How not to roast a duck on the Big Green Egg

We thought it would be so sophisticated to roast a Duck on the Big Green Egg. We did a terrible job and as good as it looks, it wasn't.  Never the less, it was our first time and we will try again eventually but we aren't in a hurry to do this again.

Research:

We googled around and found this youtube video and tried to follow it.

Ingredients:

We bought a free range hippy duck
and we used a great dry rub

Plan:

Heat the Egg to 325, boil the duck to release some fat, cook it to temperature. 165 -170 degrees.

Execution:

First we trimmed it according to the video or maybe a little less. I didn't cut the tail bone and should have so it would have fit on the "can" better.

Then I poked some holes in the skin in preparation for boiling for 5 minutes. This is supposed to soften the fat and help it render

Then dry rubbed it and as suggested we sliced through the fat

Also took the great advice about catching the duck fat as it rendered. Be sure to place a spacer between the plate setter and the cast iron skillet to keep the fat from burning

Rendered fat - save for later

We cooked the duck until it was 170 degrees. We over shot this a little as our duck was very lean and didn't have a lot of meat like a chicken might have. Also, I was checking both the thigh and the breast and had difficulty measuring. Also consider that it didn't take nearly as long as the video. Maybe 30 minutes to get to 170 in the breast or leg.

It was incredibly tough and chewing. Sort of like it hadn't been cooked enough maybe? I don't know if I cooked it too much or not enough but the breast was tough and the thigh was even worse. I'll need to do some research to try and figure out what we did wrong. I am inclined to believe that I didn't cook it enough.

Regardless, it was a lovely evening on the patio. We ending the evening warming up leftovers.

Verdict:

This was far and away the worst meal we have made on the Big Green Egg. I don't know yet what I did wrong but suffice to say, they don't always turn out great.

--------------------------

After watching some more videos and reading more. I think we didn't cook it long enough and I didn't get good temperature measurements. Next time, I'll stuff the duck and I'll cook it until 175 everywhere.

I feel good about using THIS video from Maple Leaf Farms as instruction next time.









We would love it if you would drop us a note in the comment section and let us know how your cook went. We are always looking for suggestions and improvements! We have opened up the comments so that anyone can post now, so please do. I'll try not to delete anything unless it is spam or stabs me in the heart.



Please help support our site, buy something you like on Amazon. Simply click through the links below and though you can pick anything, I suggest the thermometer and knives below:


So apparently Thermoworks doesn't sell through Amazon anymore. You must buy direct. Still the thermometer to have. Go here and order direct. 

Aaron Franklin's Favorite trimming knife:

Dexter-Russell (S131F-6PCP) - 6" Boning Knife - Sani-Safe Series

Aaron Franklin's Favorite Brisket cutting/serving knife:

Sani-Safe S140-12SC-PCP 12" Scalloped Roast Slicer

Hummingbird Cake

This is the most requested recipe in Southern Living magazine history. Except we didn't we didn't use that recipe - but still hummingbird cake you figure. We chose one that seemed to use a little less oil. You should make this one.

Research:

We used the recipe for hummingbird cake from MyRecipes

Ingredients:

3 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
3 large eggs beaten
1 cup vegetable oil (we used safflower oil)
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-8 ounce can of crushed pineapple undrained
1 cup of chopped pecans
2 cups of chopped bananas

Cream cheese Frosting

0.5 cup chopped pecans
9 ounce cream cheese softened
0.5 cups butter softened
16 ounce powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Plan:

Follow along as we make it. Lots of steps but easy as cake.


Execution:

Combine first 5 ingredients

Add eggs and oil slowly until ingredients are moist

Then add bananas, pineapple, 1 cup of nuts, vanilla

Stir in. Don't use a mixer. Don't over mix.

Pour into 3 greased and floured pans

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Remove when the toothpick comes out clean.

Whip up the icing. Simply beat the wet ingredients while slowly adding the sugar

Don't let the cat eat the frosting

After the cake cools, frost the cake.

Then sprinkle the remaining crushed nuts on top.

Verdict:

Even though I am not a fan of bananas this is excellent. It was a big hit. Loved the nuts.









We would love it if you would drop us a note in the comment section and let us know how your cook went. We are always looking for suggestions and improvements! We have opened up the comments so that anyone can post now, so please do. I'll try not to delete anything unless it is spam or stabs me in the heart.



Please help support our site, buy something you like on Amazon. Simply click through the links below and though you can pick anything, I suggest the thermometer and knives below:


So apparently Thermoworks doesn't sell through Amazon anymore. You must buy direct. Still the thermometer to have. Go here and order direct. 

Aaron Franklin's Favorite trimming knife:

Dexter-Russell (S131F-6PCP) - 6" Boning Knife - Sani-Safe Series

Aaron Franklin's Favorite Brisket cutting/serving knife:

Sani-Safe S140-12SC-PCP 12" Scalloped Roast Slicer

Rice. Really, just plain rice.

I know what you are thinking. Is there anything easier or more boring to make than rice? Boiling water and rice until soft and fluffy. Maybe a little salt. Yes, I hear you. That is what I thought too. However, this is one of those life improvement posts that you will thank me for. Behold internet people, I give you the Zojirushi.

Research:

I did a lot of research to find a rice cooker that would result in a consistently great rice. We've tried the standard rice, instant rice, rice in a bag, microwave, french method, etc. Every time, it came out different and usually not that great.

So we went looking for a rice cooker. Lo, I present to you the Zojirushi. Pronounced ZOE-ROOSH-EE

Ingredients:

Rice
Water


Plan:

Make rice that turns out consistently great.


Execution:

The Zojirushi takes rice cooking seriously. It has instructions for a variety of rice types but for our purposes we are going to make plain white rice.

First, it turns out you need to rinse your rice people. Zojirushi recommends that you measure your rice (the amount you want to make) using the provided measuring cup. Once you have the amount correct, add water to the bowl and agitate the rice in the water with your hand 20 times then empty the water and add more. Repeat this for 3 minutes.

This eliminates some of the gluten dust that is in the rice as a by product of the refining process.

Once you have clean wet rice you use the measuring marks on the cooker bowl to add water until the combination of the rice and the water reaches the measuring mark.

For example. To make one cup, you measure one cup of dry rice with the provided measuring cup and then (after washing) add water to the bowl until both the measured rice and the water reach the white rice 1 cup marker.

Then it is as simple as closing the lid and hitting the start button. Let the cooker do the work. It takes about 40 minutes or so to let it do it's magic.

After cooking the Zojirushi plays a clever little tune and voila! perfect rice!

Verdict:

It really does make perfect rice every time. If you struggle with the mundane art of making rice like we did, I recommend the Zojirushi. One less thing to worry about.

You too can buy it on amazon with this link:

Zojirushi NS-ZCC10 5-1/2-Cup (Uncooked) Neuro Fuzzy Rice Cooker and Warmer, Premium White, 1.0-Liter






We would love it if you would drop us a note in the comment section and let us know how your cook went. We are always looking for suggestions and improvements! We have opened up the comments so that anyone can post now, so please do. I'll try not to delete anything unless it is spam or stabs me in the heart.



Please help support our site, buy something you like on Amazon. Simply click through the links below and though you can pick anything, I suggest the thermometer and knives below:


So apparently Thermoworks doesn't sell through Amazon anymore. You must buy direct. Still the thermometer to have. Go here and order direct. 

Aaron Franklin's Favorite trimming knife:

Dexter-Russell (S131F-6PCP) - 6" Boning Knife - Sani-Safe Series

Aaron Franklin's Favorite Brisket cutting/serving knife:

Sani-Safe S140-12SC-PCP 12" Scalloped Roast Slicer

Bratwurst on the Big Green Egg - UPDATED

Well, well well. Oktoberfest is upon us and the weather is finally breaking here in the South. God is finally showing favor upon us.

See the red text for updates based on our second attempt.

Research:

We have made brats a few times and we almost always do it this way. Not ready to say this is the best but it is our starting point from which we can only improve.

Ingredients:

Bratwurst from a good source that you trust or Costco...
A beer to boil it in

Plan:

Boil for 20 minutes and then sear it on the Egg. Serve with Kraut and roasted sweet potatoes.

On the second attempt I used a quick read thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the brats in the boiling beer so that I could get them close to 145 internal (an attempt to figure out how long I needed boil them to get the internal temp to cooked.

Observations:

Placed 40 degree brats in boiling beer

2 minutes - 84 degrees
4 minutes - 126 degrees
5 minutes - 145 degrees

removed them

2 minutes each side on the BGE at 300

150 internal temperature. 

These were much better. Not tough. Excellent. Lesson learned - don't boil them so long.


Execution:

Pour a beer into a pot and heat the brats to a simmer. Put them both in cool because the brats may split open if you place them directly into the hot beer. Yeah I know, bud light...

Light the egg and get it up to 350 while the brats simmer.

Also make some of these. Salt, pepper, olive oil and toss.

350 degrees for 40 minutes

Meanwhile back to the brats

Remove the brats and heat the Egg to 500

1 minute each side

Yeah, that is homemade mustard.

Verdict:

Oktoberfest may be the best holiday in the whole world. Thank you Bavaria.

So the brats are great but maybe a little tough. I think we will cook them for less time next time so we can measure the internal temp of a sacrificial sausage. 135 internal temp will be the goal, I think these may have been overdone.

Boil fridge thawed brats for 5 minutes max. Give them a minute or two on the Egg for a nice sear. Eggcellent <- ha! see how I did that.

Munich

We would love it if you would drop us a note in the comment section and let us know how your cook went. We are always looking for suggestions and improvements! We have opened up the comments so that anyone can post now, so please do. I'll try not to delete anything unless it is spam or stabs me in the heart.



Please help support our site, buy something you like on Amazon. Simply click through the links below and though you can pick anything, I suggest the thermometer and knives below:


So apparently Thermoworks doesn't sell through Amazon anymore. You must buy direct. Still the thermometer to have. Go here and order direct. 

Aaron Franklin's Favorite trimming knife:

Dexter-Russell (S131F-6PCP) - 6" Boning Knife - Sani-Safe Series

Aaron Franklin's Favorite Brisket cutting/serving knife:

Sani-Safe S140-12SC-PCP 12" Scalloped Roast Slicer