Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation BGE Test Drive

Well yesterday was the day for my maiden voyage on the BGE. I started Friday night by removing the membranes from three racks of baby backs. The ribs were then coated with yellow mustard and the dry rub (rib rub #4030) and placed in the fridge over night.



Let the games begin.



After two and a half hours I gave them a spray with some apple juice and foiled them.



Let them go another two hours, removed the foil and added some sweet corn to the party.



After about another forty-five minutes or so, this is what I ended up with.



They tasted as good as they looked, In fact I'm still stuffed this morning. The only problem I had occurred during the second round when I had the ribs foiled. For some reason the temp of the cooker shot up to about 310 degrees. I removed the ribs, got the BGE cooled back down to 225 and placed them back on.

I started out using the BBQ Guru but after the temp ran away on me I removed the fan and found I could maintain the 225 degrees just as easy using the lower draft door and daisy wheel (I know Daryl, you told me so).

Thanks to duxndogs, byc and RatherBHuntin for all the links, pm's and general advice you have provided me with. It's official guys, I'm hooked!!

Mike

Looks good!

Congrats Brother! That heat will run away on you when you have the dome open. I usually close my fan slide when I open the dome. After shutting the dome wait to see what the recovery temp will climb back up to and then readjust your slide. Just be sure to remember to re-adjust. That and leaving the slide top open after opening the dome are common mistakes that even I make after YEARS!!

Food looks excellent!

BOWHUNR that looks awesome! I was at my Mom's place in central South Dakota this weekend. Her neighbor across the street had a BGE. Thought about borrowing it.

Good job, that's some serious "food porn"!! Ribs look great!!

Did your temp jump just after foiling the ribs? One thing to remember when you open for any extended time not only do you loose dome heat but you also give the fire oxygen so temps can spike on you. Open the dome and get all of your ribs off as fast as possible and close the dome, then once you foil all of your ribs open and get them all back on as fast as possible, close the dome and give it some time then make adjustments as needed.

Thanks guys. I think you have it nailed byc and dux. I've done this on gas and electric for so long I never took into account the temp spike when the lid was open. One thing is for sure, I learned a helluva lot on this first time thanks to both of your help.

BTW, I T-Rexed two ribeyes on the 4th with excellent results, and the wife told me if I can do that every time she never wants another restaurant steak. We chased it down with some gulf shrimp on skewers. As I've said, I'm hooked.

Mike

LOL funny you say that because my wife said the same exact thing once I started the T-rex method on steaks. The only steak I've had that was better was from my eggin buddy who dry aged his own beef then T-Rex'ed it. I'm going to try that next.

'splain T-Rex'd....

Keith---long version but worth the read. Good pics too.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/trexsteak.htm

Thank you sir!

okay, I bookmarked the T-rex thing for a later read... can someone give me the 30 second pitch on the BGE... I had never heard about it until a few weeks ago on here and now it seems to be all the rage... why is it so much greater than the $130 grill/smoker combo I have been running for the last 4-5 years? Given, mines only gotten a season or two left in it and I can understand how, pending any major situations, a ceramic cooker would last forever... but what else...I started looking into them and boy they are pricey...

Try smoking a boston butt for 18 hours using up only 3-4 lbs of lump charcoal and never opening the lid till it's done.

Try cooking a whole chicken at 400' by simply closing the lid, regulating temp by the damper, and opening it 1 hour later to have a perfectly golden brown (not burned) whole chicken (spatch-cock) that's completely done and dripping with juices and never opening lid till you pull it off.

Try smoking a 10 lb brisket for 15 hours at 220 with on 3lbs of lump, with out any kind of water pan or adding more fuel and have it come out moist and juicy on a metal grill/smoker.

Try baking bread, pizza or potatoes on metal grill smoker.

Lastly, try grilling a steak at 750 or 800' when a small child comes by and puts her hand on the outside of the grill. Outside of the Grill dome (or Egg, or Primo) will be hot but not blisteringly so. (Huge safety difference)

Instead of the heat radiating out of the cooker, it radiates back in towards the food. It makes for more even cooking, more efficient fuel usage and more consistent results in evenly cooked food without the hot and cold spots associated with gas grills.
I was looking for "the best" gas grill (had no desire for a "charcoal" grill) when building my new house about 4 years ago. During my search I kept coming across "the big green egg". I had never read so many customer reviews that raived about their investment, some posted several years after they purchased. Then I ran into a few people who owned them. My aquaintences' comments went something like this. "They make for the best steak you've ever had" etc., etc.
Then upon researching ceramics I settled on a Grill Dome. But I only live an 90 miles from Atlanta where they are distributed from so I didn't have to have it shipped. It saved me about $150 over a large Egg. But whether you want an Egg, Primo or Grill Dome (Ceramic Grill Smokers), any of these will make for the most flexible, consistent, and easy to use grill-smoker-oven, you could ever buy. It's one investment you'll never regret and you'll only miss the money till you've cooked your first meal on the Ceramic. Check out their websites and forums. The Big Green Egg has the best forum. Hang out there a while and ask them your questions or concerns then make your decision as you see fit. Just my two cents

PS, I'm originally from St. Louis, "Go Cards!" "Where'd you go to High School?"

We should be getting a freaking commission on these beasts.

I think ratherbhuntin covered it pretty well. Over the years I've owned a lot of different smokers including a weber WSM which is without a doubt one of the best metal "bullet type" smoker/grilles...my Big Green Eggs are without a doubt better and more versatile. The WSM was overall a good little smoker, on perfect days I was able to get some pretty impressive cook times out of a single load but try to maintain temp on a windy and/or cold day and things get a lot more difficult. The ceramics don't care if it's June in Ga or a windy winter day in Alaska. Another thing most charcoal and gas grille users don't realize is you can have your ceramic cooker up to temp and cooking just about as fast as you can have your gas grille up to temp. Also with the ceramics when you are finished cooking you shut it down and when you want to cook again you simply stir the left-over lump from the previous cook and relight it.

You can make good food on any of them, IMO the ceramics make it easier and are much more consistent.

I went to school at Saint Louis University High School and love the Cards, though the game tuesday about made me cry.

Thanks for all the info on the BGE... it was not that I ever doubt it was an effective tool just seemed that maybe the cost to benefit ratio was a little off but it sounds like that is only a concern until you own one, then you don't think about it. I will certainly do a little more research and when I am ready to buy another grill/smoker in the next 2 years, I may just end up with one.

Assume I have to have it shipped... what would a large egg with just the basic accessories really need to cook most common steaks, ribs, butts, etc... I don't need anything fancy for cooking cockroaches or will allow me to also use it to wash my dog... just a ROM would be helpful. I think the place that I called near me said they started at $850 but I really don't remember and sounds like their may be some internet options that may be worthwhile if the price is better and I don't have to pay 7.5% tax.

Thanks

Drew,

I bought my large as a package from a local dealer for $990.00 + tax. It included the large egg, nest (cart), plate setter, grill extender, cover, ash tool, grate tool, fire starters and 20 pounds of charcoal.

I'm working on designing a table for it but am taking my time and thinking about what I need. I read somewhere that if you buy on-line and not from a local dealer the warranty is void. Maybe byc or dux can verify that??


Mike

Lovey send me the options and I will verify the value-add. Internet orders for BGE do void warranty. It's on their home page.

Do not buy and egg off the internet under any circumstances. Buy it face to face at a dealer.

BYC... not even sure what all options are available or what are really worthwhile but remember seeing a LOT on here... racks for stacking, couple of different temp probs (One that well over $100), etc etc. Was kinda hoping one of the BGE pros here would say... "this is what you need for 90% of the standard stuff"

BOWHUNR... sorry if I hi-jacked your thread... its just your pics and story got me to the point where I just wanted to get some understanding... keep posting pics... we all love food porn.

No problem at all Drew. The package I listed earlier is a great starting point to get you up and cooking.

Mike