A Legend of Barbecue



Another photo from the Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Show—this one
taken in the booth of the Big Green Egg company. It was a great
honor and thrill for Steven to meet a living legend of barbecue—Big
Green Egg founder Ed Fisher. In a field not exactly known for its
modest egos, Ed is one of the most gentile, thoughtful, courteous,
and soft-spoken guys you’ll ever meet. How he got into the Egg
business is as fascinating as how he turned it into America’s
favorite cult grill. Ed got his start importing another object
of Japanese ingenuity: the pachinko (a sort of pinball machine).
Business boomed around Christmas and New Years, but was dead in the
summer. Ed had heard about ceramic kamado cookers from GIs
returning from Japan. So he started importing them to the U.S.—
his first clients were ex-soldiers. Today, the Egg comes in a
variety of shapes and sizes (the largest one is pictured here), and
it’s one of the hottest cult grills on the market. Thousands of
people flock to Egg Fests around the country to show off their kamado
grilling skills. As Ed wryly observes, it’s an overnight success
that was 30 years in the making. Do you cook on a Big Green
Egg. Tell us your favorite dishes and techniques on the Barbecue
Board.