Big Green Egg & Other Ceramic Grills All Encompassing Thread

[williemackgarza 1826]

So my large bge stand took a crap and my egg tumbled as I was moving it. I held on for dear life and the fucker just barely touched the concrete patio and it shattered. Had it for like 10 years. Damn so need to get a new 1 and I want some accessories.
Any hook ups in Austin/Round Rock area?

[Mac8111 2129]

So my large bge stand took a crap and my egg tumbled as I was moving it. I held on for dear life and the fucker just barely touched the concrete patio and it shattered. Had it for like 10 years. Damn so need to get a new 1 and I want some accessories.
Any hook ups in Austin/Round Rock area?

When is the memorial service ?

[Landomatic 3813]

Looks like Weber realized their Summit Charcoal Grill Series was overpriced and improperly marketed.  So, they are now launching their new Summit Kamado Series which brings the price down more in line with competitors and calls the cooker what it is, which is Weber's answer to kamado cookers.

Price went from $1,500 for the stand alone and $2,000 for the one with the side table, down to $1,000 for the new stand alone and $1,700 for the one with the side table.  Only difference I can tell is that they dropped some accessories and features that other ceramic cookers don't come with anyway.  Actual cooker itself looks to have stayed identical, which from my understanding is comparable to the BGE XL or Kamado Joe Big Joe.

If I ever decide to get back into the charcoal/smoking game, this will be hard to pass up.

Here's the new stand alone for $1,000...

And here's the new one with the side table for $1,700...

[heinhorn 16]

Is there Surly endorsed pizza stone for an XL BGE? (Or is the BGE branded one the best?)  I'm thinking everyone making their own pizza would be something fun to do with the kids.  Apologies if this is mentioned somewhere else in this thread.  Preesh.

Edited January 19, 2021 by heinhorn

[DDD Dad 14650]

39 minutes ago, heinhorn said:

Is there Surly endorsed pizza stone for an XL BGE? (Or is the BGE branded one the best?)  I'm thinking everyone making their own pizza would be something fun to do with the kids.  Apologies if this is mentioned somewhere else in this thread.  Preesh.

Not sure about an endorsement but I have the BGE branded one for my Large BGE.  It works fine.

[Jerry Callo 8960]

4 hours ago, heinhorn said:

Is there Surly endorsed pizza stone for an XL BGE? (Or is the BGE branded one the best?)  I'm thinking everyone making their own pizza would be something fun to do with the kids.  Apologies if this is mentioned somewhere else in this thread.  Preesh.

I have several accessories from the Ceramic Grill Store, including half and whole ceramic stones.  All good quality.

[Landomatic 3813]

7 hours ago, heinhorn said:

Is there Surly endorsed pizza stone for an XL BGE? (Or is the BGE branded one the best?)  I'm thinking everyone making their own pizza would be something fun to do with the kids.  Apologies if this is mentioned somewhere else in this thread.  Preesh.

If it’s something you’re really wanting to get into, you’ll want to get a conversion kit that will turn your egg into a pizza oven.  I think some guys might have posted about it in the homemade pizza thread.  Ceramic cookers are actually not good for cooking pizza with just a stone.  Not nearly enough heat from the top, so you’re much better off using your oven.  That said, if you just wanna putz around a couple times knowing the family may not even be all that into it, just get any cheap pizza stone and it’ll be fine.

[Tailgate 3077]

3 hours ago, Landomatic said:

If it’s something you’re really wanting to get into, you’ll want to get a conversion kit that will turn your egg into a pizza oven.  I think some guys might have posted about it in the homemade pizza thread.  Ceramic cookers are actually not good for cooking pizza with just a stone.  Not nearly enough heat from the top, so you’re much better off using your oven.  That said, if you just wanna putz around a couple times knowing the family may not even be all that into it, just get any cheap pizza stone and it’ll be fine.

To add...if you use your oven get the pizza/baking steel. Game changer. All you’ll do.

[J-Mart 60]

2 hours ago, Tailgate said:

To add...if you use your oven get the pizza/baking steel. Game changer. All you’ll do.

I got the big one from these guys (Modernist Cuisine one):

https://shop.bakingsteel.com/collections/steels

I use it mostly in my Kamado Joe (Big Joe), and it works great there.  I think it's given me better results than my pizza stone when using the KJ.

One problem I had using the steel in the kitchen oven is that it got so hot it burned up the semolina that I put on my pizza peel to help move the loaded pizza onto the baking steel in the oven.  The burning semolina set off my smoke detectors.  I don't think this would happen if I were to bake just a pizza or two, but it became a problem cooking 5 or 6 pizzas.  I probably need a better vent in my kitchen.

[Sam Lin 3598]

No need for anything special to cook pizza. Yes get a stone or a steel as mentioned. Don't stress the brand or specific stone much. Then as mentioned, it's all about balancing heat from above and heat from below. What that means in practice is you want to cook up in the dome, since it's always easy to get more heat from below. Popular setup on Joe is to put the deflectors on top of the top grate, and then use something (balls of alu foil, pieces of brick, anything you have around that's dry and food safe) as spacers and set your pizza stone atop the spacers. This buffers the stone from heat below, while putting the pizza into the dome where it gets more heat from above.

Random internet images for BGE setup using plate setters. You can do this with just grates and deflectors and spacers.

And on Joe with deflectors, it usually looks like this:

On Joe you can also put deflectors on top of the upper grates, and then put the grate extender over that and set your pizza stone on the extender.

 

Get the grill blazing hot with your deflectors in place, slide pizza onto the upper stone/steel. Then you watch and see if crust burns below first or toppings are done first. If crust is done first, either space up higher, add another layer of deflector/spacer, or take out the upper stone and let it cool a bit prior to cooking the next pizza (be careful handling a hot pizza stone or deflector, they're fragile at that point - big advantage of a pizza steel: not fragile). If toppings are done first, just let the grill preheat with stone in for a longer time before you put the pizza in, so the stone provides more heat to the lower crust.

 

7 hours ago, Landomatic said:

If it’s something you’re really wanting to get into, you’ll want to get a conversion kit that will turn your egg into a pizza oven.  I think some guys might have posted about it in the homemade pizza thread.  Ceramic cookers are actually not good for cooking pizza with just a stone.  Not nearly enough heat from the top, so you’re much better off using your oven.  That said, if you just wanna putz around a couple times knowing the family may not even be all that into it, just get any cheap pizza stone and it’ll be fine.

No need for the DoJoe or similar pizza oven insert; I actually feel it does a worse job of pizza than just using the kamado set up like the photos above. The DoJoe type attachment is a fixed cooking height, you can no longer play with height to balance top/bottom heat, and it's a constant air leak that is difficult to shut down and save coal. What it does better is allow you to do multiple pizzas with less handling (no open/closing of dome). I advise everyone against buying it; for not much more money just buy an Ooni oven, Just the savings on coal pay for the Ooni in a couple cooks.

And if you get serious about pizza, the Ooni is a much better choice for pizza. The high heat pizza cooks do stress the ceramics on the kamado and are a huge waste of fuel.

[Landomatic 3813]

4 hours ago, Sam Lin said:

No need for anything special to cook pizza. Yes get a stone or a steel as mentioned. Don't stress the brand or specific stone much. Then as mentioned, it's all about balancing heat from above and heat from below. What that means in practice is you want to cook up in the dome, since it's always easy to get more heat from below. Popular setup on Joe is to put the deflectors on top of the top grate, and then use something (balls of alu foil, pieces of brick, anything you have around that's dry and food safe) as spacers and set your pizza stone atop the spacers. This buffers the stone from heat below, while putting the pizza into the dome where it gets more heat from above.

Random internet images for BGE setup using plate setters. You can do this with just grates and deflectors and spacers.

And on Joe with deflectors, it usually looks like this:

On Joe you can also put deflectors on top of the upper grates, and then put the grate extender over that and set your pizza stone on the extender.

Get the grill blazing hot with your deflectors in place, slide pizza onto the upper stone/steel. Then you watch and see if crust burns below first or toppings are done first. If crust is done first, either space up higher, add another layer of deflector/spacer, or take out the upper stone and let it cool a bit prior to cooking the next pizza (be careful handling a hot pizza stone or deflector, they're fragile at that point - big advantage of a pizza steel: not fragile). If toppings are done first, just let the grill preheat with stone in for a longer time before you put the pizza in, so the stone provides more heat to the lower crust.

No need for the DoJoe or similar pizza oven insert; I actually feel it does a worse job of pizza than just using the kamado set up like the photos above. The DoJoe type attachment is a fixed cooking height, you can no longer play with height to balance top/bottom heat, and it's a constant air leak that is difficult to shut down and save coal. What it does better is allow you to do multiple pizzas with less handling (no open/closing of dome). I advise everyone against buying it; for not much more money just buy an Ooni oven, Just the savings on coal pay for the Ooni in a couple cooks.

And if you get serious about pizza, the Ooni is a much better choice for pizza. The high heat pizza cooks do stress the ceramics on the kamado and are a huge waste of fuel.

All spot on stuff, as usual from you man.  One issue with doing the spacer thing, which you sort of alluded to above, is that you still have to open the lid to check it.  So every time, you're losing heat, which is not good for cooking or for efficiency.

The way I've seen to adjust the height on the conversion kits like a DoJoe is to raise it by hand with the peel for a couple mins at the end to cook the toppings better, which does sound like a beating.  But I've also seen people having to do that with stand-alone ovens like the Ooni.  Don't quote me on this, but I think @Anastasis has had to do some of this (maybe he'll weigh in and set me straight).

So, I'm not really seeing that much of a difference between an egg conversion kit like the DoJoe) and a stand alone oven like the Ooni).  I'm sure you're right on the efficiency thing, but there's also the factor of having yet another stand-alone contraption in my yard to have to fuck with (DoeJoe being an accessory and Ooni being a stand-alone contraption).  By the time I get done listening to all the surly experts, my back yard is going to look like a damn Home Depot parking lot...grill, smoker, griddle, pizza oven.

[Anastasis 23720]

2 hours ago, Landomatic said:

The way I've seen to adjust the height on the conversion kits like a DoJoe is to raise it by hand with the peel for a couple mins at the end to cook the toppings better, which does sound like a beating.  But I've also seen people having to do that with stand-alone ovens like the Ooni.  Don't quote me on this, but I think @Anastasis has had to do some of this (maybe he'll weigh in and set me straight).

 

I domed some of my pizzas, esp early on when I was still fiddling with tuning in the temperature and process and needed a little more heat on the toppings.  I think that I have things pretty dialed in now though.  

[Landomatic 3813]

22 hours ago, heinhorn said:

Is there Surly endorsed pizza stone for an XL BGE? (Or is the BGE branded one the best?)  I'm thinking everyone making their own pizza would be something fun to do with the kids.  Apologies if this is mentioned somewhere else in this thread.  Preesh.

FYI...this is the one from the Homemade Pizza thread.  Not sure how well it's been working for him since.  @Mac8111 any updates on this?

 

[Landomatic 3813]

And here's another one that seems like it would work.  @dcbc you got any updates on this thing?

 

[dcbc 14644]

9 hours ago, Landomatic said:

And here's another one that seems like it would work.  @dcbc you got any updates on this thing?

 

Yeah, it's been really good for the money.  I've got the Weber coal baskets loaded up on the sides of the grill and some more coals set up around the perimeter.  Run the Kettle wide open and let the thermometer get up above 500 F, which is the air above the stone (stone is probably a good deal hotter).  I'd read not to put too many coals directly beneath the stone.  But you really need to load it up if you're doing more than two pies.  Pizza is done in 4 minutes with a quarter turn half way through and has a pretty good spring.  It's pretty well built (stainless) with a 15"? stone, and I feel like it will last a long time.  Paid $165 for it, which included the stone and a pretty decent peel.  So it's a pretty good value as well. 

Edited January 21, 2021 by dcbc

[heinhorn 16]

I had a feeling y'all would have some opinions on how to do this.  I'm not looking to get super serious or anything...just heard you could cook za on the egg and wanted to give it a shot.  Appreciate the knowledge fellas. 

[dcbc 14644]

5 hours ago, heinhorn said:

I had a feeling y'all would have some opinions on how to do this.  I'm not looking to get super serious or anything...just heard you could cook za on the egg and wanted to give it a shot.  Appreciate the knowledge fellas. 

 

5 hours ago, heinhorn said:

I had a feeling y'all would have some opinions on how to do this.  I'm not looking to get super serious or anything...just heard you could cook za on the egg and wanted to give it a shot.  Appreciate the knowledge fellas. 

Toss a stone or steel or screen on your Egg, let it heat up for a half hour or more, and give it a go.  Only other bits of kit I've found to be really helpful is a silicone pastry mat to spread out the dough and a peel.  Depending on the temperature, I'd check it by lifting the lid just a bit and peeking under at about the two minute mark.  Give it a turn or two during the cook.  

[Etexhorn13 3098]

11 hours ago, dcbc said:

 

Toss a stone or steel or screen on your Egg, let it heat up for a half hour or more, and give it a go.  Only other bits of kit I've found to be really helpful is a silicone pastry mat to spread out the dough and a peel.  Depending on the temperature, I'd check it by lifting the lid just a bit and peeking under at about the two minute mark.  Give it a turn or two during the cook.  

This. You don’t have to overcomplicate it, the pizzas will still taste better than anything you’ve cooked in your oven. 

[Landomatic 3813]

37 minutes ago, Etexhorn13 said:

This. You don’t have to overcomplicate it, the pizzas will still taste better than anything you’ve cooked in your oven. 

[Sam Lin 3598]

#notwrong

Use parchment paper to build your pizza and move into the grill. No need to deal with a peel and the frustration of sticking. Bake it on the parchment.

[pearlandhorn 3343]

Anybody have any experience building a drum smoker?

[pearlandhorn 3343]

15 minutes ago, pearlandhorn said:

Anybody have any experience building a drum smoker?

Nvm, wrong thread.

[Mac8111 2129]

Seriously, is there a better value in the meat department than a whole pork loin?? 8lbs for $14. I cut it in half, vacuum seal and freeze one half. The other half gets S&P and whatever rub I have laying around and smoke it for 2 1/2 -3hrs. Slice it for sammiches all day long.

[RMac5 1557]

Grilled two pork loins last night, they make a great meal and are damn cheap.

We use the loins for green chile stew as well.

[Buzzrock 15136]

Pork loin > pork tenderloin

[brown water 3788]

On 1/16/2021 at 8:55 AM, Landomatic said:

Looks like Weber realized their Summit Charcoal Grill Series was overpriced and improperly marketed.  So, they are now launching their new Summit Kamado Series which brings the price down more in line with competitors and calls the cooker what it is, which is Weber's answer to kamado cookers.

Price went from $1,500 for the stand alone and $2,000 for the one with the side table, down to $1,000 for the new stand alone and $1,700 for the one with the side table.  Only difference I can tell is that they dropped some accessories and features that other ceramic cookers don't come with anyway.  Actual cooker itself looks to have stayed identical, which from my understanding is comparable to the BGE XL or Kamado Joe Big Joe.

If I ever decide to get back into the charcoal/smoking game, this will be hard to pass up.

Here's the new stand alone for $1,000...

And here's the new one with the side table for $1,700...

Bought one over Christmas. Guess I was the beneficiary of the transition because it’s the old model at the new price. Loving it so far. 
 

 

[Landomatic 3813]

9 hours ago, brown water said:

Bought one over Christmas. Guess I was the beneficiary of the transition because it’s the old model at the new price. Loving it so far. 

Holy shit that's badass...where'd you get it?

People seem to absolutely love these things.

[Lazarus Bocanegra 312]

Hey-o


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jerry Callo 8960]

30 minutes ago, Lazarus Bocanegra said:

Hey-o

Give us some more info.  Chicken?  Pork?  How long?

El Pastor is on my list of thing to try.

[Landomatic 3813]

1 hour ago, Lazarus Bocanegra said:

Hey-o

Whoa...is that what I think it is?  Need more info on this.  What kind of contraption do you have it on?  How does the lid take the length?

[Lazarus Bocanegra 312]

Whoa...is that what I think it is?  Need more info on this.  What kind of contraption do you have it on?  How does the lid take the length?

Pork shoulder sliced and marinated overnight. I forgot to order pineapple juice so did Roy Choi’s mojo marinade and tricked it up as a trompo. About 18hrs in the marinade and roasted for about 2.5


The rig is pretty high tech - a heavy gauge stainless skewer I bent into a hook, coupled with a 1/2” steel plate I found in the trash and drilled a hole through to fit the girth. Two more plates below that to create a little gap for the hook so it would sit level. Large egg Probably wouldn’t have taken the length if using the grate so I just set up on the deflector.

Carved some pieces off and finished them on the griddle with pineapple and onions. All in all, a decent first effort but lots of room for improvement. In non-covid times and with more pig, this will make for a great cookout dish


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[brown water 3788]

14 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Holy shit that's badass...where'd you get it?

People seem to absolutely love these things.

Texas Star Grills in Houston. They were great but iirc not in your part of the world. 

[conVINCEd 21477]

On 1/26/2021 at 8:48 PM, brown water said:

Bought one over Christmas. Guess I was the beneficiary of the transition because it’s the old model at the new price. Loving it so far. 
 

 

What function does the button on the table serve?

[Landomatic 3813]

4 hours ago, conVINCEd said:

What function does the button on the table serve?

That lights the coals.  It holds a small camping propane tank behind that silver door and then you just fire it up like a gas grill once you have your charcoal loaded.  Seems slick as shit to me.  Or lazy and pussy, depending on your outlook on lighting coals.  The cheapest one they sell for $999 doesn't have it.

[Lazarus Bocanegra 312]

Wrong forum

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[conVINCEd 21477]

5 hours ago, Landomatic said:

That lights the coals.  It holds a small camping propane tank behind that silver door and then you just fire it up like a gas grill once you have your charcoal loaded.  Seems slick as shit to me.  Or lazy and pussy, depending on your outlook on lighting coals.  The cheapest one they sell for $999 doesn't have it.

Thanks.  I thought there might be a single burner for sides or something that I wasn’t seeing due to the angle of the photo.  It does look like a pretty slick setup.

Edited January 28, 2021 by conVINCEd

[Tailgate 3077]

Broke in the Joe Tisserie tonight on the BGE.

[Mac8111 2129]

My grate (I think it is stainless steel) has gotten out of control with all the stuff I let get caked on it this year. Suggestions on what to soak this thing with to get it back to optimal condition ?

[Lazarus Bocanegra 312]

22 minutes ago, Mac8111 said:

My grate (I think it is stainless steel) has gotten out of control with all the stuff I let get caked on it this year. Suggestions on what to soak this thing with to get it back to optimal condition ?

fire

 

[Chewbacca 7830]

fire
 

Yep. Big, hot one.

[Sam Lin 3598]

2 hours ago, Tailgate said:

Broke in the Joe Tisserie tonight on the BGE.

Only suggestion/option for you is try banking the coals to the back next time so the drippings aren't landing in the fire and smoking/flaring.

[baboso 6105]

10 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

10 hours ago, Lazarus Bocanegra said:

fire
 

Yep. Big, hot one.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

Smoked some wings tonight on BGE for first time.  Brined in salt water for a couple hours. Did a simple rub and brushed some franks wing sauce on them.  My family annihilated them.  They were so good.  

[Etexhorn13 3098]

15 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

Smoked some wings tonight on BGE for first time.  Brined in salt water for a couple hours. Did a simple rub and brushed some franks wing sauce on them.  My family annihilated them.  They were so good.  

How long/what temp did you smoke? Doing these for the game tonight and I keep seeing varying methods. Did thst salt water brine help crisp up the skin?

[Buzzrock 15136]

No need for that. Just fill it with charcoal, open the top and bottom all the way, and let it roll. Remove the temp gauge first or else you’ll fry it. You also might destroy your gasket but you were probably due for new one anyway.

Today’s cook:

[Johnny Sack 8397]

4 hours ago, Etexhorn13 said:

How long/what temp did you smoke? Doing these for the game tonight and I keep seeing varying methods. Did thst salt water brine help crisp up the skin?

I think it was around 2 hours at 225.  Not sure if brine helped it crisp because this was my first go around.  Skin was a little crispy. They were really, really good.

[crimsonlonghorn 2313]

Doing chili today while we wait for the snow. I used to like cooking in the cold and snow when we lived up north.

 

Tomorrow I will do spareribs because why the fuck not if it's a holiday and no work and can't leave the house? 

[Mac8111 2129]

BGE is so clean !!

[Sam Lin 3598]

Been craving ribs. Finally found some full racks for sale. Pulled membrane, rubbed with a few drips of Worcestershire for adhesion and then seasoning (used AP Mojo and Pork Mojo from Atlanta Grill Company). Put it on the Kamado Big Joe, used all the real estate I had on this one. Used a rib rack to space them apart and cut some potato quarters to use as spacers between the racks to get full airflow exposure. Threw a handful of apple chips over the coals, didn't have chunks on hand.

Foil pouches are roasted garlic. Ran for about 2hr at 270 and then sauced them. Did one rack using Thai Jeaw sauce from a local food stall, which is a sauce based on dried chili but varies hugely even within Thailand. This one has tamarind and is fairly thick, not so sweet. Did 2 racks using a storebought BBQ sauce and one rack I left plain.

Cooked them another hour after sauce, bumped the temp to 300. Swapped the garlic for some potatoes. Jeaw sauce on far right, then plain, and left 2 are storebought BBQ sauce.

Near the end of the cook, fired up the Junior to hot sear some broccoli with olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice.

Sliced. Not a ton of meat on these, and I think that's just a matter of the local pigs (Thailand) being smaller. Juicy, flavor was great, For doneness they could have gone another 30min, the bones didn't have clean pull. Dinner crowd loved them, we finished about 2.5 of 4 racks. Sectioned and vac seal/froze the remainder for later cravings.

The Jeaw sauced rib was definitely the winner. Don't know why Jeaw sauce isn't catching on more globally. It's such a good match for many meats; local western restaurants have noticed it and have Jeaw versions of meats on their menus. I need to learn how this stall makes theirs; as mentioned, this sauce varies a huge amount from restaurant to restaurant, some are thin and watery, others are goop, some are sweeter, more sour, full of herbs, etc. Look at how good this sauce looks!

 

[Jerry Callo 8960]

Pork loin with the Joetissorie. Turned out pretty good, should have pulled it 10 minutes sooner.