(ZA) Egg maintenance and a new bit of kit!

We had been considering a table set-up for our large egg since we had our garden refurbished and, after some research, we decided on the acacia bench table by the Big Green Egg company. It is specifically designed to support the weight of the large BGE and provide a cooking station at precisely the right height for ease of use. 

It arrived flat-packed so the boys got stuck into to the assembly. It went together very easily and looked very sturdy. The wood is a very pleasant warm colour. It's a very well-made, nice-looking piece of furniture! 

We took the opportunity to do a little egg maintenance while the egg had to come apart to be lifted into it's new position. 

Replacing the gasket was really easy. We soaked the old gasket in iso-propyl alcohol and then scraped it of gently with a paint scraper. We then left the ceramic rim to dry for a couple of hours to allow the alcohol to evaporate off before sticking the new, self-adhesive gasket around the rim.

Once we had put the gasket on, we replaced the gasket around the chimney in the same way. We then fitted the lid of the egg back on and made the necessary adjustments to ensure a good seal on opening and closing the egg. It is very important that the ring and spring-hinge assembly is properly adjusted to get a good seal for smoking and prevent the gasket from being unevenly worn over time. The BGE comes with some red plastic spacers to use for ensuring the hinge rings are properly adjusted and some small pieces of perspex that stop the springs from "pinging off" when you dismantle the egg for cleaning and maintenance. 

The finished egg station looks great - it's a nice-looking piece of furniture - and the weather-proof, vented cover fits a treat (although we have used a "roof-rack" strap to secure it around the tops of the legs as that little bit of our garden can be something of a wind-trap) 

We also now have a weather-proof, lockable socket for the digiQ to be plugged in without having to leave the garage open and the electric lighting wand to be used with a special weather-proof  box for the digiQ controller itself to sit in during low'n'slow cooking. Now all we need is a wall-mounted bottle opener...apparently...

(ZA) Road-testing the egg station

New gear update!!!

The weather was fine and warm today, just right for road-testing our new egg station with a few sumptuously-marbled sirloin steaks. After ramping the egg up to a blistering 450degF, We seared the steaks for 90 seconds on each side and then rested them while we cooked some peri-peri chicken pieces using the Big Green Egg wire kebab skewer. Once the chicken was cooked, the steaks went back on to an internal temperature of 130degF, a perfect, juicy medium rare. Served with Jersey Royal new potato salad (potatoes so exclusive that AW believes they are flown to the UK on their own private jet which is why supermarkets charge "so bloody much" for them!) and a fresh buff mozzarella, basil, tomato salad with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. Lush!

The verdict on the new egg station was that it is the perfect height to cook on the egg and it is great to have the convenience of all the cooking paraphernalia right next to the egg making things so much easier to handle plates, chopping boards, heatproof gloves and cooking tools without needing another pair of hands!

(AW) Newman Slayer

I was bought a branding iron as present, and for its initial outing, what better than to mark up some prime beef steak.

So I set up the iron to spell what I wanted, and stuck it into the firepit to get up to temp.

What I will say, is the branding worked a treat, and almost cooked the steak to perfection, but I did give it another 30 seconds on the cast iron grill to finish it off.

Sorry Mike ;-)