NiEGGara Fest 2010

[Kerry Beal]

Ever since I purchased my Mini Big Green Egg this summer I have found myself lusting after a larger one for home. So an opportunity came up to purchase a demo unit that would be used at the NiEGGara Eggfest yesterday. There were two options for the eggfest - you could pay the admission and eat all day, or you could be a cook! I'm betting you can guess which choice I made.

Of course I railroaded Anna into helping me.

I've spent the last couple of weeks practicing things on my gas BBQ - I've learned a ton about how to get the most out of it in the process. Shame it's not going to get as much use once the BGE shows up at the house early this week.

We showed up at the Hernder Estate Winery grounds shortly after 8 am and used my kitchen propane torch to spark up the EGG. It took about 30 minutes for the smoke to settle and a nice even heat to be produced.

First off the grill - Sticky Buns! Which apparently I forgot to take a picture of. People descended on the table and they were gone in short order. A little extra time was required to bake them - I'm sure I'll figure out over time how to tweak the vents to maximize the perfect heat production.

Next up - we pulled out some chocolate that I had smoked in my gas BBQ, then made a bark with almonds, bacon and smoked salt. Turned out very nicely in spite of some melting abnormality after getting rather warm. I'm looking forward to getting the EGG so I can do some cold smoking of the chocolate next time around.

I had made a batch and a half of the Artisan Rye from Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day - cut back on the hydration to make it a bit easier to handle in a banneton. We put it in 3 baskets to rise, and after about an hour in the sun it was time to pop it on the pizza stone. Again took a bit longer to bake than usual - but they were larger loaves than usual as well. The crust was gorgeous.

I had planned to make a fruit crisp right after the sticky buns - but the fruit hadn't arrived. About half way though the bread baking they showed up with supermarket peaches and plums! We were right in the middle of soft fruit heaven - and we got store bought peaches - firm with no flavour! Didn't seem to matter - it was gone in about 5 minutes.

Next up I pulled out some baba ganoush that I'd made by smoking the eggplant on my BBQ. I warmed up some nice greek pita we cut up to use to dip. Again - don't seem to have remembered to take a picture!

Next up - Monica Bhide's recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. I had put together the masala sauce part at home and we had the induction cooker to heat it up. We made a double batch of naan (which I seem to have forgotten to photograph as well) and grilled the chicken at high heat.

Anna cutting up the chicken off the grill.

The masala ready to serve. By the time we had that done people were getting pretty stuffed - so we ended up bringing quite a bit home. Rug rat and I had it for lunch. Anna had it for breakfast.

We had also planned to cook some steaks (meat provided), but time didn't permit - so we brought home 10 nice strip loins as well as a bunch of chicken breasts that another group hadn't gotten around to cooking, some cheese, a dozen eggs and some salsa. Pays to live close to the venue! Cooked up two of those steaks for dinner tonight.

It became rather windy during the day - we started out with a big umbrella over our tables, but it blew over in short order. If we picked up our plates, napkins and forks once - we picked them up a dozen times thanks to the bluster. It became rather hard to get things done by the end of the day as stuff kept blowing off.

The cooks at the Eggfest were wonderful - all very helpful, willing to lend you what you had forgotten and teach you everything they had learned. So it was a great learning experience for me.

[SusanV.]

Wow, Kerry! Everything you prepared looks delicious! I so wish I had some of ALL of it right now. Especially the final chicken dish. Looks fantastic!

[Kerry Beal]

Wow, Kerry! Everything you prepared looks delicious! I so wish I had some of ALL of it right now. Especially the final chicken dish. Looks fantastic!

There's still some in the fridge - c'mon over!

[Beth Wilson]

Cool Kerry! I can't wait to see what you post on your new egg! Did you end up with great a deal from the show?

I was wondering about cooking on the egg over a long time.....can you add fresh coals to extend the cooking time or are there rules about that? What great tips did the eggsters share with you?

[Kerry Beal]

Cool Kerry! I can't wait to see what you post on your new egg! Did you end up with great a deal from the show?

I was wondering about cooking on the egg over a long time.....can you add fresh coals to extend the cooking time or are there rules about that? What great tips did the eggsters share with you?

And I need to thank Beth - cause she's the one who pointed out the NiEGGara fest to me in the first place.

You saved about $400 buying a demo over buying it 'new'.

Before we started our high temperature cook for the naan and the tandoori chicken - we added more coal. We just waited until the smoke cleared.

Tips I learned - 1. don't start cooking until the smoke clears

2. that you can add a whole bunch more coal than you think you can

3. if you can't get the temperature up - use a bent coathanger to poke the vent holes in the bottom of the fire box

[Beth Wilson]

I imagine the place smelled fantastic! I wonder what was the most interesting thing you saw cooked on the EGG.

One of the ticket options is to just go around and try all of the food being cooked? Sounds like it needs to be on my list of events to attend Of course I would like to try all the goodies!

Is this an annual event?

[Kerry Beal]

Yeah - I missed a lot of good stuff being cooked. There was someone cooking a seafood paella, someone did mussels. There was pulled pork of course, and brisket.

I was a little surprised at how many people were making use of things like canned biscuits and mixes though.

Really like the idea of the paella - will have to try that one.

[Anna N]

....

Of course I railroaded Anna into helping me.

. . . .

While it is somewhat true that Kerry railroaded me into being assistant cook I ended up having a very enjoyable time.

I was awed by Kerry's program - so much to cook - but everything worked out remarkably well.

I learned that smoked chocolate (with bacon!) makes an amazing topping for freshly baked rye bread and managed to persuade quite a few visitors to give it a go.

[Beth Wilson]

Thanks for the tip about the coals.....I finally tried a bit more in the Mini egg and was able to reach 600F in no time....I was trying for 350F so I had to cool it a bit but was surprised at how it finally got to a higher temperature. I guess since it is just borrowed I have been a bit timid on putting too many coals in it.

Were there many people at the festival with the smaller eggs or was it just the Gigantic ones. I assume "imitators" were not allowed?

[Kerry Beal]

Thanks for the tip about the coals.....I finally tried a bit more in the Mini egg and was able to reach 600F in no time....I was trying for 350F so I had to cool it a bit but was surprised at how it finally got to a higher temperature. I guess since it is just borrowed I have been a bit timid on putting too many coals in it.

Were there many people at the festival with the smaller eggs or was it just the Gigantic ones. I assume "imitators" were not allowed?

Imitations definitely not allowed. When Lakeshore Living (the place who sells and supplied the BGE's for the EGGfest) had a demo out in front of the store a few weeks ago - I dropped by with a shaped loaf to practice baking on the egg. There was a competitors BBQ under the BGE umbrella and Tim (the sales rep from BGE) has his nose seriously out of joint!

There were small eggs on display but all the cooking was in the large or extra large eggs. There was a raffle to raise money for a residence for people coming to St Catherines who needed a place to stay during cancer treatment. The prizes were one of each size of egg - from the mini to the XL. Anna was quite disappointed that she didn't win one for her daughter.