Gary Willson's

Big Green Egg

 

For years, I smoked meats on a classic offset pit BBQ. I mostly cooked briskets and chickens. It did a great job, but was not only limited in the type of cooking I could do, but was also very labor intensive, because I had to constantly monitor and regulate the fire. It was also relatively expensive, because I used hardwood logs for the fire. Here is my method for cooking on the pit. Click here.

 

NOW

I am the proud owner of two Big Green Eggs. BGE's are ceramic cookers that burn lump charcoal. The technology is about 3,000 years old from Asia. WWII servicemen brought back the first ceramic/clay ovens from Japan, and the method has been growing ever since. Owners of Eggs form a(jokingly) cult following, share recipes on the Egghead forum, and have Eggfests all over the country and abroad.

 

Cooking food directly on the grill makes the Egg a simple grill, and temperatures can reach 1,000 degrees or more, which allows for great searing of meat. If you put a plate setter down (a ceramic barrier between the fire and the grate) and cook indirectly, the Egg becomes a roaster, a firebrick oven, or a smoker.

 

These are my two eggs. The one on the left is a Large Egg. The one on the right is a Medium Egg.

 
This is the setup for a straight direct cook, or grill.
 
This is the setup for an indirect cook. The ceramic is called a plate setter and provides a barrier between the fire and the meat. Roasting, smoking, breadmaking, and pizza are cooked with a place setter.
 
The two boxes here are a Stoker and a wireless bridge to my computer. At my computer, I set the desired Egg cooking temperature and the desired finished food temperature.
 
If the temperature of the Egg is less than the set temperature on the Stoker, a small fan comes on at the air intake and the fire is "stoked" to raise the temperature. When the temperature is reached, the fan shuts off and closes the air flow.
 

At my computer, a graph is produced showing the Egg(s) temperature and the food(s) temperature. I can also change the desired settings from my computer as the food is being cooked.

This particular graph shows a brisket cook for Superbowl Sunday, 2010. I started the 15# brisket at 7:30 Saturday night with a desired temperature of 225 degrees. After a while, the temperature steadied, and kept it within a couple of degrees throughout the night and the next day. The meat temperature stalled at about 160 degrees, which is nomal for brisket while converting collagens to geletan. This lasted for 7 hours. I became concerned around noon that the brisket would not be ready for kickoff at 5:25, so (at my computer), I upped the desired temp to 250 degrees. The Stoker responded and kept the temperature at 250 for the remainder of the cook. The meat responded and was ready just in time.

 

Some things I've cooked on the Egg

Click on any picture to enlarge

 

 

         
 
 
 
 
Chicken
 
Cornbread and grilled andouille sausage
 
 
 
 
 
Pork Crown Rib Roast
 
Hearth Bread
 
 
 
 
 
Kung Pao Shrimp and Fried Rice
 
Mongolian Beef
 
 
 
 
 
Pizza
 
Pork Chops
 
 
 
 
 
Prime Rib
 
 
 
 

Prime Rib

 
 
 
 
 

Shish Kabob

 

Steak

 
 
 
 
 

Salmon

 

Seafood Pizza

Pizza before cook, click here

Pizza after cook, click here

 
 
 
 
 

Char Siu

 
Bourbon Soaked Smoked Chuck Roast
 
         
 
 
 
 

Pinto beans

 
Brisket
 
         
 
 
 
 
Stuffed Pork Loin
 
Beef loin & Stuffed Pork loin
 
 
 
 
 
Chinese BBQ ribs with Snow Peas, Tomatoes, Pork Belly and Thai Chiles (also shrimp fried rice)
 
Ciabatta bread
 
 
 
 
 
Bool Kogi (Korean sesame grilled beef with Asian Pear Dipping Sauce)
 

Sukiyaki

To see raw ingredients, click here

 
 
 
 
 
Rack of lamb in Red wine sauce
 
Crawfish Etouffee
 
 
 
 
 
Migas
 
Scaloppine al Marsala
 
 
 
 
 

Red Snapper Ponchartrain

For table decorations, click here

 

Linguine allo Scoglio

For table decorations, click here

 
 
 
 
 

Beef Stroganoff Crȇpes

For stroganoff, while cooking, click here

 

Cashew Chicken

For plated meal, click here

 
 
 
 
 
Grilled Scallops & Shrimp in Curry Sauce
 
Filet Mignon in a Pinot Noir Sauce
 
 
 
 
 

Shrimp Quesadillas

Click here, here, and here for pictures while cooking

 
Stir Fried Ginger Beef
 
 
 
 
 
Shrimp & Scallop Scampi
 
Stir Fry Chicken with Raspberry Chipolte Sauce
 
 
 
 
 
Tacos al Pastor
 

Peppersteak

 
 
 
 
 
Sweet and Sour Pork
 
Egg Roll
 
 
 
 
 

New Orleans BBQ Shrimp

While cooking, click here

 
Honey Glazed Chicken Wings
 
 
 
 
 
Jalapeno Shrimp Rumaki in Szechuan Sauce
 

Crab Cakes with Chipotle Chiles and Corn

 
 
 
 
 
Puffy Taco
 
Crab Stuffed Shrimp
 
 
 
 
 
General Tso's Chicken
 

Cheese Enchiladas

(partially done on Big Green Egg)

 
 
 
 
 

Slap Ya Mama Red Snapper & Twice Baked Potato

For a picture on the Egg, click here

 
Cannelloni Crepes
 
 
 
 
 
Chicken with Orange Sauce
 
Spicy Ginger Teriyaki Wings
 

 

 
 
 
 

Smoked Sous Vide Bourbon Chuck Roast

Marinate in bourbon and sauce overnight, sous vide at 148* for 49 hours, smoke on Egg at 225* for 2 hours

 
Shrimp and Scallops with Ginger Caramel Sauce
 
 
 
 
 

Vongole Casino (Stuffed Clams)

For another picture, click here

 
Yaki Udon (Beef with pasta noodles)
For more pictures, click here and here
 
 
 
 
 

Tonkatsu & Sauce

(Japanese Fried Pork Cutlets)

 

Beef Negimayaki

(green onions rolled in beef with teriyaki marinade)

 
         
 
 
 
 

Shrimp Wontons, Crab Rangoon, & Shrimp Balls with Sweet Chili Sauce

For a better picture of the shrimp balls, click here.

 

Scallops topped with Bacon Jam

on a Spinach & Manderin Orange Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

For a picture on the grill, click here

 
 
 
 
 

Baby Back Ribs

for plated picture, click here

 

Shrimp Gumbo

Cajuns have told me it is the best they've ever eaten

 
 
 
 
 

Steak Fingers and Cream Gravy

aka Chicken Fried Steak

 
Onion Strings
 
 
 
 
 
Shrimp Burgers with Wasabi Sauce
 
Kung Pao Shrimp and Won Ton Soup
 
 
 
 
 

Sweet & Sour Shrimp

(Same recipe as Sweet & Sour Pork)

 

Spicy Thai Lemon Shrimp

(Plated with Thai Spicy Chicken Soup - click here)

 
 

 

 
 
 

Braised Tritip steak with Red Wine Sauce

 

Crepes aux Crevettes

(Shrimp Crepes)

 
 
 
 
 
Pork Chops with Garlic and Wine
 
Szechuan Beef
 
 
 
 
 
Szechuan Prawns
 
Szechuan Pork
 
 
 
 
 
Korean BBQ Beef Short Ribs (Kalbi)
 
Chicken Cordon Bleu
 
         
 
 
 
 

Ants Climbing A Tree

(A Szechuan dish - Ground pork with rice noodles)

 
Taquitos
 
 
 
 
 

Lasagna Cupcakes

"Pasta" is wonton wrappers

 

Cantonese Filet Mignon

 
 
 
 
 
Firecracker Shrimp
 
Tequila, Mexican Cream, and Chipotle Shrimp
 
 
 
 
 
Mongolian Pork Chop
 
Beef Stroganoff
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Stuffed Jalapenos
 

Ginger Miso Red Snapper in a Shiitake Mushroom broth

 

 
 
 
 
 
Garlic and Red Miso Porterhouse Steak
 
Yuzu Kosho Scallops and Shrimp