It's That Green Time of the Year

It is that Green time of year again, and I am not thinking about gardening (well Ok, I am), or painting or anything else that might come to mind that is Green. In this specific case, I am thinking of the Big Green Egg. This marvel of Japanese and American engineering is a multi-functional cooking device, about three all wrapped up in one large green, dimpled device. “Tis the season,” as they say, for outdoor cooking in all its glory. 

Large Big Green Egg. Photo by Sue Van Slooten

It could well be that you have never heard of the Big Green Egg, a lot of folks haven’t, so this is where this blog comes in. In fact, Eggheads, as we are known, have become a bit of a phenomenon around the world. They are quite popular in Africa and the Netherlands, for example. Big Green Eggs originated in Japan, a number of centuries ago, and at that time they were called Kamado cookers. They were large, jar-like ceramic “ovens” that the Japanese used to cook with. The original Kamados were subject eventually to breakage, a problem solved by good old-fashioned American engineering, in this case, space shuttle technology. The folks at Big Green Egg (really, you have to go to their website at www.biggreenegg.com) worked on the ceramics until they got it perfect. They still continue to experiment tweaking this and that, in the pursuit of an ever better Egg.

So, you may reasonably ask, how do these things work? If you can run a wood stove, you can do an Egg. If you don’t have a wood stove, do not worry. It is easy enough to get the hang of with some practice. The firebox is in the bottom chamber, which is where you put lump charcoal; I use one of those electric fire starters to get the charcoal started. It doesn’t take long, and I have been known to get the Egg fired up in ten to fifteen minutes. Now, having said all of this, be prepared for serious heat, and if you do not watch your Egg, it can easily shoot up to 700 degrees F. Yes. I find I run mine much lower, maybe 450 to 500 for pizzas, etc. Obviously, if you are doing a cake or something along that line you want a lower temperature. Also be careful about opening your Egg anytime it’s over 400, as it gets a blast of oxygen, and can woof at you, or singe your eyebrows. It has never singed mine, but I know someone that is has. 

You may also seriously ask, why all this to make a steak? That is where the art comes in. It is not just that you flap a steak on, cook it and eat. That is the goal, mind you, but it is how you get there that is important. It is what you cook your steak with, the seasonings involved, but at the end of the day, it is the taste. A truly perfect steak with that charcoal smoke taste is unbeatable. You can also do whole chickens or turkeys, seafood, anything that grills or bakes. It is also not all about the BBQ, as it can also be used as a smoker, and as I use it regularly, an outdoor (charcoal) fired oven. Does that smoke go with your chocolate cake? Yes! And your cinnamon buns? Absolutely. Pizza is where it is king, but so are breads like baguettes and various loaves. In fact I strive to make a complete meal on the Egg, with appetizers, the main course, and dessert all done one after the other (I recommend you start with dessert first, not a bad way to go, eh?).

I must confess, the first time I saw an Egg, I thought it was the most ugly thing I had ever seen. Still, my butcher Roger convinced me, it is THE way to go, his only regret being he did not buy a bigger one. Taking that advice, I bought the Large (he has a medium). I understand they now have a double extra-large. Hallelujah!

Feel free to contact me if you would like instruction on the Egg, or any other baking/ cooking instruction at www.svanslooten.com.  Or email me at suevanslooten@ripnet.com Come visit me, you get to eat what you make!

You can also follow my further adventures on Facebook and more blogs at www.motherearthnews.com

Notes:

Big Green Egg.  www.biggreenegg.com Last accessed May 19, 2015.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring, Big Green Egg Style

The Big Green Egg, as many of you already know, is, well, large (but not all), green, and yes, egg shaped. It’s a BBQ, smoker, outdoor oven, all rolled into one large package. Mine is the large size, but there are the most adorable mini eggs, barely 18” high. I was sorely tempted to get the Xtra Large, but reality fortunately kicked in.Bob, my husband, was already getting nervous about that latest cooking venture. He takes most things in good stride, but worries about when I tend to get a little creative. While an Egg isn’t the cheapest thing in the world, it’s an awful lot cheaper than building an outdoor oven, and takes the place of about three appliances. I’m going on my 3rd season with the Egg, and it’s working beautifully. Last Saturday night was an example. The following will give you a pretty good idea of the versatility of what you can do with an Egg, and to realize that nothing is carved in stone.

I had been to the market and found fresh tuna steaks, not always easy when you basically live in eastern Ontario, basically the mid-West. We’re almost equidistant from either coast, so truly fresh seafood doesn’t come our way too often. I get mine either from the Butcher’s Edge in Perth, ON, or Farmboy, various locations in Ottawa. Here’s what I came up with: The tuna steaks were marinated in olive oil, a mixture of lemon and lime juice, and some mustard. White wine would also have worked beautifully, but alas, I didn’t have any.Any citrus juice would have worked here, but lemon or lime would be best.

There was this little problem of leftover Italian bread dough, a large batch of dough that had already given rise to two pizzas, and two calzones, all Egg baked. Solution: Take a 6” cast iron frying pan, coat liberally with oil, pat down into pan. I also had some corn on the cob, and the new Big Green Egg cookbook has an app (recipe) for that too. Soak the ears in water for an hour, with husks on. I placed the pan with dough, and the ears, on the grid. They recommended 45 minutes for the corn, but I took bread and corn off after about 20 and 25 minutes respectively, bread was slightly singed, and corn was perfect. I found the bread not quite done on the interior to my liking, so I cut it in half and toasted the cut sides. Temperature was a little high, or use a pizza stone to deflect the heat some, but no matter, it turned out delicious.

The next thing to go in the Egg was a 9” cast iron frying pan with mushrooms, oil, and a little garlic powder, my signature Egg veggie dish. To the side of the pan went the two tuna steaks. This took about 10 minutes, the mushrooms coming out first, perfectly done. Then the tuna came off, and you couldn’t have asked for better tuna, still very slightly pink in the middle. The flavours were all divine. The bread was crusty, (even the slightly singed part was delicious), which we drizzled with plain olive oil. Bob pulled the husks off the corn, and had eaten his by the time I sat down. He got scolded for that one, but said he just couldn’t help it. I understand. The temperatures I was cooking at ranged from about 400 to 450, although she did sneak up to almost 500 at one point. Generally, once the Egg is set at a certain temperature, it pretty much stays there, I just hadn’t quite equalized yet. The Egg can go much higher, but I don’t see a lot of need for 700.They say that’s where you sear a steak, but, really now.

So that is how you celebrate “Winter is Over, Spring is Here” Egg-style.

This is my Big Green Egg with side tables.