Labor Day weekend is the perfect time to fire up your Big Green Egg grill. Here’s what we’re planning on cooking for our Big Green Egg Labor Day Menu. How does burgers, baked beans, homemade barbecue sauce and peach cobbler sound? Bon appetit!
Big Green Egg Burgers with Avocado BLT Salsa
Big Green Egg Equipment: Cast Iron Grid
Burger Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef chuck
- 1 lb. ground beef round
- 2 Tbsp. granulated garlic
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 poppy seed buns
- 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
- 4 slices Havarti cheese
- 4 leaves butter lettuce (Boston or Bibb)
Avocado BLT Salsa Ingredients
- 1 cup diced vine-ripened tomatoes
- 2 cups chopped applewood-smoked bacon, cooked until crisp (12 to 14 slices)
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions
- 1 cup diced avocado
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Set the EGG for direct cooking with the Cast Iron Grid. Preheat the EGG to 600°F.
Combine the ground chuck and ground round in a large bowl. Form the meat into 4 (8-ounce) patties about 1 inch thick. Season with the granulated garlic, salt and pepper and set aside.
To make the salsa, mix the tomatoes, bacon, scallions, avocado, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate.
Cut the buns in half horizontally and brush the inside of each half with butter.
Place the hamburgers on the Grid, close the lid of the EGG, and cook for 3 minutes per side for medium-rare.
Top each burger with a slice of cheese, close the lid of the EGG, and cook for 30 seconds longer, until the cheese is melted. Transfer the burgers to a plate and let them rest while you grill the buns, buttered side down, until lightly toasted.
To assemble, place each burger inside a bun and top with a lettuce leaf. Place 2 tablespoons of the salsa on top of each burger and serve.
Serves 4.
—From Big Green Egg Cookbook/Andrews McMeel Publishing
Big Green Egg Barbecued Baked Beans
Equipment: Porcelain Coated Grid, Dutch Oven
Once you make homemade baked beans in the EGG, you will never again settle for just opening a can of beans off the shelf. Cannellini beans (Italian white beans) are blended with applewood-smoked bacon in a rich, smoky sauce that’s near perfection.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces applewood-smoked bacon (12 to 14 slices), diced
- 2 cups finely diced yellow onions
- 3 cups Basic Barbecue Sauce (see below)
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup yellow mustard
- 4 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, 1 cup bean liquid reserved
- 1 cup water
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Set the EGG for direct cooking at 400ºF.
Place the Dutch Oven on the grid and preheat for 10 minutes.
Add the bacon to the Dutch Oven. Close the lid of the EGG and cook until crisp. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to drain and set aside, reserving the fat in the Dutch Oven. Add the onions to the bacon fat. Close the lid of the EGG and cook for 8 minutes, or until caramelized.
Add the reserved bacon, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, maple syrup, mustard, reserved cannellini bean liquid, and water to the Dutch Oven, and mix well. Add the cannellini beans and stir. Cover the Dutch Oven. Close the lid of the EGG and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid of the Dutch Oven, close the lid of the EGG, and simmer, continuing to stir, for 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper when the beans are nearly done. Let the beans rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 8
Big Green Egg Basic Barbecue Sauce
Barbecue sauces vary from region to region, with every area claiming to have the best. This version is rich and thick and has just the right proportion of sweet and sour. A chipotle pepper is thrown in for a bit of heat; add a few more if you dare!
Ingredients 
- 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1⁄2 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1⁄2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
Directions
Place the tomato sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar in a medium saucepan and mix well.
Whisk the salt, pepper, celery seed, cinnamon, paprika, cloves, garlic powder, onion powder, and chipotle together in a small bowl until completely blended. Add to the saucepan and mix well.
On the stovetop, simmer the sauce over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sauce has thickened. Remove the chipotle with a slotted spoon and serve.
You may refrigerate the sauce in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
Makes 8 cups.
—From Big Green Egg Cookbook/Andrews McMeel Publishing
Big Green Egg Peach Cobbler Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cup self-rising flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1-½ cups sugar
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 sticks butter, salted
- Four 15-ounce cans of peaches, drained
Directions
Set up the EGG for indirect cooking at 425°F/218°C.
Preheat Dutch oven in the EGG for 10 minutes. Melt 2 sticks of butter in the Dutch oven. Using a grill mitt, remove the Dutch oven from the EGG. Set aside on a heat-resistant surface.
In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar, and buttermilk thoroughly to create batter. Pour the batter on top of the melted butter. Spread the drained peaches throughout the batter.
Place the Dutch Oven on the cooking grid. Close the lid of the EGG and bake for 45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Serves 6-8.
—From the BigGreenEgg.com
