Finally, the BIG GREEN EGG IS SCHEDULED TO ARRIVE!!

[BengalMan]

I've been wanting a Big Green Egg for years now, just had more important things financially to concentrate on. All that is out of the way and a fantastic deal on a large Big Green Egg fell into my lap yesterday. Picking it up on Wednesday! Comes with the accessory kit, charcoal, and stand all for just less than the cost of the large egg itself, and all brand new in the box.

So, here are the important questions I have, lol.

-Any rubs that you seasoned smokers use swear by for pork and brisket?
-Starting out, until I get a feel for my egg and become a more seasoned smoker, I'd like to get a digital thermometer that can be read outside the egg so I don't have to continually open and close the lid. Can anyone recommend a fairly inexpensive one?
-What should I cook first!?

I know we have some experienced meat smokers here at the asylum, so please come one come all and chime in!

[forgop]

Digital thermometer: http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Remote-Smoker-Wireless-Thermometer/dp/B0044FFUMK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1316974687&sr=8-3

For your first cooks, I've heard that pork butts are the most forgiving and absolute hardest to screw up. After that, ribs is another easy cook. Briskets are considered by many to be one of the more challenging things to get right from my understanding, although my first brisket cook was awesome.

For rubs, you can find almost anything out there. For your first butt cook, I highly recommend using this rub/injection method: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pork4.html By far the best pork I've ever made.

[Smokin Gator]

Congrats on the BGE purchase. I have a medium and a large and absolutely love them. Shoot me an email and I will send you a couple of rub recipes and a couple other things you might be interested in.

Duane steered you right on the Maverick. They are reasonable and dependable. I also agree that you can start with a pork butt if you want to do a long cook.

One Egg tip... when you start your fire for smoking do it only in the center. Then put your plate setter drip pan and grate in. Open the air intake all the way and the slider top all the way. HOWEVER, keep an eye on your temps. If you let an Egg get too hot it is a bear to get it back down.

Once you get it to 225 or so close the air intake to about 1/4 inch and close the slider top. Then open your petals to about 1/2 way open. Keep an eye on the temps again and adjust the air intake down if needed. To run at 225 I barely have the intake open 1/8 of an inch.

Try as much as possible to make you temp adjustments with air intake. Also, big adjustment with air intake... small ones with the petals.

[Stevez]

Congrats on the Egg! I always have wanted one myself and so far have been a weber bullet man. One day I'll get one too. I'd start with the Pork Shoulder to get used to the smoker and then progress. Love the various ideas on the virtual weber bullet dot com site. Tried many and have had great results. Try the smoked wings on there; I can't believe the results and my friends keep asking me for them again and again. Good luck. Steve

[stinkie]

congrats on the egg. if you stop by jeffs on the 7th i will hook you up with a great rub and recipe. for brisket. and maybe a sample.




stinkie-(P
dan

[Resipsa]

Digital thermometer: http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Remote-Smoker-Wireless-Thermometer/dp/B0044FFUMK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1316974687&sr=8-3

For your first cooks, I've heard that pork butts are the most forgiving and absolute hardest to screw up. After that, ribs is another easy cook. Briskets are considered by many to be one of the more challenging things to get right from my understanding, although my first brisket cook was awesome.

For rubs, you can find almost anything out there. For your first butt cook, I highly recommend using this rub/injection method: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pork4.html By far the best pork I've ever made.You seem to know a lot about pork butts.....

[688sonarmen]

Nice man:banger I've only drooled over one at the local hardware store!

[BengalMan]

I think I'll start out with a pork butt/shoulder, then maybe go onto ribs or prime rib the next time. Eager to do some steaks on it as well. I'm going to gain a lot of weight with this thing, lol....

[hammondc]

Ohhhhhhh yeah!!! Love mine.

[Matt-N-Ga]

I think I'll start out with a pork butt/shoulder, then maybe go onto ribs or prime rib the next time. Eager to do some steaks on it as well. I'm going to gain a lot of weight with this thing, lol....

Well, that, and trying to keep on Untappd. LOL :r

[Blak Smyth]

I googled instead of asking but to help anybody else:
http://www.budgetpools.com/images/big_green_egg/big_green_egg_all5_461x307.jpg
http://www.budgetpools.com/images/big_green_egg/big_green_egg_patio_360x472.jpg

[deadrise]

I googled instead of asking but to help anybody else:
http://www.budgetpools.com/images/big_green_egg/big_green_egg_all5_461x307.jpg
http://www.budgetpools.com/images/big_green_egg/big_green_egg_patio_360x472.jpg

yea thanks I was like what the heck is a big green egg lol now i want one

[BengalMan]

Just ordered the Maverick temp gauge. I'm heading to a football party Saturday around 3:30. I think I'm going to pick up a 6lb pork butt from the butcher Thursday afternoon and prep it and let it sit over night, then fire up the egg Friday and smoke that bad boy all day. Will definitely post pictures of the process. Hopefully it turns out good... lol.

[forgop]

The maverick will be a good guide on your butt, but do the b

[hammondc]

Just ordered the Maverick temp gauge. I'm heading to a football party Saturday around 3:30. I think I'm going to pick up a 6lb pork butt from the butcher Thursday afternoon and prep it and let it sit over night, then fire up the egg Friday and smoke that bad boy all day. Will definitely post pictures of the process. Hopefully it turns out good... lol.

Did you get the 2 probe maverick? Thats the one I have and I love it. A 6lb butt could take 12-14 hrs at 210*.

[forgop]

Darned phone...

Do the bone wiggle test at 195. If the bone doesn't slide out easily, it's not done yet. I had one in my last cook that I pulled them at 198 was still tough even after holding for 2 hours in the cooler. Had I been the one pulling them off the smoker, it would have probably not come off until it was closer to 205.

[hammondc]

Also....I HIGHLY recommend the royal oak lump charcoal at walmart (bright red/orange bag). They make all the lump for the BGE brand. Very good stuff.

[forgop]

Also....I HIGHLY recommend the royal oak lump charcoal at walmart (bright red/orange bag). They make all the lump for the BGE brand. Very good stuff.

Stubbs is good too. Stay away from kingsford.

[T.G]

Also....I HIGHLY recommend the royal oak lump charcoal at walmart (bright red/orange bag). They make all the lump for the BGE brand. Very good stuff.

The Royal Oak is definitely good, especially for the price, just have to watch the country of origin on the bags. Not all of it is the US made stuff like the BGE lump.

For the OP, take a look at this site:
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag

About 2/3 of the way down the page they have all of the Royal Oak bags and they tell you where to look to see if it's a US or South American bag.

There is actually a lot of useful info on that site, but it isn't laid out that well, so you have to poke around from the home page to find all of it.

[Smokin Gator]

Also....I HIGHLY recommend the royal oak lump charcoal at walmart (bright red/orange bag). They make all the lump for the BGE brand. Very good stuff.

Yep, this is what I use.

Funny story... a couple of years ago it was rumored that Walmart was no longer going to carry RO lump. I bought every bag at three different Walmarts and ended up with about a pallet all together. Obviously, the rumor was false!!!! I don't use lump in my big cooker, but I do use my Eggs quite a bit. Still, I have probably 15 bags up in the rafters of the barn:r:r

[Aero95]

Ian for the rub. http://texasbbqrub.com/shopping.html If you wanna try some first I can give you some. Let me know when you need charcoal I found a place in Milford that sells Royal Oak lumb charcoal.

[hammondc]

The Royal Oak is definitely good, especially for the price, just have to watch the country of origin on the bags. Not all of it is the US made stuff like the BGE lump.


Very true. I bought the Brazil version a few years ago at a BBQ store. It sparked liked a fireworks show.
All of it at WalMart (that I have ever seen, anyway) is the US made stuff.

[hammondc]

Yep, this is what I use.

Funny story... a couple of years ago it was rumored that Walmart was no longer going to carry RO lump. I bought every bag at three different Walmarts and ended up with about a pallet all together. Obviously, the rumor was false!!!! I don't use lump in my big cooker, but I do use my Eggs quite a bit. Still, I have probably 15 bags up in the rafters of the barn:r:r

Yeah, I went through that around easter. I could not find it at any stores so when I did finally find it, I loaded up 25 bags. I hope I can find it again in a few months.

[BengalMan]

Egg was picked up today!!

Got the box back to the house this evening and spent some time putting together the stand and the egg itself. It's all ready to rock! Afterwards I went out and picked up a cover for it, a few bags of wood chunks (hickory, oak, and cherry), and a 9lb bone in pork shoulder.

I put the rub together once I got home and everything thing is ready to go. My meat thermometer should arrive tomorrow in the mail. I'm going to prep the shoulder, put the rub on it and wrap it in plastic tomorrow night and let it sit in the fridge until Friday evening when I start the egg up for the first time. I'll be sure to take and post some pictures of the process for everyone! Here's to hoping my first cook comes out ok!

SmokinGator has been very helpful thus far. Any other advice is welcomed. I plan on using Cherry wood as has been recommended by many I've talked to. This cook looks to be around 13-14 hours, but we'll see how it goes. Plan on putting it on Friday evening then waking up early Saturday morning to foil wrap it and keep it going until it's ready to go at which point I'll be throwing it in a cooler wrapped in a towel until lunch time around 3pm Saturday.

[bobarian]

Congrats!

I am sure you found this place already, but just in case.

http://www.eggheadforum.com/categories/all

[hotreds]

And here I thought this was about Balut! Congrats!

[BengalMan]

Question, I'm going to be cooking this overnight while I sleep. I plan on starting around 7pm or so, but if possible, don't want to have to wake up in the middle of the night to add more charcoal. Obviously I'll fill it up with charcoal, and was planning on using a triple torch lighter at the bottom to light the charcoal. Once it hits between 200 and 225, I'm going to apply a few Cherry chunks and put the meat on. Does this sound right, or should I be using a different method to ensure it cooking all night?

[forgop]

If you had a WSM, you could use the minion method and cook for 12+ hours without having to add more. With the BGE, I don't know.

To light, I recommend a charcoal chimney. You'll never go back any other way.

[BengalMan]

I found a page that gives great advice on methods of lighting. Looks like I'm good to go!

[jledou]

Picture time this morning Ian!

[BengalMan]

Well here we go! :noon

First picture is a pic of the whole set up. I chose an original release El Cobre thanks to Dave Wagner, VP of Sales at Oliva, then the George T Stagg because it's Brian McGee of Torano's favorite bourbon. These two are some of the biggest foodies I know, so I figured it was only right to honor them in my first cook!

Pictures when I take it off tomorrow will follow.

[Matt-N-Ga]

Looks great Ian. amazing combo to start off with as well. Let us know how things turn out. You mentioned on Twitter you found a great way to get the egg started, how'd it work ? I usually use a couple Egg starters and leave the lid open for a few minutes then close it and let the temp rise.

[BengalMan]

Looks great Ian. amazing combo to start off with as well. Let us know how things turn out. You mentioned on Twitter you found a great way to get the egg started, how'd it work ? I usually use a couple Egg starters and leave the lid open for a few minutes then close it and let the temp rise.

I used these little fire starter cubes that I got at Lowes. I put two in the middle of the charcoal and lit them. They worked well, but they both burned pretty hot making stabilizing the egg a little harder than expected. I lit them, left the egg open for a few minutes, then closed it and it shot up to almost 500 degrees, so it was a little playing around with it, but I eventually stabilized it. Either way, it's all good now.

[Matt-N-Ga]

I used these little fire starter cubes that I got at Lowes. I put two in the middle of the charcoal and lit them. They worked well, but they both burned pretty hot making stabilizing the egg a little harder than expected. I lit them, left the egg open for a few minutes, then closed it and it shot up to almost 500 degrees, so it was a little playing around with it, but I eventually stabilized it. Either way, it's all good now.

The biggest issue I've had with mine has been how long it takes to get to temp. Avg 35-40 minutes. I've heard that parafin starters are good as well.

How the meat turn out? :dr?

[BengalMan]

Unreal. Only negative was that out of 9.5 lbs, I only had one sandwich and a few bites of another. The rest went faster than I could blink. It was a huge hit and everyone loved it. Plan on doing another one sooner than later, than's for sure. Brent's help through email leading up to the cook was invaluable. Can't wait to fire this bad boy up again. Thinking of doing steaks next, and possibly a prime rib around Christmas, but I'm sure there will be plenty cooked between now and XMas, lol.

[hammondc]

If you had a WSM, you could use the minion method and cook for 12+ hours without having to add more. With the BGE, I don't know.

To light, I recommend a charcoal chimney. You'll never go back any other way.

I use the minion method. Also, if I am doing a long cook, I will completely clean out the BGE and take the time to stack the charcoal right with the biggest pieces at the bottom.

Chimneys are hard for me with a BGE since you have to dump it down so deep. I always get burned. I get the strike-a-fire starters and they work fantastic. They are the same as the BGE starters.

The biggest issue I've had with mine has been how long it takes to get to temp. Avg 35-40 minutes. I've heard that parafin starters are good as well.

How the meat turn out? :dr?

35-40 mins sounds like a long time. are you talking about stabilizing for a long cook or just firing it u for everyday cooking?

Unreal. Only negative was that out of 9.5 lbs, I only had one sandwich and a few bites of another. The rest went faster than I could blink. It was a huge hit and everyone loved it. Plan on doing another one sooner than later, than's for sure. Brent's help through email leading up to the cook was invaluable. Can't wait to fire this bad boy up again. Thinking of doing steaks next, and possibly a prime rib around Christmas, but I'm sure there will be plenty cooked between now and XMas, lol.

OH YEAH!!! Congrats on the first cook. Looks like it went very well. wait until you put the plate setter on and cook a pizza on a stone.