Big Green Egg

So I've inaugurated my Big Green Egg! We had the Caveman Chops from the Jamison cookbook -- super-thick bone-in pork loin chops with a smoked salt and pepper rub, mopped with Worcestershire sauce -- on Sunday and last night had an exquisite grilled halibut on chile and coriander slaw that I found serendipitously on MyRecipes, courtesy of Sunset magazine.

I've had my eye on the BGE for some time, and received one as a kind and generous gift for my birthday. The immediate occasion for getting one now was when a friend served us filet mignons grilled on a BGE that were super-moist and tender. (Let me hasten to add, per new FTC suggestions, I have received no consideration from the makers of BGE for anything I say about them.)

The biggest difference to the Weber is the absolute temperature control via the upper and lower vents and the closed ceramic oven structure. I grilled the chops at close to 500 degrees for nearly half an hour, though the internal temperature of 150 degrees recommended by Jamison resulted in chops that were a little dry to our taste. We accompanied with mashed sweet potatoes that included sauteed chopped onion with thyme.

The halibut recipe featured a dressing/marinade of 2/3 c. cider vinegar, 1/3 c. EVOO, 1/3 c. chopped cilantro, 1 clove garlic pressed, 1 tsp. cumin seed, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 5 to 6 tsp. minced fresh jalapeno chiles. You use 1/3 c. of the mix to marinade the 6-8 oz. filet pieces for 15 min. and 1/2 c. as dressing for the slaw -- 1 lb. of red cabbage cored and thinly sliced and 1/2 c. thinly slivered red onion. I grilled the fish at about 350 degrees for a little more than 10 minutes. They were done through and still very moist, with pretty grill marks. You place the fish on a mound of the slaw and drizzle some of the remaining dressing over it, and serve with corn tortillas. Delicious, with the cumin setting off the cilantro-chile combination.

Now both of these dishes would be fine on the Weber and what I really want the BGE for is slow roasting and smoking. We'll get there.