# BIg Green Egg Grill



## Bone1099 (Jul 8, 2010)

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


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## smokinj (Jul 8, 2010)

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.


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## BrotherBart (Jul 8, 2010)

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


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## Jags (Jul 8, 2010)

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.


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## stoveguy2esw (Jul 8, 2010)

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.


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## Jags (Jul 8, 2010)

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


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## JoeyD (Jul 9, 2010)

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


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## wendell (Jul 10, 2010)

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


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## HeatsTwice (Jul 10, 2010)

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#


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## okotoks guy (Jul 10, 2010)

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.


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## SolarAndWood (Jul 10, 2010)

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


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## JoeyD (Jul 10, 2010)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> 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.


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## JoeyD (Jul 10, 2010)

wendell said:
			
		

> 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.


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## benjamin (Jul 10, 2010)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

> 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.


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## SolarAndWood (Jul 10, 2010)

JoeyD said:
			
		

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


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## SolarAndWood (Jul 10, 2010)

benjamin said:
			
		

> 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.


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## JoeyD (Jul 10, 2010)

SolarAndWood said:
			
		

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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.


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## Kenster (Jul 10, 2010)

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.


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## JoeyD (Jul 11, 2010)

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.


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## stoveguy2esw (Jul 19, 2010)

okotoks guy said:
			
		

> 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


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## wendell (Jul 20, 2010)

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:


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2010)

wendell said:
			
		

> 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.


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## HeatsTwice (Jul 20, 2010)

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


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## smokinj (Jul 20, 2010)

HeatsTwice said:
			
		

> 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.


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## richg (Jul 20, 2010)

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.


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## HeatsTwice (Jul 20, 2010)

Cowboy charcoal is sold at Home Depo - $8 a bag.

Where is Wicked Good sold?


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## stoveguy2esw (Jul 21, 2010)

HeatsTwice said:
			
		

> Cowboy charcoal is sold at Home Depo - $8 a bag.
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> Where is Wicked Good sold?



our local lowes carries cowboy for six bucks and change. as for the other ive never seen it


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## richg (Jul 25, 2010)

HeatsTwice said:
			
		

> Cowboy charcoal is sold at Home Depo - $8 a bag.
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> Where is Wicked Good sold?



Wicked Good can be a little tough to find and it is pricey, but worth it. Here is a link to their "where to buy" page. 

http://www.wickedgoodcharcoal.com/retail_locations.htm


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## Lanningjw (Jul 25, 2010)

We use the Weber smoker 22.5 for cooking ribs. I can put 6 slabs (laying flat) on the smoker at one time. Smoked 20 pounds of ribs in 4.5 hours and drank some cold beer.  I can smoke a 15 lb turkey with the room this smoker has. I payed $350 for this thing, you may want to consider this one also.

http://www.weber.com/explore/Grill_details.aspx?glid=8&mid=121


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## JoeyD (Jul 25, 2010)

Lanning said:
			
		

> We use the Weber smoker 22.5 for cooking ribs. I can put 6 slabs (laying flat) on the smoker at one time. Smoked 20 pounds of ribs in 4.5 hours and drank some cold beer. I can smoke a 15 lb turkey with the room this smoker has. I payed $350 for this thing, you may want to consider this one also.





For the money these are not bad. The difference between this and a BGE is you can also grill, bake, roast and do high temperature cooks of 650 °F + . You will never be happy eating a steak at a restaurant again. Also try to maintain a low and slow for 20 hours in the middle of the winter or anytime of year with a WSM without adding fuel. This gives you more time to drink beer  :coolsmile:.   Really this is like comparing apples and oranges, the egg does what this can do and whole lot more.


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## Lanningjw (Jul 25, 2010)

JoeyD said:
			
		

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Let your back and wallet be your guide......


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## JoeyD (Jul 25, 2010)

I hear ya! If money is a issue the WSM gets a lot of good reviews and makes a pretty darn good smoker. 
I have a question though never having used one. How easy is to control the temperature with those? Is it easy to keeps temps down below 120 °F to do jerky? Or under 100 °F  to smoke cheese? I ask because with the egg it can be done but takes some unconventional set ups. Nothing difficult but not as simple as loading up and lighting it. Jerky and cheese are two things I want to do but haven't done yet.


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## Lanningjw (Jul 26, 2010)

JoeyD said:
			
		

> I hear ya! If money is a issue the WSM gets a lot of good reviews and makes a pretty darn good smoker.
> I have a question though never having used one. How easy is to control the temperature with those? Is it easy to keeps temps down below 120 °F to do jerky? Or under 100 °F  to smoke cheese? I ask because with the egg it can be done but takes some unconventional set ups. Nothing difficult but not as simple as loading up and lighting it. Jerky and cheese are two things I want to do but haven't done yet.



The WSM uses a large water bowl as the heat sink to control temps. I have not done Jerky or smoked cheese, but I have read that the smoker is better at low temp smoke that the egg. I bought the WSM last summer and had all the peolpe that live around us over for ribs or chicken. Every time I use it I learn more and more about making ribs. If its a windy day it effects the temp of the smoker. Seems to suck the heat out of the thing. 

How are you making your spare ribs with the egg?


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## smokinj (Jul 26, 2010)

JoeyD said:
			
		

> I hear ya! If money is a issue the WSM gets a lot of good reviews and makes a pretty darn good smoker.
> I have a question though never having used one. How easy is to control the temperature with those? Is it easy to keeps temps down below 120 °F to do jerky? Or under 100 °F  to smoke cheese? I ask because with the egg it can be done but takes some unconventional set ups. Nothing difficult but not as simple as loading up and lighting it. Jerky and cheese are two things I want to do but haven't done yet.



If done in the winter those temps are easy to do!


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## JoeyD (Jul 26, 2010)

Lanning said:
			
		

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I do an indirect setup and a drip pan with a dome temperature of 250 °F with a dry rub and sauce for the last hour or so. Usually they take about 5 hours until the meat begins to pull back of the bone. This makes the meat come clean off the bone when you eat them but not mushy like when some people foil them.

Here is another method I've used that a lot of people enjoy: http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/06/baby-back-rib-class.html


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## JoeyD (Jul 26, 2010)

smokinjay said:
			
		

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Yes, one of the nice things about the thing is the ability to maintain temperature for hours year round with little or no adjustment. The ceramics are a great insulator. I do use a remote thermometer and one of these for long cooks in the Winter:
http://www.thebbqguru.com/categories/Power-Draft-Controls/
Ya, its cheating but it make things a whole lot easier. I cooked 32 lbs of pulled pork last year in a snow storm for close to 20 hours on one load of charcoal and had plenty left over.


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## smokinj (Jul 26, 2010)

JoeyD said:
			
		

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I have the sameones


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## richg (Jul 27, 2010)

The Weber Smokey Mountain is a fine cooking implement. You can do just about anything on it. AGainst the Egg, though, the Weber will come up short. The Egg is made of thick ceramic and the airflow is totally controlled by the top and bottom vents. In the dead of winter, the Egg is unaffected by wind or cold. The weber is made of uninsulated metal; whle you can smoke on it in the winter, it takes a lot more work to maintain a constant temp. Some recommend replacing the water with sand. 

I did a 20-hour pork butt last February that was as good as anything from the warmer months.


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## pyper (Jul 28, 2010)

My old water smoker was shot and I was kind of temped by an egg until I saw the prices. I got a Brinkman water smoker at Home Depot. Maybe it uses a little more charcoal, but you can buy a lot of charcoal for the difference between $60 and $900. ;-)

I haven't found anything I couldn't cook in a water smoker. I usually fill the water bowl about half way, and then as the fire dies down and the water evaporates things even out. I did a 4 pound roast last weekend on a single (half) load of charcoal.


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## KennyG (Jul 29, 2010)

People love their Big Green Eggs like people love thier Fiskars/Stihls/Dolmars.  I don't have one, but have friends that do.  They love the BGE.


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## spirilis (Aug 4, 2010)

Lol for anyone good with DIY projects, check this out-

http://z12projects.blogspot.com/2010/07/little-blue-egg.html

Half tempted to try it myself.  Not sure how well terracotta flower pots insulate compared to the BGE's ceramics (which are some special type, according to the sales guy I spoke with at a local dealer) but a hell of a lot cheaper!


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## smokinj (Aug 4, 2010)

spirilis said:
			
		

> Lol for anyone good with DIY projects, check this out-
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> http://z12projects.blogspot.com/2010/07/little-blue-egg.html
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> Half tempted to try it myself.  Not sure how well terracotta flower pots insulate compared to the BGE's ceramics (which are some special type, according to the sales guy I spoke with at a local dealer) but a hell of a lot cheaper!


I have seen them made out of big clay pots as well.


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## HittinSteel (Aug 4, 2010)

smokinjay said:
			
		

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Good Eats with Alton Brown?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ka2kpzTAL8


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## smokinj (Aug 4, 2010)

HittinSteel said:
			
		

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Thats it..........


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