XXL Big Green Egg

I final got a first-hand gander at this beast at the Apple Harvest Eggfest. Wow! When I got there they had already taken the ribs off, but at one point they were cooking three racks of ribs, two pork butts, a turkey, an apple crisp, and still had plenty of room to spare.

For all you Eggheads out there, here are all the nerdy details:
29 inch grill diameter
672 square inch cooking area
424 pounds
You can fit 35-40 burgers, 14-16 chickens, 18-20 steaks, or 20 stacked racks of ribs on it – about three times the capacity of my large Egg.

XXL Big Green Egg-924

While this monster is way too large for this humble home grillmeister (although I wouldn’t say no if someone wanted to give me one), I can sure see a grill/smoker this size appealing to some of the big competition barbecue teams, as well as caterers and restaurants.

XXL Big Green Egg-487BTW – the Apple Harvest Eggfest was a hoot. Perfect fall day filled with the smell of apples and barbecue. Can’t beat that. Will definitely do it again next year, maybe even as part of a cooking team.

 

 

Peach Pork Chops

I used the absolute last peaches of the season to make this sweet and tangy dish. I really like this grill and baste technique to keep the meat moist, particularly with leaner cuts of pork and chicken.

2 pounds thick-cut pork chops
1 pound of peaches, quartered and pitted (2 -3 peaches)
1/2 large red bell pepper, quartered
1 small onion, quartered
2 tablespoons fresh herbs (whatever is in the garden, I used thyme and rosemary)
1/4 – 1/2 cup water
2 cups barbecue sauce (Pomegranate Pig in this case)

Combine peaches, pepper, onion, and herbs in a food processor or blender. Add just enough water to float everybody’s boat and then give it all a whirl until well-combined, but not pureed. You want it a little chunky.

Pour peach mixture into a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until it has reduced by about half (about 10 – 15 minutes depending on how much water you used). It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat. Add the barbecue sauce and stir to combine.

Set your grill up for a direct cook at medium high (400°F) heat. On the Big Green Egg is used an extender to raise the cooking grate a bit to give me a more even heat.

Pour about half the peach barbecue sauce into a shallow, flame-proof pan (a disposable 9×13 foil pan works great). Set the pan on the grill and heat until it starts to bubble. Remove from heat and keep warm (I nestle mine right next to the grill).

Season the chops with a little salt and pepper on each side. Grill for about 5 to 10 minutes on each side to give them some nice grill marks and a bit of char.  Remove the chops to the pan and turn to coat each side. Put pan full of chops on the grill and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the chops hit 145°F internal.

Peach Pork Chops

Let rest 5 minutes then serve with remaining sauce on the side.

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