Friday, April 27, 2012

Fajitas on the Grill



Summer is on the way.  Time to grill!

Actually, I grill all year 'round, but I thought I would share a complete grill meal with you.





Fajitas is a fun backyard meal.  You'll need:

- Package of tortillas
- Fresh onions and bell peppers, sliced in big fajita-sized strips
- 2 cans of beans, drained and rinsed
- Chicken breasts
- Cheap cut of beef
- Spices and or marinades of your choosing

It's really hard to mess this recipe up.  Any kind of tortilla will do, even if you mistakenly get the little corn tortillas that look like drink coasters.  A common thing at parties hosted by Mexicans is to have the fixin's out in bowls and the tortillas warming, and invite guests to help themselves throughout the night.  When you take a tortilla off the warmer to eat, you throw a cold one on.

Anyway, in the upper left, I have a vegetable basket that I put the chopped up peppers and onions in.  Before cooking, I add my own seasoning mix to them and shake them up in a bag.  I also take one of those tenderizer hammers with the spiked head and pound the beef and the chicken breasts.  They take the spices or marinate better that way and they cook quicker.

You can marinate or spice up the meat.  For prepackaged marinates, I like those Weber packets.  One "Mexican" or "southwest" flavored one and one chile lime packet makes a good combo.  You can also look for spice recipes at Spices Inc, or other cooking websites and come up with your own concoction.

For the beans, I rinse them and then do them my way, which usually involves my own spices mix, some roasted chiles, onions, a can of beer and Stubb's bbq sauce (the official favorite of the Silverfiddle household.)  I've never met Mr. Stubbs, but he has my undying admiration.

Put the beans on first, since they take the longest to get the liquid to cook off.  Throw on the basket of onions and peppers next, along with the chicken, and lastly, the beef, since it takes the least amount of time to cook.

When everything is done, chop up the meat and wrap it in tinfoil, and put each of the ingredients in a separate bowl, grab the tortillas and invite everyone to dig in!

Tortilla chips and salsa or guacamole makes a nice accompaniment.

You can wash 'em down with homemade Lynchburg Lemonade (Jack Daniels and lemonade), Margaritas, or your favorite beer (a Ranger IPA from New Belgium Brewery goes nicely).

What do you like cooking on the grill?

60 comments:

Rob said...

I like the looks of that veggie basket! I have an ancient little oblong cast iron griddle that I use on the grill for sauteing onions.

I recently saw a recipe for grilled pizza that I've been itching to try.

I don't drink often, but a frosty Corona with a lime wedge is a great compliment for fajitas!

Always On Watch said...

Silverfiddle,
Please, oh please, come to my house for a while and fix ALL the meals! I'm burned out with cooking everything myself.

Always On Watch said...

I haven't cooked anything on the grill in quite some time. I used to grill London Broil cuts all the time -- year round, in fact.

We have a very old-fashioned grill: a kettle grill that uses charcoal.

The "strangest" thing that I ever grilled: chicken livers. I had to "solidify" them first by brief sauteeing in the frying pan on the stove inside.

Bunkerville said...

Sounds great. Nothing too exotic here, except I started to grill veggies and they come out super,onions really great. I like the Bull's Eye BBq sauce. Have a great weekend!

jez said...

Last thing I barbecued was a beef heart, cut into narrow strips and marinaded in red wine and 'ting.

Silverfiddle said...

What's 'ting?

jez said...

"thing" in Jamaican.

Adrienne said...

Tri-tip steaks here. I buy the whole tri-tip at Costco and slice it up myself so I can make the steaks real thick. It also saves about $2.00 per pound. I freeze them on cookie sheets and then vacuum seal them. One large tri-tip lasts us about a year.

@Rob - grilled pizza is great and really not all that hard. I pre-cook the homemade crust just a tad and then add the toppings. Just make sure you slop lots of oil on the grate first.

Christopher - Conservative Perspective said...

Looks great Silver but for me, well I could live off of Shish Kabob year round.

p.s., My State of Michigan does get cold but like you I also grill throughout the year.

Jersey McJones said...

I'm like Christopher - love the Shish! There are just so many combinations, it's mind blowing. All sorts of veggies and meats in all sorts of combinations with all sorts of various marinades. I grow my own cherry peppers and tomatoes, and they go great with anything - some mushrooms, beef, chicken, shrimp, whatever!

Of course, I eat anything and everything. When I Was kid, when it was dinner time, my parents would call me to the table by singing the "da da, da da... da da, da da... da da, da da, da da, da da..." theme from Jaws! And if anyone didn't clean there plate, well, I was known as the "garbage can!" LOL!

JMJ

Hack said...

Nice! Thanks for sharing. I love it when the year starts warming up and the winter thaw transitions to warmth and the smell of grills cooking. (in my neck of the woods anyway.) I like to cook marinated and specially seasoned Ribeyes particularly.

KP said...

Good stuff SF! Very attractive. I like that veggie basket a lot. I lost too much material before. On the meat, we have some butchers around San Diego that carry great carne asada.

Love the story by JMJ about the jaws tune!

Ducky's here said...

Grilling for vegetarians --- it's a thin volume but ... the veggie burgers at Whole Foods work pretty well with BBQ sauce.

I have some friends who love grilling and thoughtfully toss on a couple when they invite me.

Silverfiddle said...

Ducky: Actually, there's a lot of grilling you can do with veggies without mashing them into patties.

Asparagus grills nicely, as do squash and zucchini cut in long strips, and you can grill those big Portobellos a thousand different ways.

Ducky's here said...

Yes, zucchini does well indeed.

Z said...

Jersey, I love this "my parents would call me to the table by singing the "da da, da da... da da, da da... da da, da da, da da, da da..." theme from Jaws!" SO cute and says a lot about your appetite!

I can't add anything to this, it all sounds great, but I do encourage fresh lime juice on about anything you make that's Mexican, it adds SO much just on top at the end, or in the marinade.

I'm a Bull's Eye girl but would love to try your Stubb's bbq sauce.

Finntann said...

Great idea!

I'd have to go with Santa Maria BBQ

Tri-Tip with a dry rub of black, white, and cayenne peppers, onion powder, Garlic, and salt.

Slow roasted on the grill with oak chips, while basted with red wine vinegar and garlic infused olive oil.

Served with Pinquitos (a hard to find little pink bean native to the Santa Maria valley)cooked with bacon and ham, dry mustard, sugar, chile sauce, and tomato puree.

Fresh salsa, french bread dripping with butter and fresh chopped garlic.

Wash it all down with ice cold mojitos.

I know SF knows what I'm talking about... remember Lonnie's beans?

Damn... now I gotta run to the store!

Cheers!

98ZJUSMC said...

What do you like cooking on the grill?

Anything.

Except Cap'n Crunch. Stuff fall through the grilles.

Anonymous said...

WOW! The picture looks beautiful -- almost good enough to eat. ;-)

How do you keep your grill so CLEAN, man?

All the recipes sound wonderful.

A few ideas from FreeThinke's Kitchen:

Vegetable Kabobs made with chunks of eggplant, summer squash, zucchini, onion, green pepper, tomatoes and Portobello Mushrooms, marinated for several hours in Safflower oil, soy sauce, powdered ginger, garlic, Sherry and cracked pepper, grilled till they just start to blacken are delicious served with rice pilaff.

Just drain 'em well on several layers of paper towels before you put them on the grill, or they'll incinerate.

A similar marinade is great for either chicken or pork:

5-8 cloves garlic, minced or put through a press
3-5-inches of ginger root, peeled, and minced
1 Cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
1 Cup Cream Sherry - OR - Gin
1/2 tp 3/4 Cup of Safflower Oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2-3 Tbps Red Pepper flakes (optional)

Prepare chicken or pork for grilling. Pour marinade over meat, stir, refrigerate for at least 4 hours -- preferably overnight. Stir at least twice while the meat is marinating. DRAIN WELL before placing on the grill.

Quantities will vary with amounts being served. Use your head.

Grilled Lamb Chops rubbed generously with garlic powder, salt and pepper are great if you love lamb. [NOTE: Take 2 or 3 Tbsps of Rosemary needles and TOSS INTO the FIRE midway through the grilling process]. The smoke that arises is appetizing and adds great character to the flavor of the lamb. If you like, you can rub some Dijon mustard on the chops before sprinkling them with garlic power, S&P.

HAPPY EATING!

~ FreeThinke

Silverfiddle said...

FT: Sounds delicious. I like your idea of throwing some rosemary on the fire. I'd never heard that before.

About the only lamb I do is my own grilled lamburgers.

Anonymous said...

Hi, SilverFiddle,

Great idea to have a nice friendly Food Thread for a change! Kinda helps bring us together.

Please tell me how you cook ground lamb? I've had trouble with it. Because the meat has such a high fat content it can cook down to nothing if you're not careful. What do you do?

Of course, I'm old-fashioned, as you know, and still like my lamb well done. The "true gourmets" of today make a face and wrinkle up their noses at that. They insist lamb must be served rare. Even Julia Child, a great character whom I really enjoyed when she first hit the scene, referred to "those old gray roasts" when talking about leg of lamb, and I felt bad, because nothing has ever tasted any better than my Mama's thoroughly-cooked roast leg of lamb with oven-browned potatoes cooked in the pan juices around the roast.

The Health Food Freaks have probably made it a capital offense, but heck -- yagotta die of something, right? Might as well die happy. ;-)

Hey! If you feel like splurging someday, try charcoal grilling "BUTTERFLIED" LEG of LAMB smeared on both sides with olive oil, Dijon Mustard, garlic powder, S&P. You can either sprinkle Rosemary directly on it, or use the tossing into the fire technique I mentioned. I prefer the latter, it works wonders and it's so easy.

I grew up eating lamb regularly, so I was really shocked to learn later on that lots of people don't like it, because it has such a positive flavor.

Do try the chicken and pork marinade. It's very tasty.

Do you eat potato salad? I still love it. Very easy to make with the little red potatoes thanks to the microwave and not having to peel the spuds.

Have a great weekend.

~ FreeThinke

Kid said...

That's a nice sounding recipe Silver. I've never done it with BBQ sauce tho. And Stubbs sauces are Very good.

The best chicken fajitas I ever had are served at La Pinata, Osborn and 19th Ave - Phoenix, AZ so I try to duplicate them every time I make them at home.

I make my Pico de Gallo using Roma tomato since you can dice them into really small cubes without making mush. Then onion, Jalapeno, Cilantro, all diced or chopped - lastly squeeze some fresh lime over and into the fridge.
Refried beans cooked slowly on the stove with melted Sargento Mexican blend cheese on top. Chicken on the grill slowly, then some quick grill marks on the hot side of the grill to finish them off, then slice into strips. Very juicy.
You can also apply some Chalulu sauce, not all that hot, but flavorful. I like Herdoz salsa.
Onion, Red and Green bell pepper tossed quickly on a very hot grill so they're hot and crunchy at the same time when served.
Lastly, Jose Cuervo's ready mixed Margharitas on the rocks, salt on the rim. Oh yes.
We steam the flour tortillas but you can just put them into a skillet to heat up also.

Trekkie4Ever said...

Just about anything cooked on the grill I will, except seafood!!

Great recipe!! Thank you for sharing.

Z said...

Kid, I'm glad you came by, I almost emailed you "SF's talking FOOD"!!

FT, lamb makes excellent burgers...maybe your store sells it with too much fat ground into it? Buy some inexpensive cuts that are lean and have them grind it. It's delicious with some feta cheese mixed into it, and served with a little sundried tomatoes and arugula...mmm

Also, I once barbecued lamb chops and slit into the meaty part and put in dried apricots and thyme...toothpicked them closed and barbequed..delicious.

Silverfiddle said...

FT: Sounds like you do a pretty good job cooking that lamb on your own. Sounds delicious. I do what Z recommended. I buy a leg and have them grind it coarsely. I take it home and season it, make burgers and cook them on the grill.

Here's the recipe I use, with my own variations thrown in.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/dining/26minirex3.html

We don't do lamb a lot. It's too expensive.

Z: I love your ideas as well. I never thought of adding feta cheese.

Kid: I am not a big bbq sauce guy. I mostly use my own spice blends, but when something does call for sauce, I use Stubbs.

For the fajitas, I only use it in the beans to add flavor.

Always On Watch said...

FT,
Great idea to have a nice friendly Food Thread for a change! Kinda helps bring us together.

The topic of food may be the ONE topic that all of us can discuss without throwing barbs in the direction of those with whom we disagree.

Jarhead said...

Fajitas?

Is it Cinco de Mayo already?

Shaw Kenawe said...

Great thread. I don't do much grilling here in the city--actually none at all, since we can't do it on the roof deck because of fire hazard. But when I do grill at other locations [Cape Cod for example] one of my favorite things to grill are little neck clams and oysters.

Place them on top of very hot coals until they open and sizzle in their juices. Serve with brown butter [butter that's been cooked on stove until it turns a light brown shade--gives it a "nutty" flavor], drizzle over the grilled little necks and oysters.

This makes a nice starter to a lobster dinner.

You might add grilled beets to grilled veggies. They are spectacular!

Silverfiddle said...

I love seafood on the grill! I do lobster tails in their own shell and shrimp skewers as well.

I'll have to try doing clams. We love them, I just never imagined cooking them on the grill.

Z said...

Shaw....my family was grilling vegetables 50 years ago..it's the Armenian "shish kebob" blood in us!
But I never thought of grilling beets...that sounds fabulous. Thanks.

Talk about Armenian grilling and lamb(or chicken)...have it ground, add garlic, cumin, some paprika, finely chopped parsley, S&P and mold a sausage almost the length of the 'shish' (the metal skewer)...THAT is good eating. I like it better than chunks of beef or lamb on a skewer.

Finntann said...

I also developed an affinity for Korean BBQ while living outside of Pyeongtaek.

Thinly sliced, long thin strips of beef (rib-eye works well) with sliced onion and apple (or asian pear), chopped scallions, and marinated in soy sauce with a little sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds, garlic, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and a pinch of ginger.

Marinate it 3-4 hours and throw it on the grill, an open mesh grill topper works wonders.

The same recipe can be used for Galbi (short-ribs) with a little vinegar thrown in.

Serve the Bulgogi over rice (sticky rice from an asian market works best) and the Galbi with grilled veggies.

Cheers!

Silverfiddle said...

Finn: Bulgogi and Kimchi is about all the Korean I like. Did you ever eat it at that Korean lady's place in front of Peterson by the DQ? She did some good bulgogi.

I remember all those Santa Maria BBQ's we used to put on. That was a lot of work, but a lot of fun as well...

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Z, and SilverFiddle.

I never thought about having lamb "custom ground" by the butcher. I guess that would make all the difference.

I've gotten too used to picking up whatever comes pre-packaged at an affordable looking price -- part of what happens when you live by yourself and don't entertain much anymore.

I love the ideas of using feta and sun-dried tomatoes, Z. Also the lamb chops stuffed with dried apricots and thyme -- something I never would have thought of on my own.

Does anyone out there cook Bisonburgers?

I've never tried Bison, but I've heard it can be delicious. What do you think?
_______________________________

Ms. Shaw, you've made me feel homesick for summer in the northeast. There's nothing more wonderful than clams and lobsters at one of the great North Atlantic beaches.

Do you grill your lobsters? We used to kill them by dipping them -- very quickly -- into boiling water, then slitting them down the middle, brushing them with copious amounts of melted butter, and finishing them off over a charcoal fire.

It's impossible to get broiled lobster in restaurants where I live now. It's become prohibitively expensive anyway. (SIGH!)

The Brown Butter sounds like a good idea -- something else I never would have thought of on my own.

I agree this is a great thread. "East meets West at the Table.' -- Definitely a keeper.

Happy living!

~ FreeThinke

Finntann said...

SF.. yes I have eaten there, and it is pretty good.

I can also recommend Tong Tong between Big Lots and Texas T-Bone at Academy and Chelton, SW corner.

If you like Bulgogi and you like ribs, you'll also like Galbi.

They also lay out a nice Banchan (side dishes like kimchi, potato pancakes, vegetables) with your entree.

When most Americans think of Kimchi they think of Baechu, or Kimche made with Napa cabbage, but types of Kimchi are highly localized, where I lived it was usually made with green beans and cucumber. Kimchi is more of a process like pickling (think pickles, pickeled beets, pickled eggs), than indicative of ingredients.

Shaw, can I say one word?

CLAMBAKE!!!

For those of you not familiar with the New England Clambake, imagine all your food (steamers, mussels, quahogs, lobsters, corn, potatoes, cabbage, onions,carrots, linquica (sausage) all layered with rockweed (a type of seaweed) and steamed in a giant galvanized steel garbage can.

Oh and don't forget the Brown Bread: made with cornmeal, wheat flour, whole wheat flour, graham flour, rye flour with raisins, molasses, and maple syrup. And steamed along with everything else.

Only bread I ever saw come out of a can (not the dough, the bread).

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=357374

Cheers!

Silverfiddle said...

I've been out on the cape a few times, and I always wanted to bring the family for a vacation. Clambakes and stuff like that sounds so much fun.

Finntann said...

Perhaps I should explain the inclusion of a Clambake in a grilling article.

While today many cook it in the gargage can, or other large metal covered container, over a propane burner, traditionally it was cooked on the beach in an open fire pit.

A hole would be dug filled with stones (or more interestingly, cannon balls) and a fire built, When the fire died down and the ashes swept out everything would be layered over the stones and the whole assembly covered with a wet canvas and allowed to steam in the residual heat. Often both the layers of seaweed and the canvas would be soaked with seawater.

Cheers!

Shaw Kenawe said...

"It's impossible to get broiled lobster in restaurants where I live now. It's become prohibitively expensive anyway. (SIGH!)"


The clam-bake is a family tradition, starting with the grilled little neck clams and oysters, followed by my homemade clam chowdah, served with the traditional New England "cracklings" on top, followed by steamed lobster, "cawn" ["corn" for the non-Bostonians] on the cob, homemade "cawn" bread, baked with niblets and red pepper flakes. For dessert, Boston Cream Pie, which is not a pie, but a yellow cake split in half with a custard cream filling in the center and chocolate frosting on top.It was Created by Armenian-French chef M. Sanzian at Boston's Parker House Hotel in 1856.

Back to grilling. One aroma that fills the streets of Downtown Crossing in Boston every summer is that of grilled onions and peppers and Italian sweet sausages. It is impossible to resist if you're hungry.

That was a staple of our backyard grilling in our Italian family, along with grilled marinated lamb. Afterwards we grilled peaches brushed with brandy.

Then my father, grandfather and uncles played bocce the rest of the afternoon in the court my father had made in our backyard. Everytime I smell the drift of cigar smoke, I'm transported back to those days.

Anonymous said...

Your such a bigger griller!!! What about Charcoal grills? There are some really fancy egg grills on the market and heard they even turn out good food even for a beginer like you "Silver Fiddle proof if you care to know-even read it on the Egg's Grillin Gaurantee.
I have to admit that I moved to gas 10 plus years ago but still, to this day-Whan I am in mounatins camping use Fire's coals to grill my meat and cook the taters and corn.

I do give grillin lessons and would give them to you for free-since has been covered by the stimilus plan.

Redneck Ron

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

For fajitas, marinade the skirt steak strips in orange juice overnight in the fridge.

Trust me, I'm a professional.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

For asparagus...

***warning - this is identifiably addicting***

Wash the asparagus and dry on a towel, cut the hard tip (root ends) off, spread on a cookie sheet / baking tin and slather them up with olive oil. Sprinkle sea salt on them and pop them in the oven on broil for 3 minutes.

After that 3 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on them and broil in the oven for 3 more minutes.

You now have physically addicting asparagus in 6 minutes. Serve with steak or hamburgers.

Silverfiddle said...

Beamish,
The asparagus recipe reminds me of my wife's Kale recipe. I find it amazing when someone can come up with such an easy way to make vegetables palatable.

Wise Conservatism said...

Thanks for sharing this. Might have to try it once it stops raining. *ss*

Ducky's here said...

Steamers -- mmmmmm.

OD357 said...

My dear departed mother had a recipe she called Enchilada Bake. It's more like a casserole. But me and Rob O. Loves it. Best with chili pinto beans and a salad.

2-3 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

4 tablespoons of chili powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 cup flour

12 - 18 corn (hard) tortillas

3 cups shredded cheese

1 can puree or Rotel tomatoes. Hot if you ain't a pansy.

4 teaspoons cilantro

Water to tomatoes to equal four cups

Using a large skillet, brown the meat, chopped onion, and minced garlic. Drain. Add chili powder, salt to taste, oregano, and flour. Mix well in skillet. Add water/tomato and simmer until mixture thickens. Stir occasionally for about five minutes.



Cover the bottom of a large ungreased casserole dish with a single or double layer of tortillas shells, cover with meat mixture, sprinkle with cilantro, then cover with shredded cheese. Repeat until ingredients are depleted



Bake at 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling. Let stand for 15 minutes then serve. Recommend eaten with pinto beans and a tossed salad.

OD357 said...

Yeah I grill Bison burgers. And hot links and Brats. Mmmmmm good stuff.

Anonymous said...

When was the last time anyone split hot dogs, stuffed 'em with Velveeta cheese, wrapped 'em in raw bacon, toothpicked 'em together, lined 'em up in a grilling rack, and char grilled 'em till the bacon gets crisp and tinged with black?

Lethal Cuisine, but fun pulling the toothpicks out, and great with plain old baked beans, homemade coleslaw, and potato salad made with thinly sliced, red onion, green pepper, Hellmann's Mayonnaise, and sliced hard boiled eggs.

The beans come straight out of the jar. Just heat 'em up -- or add your own extras to pep 'em up if you insist.

Make the cole slaw with, celery seeds, a few shredded carrots, vinegar and sugar, S&P.

Make the slaw and the potato salad two days in advance, refrigerate to let the flavor develop to the max.

UNHEALTHY to be sure, but BOY! is it good -- and EASY to prepare!

A good old-fashioned sheet cake with homemade butter cream frosting and some ice cream is the dessert of choice.

~ FreeThinke

Anonymous said...

WHOOPS! Forgot to tell you to add Dijon mustard to the potato salad blended in with the Mayo -- but not much. Maybe 3 Tbps is enough.

~ FreeThinke

Anonymous said...

Then there's the joy of pouring a measure each of Vodka and Kirschwasser into a plug cut from a whole watermelon.

Seal it up again, and chill plug side up, for several days to let the liquor permeate, and then ...

Need I say more?

~ FT

Silverfiddle said...

I hadn't heard anyone mention Kirschwasser in years. I thought they only had that in Germany...

Anonymous said...

You can buy Kirsch in any good liquor store -- at least along the eastern seaboard. I don't know about the Wild West where most of you guys seem to live.

Here's a bit of what Wiki has to say about it:

Kirsch

"Kirschwasser (keersh-vahs-ər) German for “cherry water”) is a clear, colorless fruit brandy traditionally made from double distillation of morello cherries, a dark-colored cultivar of the sour cherry.

"However, it is now also made from other kinds of cherries. The cherries are fermented complete (that is, including their stones).

"Unlike cherry liqueurs and so-called “cherry brandies,” Kirschwasser is not sweet.

"The best Kirschwassers have a refined taste with subtle flavors of cherry and a slight bitter-almond taste that derives from the stones.

"Kirschwasser is often simply called Kirsch in both German and English-speaking countries.

"Kirschwasser is usually drunk neat. It is traditionally served cold in a very small glass and is taken as an apéritif.

"However, people in the German-speaking region where Kirschwasser originated usually serve it after dinner, as a digestive.

"Kirschwasser is used in some cocktails, such as the Lady Finger and the Florida Cocktail.

"High-quality Kirschwasser may be served at room temperature, warmed by the hands as with brandy."


~ FreeThinke

PS: And combined with Vodka it does FANTASTIC and WONDERFUL things to ice cold watermelon. Try it.

Silverfiddle said...

We drank kirschwasser in shots in Germany.

Good stuff!

jez said...

rosemary on the fire sounds like a stroke of genius.
Outdoor cooking isn't really a serious thing over here because of our changeable weather, but I'm intrigued by the idea of a clay oven for baking. Any of you guys ever used one?

Silverfiddle said...

Jez: I hate to disclose this (because they are decadently expensive), but I have one, a Big Green Egg. Actually, its made of space age ceramic, not clay. Go read the history of clay ovens. They are great for cooking but eventually crack. The Big Green Egg, because of its material, combines the benefits of a clay over without the fragility.

It is the most beautiful outdoor grill I have ever cooked on. You use real lump charcoal, not the briquets, and an electric coil starter, no fluid, with the top up and the bottom vent open. It's going in less than 10 minutes and can maintain itself for even a 12-14 hour slow smoke.

It has superior temperature regulation due to its thickness and adjustable top and bottom vents. You can also cook steaks on it at 700 degrees, or cook roasts, etc at 350.

We also do pizzas in it. It really is a beautiful thing. Go Google Big Green Egg and you'll find all kinds of info and videos.

jez said...

:) jealous.

OD357 said...

Silver, other than your stocking once a year, where do you get lump coal? Don't forget I'm in the south. Is it used for home heating?

Silverfiddle said...

It's lump charcoal, not coal. It is far superior to the briquettes.

I buy Big Green Egg brand from Ace Hardware, $11.00 for 20 lbs.

Here is a review guide:

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag

MathewK said...

That looks really good. I have a barbecue somewhere in the building, maybe one day when I have more time and the little helper starts actually helping, i'll drag it out and dust it off. :)

OD357 said...

Silver, what size Green Egg do you have? I looked at them once, then got a Master Forge smoker from Lowes. Can't get it past 240 degrees. Big mistake. You get what you pay for.

Now, That image in your post isn't an Egg. Give props.

And you inspired me. This weekend me and the Mrs OD ate Artisan Fresh chicken sausage and Bison hot links. Along with white and yellow corn in the silk.

This post transcends politics. Everybody likes good eats.

Silverfiddle said...

I have a Weber Gas grill, which is also a fine product. I came home from the Middle East on R&R and the wife had bought it for me for Christmas with all the money we saved by me not being there.

I have the large egg. Wish we had had the bucks for the extra-large. This one is fine, but you always want as much grill space as you can get.

I have had a few Old Crappy Brinkmans, and the Egg blows them away. You can smoke ribs at 200 in under 4 hours. You also don't need to worry about a water pan. It's self-contained so it doesn't dry out what you're smoking.

OD357 said...

Cool beans. Thanks for the info. I've got a Char Broil version of your Weber. I'm about ready to take this turd bucket of a smoker to the range and ventilate it.

Every time I went TDY more money was spent on the home front. Everything would choose those months to shat the bed, and the Mrs would have to pay for what I normally would have muddled through. I mean seriously, auto AC? What a luxury. The windows still worked.