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Ribeye over Mesquite
Kamado cookers thread (green egg, kamado joe, primo etc)
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I love do'n this! Pushing 800* +
Had to add some TX BBQ and homebrew to this thread! Great thread going here..love good smoke on a chilly morning!
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Egg was rage'n tonight. Hard telling how hot this actually was
First attempt at pizza tonight. Turned out pretty good. 
Guys at the station liked it, and we learned stuff for next time.
Although, I had to open the top swing part about a quarter way to keep it up around 5-550. Is this normal or did I pack the charcoal too tight?
Guys at the station liked it, and we learned stuff for next time.
Although, I had to open the top swing part about a quarter way to keep it up around 5-550. Is this normal or did I pack the charcoal too tight?
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I make baked potatoes in the microwave while the BGE is heating up. After the steaks are cooked, I seal the vents. While the steaks are resting, I roast the loaded spuds in the residual heat if the cooker. The skin gets crispy and the cheese carmelizes nicely.
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Still perfecting the steak and baked potatoe
Still perfecting the steak and baked potatoe
Best method of cooling steaks I have found so far.
From big green egg's website.
Trim the steaks of any excess fat. Mix all of the dry ingredients together and apply to both sides of the steaks. Allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling.
Set the EGG® up for direct cooking. To increase sear marks use a cast iron cooking grid; for extra flavor add wood chips.
When the EGG is heated to 650°F, place the steaks on the grill and sear for two to three minutes.
Open the lid and flip the steaks onto a new section of the grid. After two to three more minutes, flip the steaks once more.
Completely shut down the EGG by closing the damper top and draft door. Let the steaks continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes, until they reach the desired internal temperature (check with a meat thermometer).
Remove the steaks and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.
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^i used that method for quite a while. I've been enjoying cooking at higher temps lately, myself. I love the crust you get on a steak when it's cooked at over 800*
FATC1TY
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I've been doing similar. I get around 600-700* on there, have my cast iron grate in there for steaks, and toss them on, leaving the top open. Turn 45 after 1 min. Do 1 more min, and then flip to new spot. Repeat.
Then I shut down the top vent, and cook until I get my temp, usually 125-130* for medium rare.
Been loving the cast iron grate though!
I'll also bake potatoes, cut open, and do twice baked. Mix all my stuff up and stuff them back. Put them on the outskirts of the grill and melt cheese on top of them. They REALLY soak up the great wood flavor from the charcoal for the short time they are in there to heat through.
Then again, I use Wicked charcoal only, and it imparts some of the best flavor, period.
Then I shut down the top vent, and cook until I get my temp, usually 125-130* for medium rare.
Been loving the cast iron grate though!
I'll also bake potatoes, cut open, and do twice baked. Mix all my stuff up and stuff them back. Put them on the outskirts of the grill and melt cheese on top of them. They REALLY soak up the great wood flavor from the charcoal for the short time they are in there to heat through.
Then again, I use Wicked charcoal only, and it imparts some of the best flavor, period.
Bensiff
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I pull the steak out and let it warm up to room temp while I load up on new charcoal, take off the top, open the bottom wide and get it hot as Hephaestus' forge. Sear each side for a minute, pull it off and let it rest until I can drop the temp down to 400 (around 20 min) then finish it off for a few minutes on each side. Then let it rest a few more minutes before serving. That's how my NY strips are done. I do like that cast iron grate.
FATC1TY
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Why take them off? I guess I understand the whole trying to get the temp down, but you can cook and get it done with sooner.
Just check with the finger push, or use a thermometer in the meat. I use a Thermapen and steaks take mere minutes this way and come out to whatever doneness anyone desires.
Your method works good when you've got some rediculously thick steaks though. I've done that for filets before that were nearing 2.75-3 inches thick, to save myself from burning the entire outside of the steak before the middle was med-rare.
Bensiff
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I take them off for two reasons, first the obvious of getting the temperature down which aids in getting an even cook, I don't like a gray ring around a pink center which is what I get if I try to cook them at 900 degrees. The other reason, according to TRex (who's method this is), is that the meat contracts under high temperature so letting it rest while the grill comes down to cooking temp for about 20 minutes allows it to relax and give you a more tender end product. I don't know for certainty if that is true or not; but, I do know the results are excellent and my Costco choice cut tastes better than a Ruth's Chris prime.
FalconsBrew
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This is what I do, I believe its called the TRex method over on the egghead forum. It's pretty much a fail safe method to cooking steaks, always turns out great.
Bensiff
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Yup...as mentioned in my last post. Forgot to give credit where it was do, so I got it in there. I know I can out cook Ruth's Chris, I need to get me a good prime strip loin and dry age it for a few months and see if I can match the quality of a good steakhouse like the Metropolitan.
Bensiff
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As a side note, just cooked up some steak that sucked last night. So even if the cooking process is solid a bad steak can ruin it. Lesson, try your methods more than once before rejecting them as not all choice or prime cuts are equal...if you are cooking select or some sad attempt to bypass usda with a fancy name, even though it's still select, than don't waste your time, it sucks. If it's all you can afford, god be with you and marinate that steak and enjoy.
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^agreed. garbage in = garbage out
Got my 1000* Tel-Tru in today finally. I burnt out my factory thermometer with too many super hot cooks. As hot as I like to cook steaks, I think this will be a nice addition.
Got my 1000* Tel-Tru in today finally. I burnt out my factory thermometer with too many super hot cooks. As hot as I like to cook steaks, I think this will be a nice addition.
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Broke in the new thermometer tonight with a nice fire built with Mesquite. I'm addicted to steaks with a killer sear. Notice the Daisy is still on while pushing 1k*
FATC1TY
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jammin,
What else are you doing to get the 1000* dome temps?
Just curious.. I've got a blower/eggcelarator on mine, or use a fan blowing on the grill sometimes to get it roaring..
I can get the temp up, but sometimes it's only around 800.. could be not enough charcoal.. I use around 1 chimney full most of the time in my large... maybe chimney and a handful.
What else are you doing to get the 1000* dome temps?
Just curious.. I've got a blower/eggcelarator on mine, or use a fan blowing on the grill sometimes to get it roaring..
I can get the temp up, but sometimes it's only around 800.. could be not enough charcoal.. I use around 1 chimney full most of the time in my large... maybe chimney and a handful.
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^sounds like it's the size of the fire. If I don't put in a respectable amount of lump, I can't get the temps I want. Don't get me wrong, Ive leveled off at 750-800* when Ive been stingy with my fuel. I add more and wait for it to start burning clean prior throwing steaks on.
Ill snap a pick when I build my next fire.
Im tell'n ya, once you get a taste for steaks cooked at these raging high temps, there's no going back! I absolutely LOVE that crispy, charred texture on the outside of med-rare steak. Oh man that's good!
OH YEAH - one other thing. I have a "turbo" lower grate. It's not the factory "swiss cheese" looking one. It resembles the top grate but obviously smaller. Getting air to the fire is critical and I always stir the coals to knock all the loose ash away prior to building/lighting a new fire.
Ill snap a pick when I build my next fire.
Im tell'n ya, once you get a taste for steaks cooked at these raging high temps, there's no going back! I absolutely LOVE that crispy, charred texture on the outside of med-rare steak. Oh man that's good!
OH YEAH - one other thing. I have a "turbo" lower grate. It's not the factory "swiss cheese" looking one. It resembles the top grate but obviously smaller. Getting air to the fire is critical and I always stir the coals to knock all the loose ash away prior to building/lighting a new fire.
Bensiff
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What's the fun in that...how's about some good ol' flame licked cool on the inside, crispy on the outside
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haha - yeah I know some folks who like em' that way. I usually cook ribeyes and I feel that the fat doesn't render how I like it until you get into the med-rare zone.
I'm also a big flat iron steak fan. I thin slice em' across the grain like you would a tri-trip (another fav of mine)
I'm also a big flat iron steak fan. I thin slice em' across the grain like you would a tri-trip (another fav of mine)
FalconsBrew
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Do you have your daisy wheel completely off? I also use like a hair dryer to really get that fire roaring.
FATC1TY
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Indeed, I think it's the fire, and what I suspected all along. I usually build up a nice big fire with some of that ashy as hell cowboy lump for pizzas. It burned hotter, IMO than wicked which I use for most everything else.
I'll have to look into the lower grate. I've got the big ol' cast iron grate for grilling steaks, and LOVE to get it up around 700-800 degrees, and toss the steaks on there. Get it seared up, and then I close off the vents.
FATC1TY
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I keep the wheel off the top all the time when I'm lighting or getting temps to roar.
I think it's a matter of putting in more charcoal myself, and probably using the larger lumps of charcoal as well to keep the airflow at it's highest.
Bensiff
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I prefer NY strip and do occasion to have them cool on the inside but normally go for rare/med rare. I love me some marinated flank but the prices have sky rocketed in recent years.
Bensiff
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IME the wicked good is great for low and slow but cracks and pops like no tomorrow at high heat...at least the weekend warrior blend which is all we see around here. I actually really like te BGE stuff for my high temp cooks.
I too need to look at the grate as my original is getting cracked to the point it might fail on me mid cook sometime. I'm also thinking about picking up one of those stainless chimneys as I don't have a cover over my cool area.
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Ive been through about 10-12 40lb bags of Lazzari Mesquite lately. I can get it at Cash n Carry for just over $15 so it's really hard to beat. Performs well across the board and seems to have a good range of chunk size. I get picky about what chunks I throw for high temp cooks and focus on getting a clean burning fire for long cooks.
Bensiff
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Damn update keeps crashing on my iPhone. Anyway, I will have to go to a cash and carry and see if they have that around my parts, heck of a deal. Does it leave a mesquite flavor though? I generally avoid smoking with mesquite, even in red meat as it's pretty potent.
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^i totally agree, the mesquite is very potent. I really have to be careful about building a clean burning fire.
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in an ideal world, i'd burn apple, cherry or peach. Then I'd "season" with Hickory
FATC1TY
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I hear ya on the wicked. It does crackle when it's being lit, but I haven't had a problem with it doing it any other time. It damn good for the low and slow cooks. Last forever, little to no ash and man it has a good smell and flavor.
I just bought me 4 bags of it today.. $100 bucks worth of stuff you'll set fire to. Love it.
FATC1TY
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Agreed.. Although I'm not wild about peach. I can get a boat load of peach around my parts and rarely use it much.
I'm pretty dang partial to hickory and apple mixed..
Now.. if I had a huge ol' smoker that I could burn huge logs in.. then seasoned post oak would my choice with a couple mesquite logs in there.
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^yum!!
Rhumbline
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I have a question. I've considered buying one of these, I see that there are several sizes.
Since I'm usually just cooking for one, I can't see the sense in buying the biggest. I'd like to be able to do pizzas, pork butt etc.
Aside from the obvious difference in size, are there any substantial differences in the smaller ones? Will the small ones get as hot as the biggest?
I don't want to buy more than I'll ever need, but if I'm going to spend the cash I want to get something that will meet my needs.
Since I'm usually just cooking for one, I can't see the sense in buying the biggest. I'd like to be able to do pizzas, pork butt etc.
Aside from the obvious difference in size, are there any substantial differences in the smaller ones? Will the small ones get as hot as the biggest?
I don't want to buy more than I'll ever need, but if I'm going to spend the cash I want to get something that will meet my needs.
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^ill say this, a nice rack of spares pushes the limits of my large egg. Other than that, I can handle almost any brisket or pork butt.
FATC1TY
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I'm with jammin..
If I don't cut it down, a hearty cut of spares will fill the grate up.
However, with a v rack, or a raised rack in there, I can double or triple it. Or worse case, I'll split the rack in half and get much more in there.
Butts, brisket, roasts, whole turkeys, 2-3 chickens, and pizzas.. I can fit it all just fine. It's just me and wife, and 2 infants. They'll be big ol' boys soon, and it'll still be able to keep us going just fine. I have a raised rack, and I can get a ton of wings on the grill too..
I wouldn't get the XL, IMO. If I had to get another egg, I'd actually get a small or a medium myself, to supplement the large.. Will probably do so in a couple of years. Would be great for simple burgers and chicken breasts in the summer, but the large does it fine and doesn't eat a bunch of charcoal.
That said- if your just cooking for one or two, and won't do a bunch of huge chunks of meat, then the medium could fit your bill, but I see the large as the best investment honestly.. I'll be straight with ya too.. once you figure it out, you'll have more friends over to eat, so the space is indeed needed.
If I don't cut it down, a hearty cut of spares will fill the grate up.
However, with a v rack, or a raised rack in there, I can double or triple it. Or worse case, I'll split the rack in half and get much more in there.
Butts, brisket, roasts, whole turkeys, 2-3 chickens, and pizzas.. I can fit it all just fine. It's just me and wife, and 2 infants. They'll be big ol' boys soon, and it'll still be able to keep us going just fine. I have a raised rack, and I can get a ton of wings on the grill too..
I wouldn't get the XL, IMO. If I had to get another egg, I'd actually get a small or a medium myself, to supplement the large.. Will probably do so in a couple of years. Would be great for simple burgers and chicken breasts in the summer, but the large does it fine and doesn't eat a bunch of charcoal.
That said- if your just cooking for one or two, and won't do a bunch of huge chunks of meat, then the medium could fit your bill, but I see the large as the best investment honestly.. I'll be straight with ya too.. once you figure it out, you'll have more friends over to eat, so the space is indeed needed.
