Ray Dr. BBQ Lampe - Ray lampes big green egg cookbook: Grill, Smoke, Bake & Roast

Other books by Ray Dr. BBQ Lampe

Dr. BBQs Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook

Dr. BBQs Barbecue All Year Long! Cookbook

Dr. BBQs Big-Time Barbecue Road Trip!

Pork Chop

Ribs, Chops, Steaks & Wings

Slow Fire: The Beginners Guide to Barbecue

The NFL Gameday Cookbook

Flavorize: Great Marinades, Injections, Brines, Rubs, and Glazes

Other books by Big Green Egg

The Big Green Egg Cookbook

The Big Green Egg Book

This book is dedicated to Ed Fisher, founder of the Big Green Egg and the original EGGhead. Without his vision and entrepreneurial spirit, we wouldnt be having all of this fun.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Writing a Big Green Egg cookbook has been a bucket-list item for me, and I couldnt be happier that we finally got it done. It really does take a team. A special thanks to Dr. van Gelder for fixing up my heart so Id be here to write it. Thanks to Ed Fisher for creating this amazing product and the company around it. Im proud to be a part of the family. Many thanks to Jodi Burson and Ardy Arani at Big Green Egg and to Jean Lucas and Kirsty Melville at Andrews McMeel for making it happen. Thanks to Scott Mendel for always figuring out a way for me to do the book that I want to do. Thanks to Angie Mosier for the great photography and to Julie Barnes for the equally great design. It would be just a Word document without you both. And finally, thanks to Sandi and my family for letting me work at home and for putting up with me while I do. I wouldnt want it any other way.

Ray Lampe has always been a part of my life at Big Green Egg.

From my first day on the job, he has been there. This enigma, this larger than life personality has been there with me along the way, teaching me about cooking on the EGG, introducing me to incredible charactersand all of the key playersin the grilling world. But most important, he has always been a supporter of my journey from novice EGGhead to his partner in marketing this incredible product that we both love so much.

While the Big Green Egg has many fansmany of them quite famous for their culinary skillsRay is uniquely qualified to write this cookbook because he has been intimately involved with the company and the evolution of the EGG for many years. He is always first up to test new prototypes and EGGcessories, and his input has been invaluable. So its no surprise to me that, as I read this book, I felt Rays passion for cooking on the Big Green Egg, and I knew that I was reading the ultimate guide to helping you create all of the incredible recipes that the EGG can produce. From grilling and roasting to smoking and baking, Ray explains all of these techniques in an easy-to-understand manner; and just as he did for me, hell have you cooking like an EGGspert in no time!

Ray and I have been on some incredible adventures together. Ive been his sidekick as hes cooked his way around the world, and now he is sharing all of those secrets in this cookbook. Ive watched with pride as Ray has evolved from that quirky guy in the flame-decorated pants to an esteemed member of the Barbecue Hall of Fame.

For thirteen years, Ray has been my companion, my mentor, and my confidante. I am honored that he calls me his friend, and Im even more honored to introduce you to his fantastic collection of recipes in this book. Enjoy!

Jodi Burson

Director of Brand Enhancement

Chapter 1

The EGG and I

The Egg and I , first published in 1945, is a humorous memoir by American author Betty MacDonald about her adventures and travels as a young wife on a chicken farm Thats the Wikipedia description of the original book by this title. Although Im sure its a good story, Im also sure it doesnt include much in the way of outdoor cooking, quality meat selection, spice blending, culinary travel, cooking awards, or tequila. My version of The EGG and I covers all of these very well. But we both seem to share the love of the EGG. My favorite is the Big Green version. But I must admit that it wasnt always that way. When the world of Internet forums was in its early days, there was a very busy one called The BBQ Forum and another similar one called The Big Green Egg Forum. The BBQ Forum was mostly made up of macho guys from the barbecue competition world, and I was one of them. The Big Green Egg Forum was all EGGheads, and they talked in a friendly, folksy way about how great the EGG was and about all the different things they cooked on it. I found this kind of funny because I didnt think this EGG could possibly be that good.

The Chicken Wing That Changed My Life

I had closed the Lampe family trucking business in 2000 after a great sixty-five-year run and was looking for something new to do with my life. I'd been involved in the barbecue competition world since the very early days, and I had a room full of trophies, so I decided that barbecue would be my next career. I moved from Chicago to Florida and tried what seemed like every possible business that involved the word barbecue , unfortunately all with mediocre success. But my life as a barbecue competitor continued strong. I was a force in the early days of the Florida BBQ Association, and my reputation as a barbecue badass was intact. I just needed to figure out how to turn that into a job.

While discussing the world of barbecue one day with my friend Nick Nicholas, we cooked up the idea of me being a barbecue spokesman for a grill company. Grill companies were really beginning to grow, and we convinced ourselves that they were going to need high-profile cooks on their teams. So Nick introduced me to a successful gas grill company from Canada that bought into our vision. They hired me to cook at a couple of barbecue trade shows, and it worked. All of a sudden a guy with a notable culinary reputation and a chefs jacket was cooking next to the typical golf shirtwearing grill salesman. This was a good idea, and people lined up to see what I was cooking. But the gas grill just wasnt for me. I wanted the food to be better, and I knew that it would be if I was cooking with charcoal.

At one of the trade shows, I happened to be set up next to the Big Green Egg guys. No chef over there, just guys in green golf shirts passing out chicken wings. They knew who I was based on my Internet activity making fun of them, but they were the ever-confident EGGheads, and they wanted me to try their food. Brian Tompkins from Big Green Egg Canada brought me a chicken wing, and I ate it. As we hung out next to one another that day, we all became friends and exchanged business cards.

A few months later, in spring of 2003, I was heading through Atlanta and thought that maybe I should give these folks a call. I rang up one of the guys Id met, we chatted, and then he offered to give me an EGG to try out. Of course I said yes, and a few days later, I swung by, picked it up, and soon started using it to cook my competition chicken. And I did well! I reported back, and the Big Green Egg folks agreed to mention me to their distributors to see if they had any interest in using me for promotional events. The gas grill company had faded away, and this was my new opportunity.