First experiences and opinions

Azzardi · December 2013

Ive tried the egg for the first time now (2 times in 3 days) here are the impressions and different ways i used it (please dont shoot me if i did something wrong)

Cook A; 3 american entrecotes
Seased with rough seasalt - platesetter legs down indirect 300f internal 48celcius put them out with plate setter and heated further up to around 650 direct with cast iron grid seared 1 min each side. Taste for the first time was pretty smokey but different then normal meat (first steak ever on bge)

Today cook B; premade pizzadough with fresh toppings - had to get the egg (small egg) up to around 700f ... Was tougher than expected, maybe we didnt use enough charcoil, we opened it again and put some extra coil on d used a hairdryer to 'turbo air flow' from the bottom... Is this done or not done since i havent read about it here. Maybe we just need to play a bit more with temperature and pizzatime cooking and bake it lower for 8-10 min instead of 5 min - used the platesetter legs down and pizzastone on top of it.

Cook C; large Tbone (1.2 kg) used the same method as cook A but used the Jack Daniels woodchips (maybe to much?)

I have to many variables to know where i went wrong since cook A was by far the best.

Is it the rushing with the hairdryer, is it the difference in meat ? Is it the whiskey chips? I d love to hear your opinions

Oh before i forget; between the pizza and tbone we also did a chicken - platesetter down and an improvised drip pan and a vrack (platte down cause the lid wouldnt close when it was turned up. Filled the drip pan with brown beer but that soon dried out? Then i refilled with water 2-3 timed for about an hour... The meat was nice but the outside was nowhere near crispy, any suggestions on that perhaps?

Btw i'm from belgium and the kind of seasoning and rubs i read about here are not really familiar around here, unfortunatly.

Thanks for your feedback! Pics are from cook A - the others will come soon

Glenn

cortguitarman · December 2013

Good looking cooks. As for the smoky flavor on cook A, it sounds like you didn't let the egg temp stabilize. If you don't let the temp stabilize a few things can happen. 1. The temp will continue to rise when you cook. 2. If you start too early the food will take on a more bitter or overpowering smoke flavor. Depending on the type of charcoal you use, you should have little to no smoke flavor.
For the pizza cook, I find my best pies are cooked a bit longer at 550. You really need the right dough recipe and use the right flour if you want to cook pizza at nuclear temps. Otherwise you will end up with a burnt bottom crust and uncooked toppings.

As for chicken, crispy skin is hard to achieve on the egg because it does such a good job of keeping the meat moist. To achieve a crispy skin, cook higher in the dome on a raised grid. Lots of ways to do that. I'd learn some more basics before experimenting.

I think the biggest issue you are having is temp control and stabilizing the egg. In my opinion, stabilizing the egg is the most important part of egging. The rule of thumb is if the smoke smells good and is burning clear, the. The food will taste good. Blue smoke is bad.

Sounds like you are on the right track. You'll have temp control down in a week or two. Pizza took me almost a year to get consistent results. Hope this helps. By the way, welcome to the obsession!

berndcrisp · December 2013

Welcome Glenn. I cannot directly answer the questions you have but someone will be along soon to help with your specific concerns.

The chicken is best 'spatchcocked'. Also the drip pan should not sit directly on the plate setter. Use some (4) crumpled up, flattened balls of aluminum foil between the pan and the platesetter to help prevent the juices and additives from boiling away and burning.

Take your time, be patient. We have all had a few surprises and some cooks did not come out as we hoped. It could also be possible that you have tried some American versions of Belgium cuisine that you are not used to.

Keep in mind the Egg is simply another way to cook everything, just another means of doing it and it does have a learning curve. Homemade rubs and sauces are listed in the 'sauces' forum in the side bar above.

Hang in there, and in no time you will cooking family favorites that will be better than Mom's using ingredients found at your local markets.

Azzardi · December 2013

Am i correct to only put food in the egg when the coils are orange glowy ? Or is it ok to cook when some of them are still black ? Btw i use the BGE coils

lousubcap · December 2013

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey-I will offer the following with respect to the amount of burning lump; if doing a low&slow cook (dome temp somewhere around 110-130*C) then you only need about a grapefruit sized amount of lump burning to then set the DFMT and lower vent to maintain the desired cook temp throughout the duration of the cook. A small amount of burning lump is how the BGE can sustain such temps for an extended period of time. Hot and fast cooks-just get a good amount burning and go from there. Here's great informational link-check it out when you have time-

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm Enjoy!

Azzardi · December 2013

Thanks guys for the feedback; indeed american style can be different to what we are used 2 here

The drip pan's purpose, is it to put flavor like beer into the chicken or is it to moist the meat and should it be always filled with water? Or is it just to catch juices so the flames wont fire in the meat? ... Practise makes perfect ;-)

lousubcap · December 2013

You can put liquid or not in the pan-cook's choice as it really is not needed for moistness but may help with flavor. Just make sure you create an air gap between the pan and the surface it is supported by. Balled up aluminum foil, copper tees, nuts -anything to get the space.

berndcrisp · December 2013

I do not know of these 'coils' you mention.

The EGG needs to be pre-heated to temp before putting the food on/in, same as an oven. Do not put the food on if the chimney is blowing a lot of white smoke. This means the lump is not ready and will cause a very acrid smokey taste.

Oh I understand now, 'coals'.

Azzardi · December 2013

lousubcap said:
Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey-I will offer the following with respect to the amount of burning lump; if doing a low&slow cook (dome temp somewhere around 110-130*C) then you only need about a grapefruit sized amount of lump burning to then set the DFMT and lower vent to maintain the desired cook temp throughout the duration of the cook. A small amount of burning lump is how the BGE can sustain such temps for an extended period of time. Hot and fast cooks-just get a good amount burning and go from there. Here's great informational link-check it out when you have time-
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm Enjoy!

Awesome will read it first thing when i have time tomorrow. Thanks !

Mattman3969 · December 2013

I will echo everyone on letting the some going clear. Hold your hand over the smoke for a few seconds and then smell your hand, that will be what your food taste like so wait for it to smell good.
On your pizza cook since your using a small I would find a dough that you can cook around 400-500* The small is pretty difficult to get to 700* and maintain it but is very happy around 500

Mattman3969 · December 2013

Oh and welcome aboard!!

Azzardi · December 2013

We are doin pizza's again tonight, we v cleaned the egg completely before starting nd filled up with BGE charcoil 3/4 up the firebox on a small egg. We v gotten to 450-460 f max then it started to go down and the charcoil was burning hot but almost completely gone. Now my question; how far do we need to fill the small egg to reach 650-700f ? We now refilled untill 15 cm of the fire ring, hopefully that should be enough now. Greetings and merry Xmass

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