Big Green Egg

[daves]

I haven't contacted CBO yet (as I said, I'm not at the stage of being serious), but they appear to be more expensive than Forno Bravo. I did find a couple of their ovens at Sur La Table for $3500.

[Marlene]

I'm thinking of getting this one

[daves]

Marlene, that's a very interesting option. Do you have first or second hand experience with it?

[Beth Wilson]

In my life before Egullet I was blissfully unaware of the mighty BGE but now, thanks to Kerry Beal and this wonderful thread, I have found myself cruising the internet to educate myself on grilling, smoking and all the stuff that goes with it!

My tastebuds thank you all for this knowledge and now for the hard part - justifying the expense to BH.

[Kerry Beal]

In my life before Egullet I was blissfully unaware of the mighty BGE but now, thanks to Kerry Beal and this wonderful thread, I have found myself cruising the internet to educate myself on grilling, smoking and all the stuff that goes with it!

My tastebuds thank you all for this knowledge and now for the hard part - justifying the expense to BH.

Perhaps the mini BGE should overwinter with you!

[Marlene]

I don't, but it does look interesting!

[OliverB]

I love my BGE, it's really super easy to use, keeps constant heat at just about any level between 200 and 700 degree. To me there was more of a learning curve to keep temps in my weber where I want them, than with the BGE. I have the large one, the grill is about 18.5 inches diameter. I've smoked a ton of bacon, pork, brisket, what have you. I've roasted chicken to complete crispness and juiciness, I've not had any better anywhere else. And it was not my doing, it's the egg or this style of oven. The only think I rarely do on it is just grilling up some brats etc., those go on my trusty old Weber. Mostly because the good quality lump coals are pricy. No matter for low and slow cooking, since this thing just keeps on cooking on one load for hours and hours (really almost spooky at times).

It's a perfect smoker, but would be too expensive if that's all you want to do IMO

it's a fantastic pizza oven

It's a fantastic bread oven

It's a fantastic small wood fired oven if you don't have room or the cash to build one of those.

Awesome for high heat steak, something you otherwise only can get with infrared burners I think. I never got my weber up to 700 degree, that's for sure.

It burns very little coal unless you go to the full blast 700degree, but even then there's always some coal left over.

It keeps it temp for a long time even once you shut it off, while I have not done so, you could bake desert in it while eating dinner.

Now, to me it looks a bit 70es goofy and yes, you need accessories to really make use of it to it's fullest. So for the large you'll eventually spend about $1000 all together, or somewhere around that. You can even get controllers that regulate the heat automatically, though I've found that completely not necessary.

I still won't give away my weber and I want a fire pit with rotisserie next, I love cooking with wood fire.

I went with the BGE for lifetime warranty and supposedly no questions asked replacement. This thing will last for ever. The large is plenty big for a family of 4 and has fed many a big party too, the XL is a monster, make sure to look at it in person before you buy! The smaller ones would be too small for me.

Our local Ace sells them, as does a bbq store. Do NOT buy it online and have it shipped, at least when I bought mine this would have voided the lifetime warranty, check their website.

Oh my, I'm going away for 4 weeks today, what am I gonna do without my egg??

;-)

[HungryC]

Another picture for ya: wokking on my Egg. The thing gets screaming hot....truly the best stir-frying results I've ever achieved.

[rickster]

Our plan is to start by experimenting with a Weber Kettle, but even they're expensive. New they start at A$200 for the compact, and go up by $100 increments (the performer is A$800).

One piece of advice on the Weber Kettle. If you're thinking about using it for low slow barbecue. you probably have to get the largest size. I have a medium sized one and it's very difficult to keep the temperature steady and in the under 300F range you need since the area inside the kettle is so small.

[John Rosevear]

One piece of advice on the Weber Kettle. If you're thinking about using it for low slow barbecue. you probably have to get the largest size. I have a medium sized one and it's very difficult to keep the temperature steady and in the under 300F range you need since the area inside the kettle is so small.

I'm not sure what you mean by "medium-sized", but plenty of folks barbecue successfully on the 22.5" kettles. Putting a pan of water (or a few big rocks) on the lower grate helps hold the temp in the range you'll want it in.

[Snadra]

One piece of advice on the Weber Kettle. If you're thinking about using it for low slow barbecue. you probably have to get the largest size. I have a medium sized one and it's very difficult to keep the temperature steady and in the under 300F range you need since the area inside the kettle is so small.

I'm not sure what you mean by "medium-sized", but plenty of folks barbecue successfully on the 22.5" kettles. Putting a pan of water (or a few big rocks) on the lower grate helps hold the temp in the range you'll want it in.

Ah, they come in limited sizes here. There's a 'Smokey Joe', which I believe is more of a picnic grill, the 'Ranch Kettle' which is 93cm and costs A$2,300 and various arrangments of the standard kettle which are all 57cm. But hopefully it will be a stepping stone to a BGE or similar and I'll be able to do all the exciting things I'm seeing on this thread!

[HungryC]

The BGE is in this month's Saveur...see it online: http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Incredible-Egg

[Rodi]

Cookshack smoker here.

Got the littlest one, built like a rock, smokes with very little amount of wood. Exellent.

[qrn]

The BGE is in this month's Saveur...see it online: http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Incredible-Egg

Interesting....I have a Japanese Kamado that I got at the thrift store for $20 about 10 years ago...Gotta be 40 years old,,,Its about the same size as a small BGE...I still use it all the time and am still amazed at its usefullness and ease of operation ),

Bud

[DerekW]

Snadra, if Weber pricing is out of order where you are then maybe Google up some "Ugly Drum Smoker, UDS" builds...

[Charcuterer]

I am currently considering buying a Big Green Egg and was wondering if anyone can give me real world feedback on their products. I have looked online and it seems that there is a cult like following for that product. If you read the forums people are making amazing and hard to blielve claims about their grills. (cook a pork butt for 16 hours at 250F and the temperature never wavers and there is still 2/3 of your charcoal left unburned...)

I have an electric smoker (Bradley) and a weber one-touch now but the BGE looks so good I would love to give it a try. The price point is decidedly high but I believe in getting the best equiplent I can afford. My concern is; would it be worth the price of admission?

[HungryC]

I own two, a large and a mini. The cooker won't make your food magically better, and it's certainly no substitute for good grilling & smoking skills. Still, I don't regret a penny of the (substantial) price, mainly because of the versatility. I use it as a wok stove, to bake bread when I don't want to heat up the kitchen, to do sub-5 minute pizzas, for low & slow smoking, and all the usual grill tasks. I can attest that it does hold heat and a steady temp amazingly well. Check out the non-company sponsored fan forum at greeneggers.net.....friendly people who will answer your questions, provide cooking support, and happily share their considerable knowledge.

The few people I've known who were disappointed in the egg lacked fundamental outdoor cooking skills and also lacked patience. It's not an idiot-proof device: you do have to learn how to use it and understand basic principles of airflow, firestarting, and cooking. Again, the forum folks are more than happy to help people thru the brief initial learning curve.

[tikidoc]

I have a GrillDome and love it. They are very similar to the BGE, and the large BGE accessories all fit in the Grill Dome. It is a bit cheaper, very well made, and comes in several colors (I got copper, not a fan of green).

[gdenby]

I've got 2 Eggs. My housewarming gift to my daughter and son-in-law who both love BBQ is an Egg. I'd be delighted if they were a bit less expensive, because I would get another.

16 hours and the temperature never wavers... I've had a couple of sessions like that. 2/3 of the lump left, no, more like 1/4. My expectation is that I may have to adjust the vent setting during the first hour of a low and slow. Then a tweak at 4 hours. After that, more often than not, the temperature just sits in one spot for about 8 hours.

It does require some practice. As HungryC said, its not idiot proof. And, the stock felt gasket will most certainly burn away at some point. However, the versatiity really is wonderful. A few days ago, with my home airconditioning laboring under the summer heat, I made some flatbread on a 670F pizza stone in the Egg. I've made burgers in 3 feet of snow, and a wind chill of -27. I've had pork butts cooking during hour long summer downpours without the temperature changing more than 5 degrees.

I've had good warranty service. My older Egg's firebox cracked into 5 pieces. I contacted the dealer, sent in a photo, and had a replacemnet at my door in about 7 days. The firebox had a slightly different design, with a thin slit from top to bottom to allow less stressful expansion during high heat cooks.

I think you'll like it.

[bigbump]

Cons:

Heavy

Limited cooking space

Expensive (you can buy Weber smoker, grill, gasser (spirit), and all accessories for them for the price of one large BGE)

Dangerous to use until you figure out how to "burp" it

Pros:

Excellent heat capacity and retention

Ignores elements

Extremely efficient on fuel

Very deep aftermarket and following

Sturdy

Conversation piece

You will like it without question, the only issue is capacity; there isn't much of it without mods.

[HungryC]

Gratuitous food pic of pork loin cooking on my mini....

[Steve Hiller]

If you read the forums people are making amazing and hard to blielve claims about their grills. (cook a pork butt for 16 hours at 250F and the temperature never wavers and there is still 2/3 of your charcoal left unburned...)

I was in the same boat as you. I own a Bradley as well as a Weber kettle. I received a large BGE as an early wedding present and since then I haven't fired up either the Bradley or the Weber. The BGE is pretty amazing in terms of it's versatility.

I quoted the 250F for 16 hour comment because it can be done but I would argue not without the help of a DigiQ or some other controller. The BGE does hold it's heat very well and is pretty easy to keep fairly stable but with the DigiQ you can literally get it to temperature and not worry about it. It really does amaze me every time I use it. I had a PID for my Bradley but it had the problem of heat retention after the door was opened. The temperature recovery time for the Bradley is poor unless you do modifications to the chamber. No worries about that with the Egg. In fact, if you go way over in temperature with the Egg you will have trouble getting the temp back down because the ceramic holds the heat so well.

The grill size is limited versus other smokers as bigbump mentioned. You only have the one level to play with unless you get some aftermarket pieces. It's plenty big enough to do 4+ racks of ribs on a vertical rack or a pork butt and has plenty of space for normal direct grilling. You have a Bradley so this isn't a huge concern. If you are cooking multiple pork butts or briskets for a party you have ample space in there.

It holds moisture very, very well and seals nicely when closed. Again, someone mentioned the burping. This is necessary because it's sealed so well that when the cover is down there is no flames being produced. When the cover is opened, a large rush of air runs in and the flames come up VERY fast. It's cool and a bit scary at the same time.

For indirect cooking and smoking you should invest in the plate setter. It raises the rack and blocks all direct heat. It works very nicely.

I'm still working on getting a great pizza out of it but I know it's possible. It's pretty easy to push the temp up to 600F-700F. High enough to break a cheap pizza stone after only one use.

I don't think you will regret your purchase for a second!

[David Sundstrom]

I've had one for years. The up-front cost is high but the quality of construction and versatility have made it a very happy purchase for me. Just like with cutlery, you can do with less, but it is joy to own something so nice.

I've gone 22 hours on a single charcoal load.

Burping is only required if you're running hot, especially if you are using the after-market fire grate, since it allows much more air in from below.

I have one of the after-market computer controlled air feeders, but honestly, you don't need it. A couple key tricks are to adjust slowly, and don't over-shoot your target temperature because it will take forever to cool back down.

You must have a plate setter for so many things, I recommend you just consider it as part of the initial cost. That and a stand are the only extras I've needed. The other things I've bought are fluff.

Good luck! There is a huge community out there for the BGE. You'll have fun.

[HungryC]

I don't have a DigIQ or any fancy controllers, and I find it pretty damn easy to achieve 250 for 8-12 hours with no adjustments. As for aftermarket accessories, I have a plate setter (which is a big ceramic heat shield), a cooking grid riser that doubles as a wok stand, and a couple of pizza stones (full round and 1/2 moon). Of course, some gadget freaks have an endless array of specially crafted grids, stackers, rib stands, etc.

[Charcuterer]

Thanks for all of the input. My mind is made up. BGE is it!