How to Cook Prime Rib on the Big Green Egg Using Reverse Sear

First of all, I'd like to explain something that is very confusing regarding the term "prime rib".  The word "prime" is NOT referring to the category of meat determined by the USDA.  Prime Rib is just a common term for the cut of meat from the cow (ie. brisket, flank, etc).  The USDA grades meats in three main categories, select, choice or prime.

So you can have three different kinds of Prime Rib:

Select Prime Rib
Choice Prime Rib
Prime Prime Rib

Most grocery stores don't even carry actual Prime-Prime Rib and most of it ends up at restaurants.  It is usually Select or Choice and should say so on the label so just make sure your getting what you think your getting.  Prime rib is also called "Standing Rib Roast".

Here's how I cooked it:

1. The day before, season the roast.  Slather in olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Loosely cover in the fridge over night, preferably not air tight.
2. Let sit out on the counter for an hour or two to begin to warm up slowly.
3. Setup for an indirect cook, place setter legs up, drip pan, grate on.  
4. Put the meat on a v-rack in a roasting pan and put on the grate.
5. Cook at around 250 degrees to an internal temperature of 115.
6. Depending on your timing situation, you can pull and wrap and put meat in a cooler, or just let it rest on the counter (at least 30 min)
7. While resting, fire the egg up to 500-550 degrees and roast for another 10-15 minutes to create a great outer crust. I live to kind of roll it around on the grate to sear all sides.
8. Carve immediately.  The ends will be more done so the folks that like theirs more done should get those pieces.  The center should be full blown medium rare.

Tips for First Time Big Green Egg Users

I've had several members of my family and friends getting a BGE lately.  This made me want to put together a checklist of starter information so I can point them to this post instead of me having to teach them how to use it.  I'm just joking...kind of.

Firstly, from purely a Big Green Egg 101 standpoint, here's how you get started (here are some videos from Big Green Egg).  Insert the firebox and make sure the bottom charcoal grate is in place to keep the coals off the bottom and allow oxygen flow.  Then the fire ring and finally the grate.  Close the dome and install your felt lining around the chimney and put on either the black, cast iron adjustable chimney cap or your green ceramic cap if you will not be using it immediately.

From a first time operations standpoint, remove the top chimney cap, open the dome and open the bottom vent all the way.  Also, remove the food grate.  This is the setup you will always use to light your Egg because it is getting the fullest supply of oxygen with this configuration.  Pile in some charcoal into the firebox and light your coals with the method of your choice.  As the coals start to light and spread, you can replace the grate and close the dome.  If you do it too soon, you'll limit the oxygen getting to your fire and it may go out or fail to light.  This just takes a few times of trial and error to master, you just want to make sure some of the coals are on fire before closing.  With the dome closed, the top damper removed and the bottom vent open, your Egg's temp should start to rise.  It might take a few minutes to move the temperature significantly, but stay near by because if left wide open, it can jump up to 700 degrees rather quickly.  Depending on what temperature you are cooking at, you can now begin to close your vents and damper to a point that will maintain your desired temp.  So if you're going to cook a pork shoulder at 225 degrees, you'll have the bottom vent only open about a quarter of an inch and the top vent just cracked open.  If you're cooking a steak at 600 degrees, you'll have both open much more. Again, this will just take a few attempts to understand how these control the temperature of your Egg.

Here are few things to keep in mind:

1. This is really the only item from a safety standpoint.  When opening the egg, especially at higher temps, you need to always "burp" the Egg.  This is simply opening the Egg slightly (about 1-2 inches).  This allows oxygen to slowly creep in and lets the fire react.  Otherwise, if you quickly rip open the dome, a large influx of oxygen hits a very hot fire and you will have a flare up similar to a back draft.  Most people have to experience this a time or two and burn the hair off their hands before heeding this warning.
2. The first time you use your Egg, they say to season it by doing a short cook at relatively low temps.  I think they just don't want you to jump into cooking at 700 degrees or doing a 24 hour cook right off the bat.  I also think this fully cures the felt lining gasket so that it completely adheres to the Egg lining (which is really the only part of the egg that needs to be periodically replaced).  I just cooked burgers on my inaugural cook at 300 degrees to break in my Egg.
3. Never use lighter fluid.  And I'd go as far to say never use briquettes although I hear you can.  I always use lump hardwood charcoal.  Kind of the whole point of using a BGE is a natural, instinctual way of cooking food.  Don't mess that up by using chemicals like lighter fluids, etc.
4. Never use water in any way.  Not to clean your egg, not to put out coals, never.  Closing the dampers for a few seconds will bring down any out of control flames you have going.  I don't even soak my wood chunks (by the way, never use pellets or chips, stick with the big chunks).  Closing the damper and vents after your done cooking will allow you to reuse much of the charcoal in the fire box.
5. Forget everything you know about using a gas grill or regular charcoal grill.  For instance, to increase or decrease your temperature, don't make big changes to the damper or vent.  I've heard it described this is more like operating a boat than driving a car.  A slight turn will eventually make a boat go a completely different direction.  Same with the Egg, slight adjustments can raise the temperature 25-50 degrees.
6. It's ideal to wait until the smoke goes clear or blue before cooking (see link for example pics).  At first, you'll see a heavy white or gray smoke.  This can make your food taste bitter.
7. If you are going to slow cook at a low temp, make sure you don't let the egg get too hot before attempting to arrive at your target temp.  If you let it get up to 600 degrees, it will be challenging to bring the temp back down to the desired range in the time-frame you probably wanted to put the meat on.
8. It's easy to get information overload when trying to learn how to use the Egg.  You will have to do a lot of experiments to determine what works best for you, your tastes and your favorite types of meats to cook.  The good news is, these experiments are fun and it is really, really hard to screw up food on the Big Green Egg.  Enjoy the learning process and don't stress about it.

Here are some references:

http://www.smoking-meat.com/big-green-egg-instructions

Buffalo Chicken Wings on Big Green Egg (with elevated grid)

I've found that these are one of the easiest things to do on the Egg.  I take the wings directly from the package and put on the hot Egg.  No sauce, no seasonings, no nothing.

Note:  I've done all types of pre-seasonings before.  Tony's, dry ranch powder, etc.  They're all fine, but the wing sauce is always so over powering, I never really taste anything else.

Using the Adjustable Rig on the highest setting, cook at about 350-400 on direct heat for about 15 minutes, flip wings and cook another 15 minutes.  Flip back to the original position and brush on your favorite sauce and cook for 5 minutes.  Flip again and brush on sauce on the other side, cook for 5 more minutes.  Remove from Egg and toss in a large bowl with more of the sauce.  Serve and enjoy.

The grid is several inches above the felt line when using this setup and the distance from the coals allows you to cook direct without charring.

Another alternative is a method I used to use before I had my Adjustable Rig.  I would setup the Egg with the place setter, legs up, for an indirect cook.  I would cook in this indirect setup for the first two 15 minutes parts listed above.  At that point I would remove the entire grate (with the food on it) and set it aside momentarily.  I would remove the hot place setter and set in a safe place.  I would then return the grate and food back to the Egg in a now a direct heat setup for last two 5 minutes sections of the cook listed above.

Turkey on the Big Green Egg

I've been wanting to attempt to do a turkey on the egg for a while now.  Here was my method.

Brine for 12-24 hours:
Cleaned out my cooler and filled with brine.  You could use a giant bowl or a brine bag in a similar capacity.  My brine was about 1 cup of salt per gallon and half a cup of sugar.  I've heard of folks using all kinds of other herbs like thyme and rosemary and I've even heard of people using cranberry or orange juice as a brine.

Removed turkey from packaging, removed neck and giblets, and washed the bird.  Inserted bird into brine and  I added some ice to make sure it stayed chilled, but just a little ice in the Yeti goes a long way.  Let is sit over night.

Let the Turkey "Rest" Out of the Brine
Many people say this is a key step where you simply take the bird out of the brine and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours.  They say it lets the skin tighten back up.  I let it sit in the fridge for about 4 hours.

Prepare Big Green Egg and Stablize 350 F
Set up the Egg for indirect heat.  Used the place setter, legs up, grate on (and will cook turkey in a disposable foil pan).  Added apple and pecan wood blocks using the minion lighting method.

Inject, Add Rub and Sit at Room Temperature for an Hour:
I used a Tony Chachere butter injection and Tony Chachere Rub, but you can literally use anything you want.  Since this wasn't Thanksgiving, I was just wanting to try something a little different so a Cajun turkey sounded good.

I ordered what they a call a Turkey Cannon.  It's basically the same thing as the Beer Can Chicken stand, except it sits sideways.  It has two main purposes that I see.  1) It allows the bird to elevated throughout the cook, and 2) it steams the meat from inside the cavity.  I filled the cannon with beer and apple cider vinegar and a little of the rub.  It was a little tricky getting the bird on the cannon by myself without spilling the liquid inside, but I think there's a little learning curve involved here.

Once the bird is on the cannon, I put it in the foil pan and onto the Egg it goes...

Cook at 350-375 F
I had just cleaned my egg and the fire was rocking so I actually had a little trouble keeping it under 400 degrees.  (Note: cleaning out your BGE periodically keeps it running at tip-top capacity).  This bird reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees in about 1 hour and 45 minutes.  This was much faster than expected and it wasn't any where close to dinner time so I lowered the temp to 225 F and let it smoke for a few hours at this temp.  Not the ideal cook plan I had mapped out but the turkey turned out great.

Notes:  Many people like to smoke their turkeys for long periods of time as if they were cooking a pork shoulder.  I'm of the mind that it doesn't buy you anything to cook a turkey that long.  Lean meats like turkey and chicken don't have the collagen in the meat that breaks down like pork or beef over long periods of time.

How to Light a Big Green Egg Fire the Cheapest Possible Way

I'm all for saving money and I love this method.   First, obtain a tall metal can.  This is one from a big thing of pineapple juice.  I drilled some holes in the side for oxygen and used a can opener to cut out the bottom.  Stack your coals the way you want and put your metal can on top in the middle of the pile.  Insert an electric fire starter and fill with charcoal.

After a few minutes when you have some flames going, remove the electric starter and use a pair of tongs to lift the can straight up allowing the charcoal to fall out of the bottom.  Set safely aside to cool.  The result is a small amount of coals lit right in the middle of the fire.  This works well for long cooks where you want to start the fire in a small area right at the top middle of the coals.This will allow for the coal to burn out and down for prolonged heat.

This is also, as I understand it, similar to what is called the "Minion Method".  A variation can also be done without the can sticking the heating element directly in the coals

Alternative methods include:

• Fire Starter Squares - This will light 144 fires for $18.  You can find equivalent type fire starters at any store that sells BBQ stuff.
• Looflighter - This is probably the most expensive way to light your grill, but it's pretty awesome.  Some will say this product is just an expensive heat gun.
• In a pinch, a crumpled up paper towel and vegetable oil can be used to get a fire going.

How to Cook Beef Brisket on the Big Green Egg

"Brisket is a journey. You will know when you are there...." 


When I ask people how long a brisket takes, I've heard some folks say, "It takes as long as it takes".  I think that's the hard part about brisket, every other type of cook you can say x hours per pound is how long it will generally take.  Just with my brief experience with brisket, I can tell you to have some plans in place if the cook happens faster/slower than you anticipate.

Growing up just outside of Memphis, pork is king of barbecue, I'm not sure I ever even tasted a beef brisket until I was grown.  But damn, I can't believe what I've been missing.

I think the key things for smoking a brisket are:

1. I try to cook brisket in the 230-250 range if I'm not in a hurry.  Maintain a steady temp throughout the cook, don't be fiddling with the vents and dampers.  Get the right tools to set it and forget it.  There's a lot of differing opinions on the temperature to cook at, but the consensus is steady, whatever temp you choose.  Brisket has a decent plateau where it seems to freeze in the 160s, don't freak out and just let it roll through it.  That is the collagen converting to gelatin and moisturizing your beef.
2. Letting it rest for at least an hour, and ideally more than that.  I can't stress this enough.  I know you do this for almost every type of meat, but its really important on brisket.  I've let it sit in my Yeti for almost 5 hours and it was still piping hot.
3. Slice against the grain when cutting to serve to get full flavor distribution.  So do something to mark which way the grain is going because it can be hard to tell after it is cooked.  Sometimes I cut just a little sliver off the edge so I'll know that's the way I need to slice when it's time.  It's also important to note that if you're doing a whole brisket (point and flat) the grain of each will be perpendicular to each other.  That means if you don't separate them, you will eventually start cutting one of them with the grain, which is not ideal.
4. Brisket is big, long piece of meat.  The grate on the large Big Green Egg is only like 18 inches with a little room to overlap before you're rubbing up against the inside of the egg.  If you're cooking a whole brisket, make sure it'll fit.  I wouldn't get one that was much over 20 inches long.

My first try was a flat from Costco, apparently they remove the point nowadays and don't sell whole ones any more.  For more info on what the hell a point and flat is, see the link at the very bottom of this post.

Mustard and dizzy rub night before, plus kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper (I do it without mustard and can't tell a difference at all). Saran wrapped back up and left in fridge overnight.  The morning of the cook I injected the coffee based marinade, "Bovine Nectar"  listed below.

Using my adjustable rig, spider/stone and the highest rack grilling, I smoked the brisket until internal temp hits the low 160s.  (Inverted plate setter on the grate would be an equivalent setup).  Wrap in foil and put back on the Egg until about the low 180s and remove foil  to let the bark harden back up and finishing cooking til about 190-205.

For brisket you don't necessarily go by the internal temps.  Use the internal temp as a ballpark guide to start doing probe tests.  A probe test is simply poking the meat with the probe of your meat thermometer or thermapen and then pulling it out.  If it goes in like it's going into butter and pulls out just as easy, the meat is ready.  This takes some getting used to, but once you pull that probe out of a done brisket, you'll know.  They say that no cow is the same and some briskets are sliceable at 185 and others at 195.  That's why you do the probe test instead of relying on internal temps.  I've stuck my probe in and dragged the brisket across the grate trying to pull it out (clearly indicating that it's not ready).  That's an extreme example, but hopefully helps get the point across.

Bludawgs Method:
http://www.texasbbqforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=14058

This is more of a method than an actual recipe.

Trim a packer Brisket and rub heavily with K- salt, Black pepper(table grind),and Mexican Oregano. Wrap in plastic wrap and store over night in the icebox.

Prepare your charcoal basket and add 3-4 chunks of Mesquite. Bring the UDS up to temp set to run at 230 deg.

Inject the brisket with BluDawgs Bovine Nectar.(recipe below)

Place on the UDS fat cap down and smoke 2 hrs. Flip the brisket fat cap up for 2 hrs. Remove the Brisket from the UDS and Place it in a Foil Pan fat cap up insert your temp probe and return to the UDS. Cook to an internal temp of 195 deg ,do a poke test if it passes pull it. Otherwise check it every 5 deg temp increase till it passes.

Remove from the UDS foil over the pan allow to rest for 1 hr. on the counter. After the rest remove to cutting board, separate the point from the flat. I chunk up the the point and add Bull Dust. Drain the juices from the pan to a defating cup. Place the cubed point back in the pan and back onto the UDS for Burnt ends. Slice the Flat, add the pan juices back to the slices. That is the best BBq sauce in the world for a brisket. Enjoy!!

BluDawg's Bovine Nectar

This Injection adds moisture,and is a flavor enhancer it adds beefiness to the brisket .

Bovine Nectar

1 pkg McCormicks Aus Jus

3 cups Black Coffee

1 tbl Worcestershire

1/4 cup cannola oil

1 tbl BluDawgs Bull Dust *recipe to follow

Dissolve the aus jus with the coffee add the Worcestershire and the Bull dust. Heat over med heat 1 min remove from eat and allow to cool to room temp. Inject about every 1" and go directly to the smoker. Smoke it as you normally do.

Bull Dust

1/3 cup Paprika

2 tbl brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard powder

4 tsp onion powder

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Gebhardt's chile powder

Add all together. Mix well.

Great all around brisket info:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/brisketselect.html

Peanut Butter Heath Pie

I'm all about easy recipes and this is a great one.

12 ounces of crushed Heath bar (they come in 8 ounce bags, so 1.5 bags)
6-8 Reeses peanut butter cups (crushed as well)
8 ounce package of cream cheese (room temp)
12 ounce of cool whip (approx)
1 premade graham cracker crust

Combine the crushed Heath, crushed Reeses', the cream cheese and cool whip in a large bowl and mix all together.  Take mixture and pour into crust.  Top with crushed Heath as well and refrigerate for a few hours.

You can you use any combination of other products like Butterfinger, Oreo, Snickers, etc.  Also, one slight variation is to pour warm hot fudge in the crust before adding the mixture.  Enjoy!

Fixing Pilot Light on Furnace (Replacing Thermocouple)

So my heat went out towards the end of winter.  It was blowing cold air and with a little investigation I realized the pilot light is out.  I was like "SWEET!", all I need to do is relight it and we're good to go.  That worked for about a day and I was back up there relighting it (Note: Occasionally this can be the only problem, high winds or other random things can cause the pilot light to be blown out).

I had a guy come look at it and said the whole unit needed to be replaced.  Hard to argue with that since it's like 30 years old, but I wasn't ready to bite off that if I didn't absolutely have to.

With some research, one of the main causes of this is a bad thermocouple.  I don't know a whole lot about HVAC stuff, but I watched a youtube video on how to replace one.  It was probably the easiest DIY project ever.  I bought a 10 dollar replacement part at my local hardware store and BOOM!  Fixed.

Search around youtube and find one that looks similar to yours:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j29RILOGOU

Chevy Tahoe 2002 Steering Column Rod Knocking or Rattling or Clunking

This is just one of those things with this model/year of GM vehicle.  When you go over a bump or a turn it sounds like something inside the steering wheel is loose and knocking against itself.  I've heard a bunch of people complain about it.  I lived with this "knocking" for years until I discovered the fix and it so easy to fix.

I know I'm not using all of the correct terminology but I don't think you need to know all that to fix this issue.  Pop the hood and you'll notice you can see where the steering shaft comes through the firewall between the engine and the inside of the vehicle.  There is a single bolt and nut that attaches this shaft to another piece that actually turns the axle/tires.  Take this nut/bolt off which will free the steering shaft.

This is where it gets weird.  You will be able to use the "That's What She Said" line after every other sentence.  Now push the shaft back up into the steering column (towards the inside of your truck), it will easily slide in and out.  Do this in and out motion about 30 times.  This will feel like you are abusing your truck but what is happening is that you are redistributing the lubricant within the steering rod.  The original problem is with the design of the rod, it lets the lube all run to the bottom end and that creates your noise.  Here's some good info and a video on how to fix.


http://www.silveradosierra.com/transmission/how-to-fix-the-steering-clunk-t15336.html

Chevy EBCM Fix - ABS Light Constantly Staying On

If you have a Chevy Tahoe or Silverado that was made in the early to mid 2000's, then you may have a problem with your ABS light coming on at random times.  My security light would come on as well as my emergency brake light.

With some digging I discovered this is a common problem and it is caused by a cheap ass component used in the Anti Lock Brake system.  This is called the EBCM (electronic brake control module).  So the problem is that this little module is shorting out and sending random signals to your dash.  What you need to is to remove it, repair it, and reinstall it.  Here is a link to a Chevy forum that really goes into detail on how to remove your EBCM and the overall procedure so I'll just give the highlights of my experience.

http://chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?topic=121523.0

It's located underneath your driver's seat under the carriage of the vehicle (not like under your seat inside your truck, actually under the vehicle).  It's fairly easy to remove, but you have to get a really short handled screwdriver or one that bends to the side like a ratchet.  There are four screws and like three electrical connections.  Once you have it removed, wrap the place where it was with duct tape as well as each of the electrical connectors to keep dirt and moisture out if you are going to drive the vehicle with the EBCM being installed.  If you can leave the vehicle in your garage for a few days, don't worry about it.

You can repair it yourself if your good with circuit boards and what not, but I elected to just send it off and have it repaired for about 100 bucks.  There are tons of sites that do stuff like this.  I think I sent mine to Module Masters, but I also saw one called ABS Fixer.  They repaired and sent it back within days.

I reinstalled the module on my truck and fired it up.  It did NOT initially fix my problem and I was livid thinking I just wasted a hundred bucks and a lot of time.  I read somewhere that you may need to drive upwards of 20 MPH to make the module go through all of it's program routines or whatever.  Once I took it down the street, the light went off and hasn't been back on since.  BOOM!

Dr. BBQ’s Rub

1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated onion
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Big Green Egg Baby Back Ribs

Want those fall off the bone ribs?  Just follow this simple 5 hour recipe.  Don't skimp on the time, if you don't have time, do something else.  Five or ten minutes per section won't hurt, but I've done abbreviated versions (like 3 hours total) and there is a clear difference in the tenderness of the meat.  Also, some people don't like the 'fall off the bone' kind of ribs.  They like it where the slab stays together and it's firm, making it easier to manage on the grill, etc.  So, to each their own, if you're shooting for a little less tenderness, customize this recipe to a 4 hour cook.  Find what works best for you, but here's mine:

1. Remove membrane from back of ribs if your butcher has not already.
2. Slather on regular ol' yellow mustard.  It acts as an adhesive for the rub you are about to apply.  Trust me, you will not be able to taste it.
3. Add your favorite rub or you see my post on how to make your own.  Coat it liberally in every crevasse. 
4. Setup your BGE for indirect with place setter legs up.  Use a drip pan to catch the juices.  I'll even add beer, water or apple cider vinegar to the drip tray to help keep a moist environment inside the grill.  I'm not sure how much this actually helps but it sure as hell doesn't hurt.
5. Put the grate on top of the place setter and clean it thoroughly.
6. Stabilize the fire at around 225-250.
7. Add your favorite wood chunks.
8. Put ribs on grill and set bottom vent to about a quarter of an inch and the top valve barely open.  Cook the rest of the way at a temperature between 200-225.
9. Cook ribs for 2 hours.  This is where it's gonna get all the smoke flavor so keep the wood burning during this step.  After this, you can even get by with not adding any additional wood because during this phase the meat has absorbed all the smoke it's going to.
10. Remove from grill, wrap in foil, return to grill for 2 hours (I sometimes spray with apple cider vinegar here, but again, not sure it really helps, the internal juices are enough I think).  This is the part where the ribs sit in their own evaporating juices and the collagen in the pork is breaking down to make them juicy and tender.  Pork is literally a different animal and is totally different than beef.  Low, slow and long for pork is where its at.  You have to cook through doneness, to tenderness.
11. Remove from grill, remove foil wrapping and return to grill for one more hour unwrapped (just like the first two hours).
12. Alternative to step 11.  I've experimented on this last hour with slowly getting the grill hotter to about 300-325, removing the place setter, slathering with BBQ sauce and cooking direct for a few minutes to get a good crust and let the sauce caramelize.  It's becoming my new favorite way but, either way works great.

 Tips:

• Use something to keep the drip pan off the place setter, like a few bolts or even rolled up foil.  Creating some space will keep the liquid from boiling and evaporating quickly.
• Rearrange ribs at a different places in the grill as you are foiling and unfoiling to ensure one rack isn't in a hot spot and cooks more than the others.

Homemade Calzones on the Big Green Egg

If you want to shake up your pizza night, make a calzone!  It's literally all the same ingredients you would use in a pizza.

400-450 degrees, 12-15 minutes, indirect heat, place setter legs down.  Two setups I've used:

• PS, legs up, grate on, pizza stone on grate
• PS legs down, cook directly on PS

1. Roll out your dough to about the size of a pizza.  
2. I used the Big Green Egg calzone mold thingamajig, but I'm learning now i could probably easily do without it.
3. Spread dough over the calzone mold or just lay it flat on a cutting board.
4. Pile all ingredients, starting with the sauce, on one side (see pic below)
5. Fold one side of the dough over the other making a half circle.
6. Dab some water on your fingers and rub onto the dough where you plan the two ends of the dough to meet.  This will help seal the dough together.
7. Poke a few small holes or make a small slit in the top of the calzone to all eliminate air pockets.
8. Cook for about 12-15 minutes.
9. Tip #1:  Parchment paper is my new favorite tool.  Instead of dusting the stone with flour or anything, I start off cooking the calzones (or pizza) on a sheet of parchment paper.  About 3-4 minutes in, I pull the sheet out and discard.  The dough has cooked to a point where it's no longer sticky and will freely move around on the stone.
10. Tip #2:  When  using the calzone maker, you'll have small pieces of excess dough come off.  Use with olive oil and Parmesan cheese and make little bread stick bites for an appetizer.

Bourbon vs Whiskey

Because we're avid whiskey drinkers, it seems a conversation is frequently being had about the differences in bourbon vs whiskey vs scotch, etc.  Not that it really matters at all, but just to set the record straight, (and so I can remember), I'm going to do a post about this topic.  Let's not beat around the bush, the blog is mainly a repository for useless information anyway so this topic fits perfectly.

All bourbons are whiskies, but not all whiskies are bourbons.
All scotches are whiskies, but not all whiskies are scotches.

Got it?

We owe the Irish for their Gaelic term “uisce beatha” which translates to “water of life”. The word uisce became whiskey.

At a high level, the word whiskey indicates the broad genre of this type of liquor, the entire spectrum so to speak.  It's kind of like saying "red wine", but there are various types of red wines like cabs, malbec, merlots, etc.  Bourbon, scotch and rye are the various types of whiskey.  At it's core, whiskey is simply a distilled beverage made from fermented grain mash.  The contents of the mash and/or the location in which the liquor is made, can dictate which "sub-category" it can fall into.

*Just so you know, "Mash" is the grain mixture that is mixed with water and yeast.  Basically, the starting ingredients of what will ultimately become the booze.  The ratio used in that mixture will determine much of how that spirit will be classified when produced.


BOURBON

Bourbon whiskey is a type of barrel aged spirit made primarily from corn.  Corn being the key factor as you will soon find out.  The name comes from a French royal family that once ruled France and was pronounced BOOR-BAWN before we rednecked it all up.  In the 1800's, West Kentucky and parts of Virginia were settled by a large French influence.  Part of this area is now current day "Bourbon County", hence the name of the spirit from this area.

Firstly, let me dispel a common misnomer:  "To be called Bourbon, a spirit must be made in Kentucky".  This is FALSE.  The location is irrelevant, except it must be made in the good ol' US of A to be considered a bourbon, with the below qualifications.  Generally, I think that the old Kentucky distilleries want you to think that only the real "bourbon" comes from Kentucky, but about 20 other states sell the stuff.  Not to mention, only about 4 huge conglomerate companies own most of the bourbon coming out of the state of Kentucky....That's 'Merica.

The Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits state that bourbon made for U.S. consumption must be:

1. Produced in the United States
2. Made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn (the remaining can be any other grain)
3. Aged in new, charred-oak barrels
4. Distilled to no more than 160 proof, entered into the barrel for aging at no more than 125 proof and bottled at 80 proof or more

"New" is highlighted because a barrel cannot be reused, at least not to make bourbon.  Scotch does not have this requirement, therefore used bourbon barrels are sometimes sold to scotch makers.  A fun fact is that approx 20 lbs of bourbon gets absorbed by the barrel so it's that much heavier after the fact.

Contrary to popular belief, bourbon has no minimum specified duration for its aging period.  Products aged for as little as three months are sold as bourbon.  The exception is "straight" bourbon, which has a minimum aging requirement of two years. In addition, any bourbon aged less than 4 years must state the age of the spirit on the bottle.

Tennessee Whiskey

Jack Daniels sells the most liquor in the world, but Jim Beam claims to have the best selling bourbon in the world.  Why?  Because Jack Daniels doesn't consider itself bourbon.  Say what?

Obviously, Tennessee whiskey must be made in Tennessee.  The interesting part is that this name is more about branding and marketing than the technicalities of the liquor being produced.  Many of the whiskies made in Tennessee meet the requirements to be considered bourbon, but they are labeled as "Tennessee Whiskey" as a way to differentiate themselves from bourbon.  Tennessee whiskeys undergo a filtering stage called the "Lincoln County Process", in which the whiskey is filtered through a thick layer of maple charcoal before it is put into new charred oak barrels for aging.  The law states that it must be aged, but does not specify how long.

The long and short of it is, Tennessee whiskey is bourbon made in Tennessee that is filtered through maple charcoal and aged an unspecified amount of time.

Scotch

To be called Scotch, this spirit must be:

1. Made entirely in Scotland
2. Mash must be made from some percentage of malted barley (hence the single malt, etc)
3. Aged 3 years

I love bourbon but I hate scotch, so go figure...I must not like malted barley.

So a fun fact about the word malted, it can be any grain, not just barley.  It basically means the grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and then halted from the germination process by drying with hot air.  So the grain is given water and instinctively, it attempts to sprout roots and grow.  As soon as that happens, the growing process is stopped by removing the water and letting it dry out.  The roots and sprouts are removed and the sprouted kernel is all that is left.  It is a common belief that liquor made with malted grain is easier on the next day hangover.

American Rye Whiskey

Similarly to how Bourbon's requirement is 51% corn, Rye whiskey must be 51% rye.  The remaining can be corn or barley or whatever, just like in a bourbon.  So technically a few percentage points differences in the mash between corn and rye could dictate whether a spirit is a bourbon or rye.  Rye tends to add a bit of spice to the flavor...the more rye, the more spice.

Canadian Rye Whiskey

The odd thing about Canadian rye, there is no actual requirement that the mash require any rye at all.  Since historically, much of the content was rye, it sounds like it's just sort of assumed in Canada, but there is no legal requirement.  Most of them do contain rye and are blended to achieve a unique taste and aroma, but let's be honest Canadian whiskey blows.  Minimum 3 years aging is required.

Corn Whiskey

Made with a mash of 80% corn and no aging is required.  This is your run of the mill, on a tight budget, legal moonshine.  Right on man.