FC's Big Green Eggventures

[DJ FC]

The Egg has gotten quite a bit of use since I've purchased her.

Here are a few photos of the set up:

Here we see the egg on a pallet the day of delivery. If you look closely enough you can see a pretty sweet Ducati in the background, probably owned by a massive winner:



My garden: Pieces of Egg everywhere!



Almost done assembling, my roommate struggling to figure something out:



Rack of lamb was pretty good, 7/10



Sausages too:



Not pictured (sadly): I made a brisket which sucked, some ribs which were OK, and a pulled pork shoulder that was PERFECT. The shoulder I put on at 3pm ambitiously thinking I could have it for dinner, boy was I wrong. But I was so wrong that I left the smoker on overnight and had amazing pulled pork for breakfast. Really should have gotten a picture of that. Next we are going to try another brisket, ribs, and another shoulder of pork. I will become the best BBQer in London. I promise.

[j money]

This thread is Eggcellent!! I've been wanting a BGE for a while but the price is a lil high for Alabama Money! I settled for a charcoal grill with a smoker box and made the best ribs I've ever had this past weekend. Smoking Meat Rules! You need to get the pizza stone if you don't have one and cook up some deep dish Chi town style on it. One of my buddies made some and it was eggcellent. I look forward to more posts about you and your meat.

[DJ FC]

GRILL MASTER

I was wondering, do you know whatever happened to our grill in college? I'd kind of like to have it for sentimental purposes. I wonder if she's been taken care of or thrown away.

Pics of ribs dude. The ribs I made were very average (though my family and I did make some 8/10 ribs in Indiana on a Webber and I was very proud of those). I WILL make the best ribs in London. Probably this Sunday.

[Cocktooth]

The best thing about grilling, is you get better with more experience. Who doesn't want to have a nice crown on the rocks, while slow cooking some pork? That lamb looks incredible. Ribs are so difficult to get right. You have to weigh the slow cooking, with not losing all the flavor in the process.

[THEINCREDIBLEdork]

Pretty sure we left it at the apartment when moving out.

On a side note, I made China-Surprise the other night and it was delicious.

[j money]

Ya I believe we left it at the house or loaded it Tony lama and threw in a dumpster somewhere. That was a Damn good grill...well worth the investment with as much as we used over those 3 yrs..I'll get some pics of the next batch I smoke..I'm going to try a Boston butt next and a chicken when I have an entire day to put into it. Never thought about lamb but I need to give that a try too if I can find a decent rack down here. On a side note I recently made some homemade hot sauce, pesto, and wine from our little garden which was all great.

[DJ FC]

Lamb is OK. It's just very plentiful here in the UK. Easier to get a rack of lamb than a rack of ribs. But it's no substitute. Lamb is fatty and better grilled. Pork tastes better and is better smoked. Doing pulled pork shoulder on Friday and a beef brisket on Sunday.

[Mr. Blonde]

Can we have a macro shot of the green outer texture please? I need a bit of JO material if you know what I mean. This just isn't doing it for me. Thanks in advance, love.

[DJ FC]

I think I might be on to something. Woke up an hour earlier than usual and fired up the egg.

Slammed a pork shoulder down on the grill and went to work.

When I got home I was greeted with this:

[Dent]

Originally Posted by Mr. Blonde

Can we have a macro shot of the green outer texture please?

mmm

[Cocktooth]

So do you put the charcoal directly under the meet you are cooking? When cooking pork, I never use direct heat. I put a bowl of water/beer in the middle, and directly under the product. I then put charcoal around the outside of the grill, and let it slow cook. I normally keep it on the grill for 6-7 hours minimum.

Also, I put it with the fatty part of the pork facing up. That allows the fat to run down and give the meat more flavor. Obviously, everyone grills different, and that looks fabulous, just adding my 2 cents on how I cook my pulled pork/tenderloins.

[DJ FC]

There's a big ceramic plate separating the coals from the meat so it's indirect.

I made ribs yesterday using the 2-2-1 method (2 hours open, 2 hours wrapped in foil, 1 hour open again).

[Cocktooth]

Those look glorious. I love the seasoned ribs, as opposed to the over sauced ribs. You are well on your way to owning your own BBQ food cart, and setting up shop on Saturdays. (Commonplace in Warsaw)

I was unaware of the ceramic plate, but it makes sense, since everything is indirect with the egg. I concur with this being one of the best threads in a long time. Is the weather grill worthy year round there? A question I should know the answer to, but I'm not searching anything right now.
right now

[DJ FC]

Originally Posted by Cocktooth

Is the weather grill worthy year round there? A question I should know the answer to, but I'm not searching anything right now.
right now

Yes for 3 reasons:

1) London has much milder winters than America
2) The Egg is ceramic and able to cook in harsh winters as well
3) I'm an American, not a pussy Brit

[Dent]

Can the BGE handle it? or will it land in Dam?

[DJ FC]

Smoked this guy for 12 hours and it still wasn't close to done. Kind of disappointing. Tasted very, very good though.

[DDTempest]

Forgive my noobishness, but educate me on the differences between "smoking" meat vs old fashioned grilling.

What fuels do you use / temperature / etc

[DJ FC]

Grilling by definition means direct heat. Smoking means introducing smoked material into the mix, so I guess you could theoretically smoke something while grilling it over a direct flame, but the general BBQ definition of smoking meat is indirect heat (something is between the flame and the meat) and that the temperature should be low and the cooking slow. Grilling is usually a higher temperature for a much shorter time. Smoking isn't always better, steak is best when grilled or fried at extremely high temperature (600 degrees plus). But for me the tastiest meats will be cooked much slower and at a temperature closer to 220 degrees. In addition to the low temperature you should literally burn chips of wood (hickory, mesquite, cherry, apple, etc.) so that their smokey flavor enters the meat.