Big Green Egg and STJ Glasses

[augie]

pj, pursue the butt, you knows you wants it.

Cheers, RickG

Rick - I have been wavering about what to cook for the Labor Day weekend, but you've worn me down. I'm stopping by BJ's on the way home and picking up a pair of bone-in boston butts.

14 hours or so of low and slow cooking on the WSM with some apple wood chunks to provide the smoke will yield some top notch pulled pork.

Food porn on Monday!

[waterguy]

Hi Augie
I get mine at Sams club you have to ask as they keep it in the back. I like to inject it and rub it then smoke for 14 to 16 hours. I pull it put a bottle of BBQ suace and a cup or 2 of apple cider vinger. Now you got me hungery I'll have to do it this weekend to.

[RickG]

I have bbq pork butt in the freezer. It was cooked at 265F for ten hours over cherry and hickory to 195F as part of our big campout bbq - 140 pounds of pork butt and beef shoulder clod. We wrap it in foil and place in a room temp ice chest (no ice) to steam for a couple of hours. It was still over 180F four hours later.

As the pit master I whine about cooking beef every year, but the host to our 200 person campout wants beef so we do it.

I left the memory card to our camera at home and none of the attendees have sent me a pic of the meat yet. But, here's a picture of last years meat load - same smoker, same slaughter house:



Wrapping the meat in foil and putting it in a room temperature cooler that is sized close to the meat really helps steam and loosen the meat. Its a nice low effort improvement. It also lets you keep the meat hot while you pull the rest of the fest together.

Cheers, RickG

[augie]

Yah, I always let the butts rest in a cooler for 2-4 hours before pulling. It lets the juices redistribute themselves throughout the meat, and as Rick said, continues to cook so that they'll pull easier.

Tom - sometimes I inject and sometimes don't, but I do slather them with mustard and give 'em a good dose of rub before they go on the cooker.

This last time I used a finishing sauce that I added, along with some more of the rub while pulling , then I just served them with sauce on the side for those that wanted it. Here's some pics of the butt from that cook (I also did two kinds of chicken and baby back ribs that day!):

Just out of the cryo and ready to prep:


Rubbed and ready:


On the smoker:


Ready to go in the cooler to rest:


Pulled and ready for sandwhiches!

[bayer40601]

pjayer said: I like port butt, and I just can't lie.

Must've already been in the cooking sherry.

[Ron_L]

Where is Ron_L...

Ummm... Right here... I'm lurking but missed this thread because we were in Vegas for a few days. A little birdie told me you guys were talking about me (thanks, nothintolose! ).

Things have been absolutely insane around here. Besides being very busy at work my moderator role at my favorite BBQ forum keeps me busy online and my wife and I are now cooking as a team at KCBS BBQ competitions so that ties up a lot of our weekends. We're heading to Dubuque, IA tomorrow for a competition there on Saturday and Sunday.

Anyway... Enough excuses... Pjayer, you are going to love your Egg! Liamsaunt is right, I have an Egg. Actually, I now have three, two large and one Small

If you haven't already found them, there are some great online resources for BGE info (besides guys like Rick and Augie, of course ). Here are some forums to check out...

Egghead Forum

Ceramic Cooking Forum

BBQ Brethren (this is where I am a moderator)

Also,here is a great site for info on cooking on a BGE...

The Naked Whiz (not what it sounds like )

Also, check out some of the great Eggsessories available here...

Egg Accessories I use Tom's Adjustable Rig to be able to get multiple levels of cooking for larger loads. Great stuff.

You can add the Egg mates (side shelves) at any time, but you will have to remove the bottom band to do so, so it is a bit of a pain. They are nice, but not really enough room. I am planning on building a table for my Eggs so i have more room. there are table plans a the naked Whiz site or you can buy one from BGE.

Did you get a platesetter for your Egg? The platesetter is a ceramic piece that goes inside the egg to allow indirect cooking for things like pork butts, briskets, ribs, etc. Also, with the platesetter and a pizza stone (get the BGE stone. It is more expensive, but cheaper stones have been known to shatter) and you can make great pizzas, bake breads, etc. The Egg is not only a great grill and smoker, but it is a fantastic ceramic oven.



Here is a link to my Photobucket Album with pictures of the different things that I cook on the Egg.

[Ron_L]

Oh yeah...

Rick and Augie...

Nice butts...

[waterguy]

Hey Ron
Are you doing the Zoobque this year.
Tom

[bayer40601]

RonL-I do have two questions.

1) If you are going to smoke a butt for 14-16 hours, is there a need to replenish the charcoal during that period or will a firebox full of charcoal last for the period of time?

2) We have only had our BGE since last Saturday, but have used it 3 times. We have not been able to get the temperature up to 700-750 degrees. It only seems to go to about 650. Is there something we need to do to get it to that higher level?

Thanks.

[RickG]

Oh yeah...

It's alive! I figured you were out there somewhere playing with your meat!

Cheers, RickG

[pjayer]

I have to agree. Nice butts, guys! Makes my mouth water.

Thanks for chiming in Ron_L. To answer your question, we did not get a platesetter. Is one necessary to smoke butts? (That sounds funny, doesn't it?) Thanks for all the links. I have already registerd on the EGG forum, but haven't taken the time to learn how to navigate yet. I'll be sure and check out BBQ Brethren and give you a shout.

We're going to give the butt a try this weekend. (Still sounds funny.) The EGG recipe says to grill/smoke it for 18 hours. To me, that seems like a long time to cook anything unless it's a T-rex.

Food porn soon come from Kentucky, too.

Thanks you all.

[California Girl]

To me, that seems like a long time to cook anything unless it's a T-rex.

Do you have to tenderize a T-rex?

[pjayer]

To me, that seems like a long time to cook anything unless it's a T-rex.

Do you have to tenderize a T-rex?

LOL It depends. Are you talking free-range or confined?

[California Girl]

Oh, Free Range, definitely!

[Ron_L]

Hey Ron
Are you doing the Zoobque this year.
Tom

Yep... We'll also be at the Big Pig Jig in Menomonee Falls in September. Our team name is Captain Ron's Brew-n-Que.

Thanks for chiming in Ron_L. To answer your question, we did not get a platesetter. Is one necessary to smoke butts?

Well... You need something to block the direct heat from the fire. The platesetter is great because it is designed to do that and you can put a drip pan on top of it to keep it clean. You can use a foil pan or a pizza pan to block the heat as well but you would need to set it on the grid and then place another grid on top of the pan to hold the butt.

We're going to give the butt a try this weekend. (Still sounds funny.) The EGG recipe says to grill/smoke it for 18 hours.

Figure about 90 minutes per pound for a butt at 225 degrees grid temp (that's around 250 degrees on the Egg thermoneter. You can accelerate that by cooking at a hotter temp. I cook my butts at 275 dome temp and they generally take about an hour per pound.

RonL-I do have two questions.

1) If you are going to smoke a butt for 14-16 hours, is there a need to replenish the charcoal during that period or will a firebox full of charcoal last for the period of time?

2) We have only had our BGE since last Saturday, but have used it 3 times. We have not been able to get the temperature up to 700-750 degrees. It only seems to go to about 650. Is there something we need to do to get it to that higher level?

Thanks.

1. Fill the firebox and up to the top of the fire ring and then start a fairly small fire in the middle. I have burned for 22 hours at 225 with my large Egg.

2. I'm assuming that you are cooking steaks and want a good sear. I usually do that with the lid open to get the fire hot enough. Be careful with high temps on a new Egg. BGE recommends several lower temp cooks to season the gasket before trying to get to lava temps. It is possible to burn the gasket. It happens all of the time and they are easy to replace, so if you do it, don't worry. just order a new one and follow the directions to replace it.

Since someone mentioned T-Rex, and we;re talking about steaks, the best method for cooking a steak on the Egg was developed by a guy who goes by the name of T-Rex on the Egghead forum.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/trexsteak.htm

Oh! For you new Eggers... beware of the Egg flashback! I'm not kidding. When you are cooking at temps above about 450 degrees, open the lid about an inch and hold it there for about 30 seconds before opening it further. If you just open the lid the in rush of air can cause a flare up called a flashback that can burn you. I'm really not kidding. I lost all of the hair on one arm, one eyebrow and a bit of my precious head hair in my first flashback. I don't want to scare you, just remind you to be careful. here is more info...

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/flash.htm