(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 ;-)

(MN) Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Pork Loin

Webster Killer...

First, wrap bacon

Then, remove ribs from HUGE Pork Loin

Stuff with stuffing, or whatever you fancy! Season and roll!

Bend so it fits in the egg!

Then I let this sit in the fridge over night to gain shape..

I then set the egg up for indirect smoking at 250f using Maple wood...

Cover in apple sauce... Of course

And on she goes... Smoked for the first 90 mins at 250f, then turned up to 350f for an hour, then back down for the final 250f... Or until it hit 145f internal.

Unbelievable Jeff

(ZA) Maple & bourbon glazed gammon

Another beautiful day, another epic egging session!

Just a quick, simple glazed ham for our tea tonight but oh boy, did it taste delicious. I took a small gammon joint bought from our tame Butcher, put it in a saucepan and covered with water. I added a quartered onion, a bay leaf and six black peppercorns and brought the whole thing to the boil, uncovered, for an hour. I then removed it from the water and left it to cool.

In the meantime, I knocked up a quick glaze to put on the ham from 2tsp maple Syrup, 2tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1tsp Dijon mustard, 1tsp bourbon, 1tsp vegetable oil, 1tsp paprika, 2tsp onion powder and a generous pinch of Maldon sea salt. 

I smothered the gammon in the glaze and left to marinate while setting the egg up, indirect to a temperature of 325degF and soaked some pecan wood chips in water.

I put drained pecan chips on the coals, the gammon on the grid and cooked until it reached an internal temperature of 145degF. Until the glaze was lovely golden colour and nicely caramelised. I rested it in foil, in a towel, in a cool box for 20 minutes while I cooked the rest of the side dishes to go with it. There is also plenty for sandwiches tomorrow! Bonus!

(AW&ZA) Pecan-smoked "scotched" eggs

Although this weekend is the first outdoor cook of the year for many families around the UK, for us it is just a regular egging Saturday but we dared to be a little different!

Video can be found:- Here

Scotch eggs on the BGE sounded like an amazing idea so we thought we'd give it a shot...

First to prep the eggs...take 6 eggs and place them in a pan of cold water. bring the water to the boil over a high heat moving the eggs around frequently to keep the yolk in the middle of the egg while cooking. As soon as the water starts to boil, cook for 2 minutes then quickly place all the eggs in a bath of iced water to stop them cooking. Leave them to cool in this water. 

I mixed 500g of pork mince (from our favourite Butcher, Chapmans of Baldock) with 1tsp garlic granules, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and mixed thoroughly. I divided the sausage mix into 6 even patties. Put each pattie between two layers of cling film and rolled them into approx 5 inch circles. I placed a (carefully!) peeled egg into the centre of the pork pattie and rolled the meat up around it. Try to smooth the seams so that you get a nice even "coat" of meat around the egg and no egg white is showing. When they were all wrapped, I liberally dusted them with a coating of our bbq rub. I used homemade "#67" (which is a rub made of brown sugar, chilli powder, paprika, onion granules, black pepper, szechuan pepper, ground coffee, cayenne pepper, salt and garlic granules) but any favourite rub will do fine. I left them to chill in the fridge for an hour and soaked some pecan wood chips in water ready for later.

We set up the egg to cook at 235degF, indirect. You can use the digiQ for this...unless you are a skilled egg-meister like Adie Webster, who maintained this temperature using only his awesome mind! (seriously, I don't know how he does it!)

Chuck in the drained pecan chips and place the eggs straight on the grate. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes until the eggs are golden and firm.

They smelled amazing but we had no idea of the wonderful surprise that awaited us when we cut into them...

Crispy on the outside with the rub forming a bark on the minced pork and a sumptuous soft-boiled egg on the inside. We ate them with home-made chips, beans and a sweet barbecue sauce. Just stunning!

(ZA) Pulled pork rarebit

Another epic idea for using up our luscious leftover pulled pork is this take on Welsh rarebit which we spotted on the "Love pork" Facebook page. It sounded so delicious, we just had to give it a go!

First, we defrosted a 7oz portion of our pulled pork from last weekend's cook and mixed it with 2tbsp sun-dried tomato paste and a dash of Worcester sauce. We then mixed 2 egg yolks with 2tbsp Dijon mustard and 6oz of grated mature cheddar. We whisked the two egg whites lightly until they were slightly foamy. 

Next, we divided the pork mixture evenly onto 6 lightly toasted pieces of sourdough bread. 

We then added the whipped egg whites to the cheese mixture, added black pepper and mixed thoroughly.

We then spooned the cheese mixture over the porky toast and put them under the grill. We gave them a few minutes under a medium grill then whacked the heat up to full until the cheese mixture was bubbling and golden. 

You do have to keep an eye on them at this stage...would be a tragedy of epic proportions if they got burnt!

(ZA) Zombie Jesus day lamb

To celebrate the long weekend of chocolate eggs & spicy buns, we opted for an egged stuffed breast of lamb. A beautiful but oft-overlooked cut of meat that my Nan used to buy just to place over the roast potatoes for basting purposes then discard, rather than as an a proper roasting joint in it's own right. Lamb has rocketed in price since my Nan's day and the "better" cuts are now beyond the reach of some families finances so these cheaper cuts are being more regularly used. When they are cooked properly, they are just as delicious as the more expensive leg or shoulder joint. 

It is stuffed with a minty, lamb sausage meat mix and cooked on the egg indirect at 350 deg F for around an hour until the internal temperature reached 140 deg F. After resting for 10 minutes, we served it sliced with roasted spuds, shallots & carrots. The gravy was made with the meat juices to so it made for a delicious Eostre (the Pagan's called it this!) treat!