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 .

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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.

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Chef grade stainless steel flavour injector: Infuse the Christmas bird with extra flavour using this useful kitchen tool.

Stainless steel mini-burger slider basket: Keep the kids occupied – host a “DIY Burger Bash”!

Meat Claws: Let’s face it: Nothing brings out the caveman in you more than shredding a big hunk of meat! Trust us, this gift will go down a treat.

Magnetic flexible LED light: Because who wants to stop the party just when the sun goes down! Keep cooking well into the evening with this handy gadget.

Pitt Mitt High Heat Glove: Much appreciated when working with hot items like the ceramic baking stone or convEGGtor.

Baking Stones: Sure, a bit big to fit into a stocking, but when have we ever let that stop us! An absolute MUST HAVE for baking pizza, pastries and more.

Cast Iron Skillet and Grid (Cast Iron anything, really): Big toys for big boys! Cast Iron can be heated to super hot temps without cracking or failing. Searing a steak on one of these is a guaranteed winner.

Perforated Grill Wok: Come January, we know you’re going to want to grill some healthy veggies and what better way to still get that “braai” feeling than cooking them over coal.

Shop these accessories online or at your nearest dealer.

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We’ll help you conquer that fear with the juiciest, most tender bird you’ve ever tasted. Download the Big Green Egg Turkey Cheat Sheet today and enjoy the best turkey. Ever.

Watch the video:

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Download it HERE

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We’ve scoured the net and our own treasure trove of Big Green Egg recipes for our top edible gifts you can – and should – make this year.

Happy EGGing!

1. Christmas Cake – if you were organised, you would have baked this dream already and started feeding it. If not, give it a try next year…
2. Boozy Rosemary and Peach Bacon Jam
3. Beer Glazed Pecan nuts
4. Chocolate Brownies with Smoked Ganache
5. Homemade Bacon Salt (tip: when cooking the bacon on your Big Green Egg, make use of the new  Plancha Griddle)
6. Potato Truffle Chocolate Cake
7. Sam Linsell’s Roasted Peppers
8. Cherry Chipotle BBQ Sauce
9. Zucchini Bread
10. Macaroons, delicate as anything and baked in the Big Green Egg. Seriously.
11. Smoked Strawberry Coulis

The post Eggdible gifts to make this year 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.

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Starter:
Hot smoked snoek pâté with Melba Toast

Mains:
Bobotie pizza with pineapple chutney 

Dessert:
Mosbolletjie Amarula Milk Tart Jaffles

The post The Classics only Better appeared first on Big Green Egg Africa.

This Father’s Day we’re doing the same – we’re reclaiming puddings for Dads everywhere! Particularly, puddings you can make on the braai because this is, after all, South Africa and here we braai everything…

We bring you the Top 7 Father’s Day Puddings with inspiration from some of our global Big Green Egg distributor partners:

1. Mosbolletjie Amarula Milk Tart Jaffles
2. Banana French Toast
3. Grilled Coconut Rum French Toast with Bacon (what can we say, French toast is a winner)
4. Sticky Date and Toffee pudding
5. Stuffed Smoked Apples
6. Smoked Chocolate Brownies
7. Lemon Curd and Hot Cross Bun “Bread and Butter” pudding

Happy Father’s Day!

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Now that you now why the Big Green Egg is perfect for pizza, let’s share our tips and tricks of how to bake that perfect pizza at home…

1. Preparation is key: Give your EGG a good clean out to ensure there is no ash or coal blocking any vents.
2. Check your firebox: Ensure the gap in the firebox is aligned to the bottom vent as you’ll struggle otherwise to reach the required high temperature.
3. The correct set-up: The EGGhead forum is rich with advice on this and is worth a read. While we don’t advocate using bricks etc. in your EGG, you can play around with a couple of configurations. Ideally, the convEGGtor should be in place in the “legs up” position, on top of which rests your stainless steel grid followed by a pizza baking stone. Trying to bake directly (without the convEGGtor) would burn the pizza base as the convEGGtor acts as a barrier between the flame and food turning your EGG into a convection oven.
4. Fuelling the EGG: Thanks to the unique design, there’s no such thing as “wasted charcoal” as you simply re-use leftover coal at your next cook. So, go ahead and load up the firebox right to the top!
5. Getting to temperature: Lighting your EGG as usual, you can heat up your baking stone as soon as the desired temperature has been reached and stabilised some. Bearing in mind you’ll lose a bit of heat when the stone is inserted, those thick ceramic walls mean you’ll be up to temperature again in no time! The general consensus is about 30 – 40 minutes heating time on the stone.
6. BURP your EGG! We can’t stress this enough. When cooking at high temperatures (over 200°C), gently raise the lid to prevent any flare ups.
7. Preparing the pizza: Assemble the pizza just before sliding it into the Big Green Egg to bake. Doing so long before, will result in it sticking to the pizza peel. Avoid too many wet toppings when baking a thin crust pizza.
8. To flour or not flour the pizza stone: The jury is very much out on this one! Many people swear by a dusting of cornmeal or flour on the pizza peel before sliding the pizza onto a floured stone. Others make use of parchment paper. Your pizza should not stick to a well heated hot stone.
9. Recommended baking times: For thin crust pizza at 375°C, 4-5 minutes should be enough to get you golden on top and baked through at the bottom. Thick crust pizza can be baked at 300°C for 7-10 minutes while a Deep Dish Pizza Pie can go in at 190°C for about 20 – 25 minutes. Gently open the lid and have a look at the pizza base in between to ensure an even bake.
10. Closing the daisy wheel: A lot of EGGheads swear by closing the dual function metal top once the pizza is baking for extra smokiness.

While there may be as many tips and tricks to the perfect pizza as there are toppings to choose from, one thing is certain: Big Green Egg is perfect for pizza!

We’ve given pizza a local twist with our Bobotie Pizza with Quick Pineapple Chutney.

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