I bought an egg

[Gerhard]

My old smoker had rusted out to the point that it was difficult to maintain a steady temperature so I had been looking to purchase a replacement for sometime and finally decided on the Green Egg. First time using it today and we were super pleased with the results, Cherie said best ribs that she has ever had. I know that we will enjoy many meals from this BBQ/smoker.

Gerhard

[Uwe W.]

I've never used anything like it. How's it work? I don't suppose it's powered by a 2-stroke?

Very classy of you to do your smoking wearing a fedora by the way.

[Gerhard]

Thanks for commenting. It is a combination smoker grill, it was set up as a smoker yesterday to make the ribs. When smoking you want to maintain a temperature between 225 - 250ºF which is controlled by adjusting the draft, this is the same way most smokers are suppose to work it just seems to work on the egg. The other big advantage over my old smoker is that if smoked for 6.5 hours on one load of charcoal without constant adjustments because the temperature had overshot or dropped below target and yesterdays conditions were what I have found to be most challenging, we had changeable winds, periods of rain and single digit temperature. If you aren't a smoker these things are hard to appreciate but if you are they are a big deal.

Thanks

Gerhard

P.S. The fedora is my Octoberfest hat, I put it on as a joke when I started smoking. I guess I should have put some pig tails on for the occasion.

[Uwe W.]

P.S. The fedora is my Octoberfest hat, I put it on as a joke when I started smoking. I guess I should have put some pig tails on for the occasion.

Probably a pair of Lederhosen would have been more appropriate. I'll have to read up on this smoking thing; it sounds extremely complicated, but I love really good ribs that just fall off the bone, so it might be something that is worth the effort.

[marconi1956]

Just watching Mike Smith on "Chef at Home", on Food Network TV. He is cooking a couple beer chickens on one of those green eggs. I like idea of adding wood chips to get a different flavor added.

[Hard2C]

Good morning,
We have had an Egg for a couple of years. As a barbeque for burgers, steak and such people really like the flavor that can be added. I have used it many time for cooking whole chicken and they almost always turn out really tasty. As a smoker I have tried ribs a few times but have had only limited success, I think I do not spend enough time on prep and then start to get hungry before perfection is reached.
As a side note if you are in a freeze/thaw climate be sure to keep your egg covered as exposed through the winter it seems to weather the shell somewhat.

Joel

[Black Lightning]

I'll have to read up on this smoking thing; it sounds extremely complicated, but I love really good ribs that just fall off the bone, so it might be something that is worth the effort.

It isn't complicated so much as it requires patience. For fall-off-the-bone tender meat, (beef short ribs are also very good this way), it takes lots of time. It is also best if you can leave the lid closed for the duration. This is one reason the "egg" works better than the gas barbeque with smoke pouches. You have to keep changing the pouches and every time you open the lid to do this you lose a bunch of heat, moisture and the all important smoke. I've seen smokers made out of old refrigerators, old phone booths, old stove oil tanks, .... Whatever a person could find that was relatively fire proof, free and could be closed up. The "egg" looks like it has combined all the required bits and pieces into a well engineered unit that actually works. Too bad you need a mortgage to be able to get one.

[Sportbikecalgary]

mmmm smoking meat is a process I've been working on for about 12 years. I had a friend drag me down to a B-B-Q competition (Calgary is part of a U.S.-based competition circuit) for smoked meats and I've been hooked ever since. 17 hours for brisket, 13 hours for a Pork Butt (also called a shoulder) Roast, 7 hours for ribs and 5 hours for chicken. Rubs and marinades are all super secret. people showed up with everything from home made 2 chamber boxes to webber bullets to commercial units on 5th wheel trailers that did dozens of racks of ribs at a time. Some folks take it waaay too seriously and for some folks a win at a competition helps them advertise their fare to potential catering clients.

I have a large standard old charcoal BBQ that I can smoke and rotisserie a 7 kilo turkey on. The turkey takes about 6 hours at 225F. I also have a 6 rack Bradley electric with an auto smoke puck feeding system to deliver different types of smoke. so you can start with an apple smoke and end with a mesquite. It works well, but it works best when there's a dozen racks of ribs cooking at a time. On top of the smokers I have a standard Sears-special propane unit for quick and dirty grilling. If you added up the worth of my BBQ's it still wouldn't come to the price of a Green Egg.

The Green Egg is mythical in BBQ circles. For those that like East Indian food, think of the Egg as a large tandoori oven. I like how the lid assembly is spring assisted for easy opening and closing. Supposedly it uses the least amount of charcoal of any smokers. The clay walls hold the heat and the heavy lid holds in the smoke. After several cooking sessions the smoke will permeate the clay and each Egg will take on a flavour unique to its owner. I've been coveting one for years, but have yet to take the plunge.