"BigGreenEgg" news and stories

Photo: terren in virginia, Flickr.

So much for putting a wiener on a stick and calling it dinner.

Campground cooking, once the province of anyone who could wrap a potato in tin foil, is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Vicki Loughner, who's coordinating the 2009 South Carolina Campground Cookoff, reports it's not uncommon for campers today to get cracking on a recipe for spinach sausage quiche.

"They are very serious about the cooking they do," Loughner, project manager for the Old 96 District Tourism Commission, says of the teams registered for this weekend's competition. "When you look at their food, you'd never know it was cooked over a campfire."

In pursuit of the $500 prize, some entrants this year have purchased their own Big Green Egg, the fetishized grill with the startling price tag. But Loughner says it's not just the promise of riches that's inspiring outdoorsy gourmands to up their dinner game. According to Loughner, more and more South Carolina campers are applying their "Top Chef" sensibilities to campground menu planning.

I just came across a wonderful collaborative discussion of grilling and  barbecuing that's featured on Slate this week. Cooking With Fire is a series of e-mails between food writer/chef Sara Dickerman, Chris Schlesinger and renowned grilling and 'cue guru Steven Raichlen, (pictured).

Dickerman starts off the e-mail chain with a question that no meathead worthy of their Weber should ever pose: Is gas better than charcoal? To be fair, she clearly declares herself a staunch advocate of wood and charcoal and seems to raise the question in the interest of open-mindedness.

Here's just a lump of Schlesinger's take on charcoal vs. gas: "Gas only burns two-thirds as hot as live coals ... the characteristic flavor of grilled food comes from ... high heat, the ensuing browning ... deeply concentrated flavor." Raichlen,  a man after my 'cue and smoke loving alter ego Joey Deckle's heart, avoids the charcoal vs. gas debate entirely. His favorite fuel? Good old wood.

Highlights of the discussion include the best ways to grill fish, the pros and cons of using a Big Green Egg,  what type of rubs go best with what types of meats and the mysteries of roasting pig on a caja china.

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