Cooking on a Big Green Egg

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

I am just a little jealous of that setup.  (It's really not fair for people to show off their fancy barbecue/grill/Ooni/outdoor kitchen rigs to us apartment-dwelling NYers!)

As if you would give up a NYC apartment for a bit of smoke in rural XXX!

[dans]

I bought a Jotisserie for my BGE several years ago.  It is great!  I usually do whole chickens. I bout the extra forks to but have only done twins once.

 

This week, I'll be doing chicken legs in the basket that I bought for smaller items.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CDR3DJ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[curls]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

I am just a little jealous of that setup.  (It's really not fair for people to show off their fancy barbecue/grill/Ooni/outdoor kitchen rigs to us apartment-dwelling NYers!)

Understood. Often times I am a bit envious of all the restaurants, specialty shops, museums, etc. that you have easy access to in NYC. But I know that I do not want to live in NYC. Visits to NYC are great but I am much happier living in the suburbs.

[weinoo]

43 minutes ago, Anna N said:

As if you would give up a NYC apartment for a bit of smoke in rural XXX!

 

Wouldn't mind a place for the weekends (or pandemics).

[curls]

40 minutes ago, dans said:

I bought a Jotisserie for my BGE several years ago.  It is great!  I usually do whole chickens. I bout the extra forks to but have only done twins once.

 

This week, I'll be doing chicken legs in the basket that I bought for smaller items.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CDR3DJ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Yes, I have the Kamado Joe basket kit. I've seen some interesting YouTube videos making meat and veggie on the rotisserie using the tumbler and flat baskets. Need to give this a try!

 

An example of a combo basket cook:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaOx6db47gk

 

[curls]

Came here to see my notes from the last time I cooked in the Kamado Joe basket and discovered that I did not post! So... July 2023 I made a spatchcocked chicken and potatoes. Chicken on one side of the basket and potatoes on the other side. Planning to do this again for tonight's dinner. Hopefully I take more notes but planning to cook at around 350 F with the dome closed. Including photos from the July 2023 cook.

 

 

 

 

[rotuts]

@curls

 

what a fine idea

 

I take it the inner side of the chicken does not brown that much , but cooks 

 

as a result of the KJ's temp

 

but the potatoes roast w some of the chicken drippings 

 

bet both are tasty .

[curls]

52 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@curls

 

what a fine idea

 

I take it the inner side of the chicken does not brown that much , but cooks 

 

as a result of the KJ's temp

 

but the potatoes roast w some of the chicken drippings 

 

bet both are tasty .

You are correct. The potatoes do prevent the inner side of the chicken from browning and the potatoes get a nice coating of chicken drippings. Chicken skin was nicely crisped. For last night’s cook, I added a few sprigs of rosemary under the chicken. Also, I now have a combustion thermometer so I was able to monitor temperatures while the rotisserie was spinning. Cook time was 45 to 50 minutes.
 

I am very happy with how this turned out and need to remember to make this more often.

[&roid]

I did exactly this on my big Joe rotisserie a few weeks ago. It was great, probably the best chicken I’ve done on my kamado. 
 

made the mistake of cutting my potatoes into chunks - lost a few of them through the gaps in the basket!

[AlaMoi]

I have long been attracted to the "egg" type ceramic grills/cookers/thingies . . .

my concern has always been the time it takes to 'heat saturate' the thermal mass of such  devices.

 

I use 'real charcoal' i.e. not 'briquettes' - and I plan on starting the grilling doohickie at least one hour before the 'plunk to cook' time.

 

I'd like to head from real life users - using real charcoal.... how long is needed to get the Big Green Egg and similar up to saturation temperature?

 

back story . . . . attended a big ole' bash once upon a time - guy had multiple Green Eggs going for 'mass feeding' - and virtually nothing was done at the appointed time . . . apparently the Eggs were much slower to heat up than planned on . . .

[Bernie]

doohickie is such an underused word.

It is so appropriate for just about any technical discussion

[&roid]

On 10/7/2024 at 9:37 PM, AlaMoi said:

I have long been attracted to the "egg" type ceramic grills/cookers/thingies . . .

my concern has always been the time it takes to 'heat saturate' the thermal mass of such  devices.

 

I use 'real charcoal' i.e. not 'briquettes' - and I plan on starting the grilling doohickie at least one hour before the 'plunk to cook' time.

 

I'd like to head from real life users - using real charcoal.... how long is needed to get the Big Green Egg and similar up to saturation temperature?

 

back story . . . . attended a big ole' bash once upon a time - guy had multiple Green Eggs going for 'mass feeding' - and virtually nothing was done at the appointed time . . . apparently the Eggs were much slower to heat up than planned on . . .

An hour is plenty of time to get them up to heat. I’ve got a Big Joe which is the giant kamado Joe unit, depending on what temp I’m aiming for it’ll take between 30-45 mins to get the dome nice and hot on the outside. 
 

Funnily enough, it’ll often take a bit longer to get heat soaked if I’m aiming for a low and slow cook than grilling temps. The reason for this is that you have to be careful about not overshooting your target too much - once it’s hot it takes an age to come back down. So if I’m aiming for 200-275F I’ll light a single really small fire and take my time. If I’m going for 375+ I can happily light two or three places and crack on. 
 

but either way, an hour will be no problem.  

[curls]

5 hours ago, &roid said:

An hour is plenty of time to get them up to heat. I’ve got a Big Joe which is the giant kamado Joe unit, depending on what temp I’m aiming for it’ll take between 30-45 mins to get the dome nice and hot on the outside. 
 

Funnily enough, it’ll often take a bit longer to get heat soaked if I’m aiming for a low and slow cook than grilling temps. The reason for this is that you have to be careful about not overshooting your target too much - once it’s hot it takes an age to come back down. So if I’m aiming for 200-275F I’ll light a single really small fire and take my time. If I’m going for 375+ I can happily light two or three places and crack on. 
 

but either way, an hour will be no problem.  

I agree with @&roid on timing. I have a classic sized Kamado Joe, which is one size smaller. For a quick steak cook, I’m usually ready to go in 30 minutes. Brisket, cast iron cooking, etc. it is a longer setup. The other gotcha can be waiting for the hardwood charcoal to burn off the nasty smelling compounds — sometimes it is smelling good in 20 minutes and other times it is 45 minutes to an hour. Wait for a clean smelling burn and then you can start cooking.

[AlaMoi]

good to hear the real experience - I've been pondering on it for a while!

thanks for the input

[&roid]

5 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

good to hear the real experience - I've been pondering on it for a while!

thanks for the input

Just get one - you’ll love it!

[Kerala]

I've been thinking about buying a Big Green Egg for about 10 years, I guess, my usual decision-making time for non-essential extravagances. The BGE is expensive, and a) will I like cooking on it and b) will I use it after the initial period anyway? I have enough cameras and guitars sulking around the house to be wary of jumping in. Even the cheaper BGE alternatives are expensive.

 

But then, from the middle of Lidl:

£80! $106 for our friends across the water!

 

OK, the grill diameter is only 10 inches, but it was too tempting to pass. I've had it about 2 months, and never had a bad meal from it, although I've still not mastered the temperature control.

 

Tonight's meal was lamb. I deboned a leg

 

and kept interference to a minimum. Garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, rosemary.

 

 

Wrapped in foil 

then 130C- 170C for 4 hours. 

 

Fell apart with a couple of spoons:

 

 

Served with store-bought Lebanese flatbread and some salad. Salad dressing was honey, lemon juice, olive oil 

 

The family loved it.

 

This ceramic grill is too small to cater by itself for a much larger gathering. There were 6 of us eating today and there was easily enough for 10 people. The joint was 1.6kg before boning, so pretty substantial. I have a kettle grill and of course an indoor oven, plus an air fryer. So I don't need a BGE. Will I get one?

 

I know how this ends...