The Coolest Way to Grill is with the Big Green Egg

12 July 2012      

This blog is from a column written in City Weekly and is called “The Cooking Chronicles”. Usually it discusses the author’s cooking and food adventures. But this week, he chose to write about something different, the Big Green Egg charcoal grills.  Why? Because he regularly heard professional chefs and amateur cooks rave about their Big Green Eggs. It does seem like those “eggheads” who use the Big Green Egg are almost cultish about their grill. At the Fireplace Showcase, we decided to share parts of the article with you.

The Big Green Egg is an egg-shaped combination grill used for grilling/smoking/ baking, it is designed solely for outdoor use.

Before we get too far, I should say up front that these things are worth every penny.

The Big Green Egg is heavy. That’s because it’s made of heavy-duty ceramics, with thick walls and nearly airtight insulation. What this means to the cook is that it is easy to control cooking temperatures to within about 5 degrees, thanks to a smartly designed ventilation system that allows for as much or as little air flow to the coals as needed.
 
Here is an example. I cooked chicken on the Big Green Egg charcoal grill. I wanted to cook at approximately 350 degrees. I lit the natural lump charcoal, and within about 15 minutes I adjusted the Big Green Egg to 350 degrees by using a metal door at the bottom in combination with the dual-function metal top which allows you to precisely control airflow. I was amazed that I could keep the Big Green Egg at exactly 350 degrees for the entire time the chicken cooked. Also, grilling on the Big Green Egg is done with the lid closed, so no flare-ups like you get with most barbecue grills.

One attraction of the Big Green Egg is its temperature range. You can maintain a temperature as low as 200 degrees for slow and low smoking, or crank it up to 800 degrees or higher to sear steaks. One of the things I wanted to do was to turn the Big Green Egg into a high-temperature pizza oven, similar to a wood-fired brick oven. With all the vents wide open, the Big Green Egg quickly reached a blazing heat. I popped a Margherita pizza onto the hot pizza stone and closed the lid, and within a couple of minutes I had a perfectly cooked, crisp-crust pizza that would be the envy of most pizzerias.
 
In a nutshell: Yes, I absolutely love the Big Green Egg. Now I understand where all those cultish Eggheads are coming from.

Interested in the Big Green Egg? Contact The Fireplace Showcase.

City Weekly