The Big Green Egg

[Bob Marino]

A while ago, I saw some postings on FaceBook from an old customer about the Big Green Egg.http://biggreenegg.com/

For those that own one, or those who chose not to own one, a few questions.
What makes it so special/pricey? Food taste any different than any other charcoal type grill? Thumbs up or thumbs down on your purchase?

 

[rljatl]

I do not own one, but my take is that it is an expensive insulated charcoal grill that also doubles as a smoker.  Or maybe vise versa?  There are better charcoal grills and there are better smokers out there.

As a smoker, the insulation helps it to maintain the temperature over long smoker sessions, especially in cold climates.  My Weber Smokey Mountain holds its temperature just fine in the southern climate where I live.  Many competitive BBQ people use Smokey Mountain's because they work well, are light and easy to carry to an event, and are relatively inexpensive.

Do not be fooled into comparing the taste of food cooked in a gas grill with food cooked in a Big Green Egg.  Food cooked on a gas grill typically does not taste as good as food cooked over charcoal.

I am sure you will get many responses from people who completely disagree with me. 

P.S.  Big Green Egg corporate headquarters is located in the state where I live.

 

[Holzhacker]

I've looked into buying one of these but haven't due to price. I'm too cheap to spend that much on a grill. Rather spend the money on a motorcycle or more tools. I do know a few people who have them and swear by them. They definitely seem to do a nice job of grilling. I did read a bunch of reviews that ranged from this is great to overrated to being a finicky product.
If I can find a sale or something I may get one. Otherwise it just seems like someone reinventing the wheel and selling a bright shiny object. Doing the research it does seem like there are better products out there for the serious BBQ'er.

 

[justaguy]

Big Green Egg grilles are Kamado style grills. There are many brands of Kamado style grilles with a broad range of prices. You might consider purchasing a lower cost brand and trying it for a while before buying one of the expensive models. Akorn grills at available at most home centers are usually around $300 and will last a couple of years before the plastic handles and other bits start to fail. A ceramic Kamado should last your lifetime and longer if cared for.

I have two Kamado grills. I start with a Bubba Keg (now sold as a Broil King) which is a double wall steel grill with insulation between the two walls. Several years later I added a Primo Oval XL ceramic.

As noted, Kamado grills are a compromise between a grill and a smoker. For me I consider it a good compromise. I can load charcoal and indirect smoke a pork shoulder for 12 hours at a consistent 250 temp. I can adjust the two vents and grill chicken in an hour at 375. I can crank the vents wide open and grill steak on the cast iron grills at over 850 temp. Not many other grill styles offer this flexibility.

You can drill a hole with a $50 drill or with a $500 drill. You can cook dinner with a $40 grill or a $1000 grill.

 

[mopo]

A while ago, I saw some postings on FaceBook from an old customer about the Big Green Egg.http://biggreenegg.com/

For those that own one, or those who chose not to own one, a few questions.
What makes it so special/pricey? Food taste any different than any other charcoal type grill? Thumbs up or thumbs down on your purchase?

I don't own one, but two major advantages to the BGE are one, significantly more heat than gas grills (great for pizza), and two, food cooked on the BGE tends to be more moist than food cooked on gas.

Gas grills, on the other hand, have the advantage of a larger cooking surface, as well as ease of use, especially if the gas grill is hooked up to a home's natural gas line. You can light a gas grill in seconds and don't have to deal with bags of charcoal and empting of ashes.

I think it basically comes down to the convenience and ease of use of gas vs the increased versatility and potentially better tasting food cooked on the BGE. If you regularly cook for larger groups you might want the larger cooking area of gas grills, whereas if you're an experienced cook wanting the best and don't mind a bit of extra effort you'd probably be happier with the BGE.

 

[Sparktrician]

I bought one a year ago.  I really like that food cooked doesn't have the after-taste that propane sometimes leaves.  Slow cooking is terrific once the temperature is stabilized.  One filling of charcoal* can last pretty much all day if you're cooking at 180° to 200°.  It's really hard to go wrong with the BGE. 

*Charcoal as sold by BGE, not the Kingsford briquettes that are loaded with petroleum products. 

 

[Cheese]

I've used a Weber kettle for the last 35 years and am completely sold...................until it comes to cooking something low & slow, then it's a PITA. If I want to cook at 200º and maintain that temp it's almost impossible. Add 3 pieces of charcoal and sometimes it's too much, sometimes too little. If I'm cooking a brisket the temperature fluctuates by 100º and you need to constantly keep your eye on it. It takes away a lot of the fun.

I think that's where the Green Egg comes in. If you're doing ribs, brisket, pork shoulder anything that needs to cook at a low temp for a very long time then the insulated egg philosophy wins.

 

[rljatl]

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is an expensive steak restaurant with a great reputation.  I have eaten there probably 4 or 5 times.  Their steaks are cooked in a 1800-degree broiler.

Personally, I do not like Ruth's Chris steaks.  For best flavor, I prefer my steaks cooked over charcoal.  Also, I do not like the high heat sear or high heat for cooking steaks in general.

When your steak is brought to your table by the waitron at Ruth's Chris, it is literally sizzling and literally too hot to eat.  So, by the time you let the steak cool off enough to eat, the steak has continued to cook and is now over cooked.  Plus, the high heat destroys the flavor.

Just my preference and something else to consider when buying a grill/smoker.  YMMV

Mythbusting: Searing Steaks Seals in the Juices

 

[DynaGlide]

Allow me to chime in here. I have just a bit of experience with the Big Green Egg, the Weber 22" Kettle, the Weber Smoky Mountain, and a Weber propane.

First I find it more than a bit hypocritical for anyone on this forum, of all places, to denounce the BGE for its price. I guess if that's your reason for knocking it down you should sell your Festools and save some money and pickup DeWalt, Makita, etc.

I paid $400 4 years ago for my Weber propane. Fast forward to today and the original grate is gone, rusted through. The flavorizer bars need replaced, rusted through. The outside is in need of love. The door is rusted. I don't enjoy using it but it's a necessary evil when I need something cooked in under 20 minutes.

I branched out to the Weber kettle a year after the propane. I fought with it for two years maintaining 225-275 for cooking ribs, pork butt, you name it I probably tried it. Raining? Forget about it. Cold? Nope. And you have to use a water pan that acts as a grease catcher. Have fun disposing of that after every cook.

I now own a large Big Green Egg along with the kettle and propane. The kettle is dedicated to rotisserie duty which it excels at. If I have the choice I cook on the Big Green Egg. I've regretted a lot of purchases over the years but this is not one of them. And if it breaks in 10 years guess what, I won't spend any money. Lifetime warranty. Over the past two weeks I cooked a 12lb packer brisket on it maintaining 275 for 10 hours without adding any lump charcoal or really doing anything and a 7lb pork butt at 250 with the same experience. Because it has very little airflow during long cooks the food stays more moist and you don't need to mess with a water pan.

For steaks I don't do high heat until the end. Reverse sear is the only way to go. Buy 1" thick well marbled ribeyes and cook them 225 until they're near desired temp. Then open the vents and let the egg get up to 600 or more and sear it for ~30s per side. If you haven't tried it this way you need to.

Like any tool you get what you pay for. It has a learning curve like anything else but I couldn't do without mine.

 

[Bob Marino]

  Interesting about searing steaks first to "lock in the flavor" not being the best way to go. I always thought that was the way to go. Will try it the reverse way next time. Well, how hard is it to change temps quickly on the BGE to accomplish that?

 

[leakyroof]

  Interesting about searing steaks first to "lock in the flavor" not being the best way to go. I always thought that was the way to go. Will try it the reverse way next time. Well, how hard is it to change temps quickly on the BGE to accomplish that?

  Fast Temp changes are not always easy with a BGE grill unless you're wanting to lower it[ just open the lid]
To raise the temp, you don't have the ease of a gas grill where you just add more gas/turn a knob, but you get there eventually with enough charcoal in the grill already lit and your upper vent slide turned to a fully position plus you can play with the lower vent in the bottom of the grill for air flow into the grill.

 

[leakyroof]

Allow me to chime in here. I have just a bit of experience with the Big Green Egg, the Weber 22" Kettle, the Weber Smoky Mountain, and a Weber propane.

First I find it more than a bit hypocritical for anyone on this forum, of all places, to denounce the BGE for its price. I guess if that's your reason for knocking it down you should sell your Festools and save some money and pickup DeWalt, Makita, etc.

I paid $400 4 years ago for my Weber propane. Fast forward to today and the original grate is gone, rusted through. The flavorizer bars need replaced, rusted through. The outside is in need of love. The door is rusted. I don't enjoy using it but it's a necessary evil when I need something cooked in under 20 minutes.

I branched out to the Weber kettle a year after the propane. I fought with it for two years maintaining 225-275 for cooking ribs, pork butt, you name it I probably tried it. Raining? Forget about it. Cold? Nope. And you have to use a water pan that acts as a grease catcher. Have fun disposing of that after every cook.

I now own a large Big Green Egg along with the kettle and propane. The kettle is dedicated to rotisserie duty which it excels at. If I have the choice I cook on the Big Green Egg. I've regretted a lot of purchases over the years but this is not one of them. And if it breaks in 10 years guess what, I won't spend any money. Lifetime warranty. Over the past two weeks I cooked a 12lb packer brisket on it maintaining 275 for 10 hours without adding any lump charcoal or really doing anything and a 7lb pork butt at 250 with the same experience. Because it has very little airflow during long cooks the food stays more moist and you don't need to mess with a water pan.

For steaks I don't do high heat until the end. Reverse sear is the only way to go. Buy 1" thick well marbled ribeyes and cook them 225 until they're near desired temp. Then open the vents and let the egg get up to 600 or more and sear it for ~30s per side. If you haven't tried it this way you need to.

Like any tool you get what you pay for. It has a learning curve like anything else but I couldn't do without mine.

  THIS ...^^^^  I sold my rebuilt 3 row burner Weber Genesis Grill once I got my Big Green Egg in 2008. 
I changed the stock 4" casters on my BGE to larger 5" versions from Mc-Master Carr since the 5" ones roll better on rough concrete for me.

 

[retfr8flyr]

I'll jump in here, I am new to the forum but an old hand at cooking on a Kamado, as I have been cooking on a Kamado style grill since 1963, when I was 18 and my father brought one back from Japan. I currently have a Kamado Joe Big Joe, Chargriller Akorn and Akorn Jr. also a Camp Chef Flat Top Griddle. The greatest advantage of a Kamado style grill, like the Big Green Egg, is the moisture retention of the cooked foods. It is also very versatile, in that you can grill, smoke, bake and high temp sear all on one device.

You really can't beat the taste and quality of the food that comes off a Kamado grill and if you haven't had the ability to try it, you should try and make the effort, you will not be disappointed. As for steaks I don't do reverse sear on anything less than 2 inches thick. I just don't think thinner stakes gain from the procedure because it's very difficult to do the sear on a thin steak and not over cook it but I like my steaks med rare. Now you take a nice 2 inch cut Ribeye, season it up and let it cook on indirect heat at 225°, until the internal temps reach 125°. Then pull it off, wrap it in foil and raise the temp on grill to about 600°-650°. When the temps are up, remove it from the foil, pat it dry with a paper towel and put it on the grill for 30 seconds and then turn it 90° for another 30 seconds, then flip it over and repeat. The steak will come out with a perfect med rare 135° internal temp and it will be the best steak you have ever cooked.

 

[rmwarren]

[member=5]Bob Marino[/member] - talk about a slippery slope... Here goes:

My first experience with an Egg was 35 years ago, a friend's father was a Pan Am pilot on the NY/London/Tokyo route and somehow he stashed a Kamado in his flight bag. Loved the chicken and steaks but I was 18 at the time so many years passed but never forgot it.

Fast forward 15 years and my new-ish wife thought it was a silly extravagance until she really wanted the Buttercup couch so I bartered a $500-ish Large BGE for a $5K couch and figured I came out ahead.

A few years later we bought the shore house and equipped it with the small egg, which has too many compromises to be very useful. Sold that when we made Brigantine our year-round home and moved the original egg down.

5 years ago the original BGE cracked thru operator error and we could not imagine living without one so I started my research on the replacement. By then the Primo, Kamado Joe and other lesser versions were all available. Went with the large Kamado Joe.

We also have a gas grill (belongs to the FIL) a Pit Barrel Cooker & a Weber Kettle that an over-grilled friend gifted me with. they get used seldom. Soooo...

My [2cents] is that the quality Kamado's are hands down the most versatile cooker I have ever used and are worth every penny. The BGE is the "standard" for the genre, and KJ has the same level of quality but is more innovative. Primo is similar in overall quality to BGE/KJ. KJ have updated components twice since I have been aware of them while the BGE is basically the same as the first time I set eyes on one. Versatility-wise:

• I can grill normal chicken/burgers/sausage/dogs with a 15 minute setup time and get flavor we don't achieve on the propane grill. Grill Grates are the best.
• With the grill extender I can fit 4 racks of ribs, total prep time for egg & ribs is an hour and then they cruise @ 225-250 on autopilot for 4+ hours.
• Indirect cooking, with the reverse sear, lets me slow cook beef roasts or pork loin to 80% done & then go direct and finish off the exterior to get a nice char. Acme has Round Eye roast for $2.88/# this week, I am picking up several to cook tomorrow & slice thin & vacuum bag/freeze for sammiches. Dump the frozen meat in Au Jus and heat for a few hours then serve for a fast meal that all carnivores love.
• To reverse sear a steak cook indirect to 120-ish then remove and open it up wide, mine reaches 900 quickly then I finish off the steak.
• Yep, pizza. Rube Goldberg setup of racks/stones/etc. and I can preheat to 700+ then cook a pie in 5 minutes. This takes some practice.
• Lastly pork butt, indirect setup around 225-250 and once it is tuned in & loaded with lump/wood chunks I can go to bed and forget about it. I've powered thru the stall in 8 hours recently, more common is 10-12 hours. No need to foil wrap which ruins the bark IMHO.

Couple prior yaps from the FOG:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/general-friendly-chat/smokin'-the-storm-out/msg326569/#msg326569http://festoolownersgroup.com/general-friendly-chat/the-reverse-sear/msg360034/#msg360034http://festoolownersgroup.com/general-friendly-chat/schmokin'-birds/msg229816/#msg229816

And a few visual enticements.

RMW

 

[Kevin D.]

I've wanted a BGE for a very long time.  A few years ago, I bought the floor model of a Weber charcoal cheapie unit just to have a charcoal flavoured BBQ versus my NG big Napoleon for a change.  Guess what?  Wife and son both disliked the taste of charcoal flavored BBQ. Go figure.  Didn't anticipate that at all.

I may still get a BGE one day, but this was a cheap lesson learned that the rest of the family will probably not like what I cook on it. 

 

[peter halle]

Bob,

The BGE is a quality unit.  Don't look at the smallest unit as stated previously.

I have 11 grills now (down from 14) ranging from the Cobb (6 pieces of charcoal and can grill on the hood of your car) to a La Caja China (plywood but can a cook a pig in 4 hours).  I even have an IKEA grill!

For most of my grilling I use my 3 Weber kettles.  For smoking I use my horizontal barrel smoker with offset fire box.  For grilled pizzas I use my old Costco gas grill that burns unusually hot.  The most versatile is my Kamado style Bubba Keg which can do it all.  I am lucky that I bought mine at a Home Depot end of season sale for $199 instead of $399 and got the model that has a way to attach it to a trailer hitch for tailgating.

If I were only allowed to have two grills I would have a 22" Weber with the rotisserie ring and setup and a Kamado grill.

Peter

 

[Nick561]

Here is some Festool and BGE porn mixed togeather for what it's worth. [eek]

Best grills around

[attachimg=3][attachimg=4][attachimg=5][attachimg=6][attachimg=7][attachimg=2][attachimg=1]

 

[peter halle]

Here is some Festool and BGE porn mixed togeather for what it's worth. [eek]

Best grills around

[attachimg=3][attachimg=4][attachimg=5][attachimg=6][attachimg=7][attachimg=2][attachimg=1]

Bob Marino is so screwed now  [big grin].

Peter

 

[Dane]

Like many here, I've been through the gamut of grill types and brands.  I've owned Kamados, have owned the BGE XL and L, broil king keg and a Viking branded Primo.  I have whittled down the the herd to the Broil King Keg and a Weber Summit gasser.  I think that the Broil King is the most versitile and functional of the kamados.  It is better insulated, uses less charcoal, is more durable, and gets hotter for searing and pizza.  As to the temp change question- I can get it from 300 to 900 in a matter of minutes.  The charcoal quality matters more than most folks think.  If you're committed to the ceramic variety, I would buy the oval Primo over the BGE.  Green Egg is the most common brand, but as we Festool addicts know, common is not the benchmark for quality.  The oval Primo lets you go grill lid open with a two level fire like a traditional Weber set up while still having the insulation factor of a Kamado when wanted.  Another sweet grill that doesn't get enough respect is the PK Grill.  Talk about a legacy.  Google it.

 

[leakyroof]

Here is some Festool and BGE porn mixed togeather for what it's worth. [eek]

Best grills around

[attachimg=3][attachimg=4][attachimg=5][attachimg=6][attachimg=7][attachimg=2][attachimg=1]

Bob Marino is so screwed now  [big grin].

Peter

. ROFL......