I Am The Egg Man
Sunday brought a new arrival to our family, and that arrival is my new Big Green Egg, a combination smoker and grill. I’ve enjoyed using my Weber Smokey Mountain cooker for a few years now, but I’ve been looking for a new toy to play with. When I set aside a weekend for smoking, I want to have the capacity to cook in quantity and cook a lot of different meats, using different woods. I also want to be able to cook outdoors 12 months a year, which isn’t easy in the New England area.
I briefly considered simply getting a second Weber, but I wanted something a little different. I specifically wanted a tool that would reach temperature quickly, maintain andadjust temperature with minimal effort and be able to perform even in New England winter temperatures. I asked around, and the Big Green Egg met all of those criteria. And it’s also versatile enough to grill steaks over 1200 degree heat, bake cookies and pizza like an oven, and do what I plan to do most: smoke ribs, butts and chicken.
The Egg was almost my very first smoker. A few years ago, a grill and smoker store called the Backyard Barbeque had a going out of business sale just a few miles from my house, and I nearly pulled the trigger then. But I wondered whether I would really use it enough to justify its price tag. I also wondered whether it was just too weird looking. Was I nuts?
Weird looking or not, the Big Green Egg is a throwback to the ceramic smokers that originated in Asia a few thousand years ago. The walls of the cooker are nearly two inches thick, so you know it’ll hold in the heat and the smoke, and there’s nothing weird about that. I like that there’s a thermometer on the outside, a spring-loaded cover and a dishwasher-safe grill grate. I’m a little concerned about the limited access to the fuel area, but the Eggs are known for their efficiency and their ability to go for 12 hours straight on one load of fuel.
On Good Eats, Food Network personality Alton Brown once crafted a homemade model based on this same principle. And there are other fans: Ray Lampe, aka “Dr. BBQ,” has won contests using the Big Green Egg, and is now on board as a spokesman. Last year, barbecue champion Chris Hart of IQue was featured with his Big Green Egg in the Boston Globe, likening it to the Ferrari of smokers. I’m really looking forward to driving my new Ferrari.
