johnnyd

"I can't believe it's not ready!" someone said as we sipped coffee in the island fog. "You think I was kidding when I said 12 hours?" Although I suspected a little longer now that the heat rate was all over the place and was about to get worse. In a swirl of hangover mis-judgement, I threw a layer of fresh coals on to raise the temp to 200°F or thereabouts. If we can get another four hours out here, we can eat. Unfortunately, the temperature went down - practiaclly out - so I took the butt off the grill and tried to get the coals going with Big Green Egg light chips. Sure enough, it went up to about 350° in a half hour... So in to the oven it went (at 190°F) and there it sat while we went in search of ocean and sand. I noticed on our departure, the Big Green Pain In The Ass stood at about 250°F but it took an hour in a beach chair to realize I could have stuck the butt back into it with slight apertures top and bottom for the final couple hours. Oh well! Finally, out it came at about three o'clock. I let it rest about twenty minutes and started to pull. Yummy goodness!

We had a sumptuous dinner of marinated beef tips, fresh corn and other garden goodies, but at 10 o'clock the heat was still up there at about 300°F - too hot to start the butt? Probably - I honestly didn't know - but suspected that the Big Green Egg's heat-retention feature might turn this butt into a cinder by daybreak if I wasn't careful. So we opened the Big Green Lid and waited an hour, hoping to dissipate a little heat. At 11 o'clock we'd lost 25°F, so getting tired and a little drunk, we slapped that butt on the grill, closed her up (I left a little tiny opening up top and at the base) and hoped for the best. The next morning, at about 7 o'clock, the thermometer read 150°F and it looked like this, Well, okay! I'm cool with this!

When we arrived, I went around back to find this lovely sight, That's right! The famous The Big Green Egg. How could I go wrong this weekend?? Well, I'll get to that! So we fixed some drinks, and lit an arm-load of Hardwood charcoal. While the coals transformed into something to cook our dinner on, I found some applewood chips and started soaking them. I started to worry about the amount of charcoal I would initially need to get enough of a cooking venue for our dinner, yet still have enough staying power for an overnight smoke. I think I also grossly underestimated how many applewood chips I would need, as well as my motivation to stumble downstairs at three o'clock Saturday morning to replenish them, and maybe a handful of coals, without waking a 1 and 4 year-old. I realized much more research was needed, but we had no internet on this little island to consult eGullet so I just went with my gut.

At last, I can claim a corner of this Hallowed Topic! Some chums from Vermont rented a cottage on Maine's Midcoast where we planned to join them for a long weekend. When I called ahead of our departure from Portland, my friend said that I would "probably be interested to know that there was a kick-ass looking, outdoor cooker/smoker thingie on the deck here," Having studied this topic on and off for a few years, my plans for the weekend suddenly focused on finding a 6 to 8 pound, bone-in, pork butt to serve on Saturday, either smoked or just slow-cooked in a reasonably proper manner. Hell, I haven't done this before, but I have learned the virtues of slow-cooking certain cuts of meat from eGullet with excellent results. This weekend could be a real coup. After three places came up empty, I found one 7.5 pound butt for $1.99/lb I met the owner of Denny-Mike's BBQ supply a couple weeks ago, who gave me a measure of his signature rub as a gesture of appreciation for covering last year's Great State of Maine BBQ Championship here on eGullet. Wrapped and ready to sit in the fridge overnight. We set out Friday to join our friends.

Hey we did lazy-persons jerk chicken this weekend (walkerswood/oil marinade - 4hrs) and cubed some plantain, fried in butter & oil (5min), stirred in garlic, ginger and allspice. After 10 min, added thyme, sugar, salt and some flat ginger ale! Came out great!

Mitch, This link will take you to red tide open/closure updates for Mass. When red tide closes part of a New England coast, other areas make up for local closures. Maine gets clams from Mass or downeast, or Canada and vice versa. Be absolutely sure that clams you eat during your holiday are safe. Exceptions? Doubtful - not these days anyway. I heard today that closures in Maine occur when red tide bacteria exceed 80ppm but it's around 500ppm that people with compromised immune systems begin receiving enough bacteria to store in their muscle tissue and 1000ppm when it begins to be toxic for everybody. Then it takes repeated ingestion to provoke a seizure of involuntary muscle systems that means big trouble. The assessment of all involved (State Fisheries and harvesters) is that the State is being extremely cautious - more than probably necessary. When big storms dump 2 inches of rain and river flooding occurs, the State closes down harvesting for a few tide cycles so that the run-off dissipates. This so shellfish can filter in (and that's a small maybe anyway) and out, any nasty bits people are spraying on their lawns or street detritus. Lobster, crab and periwinkles are not affected. Oysters, clams and mussels are affected. ppm = parts per million

We find a couple at most per line, that's it. I've always wondered what the potential of these are as they are closely related to sea urchins. When I was diving for urchins, I would sometimes find masses of them all in a tangle in corners and canyons. So far, they are just cool to have dried and posted somewhere on a wall.

eG member fatdeko appears in Saturday's Wall Street Journal coverage of the convention's final smackdown:

Indeed. There seems to be less pressure on the little beast when the business of living on a rock is eliminated. When you're attached to a rope, the current and tides go to and fro, bringing in nutrients to filter-feed from all directions. The only predators are ducks, who are kept away by netting set around the rafts. Yeah, even though the village soup article seemed informative, something else is going on. The only thing I can think of is that the overhead was bloated, but I don't know anything so I can only speculate. I just know that the demand is there and not going away. The state regs problem might have just sent Chip and crew over the edge, so they threw up their hands and said "screw this". I'll see what AF posse can read into it tomorrow.

Thanks for that Country. I found that out a week ago which is when AquaFarm's phone started ringing off the hook - thus my trip out to harvest with them. In fact, I'm going again tomorrow - all of a sudden, they are the only game in town (this town anyway) and the quality is just way better than PEI's right now. Great Eastern's demise is most regrettable. The popularity of cultured mussels is growing and sustainable. Why are they closing up then? I'll try to find some answers.

Summer in Maine means lots and lots of people want seafood so harvesters are working full bore to keep up with demand. So it's time to get back out on Aqua Farms LLC mussel rafts to help harvest what we seeded last June. Unfortunately, we have to do it in some heavy rain that has fetched up right on top of Casco Bay... These are about 100 pounds of freshly scrubbed mussels harvested yesterday morning. Bernie tells me they come from the very ropes we wrapped in biodegradable gauze filled with micro mussels that gradually attached themselves and grew to market size. Here is johnnyd weighing ten-pound bags destined for restaurants in New York and Boston. If anyone down there orders "Bangs Island Mussels" on the menu this weekend (or a bit later depending on the distributor), I hid a miniature sea urchin in this one, so if you find it, call me for your prize.

For the record, he would have made anything you liked depending on his mise. And for what it's worth, I used to sell flats of gorgeous black trumpets to in-the-know restaurants... in October. There's treasure up here, damn you! What are you waiting for?? Had a taste of some duck prosciutto at Evangeline y'day. These guys are doing all kinds of interesting charcuterie. Stay tuned.

Josh is crazy. He does magical things sometimes like deer-heart reubens and june bugs 3-ways. I visited 158 pickett today and he was totally out of black trumpets. There were plenty of bagels, however.

I'm sorry, but footage of proper knife technique in the kitchen trumps Emmy stuff, anytime. But that's why I'm not a television producer...

Like this: This batch of cod was given to me by a fishing charter captain right off the boat. I hold it up to a kitchen lamp and look for them, coiled up like a spring.

Outstanding! This is the gastronomic tour we all wish we could take - or at least us Americans stuck on this side of The Pond this summer. Fasten your seat belts, everybody. I bet those were local currents on the Ewe's milk ice cream, si?

Here's one of some clam ceviche seerved with jerk chicken, corn bread, rice n'peas, slaw and stewed collard greens. It's pretty much the same recipe for me each time: lime juice, garlic, small chili and either shallot or red onion, then cilantro. Local chef does his fresh Maine shrimp (in wintertime only) in a blend of fresh lime juice, fresh orange (valencia, but blood could be good) juice and some rice vinegar. Nice balance going on there. RD: Red snapper is used in ceviche a lot of places and there seem to be a lot of recipes. I've never tried it but I bet it's good.

Josh Potocki of 158 Pickett St Cafe just got a big bag of black trumpet chanterelles from an old Mainer who hunts them down in local forests. He made me a "Forager": lightly sauteed black chanties and chives atop a plain toasted bagel with cream cheese. It's not on the menu board so you'll have to ask for it. Better hurry!

Some scallops were hand-delivered from a diver friend back in '05 so ceviche was a logical way to go. I posted a play-by-play HERE that I thought new members would like to check out. I could go for some that right about now...

Hey . . . I'd eat that! ← It's an amazing combo - check it out. Does amazing things to chowder too.

Actually, I've always thrown a few slivered garlic cloves into the butter as it melts for my steamed lobster dishes. The dippage is sublime. Man! I should have taken the CAT over to participate in this smack-down. Great work guys!

I agree with toasted with butter - I mean, who wouldn't - but roll or bun, mayo or butter... or this: Tomalley spread on one side, still makes an awesome lobster "roll". I'll start shaving fennel on my next one just to irritate everybody.

All this talk of lobster rolls is making me squirm. This is Busboy's lobster (on a burger) roll from the Clam Shack in Kennebunkport, ME I have to say I prefer the burger roll myself these days - sacrilege, I know. I made this one is during my foodblog '07,

Sounds devine, Chris. I love the creative "ferry" rig the captains fashioned for the trip. Very resourceful! Interesting effect that hard-wood smoke created for your lobster. I confess I haven't had anything like that but I'll be damned if I don't try it now. Thanks for the recollection. I have had a number of lobster bakes on the back side of Jewel Island, here on Casco Bay. The popular "Punchbowl" pool on the northern end has a beach made of rocks of a perfect size. I find they add a fast heat source when the fire reduces to coals. Ended up being only four hours from ignition to feast for our small crew of campers.

Lobsterbakes are the most fun you can have on a New England shoreline in my opinion. The few I've been to take all day to engineer - which is fun in itself - and if you have a big old bonfire handy, the action lasts well into the night. In the past few years, locations for lobsterbakes have gotten more difficult to find here in Southern Maine. Some members may remember my attempts in 2004 to stage an eGullet lobster feast somewhere near Portland but I was turned away from local city parks and private shoreline is, well, private. This week, The Maine Switch, a Portland-based weekly lifestyle newspaper, featured this local tradition on it's cover, and to my delight, my charming friend Courtney MacIsaac, the Chef/Owner of The Great Maine Lobster Bake Co. Courtney grew up on Peaks Island, a short ferry ride from Portland, and really knows what she's doing. She has a special stainless steel steamer, custom-built to her specs, in which to get the job done. Her menu provides all the traditional side dishes - steamers, mussels, corn-on-the-cob, slaw, blueberry pie - and for a per-head price, sets it all up and breaks it all down too. Mobile lobster Bake companies are the way to go in these parts. As suitable locations become harder to come by, leave it to the experts to come by your house and fire it up for you. Other Mobile Lobster/Clam Bake outfits: Sam's Great Northern Lobster Bakes Portland, Maine Up in Booth Bay, Cabbage Island Clambakes runs a regular feast on 5-acre Cabbage Island in Linekin Bay. Price includes a round trip aboard the Argo. Further Downeast, you will find more location opportunities and relaxed shore access... and probably cheaper lobsters. Should you take the plunge and do your own, the Maine Switch link above has a 7-step lobsterbake checklist (Thanks go out to Karen Beaudoin, editor, The Maine Switch for photo permission)