What can we do when it is so hot? Our lawn that I had over-seeded last year is slowly turning brown. I attempt to water, but I am not sure it is doing any good. On Friday when doing things in the afternoon, the temperature outside was 102 and I told Carrie heat index was reported as feeling as though it were 109. Yes, one of those days when I walked outside and immediately start sweating. Letting Oliver outside and he immediately starts panting. It is hard to get away from the heat when it is that hot and humid.
We have managed to have some beautiful days the past few weeks even though it is so hot. A few days last week it was in the 80s during the day and dropped down to upper 70s in the evenings. Oliver, Carrie, and I spent a lot of time outside last weekend as it was so nice outside. Hard to not be outside when it is that nice! Enjoy those days when they happen because a day or two later and it is back up in the upper 90s.
I have to admit that when it is hot it really brings back memories for me of being a kid in the summer. I was outside all the time as a kid and I remember the heat. Although I would also be visiting the pool or lake to help cool down which is not something we are doing these days.
Carrie and I have enjoyed visiting Tad’s Shaved Ice in Topeka off of Huntoon. We went there twice last week and it was really good. Carrie also likes Pineapple Dream off of 29th Street. I prefer Tad’s over Pineapple Dream, but they are both good. I like all the options and variety I get with Tad’s. Both places are usually packed when we go in an evening as people are trying to find good places to cool off in the evening.
While we are finding cool treats to have during the week to cool us down, our yard is starting to go dormant. I enjoy mowing the yard and attempting to take care of our lawn, but the yard is barely growing at this point. Last week when I mowed, I could barely see where I had mowed and where I was going in the front yard as the grass was not as long. The back yard, where we did not over seed a year ago, continues to grown like crazy. A few spots that are just weeds, but the grass in the back is growing much faster than the grass in the front to the point where mowing last Sunday I had to slow down in spots so as not to clog up the mower. I will focus on the back yard this fall to get rid of the weeds and try to get more grass growing in the back. I will probably have to do a bit of that in the front too, but hopefully not as much as I did a year ago.
In case you were wondering, this next week will start off low 90s and then gradually climb to upper 90s and low 100s by the end of the week. Be sure to get out there and get your Tad’s Snow Cones or your Pineapple Dream to help keep yourself cool.
Fifth Grill Steak Cooked to Perfection with Brussels Sprouts
Following the first four grills of keeping the temperature under 350 degrees, we were finally able to open it up and grill steak. We are actually doing our fifth and sixth grills tonight with another pork tenderloin going on here shortly. After getting the grill temperature up to between 600 - 650 degrees, I realize now I should have done the pork tenderloin before the steaks. Taking a long time for the temp of the grill to come down so we can do the pork tenderloin.
At one point while getting the grill ready, the temperature went all the way around the dial which I am estimating was a 950 - 1000 degree temperature. I had gone inside to prepare mushrooms for the steak and came out and realized the temperature continued to climb after I went inside. Hoping that did not cause any damage as I brought it back down closing vents further and the temp dropped to around 650 - 700. Doing additional fine tuning with the top and bottom vents I was able to keep it between 600 - 650 degrees.
Getting Ready
Still taking me a little while, it seems, to get the grill started. I know some people on the EGGhead Forum suggested getting a weed burner to start the grill. I have not done so yet and using fire starters we got from the shop. They work, but it takes about 25 - 30 minutes to get the grill ready to cook.
After finishing the grilling of steak that took two minutes each side, it seemed odd it took longer to get the grill ready than it did to actually cook the food. Although we are doing another cook tonight with the pork, but seemed odd. I am sure I will get the hang of starting the grill and maybe it will get faster.
Using advise I got from the forum, I did leave the lid open until I made sure enough lump was lit. That did seem to make the process better and got the temperature up. I will continue to monitor and fine tune the process of lighting and see if I can increase the time it takes to get started.
Kept Temp at 600 - 650
I snapped a picture of the temperature gauge simply because it got so hot. I could not believe how hot it got. I had read descriptions of the heat that Big Green Eggs can get extremely high temperatures. As I mentioned earlier, the temp got so hot that it basically circled around and 950 or 1000. The needle on the gauge was pointing at the 200 mark when I closed vents and started taking the temp back down. Again, hopefully I did not cause any issues for the Egg or the gauge by getting it so hot. The plan was not to get that hot. I thought I had it pegged at the 650 - 700 mark, but it started going up and got very hot. As they warn, I did the burp when opening it which is good as a ring of flame came out each time I opened it. I had an oven mitt on which was good because it was very hot even when I got it down to the temp I wanted to cook at for the steaks. Impressive!
Pork Tenderloin Cooked at 300 - 350
I just took off the pork tenderloin. Took a while to get the temp down so the pork did not burn. Looks like it turned out great! Cooked for 14 minutes each side to start. The temperature was about 150, so left on for another minute or two each side. We will have this over our salad tomorrow night for dinner, so decided to take it off before it got to 160. Leave it juicy and then hopefully will not dry out when we heat it up tomorrow.
Impressive evening of cooking. Had a good day! Got up and went for a run. We went shopping and then came home to study a little bit. Finished my reading for the week, but struggling to get writing done for this weeks posts. Hoping to knock them both out tomorrow.
I hope everyone had a great Labor Day and long weekend. Have a great rest of the week!
After years of thinking about getting a Big Green Egg, I finally got one on August 19, 2017. I had been going back and forth thinking about a Traeger Grill or Big Green Egg. Finally, Big Green Egg won out. I like the idea that it is only me cooking and not relying on power to make the thing work.
So far, I have cooked twice on the Big Green Egg. We cooked the day after we purchased and then again on that Monday. The only pictures we gathered were from Instagram where Carrie took pictures of the completed food.
To start, we did a pork tenderloin. It is recommended that the first 4 - 6 grilling we keep the temperature 350 or below. This is to allow the Green Egg to seal and do it's thing. After those 4 - 6 grilling, then we can do higher temps.
We are both dying to do a steak on the grill, but recommended to do those after a few grills as need a temperature of 600 or more. So, we are hoping to be able to do steaks next weekend.
Pork Tenderloin
The pork tenderloin took about 30 minutes to grill. It took me a little bit to get the grill started, but once it lit it was easy to keep the temperature targeted right around 200 degrees. Open vent a little and it would shoot up or close it and it would go down. It will take me a little bit to get use to how it works.
I thought the pork tenderloin turned out really well. Especially for my first try and using the Green Egg.
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Chicken Breasts
Monday night, we grilled four chicken breasts with bone in. This night, it took me a long time to get the fire started. I had watched videos on YouTube about lighting and did exactly what they said not to do... I got the starters going and poured more charcoal and put out the starters. So, that extended the grill time a bit. Because the time was extended we did not eat until about 8:30 or 9 that evening. The only picture we got was of the chicken salad we made with the grilled chicken. Let me tell you, that was delicious though as the smokey flavor could be tasted in the chicken salad.
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The grilling of the chicken breasts was also fun because with about twenty minutes left in the grill, it started to downpour. I had an umbrella and continued to cook. The rain did not seem to have any effect on the grill as it kept the same temp and I continued to grill. It was worth the wait as the chicken was moist and delicious.
Chicken Breasts Part Two
Chicken Breasts Bone-in... Ready to Prep for Lunches
Catching us up today, August 27, I started off the afternoon doing four large chicken breasts bone-in. I did these at 300 degrees over indirect heat. They appear to have turned out perfectly. Internal temp got to about 160 before taking them off of the grill. These are actually for lunches this upcoming week.
We used a simple salt and pepper coating on these and put them on the grill. When we did these the first grill last week, we coated them in Olive Oil and then coated in salt and pepper. That was recommend as we were using direct heat. This afternoon, we were able to skip the Olive Oil and use only salt and pepper with it being indirect heat.
Carrie will take these and make chicken salad. I am not sure what else she has planned for these, but she said cook and I cooked.
The indirect heat was done using the convEGGtor. First time trying it. I also used a drip pan. Smelled really good as they were cooking and I could hear the grease being caught by the drip pan as these cooked. Odd to be grilling and hear the sizzling of grease. The only thing we were wanting was the skin to be a little more done, but not sure how I can get that done with the indirect heat being used. I will browse the forums to see what people suggest to get a crispy skin for future grills.
Leg Quarters
Leg Quarters Final Few Moments of Grilling
Finishing off the afternoon grilling were the leg quarters. Another hour and half grill. Set the Green Egg and forget about it. Turn every 45 minutes. These are dark meat, so we need to make sure the internal temperature is at least 200 degrees. The grill is set as before with indirect heat and a grilling temperature of 300 degrees. Early in the grilling the temperature did get to as high as 350, but the past forty minutes it has been right at 300.
This finishes up the third grill for me on the Big Green Egg. It was a fun afternoon of grilling and after lots of chicken is done, we are ready to eat.
Dinner is Served with Leg Quarters, Brussels Sprouts, and potato salad. It was good!
Final dinner picture from the leg quarters tonight and they were delicious!
Let's Feast
Fun day and I learned more about how to grill on the BigEgg. This finishes up our third grill using the Big Green Egg. Two or three more to go and I can open up the heat to see how hot I can get it to go. So far, not very hot even when preheating. I was warned to keep the temperature below 350 as I mentioned, however, even when preheating the hottest I have seen it go is 400 and not much over it.
Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and I look forward to grilling again soon!
