BIg Green Egg Grill

[Bone1099]

I am cosidering buying a Big Green Egg cooker and thought i would probe the experiences of the powers that be in the fire world.
Does anyone have pros, cons, tips, or experience with one of these please input
Thanks
T-Bone

 

[smokinj]

They are a cool smoker and easy to use even in the winter- time. The isulation on those things are nice and use very little fuel compare to most smokers.

 

[BrotherBart]

Send a PM to stoveguy2esw. He loves his Big Green Egg.

 

[Jags]

I love the design, but even the largest egg doesn't have enough real estate for me. A friend has one and loves it, but 4 "Jags cut" steaks on that thing and you couldn't squeeze in a cherry tomato.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

OMG i love my BGE i have the large (which is the second biggest actually) i use it constantly, you can low and slow all day for large cuts whole shoulders etc or sear steaks at really high temps, its turned my gas grill into a tool holder.

if you get one , make sure you get the nest (the stand) and be advised its a heavy rascal so you will want to decide where you want it to be and assemble it there if possible i can move mine(carry) but its a serious chore and im a big boy.

if you are into smoking "low and slow" get the platesetter as well , this seats below the grilltop and creates the "indirect" heat. only drawback(if you want to call it that) is that you MUST use lump charcoal , do not use briquettes. but then if you are serious you wouldnt use briquettes anyway most of the time i use the "cowboy" charcoal that lowes carries but the big green egg charcoal is really good as well.

the seasonings are pretty good also , the regular "bge" seasoning and especially the green pecan seasoning are my fav's.

also, invest about 4 bucks in a beer can chicken rack the thing makes the best beer can chicken, cooks a regular 4 to 5 lb chicken at 325-350 for about an hour and a half and the thing is simply nirvana. you could wring it out like a wet towel its so juicy.

anyway , i dunno about "cons" of having a big green egg as i havent really found one yet.

 

[Jags]

One thing for sure is that the BGE has a loyal following. That alone must say something for the product.

 

[JoeyD]

I almost never cook indoors since getting my egg. You name it bread, pizza, steak, I even cooked a killer pineapple upside down cake a couple of weeks ago. Low and slow ribs and pulled pork, high temp sears on steaks, and nothing ever seems to come off to dry or over done. Can you tell I love cooking on it

Go to the Eggtober fest in Atlanta this October. Make a weekend out of it. If that doesn't sell you nothing will. You can also order an egg used only the day at the fest for about a 20% discount. http://www.biggreenegg.com/eggtober.html

Check the BGE forum out and see for yourself, http://www.eggheadforum.com

 

[wendell]

I was thinking about picking up a new grill this fall when they go on sale. How much do the Eggs sell for?

 

[HeatsTwice]

It depends on where you buy it. My medium cost about $550. But the large usually goes for between $850 - $1000. Anyway, you will want to build yourself a good stand for the thing. I got the plans for this one from the the Big Green egg site. Its worked out really well for me. I just got done doing some steaks on it about 3 hours ago.


http://picasaweb.google.com/nutfool/BigGreenEggTable?authkey=Gv1sRgCMibn9rR6IW9Ug#

 

[okotoks guy]

I do not own one,however I've heard to NEVER,EVER use lighter fluid to get the charcoal flashed up.
Apparently the Egg will "absorb" the lighter fluid and taint anything you cook on it.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Could you use one for canning? We go through a lot of propane processing.

 

[JoeyD]

Could you use one for canning? We go through a lot of propane processing.

I doubt you could use one for canning but I do 2 baskets of red roast peppers on mine every year and they come out great.

 

[JoeyD]

I was thinking about picking up a new grill this fall when they go on sale. How much do the Eggs sell for?

Check out the banners for egg fests on the egghead forum for an egg fest near you. You get 20% off a demo egg used just the day of fest.

I'm getting a second large from the PA eggfest without the nest for $600. I plan to build another table for the new one.

 

[benjamin]

Could you use one for canning? We go through a lot of propane processing.

I've been thinking of something along the lines of a "rocket stove" or "Lorena stove" for canning with the canner sitting on top of or in the opening and the exhaust being carried away to the back. Something that would burn slabwood inside of a small firebrick combustion chamber with a small blower to control the heat, probably built in the yard like the brick barbeques of the 60's.

I'll let you know how it turns out if I ever get around to it...

Check out this wood fired canner/cooker/fish boil http://www.tradad.com/venkov/16gal_cooker_canner.htm they also have a "pressure" canner. Lehmans has a SS wood fired kettle but I think I'll fool aroun with a fan and some firebrick for a few hours (days, weeks, months) before I drop that kind of money on a chitzy steel firebox.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Could you use one for canning? We go through a lot of propane processing.

I doubt you could use one for canning but I do 2 baskets of red roast peppers on mine every year and they come out great.

There isn't a way to direct enough heat to boil water in a 13" pot even in an XL?

 

[SolarAndWood]

I've been thinking of something along the lines of a "rocket stove" or "Lorena stove" for canning with the canner

I think the only way I am going to convince the canner to use anything other than the stove is if she can step out on to the deck and use something that is just as easy. Processing is a lot of work as it is.

 

[JoeyD]

Could you use one for canning? We go through a lot of propane processing.

I doubt you could use one for canning but I do 2 baskets of red roast peppers on mine every year and they come out great.

There isn't a way to direct enough heat to boil water in a 13" pot even in an XL?

The egg is meant to be used with the lid closed. So that alone would make it impractical, sure you can do it but I wouldn't. Not to mention the smokiness. How much do you can in a year? We do up to ten baskets of tomatoes for sauce and I'm not sure we use 1/2 tank of propane on a three burner stove. Bottom line is I don't think you would save much if anything.

 

[Kenster]

We had a large Egg for several years. I used it frequently for slow cooking, smoking, etc. Even used it for a back up oven when we had a bunch of folks over for Thanksgiving. It does better for slow cooking than for grilling, though. Also, it CAN be overheated which will result in cracks and even breakage. I used fireplace cement many times to glue a broken piece back together. Once you get cracks, it is structurally compromised and will continue to break. Mine was put out its misery when a tree service dropped a huge limb right on top of it. It cost the guy $400 to pay for the Egg, which was about $100 more than the tree job. I ended up replacing it with another type of grill but have often thought about going "Green" again.

 

[JoeyD]

I've never heard of a BGE cracking because of over heating. And I've had blue flames shooting out the top of mine more then once :smirk:. Fire boxes do crack but they are warrantied for life and replaced for free. All the ceramics are guaranteed for life. My firebox cracked last fall and I have been cooking with it ever since. It doesn't affect it one bit. I just called for a replacement last week. When it comes it will sit on a shelf until my current one becomes unusable and I cook on mine 3 or 4 times a week year round. As for not being good for grilling all I can saw is check the Egghead forum and see what other people are cooking and make that call yourself. It is different then cooking on gas but the grilled food that comes off it is 100% better then gas grilling. It does excel at low and slow though. I've had pulled pork cook 20 hours at 250 °F in a snow storm and only had to adjust the temperature a couple of times. I could never go back to gas.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I do not own one,however I've heard to NEVER,EVER use lighter fluid to get the charcoal flashed up.
Apparently the Egg will "absorb" the lighter fluid and taint anything you cook on it.

i was warned the same way , bear in mind though you are using "lump" charcoal not briquettes and it lights very easily. i use little chunks of "wax and sawdust" starter blocks, or supercedars. justa piece the size of a dice (a bit bigger than a sugar cube) lights my large egg every single time, no "kerosene " taste better charcoal gives better flavor as well , ive dropped crab apples in the coals for chicken and ham (really good) even burned chunks of wood (small ones like 1.5 inch sq. ) with burgers (mesquite) hickory (with pork) even soaked oak chips in bourbon for steaks (get it hot like 6-700 and add the chips then add the steaks and close th elid , wait a few minutes flip em , close it and shut the draft all the way, its really good) never broke anything grill surface doesnt stick at all (heat to about 300 and run a brush over it stuff just falls off) it aint a cheap grill and it comes with a few caviets, but its worth it trust me , it would have to be pretty spectacular the grill/smoker that would make me get somthing different. i'm not seeing anything on the market that i'd rather have than my BGE

 

[wendell]

You guys have me tempted but I think I'm too lazy to go back to a non gas grill. A lot of time I'll just o 1 steak quick and it seems like way too much work and time to have to fire up the coals for less than 10 minutes of cooking. :roll:

 

[smokinj]

You guys have me tempted but I think I'm too lazy to go back to a non gas grill. A lot of time I'll just o 1 steak quick and it seems like way too much work and time to have to fire up the coals for less than 10 minutes of cooking. :roll:

I use a stove pipe charcoal starter and the coals are ready in about 10min and if doing steak will only use 2-4 lbs of coal and a stick of apple.

 

[HeatsTwice]

I use a mapp gass torch with a flexible tube nozzel extension. My egg gets going full throttle in 6 minutes. Mapp gass is actuall an acetylene mix of sorts. Works great and lasts for ever. 4 nights a week and over a year now without swapping out the canister. Very fast

 

[smokinj]

I use a mapp gass torch with a flexible tube nozzel extension. My egg gets going full throttle in 6 minutes. Mapp gass is actuall an acetylene mix of sorts. Works great and lasts for ever. 4 nights a week and over a year now without swapping out the canister. Very fast

Sounds Like a winner...I would never use lighter fulid in my smoker and its metal.

 

[richg]

I have the XL Big Green Egg. Accessories include the plate setter, lump reducing ring and BBQ guru. You name it, the Egg can do it. The biggest variable is your charcoal. For a quick, hot fire I like Cowboy. For a 20-hour pork butt, it's Wicked Good Weekend Warrior. For a "swiss army knife" charcoal, you can't go wrong with Royal Oak which is sold at Wal Mart.

My XL is at times a litte too big for me. The medium is way too small, the Large might just do. The BBQ guru is just nuts, and now they have the Digi Q 2. Just get one and start cooking.