Sunshine State Eggfest 2016

Wow, it has been a busy month and I am so behind on posting.  Let's play catch up.

Last month, I attended the Sunshine State Eggfest in Cape Canveral/Cocoa Beach, Florida.  Here are the key players in an Eggfest.

• Organizer(s) - This is the person or entity that actually coordinates everything from marketing, logistics, charity partners, etc.  Lots of work, no pay, and little sleep.
• Dealer - the local Egg dealer or regional distributor that provides all of the Big Green Eggs (anywhere from 20 to 100) and typically is selling accessories on site.  The Eggs are new and used that day only, then sold off as "demo Eggs" at substantial discounts.  The vast majority of these are sold the day of the event if not already pre-sold.
• Cooks (cook teams) - Small groups of volunteers typically consisting of Big Green Egg fans, local restaurants, and civic groups.  These teams bring food at their own expense and cook various recipes for samples to serve to Tasters.
• Tasters - Guests who buy tickets to sample the food being served by the cook teams.
• Celebrity Appearances - Bigger events try to have guest appearances by "Egg celebrities". They might teach a class, judge entries, or do a book signing.  This includes people like Dr. BBQ, Linkie Marais, and Moe Cason as well as "internet celebrities" like Big Green Craig and myself.  

For this event, I was on a cook team headed up by my sister.  I wasn't sure she was going to make it because she was feeling under the weather big time but she rallied for the event.  Also on our team were both of her next door neighbors - Ed and Laurie and Cade and Amanda.  Rounding out the team were two of my great friends from back in the day - Carson and Scott.  

Here is the photo dump....

My BGE Mini-Max road shotgun on the way down to Florida.  As far as a riding partner goes, he wasn't a great conversationalist but at least he didn't try to change the radio channel.

Made a brief stop in Jax to pick up my surfboards.

Next stop - Eggfest! 

The dealer for this Eggfest is Wassi's Meat Market.  Here they are setting up their sales area.

This is a typical price at an Eggfest and a good price.

Wassi's brought not only their own stuff and staff, but also brought in representatives from suppliers such as Ceramic Grill Store, Kick Ash Basket, and Flame Boss.

Cook Team Captains Meeting is where the organizer covers the schedule and any event specific issues.

One of our "fake friends" (this is what we call our Facebook friends in a group that I'm in - fantastic group of people) made our team this amazing wood sign - there is no stain, that is all different colors of wood.

Eggfest site the day before.  Looks rather calm now but at 8am it will be crazy.

Big Green Craig and I ready to go surfing with our new friend.

I like getting into Eggfests early so we can socialize with folks like Chad from Kick Ash Basket.  And yes, by "socialize" I mean drink by the pool.  

Like mushrooms the morning after a rain, canopies popped up out of nowhere and the event was on.

We were set up in a GREAT section next to some of our friends.

Ruh-roh....threatening clouds acted showed up but fortunately, they stayed away.

Our menu for the Eggfest.  We made the beer bread with cream cheese in the morning but we did the potatoes and pickles all day long....and I do mean ALL.DAY. LONG.

We coated red bliss potatoes in oil and seasoned with salt then roasted them at 400°f for about 45 minutes in the XL BGE.  Then we scooped out the pulp and mixed it with cheese and rub.  This pic is from a batch we did at home when we were testing.

Then we stuffed some green chile smoked pork into the potato, a dab of sweet BBQ sauce, and piped the potato mixture back on top of that.  We roast that on the Egg until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes at 350°f.  We topped with with chipotle sour cream (1 cup sour cream, 1 seeded chipotle diced, and a pinch each of salt, pepper, and Albukirky's green chile rub) and more sweet BBQ sauce.  These were pretty awesome.  

The Jordan's Drunk Pickle is based on a dish Rhonda had at Frozen Fest up in Wisconsin during February.  It is essentially a Cubano (Cuban sandwich) stuffed inside a pickle.

The idea seemed a little out there to me and I wasn't sure how it would be received but we couldn't make these things fast enough for the crowd.  We had food going out all day long and as soon as we would plate these, they would be gone.

Our little corner of the Eggfest.  We had an XL and two larges to use.  I outfitted the two larges with Adjustable Rigs to double our capacity.

Chad from Kick Ash Basket stopped by before the crowds rushed in.

Marcia Simmons and crew were our neighbors to the right.  Marcia is a fabulous Egger and does training classes and catering.  She knows her stuff.

Scott and Carson working on making the pickles.  

Amanda and Cade coring pickles.  We went through 9 or 10 gallons of pickles for this.

Scott, Carson, and Laurie hammering away in our "kitchen".  Everyone on our team kicked butt for this contest.  No one slacked off.

Our neighbors to our left were also well known Eggers - Kristi (Necessary Indulgences) and Pat (FlaPoolman).  They made some mouth watering Scotch eggs and some buffalo chicken wontons that were crazy good.

The crowds started off modestly for the first 45 minutes or so but that wouldn't last.

Laurie piping the cheesy mashed potato mixture into the shells.

Carson doing a little quality control.

Rhonda and Cade slicing the sage and cheddar beer bread.  

After the first hours, the lines pretty much never stopped.

Laurie dressing the potatoes for serving.

Our back area was where we did all of the prep work...in the shade!

Rhonda checking on the bread.

Yours truly putting more potatoes on one of the large BGE.  The adjustable rigs helped us double our capacity and keep putting food out about every 10-15 minutes by staggering when we put food on the grill.

Our crowded little corner.

I think there was something like 50 teams but I don't have an official count.  But there were lots of teams putting out good food for the crowds.

The weather actually stayed nice all day after several lines of storms the previous night.

Janet and Michael from Flame Boss were on the scene, giving out great food and demonstrating how their Flame Boss maintains a superior fire with a steady air flow.

Our friend, Big Green Craig, gave a class on wok grilling (what I call "stir firing") to a good crowd.

No matter where you looked, someone was cooking on a Big Green Egg.

The different teams produced a splendid variety of recipes.  That's one thing that I like better about Eggfests - everyone isn't cooking the same chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket.  

More lines....did I mention the lines?

The Queen of Green team put out some great Cuban sandwiches.

Cade, Rhonda, and Carson getting more Jordan's Drunk Pickles reading for the waiting crowds.  People kept coming up asking if we were the "pickle people".

Clayton and Marcia served a wide range of recipes, I lost count of how many they did.  

Rhonda and Carson plating more potatoes for our fans.

Cade serving up more taters.  

Marcia starting another dessert.  That spiced rum she is pouring may or may not have been also used for shots for the cooks in our corner.  

More lines.  Always more lines.

The afternoon was pretty crowded.

At the end of the day we had a few celebratory shots.  Bro's forever! ;)

Whew!  We were so glad when it was time to shut down the Eggs and stop serving.  At best count, we gave out approximately 1,000 samples. We planned for 300, doubled that and then had to run to the store for more.

I think my favorite part was the "after party" that started with just 4 of us and a pair of Mini-Maxes. Before you knew it, we had a big group of everyone digging in the coolers and cooking anything they had left over.  

What a great weekend spent with friends and family!  Even if you've never seen a Big Green Egg, if you have an Eggfest in your area, you should check it out for some great food and fun.

Coming up next I'll post about our weekend at Memphis in May and our KCBS BBQ contest in Sevierville.

Product Review: Saber Grills Infrared R50CC0312

While 80% of all grills purchased are under $300 according to the HPBA, it seems like the premium grill market has been taking off.  That or a lot more of our friends are buying high end grills from dealers rather than intermediate level grills from the big box stores.

For the past two years I have included the premium line of Saber Grills in our grilling demos at The Great Backyard Place in Knoxville.  They are the local Saber Grills dealer and wanted us to showcase this elite grill alongside the kamado grill at our demonstrations. 

Isn't this a gorgeous grill?

This year, Saber Grills has sent me my very own 3 burner R50CC0312 for a full review.  I have used it heavily for the past 4-6 weeks and the short version is that this is hands down the best gas grill I have ever used.    

Design, Features, and Claims

This grill is a looker.  The clean, modern design uses the more durable 304 stainless steel compared to the 430 that lower level grills use.  The controls are intuitive and just where you would expect them.  This may seem like a small thing but the control knobs turn smoothly like ice sliding on ice.  You can just feel the quality in the details like that. 

Here are the features that this Saber Grills model boasts:

• 100% Infrared cooking system cooks with infrared heat instead of using hot dry air (convection) like most grills do
• 304 commercial grade stainless steel
• Highly efficient using 30% less propane than traditional units (Pet peeve of mine - BTU's is not a power rating, it's a consumption rating like miles per gallon.  A higher BTU rating just means a grill burns more propane and has nothing to do with how hot or how "powerful" a grill is.)
• 500 square inches of cooking space with another 175 square inches on the two position elevated rack
• Side burner with porcelain coated cast iron grate
• Heavy duty 3” locking caster wheels
• Heavy duty 1” tube frame provides a stable and secure grill

Opened up and ready to rock and roll.

A quick tour of the Saber's excellent set up.  Far left has the IR emitter and grate off to show one of the burner compartments.  Middle is the infrared emitter which is the work horse - preventing flare ups and creating even, infrared heat.  On the right is the full grate and emitter in place.

Closer look a one of the 3 burner compartments.  Notice that it is completely sealed off from the others.  This gives exceptional heat control for cooking at different temperature zones.  The short silver stem at the middle bottom of the picture is the temperature gauge probe.

Just to show how well the compartmentalized burners do at zone temperature control, here are readings from the left burner on high and the right burner off - a 600 degree difference!  Don't try this at home but during our demo, I showed guests how I can have the left and middle burners on medium high and still put my hand briefly on the far right burner.  Again...don't do this at home.  

A view of the sleek control panel.  These control knobs operate as smooth as silk and glide effortlessly as you change temps.  The electronic ignition has worked every time.

Slide out debris tray for anything that falls through, although the emitters pretty much catch and vaporize just about everything before it ever gets here.

As you can see, the temperature gauge is below the cooking grate.  I have heard that causes accuracy problems; however, each time I tested it with either the ThermaQ or a laser non-contact thermometer, they were pretty accurate.  I think the problem is that with the grill being so powerful, it is easy to keep the gauges pegged at 700f if you aren't careful.

As simple as it is, the integrated tool rack is a nice touch that you don't see on a lot of grills.

The grill grates are a thing of beauty.  I hated to season them the first time because they will turn bronze the first time you use them.  But they are meant to be used, not looked at.

Performance and Testing

I’ve already “tipped my hand” and told you what I think about this grill in general but here are the specifics after several weeks of cooking on the Saber Grill.

• Ease of assembly rating is 0 out of a possible 5 swear words (lower is better).  This was the easiest grill I have ever assembled because it comes mostly pre-assembled in the box and the pieces that do require assembly use the same bolt sizes.  Of course our local dealer assembles them for you.
• Excellent control of cooking zones.  Each burner is contained in it's own separate compartment which provides measurably better control of using different cooking temperatures.  
• I love the two piece grate system.  The infrared emitters convert all of the heat to infrared instead of convective heat and the stainless steel bars yield superb grill marks.  
• Sturdy foundation - the grill's tubular frame provides a rigid "no flex" grill that is a solid cooking platform that feels stable.
• Speed - The Saber Grill is up to full temp in just about 10 minutes.
• Powerful infrared heat - despite being highly efficient, this grill cranks out some serious heat (over 700°f) capable of all your grilling needs.
• Reverse sear machine - The Saber Grill is perfect for using one of the most popular grilling techniques - the reverse sear.

Here are some of our test cooks.  I hated tests in school but love them when it comes to grilling!

The rugged grill grates remind me of the commercial grills that I have used in professional kitchens - plenty of heat but also temperature control.  Grilling a porterhouse steak just before a late afternoon storm rolled in.  No photoshop effects here - those light beams and the wind swept smoke were all courtesy of the approaching storm.  I take a lot of pictures of food but I LOVE this shot.

Here I'm grilling some butterflied chicken breasts seasoned with just taco seasoning, cumin, and salt.  We slice these up for burritos and such during the week.  Infrared grills provide the best grilled chicken because it is juicier.

We grilled some pork tenderloins that were trimmed and tied.  I seasoned them with Meat Church Honey Hog, grilled for about 26 minutes over medium high heat until they were an internal temperature of 140-145°f.  

I sprinkle more of the BBQ rub on the cutting board and drizzle it with BBQ sauce.  That's all the sauce you need, this board dressing is an Adam Perry Lang technique.  

Once you slice the pork tenderloins, their juices mix with the rub and sauce and coats everything so it turns out delicious and seasoned all over.

We got these USDA Prime cap steaks which are made from the outer rim of the ribeye steak.  The muscle is called spinalis dorsi and I think that is Latin for "best part of the steak".  Two of the strips are rolled up together to form these cap filet.  I seasoned them with my NMT Beef Rub and an ancho-coffee rub that I got from Zi Olive here in Knoxville.  The two rubs work well to create delicious layers of flavor.

Because these were over 2 inches thick, I went with a reverse sear.  This slow roasts the steaks until they reach an internal temperature for perfect medium rare (127°f) and then finishes with a high temp sear.  

I have the center grate and IR emitter out in this picture just so you can get the idea.  The left burner will be on high - providing the indirect heat needed to slow roast the steaks at 250°f on the right side.  If you see the wire above the steaks, that is an air temp probe I clipped onto the upper rack to test the accuracy of the thermometers.

I use my ThermaQ as a reference grade thermometer to test out grills.  Here you can see the thermometer on the grill is about 250°f which is close to what the ThermaQ registers slightly above it.  The small difference can be explained by the difference in location.

Once the steaks have roasted and then rested until the carryover cooking stops, they go back on the grill for a high temp sear.  Because the Saber Grill used just this one burner on high to maintain the indirect temp, it is already set up to sear without further delay.  

We served the cap steaks with garlic mashed potatoes, au jus, and a balsamic reduction.

Juicy and perfect medium rare on the inside.

We grilled out on the Saber Grill at our friend's house one Sunday.  We were cutting up and having fun - the way grilling is supposed to be.

We trimmed and tied a beef tenderloin and then seasoned it with the same NMT Beef Rub and the Ancho Coffee Rub.

The set up we used shown before we closed the lid.  Again, only the left burner was on.  Next to the beef tenderloin was some jalapeno poppers that Darrin made for an appetizer.

The beef tenderloin resting after the roast.  With reverse sear, it is important to let it rest until the internal temperature stops rising and then actually starts to fall.  This insures you are only searing the outside and not raising the internal temp since the insides are already perfectly cooked.  You are just adding color and flavor to the outside during the sear.

Darrin had some colorful veggies to cook while the roast rested.  At this point we had all three burners on high.

Adding the final layer of flavor on the grill, the infrared power of the Saber does an excellent job with searing.

I didn't get a better plated shot because....well, we were hungry!  But you can see how the outside is nicely crusted but the inside tender and juicy.  I wouldn't try that on a gas grill that isn't powered with infrared heat.

Final Thoughts

I'm a long term, charcoal loving, wood smoking, kamado grill using guy.  But I'm completely enthusiastic about the Saber Grills infrared gas grill (R50CC0312).  The powerful heat, the zone temperature control, its quality construction, and its beautiful styling bowled me over.  I am impressed with how this grill cooks.

If you are in the market for a high end gas grill, you have got to consider this Saber Grill.

TL;DR

Product:   Saber Grills 3-Burner Infrared Grill R50CC0312

Price Point:  depends on dealer but in the $1,000 neighborhood

Where Sold:  Dealers nationwide

Design:  5/5

Performance:  5/5

Value:  5/5

Overall:  5/5

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I received this grill for free from Saber Grills for testing and review; however, no compensation was offered or given to influence our opinion. If you think getting a free grill has influenced my opinion, go check one out yourself at a local dealer.  I think you will be equally impressed.