Big Green Egg

[MasterOMayhem]

I have the same cast iron piece and yeah it is excellent.

Tell me true, is that fancy vent really better than the daisywheel?. I disagree the daisywheel requires adjusting. Mine is so well "loved" it needs a tap with a metric crescent wrench to move!

for me it is better as my wheel would move everytime. this is a coin flip... but the woo on the other hand..... thats the bomb

[Tamu8104]

Threw down a small pork butt this morning smoke with cherry wood chunks.

[dgaddis]

We did a beef shoulder tender last weekend. First time cooking one (poor mans beef tenderloin basically), and the rarest I've ever cooked beef, it was good, but I'll cook it a little more next time. Smashed sweet potatoes (with honey butter and cinnamon!) and steamed green beans on the side. Sunday dinners are the best.



Also picked up a Kick Ash Basket and a Smokeware chimney cap. Both are nice!

[Too Tall]

That is a nice looking chimney cap.

[dogrange]

Gonna do 20lbs of pulled pork later today (for dinnerr tomorrow), but not before I get a bike ride after a hellacious week of work travel!

[dgaddis]

Spatcock chicken last night, best bird yet! Finally got a nice crispy skin. I read that letting it sit in the fridge after applying the rub for about an hour will help with the crispy skin, so that's what I did. I also put it on an elevated rack, but that was more for easier access, but maybe that helped too? Smoked it at 375°F for about an hour. Turned out so, so good!

[Too Tall]

Looks perfect. Not peeking is my secret to crispy skin. Also, starting with a hot grill which gets damped immediately to 325f.

[dgaddis]

Looks perfect. Not peeking is my secret to crispy skin. Also, starting with a hot grill which gets damped immediately to 325f.

I did the opposite, started at about 325*F and worked my way up to 375-400. We got started a bit late and I didn't get the temp stabilized before putting the chicken in, so I just kept a close eye on it the first half hour or so to get it where I wanted it.

Yeah, I've got the temperature probes with the remote/wireless thermometer and it's SUPER handy for doing longer cooks. Once I close the lid, I don't open it again until the meat temperature says it's done.

Because I haven't gotten crispy skin before, I was actually planning on pulling the chicken and then opening all the vents to get the grill HOT, and put it back on skin side down for just a minute or two to get some grill marks. But I was surprised (and happy) to find it pretty much perfect when I opened the lid, so I didn't bother with getting grill marks.

[Too Tall]

Right on D.G. I just rec'd a new Chimney Cap from Smokeware so holding temps will be even easier. Our original cast iron vent broke several years ago and my redneck fix is less than perfect.

[dgaddis]

It's nice, for sure. We had a little rain shower that rolled thru last night while cooking, the new cap doesn't let any rain in, which is nice. And it looks better.

The Kick Ash Basket is cool too, makes 'turn around' a little quicker when setting up a cook.

[dogrange]

Spatcock chicken last night, best bird yet! Finally got a nice crispy skin. I read that letting it sit in the fridge after applying the rub for about an hour will help with the crispy skin, so that's what I did. I also put it on an elevated rack, but that was more for easier access, but maybe that helped too? Smoked it at 375°F for about an hour. Turned out so, so good!

You want crispy skin, just put it skin-side down for the last 10-15 mins of the cook over direct heat (375 or so).

[Too Tall]

Oh m' gawd your thermometer works.

[dgaddis]

Oh m' gawd your thermometer works.

It's just for decoration. It's not calibrated right, and even when I try and adjust it I can't get it to hold a temp steady. Tap the glass and reading will change 100* or more.

[Too Tall]

It's just for decoration. It's not calibrated right, and even when I try and adjust it I can't get it to hold a temp steady. Tap the glass and reading will change 100* or more.

Feeling better now. I'll send you mine, it is really steady. Never changes, ever.

[Tamu8104]

Did a leg of lamb last night, first attempt at a trussed piece of meat. Need to make a few small tweaks but overall pretty happy with it.

[Too Tall]

Looks legit Nat. Take me thru your basic process. I did one loosely wrapped in foil that I was happy with. Good smoke and meat very well rendered but did not get any sort of crust like yours.

[dgaddis]

Did pizzas on the BGE last night, first time for us. Learned a lot.

Mistake - I had my digital thermometer probe on the rack while getting the grill hot, with the plan to remove it once it grill hit 500*F (it's only good for a little above that). Well, I wasn't paying attention and it got hot too fast and ruined the probe. Dang it.

We used store bought dough from Publix. The idea was to make two pizzas. With the first one, I didn't use enough flour and had a hard time getting it spread out, and then onto the peel. The 2nd one we got onto the peel and onto the grill much easier, but it had enough flour on the dough I shouldn't have put any on the pizza stone, we ended up with too much flour on the bottom of the pizza.

Pizza #1 - Hawaiian BBQ - left over pulled pork from the freezer (mixed with home made BBQ sauce), some store bought pizza sauce, chopped onion, pineapple, mozzarella cheese, and then some more BBQ sauce after it came off the grill. Turned out awesome.



Pizza #2 - Recipe the wife found in a magazine - olive oil and garlic on the dough, chopped up butternut squash, a few spoonfuls of ricotta cheese, and garnished with some sage leaves after it comes off the grill. Cooked it a little more, crust was a just a little too crispy, and it was good, but a little bland, needs some additional flavors.



Good night of experimenting. More to come in the future for sure!

[robin3mj]

Looks good Dustin.
Some things I’ve learned about BGE pizza (any homemade pizza really) is that the more toppings you have the harder it is to get a consistent crust. Go light at first.

Also, if you roll the crust really thinly, it can turn into a cracker awfully quickly, before the rest of the pizza is ready. I usually use homemade red sauce and keep it simmering low on the stove so as to be warm when I put it on the dough. Similar for the mozz, let it get to room temp before you put it on the pie, so it melts up nice and easy.

[dgaddis]

Good tips Matt. We didn't cook ours super hot...not sure exactly what the temp was since I melted my temp probe when it spiked for a moment, but I'm guessing around 450*F.

The butternut squash pizza was a bit of a guess, after we put it on the grill we realized the recipe called for it to already be roasted. But I didn't know that when I cubed it, so I cut it up into small pieces so they would cook faster, and it worked, they were all cooked through no problem.

[Too Tall]

For BGE pizzas I have been throwing the oiled dough directly onto the grill than taking it off for toppings and return for the finale.

When I do use a pizza stone I put it ontop a plate setter and crank the heat very high and make minimalist pizzas.

All of my attempts to make a pizza with the normal amt. of toppings result in just ok crusts but everyone loves the taste.