By Popular Demand: How to smoke eggs
I've gotten quite a few inquiries about smoking eggs of late, so I thought I'd take a quick moment and fill everyone in on how I do them. Frankly, it's stupidly easy.
One of my unwritten policies of barbecue is to try and make the most of my fire. For example, if I'm cooking a couple pork shoulders on my BWS (which takes 12-15 hours), I'll have a number of empty shelves. To me, empty shelves mean wasted smoke and heat, so whenever possible, I throw something else in the smoker. That's where the eggs are a great thing.
Here's my method:
Take one dozen eggs from the fridge. Put them onto one rack in smoker. Close door. Ignore for at least two hours. Yes, that's it. They go into the smoker uncooked and in their shell. Egg shells are permeable enough to allow the smoke to get into the meat of the egg.
The real key is to keep the temperature steady and avoid spikes. I smoke my meats at 225-235 degrees and that range seems to work really well for the eggs. If I let the temp spike (say to 250 degrees), it can result in an egg that bursts its shell, which is a bit of a pain because it rains shell fragments down on whatever is on the shelves below.
One thing that I've never gaged is exactly how long the eggs should stay on to make the perfect smoked egg. I tend to just leave them in the pit until they look pretty. Sometimes that technique can leave them a bit over-cooked (think hardboiled eggs that have been boiled too long). I figure two hours is about the minimum if you use my temperature range.
One method I have yet to try is to cook them until they're solid, crack the shells and them put them back in. Rumor has it that this'll give you even more smoke flavor.
Like I said, this is really easy. Just keep your temperature low and the eggs away from a direct fire. Good luck, and enjoy!
Chris
One of my unwritten policies of barbecue is to try and make the most of my fire. For example, if I'm cooking a couple pork shoulders on my BWS (which takes 12-15 hours), I'll have a number of empty shelves. To me, empty shelves mean wasted smoke and heat, so whenever possible, I throw something else in the smoker. That's where the eggs are a great thing.
Here's my method:
Take one dozen eggs from the fridge. Put them onto one rack in smoker. Close door. Ignore for at least two hours. Yes, that's it. They go into the smoker uncooked and in their shell. Egg shells are permeable enough to allow the smoke to get into the meat of the egg.
The real key is to keep the temperature steady and avoid spikes. I smoke my meats at 225-235 degrees and that range seems to work really well for the eggs. If I let the temp spike (say to 250 degrees), it can result in an egg that bursts its shell, which is a bit of a pain because it rains shell fragments down on whatever is on the shelves below.
One thing that I've never gaged is exactly how long the eggs should stay on to make the perfect smoked egg. I tend to just leave them in the pit until they look pretty. Sometimes that technique can leave them a bit over-cooked (think hardboiled eggs that have been boiled too long). I figure two hours is about the minimum if you use my temperature range.
One method I have yet to try is to cook them until they're solid, crack the shells and them put them back in. Rumor has it that this'll give you even more smoke flavor.
Like I said, this is really easy. Just keep your temperature low and the eggs away from a direct fire. Good luck, and enjoy!
Chris
| Permalink | 
