Vusi, mentored by legendary chefs like Luke Dale Roberts and Marthinus Ferreira (both experienced EGG users), entered the esteemed S. Pellegrino Young Chef competition and asked us for a Big Green Egg to practice some of his signature dishes on for the competition. Of course, we were happy to help.

EGGsperimental, inspired, creative and mad are all words one can use to describe Vusi. Bleh and passion-less are certainly not!

What Vusi did was amazing and Big Green Egg has thoroughly enjoyed being a part of his journey to Milan, Italy, in May 2018 for the finals where he was judged Number 7 in the World. That is an incredible accomplishment for a young chef from Johannesburg and we are immensely proud of him.

Here is Vusi’s signature dish cooked on the Big Green Egg at the Marabi Jazz Club.

The post Vusi Ndlovu #7 chef in the World appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

We invite you to share your Meat Moment with us by sharing your favourite meat dish cooked on the EGG over on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Tag it #MeatMoments so we know, won’t you?

Come June 30th, we’ll announce a lucky winner who receives this Enamelled Cast Iron Dutch Oven.

The usual T&C’s apply.

The post #MeatMoments Competition appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

Our first EGGcademy class is on 26 May. Here’s what you can expect:

• Butchery tour
• Beef butchery demonstration
• Discussions around grass fed vs feedlot meat
• Frankie Fenner’s philosophies
• Hands-on preparation of three cuts including recipe applications
• Cooking advice for various cuts on the Big Green Egg

TASTING!!

Complimentary beer and wine.

R800 per head
Saturday, 26th May. 15h00 – 17h30

Space is very limited. Book yours through orders@ffmm.co.za .

The post Eggcademy with Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

Keen to get in on the smoking action? Here’s our round up of the best smoking recipes to try in the best kamado grill on the market – your Big Green Egg. Remember, we EGG no matter the weather, so don’t let the chill in the Autumn air put you off a bit of smoking…

Bourbon-glazed Cold Smoked Salmon *shows serious skill!

Jason Lilley’s Smoked Brisket Roll

Vusi Ndlovu’s Grilled Ribeye with Oysters and Pine *for the adventurous

Caroline McCann’s pastrami on rye

Smoked tongue with sweet mustard sauce

Longridge Wine Estate’s Smoked Onion Mayo

Malva pudding with smoked nut and lemon crumble

Now, cold smoking is quite different from hot smoking in that the smoke acts as a seasoning – not a heat source. It takes some practice, but bearing in mind these helpful tips below, you’ll want to give our Onion and Thyme jam with smoked Gouda recipe a go in no time!

Cold Smoking Tips:

• Use only fresh products. Cheese and salmon are perfect for cold smoking.
• Cold smoking is not recommended for large meats like brisket or pork butts. These do very well with hot smoking.
• Dry out the product so that it can “take the smoke”.
• Do not use harsh woods.
• If you’re cold smoking some salmon, we recommend air drying and then following these steps from Steve Raichlen’s BBQ Bible to cure the salmon before cold smoking:
  • Combine 1/2 cup kosher salt and 1 cup packed dark brown sugar in a mixing bowl and mix with your fingers.
  • Spread 1/3 of the cure over the bottom of a glass baking dish just large enough to hold the fish. Lay the salmon on top of the cure mixture. Spread the remaining cure over the top of the salmon so it covers the fish completely.
  • Cover the dish with plastic wrap and cure the fish in the coolest part of your fridge for 24 – 48 hours.
  • Gently rinse the cure off the salmon under cold running water. Place the salmon in a large bowl with cold water to cover by about 5cm. Soak for 30 minutes and then drain well in a colander.
  • Blot the salmon dry on both sides with a paper towel. Arrange it skin side down on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Let the salmon dry uncovered in the fridge until it starts feeling tacky – 2-4 hours.
• To set your EGG for cold smoking, completely clean it out and then put a handful of charcoal with your choice of chips in a little mound on top of the firegrate. Light it and allow the temperature to come up to 40°C before putting the convEGGtor in. Stabilise the temperature at just under 30°C.
• We recommend keeping the bottom vent open about 3 fingers wide and the top vent open to about 1/4 moon wide. Only use the daisy wheel to adjust the temperature if need be.
• If you’re smoking salmon or cheese, place the convEGGtor legs up, followed by the grid, on top of which you place an aluminium pan filled with ice about 1/3 of the way and sprinkled with Kosher or rock salt to prevent the ice from melting (you need a good generous sprinkling of salt), then top that with a cooking rack and place the salmon or cheese on top of that.
• You can smoke brie, Gouda or cheddar.
• Follow one of our smoking recipes or select your favourite over at the EGGHead Forum.
• Allow finished product to breathe.

You can find a variety of Big Green Egg smoking chips, chunks and planks at your local dealer or our online shop.

The post 7 Smoking Recipes to Try this Autumn appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

We’d love to see your creations! Share them with Big Green Egg SA on Facebook or Instagram.

The post Grilled Cocktails appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

Land Rover Durban, proud sponsor of the annual Horse and Wine Festival, put on quite a show on Saturday, 22 July 2017, as they launched their All New Discovery at Shongweni Club, Durban. Public participants had the opportunity to experience the full extent of this model’s (and others’) capabilities, thanks to the premium SUV’s state of the art articulation, Traction Control and Terrain Response at the Terrapod Experience as well as taking a vehicle out on a test drive.

Big Green Egg catered for the event with chef Graham Neilson of 9th Avenue Bistro fame serving up slow cooked Korean BBQ style beef short rib on sticky coconut rice. Durban may enjoy relatively mild Winter temperatures, but this hearty hot dish went down a treat to keep the Hillcrest chill at bay! Overheard from a gent sitting nearby, “Now, this is seriously good chow!”

Visitors were encouraged to enter the Land Rover competition to win a Large Big Green Egg by answering the easy question of where their Durban office is  (41 Somtseu Road, Durban) and a winner was drawn in the afternoon. Lucky Warren Richards took home the prize worth over R23000!

At the event, Land Rover Durban also announced their giveaway of a Big Green Egg gift with every vehicle bought at their dealership until the end of August. Contact Sue-Anne Tolken on 031 314 5555 for further information.

The post Big Green Egg Giveaway appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

Here are our top tips for getting it right:

1. Don’t settle for any inferior cooker that promises to give you the same results as an Egg. That’s the battle already half-won!
2. Source your ingredients from a trusted supplier. In Joburg, we love Jackson’s Real Food Market and Braeside Meat Market. Son of a Butcher in Newlands, Cape Town, stands out as do the passionate guys at Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants in Woodstock. In Durban, head to Old Town Italy’s butchery or Hope Meat Supplies. They’ll all be able to give you expert advice on what’s right to cook low and slow, although most meat cuts that are cooked this way are pretty forgiving.
3. Generally, cuts like brisket, short ribs, pork shoulder and pork belly appreciate a bit of slow and low love. Venison would also be good.
4. Set your EGG up good and proper: The Egg’s technology is centred around adequate airflow. Want high heat? Crank open the vents. Want to turn the temperature down? Close the vents until you reach the desired temperature. The Kryptonite of airflow is blocked air vents. If you use Big Green Egg All Natural Lump Charcoal, the coal is nice and big and won’t easily clog your air vents. Many EGGheads swear by the bucket system, especially when setting up for low and slow cooking. 3 buckets are placed by the EGG. One is used for fresh large lump which generally goes at the bottom on top of the fire grate (to prevent ash build up during a long cook). The second is for used lump that can still give you some flavour when cooking for a few hours and which you’ll want to place on top of the new lump. The last bucket is for ash which you definitely want to remove before a low and slow session. If you’re using smoking chunks like our Apple, Mesquite or Hickory wood chunks, place a few strategically in the firebox. If you have only wood chips (think Jack Daniels or Cherry chips) at hand, scatter them in layers throughout your coal so as to maximise the smoking effect throughout the entire cooking process. To soak or not soak the wood before placing it in the cooker is quite a divisive issue – we’d love to hear from you if you do or don’t and why?
5. The Egg is designed to allow lit charcoal in the centre to gradually light the surrounding coal and wood spreading to the periphery. A single load of charcoal can give you up to 16 hours of heat and smoke.
6. Low and slow cooking requires a convEGGtor in the legs up position with the grid on top. Some Egg owners cover the base of the convEGGtor with aluminium foil to prevent drippings staining the ceramic. Alternatively, place a drip pan on top of the convEGGtor.
7. A water pan on top of an indirect barrier such as the convEGGtor is really unnecessary in an Egg; your brisket will be ultra-juicy, we promise! This does come down to personal preference, however.
8. While waiting for the Egg to come to temperature, let the meat come to room temperature. Placing a cold piece of meat straight on the grid will drop the dome temperature.
9. How do you know it’s time to put the meat in the Egg? Initial smoke coming from the dual function metal top will be white; this is not the time! Blue smoke is good smoke, so once a thin blue stream of smoke comes out the top of the Egg, pop the meat in.
10. If you have a Dual Probe Remote Thermometer, this Big Green Egg accessory comes in very handy during low temperature cooking. Simply set up the thermometer and walk away. It stays within range up to 90m away from the EGG and will alert you when the ambient temperature falls outside your settings as well as when the desired internal temperature of the meat has been reached.
11. An insider’s tip from Big Green Egg UK: “If using a dual probe remote thermometer you will notice that the internal temperature of the meat slowly rises and then apparently plateaus or even falls by a few degrees. This is not the EGG needing more oxygen or fuel, this is the science of low and slow happening as collagen starts to break down and turn to gelatin. An enormous amount of energy is required to enable this process and so the temperature of the meat stops increasing whilst the chemical reactions take place. Do not adjust the temperature of your EGG. You should not try to speed up this process with more heat. Once the majority of the tissues have been rendered to gelatin the temperature will begin to climb again.”
12. For melt-in-your mouth pork, the digital thermometer should read between 85°C and 91°C when inserted into the meat and the bone should pull out clean with not a scrap of meat still attached.
13. For pulled pork, invest in a pair of Stainless Steel Meat Claws for the easiest shredding of meat ever!  
14. If you haven’t already done so, go ahead and register on the EGGhead Forum. Our online community of passionate EGG owners share advice, personal experiences, tips and tricks with their Egg. You’ll find quite a bit of assistance for low and slow cooking there.

Trying a low and slow cook this weekend? Share your story with Big Green Egg SA on Facebook or Instagram. 

Remember, the above points are merely guidelines to get you started. Have fun as you find what works for you!

The post The Ultimate Guide to Low and Slow Cooking appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

On a blustery Sunday morning, the Big Green Egg team set to work converting a parking lot (!) into the scene for an interactive cooking class. With table cloths threatening to blow away in the wind, we transformed the drab space into a green little hub for 10 enthusiastic cooks to learn more about just what their EGG could do. Included in our lunch party were also a few people interested in joining the EGG family who first wanted to try it out – they’re now converts or EGGheads as we call them!

Chef Andrew’s menu included:

Smoked chicken on a cucumber, strawberry and quinoa salad;
Chargrilled dukka rubbed lamb on roasted vegetables;
Pear soufflé with spiced Muscovado cream

The cooks got to cooking and moved effortlessly between smoking, grilling and baking (thanks Big Green Egg!) with Andrew guiding them along the way with insider’s tips and anecdotes from his time in the restaurant trade.

Lunch was sampled by everyone at their workstations and the general consensus was that the menu was simple enough to recreate at home – some guests have decided on this as their Christmas menu – yet, challenging enough for those EGG owners who were looking to extend their culinary skill. All in all, a great time was had by all and we look forward to more cooking demos with Andrew in the new year.

Sign up for our newsletter to be invited to our next cooking class. Classes are held at various venues in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. 

The post Eggcademy Cooking Class with Andrew Draper appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

1. Ensure you’re “EGG ready”: While the EGG is all about convenience, ever so often you do want to do a bit of maintenance on your prized possession. Not a lot – just check your gasket, nuts and bolts every month or so to ensure they are in good condition. You also want to ensure you have all the EGGcessories you need. Our personal favourite at this time of the year is the Dual Probe Thermometer – cooking success every time! Remember, we’re all for convenience, so look up your closest Big Green Egg dealer here or shop online here (but, remember the cut off dates for the holiday deliveries!)

2. Decide how you’re doing Christmas this year: Formal sit down with all the trimmings or relaxed “Bring & Share” vibe? These EGG restaurants are a good alternative if you’d rather have someone else EGG for you.

3. Create your menu: This year, we’re opting for a delicious Christmas duck recipe which is as easy as it is delicious. If you prefer a traditional turkey, this video is a must-watch. Lamb and beef  are perennial favourites and, of course, there has to be a vegetarian main course alternative. Sides and puddings are covered in our Big Green Egg Recipes section.

4. Source your supplies: In Joburg, we personally recommend Caroline McCann’s Braeside Meat Market and Jackson Real Food Market. You can also stock up on your cooking accessories  while you are there. Cape Town cooks are spoilt for choice with Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants  or Raith Gourmet Butchery. Hope Meat Supplies in Durban North supply excellent quality meat.

5. EGG. Serve. Enjoy. Repeat! EGGing is always meant to be fun and we look forward to seeing your holiday snaps on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

The post 5 Steps to Easy Holiday Entertaining appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

• Reuben’s at One and Only, V&A Waterfront: Celebrity chef Reuben has an XL in this kitchen and although they are fully booked for both Christmas and New Year’s Eve, they are still taking Lunch bookings for 01/01/17.
• Greenhouse, Constantia: Chef Peter Tempelhoff’s restaurant is unfortunately FULLY BOOKED for most of December. You can contact them to be added to their standby list.
• The Tasting Room, Franschhoek: Award-winning chef, Margot Janse, is taking a break on Christmas Day but the restaurant will be open on New Year’s Eve.
• Mondiall, Cape Town: Chef Stephen Mandes, Ultimate Braaimaster winner season 3, heads up the kitchen where there are 2 Large EGGs in action. They are open for Christmas Lunch.
• The Food Barn, Noordhoek: Christmas Lunch is booked out but you can secure a table for Franck’s New Year’s Eve special dinner. Franck cooks on a Large at this restaurant.
• La Mouette, Seapoint: Fully booked, but you can contact them to be added to their standby list.
• The Werf at Boschendal, Franschhoek: The restaurant will be open for New Year’s Eve and lunch only on the 1st of January. Christiaan and Maritz make use of a Large EGG in the kitchen.
• Social on Main, Bryanston: They are closed on Christmas Day but still taking bookings for New Year’s Eve.
• 9th Avenue Bistro, Durban: Chefs Graham Neilson and Charlie Lakin will be working their magic on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
• The Bay Pasta Co, Jeffrey’s Bay: While Chef Andreas’s 2 (TWO!) XXL EGGs are in storage until mid-January due to renovations, the restaurant is open on New Year’s Eve and known for throwing great parties! Head there in the new year to taste their pulled pork, ribs and other menu items smoked on the EGGs.

The post EGG Restaurants and the Festive Season appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.