The Big Green Egg

For the first 100 consecutive days of 2010, I grilled a different Bobby Flay recipe and reported on the results here on BobbyFlayEveryday (you can view all 100 days and more in the Blog Archive of this blog which is located on the right side of the screen). On January 7, 2010, I grilled Bobby's Rib-Eye with Balsamic-Rosemary Butter (page 26 of Grill It!). On Father's Day 2011, I recreated this great steak recipe - but this time I grilled the steaks, sausage and twice-baked potatoes on my Father's Day present!

Dorothy surprised me with The Big Green Egg! I always wanted one because its a grill but its also a smoker. My original grill, seen in the photo, is a gas grill with a direct gas line hook-up - there are no canisters to continuously change out. I probably would never have made it 100 consecutive days of grilling last year if it were not for the convenience of the fast gas grill start. So now the debate can start in ernest - which is better grilling with gas or over coal. My father had a charcoal grill as I was growing up and he was an expert. He would grill both beef and chicken for the same meal and called it "Hoof & Feather." I must admit that nothing really ever beats a steak over coal. Bobby Flay's opinion, from several of his books, is that you can add flavor to the food that is cooked over gas so that in the end you have the flavor that you would have gotten with charcoal. I think that is true to a point - but nothing really ever beats a steak over coal.

Here is the inaugural lighting of the new Big Green Egg. The Egg weighs a ton. Its is completely ceramic. The airflow vent in the bottom is strategically placed under the fire box where the coal is placed. And this is not just any charcoal - its lump hardwood with no fillers like sawdust. Under no circumstances are you to use lighter fluid to start a charcoal fire. Lighter fluid is toxic and will make the smoke you produce and the food you grill take on a petroleum smell - you don't want that so use fire starters as shown here.

The advantage of gas over coal is the start up time - but let me tell you the Egg was up to hot temperature in no time and the coals were glowing red within less than 10 minutes. That is a little slower but not that much. I added wood chips that had been soaking about one hour. I found what I wanted: Wood Chips from old Jack Daniels whisky barrels! You can use wood chips on a gas grill if you use a smoker box. I think that is probably more trouble than its worth - but these chips in the hardwood coal were terrific!

The Egg got up and smoking within seconds of adding the Wood Chips.

 Then in went two Rib-Eyes, a New York Strip, some summer sausage and the twice-baked potatoes.

I also fired up the original gas grill (didn't want it to fell left out) and used it to prepare some fresh spinach and green beans...

The first taste of a high quality steak, grilled over whisky infused wood chips and hardwood coal brought back so many memories.

I will grill steak again over gas some day - but not for a while. Tonight, I am going to use the Big Green Egg's ceramic interior plate and smoke some Baby Back Ribs! This could be serious. If you don't hear from me for a while, please send in a rescue team.


Remember that grilling is more than preparing food. Its relaxing, its time with family, its your heritage and childhood memories. So as Bobby would say - Go Grill It! Paul