Big Green Egg Bible

Just got home from a great dinner and was reading the thread about wine cost @ Rssturants and a few folks chimed in about there BGE skills…

That being said let’s hear it. Have a killer steak method? Brisket? Pulled pork? Would live to hear not only cooking techniques but any and all marinades/spice rubs.

Happy to contribute but a strong buzz won’t allow me to correctly reiterate anything I enjoy making on the BGE correctly.

The buzz has proven itself powerful! Can someone please move this to epicurian eats.

Grassy A$$

I’ve owned an XL Egg for a little over a year now. Last “grill” I’ll ever buy. Love the thing, it does everything and does it all well. I’ve done everything from pizzas at 800+ degrees to 24+ hr smokes.

The best thing I’ve done is purchase the CyberQ with fan. Being able to monitor the temps in the pit and 3 meat probes remotely at work is great. You can even change the temp remotely if it’s cooking to slow/fast. Very cool tech.

I have owned a Lg egg for about 4 yrs now. I absolutely love it and the food which comes off it! Pizza, ribs, whole sirloins, pork tenderloins, short ribs, salmon, seafood kabobs, etc.

For me, most of the time, simple is better - salmon with EVOO and dill, marinated tenderloins, shrimps on rosmary skewers. All good! Corn on the cob, asparagus, ribeyes…now I’m hungry!

This is a great method for cooking steak: TRex Method For New York Strip Steaks -- The Naked Whiz's Ceramic Charcoal Cooker Web Site. Allows you to get a super-consistent rare/medium rare with a good sear and without overdone edges.

One thing I really love making on the BGE is smoked salmon. Although I rarely eat farmed salmon normally, I’ve found that a big Costco Atlantic Salmon filet works perfectly for smoking. Rub the salmon down the night before with whatever spices you want (or a few days earlier if you’re a better planner than I am) and then smoke for 3-5 hours at about as low of a temp as you can maintain with a huge dose of a mild wood (alder or cherry or something). Always a huge crowd pleaser and super super easy.

I built a BOE (Big Orange Egg) from large nested terra cotta pots and repurposed cast iron bits from a grill. Its used primarily for low-and-slow cooking, so I heavily rely on my Stoker controller. On year 5 now of that setup, and routinely make super easy ribs and pulled pork, sometimes 12+ hour sessions.

If you’re going to go BGE and want to do low and slow, get a computer controller as well.

Pizza and ti-tip are the two regulars in our family. Perhaps the most fun thing we’ve cooked is homemade bacon, it is awesome.

As written for the Sisterhood Cookbook at my Synagogue. Bracketed language is my additions for posting here.

The World’s Greatest Brisket

If you think there’s a bit of hyperbole in that title, let it be known that at Falltacular, a charity wine collector event that raises money for a Women’s Shelter in San Juan Capistrano, three attendees who had eaten this brisket at an event in our back yard in 2010 [In New York] complained that I had failed to make it, freeze it, and bring it with us to California so they could have it again.

This recipe is the whole enchilada. You can omit parts of it; you don’t have to use a smoker; the mole sauce is icing on the cake that I learned to add at the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park; and you can adjust it as you find convenient. You can even make it better and claim the title of “The World’s Even Better Greatest Brisket.”

This recipe is as much about technique as it is about ingredients. You don’t have to follow the rub recipe below, you can be creative and make your own, so long as you do not forget the important rule of cooking beef – you can’t have too much garlic. This recipe is designed not to be overtly “hot.” If you like Szechuan and Vindaloo, you can add your favorite ground hot pepper to the rub. If you don’t have a smoker [Why anyone would not own a smoker is beyond me], you can do the first bake in the oven for a few hours instead, but make sure that you bake it over a pan of water because you need the humidity. If you want to fiddle with the mole recipe, go ahead. I have seen mole recipes with as many as 25 ingredients.

Step I – The preparation of the brisket for the absorption of the flavors:

Buy a full brisket with the entire fat cap, weight in the 16-18 pound range. Take a really sharp knife (I use a Shun Japanese 12 inch Yangiba to slice off the fat and a 10 inch Trident chef’s knife for the big chunks ) and remove the exterior fat, making sure to cut some of it off in sheets or strips, which you will use later to keep the brisket ultra juicy while smoking it. Also remove the large triangle of solid fat in the deckle (point) portion of the brisket and any other large solid chucks of fat, but do not remove any of the fatty meat. Lay the sheets and strips of fat on top of each other, put them in a plastic bag, and put in the refrigerator. The first time you do this, save the rest of the fat in the refrigerator as well. Once you get the hang of how much fat you have to save, you can throw out the big chunks the next time. You want to cut off as much of the exterior and solid pieces of fat as you can so that the rub – Step II – touches the meat. You do not want to cut into the meat, but a few boo-boos are almost inevitable. Not to worry but leave the meat as intact as possible.

[Shortcut – buy a trimmed whole brisket. If you want to use only the flat-cut, low-fat portion, I recommend that you pick another recipe. This recipe is not low fat and it doesn’t work very well with a lean flat cut brisket.]

Step II – Initiate the flavor absorption process:

You need to make a spice rub to flavor the meat. You can use whatever rub you want, but you will need at least one-half cup of it. Make a cup and if there is leftover, just save it for something else. I use only spices in the rub, but you can add herbs if you want or other spices if you want. I use only dry ingredients. I believe that moist ingredients do not work well because they cause the rub to clump together. Other people disagree.

My basic rub is made free hand without measuring cups, but this is about right. Mix together ¼ cup garlic powder, ¼ cup paprika, 1/8 cup Kosher salt, 1/8 cup freshly ground black pepper, ¼ cup freshly toasted and freshly ground cumin seeds (ou can use pre-ground cumin, but the fanatic in me requires that I take cumin seeds, toast them in a hot cast iron fry pan until they start to release their aroma, and then grind them finely before adding to the mix). Throw in some onion powder if you have it. Rub the spice mix into the brisket, all sides, getting it into all the crevices and flaps. Put the brisket in a large glass pan and cover the pan with plastic wrap. DO NOT use a metal pan unless you first double wrap the brisket in plastic wrap. Put the brisket in the refrigerator for a day, or two days, or three, but not longer.

(Shortcut – buy a Cajun rub or any other commercially available BBQ rub.)

Step III – Prepare the accoutrements:

While the brisket absorbs the flavors, you need to prepare two things to bathe the brisket.

Part A – the onions

First, make at least two pounds of caramelized onions. You need to start with at least five pounds of large Spanish onions or, if you want to be nominated for the Foodie Fanatic Hall of Fame, use Vidalia onions. Slice thinly and sauté in a bit of olive oil, stirring regularly, until the onions are medium to dark brown and reduced in volume by at least 50% as the water cooks out and the flavor intensifies. Start with a high temperature and lower it as the liquid comes out of the onions and boils away. This takes at least 30 minutes with regular stirring. You can, when mostly done, cheat a bit by putting the onions on a no stick cookie sheet in a slow (250 degree) oven and let them roast, stirring every once in a while. Cool, put in jar or plastic bag in refrigerator.

Part B – the Mexican mole sauce

This is one of the real fanatic parts. You are going to make Mexican mole sauce. The following recipe is a modification of a recipe for Mole Rojo. Mole is a traditional multi-ingredient sauce. You can buy it in some stores, and that’s an acceptable, although not quite as good, alternative. If you buy it in the store, you usually have to add some water because it is too dry. You want it to be the consistency of a very thick sauce, but still able to be poured.

The basic ingredients are plum tomatoes, dried Guajillo peppers, bitter chocolate, and pumpkin seeds. You need a black iron fry pan or other heavy griddle. Take three to four ounces of dry Gaujillo peppers, remove the seeds and stems (use plastic gloves if you have them and if not, wash your hands thoroughly after seeding them), and then dry fry them in a hot iron fry pan until they start to brown. Remove to cool. Toast a half cup of raw pumpkin seeds in the dry iron fry pan, stirring as they make a popping sound, until they start to pop and they turn light brown instead of green. Remove to cool. Dry fry 12 ounces of fresh plum tomatoes in the iron fry pan, stirring occasionally, until the skin begins to brown. Remove and let start to cool. In a blender, add the tomatoes, peppers, pumpkin seeds, 6 cloves garlic, two canned chipotle peppers (buy a little can in the Mexican food department at the grocery store), 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground allspice, 2 tsps cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground close, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsps olive or peanut oil and ¼ cup peanut butter. Use almond butter if you are allergic to peanuts. Skip the nuts if you are allergic to both. Puree in the blender until smooth and then puree some more so it is really smooth. Add a bit of water if you need to loosen it so you can puree. After it’s smooth, put a bit of oil in the iron fry pan to coat, heat the fry pan until almost smoking hot, put the entire mixture from the blender into the iron fry pan and sauté, adding ½ ounce of bitter sugar free chocolate, chopped up to facilitate melting. 91% Lindt or 85%+ Valhrona or comparable. Sauté for about 5 minutes until warmed and the chocolate is fully melted, stirring occasionally. If needed to maintain a thick sauce consistency, add a bit of water. Cool and put in jar or plastic bag refrigerator.

Step IV – Smoke the brisket [DONE IN THE BGE BUT NOT MENTIONED AS SUCH IN THE OFFICIAL RECIPE]

Heat smoker to 225 degrees using hickory, apple, oak or fruitwood on top of lump charcoal. Do not use mesquite, it’s too bitter. Do not use briquettes, they are for amateurs. If you do not have a smoker, you can use a Weber kettle with the indirect method but be careful not to get the temperature too high. Remove brisket from pan and unwrap if you wrapped it. Take the strips of fat you saved in Step I and lay them on top of the brisket and secure with toothpicks. Cover the brisket as completely as you can with the fat. This keeps it moist while smoking. Put the brisket in the smoker and smoke for 8-12 hours at 200-225 degrees.

When done, remove from smoker and remove the toothpicks and discard any loose fat on top. Lay out a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil twice the size of the brisket on the counter, smear half of the caramelized onions and one third of the mole sauce on one side of the aluminum foil. Put the brisket on top of the onions and mole, then top with the rest of the onions and the mole sauce. Wrap tightly with the aluminum foil. Wrap a second time with aluminum foil so it is double wrapped tight, put in refrigerator and let sit for one to two days to allow the flavors to integrate.

Step V – Melt out the remaining fat.

Take the brisket out of the refrigerator. DO NOT unwrap. Poke two or three tiny holes with a toothpick on the underside and put the brisket in a pan – metal is fine. Hopefullly, you have a continuous read thermometer with a read out you can keep outside the oven. If so, stick the probe into the meat. If not, you’re going to have to check the temperature a lot. Put the brisket in a 350 degree oven. After two hours, decrease the temperature to 250 degrees. Better choice is to drop the temperature once the internal meat temp gets to about 175. You need to gradually increase the internal temperature until it is between 195 and 205 degrees and hold at that temperature. At that temperature, the fat and collagen melts. When the meat gets to that temperature, lower the oven to 225 degrees. You need to hold the meat temperature at 195-205 degrees for at least two hours and let the fat melt. It will ooze out of the foil into the pan. You know you are done when there is a pool of clear fat in the pan. When that happens, remove the brisket in the foil from the pan, put on the counter, unwrap. If you get impatient, that’s OK, you can take it out earlier.

Get a big wood cutting board and place upside down on top of the brisket. Flip the brisket and cutting board over. This takes two people. The brisket is so soft at this point that this is the only way we have been able to get it onto a cutting board. Remove the foil, allow to cool just a bit, and slice with the sharpest knife you own. If you do not own a good Japanese steel sharp angle carving knife, get one, because the meat is so soft that there is no other way to carve it. When you carve it, serve it along with the onions and mole sauce that have had a close relationship with the meat for the past few days.

Thanks Jay, this is the one thing I haven’t yet done, but now i have a task for Sunday.

Tom,
Any secrets or pointers for a tri-tip on the egg? Been wanting to do one for a few years now, but haven’t gotten around to it as it isn’t a cut that is regularly available around these parts. Plus every tri-tip I’ve ever had was from my buddy’s santa maria style grill and I’m not sure I’ll be able to replicate what he has perfected.

As to the OP’s question, the egg is absolutely fantastic if you are a fan of cooking/smoking, as it can do basically anything you ask of it. One of my favorite BGE “toys” is the half moon griddle. You can get some killer crust on burgers, steaks, etc, while also getting the wood grilled flavor. The plate setter is also a must have if you are planning to do any low n slow cooks.

I like setting the egg at 300 degrees and let it slowly cook til done. If you want a crust, you can pan sear it for a few minutes, but honestly I like it without the crust for this piece of meat. Slow cooking gives a very nice smoky flavor to the meat. My local butcher marinades the tri-tip in Sioux Z Wow, which is great, but I’m just as happy putting a dry rub on there (changes each time I do it).

I’ve done bacon as well. Did you go out and buy “pink salt” and cure for a week before cooking? That process is the only thing that’s kept me from doing it again, well that and trying to figure out how to slice it decently.

I have done excellent brisket on my good ol’ Weber Kettle grille. Certainly not a set it and forget it proposition, but what better excuse to get up early, crack a beer (or 10) and sit in my backyard all day.

I did. I used Michael Ruhlman’s recipe for the brine which included pink salt, maple syrup, etc. and it worked well. But yes, it does require advanced planning which limits the number of times I do it.

Slicing is tricky and I haven’t found a good solution to that yet, but in the end it still tastes good.

Great topic as the BGE and wine are a perfect match! I’ve been an Egger for close to 10 years now. I was a diehard Weber gas man before that and haven’t looked back. The only downside to the egg is if you buy a large or smaller you just don’t have the surface area for big family BBQ’S so I do keep a spare propane grill nearby.

One of the best tips I’ve picked up is lighting the grill using a chimney starter set on the side burner of the propane grill. What’s really amazing about the BGE and the hardwood charcoal used in the them is that you are cooking in less than 15 minutes if necessary. Not the wait you have with regular charcoal.

I also agree with previous posts about computer controllers, especially if you plan on a lot of low and slow cooks. I have the original Stoker brand that I made wireless by connecting to an Apple Airport Express version 1. There’s nothing like checking what’s going on in the Egg via any portable device. On a full load of coal and the controller set in the 225-250 range I have no problem going 18 hours without adding more charcoal.

Ok I can go on for quite a while on this topic but will leave you with my latest accessory and another must have. The must have is the replacement chimney cap from smoke ware.net. Just set and forget and it won’t accidentely change position if you don’t set it just right. And the stainless steel looks great too. The latest addition is an adjustable rig from the ceramicgrillstore.com. Great for adding more cooking surface area. It’s high quality stuff but not cheap. Oh I have no affiliation with either company.

I doubt if any Berserkers into grilling would reget purchasing a BGE but if you did its a quick sell on craigslist or anywhere. If you doubt me on that one, just try finding a used one!

Happy Grilling
John

The BGE is one of the best cooking purchases I have made. It really is as good as everyone says. Homemade pizza on the egg is fantastic.
Pizza.jpg

FIFY!

I hate you people, I really do!

I have been serious into smoking for some time now and as a result have moved away from my ceramic to pellet smokers and grills. While I love the ease of use and food quality, I miss having the high heat of my grill dome.

I have found myself looking at eggs for the last several years, as the ace hardware chain here carries them.

Good god are those things expensive when you buy a grill and a table together…think I could buy the finest stainless webber for less.

May have to drive by ace again this weekend lol.

Question for you all . . .

I have had a large BGE for about 3 years now. I love it for anything above 300 degrees because that’s a temp I can reliably set and forget for a good 5 hours (about as long as anything is going to cook at that temp). Then I can crank it up to 600-700 easily to sear off some steaks if I’m cooking multiple things on the same day

BUT . . . I have had an incredibly difficult time getting temps to stabilize in the 200 - 225 range for extended cooks. I’ve nailed these temps for 5 hours (e.g, just before going to sleep) and have woken up to snuffed out fires and meat that I wouldn’t dare try to eat. I’ve looked into the fans that you can install (one of you mentioned the CyberQ) . . . but any other specifics or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

I love the wood flavor and the versatility of the BGE . . . but I must admit that the inability to set it and forget it has led me to start eying some pellet smokers