Archive for January, 2009

Since a large majority of our group does not actually own a Big Green Egg (Yet!)  I would like to start some conversations as to why this is the world’s best smoker and grill.  Please understand this is not a sales pitch.  These reasons will be fact based and you can come to your own conclusions.  In full disclosure though, I do own an egg, I base my business around the outstanding product the Egg produces and I am an authorized dealer/ expert of the Big Green Egg. 

Reason #1: The Fuel

The Big Green Egg (BGE) uses natural lump charcoal which is a specific type of wood.  It could be oak, cedar, ash or many various other types.  Manufacturers use scrap wood that is usually gathered from various mills, limbs and branches from fallen trees, but remember there is only one type of wood in a bag and it is natural. Lump charcoal is made by taking the wood and heating this wood in a closed container in the absence of oxygen. Once all of the volatile components (e.g., water, hydrogen, methane) are driven off, you are left with wood charcoal that is about 20 to 25-percent of the original volume of the wood. This is what we would consider Natural Lump Charcoal.  Now there are many manufactures of this product, but that is a discussion for another blog.

In comparison, Charcoal briquettes are produced from waste wood such as wood shavings, sawdust, bark from pallet manufacturers, and laminated wood from flooring manufacturers.  The waste wood is heated in the same fashion as lump charcoal then binders are added and everything is pressed into their briquette shape.  The addition of these binders is what makes them so heavy and why you need gasoline to ignite them!

Fact: Natural Lump Charcoal will light with a match, small starter stick, butane torch or any other flame.  No gasoline/ lighter fluid needed.

Fact: Due to the purity of lump charcoal, it produces very little ash, about 1/10 the amount of briquettes. 

Fact: Lump charcoal burns hotter and longer than briquettes, giving you a wider range of temperatures to cook with and a longer burn time for slow cooking.

Fact: Lump charcoal’s flavor is pure and subtle and gives you the ability to use different types of wood, thus specific flavors. 

Fact: Briquettes’ random combinations of wood will give you inconsistent flavors each time you cook, not to mention how much gasoline/ lighter fluid you used to start the darn things!

If you have experienced using these different types of charcoal let me know.  I would love your insight.  Remember, no urban myth type stuff, facts only.

Check out my future blogs on why the Egg is so great.

We all know how cold it was last night.  Well I thought it would be a perfect time to test my Big Green Egg, by firing it up and seeing how well it would hold its internal temperature.  Here is a recap of how everything went.  Well I let the pork cook all night at 250 degrees.  I went out to the grill at about 7am and the grill was still at 250 degrees!  Just as an experiment I let the grill continue to cook until it ran out of charcoal.  This didn’t happen until 9:30.  So as a recap, seven pounds of charcoal burned at 250 degrees for over 14 hours.  Even though I cooked the pork 2 hours longer than intended, it was still juicy and flavorful!   

We are going to to continue our grilling adventure with the warmest temperatures reaching -5 degrees and the 7am temperature reaching -8 degrees not including the wind chill! Right now the ceramic of the Big Green Egg has absorbed a large amount of heat and the airflow through the vessel is very little.  Just enough to keep a small amount of charcoal burning.  The grill is burning about 8 oz of charcoal per hour to maintain the 250 degree internal temperature of the grill.  Click here to see just how much charcoal that is!

It has been just over an hour since our grilling adventure.  I have the grill set at 250 degrees with about 7 pounds of natural lump charcoal.  That is all the charcoal I will need for this entire adventure.  No adding fuel or even adjusting the dampers.  Actually, in reality I don’t even need to go outside until morning.

A few months ago I asked a simple question….Is grilling a lifestyle or a hobby?  Tonight I will prove it is perfect weather. I know that sounds crazy! The temperature is below zero and the wind chill makes it even colder but if you have the world’s best smoker and grill you can cook in any weather, guaranteed! Starting now I am going to be blogging the details of slow cooking a pork shoulder. This process will take a least 12 hours so I will be updating you throughout the night with pictures to prove my adventures! If you have any questions or comments I would love to hear from you. 

I came across this story and thought it would be a great opportunity to educate everyone a little.  The first thing to do is to refer to my blog, How to determine if you are getting good information.  The next step is to read this article about insulating your grill.  The fact is the only thing that really works when grilling in cold weather is to use a grill that is a natural insulator of heat and not a conductor of heat.  To use a grill that is not affected by the outside temperatures or elements and to use a grill that will give you those consistent results year round.  Remember grilling is not a seasonal sport!