Recipe For Meatball Subs On A Primo Grill

This recipe was done on a Primo grill, but it has also been created many times on my Big Green Egg (BGE).  This recipe was modified from a recipe from Throwdown with Bobby Flay, where he competed against the owner of Maroni Cuisine.

This recipe calls for meatballs on Ciabatta bread, but the meatballs and sauce goes just as well over spaghetti.

Meatballs Ingredients:

• 1 pounds ground beef
• 8 tbs dried bread crumbs
• 4 large eggs
• 4 ounces milk
• 12 tbs Romano cheese
• 6 tbs Spanish onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves fresh garlic
• 4 tbs Italian parsley leaves
• 4 tbs basil leaves

Review Of Primo Oval XL Grill

This is a review of the Primo Oval XL grill and smoker.  I have been pondering this purchase for some time and I thank all of you for your comments and suggestions.  I purchased the Primo to replace my Medium Big Green Egg (BGE).  I was not replacing my BGE because I was not satisfied with it.  To the contrary, the BGE was the best grill and smoker I have ever used, and I will continue to keep my BGE recipes listed here.  I replaced it only because I needed a bigger grill.  That being said, here are my experiences with my new Primo.

• Receiving The Primo
  • To begin with, the weight of the Primo was over 350 lbs when shipped.  This shipment included:
    • Primo Oval Smoker Ceramic Charcoal Grill – Extra Large
    • Primo Oval Cradle – Extra Large With Casters
    • Primo Cast Iron Divider for XL Oval Firebox
    • Primo Pizza Stone – For Round & XL Oval
  • This is one of the down sides to the Primo, that is, there are fewer Primo dealers than BGE dealers.  Thus, it may be necessary to order the Primo and have it shipped.  I could not find a Primo dealer in the D.C. area.

Should I Replace Big Green Egg With Primo Grill?

For some time now I have owned a Big Green Egg. The problem is that I have a medium BGE, and I need more room for grilling.  I am considering replacing my BGE with a Primo Oval XL.  If anyone out there has any experience, either positive or negative, with the Primo I would be grateful to hear from you.

I hate to lose my BGE, but I just need more room.

Cooking North Carolina Pulled Pork Or Pork Butt On A Big Green Egg

Smoking a pork butt will take 12-18 hours, so plan ahead so you are not eating at midnight.  Also, because of the the time it takes to cook, I find it better to cook at least 2 butts.  Leftovers keep well, so make some extra.

Much of this recipe was as a result of trial and error and from this great post by Elder Ward.

Ingredients:

• 1 – 3 pork butts, Boston butts, pork shoulder, or picnic shoulder roast
  • The butt used for this recipe was 10 lbs.
• Dizzy Dust All-Purpose Rub
• Apple juice
• Cider vinegar
• Wilber’s Barbecue Sauce

After gathering your ingredients, follow these steps.

Grilling Corn On The Cob On A Big Green Egg

Ingredients:

• 4-8 ears of corn
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Dizzy Dust All-Purpose Rub

Directions:

How To Grill Tri Tip On A Big Green Egg

A tri-tip is a cut of beef from just below the bottom sirloin, usually about a 3 lbs cut.  The tri-tip used in this recipe was 4 lbs.  This cut first became popular in Santa Maria, CA.  

If you want to use a pre-marinated tri-tip, or this cut is not available in your local area, you can not go wrong with Harris Ranch Santa Maria Tri Tip.

If you buy a tri-tip that is not seasoned, I have used a rub that is 1/2 Dizzy Dust All-Purpose Rub and 1/2 Big Green Egg Gourmet Seasoning.

Instructions:

1. Cover tri-tip with rub, place in a Ziploc bag and refrigerate overnight.

How To: Cook Beef Ribs On The Big Green Egg

I normally cook baby back ribs, but for a change I tried some beef ribs.

Ingredients

• 2 racks of beef ribs
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• Yellow mustard
• Dizzy Pig Cow Lick
• Dizzy Pig All-Purpose Rub
• Stubb’s Smokey Mesquite Bar-B-Q Sauce
• Apple cider vinegar

Note: I prepared each rack with a difference recipe.  Rack 1 – EVOO and beef rub,  Rack 2 – yellow mustard and pork rub.

Here are the steps for cooking, or smoking, beef ribs:

How To Cook Twice Baked Potatoes On A Big Green Egg

Ingredients:

• 4 large baking potatoes
• 8 slices of bacon crumbled, or 3 oz bag of bacon bits
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 8 green onions, sliced
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic

Cooking Prime Rib On A Big Green Egg

This is how I cooked a prime rib roast on my Big Green Egg (BGE) on Christmas day 2008. I started with a prime rib roast, about 4.5 pounds.  The night before, put the roast in a glass dish, covered with a paper towel, and place it in the refrigerator.   I seasoned with the following:

• 2 Tablespoons rosemary
• 2 Tablespoons cracked black pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup of Kosher salt

First brush the roast with olive oil, then apply seasoning on all sides.

How To: Cook Baby Back Ribs On A Big Green Egg

I have cooked, or smoked, these a number of times – probably around 50 – and every time they turn out excellent.  I have had a number of people who do not even like ribs, when asked, say they love these.  Ribs are also a very affordable meal.  You should be able to get a full rack of baby backs, also called pork ribs, for around $8.  You can also use pork spare ribs, they turn out just as well and have more meat.

Ingredients:

• 1 – 3 racks of baby back ribs
• Dizzy Dust, All Purpose Barbecue Seasoning – available from The Dizzy Pig Barbecue Company
• Apple cider vinegar
• Apple juice – or cider
• Honey
• Yellow mustard
• BBQ sauce

After you have all your ingredients, start the following steps:

1. Remove the membrane from the inside of the rib.  This makes a bid difference and makes the meat much more tender.  Slide a butter knife under the membrane, then carefully pull on the membrane to remove it.  It helps to use a paper towel to grip the membrane and peel it off.
2. Cover both sides of the ribs with yellow mustard.  Don’t worry, the ribs do not taste like mustard, this all cooks off.
3. Cover the ribs with Dizzy Dust.  Now cover in cellophane and refrigerate for about 2 hours, or overnight.  I have not noticed a difference when the ribs are left to sit for 2 or 12 hours, this is mostly a preference for ease of cooking, if you want to prep the night before.  
4. Setup your BGE for indirect cooking, that is make is so the flame does not have direct contact with the ribs.  Note: when I first started using my BGE I made the mistake of using too much charcoal.  In this picture the charcoal is just filling the bottom of the fire box.  If you need to add more charcoal during cooking it is easy to do.  Also, using less charcoal makes it easier to control the temperature, especially when cooking at low temperatures.
5. I place a roasting pan under the rib rack, this keeps the fire from flaming.  You can put some of the juice and vinegar mix in the bottom of the roasting pan to add moisture.  I usually do this after the first hour.  
6. Get your smoker to about 250 and place a few chunks of hickory, soaked overnight, on the fire to produce smoke.  Place your ribs in your BGE or smoker.  Get the temperature stabilized around 220.
7. After the first hour, begin to give a light spray to  the ribs with a mixture of 1/2 apple juice, 1/2 apple cider vinegar and a good pinch of your rub and a pinch of sugar.  Give a light spray every 30 minuets.  Note: The photo below is after the ribs have cooked for 2 hours.  The mustard bottle on the right is what I use to spray the juice and vinegar mixture.  I found that if I used a spray bottle it would clog because of the rub, using the old mustard bottle fixed the problem.
8. Every hour rearrange the ribs to ensure all portions of the ribs cook equally.  After hour 3, coat lightly with honey every hour.  This allows you to coat each side.
9. After about 3.5 hours the ribs will begin to get close to being done.  Now every 30 minuets, in addition to the spray with the juice and vinegar, drizzle some honey on the ribs.  The honey gives the ribs a good glaze and make them look better, also they add to the sweat taste.
10. At about 4.5 hours it will be time to take the ribs off the fire.  You can check the ribs with a meat thermometer (temperature should be about 205), or just pick the rack up.  If the rack folds easily, then they are done.
11. Pull the ribs off and wrap in aluminum foil and allow to sit for 30 minuets.  If you do not plan to eat the ribs immediately you can wrap them in foil and reheat them latter, when applying sauce.  I have even frozen the ribs after smoking and reheated them on the grill later.
12. If you are eating the ribs immediately, cover the ribs with a sweat BBQ sauce, on the meat side, but not on the bone side.  I use Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey.
13. Place the ribs back on the BGE, bone down, for about 20 minuets.
14. Remove, cut either at each bone, or every other bone, and enjoy.

This recipe is the result of much trial and error, but it was also helped by a number of other recipes, here are some of them:

• Dizzy Pig
• BGE Recipe Book
• grilladelic
• Food & Fire

Here is the recipe for a great side dish: coleslaw, from Elder Ward “I Fought the Slaw and The Slaw Won.”

Ingredients

• 3 Lbs. cabbage
• 3 ribs of celery
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 3 carrots
• 2 cups of sugar,  Turbinado is preferred
  • Shred and mix with the sugar.
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup EVOO
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 1 tsp kosher salt
  • Bring to boil and pour over cabbage mix, then chill for 12 hours.

I do not like coleslaw, because it has mayonnaise.  This version is great, because of the EVOO.  Even if you don’t like coleslaw you will like this.

I hope you enjoy these recipes.  If you have any suggestions or comments, please contribute.  It is always possible to learn more about barbecuing.

yojoe (in BGE mode) out