The Spirit Blog

The Who: MARFORCOM is one of three major Marine Corps commands (along with U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve) that provide operating forces to support Unified or Joint Task Force Commanders and Fleet Commanders Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command (COMMARFORCOM) serves as a principal advisor to the Commander in Chief, USJFCOM, on Marine Corps matters. He is responsible for organizing, training and equipping forces for employment as directed by USJFCOM.

The Where: This event took place on the Norfolk Naval Station in Norfolk, VA.  No big ships here, but there sure was a bunch of planes.  Throughout the day we saw F-18s, F14s,  and E2Cs taking off and landing.  They weren’t part of the group we fed, but fun to watch anyway.  The latter was of special interest to yours truly. I had a hand in developing the some of the technologies used in the aircraft. The E2c is the navy version of the AWACS.

The Details: We arrived the Battalion Office at 1630 (4:30pm)  and was escorted onto the Navy Base.  The Marines had secured a small park for the event. Good thing for shade. It was 108° F upon our arrival..  I could have smoked cheese in the eggs without the need for a heat source.  With the help of two marines we got the truck and trailer unloaded and went in search of food and some badly needed hardware.  Lucky us Home Dept was right behind all the food..

About 2000 (8pm) one of the marines and I fired up the eggs and by 2030 we started loading up the meat.  Eighteen pork butts and 5 briskets in five eggs.  The young marine helping me (Pvt. Daigle) was rather fascinated about the process and the eggs.

Somewhere around 2200 the three of us got the urge for pizza   I got to taste Dominoes’ new pizza for the first time.  While it was better, it just wasn’t up to the standards of EGGed pizza.  Sorry Dominoes, but that is just the way it is..  With our bellies stuffed and the EGG making all that pork and brisket happy we retired for the night.

I find it hysterical watching someone try to talk to you when you are wearing a BOSE Headset.  I could hear them, but it was like they were whispering.  The two marines with me had to go for PT and were trying to tell me that.   Meat was still cooking so I tuned into some gospel music on my Droid and started reading.

About 0800 the folks from the MWR started showing up.  So I finished my reading and set about staking out my “kitchen” area.  Establish the boundaries early and they don’t get crossed.  Keeps people from getting hurt as we bring food back and forth.

Had short pleasant visit from the commands deputy commander Maj. General Cornell Wilson.  Spent some time explaining to him what is is we do and why.

He did disappear on me before we could feed him. I sure hope he wasn’t disappointed.  He did at least get a taste of the food.

Grace was said by a Navy Chaplin and the feast was on.  Everyone got feed and we had seven pork butts and some potato salad left over.  Two butts went back to the folks on duty, and the rest went to the USO.  Didn’t hear any complaints. Lots of folks saying thanks.

Next stop US Navy , Raleigh. NC  Hope to see you there..

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While I would like to tell the world I am the workhorse behind American Spirit BBQ, when it comes to the food it is the Big Green Eggs we use.

What is a Big Green Egg (BGE)?  Well it is a Ceramic cooker modeled after the ancient Japanese Kamado Cookers.  It is made from a space-age high temp ceramic developed in Mexico. If there is one thing Mexicans are  known for it’s ceramics.  Almost everywhere you go in Mexico their ability to make amazing things with clay and ceramics is evident.  With the material used in the BGE, Mexico has once again proven they are the leader.  This material can withstand extreme cold and extreme heat.  In many cases at the same time.  There are Eggheads (what we BGE owners are called) that live in Canada and the Frozen states of the US who cook in their EGGS all year long.  Twenty Below Zero on the outside and 300 degrees on the inside.

If you look inside one,  you will find there are several parts.  The biggest part is the firebox. It is ceramic and bowl shaped.  The firebox holds the charcoal used in the egg.  The bottom of the bowl is a cast iron grate with several holes that allow air to be drawn up into firebox.

Sitting on top of the firebox is the fire ring.  It puts some space between the burning charcoal and the food grid.  The food grid is porcelain coated, cast iron or stainless steel.

With the exception of the fire grate and food grid all internal parts are ceramic.  The ceramic mass is what gives the BGE it’s exceptional heat retention.  As long as there is a heat source the BGE will maintain a constant temperature regardless of what is going on outside.  In a large BGE ta heat source is a mere 4-5 pounds of lump charcoal.  Set at 250 degs. F that amount of fuel can keep the egg cooking for up to 30 hours.

The design of the BGE retains not only heat, but the moisture given off by the food being cooked, keeping the food moist.  If a dry products comes out of the BGE it is either undercooked or severely overcooked.  The BGE’s ability to maintain moisture essentially eliminates the need for a water pan.  You may see a pan in a BGE, but 90% of the time it’s there to catch the grease dripping off the food.  Something I like to call “Bio-Fuel”. The other 10% of the time it’s usually there because people just don’t have faith..  We pity them 

The BGE is capable of cooking direct or in-direct.  Direct cooking is usually done hot and fast and doesn’t have a barrier between the food and the fire.  In-direct is usually done during a low and slow cook and has a barrier between the fire and the food.  A device called a platesetter can be bought that is made from ceramic and sits on top of the fire ring.  It has a flat surface and three legs.  When placed with the legs up it holds the drip pan and the food grid.  The flat surface shields the food from the direct heat.    When the legs are placed down the flat surface is used to hold a round flat ceramic device we call a pizza stone.  The pizza stone lives up to it name.  PIZZA     It will also bake breads and some yummy desserts. Just think of the egg as your own personal wood fired oven.

Now the important part you may have missed, because I really didn’t come out and say it, the egg will cook for up to 30 hours on a single load of charcoal.  At the most a 8 pound pork butt will take 16 hours to cook at 250 degrees.  You do not need to reload the egg 99% of the time. Which is a good thing when you have your egg loaded down with 6 pork butts or two 14 pound briskets.

I just want to cook steaks you say.  OK, you can do that too.  After you are done cooking simply shutdown the bottom vent and replace the Dual Function Metal Top (DFMT AKA Daisy Wheel) with the BGE ceramic hat and the lump charcoal will go out waiting to be used again.

After 12-15 hour troop cook I take my eggs apart so the will cool off faster and even then I have to wait 30 minutes to be able to touch things with my bear hands.  I have a 5 gallon metal garbage can I use to dump hot coals into.  Most times I will fill that bucket emptying out the six Large BGEs that I use to cook on.  That is a lot of leftover charcoal.

In conclusion we use the BGE because it maintains heat with very little charcoal. They maintain moisture producing a superior product and they hold up to the grueling conditions we put them through. Plus they are backed by a lifetime warranty and a great company.  If you think I am saying that because they sponsor us, you would be sorely mistaken.  Their customer service is above and beyond. I would have said that before we started this mission and I will say it long after our mission is over.  You can ask any Egghead what they think of BGE’s service. I used to tell people “It will be the last cooker you ever buy”, but with 10 of them I obviously lied    What ever you can cook in your oven or on your stove you can cook in a BGE.

I’ll leave the comments for questions you may have or testimonies..

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