February 2016 – Gas is For Work, Not My BGE

Cabbage Boats

Slices of cabbage are seasoned and wrapped in a foil boat, then roasted at a high temp in the Egg which adds a little char around the edges. We were first served this awesome side on New Year’s Day (2016) at the Gulfport home of my fellow Egghead, Terry Helms and his gracious wife, Angel. I first “met” Terry (Grillin Guy) on the BGE Forum many years ago, then in person with Angel when we were cooking at the first Gulf Coast Eggfest. Eggers are a cult – a big family who connect through Forums, Facebook pages and Eggfests. Many life-long friends are made through these connections!

Terry & Angel Helms 1st Annual Gulf Coast Eggfest - 2010 — Terry & Angel Helms
1st Annual Gulf Coast Eggfest – 2010

On to the cabbage……………

Cut a 1/2 head of cabbage through the core into quarters, then eights. Drizzle with melted butter, spray butter or EVOO. Liberally coat with Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning.

Cut through core into 1/8ths. Drizzled with butter or EVOO and Tony's — Cut through core into 1/8ths. Drizzled with butter or EVOO and Tony’s

Seal in the foil boat and roast on the Egg – elevated (above the rim), direct at 400-450* for 20 minutes.

Foil boats cooked elevated, direct at 400-450* (these are on "Grill Grates". — Foil boats cooked elevated, direct at 400-450* (these are on “Grill Grates”.

Rest on counter, then carefully open and serve.

Finished cabbage boat - tender with a little char. — Finished cabbage boat – tender with a little char.

Prep: 10 min. Cook time: 20 min Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cabbage
EVOO
Butter, melted (or “I Can’t Believe it’s Butter” spray)
Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning

Instructions:
1) Cut cabbage through the core into quarters, then into eights.
2) Place each cabbage slice on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil (HDAF).
3) Pour melted butter or the EVOO (or both) or spray with faux butter. Liberally coat both sides of the wedges with the cajun seasoning.
4) Seal each packet tightly and place in the BGE – direct, elevated (above the rim) at 400-450*.
5) Cook for 20 min., then rest on the counter until ready to serve.
6) Open carefully as they will release steam when opened.

Smoked Cheese

One of my favorite cool weather projects is cold smoking cheese. Every fall I get many requests from friends and co-workers to purchase smoked cheese for gifts and Holiday party appetizers.

There are several ways to generate cold smoke and I will mention a few in this blog. This really must be done in cool weather or the cheese will sweat or even melt in the ambient outdoor temp.

One of THE most important food safety concerns is to use very clean grates. The cold smoker will not generate nearly enough heat to kill any germs hanging out on the grates. Either purchase some inexpensive clean grates dedicated only for cold smoking, or run your grates through the sanitary cycle of your dishwasher. Wipe carefully with a germ-killing wipe (like Clorox), and rinse thoroughly.

I try to find cheese on sale at the grocery store or purchase at Sam’s or Walmart. I look for large blocks and cut them to smaller pieces for smoking, to get more surface area for smoke exposure.

The simplest and most basic cold smoker is homemade and has been dubbed the “Caveman” technique. I first learned about it on the original BGE Forum in a post by my friend Jody Jones (aka “Firetruck”).

Two purchases are necessary – a 15oz can of beans (beans eaten, paper removed, cleaned well and top hinged) and an inexpensive ($8-$10) soldering iron (local hardware store).

Remove both grids, any lump charcoal, and all the ash from the Egg. Fill the can with dry wood chips (any ‘flavors’ will work and I usually mix them, but be sure to include either cherry or maple wood chips because they tend to add a little darker color to the cheese). Insert the soldering iron into the can of chips and lay it in the bottom of the Egg, threading the cord out through the open bottom vent.

Can w/ soldering iron Egg - cord thru bottom vent. — Can w/ soldering iron Egg – cord thru bottom vent.

Place cheese on grid(s) (multiple grids if you have them). Close the bottom vent to about 1 inch open. Plug in the soldering iron and put the slightly opened Daisy Wheel (DW) on top. (In a few minutes you should see whiffs of smoke easing out through the holes in the DW).

One can of chips will usually generate smoke for about 90 minutes. I usually shake the soldering iron (by the cord at the bottom vent) about halfway through smoking to bring some fresh chips in contact with the heating element of the iron. This process will generate very little increase in temp compared to the outside ambient temp, as shown by this picture:

Temp comparison

I have found that 90 minutes of smoke is all that is needed to get the flavor I desire. Others have smoked for longer times (reloading the can), but it’s all about personal preference.

IMPORTANT!
The freshly smoked cheese MUST rest (mellow) for at least a week to let the smoke flavor penetrate into the cheese. I put it in ziplock bags and into the fridge for a week before cutting into 4-5 oz pieces that I vacuum seal. One can cut into these pieces and vacuum seal immediately, but be sure to put the date on them and let them rest a week before serving. When vacuum sealed, they will keep a few months without molding.

In ziplock bags ready for a 1-week "rest" — In ziplock bags ready for a 1-week “rest”

Vacuum-sealed (will keep, refrigerated, unspoiled for months)

Other methods of generating cold smoke are the Cold Smoke III (uses wood chips):

Cold Smoke III - first smoke - Version 2

And the Cold Smoke Generator from ProQ (uses sawdust):

I hope this “tutorial” on smoking cheese has been helpful. Actually, as you can deduce from the pictures, this “Caveman” technique can be used with any charcoal or gas grill. One could even use a cardboard box!

Enjoy!

Drunk and Dirty Beef Tenderloin

This recipe was adapted for the BGE from the classic book “Smoke & Spice” by Cheryl and Bill Jamison. This is probably considered my “signature cook” as the kids want me to cook it every year on the family beach trip. I have cooked it on everything from an Egg to a park-style grill to a $19.95 Walmart grill!

It is a great way to serve beef to a large group of people and get everyone’s meat cooked to their preferred doneness – end pieces are more done than the center cuts. It makes for an elegant presentation.

To reduce the saltiness of the original recipe, I switched to low sodium soy and reduced the amount in the marinade. It made the meat less salty and greatly improved the finishing sauce.

Serves 6-8

Marinade:
1 1/2 cups Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1 cup Bourbon, or other sour mash whiskey
½ cup Worcestershire
4 tbsp Packed Brown Sugar
1 teasp Ground Ginger
8 cloves Garlic
1 cup water

Main Course:
4 – 6 lb Beef Tenderloin, trimmed
4 tbsp Coursely Ground Black Pepper
2 teasp Ground White Pepper, optional
½ cup Vegetable Oil

Wood Chunks: Hickory, apple, pecan, oak (don’t overdo the smoke)

Instructions:
1) Combine the ingredients down to the garlic with water and marinate beef (a 2 gallon ziplock bag works good) in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 4 hours. I flip the roast in the marinade every 30 minutes or so.

2) Prepare the Egg for an indirect, low temp cook, with a drip pan under the roast. Add the dry wood chunks evenly throughout the lump charcoal. Allow the Egg to stabilize at 225*-275* for 40-60 minutes before adding the cold meat. A continuous-reading thermometer (with or without wireless remote) is indispensable for this cook. (I recommend the Maverick E-732).

3) Remove the beef from the fridge, reserve marinade and use butcher’s twine to truss the roast. (Fold the ‘tail’ end back such that one creates a roast that is uniform thickness from end to end. Tie with the twine about every 2 inches). Cover beef with freshly ground, coarse black pepper. I don’t measure, I just be sure to completely cover both sides with black pepper, pat it in and then add the white not quite as liberally.

4) Put half the marinade in fridge and add the vegetable oil to the other half if mopping. If not mopping just put all the marinade in fridge.

5) Heat mop (if using) to a boil for a few minutes and keep warm on low.

5) Put the cold beef on the Egg, indirect, over a drip pan, at low temps…225 to 275 (dome temp) and cook until almost done…1 1/2 to 2 hours. Mop every 20 minutes.

6) When almost done (120* internal temp) remove from grill, remove platesetter, and bring grill up to sear temps (500+). Sear for 1 minute on each of the 4 sides. You’re just trying to get a nice char but not too much. (Might need long tongs and gloves for this).

7) Remove steak, tent with foil, and let sit at least 5-10 minutes. While resting bring the reserved marinade to a boil for a few minutes then turn down to low and reduce by about one quarter.

8) Slice and either drizzle marinade over the meat and/or serve on the side for guests.

About Me

I am an anesthesiologist in Madison, MS who has been in private practice for 33 years. Like many men, I love to grill out and until about 2006, it was limited to grilling steaks, “charring” chicken and making burgers and hot dogs for the kids. Other passions include Ole Miss sports, photography, travel and cycling on my Greenspeed recumbent trike.

For Father’s Day in 2006 my awesome wife gave me a large Big Green Egg (BGE) and life changed as I knew it! Starting after a move to a new house in 2008, my outdoor cooking took on a new dimension. I became actively involved in the original BGE Forum (Greeneggers.com) as “Misippi Egger”, where I met many great cooks, many of whom are still friends today. I had an outdoor kitchen included when we added a screen porch and began to expand my Egg family. I currently own a large, small, Mini and the new MiniMax eggs.

I have attended the Georgia Mountain Eggfest and cooked at the Porkopolis (Cincinnati) Eggfest as well as at all three Gulf Coast Eggfests. I have given many demonstrations and taught classes at my local BGE dealer’s store. I am a KCBS Certified judge and have competed at KCBS events in the past.

More recently I have become interested in charcuterie – curing and aging meats (wet and dry aging) as well as the newer modality of sous vide cooking.

Many of my friends have suggested I author a cookbook, so I have decided instead to create this blog. I plan to include recipes, techniques, tips on Egg cooking, & accessories for the Egg, as well as discussions about curing & aging meat, cold smoking and sous vide cooking.

I hope you enjoy the blog. Comments and suggestions are encouraged!

Misippi Egger
(aka Clark Ethridge, MD)