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Big Green Egg - Kamado-Style Charcoal Cooker


DanCole42

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I know two people that own a Green Egg, and they both absolutely love theirs. The initial investment is high, but the payoff is that you will never have to purchase another smoker/grill again if you take care of it.

You may want to check out the Dizzy Pig BBQ (local group of guys) that cook on the Green Egg and are also sponsored by the company.

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Add another fan for the BGE.

Alas if I owned I would have bought one already [just too dang heavy]. So in the meantime I'm doing fine w/ the 22" Weber and a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker [gasp, no the horror! lol]. The BGE's can hold temp fantastically for smoking & I think it sears steaks great.

If I want to upgrade from these w/o buying a BGE, I'd fall to the also fantastic-4-smoking Weber Smokey Mountain as plunk mentioned. The new 2009 models are a bit improved over prior generation, and they now sell a 22" version!

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Out and about on Saturday afternoon around Ashburn, and saw a sign that BBQ Galore is closing all of its stores and everything is ten to forty percent off. If you are still interest, I would highly suggest that you stop by and see whether the discount falls within your budget.

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Thinking of replacing my Weber kettle with one.

Thoughts?

A friend of mine owns one of these, and it is the most well-thought out, versatile grill /smoker that I have seen. When I have the $, I am replacing my Weber Kettle with one of their grills:

http://www.hastybake.com/

Check out these posts on Capital Spice:

http://capitalspice.wordpress.com/2008/06/...egg-piglorious/

http://capitalspice.wordpress.com/2008/07/...f-youve-got-em/

I'm seriously thinking of getting one of these..

Just starting to do some research on BGEs to possibly complement an existing Weber gas grill. I'm curious whether one or more of you (or others?) bought one and, if so, how you like it?

Any issues with cracking? Worth the money? Sounds like Large is probably the best size unless doing large BBQs or commercial work? I'll likely go to one of the EggFests in the eastern US this year but mostly was hoping to hear from dr members who have BGE experience.

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I just got a large one last week. Only used it once so far for Valentine's Day (no pressure, right?) but it was a fairly successful first go-round. Seared some steaks and lobster tails at about 500 degrees, and when the searing was done I closed the dome and finished the meat in was essentially now a 500 degree oven. It all came out fantastic. No pictures because the two of us attacked it.

Went with the large size, which just seems correct. Plenty of room on one level, and you can purchase attachments to give you a second level if you want to roast/smoke a lot of food. On that note, I have the plate attachment that is needed for smoking/baking and plan on smoking a lot with it come spring and summer. I can't give you a long term outlook yet on whether it's going to convert me into a full on egg-olyte or not but I'm looking forward to playing with this new toy.

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We purchased the XL back in December and have experimented with a few different thing - pork butt, standing rib roast, steaks, whole chicken, chicken wings and salmon. So far everything has turned out great. Took the pulled pork and wings to a Super Bowl party and everyone loved it. Been cooking at least one a weekend on it. It's amazing that you can load it up with charcoal and cook a pork butt at 250 for 14 hours and still have charcoal left in it.

If you are interested Village Hardware in Alexandria (Ft Hunt Road) has a great set-up in the lower level. They have every size egg on display as well as every accessory (there seem to be a million of them). There is a Dizzy Pig store out in Manassas that has a large display. We have been using the dizzy pig spices (can find at Whole Foods and a few other places) on a bunch of the meats.

No issues to date with our egg and we have friends who have had them for a couple years with no problems.

The plate setter accessory is a must if you plan on doing long slow cooks.

Looking forward to trying some brisket and pizzas

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We purchased the XL back in December and have experimented with a few different thing - pork butt, standing rib roast, steaks, whole chicken, chicken wings and salmon. So far everything has turned out great. Took the pulled pork and wings to a Super Bowl party and everyone loved it. Been cooking at least one a weekend on it. It's amazing that you can load it up with charcoal and cook a pork butt at 250 for 14 hours and still have charcoal left in it.

So you don't need to reload during the smoke at all?

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I own a Hastybake, but have never cooked on a BGE, so I can't compare the two. I love my Hastybake, it's extremely versatile for grilling, slow cooking and hot smoking. Easy to move it around, remove ashes and load charcoal. Tray with charcoal is adjustable up and down with a smooth hand crank. Only problem I've had is that the little v-shaped metal grease conduit burned out and I haven't replaced it. And the glass in the hinged cover is pointless. It gets gunked up with soot and takes so much time to keep it clean that I don't bother. Theoretically, food is supposed to be visible without opening the lid, but practically I still have to lift the lid to see the food.

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I own a Hastybake, but have never cooked on a BGE, so I can't compare the two. I love my Hastybake, it's extremely versatile for grilling, slow cooking and hot smoking. Easy to move it around, remove ashes and load charcoal. Tray with charcoal is adjustable up and down with a smooth hand crank. Only problem I've had is that the little v-shaped metal grease conduit burned out and I haven't replaced it. And the glass in the hinged cover is pointless. It gets gunked up with soot and takes so much time to keep it clean that I don't bother. Theoretically, food is supposed to be visible without opening the lid, but practically I still have to lift the lid to see the food.

I like the aspect of the adjustable charcoal pan. How is it for long smokes for pork butt and such? Easy to keep at temp for long periods of time with infrequent fuel replenishment? Does it get the stable high temps like the BGE is reported to get?

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I have slow-smoked turkeys and ribs recently, but haven't done a pork butt or shoulder since very soon after I got it, maybe six years ago. I don't remember it that well, but don't think I had a problem maintaining the fire for hours. There is a metal shield heat deflector you can set over the coals when they are at the lowest position, and it's easy to set a steam/drip pan on top of it. The shield and drip pan make it a little trickier to add more charcoal or smoke chips, but it's still easier than with a Weber Kettle grate loaded with food. There's a large door that opens, giving you access to the charcoal grate and the ash tray below it.

For high heat grilling, add a lot of charcoal and raise the charcoal tray up directly under the grate. Again, having never used a Big Green Egg, I can't compare the performance.

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I just got a large one last week. Only used it once so far for Valentine's Day (no pressure, right?) but it was a fairly successful....

I can't give you a long term outlook yet on whether it's going to convert me into a full on egg-olyte or not but I'm looking forward to playing with this new toy.

So, ad.mich, we're now almost a month out from Valentine's Day. Any good updates from the field? Mistakes and big wins both appreciated. :)

We purchased the XL back in December and have experimented with a few different thing - pork butt, standing rib roast, steaks, whole chicken, chicken wings and salmon. So far everything has turned out great. Took the pulled pork and wings to a Super Bowl party and everyone loved it. Been cooking at least one a weekend on it. It's amazing that you can load it up with charcoal and cook a pork butt at 250 for 14 hours and still have charcoal left in it.

If you are interested Village Hardware in Alexandria (Ft Hunt Road) has a great set-up in the lower level. They have every size egg on display as well as every accessory (there seem to be a million of them). There is a Dizzy Pig store out in Manassas that has a large display. We have been using the dizzy pig spices (can find at Whole Foods and a few other places) on a bunch of the meats.

No issues to date with our egg and we have friends who have had them for a couple years with no problems.

The plate setter accessory is a must if you plan on doing long slow cooks.

Looking forward to trying some brisket and pizzas

Same question to you, jandres374. Along with a big thank you. Based on your recc above, I made it out to Village Hardware this past weekend. Wow! Loved exploring that downstairs temple to all things grill. It was the first time I'd seen an Egg in person. Very, very cool. The guys there (father and son) do a great job representing the product.

You know the one thing I can't get my head around with this so far? I've had my Weber Genesis gas grill about 7 years. Last fall, I was getting a lot of flare ups and it wasn't too tough to figure out the problem. I hadn't really cleaned the grill (aside from the grates and catch pan) in all those years. So, I had to take the entire thing apart and replace a few parts including two burner tubes. To make a long story short, Weber was phenomenal with their customer service and warranty. Their US-based staff answered questions competently and generously by phone. They sent me documentation. Finally, they totally blowed me over by sending me the new replacement burner tubes...without charge...because they were still under warranty. 10 year warranty on burner tubes! Wow!

So, the BGE seems to be a similarly very well engineered and sturdily built device. It's about three to ten times as expensive as the Webers depending on specific models. Like Weber, BGE is a US company (though the Eggs are made in Mexico). Why is there only a 1-year warranty for anything save the shell?!?! Manufacturers of great, high-end products stand by them, right?!?! :wacko:

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We find ourselves with an extra BGE, inherited from family when they moved. We really don't have a use for two. Seriously, if anyone is interested in a BGE pm me and we can talk!

And Mr. S just bought that plate accessory thing online a few days ago. It hasn't arrived yet though, so can't comment on its use. I hadn't even heard of it before--how funny to read about it here just after he ordered it!

ETA-it hasn't been ordered yet, I am informed. Now he's looking at a contraption at the Ceramic Grill Store (online) instead. Oy. I can't keep up!

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So, ad.mich, we're now almost a month out from Valentine's Day. Any good updates from the field? Mistakes and big wins both appreciated. :)

So the summary is that it is awesome, although not as idiot proof as advertised (granted, I'm a curve buster on the idiot scale). I'm finding temperature control to be a bit of a work in progress but I've got a pretty good handle on it at this point. It's one of those things that you just need to spend a little time on it to learn how to fiddle with the temps. As advertised, it really will sit on a temp for a long time if you leave things alone.

I made pizzas last week for a crew of my fiance's girlfriends and kept the oven humming at a nice 550-600 for a good hour+. Worked like a charm, and if they had been rolling the dough thinner I would have pushed the temp up higher. Still, for a first run on that everyone was very happy. I anticipate us doing that a lot this summer.

I've also noticed that if I pump up those temps I can dry fry vegetables in a dish right on the grill and get a blistering sear on them AND a little smoke from the charcoal. In the last few weeks we've done that with green beans, asparagus, and green onions and they've all been home runs. When the temp settles down lower I would then grill a protein like on a normal grill. The vegetables have been a revelation - I'm strongly considering getting a big wok for use on the egg.

So it's given me everything I expected on the low end of the temperature scale, and it has been a pleasant surprise on the high end.

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We find ourselves with an extra BGE, inherited from family when they moved. We really don't have a use for two. Seriously, if anyone is interested in a BGE pm me and we can talk!

And Mr. S just bought that plate accessory thing online a few days ago. It hasn't arrived yet though, so can't comment on its use. I hadn't even heard of it before--how funny to read about it here just after he ordered it!

ETA-it hasn't been ordered yet, I am informed. Now he's looking at a contraption at the Ceramic Grill Store (online) instead. Oy. I can't keep up!

I was lucky enough to PM squids quick enough and am the new owner of the previously owned BGE. Two meals so far, whole roasted chicken and roasted leg of lamb, and I couldn't be happier. Certainly a big difference from a regular charcoal grill, but much easier to use. Looking forward to making pizza at high temps.
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Love to hear that it made the trip home with you successfully and you found it easy to use! Now if I could just get used to the idea of not seeing it on our porch every time we arrive home :o

Details on how you prepared the chicken and the lamb? Recipes are always appreciated!

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Love to hear that it made the trip home with you successfully and you found it easy to use! Now if I could just get used to the idea of not seeing it on our porch every time we arrive home :o

Details on how you prepared the chicken and the lamb? Recipes are always appreciated!

Both were very simple.

Rubbed the chicken with some garam masala, S&P, and lemon wedges in the cavity. Trussed and roasted at 375F for about 1.25 hrs.

Butterflied Leg of Lamb was marinated overnight with onions, garlic, oregano, lemons, parsley, fennel seed. Rolled up and tied and roasted at 400F until done.

Once I get my stone setup, smoking a butt and some ribs I will go.

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Love to hear that it made the trip home with you successfully and you found it easy to use! Now if I could just get used to the idea of not seeing it on our porch every time we arrive home :o

Details on how you prepared the chicken and the lamb? Recipes are always appreciated!

The table is finished and the BGE is in its new home. The stone base is temporary until the landscapers come.

post-37-0-72439100-1369142313_thumb.jpg

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That table looks very functional, enough space for lids, pans of food-how is cleanup? Do you have to pull out the BGE to dump the ashes?

I've tried to rig up my most recently destroyed EZup canopy, as a semi-permanent (until the next high winds) cover over the smoker & grill- so it's not only staked in the ground (which didn't help last time), I've bought extra tent stakes & tied it down, & I'm going to tie it to an enormous pot that's on one corner. I have the worst luck w/ canopies & gazebos, but I need some kind of cover, until we put in a permanent structure, over the still unbuilt patio.

I'd love one of those glamorous outdoor kitchens, but I've got to work w/ what I have. I envy your BGE, I know someone who has a squad, cooks everything on them, & has a commercial kitchen that I'd kill for (not really), you cook on what you have, right? & most of the time it's delicious....

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That table looks very functional, enough space for lids, pans of food-how is cleanup? Do you have to pull out the BGE to dump the ashes?

I've tried to rig up my most recently destroyed EZup canopy, as a semi-permanent (until the next high winds) cover over the smoker & grill- so it's not only staked in the ground (which didn't help last time), I've bought extra tent stakes & tied it down, & I'm going to tie it to an enormous pot that's on one corner. I have the worst luck w/ canopies & gazebos, but I need some kind of cover, until we put in a permanent structure, over the still unbuilt patio.

I'd love one of those glamorous outdoor kitchens, but I've got to work w/ what I have. I envy your BGE, I know someone who has a squad, cooks everything on them, & has a commercial kitchen that I'd kill for (not really), you cook on what you have, right? & most of the time it's delicious....

The egg stays in the table, I just use my shop-vac to clean thing out. I am now using it instead of my oven for everything but cakes. I have figured out how to get it to temperature faster than my oven. I have short ribs and pork chops ready to o later this week and will likely do a butt this weekend. Can you tell I love it?
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I took the Brisket class at Dizzy Pig this weekend in Manassas and would strongly recommend to Egg owners. I've had my Egg for nearly 3 years, and learned some new ways of doing things, and more importantly learned some things I've been doing the wrong way. Their classes are laid back, interesting, and relatively brief running from just 10am to 2pm. I'm already eyeing the schedule to do another one later this year:  http://dizzypigbbq.com/dizzcovery/

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