The Big Green Egg

[Sparktrician]

I seem to recall that there was a controversy several years ago regarding tests finding residuals of used disposable diapers in certain brands of pellets.  It's probably been rectified by now, but I can't seem to lose that prejudice against pellets despite my son having had a pellet stove in his house 10+ years ago without any issues.  Hardwood charcoal for me. 

 

[Bob Marino]

I hear ya Pete. Lots of choices.  Saw BGE for the first time today. Very impressive but I'm leaning more towards the convenience of a pellet stove. One that can grill, smoke and be an oven. The Memphis grills ar looking good to me

Bob, if you are investigating pellet grills (especially in the Memphis price range), I'd also give Mak Grills a look.  They have what is probably the best controller on the market.  I've got a 2 star general, and love it.
[/quote]

Nice.....

 

[rmwarren]

I seem to recall that there was a controversy several years ago regarding tests finding residuals of used disposable diapers in certain brands of pellets.  It's probably been rectified by now, but I can't seem to lose that prejudice against pellets despite my son having had a pellet stove in his house 10+ years ago without any issues.  Hardwood charcoal for me.

Yea I heard that the lump charcoal has dead trees in it....  [poke]

RMW

 

[Bob Marino]

I seem to recall that there was a controversy several years ago regarding tests finding residuals of used disposable diapers in certain brands of pellets.  It's probably been rectified by now, but I can't seem to lose that prejudice against pellets despite my son having had a pellet stove in his house 10+ years ago without any issues.  Hardwood charcoal for me.

Yikes, Willy. Disposable diapers in the pellets? [eek] [scared] [eek]

I'm sure that has long ago been rectified (no pun intended) but I can understand your hesitation with that picture in mind.

 

[tjbnwi]

Make it easy---dig a hole, throw in a grate, add coals, light, wait a few minutes, start cooking.

Meat on a stick if you don't want it directly on the coals.

[wink]

Tom

 

[Bob Marino]

Make it easy---dig a hole, throw in a grate, add coals, light, wait a few minutes, start cooking.

Meat on a stick if you don't want it directly on the coals.

[wink]

Tom

Yeah, yeah...

 

[mark60]

Pellets get expensive unless you buy in bulk. I've been using perfect mix and sometimes hickory in my Yoder. Cookinpellets.com is where I get them from. Lumberjack pellets are also pretty popular and you can buy in bulk. I typically go through around a pound to 1 1/2 pounds per hour so it's not cheap to cook on.
The BGE in comparison is very cheap to cook on. When you're done cooking you snuff the fire and use the same coal for the next cook.
I used my Weber kettle today and had to empty the ash before I lit it up. I use regular Kingsford in that and a chimney of charcoal burns down to a lot of ash, every two or three cooks I have to clean it out. The lump in the BGE burns down  to almost nothing. I clean the ash out only occasionally.

 

[DynaGlide]

Festools are green. BGE is green. I really don't see how this is complicated to decide.  [big grin]

 

[Cheese]

Do you guys  - charcoal and pellets, have any favored wood preferences - mesquite, oak, hickory, etc? What do you prefer/use for grilling fish?

I use a Weber 22" kettle.
A few years back I chopped down a plum and an apricot tree. Dried the wood and cut thin rounds with a band saw. I probably have enough juice to last 10-15 years.

On ocassion I install 3/4" hardwood floors. The oak & maple off-cuts are saved and cut into 1/2" thick chunks with a bandsaw. I probably have enough juice to last forever...

I've fabbed stuff from hickory and cherry. I save the off-cuts, slice them into 1/2" thick chunks with a bandsaw. I probably have enough juice to last a couple of years.

In every case, all of the tinder is soaked in water before it is added to the Weber.

I'm now in search of that terminal apple tree.  [cool]

 

[Bob Marino]

Festools are green. BGE is green. I really don't see how this is complicated to decide.  [big grin]

  If things were that simple.....

 

[leakyroof]

Festools are green. BGE is green. I really don't see how this is complicated to decide.  [big grin]

. I already tried that approach with him.... Didn't work.... [embarassed]

 

[smirak]

Do you guys  - charcoal and pellets, have any favored wood preferences - mesquite, oak, hickory, etc? What do you prefer/use for grilling fish?

I use a Weber 22" kettle.
A few years back I chopped down a plum and an apricot tree. Dried the wood and cut thin rounds with a band saw. I probably have enough juice to last 10-15 years.

On ocassion I install 3/4" hardwood floors. The oak & maple off-cuts are saved and cut into 1/2" thick chunks with a bandsaw. I probably have enough juice to last forever...

I've fabbed stuff from hickory and cherry. I save the off-cuts, slice them into 1/2" thick chunks with a bandsaw. I probably have enough juice to last a couple of years.

In every case, all of the tinder is soaked in water before it is added to the Weber.

I'm now in search of that terminal apple tree.  [cool]

One thing I don't understand...why soak in water?  I've never done it on my Kamado Joe.  My smoking wood is very dry.  You only get smoke for about the first 30 mins anyway...your food won't absorb anymore, so why take the time to soak the wood?  More smoke overall doesn't equal more smoke in the meat?  Just curious...

 

[DynaGlide]

Amazing ribs debunked the soaking wood myth. It doesn't penetrate the wood enough to matter.

 

[Naildrivingman]

Well...this is a website devoted to the worship of green.  I have to believe that any Festoolian grill master would have to have a BGE.  If for no other reason it augments our already out of control green addiction, for which I know of no treatment center or 12 step group.

 

[Bob Marino]

Amazing ribs debunked the soaking wood myth. It doesn't penetrate the wood enough to matter.

Soooooo, what is the soaking myth?

 

[miclee15]

I've own a Large and Small BGE and cannot say enough great things about them.  My wife was going to kill me when I brought home my first BGE, until I cooked a spatchcock chicken. After one bite, she was sold.

One advantage to ceramic cooking is the moisture in the meats are not drawn out.  I'm not sure the technical term, but when meats are cooked in a metal kettle, the heat which is radiating out draws out moisture.  In a ceramic cooker much less as the heat barely escapes so the moisture stays in.  Same concept as the claypot chicken things you put in the oven.

Also, I'm surprised no one has thrown out cooking steaks using a Sous Vide.  You will get a perfectly cooked steak and impossible to over cook to your desired temp.    What I do is cook the steak with a sous vide, 1 hour prior to it finishing, fire up my small BGE wide open vents so it gets really hot.  Sear the outside for a few secs.  Total prep and actually doing the cooking about 5 mins.  Much easier when you have guests and not wanting to man the grill to ensure nothing is overcooked.  I'm sure this group wouldn't have an issue buying another "tool" to assist in the goal for a perfect steak  [big grin]

 

[Bob Marino]

I've own a Large and Small BGE and cannot say enough great things about them.  My wife was going to kill me when I brought home my first BGE, until I cooked a spatchcock chicken. After one bite, she was sold.

One advantage to ceramic cooking is the moisture in the meats are not drawn out.  I'm not sure the technical term, but when meats are cooked in a metal kettle, the heat which is radiating out draws out moisture.  In a ceramic cooker much less as the heat barely escapes so the moisture stays in.  Same concept as the claypot chicken things you put in the oven.

Also, I'm surprised no one has thrown out cooking steaks using a Sous Vide.  You will get a perfectly cooked steak and impossible to over cook to your desired temp.    What I do is cook the steak with a sous vide, 1 hour prior to it finishing, fire up my small BGE wide open vents so it gets really hot.  Sear the outside for a few secs.  Total prep and actually doing the cooking about 5 mins.  Much easier when you have guests and not wanting to man the grill to ensure nothing is overcooked.  I'm sure this group wouldn't have an issue buying another "tool" to assist in the goal for a perfect steak  [big grin]

If you go back a couple of pages, you will see the Sous Vide mentioned. This thread was the first I ever became aware of that though - just to show how much more  can be learned by a simple post.

 

[DynaGlide]

Amazing ribs debunked the soaking wood myth. It doesn't penetrate the wood enough to matter.

Soooooo, what is the soaking myth?

Thought i covered it. Soaking wood doesn't prolong the burn of the wood.

 

[Bob Marino]

Ok, I will open up another can of worms (no not in the food ) but regarding sous vide and meats - if all you are doing after the sous vide (Yes I know suos vide makes the meats super, super tender) is very quickly searing the meats on high temps  can't that be done - just as effectively taste wise on a gas grill? Yes I know, gas may only get to 600-700 degrees or so rather than the 900+ from ceramic, but that means the difference in searing time is maybe a minute or so and when only searing for such a short time how can the benefits of  the smoky flavor be imparted on the food? 
And wouldn't a good and properly reverse seared steak be more flavorful, not necessarily more tender, but more flavorful, than one cooked with sous vide?

 

[Cheese]

For smirak & DynaGlide...

One of my favorite cuts is flank steak that has been marinated overnight in an olive oil/wine/herb mixture. When placing the steak above the hot charcoal, there is a tendency for the marinade drippings to start a fire.

So, when placing dry wood on hot coals and then adding a steak & marinade, that combination does provide for a lot more flame and a lot less smoke, and it burns rather than sears the surface. Soaking the wood controls the flame out problem and imparts a less bitter taste. When I used dried wood exclusively, the flavor of the meat was a bit more bitter/tart.