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Convince me to buy a big green egg


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Also, Costco is now selling a ceramic cooker (at least, the one here is). Its size looks to be between the medium and large BGE. Quality doesn't look as good, but at $500 it's less expensive.

Menards (which is like a Lowe's) now has one for $499 that comes with a stand and other accessories. The advertisement compares it to a BGE.

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  • 2 months later...

Bought one this weekend. Have only used it once. You idiots are all correct. It is awesome. Had another couple over for the weekend and he'll now be getting one in spring.

 

I need any suggestions for what to get for it. Probably going to build a table next year.

 

BTW, it was $798 with the nest (large size).

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Seriously?

 

The USA is nearly bankrupt and on the brink of survival. And you have time to contemplate this?

 

Just vote NO, only because administering this will cost you more money.

 

 

You will need the platesetter so that you can grill/smoke indirectly. A rib rack is nice but I just turn my v-rack upside from my roasting pan and that works fine for ribs.

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Bought one this weekend. Have only used it once. You idiots are all correct. It is awesome. Had another couple over for the weekend and he'll now be getting one in spring.

 

I need any suggestions for what to get for it. Probably going to build a table next year.

 

BTW, it was $798 with the nest (large size).

 

Welcome! :wacko:

 

Did it come with anything?

 

I got the plate setter, the grill gripper and the ash tool. I would say those are the essentials. I have since got a rib rack, a cone-shaped ceramic thing for beer-butt chicken and a pizza stone.

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I bought the XL BGE for work and love it. I use it for grilling more than smoking, but it does both well. I still prefer my more traditional steel smoker with offset firebox for smoking. The BGE keeps things like pork butt and brisket too moist, IMO. I like a bark with some crunch to it and I have yet to be able to do that on the Egg. The Egg does produce the best smoked chicken ever. Period.

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I have the cash in my sock drawer and I am about to pull the trigger on an egg. A few questions:

 

1: I am not handy, and I want to have a table, I was going to have my wife's grandpa make us one (he is a very good woodworker). Is it okay to us the egg on the the ceramic pedestals until I get a table or should I buy a nest?

 

2. This is a big one. My wife says she doesn't like food cooked over charcoal (ie Weber Kettle grill), I am assuming this doesn't happen with lump?

 

This weekend I could be setting my second foot upon the emerald path.

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I have the cash in my sock drawer and I am about to pull the trigger on an egg. A few questions:

 

1: I am not handy, and I want to have a table, I was going to have my wife's grandpa make us one (he is a very good woodworker). Is it okay to us the egg on the the ceramic pedestals until I get a table or should I buy a nest?

 

2. This is a big one. My wife says she doesn't like food cooked over charcoal (ie Weber Kettle grill), I am assuming this doesn't happen with lump?

 

This weekend I could be setting my second foot upon the emerald path.

 

Not sure about using the Egg sans the nest or table. I use the nest on wheels.

 

Chances are good she will love food cooked over lump as long as you stay away from starter fluid. Use a charcoal chimney and news print and all will be well. Enjoy! :wacko:

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I have the cash in my sock drawer and I am about to pull the trigger on an egg. A few questions:

 

1: I am not handy, and I want to have a table, I was going to have my wife's grandpa make us one (he is a very good woodworker). Is it okay to us the egg on the the ceramic pedestals until I get a table or should I buy a nest?

 

2. This is a big one. My wife says she doesn't like food cooked over charcoal (ie Weber Kettle grill), I am assuming this doesn't happen with lump?

 

This weekend I could be setting my second foot upon the emerald path.

 

1. I have an outdoor kitchen and my egg just stands up on the ceramic feet no problem.

 

2. Here is your problem, at least I am guessing. If you use charcoal briquets like Kingsford, they are usually made in China with charcoal, sand and binders to keep them neatly in a briquet. So what you are tasting is not really the charcoal but the other stuff in the charcoal. If you use true lump charcoal, like ]Big Green Egg brand[/ or the brand I use there is no "charcoal taste" but there is a faint oak wood smoke taste which is what makes it great. There is a huge difference between cheap charcoal briquets and good lump charcoal. It is the difference between chemicals and just natural wood smoke. When you use the plate diffuser, you get almost no smoke flavor.

 

I have had my BGE for about 2 years and I have probably gone thru 200 pounds of lump charcoal. And it lasts twice as long as briquets do with half the ash obtw.

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I have the cash in my sock drawer and I am about to pull the trigger on an egg. A few questions:

 

1: I am not handy, and I want to have a table, I was going to have my wife's grandpa make us one (he is a very good woodworker). Is it okay to us the egg on the the ceramic pedestals until I get a table or should I buy a nest?

 

2. This is a big one. My wife says she doesn't like food cooked over charcoal (ie Weber Kettle grill), I am assuming this doesn't happen with lump?

 

This weekend I could be setting my second foot upon the emerald path.

 

1. If you have a spot you can put the Egg and not move it, the pedestals should be fine. The nest is useful for moving it around. I think I mentioned this earlier, but I built a table from plans I found online. If your wife's grandpa is willing to do it, I highly recommend doing that.

 

2. What kind of charcoal were you using? What did you use to light it? If you use lump charcoal and natural starters (or a chimney starter), my bet is your wife will notice the difference. I get the Big Green Egg brand at the barbecue store nearby, but I've seen lump charcoal for sale at Wal-Mart and Whole Foods. I also use the paraffin starters to light the lump, but I've seen similar natural starters at Whole Foods for pretty cheap.

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I have the cash in my sock drawer and I am about to pull the trigger on an egg. A few questions:

 

1: I am not handy, and I want to have a table, I was going to have my wife's grandpa make us one (he is a very good woodworker). Is it okay to us the egg on the the ceramic pedestals until I get a table or should I buy a nest?

 

2. This is a big one. My wife says she doesn't like food cooked over charcoal (ie Weber Kettle grill), I am assuming this doesn't happen with lump?

 

This weekend I could be setting my second foot upon the emerald path.

 

1. I'd recommend at least a nest if for no other reason than The Egg will be a bit low. I'm not handy. I purchased a table made specifically for The Egg.

 

2. This may be a test for you to pass. There is no creature that walks this planet that does not enjoy that which is created upon The Egg. If you find that your wife does not "like food cooked" upon The Egg, there is evil within her. I would suggest burning her...upon The Egg...to cleanse her soul and help her find peace.

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Had a build-up of small, half-spent coals in the egg yesterday. Fired it up and got a slow roll of about 300 degrees going. Doubt I could have gotten it much hotter without adding more coals, but the idea was to sort of use it up before giving it a thorough cleaning.

 

At any rate, I had some chicken quarters marinating in a paste of garlic, parsley, lemon, and home-grown cayenne all day, threw those babies on there along with some whole sweet potatoes and closed it up.

 

So nice to be able to Q on such moderate heat, especially when you've got a paste on your meat because you can leave it alone and let the paste cook onto it as opposed to dicking around with it and avoiding the flare-ups.

 

So, a delicious dinner and now the egg is purged of the scrap charcoal, ready to be cleaned out.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Love it so far, but after getting to use it a bit (it's at our cottage, so it's retired till spring), I have 3 negatives.

 

1) top vent started rusting after 3 weeks.

 

2) Bottom vent is a pain in the rear. After a bit of soot got in the sliding area, they are difficult to adjust and they stick together.

 

3) Really wish I'd have gotten an XL. Probably 40% of the time I used it, I could have used more space. If I'm just doing one item or cooking for 2-4 people, its fine. But when I'm doing corn on the cob, steak and baked potatoes for 10 people, I have to do them in stages and put them in the oven.

 

That being said, I'll be building a table for it next year and have a list of about 6 or 7 egg accesories on my xmas list.

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Love it so far, but after getting to use it a bit (it's at our cottage, so it's retired till spring), I have 3 negatives.

 

1) top vent started rusting after 3 weeks.

 

Odd. I've been with my Egg for about 10 years and I've had no rust problems.

 

2) Bottom vent is a pain in the rear. After a bit of soot got in the sliding area, they are difficult to adjust and they stick together.

 

Again, odd. I've never experienced this issue either.

 

3) Really wish I'd have gotten an XL. Probably 40% of the time I used it, I could have used more space. If I'm just doing one item or cooking for 2-4 people, its fine. But when I'm doing corn on the cob, steak and baked potatoes for 10 people, I have to do them in stages and put them in the oven.

 

That being said, I'll be building a table for it next year and have a list of about 6 or 7 egg accesories on my xmas list.

 

You have too many friends.

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