Big Green Egg Grill - Smoking and BBQ

By H Krafston

The great thing about the Big Green Egg Grill is the diversity of cooking choices that you have available to you, including the option of smoking foods, grilling, as well as outdoor baking.

The Green Egg Grill is a well designed barbecue that's easy to set up and very simple to use. It is available in a number of different sizes, depending on the amount of cooking that you need to do. It comes in a mini version, what they call an original version, large, and extra large. Obviously the more food that you tend to cook with each barbecue, or the more guests that you entertain, then the more cooking space you need. This will usually lead you to one of the larger models. If you're in doubt give the company a call since their customer service is excellent.

This grill is very functional in all types of weather. So even if you live in northern climates you can obtain great cooking results even in the middle of winter when it's snowing and cold. The key is the unique shape and construction of the BBQ which uses ceramic for the walls. The ceramic material can withstand very cold temperatures, and it also allows the grill to heat up to as much as 1800°F. Of course when you're outside cooking in the middle of a snowstorm your next door neighbor may think that you're a bit odd, but they won't think so the next time you invite them over to try some of your barbecued food.

The construction of the Green Egg Grill allows it to maintain a consistent temperature for a long time even though you are using traditional charcoal. For example, if you want to slow cook ribs or other meets at a very low temperature, say 250°F for several hours you don't have to worry about temperature variations nearly as much as you would with a normal BBQ.

This barbecue is very versatile and allows you to slow cook your food, but it's also great for smoking meats and grilling different types of vegetables and fish. You can also use this grill to simulate a brick oven to cook pizzas with exceptionally flavorful. Everyone's heard about the famous fire cooked pizzas in New York, and this grill can simulate those conditions with the extreme heating and brick ceramic walls.

As well, there are a number of accessories that are made specifically for this grill, including a walk gadget that allows you to stir fry rice or vegetables very easily. Another accessory that many people will find useful is the handy fish great. Grilling fish has always been a difficult thing for many people to master, because it is very easy to overcook fish and lose all of the flavor and enjoyment. With this barbecue even the most novice chef should be able to create tender fish dishes with the slow consistent cooking.

This is a long-lasting product, and your investment should last for many years. Conventional barbecues cannot come close to some of the flavors that are achievable with the Green Egg Grill.

Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the Green Egg Grill for smoking and barbequing. The information packed Big Green Egg Grill website will teach you everything you need to know about selecting your next BBQ.

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BBQ Competition Edisto Island

Who eve said barbecue was easy! I was lucky to be able to get into the Carolina Pitmaster's Training before the big SC Championship "Palmetto Barbecue and Brew Fest" a few weeks back... Ithelped a ton! But even with the award winning advice the first go at such a complex competition can really be tough!

The BBQ ricks Team (thanks Michael Bultman and Tyler)ended up taking 9th in the blind tasting/judging in whole hog. Pretty good considering there were forty serious teams competing. Unfortnately we were unprepared for the on-site judging. It was something we really knew nothing about but counted for a third of the score. That brought down ribs, shoulders, and overall.

Congrat's to the overall winner (Grand Champion) in this case a team called "Fat Back and Flaming Pig." I always admire the rib champs too... "Smoke Shack" from North Augusta.

(Check out the pix of the Smoke Shack rig compared to our camp below! Out of our league!)

So... As a service to others undertaking a first or second cook off... here's my top ten things to remember next time!

1. Know your rules/competition. I knew just enough but there's a lot of detail in all the competitions. KCBS (Kansas City), SCBA (South Carolina BBQ Assoc.) and Memphis in May all have different rules ( garnish or not?). Know what's expected. We needed to know how on site worked.
   
2. Keep your cook site pristine. When you have "on site" judging make it a point to clean the soot of the inside of the grill before you start.


3. Organize. Use a checklist before you go. I left a bottle of vinegar at home. I think there will always be something... you just don't want it to be too big a deal.
   
4. It takes a team. I was lucky enough to have two strong buddies on the team. That could have been perfect, however our grill takes two to reload with charcoal. Hard to manage sleeping.


5. Know your cooker. You should have practiced the process more than once. Hard to do when you're talking about 150 pounds of meat.


6. Take detailed notes for next time.


7. Get to the contest as early as possible. This will also give you an advantage if the contest allows you to choose your meat off the truck. You can cherry pick.


8. Back time everything and give yourself extra time for resting the meat. It's a lot better to keep it hot than turn it in undercooked.


9. Watch flame ups


10. Have dependable equipment. I used a cheap Brinkmann smoker and the cheap thermometer never got past "warm" despite being at optimal temperature. It confused us for a while but it simply didn't work. You'll want to be able to double check temperatures.
    

BBQ Cooking Class With Class

Last weekend I had a chance to learn the ins and outs of competition Barbecue from some experts in the field. Carolina Pitmasters in Summerville SC have created a really cool once a year class to get everyone from the Low Country geared up for BBQ season. It's a total good ole boy seminar and tons o' fun. Over two laid back days the teachers - guys like expert Jack Waiboer and Russ Cornette (local creator-of Smokin' Coles Sauces and Rubs) walk through the minutia of competing in BBQ championships like next week's Palmetto BBQ and Brew Feston Edisto.

The class took place on the lake next to a picture perfect lake by Dorchester Shrine Club. Weather was perfect and everyone was willing to talk. Believe it or not cookers traveled from as far away as Chicago and Canada for the session. It's international!

Timing of the class was perfect for me as I'm tackling "Whole Hog" for the fist time at Edisto and that, as Waiboer put it, is "the Mount Everest o competition barbecue." Other topics covered were chicken, ribs, shoulder, and overall judging with some enlightening advice from actual SCBA (that's South Carolina BBQ Association) judges. Did I learn any real bbq secrets? I Think so... there were still a few gems that were held back but I did some really valuable tips that you can only find out from a lot of trial and error (or a class such as this).I learned that the key to the BBQ judges heart is "bark" - that charred caramelized shell of goodness shingled on the outside of really good barbecue. I learned that pork has a moment in the cooking process called the "stall" that can be torture to a cook in a hurry. The slow increase in internal temperature of the meat stalls... and stops rising for a while. It will rise again. Just takes time and patience. Opening the lid just slows things down even more!I also learned turning in a hot box to the judges will help your scores... so try to be either one of the first in or one of the last in. There's typically a ten minute turn in window.