Fix for Heat Not Working When Engine is Idle - Infiniti M35 2007

My wife's Infiniti started blowing cold air when the car was stopped at a red light or whatever.  When the car was moving, the heat would blow just fine.  Apparently, I common cause for this symptom is air being trapped in the cooling system (which is also used by the heater).  When the engines RPMs are revving, that forces the coolant through the heating coil and allows the heat to work.  When the RPMs are down the engine is idle, the air sits in there and doesn't allow the coolant to work its way through the system.

The first thing I checked was the coolant level, which was really low, like 2 inches below the low mark.  I added some coolant, but that didn't immediately fix the problem.  Apparently, there is a "bleeder screw" or an "air relief valve" on the heater hose.  This allows all of the air to evacuate the system when enough coolant is present.  You want to just crack this screw open a few turns until you see coolant dripping out.  You do NOT want to take this screw all the way off.

After a few minutes of waiting for coolant to drip out I got impatient and unscrewed it a few more turns.  It eventually just came off and coolant came running out, it was not that easy getting it back on.  However, once I did, it worked and the heater was blowing warm parked in the driveway!

Butter Bars

Bottom:
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick of butter
Mix together, put into greased pan (9x13)

Top:
1 package of cream cheese (8oz)
2 eggs
1 box powdered sugar
Mix together.  Pour over dough

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes

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.