch at least twice a week...[p]Search the archives for a recipe, but basically it's halved, deseeded jalopeno peppers filled with cream cheese and a bit of meat, wrapped in bacon held together with a toothpick. I cook mine indirect to keep the bacon grease out of the fire.[p]Enjoy your egg![p]Chuck