So I go on vacation in a month or so and the place we're renting has a green egg for our use. I'll be there a week and want to try a couple of pork shoulders on it. I've heard lots of hype about these, and since I've been kicking around buying one, I am excited to try it out for a week to see if it is as good as I hear before buying it..... Anybody own one, and have tips on setting it up for low temp cooking?
Green Egg
- Thread starter no-mas
- Start date
No tips, but I just wanted to say lucky you! I'd love a chance to try one of those out without having to shell out $1000!
My dad has one. Here's what he said...
"Don't try to use it like a regular grill (Weber, gas, etc.) as it works differently. I found this out after trying to cook things my way for the first two years and then finally ending up reading the cookbook that came with it. Just about every large piece of meat is cooked at right around 300 degrees excepts steaks. Get the thing going and watch your temperture. Put your meat in for the specified time and leave it alone (lid down). You only need to watch the time and the temperature. If it's too hot, close your vents more. If it is too cool, open the vents more."
He kept on rambling about the cookbook that comes with it as being very important. He also said that there are many Green Egg recipes on the internet that are there for the taking. He was pretty adamant about leaving the meat alone (resist the temptation to turn, baste, etc.) and just let the egg cook things. He said that most folks tend to err with this part.
"Don't try to use it like a regular grill (Weber, gas, etc.) as it works differently. I found this out after trying to cook things my way for the first two years and then finally ending up reading the cookbook that came with it. Just about every large piece of meat is cooked at right around 300 degrees excepts steaks. Get the thing going and watch your temperture. Put your meat in for the specified time and leave it alone (lid down). You only need to watch the time and the temperature. If it's too hot, close your vents more. If it is too cool, open the vents more."
He kept on rambling about the cookbook that comes with it as being very important. He also said that there are many Green Egg recipes on the internet that are there for the taking. He was pretty adamant about leaving the meat alone (resist the temptation to turn, baste, etc.) and just let the egg cook things. He said that most folks tend to err with this part.
Yeah, I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I look forward as much to cooking on this thing as I do the vacation itself.Melt In The Sun said:
Thanks for checking with your dad! I'm pretty patient and can follow directions, so I don't think leaving the meat alone will be a problem. Can you find out if he uses anything like a baking stone to shield the meat from the direct heat of the coals?257WbyMag said:
From what I have seen, he doesn't use any sort of stone. The again, the only things that I have been present for him to cook on it are steaks. For steaks (usually thick ribeyes), he lets that thing get hot to like 600 degrees. Then he sears them on both sides for about 90 seconds each. Then he closes the vents up tight, fairly well snuffing things out and leaves the steaks in there for another 8 minutes or so. Takes them out on the timer and they are perfect medium rare. By closing the vents, the direct heat is gone quickly, but that ceramic egg retains a ton of heat and radiates it from all directions. It seals up tight too so no moisture is lost in the cooking process really. A good cut of meat will melt in your mouth.
I've never used a BGE, but here are some general tips for barbecue;
(1) Barbecue is low and slow. I personally shoot for 225 - 250 degrees, and allot about 12 hours cooking time for Boston butts. The safe internal temp for pork is 170, but I usually let mine get to around 190 before I take them off (get either a wireless thermometer or an instant read thermometer to check your internal temps with).
(2) No need to keep checking them, as been said before. Every time you open the lid, you lose heat.
(3) I usually try to keep smoke going for the first three or four hours. I prefer hickory for butts.
(4) After I take them out, I wrap them in foil, then in towels, and place them in a cooler for a couple of hours to rest. This lets the juices get redistributed through the meat.
(5) A guy I know at work has a BGE, he swears by lump charcoal.
(1) Barbecue is low and slow. I personally shoot for 225 - 250 degrees, and allot about 12 hours cooking time for Boston butts. The safe internal temp for pork is 170, but I usually let mine get to around 190 before I take them off (get either a wireless thermometer or an instant read thermometer to check your internal temps with).
(2) No need to keep checking them, as been said before. Every time you open the lid, you lose heat.
(3) I usually try to keep smoke going for the first three or four hours. I prefer hickory for butts.
(4) After I take them out, I wrap them in foil, then in towels, and place them in a cooler for a couple of hours to rest. This lets the juices get redistributed through the meat.
(5) A guy I know at work has a BGE, he swears by lump charcoal.
no-mas said:
Hello no-mas. I have a BGE and yes if you want to do any type of indirect slow cooking you will need a plate setter. It is essentially a roundish ceramic plate with legs. Do a Google search to see what it looks like. Hopefully the place you are renting has one.
I would suggest getting a good hardwood lump charcoal. I have also found that if you have any leftover charcoal in the grill from you previous grilling it can clog the air holes at the bottom. It isn't a problem for low temp cooking but can prevent you from getting the really high temps for good searing.
-Peter
I was looking at them recently -- check out this site: chowhound.chow.com/topics/351543 They usually have some decent advice. If your question isn't already answered there, post it and I'm sure you'll get some good responses.
We want a full report when you return!
Happy vacation!
Sue
We want a full report when you return!
Happy vacation!
Sue
Thanks to you both!
Sue, I'll check out chowhound... and yes, I'll post back after I try it out.
Peter, I know they have a baking stone for the egg, but don't know if it's a plate setter. If not, I'll improvise with the baking stone and some way to elevate the grate above it. Can you measure the height of the plate setter for me?
Sue, I'll check out chowhound... and yes, I'll post back after I try it out.
Peter, I know they have a baking stone for the egg, but don't know if it's a plate setter. If not, I'll improvise with the baking stone and some way to elevate the grate above it. Can you measure the height of the plate setter for me?
no-mas said:
Hopefully my explanation makes sense. We have a large size BGE. For slow cooking the plate setter sits in a way that I think looks upside down with the three legs facing upwards. In this configuration the bottom sits on a ring that is part of the BGE. The inner diameter of the ring is 16". The bottom of the plate setter is 0.75" thick with the legs sticking up another 2.75". The grate sits on top to of the legs.
The plate setter can also be used inverted (legs facing down). We have been using it that way this week with a pizza stone on top to cook some wood oven style pizza. Very good.
-Peter
I've got a Kamado, which is essentially the same principle as the BGE. My advice to you, no-mas, is to not touch it while you're on vacation. Don't even look at it, pretend it's not there! You're just going to end up cooking things that taste amazing, and you'll then be wishing you had one of your own as soon as you get back!
You'll get as many opinions on how to cook a shoulder/butt as there are seasonings. I usually don't bother with a plate setter/pizza stone if I'm only doing one shoulder. I put the fatty part down, and I find that protects the rest of the meat from the fire. I also try to have the temp settled around 225 for 30 minutes before putting it on, then there aren't as many flames coming up.
Pay a little extra for boneless, you'll save hours on the cooking. Mag's dad is right, though, don't mess around with the meat. Although if you do decide that you want to take a peek, you'll discover the best part about ceramics- the heat retention is amazing, so you won't really lose any.
Let us know how it goes!
RH
You'll get as many opinions on how to cook a shoulder/butt as there are seasonings. I usually don't bother with a plate setter/pizza stone if I'm only doing one shoulder. I put the fatty part down, and I find that protects the rest of the meat from the fire. I also try to have the temp settled around 225 for 30 minutes before putting it on, then there aren't as many flames coming up.
Pay a little extra for boneless, you'll save hours on the cooking. Mag's dad is right, though, don't mess around with the meat. Although if you do decide that you want to take a peek, you'll discover the best part about ceramics- the heat retention is amazing, so you won't really lose any.
Let us know how it goes!
RH
MikeInTn, I'm not sure how I missed your post yesterday; thanx for the tips! Peter, thanks for measuring - makes perfect sense. RH, your enthusiasm is why I'm excited about trying it out; Everyone I know that owns one of these things sounds like you do
You're more than welcome. I do all my smoking in a Great Outdoors Smokey Mountain (GOSM) gas-fired vertical smoker. In fact, we went and got the butts tonight that I'll smoke for our 4th of July gathering. I usually make about 10 lbs of pulled pork for us, and ten pounds or so for the fire station a couple of doors down. 
Don't forget to get yourself an instant-read or wireless thermometer.!!
Don't forget to get yourself an instant-read or wireless thermometer.!!
Well, the egg's a winner in my book. It is remarkably easy to use, efficient and controllable. Made a pork shoulder, baby backs and steaks over the course of my stay, and all were winners.
After I got back home, I couldn't bring myself to spring for the $1000 it would take for the large egg and accessories, so I bought a bubba keg grill instead. I'd read about it and generally had positive reviews. It is a knock-off... insulated double wall steel instead of ceramic, but the principal is the same. While on vacation, I bought a plate setter for when I made the shoulder, and it fits in the keg perfectly.
I'm now using my keg lots - I've made another pork shoulder, ribs, steaks, chicken wings and breasts, corn bread, and grilled veggies of all sorts... grilled fish, pizzas and a beef roast are on deck. I love this thing - remarkably versatile!
BTW - we had a group of 25 rent this place for a reunion: Hawkesdene House. I can't recommend it highly enough if any of you are ever planning a large gathering. Truly a gem!
After I got back home, I couldn't bring myself to spring for the $1000 it would take for the large egg and accessories, so I bought a bubba keg grill instead. I'd read about it and generally had positive reviews. It is a knock-off... insulated double wall steel instead of ceramic, but the principal is the same. While on vacation, I bought a plate setter for when I made the shoulder, and it fits in the keg perfectly.
I'm now using my keg lots - I've made another pork shoulder, ribs, steaks, chicken wings and breasts, corn bread, and grilled veggies of all sorts... grilled fish, pizzas and a beef roast are on deck. I love this thing - remarkably versatile!
BTW - we had a group of 25 rent this place for a reunion: Hawkesdene House. I can't recommend it highly enough if any of you are ever planning a large gathering. Truly a gem!
Sounds like no one's gonna need any floatation devices in your pool now. You'll all just bob around.no-mas said:
Funny, I'm picking up my Bubba Keg tomorrow! Glad to hear that you liked it. Almost got a WSM but just couldn't pull the trigger on it after I saw the BSK. I really liked the BSK, but it was also a little more than I felt like spending. Then finally found the BK (predecessor to the BSK) on sale after hunting around.
I'm thinking about getting the new diffuser that the BK folks just started selling, or maybe kluging something together like a lot of the folks on the Bubba board have done. We'll see after I have it in my hands and get a feel for it. Can you use both grills with the plate setter in place?
Sue
I'm thinking about getting the new diffuser that the BK folks just started selling, or maybe kluging something together like a lot of the folks on the Bubba board have done. We'll see after I have it in my hands and get a feel for it. Can you use both grills with the plate setter in place?
Sue
Hey Sue.
I haven't tried cooking on the upper rack with the plate setter, but I'm not sure that it will leave much room for anything beyond something like chicken breasts / wings... The lid will close with the upper rack and plate setter; I just don't know how much height you'll have up there. I don't think you could do a big piece of meat on the upper with a plate setter. I don't make that much stuff at once, but if you intend on lo and slow cooking more large cuts of meat than the main grate will hold, I'm not sure the plate setter will work. So far, I've only used the upper rack once, to finish cooking steaks while I grilled asparagus on the lower.
If you've read over the bubba board, you've seen that it is pretty hard to lower the temperature on the keg. If you intend on cooking at 250-275, you want to start to clamp down on the air flow early on, at around 225. I've made a shoulder at around 260 for many, many hours without much difficulty, but if you let the temp get away from you, it can take many hours to come back down.
I really do enjoy that keg, though.
I haven't tried cooking on the upper rack with the plate setter, but I'm not sure that it will leave much room for anything beyond something like chicken breasts / wings... The lid will close with the upper rack and plate setter; I just don't know how much height you'll have up there. I don't think you could do a big piece of meat on the upper with a plate setter. I don't make that much stuff at once, but if you intend on lo and slow cooking more large cuts of meat than the main grate will hold, I'm not sure the plate setter will work. So far, I've only used the upper rack once, to finish cooking steaks while I grilled asparagus on the lower.
If you've read over the bubba board, you've seen that it is pretty hard to lower the temperature on the keg. If you intend on cooking at 250-275, you want to start to clamp down on the air flow early on, at around 225. I've made a shoulder at around 260 for many, many hours without much difficulty, but if you let the temp get away from you, it can take many hours to come back down.
I really do enjoy that keg, though.