Tag: BBQ

Leaving the Nest – Update

I thought I’d post one final update to the construction of the table for my large Big Green Egg. We finally got the BGE placed in the table and cooked on it for the first time. And it’s awesome!

Here’s a shot of the BGE in it’s final resting place:

In an earlier post, I talked about some of the finishing touches. We did run into one snag. If you notice in the photo, the paver that the BGE is sitting on is not flush as was intended. We discovered that the spring hinges on the dome actually rotate downward slightly when opening the lid and we hadn’t allowed enough clearance for this. So we had to make accommodations for that by raising the egg slightly by inserting slats under the paver.

Favorite parts:

having an “electric” table
grilling light
huge work surface

Things to consider next time:

possibly use larger casters
consider where to store the platesetter (I’m thinking a wire shelf suspended under the bottom shelf would work great)

All in all, I think it turned out really well. I have to give special thanks to Zino & Davidhoff for all their help. Without them, I would have probably just bought the BGE table or thrown together something that wouldn’t have been nearly as nice as this table.

Are you building a table or cart for your Egg or other cooker? Drop us a comment and let us know how it turns out.

Cheers,
Braddog

Super Bowl Eats

Like most guys who wield a BBQ pit for fun, Super Sunday is a day that I cook. This year I was headed over to a neighbor’s for the game and there was to be plenty of food, so I focused on finger foods and appetizers.

With all the buzz about the Bacon Explosion this week, I decided I’d put one of those together. I also did one of my favorites and put together a batch of ABT’s. Then for something new, I did a batch of “Moinkballs”. That’ a cross between “moo” & “oink” (moo + oink = moink). They’re very easy to do . Just wrap a half a slice of bacon around a meatball, smoke, brush with BBQ sauce, and serve.

Here are some shots of my Superbowl Eats:

Bacon Explosion ready to cook:

Fresh off the cooker:

ABT’s and Moinkballs

And a few of each as they came off of the cooker:

So what did you cook on Sunday? Drop me a line and let me know.

Cheers,
Braddog

How I Spent My Snow Day or Pork Loin on the Big Green Egg

Here in the midwest, we got quit a blast of winter last night. I woke up this morning (actually the school woke me up to tell me there was no school) to ~3 inches of sleet & snow on the ground. So I elected to exercise a little flexibility afforded to me by my employer and work from home. Around lunch time, my neighbor called to say he had a pork loin in the freezer and since we were both home it seemed like a good excuse to cook.

So around 3:30pm I fired up the Big Green Egg. I shoveled just enough space outside of the garage to be able to roll the egg outside. In nothing flat, I had a 275 degree fire with an indirect setup. We put the pork loin on and retired to the warmth of our respective homes.

By 6:00pm, the pork loin was at 160 degrees internal and I declared it ready to eat. I cut a hunk off for my trouble and left the rest for my buddy. I mean heck, he provided the meat. I had also done some sliced potatoes tossed in olive oil and a little grill seasoning (I call ’em Cheater Fried Potatoes).

It’s kinda cool to be able to work from home while tending the fire and having a fresh meal off of the cooker in mid-week. Other than grilled chicken or burgers, I don’t get to enjoy mid-week cooking very often.

How’d you spend your most recent snow day? Drop me a comment and let me know.

Cheers,
Braddog

Pulled Pork on the Big Green Egg

Pulled pork is one of the cornerstones of BBQ. Luckily, it’s also one of the easiest things to do. There are some variations on the ingredients in pulled pork but the most important one is patience. Remember BBQ is cooked low and slow and it’s done when it’s done.

Here’s how I prepare pulled pork:

Here’s how I prepare pulled pork:

Start with a whole pork butt. Sometimes you’ll find these called Boston Butt, bone in butt, etc. and they typically run 6-8lbs.
Slather the entire butt with cheap yellow mustard. Not dijon, not Grey Poupon, not spicey; just simple yellow mustard. You won’t taste this and it really just serves to bind the rub to the meat.
Liberally apply the rub of your choice. There are a couple of commercially available rubs that I like. If you don’t already have a favorite, I’d recommend Dizzy Pig’s Dizzy Dust or Bad Byron’s Butt Rub. Personally, I can’t tell much difference in doing this much in advance of starting your pit, but I’ll leave that up to you.
Fire up your pit for indirect cooking with a drip pan and get your temperature settled in to about 250 degrees. I leave the drip pan empty. To me, it’s just for catching the drippings. Note: if you’re using a cooker with a water pan, then I’d add water to the pan.
Put your butt on and settle in for a long cook. I use 1.5 hrs per lb. as an estimate for planning purposes only. At the end of the day, every cooker is going to cook a little different and so will each piece of meat. Remember, the meat is done when it’s done. Cook by internal temp of the meat, not the clock.

After 4-5 hrs, your butt should be close to 160 degrees internal temperature. It’s in this range, +/- 10 degrees that the internal temperature of the meat will plateau. Once it plateaus, it can stay there for several more hours. It’s in this plateau that the magic is happening. The connective tissues are breaking down and the fat is rendering from the meat. Keep feeding the fire (if needed) and be patient. While pork is edible at 160 degrees, it ain’t done.
Once the meat breaks the plateau, the temperature will begin to rise again. Once it hits 195 degrees internal temperature, it’s done. Wrap it in foil and let it rest for at least an hour.
When you’re ready to eat (and who wouldn’t be by now?), unwrap the butt and it should easily pull apart. I like to use a couple of forks for pulling the meat apart. I also discard the bone and any excess fat during this process.
Serve it up on cheap white hamburger buns and provide some BBQ sauce as a condiment.
Enjoy!

So get out there and get cooking, but remember patience is required to get through that plateau. Hang in there, the results are worth it.

Cheers,
Braddog

Tip: Big Green Egg Frozen Shut

Last week, I wrote a post about gasket replacement on the Big Green Egg. Based on feedback, it’s seems like a post on how to get your frozen BGE open is in order. This is really a pretty simple and there are a couple of ways to go about it.

The first method is to remove the ceramic top (You do use your ceramic top to snuff the fire don’t you?). Light a couple of starter cubes and drop them inside. They’ll land on the cooking grate, but should burn long enough and create enough heat to thaw the frozen gasket.
The second method works on similar principals but starts at the other end of the egg. Light a couple of cubes and shove them through the bottom vent under the fire grate. Likewise, they should burn long enough to get the job done but with the added benefit of possibly lighting the remaining lump in the BGE (You do use lump charcoal don’t you?). Alternatively, if you light your BGE with a MAPP Torch or something similar you can direct the torch at the fire grate and re-light the remaining lump.

I hope these tips help you out if you find yourself frozen out!

Cheers,
Braddog

What Fuels Your Fire?

If you’re shopping for a bbq pit, part of your decision making process will be to determine what type of fuel you’ll use to fire the pit. You basically have 3 options to consider and each have pros & cons.

Hardwood – Many folks believe that it’s not really BBQ if it isn’t cooked over wood coals. I don’t personally subscribe to that line of thinking, but maybe that’s because my experience with a stick burner was really awful. I had an offset cooker that I tried to burn wood in and I just never could get it right. One of the things to consider about using hardwood is whether you have a consistent source for fuel and do you have a place to burn it to coals prior to shoveling it into your cooker.
Propane – Sometimes called Lazy-Q, many gas powered cookers are pretty close to “set it and forget it”. I’ve cooked on a propane smoker with great results. However, one of the things that alwasy concerns me a little bit is leaving a roaring burner of propane overnight. Propane, like everything else has gotten a little more expensive as well.
Charcoal – This fuel type could be divided into a couple of categories; briquettes & lump. Either way, this fuel is readily availble and still surprisingly affordable. I won’t get into the debate of briquettes vs. lump here, but suffice to say that I’m a lump charcoal guy.

So leave me a comment and tell me, what fuels your fire?

Cheers,
Braddog

Review: Dizzy Pig BBQ Rub

Over the past couple of years, I’ve read lots of comments about the products from Dizzy Pig BBQ. Now I always thought to myself, “How good could it be?”. I’ve been through a number of grocery store rubs & grill seasonings and they all seem to be pretty much the same. So it was with low expectations that I placed my first order with the folks at Dizzy Pig.

However, to say they exceeded my expectations is an understatement. They have a variety of products targeted at different foods. I ordered a gift pack of 3 of their products. When the package arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find a sample of many of their other products. Here’s a rundown of my first order.

Dizzy Pig’s Dizzy Dust (available in regular or coarse grind) – This is a great all around rub that works well on pork, chicken or beef. I really like it on pork butt or ribs.
Shakin’ The Tree – This rub is very versatile. It has become my standard rub for chicken, but I’ve also used it as an accent to everything from fish to jalapeno poppers.
Raisin’ the Steaks – As the name implies, this is great for beef. I like this on steaks and brisket. It’s sort of a variation on a Montreal Seasoning.

Dizzy Pig makes a number of other rubs that I haven’t tried yet, but if these three are any indication of what I can expect you can bet I’ll be placing another order soon. You should do the same.

Cheers,
Braddog

The Kamado Style Grill

For centuries, people have cooked in clay vessels. Evidence of clay cooking vessels have been found all over the world. From the tandoor cooker in India to the mushikamodo in Japan, it’s believed that these are the precursors to today’s kamado style cooker.

Kamados became popular in the US after World War II. Today, there are a number of companies making kamado style cookers using ceramic and refractory materials in their construction. Big Green Egg, Kamado, California Kamado, Primo, Grill Dome all make a kamado style cooker.

There are many advantages to this style of cooker:

Temperature Control – once the ceramic material comes up to temp, it retains the heat for hours and doesn’t require a large fire to maintain that temp.
Low Fuel Consumption – as stated above, since the ceramic is radiating retained heat, only a small fire is needed for low temperature smoking.
Moisture – this style of cooker does not require a pan for water or other liquids. The ceramic retains the moisture in the cooking chamber and produces moist & flavorful results
Grill or Smoke – Of course you can cook indirect on lots of grills, but few afford you the ability to smoke or grill equally well.

Of course there are some drawbacks to any product, and the kamado style cooker is no exception.

Capacity – Although you can add additional cooking grates higher into the dome, there’s no getting around the fact that capacity can be an issue if you often cook for large groups.
Portability – These things are heavy. As such, they’re not great for tailgating, camping etc.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my current setup for BBQ is a large Big Green Egg. Personally, I find that the advantages to a ceramic cooker grossly outweigh the disadvantages. Having said that, I do find myself wondering what my next cooker will be. I think I’ll always have a BGE, but I could see adding something to my arsenal for larger cooks. A Stumps maybe….or an FEC-100? Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Braddog

What’s the Rub?

In BBQ circles, you’ll hear lots of talk about “rubs”. So, I thought I’d take a minute to level set what a rub is. Simply put, it’s a combination of spices applied to the outside of a piece of meat that result in the crispy outer crust that is often found on BBQ. The name is derived from the method of application. Usually the rub is applied by vigorously rubbing into all the nooks and crannies of piece of meat you plan to BBQ.

Rubs can be as simple as salt and pepper, or very complex as found in commercially available rubs. Generally speaking, rubs are comprised of 1/3 salt, 1/3 sugar, 1/3 other seasoning to taste depending on the cut of meat that you’re applying it to. If you want to try your hand at making a rub, keep these proportions in mind.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be writing reviews of some of the rubs that I’ve used over the past year or so. I’ll also share a couple of basic rubs that I’ve used with success.

Cheers,

Braddog

The Best Texas BBQ

I’m a Midwesterner, born and raised. But I have a preference for Southern things, including my taste in BBQ.

Now I’ve been to Texas on business a number of times, but I’ve never been there as a tourist. So I can’t comment first hand on “Texas BBQ” but by all accounts beef is king and the best BBQ joints are hole in the wall joints scattered about the hill country.

I ran across this article the confirms where you’re likely to find the best BBQ in Texas and I thought it was worth sharing. I hope you enjoy it.

By Meat Alone
The best Texas BBQ in the world.
by Calvin Trillin

Cheers,
Braddog