What is a Big Green Egg
Once again “Cooking-Outdoors” presents another guest “Mark aka BBQ Guy”. Mark is a big fan of the Big Green Egg and as you can tell a “BBQ” guy!
What Is A Big Green Egg
By “Mark aka BBQ Guy”
Traditional Kamado Cookers in Japanese Museum
What is a Big Green Egg and why might you want to add one to your outdoor cooking toolkit? Well, the Big Green Egg is a newer, more modern version of the traditional Kamado cooker that originated in Japan.
Kamado is the Japanese word for “stove” or “cooking range”. Early Kamado cookers were made of clay and while they worked great they were quite fragile. The Big Green Egg is constructed of a high tech ceramic that is extremely durable. If you are looking for a “do it all” outdoor cooking platform you might want to consider the Big Green Egg or one of the other ceramic cookers that are currently on the market.
The Ceramic Cooker Advantage
The major advantage of the Big Green and other ceramic cookers over the typical metal/stainless steel propane or charcoal grill is its ability to maintain a wide range of temperatures over a long period of time. The ceramic material and tight fitting lid acts as an insulator and helps stabilize the temperature as well as prevent the food from losing moisture. The result is perfectly grilled, smoked, or baked food time after time. By adjusting the vents on the top and bottom I can precisely control the amount of air entering the Egg and adjust the temperature either up or down. I have used my Big Green Egg to smoke a beef brisket for 13 hours at 200 degrees as well as sear steaks on the grill at 800 degrees for 2 minutes.
Charcoal Fueled Cooking Ease
Ceramic cookers typically use natural “lump” charcoal, not briquettes, as fuel. The lump charcoal burns cleaner than briquettes resulting in less ash. Lighting the charcoal is easy to do and the cooker comes up to temperature fairly quickly. I can usually be cooking within 10 minutes of lighting the charcoal. Because of their efficiency, ceramic cookers use much less charcoal than the typical metal charcoal grill. A twenty pound bag of lump charcoal typically lasts for at least 15 cooking sessions.
All In One Versatility
My Big Green Egg gets used pretty much every weekend year-round. I grill, smoke, and
