“Roast chicken in the Egg is great, but I miss having gravy” said my wife. This was indeed the case … spatchcock chicken cooked in our smaller Big Green Egg makes for a great dinner, however fresh gravy wasn’t feasible. Another challenge was cooking something big on the lower level.
After pondering this, I came up with a simple solution, a Minimax Rig 2.0. I just needed to cannibalise three of my wife’s meat skewers.
Burgers cooking on the BBQ are ubiquitous with warm, sunny summer days. Yet they can quickly become repetitive and ordinary. How to make them … well, less ordinary?
Through chance experiment we discovered that chestnut mushrooms, Dizzy Pig Red Eye Express rub and a little butter combine to exhibit an umami-like taste. Very left field and unexpected. So we used those ingredients in crafting some truly outstanding smash burgers.
As with a conventional oven, over time a Big Green Egg gets gunked up with fat, grease and other undesirable detritus. When the ceramics glisten with black, fatty deposits and there’s an aroma of fat as the Egg warms up, it’s time for a clean.
Not with Mr. Muscle though. I restored the Egg by performing a controlled clean burn. The result was an Egg nearly back to the state it was when purchased.
I enjoy experimenting with kitchen gadgets. For Christmas, I was gifted a “Sous Vide Supreme” to add to the culinary arsenal. After a few sous vide meals, it’s clear this was a perfect present. Meat is moist and evenly cooked throughout. Vegetables taste fresh and vibrant. Every time.
One of my culinary discoveries has been the positive effect BBQ rubs can have on enhancing flavour. A real-deal meal time game changer. I’ve blogged about cooking with rubs in our Big Green Egg, simply because it’s what I normally use.
Recently rain stopped play on a planned al fresco roast chicken. A lot of rain, and high winds. So I used the oven indoors. Turns out that BBQ rubs work with everyday kitchen cooking.
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I relish a challenge. Recently I cooked a Vietnamese meal using a wok in our kitchen. My wife said “that’s something you probably couldn’t cook using a Big Green Egg.”
Challenge accepted! Find out how to do wok cooking on a Big Green Egg with this simple guide.
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A friend at work mentioned that he liked bread made using the minimal knead technique. However with work and children (and cats), it took too long on a work night, and the bread was not ready for their dinner time.
I altered the recipe so that dough is prepped before work and baked fresh in the evening. Or prepped in the evening for fresh bread with breakfast.
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I believe in making the most of available space, whether it’s storing herbs, stacking pans … or cooking in a Big Green Egg. The Egg has a big dome that normally has nothing in it. Most ovens have two shelves, why not the Egg as well?
Continue reading “Two-Level Raised Cooking With a Big Green Egg”
Smoked cheeses, vegetables and nuts can add extra nuance and flavour to a meal. And it doesn’t need a large, dedicated piece of equipment. It’s surprisingly easy to do with a Big Green Egg, standard covered BBQ or similar device.
Find out how to do cold smoking with a low-cost smoke generator. And a paint can.
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Recently we cooked a lovely 2 inch thick rib-eye steak using the reverse sear technique. The beef was cooked evenly throughout, and the rubbed seared crust was outstanding. It was some of the best steak we have experienced, our cats confirming this assessment.
Scratch-made pizza was a “road to Damascus” home-cooking moment. My oven-baked pizzas were really good. Yet whilst being tasty, and much better than pre-packaged products, they lacked that authentic pizzeria quality.
To go further in my pizza-making journey, I decided that I needed a proper pizza oven. My wife agreed. Seriously, she did … and she also discovered the Big Green Egg.
I still remember the warm summer’s day when I first baked a home-made pizza. It tasted fantastic, fresh flavours and a crisp thin-crust base, served with both a glass of wine and a sweet sense of victory. And the desire to make many more. Which I did.
This post covers the basics of with a ham and mushroom pizza using home-made dough. From this foundation, it’s easy to make most pizzas for baking in a standard kitchen oven, wood fired pizza oven or ceramic oven such as a Big Green Egg.
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The Cook's Digest 