[Rhodes22-list] Big Green Egg

[Bill Effros]

Richard,

The BGE will reach 700-900 degrees in 15 minutes without harming the 
ceramic shell if you use fresh charcoal and not too much of it.  Coat 
the steak with butter/salt/pepper.  Leave the steak on the grill for 5 
minutes.  Open the BGE, flip the steak, close the BGE and cut off the 
air supply both above and below.  Insert a temperature probe.  Allow the 
steak to bake to it's proper degree of  doneness.

If you start with excellent meat, it makes a sensational steak, properly 
grilled on both sides, that will rival the best steaks served in the 
best steak houses.  We like Peter Lugar in Brooklyn, and the steaks we 
pull out of the BGE will rival Peter Lugar steaks.

I have an infrared oven which I use when I'm too lazy to start a fire.  
I prefer steaks grilled on the BGE. 

The only downside I see to the BGE is the size of the cavity.  My family 
is down to 2, so there is plenty of room for the amount of food we need 
to cook for ourselves.  A lot of grill management is required to cook 
multiple items for more people.  I cook an 18 lb Turkey for 
Thanksgiving, but that's about the maximum.  On the other hand, many 
foods can be smoked in advance and reheated in a conventional oven while 
more food is in the BGE.  Smoked, frozen, reheated food is almost 
indistinguishable from freshly smoked food.  I am smoking and freezing 
for my boat this summer.  I will reheat and serve as the food thaws.  
I'll let you know how this works out.  I think it will be better than 
watching a steak slide off the grill and into the water.

I have also burned through a number of sheet metal grills, and finally 
decided the $700 BGE would cost me no more in the long run.  It is 
important to emphasize that lump charcoal is very different from 
charcoal briquets.  I have cooked on both lump charcoal and wood.  I 
prefer lump charcoal.

The Kamado and the BGE are essentially the same tool. 

In Miami, every Cuban family has a 55 gallon oil drum cut in half with a 
grill on top next to the pool.  A lot of them grill pig every weekend.   
It sure smells good!  That's where my wife drew the line.

Bill Effros

Richard Smith wrote:
> Let's get our terms straight....
>
> Broiling = high heat (700+) and FREE air circulation around the cooking food
> (no lid).
> BBQ = Long, slow, low heat (200) in a dry environment.  The food is flavored
> by spice rubs and the combustion products of the fuel.  Fuel is hardwood
> lump charcoal or small wood logs previously burned down to embers in a pit
> of some find.
>
> No gas fueled covered grill can successfully broil a steak!!! Covered grills
> can at the best bake them at high heat  The only cookers available to the
> home cook which can truly grill are infrared grills (TEC) or the cheap
> charcoal fired non covered.sheet metal affairs available at largish hardware
> stores.
>
> BBQ... No gas fueled covered grill can sustain the low temps and smoke
> circulation needed to properly barbecue.
>
>   The options are...
> 1:  Offset smokers (New Branfules etc).  Professional favorites because of
> large volume.  They require constant attention and are heavy, ugly, given to
> cold and hot spots very difficult to clean and consume fuel in vast
> quantities.
> 2:  Bullet smokers.  These use a water pan to moderate the heat of the
> burning coals.  The generated water vapor removes them from the traditional
> BBQ definition above.  Not to say they won't produce wonder "Q"!  The Weber
> Smoky Mountain is an excellent cooker and can produce wonderful smoked food.
> 3:  Ceramic ovens Here we come to the BGE and the Kamado.  These rather
> grotesque devices are large, heavy and limited as to the quantity of food
> they can cook (even in the larger sizes).  A Kamado can maintain a 200
> degree temperature for 24 hours with little attention and no refueling.  By
> opening the top and bottom vents, because of the draft effect (fuel at
> bottom - chimney at top) extraordinarily high temperatures can be reached.
> A Kamado can get hot enough to melt it heavy stainless steel grate.  That's
> approaching 2,000 F!!  The ability to reach high temperatures coupled with
> the mass of the unit allows it to soak up the heat and function as a brick
> oven.  Wonderful pizza and breads.
>
> BUT... BGE's and such, despite what the manufacturer would claim are not the
> proper devices  for broiling (see above).  Lot's of work around's published
> but they (eggs) are inherently not suited for fast high heat cooking.
>
> 4: Combination units.  A Weber kettle (wonderfully engineered product)
> fueled with chunk charcoal can broil and smoke rather well.  The cost is
> less then $200.  The Hastybake is a terrific grill/BBQ oven.  But, its
> expensive and because of rapidly accumulating grease a filthy machine.  That
> aside it smokes and grills wonderfully ($700 and up)  The medium size is the
> one to get.
>
> When I refer to charcoal I mean hardwood lump charcoal.  It burns hotter,
> longer with less ash then Kingsford and the like.  It can also be relit.
>
> For what it's worth I have owned and discarded Charmglow and Ducane covered
> grills.  A Weber Kettle and Smoky Mountain.  More recently a Hastybake which
> burnt out from constant use.   Presently I own a TEC Cherokee used for
> grilling and a Kamado #5 for everything else.  It's a tough call between the
> Hastybake and the TEC/Kamado.
>
> Richard Smith
>
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