BGE Question.

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
41

P1000327.JPG
Getting the ashes out really isn’t a problem for for these sunken installations. The bottom vent is accessible and you can just rake the ashes out to an ash pan.

Ashley

42

The open front is facing South. The afternoon breezes run West to East open the window to keep it aired out when smoky. There is a method to my madness.

It didn’t cross my mind until last night when I was cleaning up. I was taking some temperature measurements around the egg to see if i needed to trim the opening a bit for safety, nah 265° is OK. I felt the side of the fridge and it was warm. I opened it up and felt the inside wall and it was cold. Still I will have a 3/4 plywood separator between the two just for energy savings.

image.jpg

43

Brian, great job, and I love the look!

44

We got our inspiration from Pax and ran with it.

45

You’re going to need to step up your Egg game. Your setup is that of a peasant in comparison. [whistle.gif]

46

Ashely, I’m moving to Dallas next month so I’m already inviting myself down to Austin to use that excellent set up! [cheers.gif]

Question, how do the cabinets do around the egg since it puts out so much heat? Just an awesome layout.

47

Wow, Ashley, gorgeous! Thanks for sharing that.

48

My design reflects my budget and my West County roots. We’re yokels out here. [crazy1.gif]

49

Just kidding Brian. I do wonder if you’re going to be smoked out, particularly starting the fire, but even later during cooking.

50

Jeb –

You’re welcome over when you make it to Austin, but you picked the wrong time to move to Texas. It is supposed to be another scorcher this summer.

I like the cabinets much better than the typical rock with access doors set-up since you get so much more useful storage. The heat from the egg is not an issue since it has granite all the way around it to insulate. I was more worried about the big DCS gas grill, but we built a fire box to insulate that from the wood underneath. I like the sunken and built-in BGE installations since you get the benefit of lots of working surface area around the egg. Takes commitment to the BGE to cut your granite (or wood like Brian’s) around it. No turning back.
IMG_4341.JPG
The kitchen was the easy part, the hard part was waiting on these beams that took 6 months to get onsite. It was pretty interesting watching 2 guys and a small forklift raise them.
IMG_4605_6_7_tonemapped.jpg
Ashley

51

Impressive! My budget couldn’t even swing one of the beams. [truce.gif]

52

My level of jealousy could not possibly be higher than it is right now. Well done.

53

Indeed.

Nobody is welcome at my house anymore due to fears of being ridiculed for not stepping up my game.

54

Yep. I stopped posting pics of my “cellar” once I saw LeVine’s. Now this. [cry.gif]

55

Two weeks ago I attended my first (and likely my last) Eggfest, “Porkopolis” in Cincinnati. The event was hot, sticky, full of mediocre food choices, but there was a lot of good advice to be had. I wanted a DigiQ but was a bit uncertain-after all-the BGE version goes for $330. If you are not familiar, it is basically a computer for your BGE coupled with fan unit that regulates your fire/cooking temp. I say “computer” rather than “digital gauge” because it uses algorithms to “ramp” the temps down as you approach the target meat temp. It also uses algorithms with each cook to “learn” how quickly your BGE fire reacts to the fan so as to reduce overshoot. I probably asked five people what they thought of the DigiQ in terms of utility vs. cost. Three said “just do it” and two suggested that with time I would/could learn to regulate temps just as well without it. I bought one anyway but took one guys’s advice to wait a couple of weeks to learn how to use the BGE the old fashioned way before relying upon the DigiQ.
Well, today I am having some friends over and I am cooking two butts and a mess of ribs and I can not tell you just how cool and effective the DigiQ is. Easy to learn how to use too. The “Viper” fan unit is just too cool. Once I had my fire going I plugged in the DigiQ and plugged in the “Viper” and it immediately went to work with it’s almost silent fan unit stoking my fire until it reached my program temp of 275 (I cook butts and ribs a bit higher than the old fabled 230). It is going on hour three and the temps have remained rock steady at exactly 275.
DigiQ 2.jpg
DigiQ 1.jpg

56

Another tip for those interested-good lump. This is widely considered to be the best http://www.firecraft.com/product/rockwood-lump-charcoal-20lbs/hardwood-charcoal
This vendor will ship five bags for free. Just got mine. How they can ship over 100lbs of lump for free and still sell the lump for $20 a bag is hard to figure out, but they do. Compared to paying $28 for BGE brand before sales tax, it’s a no-brainer.

57

My local store has the Firecraft lump and I’m a big fan as well. Was not aware I could get it shipped to me - and at a decent price. Thanks for the info.

Good call on the digi-q. Makes overnight cooks a no-brainer.

58

I regularly use Lazzari Mesquite lump because I go through a lot of lump charcoal since I use it in my Weber kettles as well as in my BGE. 40# bag is $13 and if we end up grilling every night, which some weeks we do, I’ll go through an entire bag in a week. The cost savings, 67%, in the long run is pretty big.
Good solid lump is a must for real long/overnight cook so I’ll look into that Rockwood. Naked Whiz seems to think pretty highly of it as well.

*Real men don’t need a computer on their egg [wink.gif]

59

Fail! Must be something in that stuff that CARB does not approve of.
image.jpg

60

*Real men don’t need a computer on their egg > [wink.gif]

Funny. My own wife says I am not a “real man” so I don’t need your reinforcement, sir!
I suppose a real man cooks Q on an Ugly Drum or a stick burner.
In some countries, real men cook Q using an old mattress spring and cinder blocks or a hole in the ground.
Once you get all dainty with a BGE, why not go all the way?