Using the Big Green Egg as a smoker

[buzzard767]

I was gonna get both a natural gas fired grill and an electric smoker but I read so many positive reports about using the Big Green Egg as smoker I thought I'd give it a shot. After fifteen years using a propane smoker in Florida I was tired of having to constantly monitor the temperature and the BGE has an accessory called the BBQ Guro which uses a fan to control the temperature.






I prepped some ribs....



and used the same 2,2,1 method as I always did with the gas smoker.

I used water soaked hickory chips directly on the coals as I don't have a chip box yet, something I'll need for some 12 hour smoking sessions later in the summer.




The Guru equipment worked as advertised and gave me the constant 230F temp I was looking for. I'm quite confident that I can set up the BGE for smoking and leave it unattended for several hours, confident that the desired temperature will be maintained.

The results were excellent. Nice smoke ring, fall off the bone, great taste.

 

[QSis]

Congrats on getting a BGE, Buzz!

It is a versatile pit - a smoker, grill and an oven (I have won 2 awards by baking desserts in a BGE that I borrowed).

How was the texture of your ribs? Neither dry nor mushy?

Lee

 

[buzzard767]

Hi Q,

The meat was fall off the bone but not mushy. If anything I'd say that the meat was a smidgen dry but I'm really being fussy. In other smokers I've used a water pan but did not this time because the Egg is so well sealed. Next time I'll use the same technique and time but reduce the temperature to 220 and see if that is enough to make up the difference. If not I'll add a waterpan - no biggee....

 

[Adillo303]

I am envious, bought a WSM, which I love only to find that I am the only one in the house that likes smoked meat. It sits idle.

Enjoy Buzz

 

[QSis]

Buzz, "falling off the bone" ribs, contrary to popular belief, generally means that the ribs are overcooked.

I shoot for tender, juicy ribs with a slight tug to them when you bite, but pull away cleanly from the bone. Ribs that have a little "tooth" (as we say on the competition circuit).

I only keep them in foil an hour, and had a half hour at the end, if necessary. So 2,1,1 (or 1.5).

You can compensate a bit for dryness by brushing sauce on at the end of the cook, if you like sauced ribs. I like them sauced AND un-sauced.

Have fun with it!

These ribs are babybacks, not spares. Try a rack or two of those when you can.

Lee

 

[QSis]

I am envious, bought a WSM, which I love only to find that I am the only one in the house that likes smoked meat. It sits idle.

Bummer, Andy! Smoke some ribs for yourself, then, if only as an excuse to spend a fine few hours in that beautiful yard of yours!

Lee

 

[joec]

You should love it and I may get one when I move at the end of this month. Warren (conundrum) had a pair of them in his smoke house he built and had them wired up to his laptop. But then Warren had all the best cooking toys. At any rate I was pretty impressed with how well it worked.

 

[buzzard767]

Buzz, "falling off the bone" ribs, contrary to popular belief, generally means that the ribs are overcooked.

I shoot for tender, juicy ribs with a slight tug to them when you bite, but pull away cleanly from the bone. Ribs that have a little "tooth" (as we say on the competition circuit).

I only keep them in foil an hour, and had a half hour at the end, if necessary. So 2,1,1 (or 1.5).

You can compensate a bit for dryness by brushing sauce on at the end of the cook, if you like sauced ribs. I like them sauced AND un-sauced.

Have fun with it!

These ribs are babybacks, not spares. Try a rack or two of those when you can.

Lee

These were baby backs and you're correct about the cooking time. The BGE is a little different from anything I've used before and some adjustments will have to be made. Fortunately I love the learning process.

 

[ChowderMan]

... I am the only one in the house that likes smoked meat.

that's my "fear" about the whole smoking thing....
it's not hard, does take time (can do) and hardware of some degree, and a bit of practice.

I'd probably enjoy getting into a BGE; but we just don't do all that much on it, it's seasonal here, and for best use the pre-heat/soak is a bit more than I "project" to be useful in our particular situation.

went to a big 'on-line' meet up bash once. the guy had built a 'out building' enclosed wood fired (bread) oven, had two BGE's with wires coming out of everyplace.
and for whatever reason the meat was still raw at the appointed hour. I always wondered what he did with the pounds and pounds of stuff I presume eventually got cooked.....

 

[Adillo303]

Lee, The yard is small and the smoker sits outside the woodshop. A Saturday could easily include tending the smoker while making wood. All in all that would be a really good day.

There are only two of us, not counting the ever hungry pair of labs, I keep dreaming of throwing a BBQ. Some day..........

 

[joec]

... I am the only one in the house that likes smoked meat.

that's my "fear" about the whole smoking thing....
it's not hard, does take time (can do) and hardware of some degree, and a bit of practice.

I'd probably enjoy getting into a BGE; but we just don't do all that much on it, it's seasonal here, and for best use the pre-heat/soak is a bit more than I "project" to be useful in our particular situation.

went to a big 'on-line' meet up bash once. the guy had built a 'out building' enclosed wood fired (bread) oven, had two BGE's with wires coming out of everyplace.
and for whatever reason the meat was still raw at the appointed hour. I always wondered what he did with the pounds and pounds of stuff I presume eventually got cooked.....

Now that sounds like Warren at the ECG.

 

[ChowderMan]

no bells here.... what the ECG?

 

[joec]

no bells here.... what the ECG?

East Coast Gathering from one of the knife forums a couple of years ago in Pennsylvanian. They where a yearly thing put on Warren and Dave. Dave has a company called http://www.japaneseknifesharpening.com/ as well as a forum by pretty much the same name. Warren has a home with a building on the side with a brick oven as well as a full kitchen of commercial grade products. Hes a lawyer who happens to likes to cook.

 

[ChowderMan]

ayup, that was the Warren.... we wuz' there (g)

 

[Shermie]

I was gonna get both a natural gas fired grill and an electric smoker but I read so many positive reports about using the Big Green Egg as smoker I thought I'd give it a shot. After fifteen years using a propane smoker in Florida I was tired of having to constantly monitor the temperature and the BGE has an accessory called the BBQ Guro which uses a fan to control the temperature.

View attachment 18482

View attachment 18483


I prepped some ribs....

View attachment 18479

and used the same 2,2,1 method as I always did with the gas smoker.

I used water soaked hickory chips directly on the coals as I don't have a chip box yet, something I'll need for some 12 hour smoking sessions later in the summer.

View attachment 18480


The Guru equipment worked as advertised and gave me the constant 230F temp I was looking for. I'm quite confident that I can set up the BGE for smoking and leave it unattended for several hours, confident that the desired temperature will be maintained.

The results were excellent. Nice smoke ring, fall off the bone, great taste.

View attachment 18484

View attachment 18485

Thanks Buzz, but THIS is all the smoker that I need.

It's compact, can be used on the stove and it cooks ribs, just as beautifly as your Big Green Egg.

 

[Guts]

Buzz

I think you need to talk to Ross and Ventura he's been using the green egg for a long time.

 

[Leni]

That's Ross in Ventura, California. He posts a lot on www.melindalee.com complete with step by step pictures. He makes me hungry every time.

 

[buzzard767]

Last night we had guests and I cooked a Cowboy Rib Eye for the four of us. Indirect heat with some smoke at 400 degrees until the meat reached 127, pulled off the grill and let the internal temp rise to 133, then seared outside on a portable induction burner, 2 minutes a side. Delicious.





My buddy even brought me a house warming gift.

 

[Shermie]

Hi, Buzz.

Was that cut of meat from a standing rib eye roast? Looks good!!

 

[joec]

Last night we had guests and I cooked a Cowboy Rib Eye for the four of us. Indirect heat with some smoke at 400 degrees until the meat reached 127, pulled off the grill and let the internal temp rise to 133, then seared outside on a portable induction burner, 2 minutes a side. Delicious.

View attachment 18494

View attachment 18495

My buddy even brought me a house warming gift.


View attachment 18496

View attachment 18497

My same induction burner is still going strong after 4 years with a lot of use. Place looks great Buzz.

Sent by Tapatalk HD on a Kindle HDX.

 

[Cooksie]

Aha, finally a peek into the Buzzard's Nest . Looks like a great place to party. Steak looks perfectly cooked to me. I've always wanted to be an egghead.

 

[buzzard767]

My same induction burner is still going strong after 4 years with a lot of use. Place looks great Buzz.

We had one in Naples and another in my Wausau apartment. I don't have any kind of cooking ability in my bar other than the microwave so these will do. We'll certainly use them for canning. Fran and I have been using induction for several years now, and her kitchen island cooktop is a 5 burner induction unit. We've given away all of our non-magnetic pots and pans.

Aha, finally a peek into the Buzzard's Nest . Looks like a great place to party. Steak looks perfectly cooked to me. I've always wanted to be an egghead.

The lower level

This is our fourth build and the second of which everyone has their own floor. The downstairs walkout is all mine and it's a Man Floor rather than just a Man Cave. When you come down the stairs you see the lower great room containing a family room and a bar. Pardon all the junk laying around as I'm still deciding where to hang pictures and organizing my video and audio discs.

The A/V entertainment in this room is a 65" plasma with a 5.1 surround sound system. The surrounds are in the ceiling. Through the opening on the far wall are a play room for the grand kids (and maybe me) on the left and to the right is a full bath and my office. My office has a powered vent leading directly outside so I can smoke cigars as well as a humongous closet for holding all my calibration equipment, etc.



The door in the above pic leads to the patio where the Green Egg is located. That's a natural gas fed fire pit table on the far side.



View from the bar



View from where the A/V equipment is located



The door just beyond the steps leads to....



I had a local artist who specializes in murals paint the wall based on a photo I gave her.

The doorway just left of the bar leads to....



Two rows of three seats each, all JTR 7.3 surround sound with 8750 watts of sub woofer power, 138" diagonal 16:9 screen with masking panels for CinemaScope, and a Sony 600ES 4K projector. The L, C, and R front speakers are located behind the acoustically transparent screen. The front row center seat has a high intensity light located directly above for reading while listening to music.

Color me spoiled....

 

[Shermie]

Awe Buzz, how I wish that house were mine!!!
Nice pics!!!

 

[Leni]

You are not the only one. I have a galley style kitchen which is horrible for a person who loves to cook. Buzz, I'll trade you any time but somehow I don't think that Fran will agree.

 

[Cooksie]

I don't call that spoiled, Buzz. I call that enjoying the fruits of your hard work.

Everything is just amazing. The driving/putting area with the mural is over the top. It doesn't get any better than practicing in the AC. I'll have to show that to some friends.

Thanks for showing the pictures.