Big Green Egg

I am sure that this has probably been discussed here before, but my search efforts failed. Does anyone have an opinion on the "Big Green Egg" ceramic grill/smoker? I have a friend who swears by his, and the claims made by the salesman as far as temperature control and ease of use seem unlikely: "you set the vents so the thermometer says 250 degrees and it will stay at that temperature for 15 hours untouched." "it is virtually self cleaning...just set the temp to 900 degrees for a couple of hours and it will burn off any fat and other buildup." Is this all hype? Is it just a very expensive version of a weber? Do I want to spend $800?
Thanks, Will

The Big Green Egg is a little more versatile to use. Baking bread and grilling at high temperatures. OTOH, you can grill on the WSM, but bread and or pizza would do as well. The WSM probably holds more meat for smoking.

Both of these sites are good resources for information about each cooker.

Virtual Weber Bullet and

Big Green Egg

The Big Green Egg site is company owned but has a forum which the Weber company does not. The Virtual Weber Bullet is a fan's website that has been around for about 8 years and is a great site for information. If you choose to buy a WSM and have never used one Gwiv has a great, free online course at Professor Wiviott

I like my WSM and am sure I would like the Big Green Egg. The biggest advantage the WSM has is portability. The Egg can reach hotter temperatures and retains heat a lot longer because of thermal mass. After that its the pitmaster.

I own a Kamado which is also a ceramic cooker. It's walls are thicker than a Big Green Egg and retains heat better.
The Kamado can reach 1000 degrees or plug along at 225 for 18 hours on one load of lump.
That said, the downside to the Kamado is the customer service. It is a family operation and although I like the family, recently there seems to be an uptick in complaints.
Other ceramic choices include

KomodoKamado
GrillDome

There have been battles going on for years among ceramic owners on who has the best cooker. I'm sure google could lead you to the pros and cons of each. Bottom line is they are all very flexible in terms of high heat or low and slow. They retain the moisture of the meat and are easier to use in cold temperatures.
Good luck in your search.

I have owned a Large BGE for two years and I love it. The temp control is great (I've never left it for 15 hours or whatever, but you definately don't have to hover over the thing while you cook) and I love that it is so versatile (it IS great for pizza -mmmm.)

In my experience there are two big down sides: 1) It is hernia-heavy. You will not want to move this thing ever! 2) It has limited grill space. They do make a bigger one, but I couldn't fathom trying to move that around!

Overall I think it has given me great results, but it was a pretty serious "investment." If you feel it will meet your needs, I can tell you that it is a nice piece of equipment.

Good luck -JDV

Mrs. Davooda surprised me this past weekend with a Big Green Egg smoker/grill for our 10th wedding anniversary. I know these are not new (available since 1974) but I searched LTH and didn't find a topic on TBGE.

I was awestruck by the behemoth at first (it is the XL size and weighs about 200 pounds) but the following day we had plans for a marathon of boating, barbecuing and imbibing so a shakedown cruise was most definitely in order. And on its maiden voyage I found the Big Green Egg to be quite impressive in both performance and versatility:

12:50 pm - filled the cooking ring with lump charcoal, hickory chunks. Used an electric starter, adjust air vents

1:15 pm - consistent temp of 250 degrees established, on go two full racks of spareribs a la GWiv method

5:15 pm - off come the ribs and they are beautiful (sorry, haven't yet mastered digital photos on LTH), remove grill grate and "plate setter" ceramic apparatus which enables indirect cooking

6:15 pm - grill grate back in and open top and bottom air vents to raise inside cooking temp to 400 degrees

6:30pm - on the grill go a dozen brats, a dozen half-pound fresh burgers, eight hot dogs, many ears of corn

6:55 pm - partially close the air vents to bank the fire, remove grill grate

8:15 pm - re-open vents to increase cooking temp to 400 again and cook marshmallows for s'mores

So...for seven+ hours I was not only able to cook low and slow, but also to bring the fire back up to high temp twice when I wanted to and bank it for later use. I thought that pretty darn nice. The thing is ceramic so rusting is not an issue and cooking seemed to be very even with no hot spots. The one drawback I noticed is that you have to carefully open the lid because the top air vent apparatus merely rides on the top and is not attached.

For those interested in more info: http://www.biggreenegg.com/

Cheers,
Davooda

Davooda,

Thanks for the rundown! I received a Big Green Egg from my brother for my 50th birthday. Due to extensive business traveling this summer, I haven't had a chance to take mine for a spin yet. It will be sometime in either September or October, depending on schedule.

Thanks again for the valuable information.

Buddy

Hi Buddy - I was impressed and can't wait to cook on it again. I plan to try chickens next, and look forward to breads and pizzas using the "plate setter."

Remember that air vent thing that rides on the top - mine took two plunges when I didn't open the lid slowly enough...though it's heavy-duty, I doubt it would survive many falls into a concrete patio.

Davooda

Congrats on the Egg!

I've had one for 2 years now and I absolutely love it. I can actually get 6 full slabs on my Large Egg if i spiral and skewer them and stand on end - I can't even imagine how many slabs you can get on the XL! You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned it's versatility; It's the only grill you'll ever need. In case you haven't found them yet, here are a few good links for egg cooking info:

http://www.eggheadforum.com
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/nwindex.htm
http://wessb.com/


Also, this September 13th there is an "Egg Fest" out in Oswego. For anyone interested I hear they are selling 50 Eggs at Floribunda that will be used for the fest. They will be selling them as demo models with a significant discount.

http://eggwegofest.com/
http://www.floribundagardens.com/


Good luck !

Fellow BGE owners:

This past week I smoked several slabs of ribs, potatoes and onions and then grilled some venison kebabs - making a total mess of the grate and plate setter in my XL Big Green Egg. I still had life in the (natural lump char) coals so I opened up both top and bottom vents all the way to both burn off the junk inside the Egg and to reduce the coals to a fine ash that I can vacuum out of the Egg.

This is a no-no, I found out.

Apparently, with both vents wide open, the BGE can get hot enough to melt the seal that is affixed to the contact edges of the lid and the bottom. It essentially fused the top and bottom together. I called BGE HQ in Atlanta and spoke to a very nice gentleman who explained how to remedy the situation (gently tap a putty knife into the melted seal area and work it gently until you feel it give - it opens easily after this) and gently admonished me not to burn down the coals in this manner***.

And he's sending me a replacement "high heat" seal gratis - wonderful folks, these BGE staffers!

Davooda

***BGE recommends you close the vents and allow the coals to die, thus saving them for another cook, but I disagree with this recommendation. I did this once and the flavor is "off" when compared to using new lump charcoal for a cook.

Wow, I'm surprised they would recommend reusing coals. Old, half spent charcoal certainly doesn't small good, I couldn't imagine it would result in a good product are your experience seems to verify! I have seen on various BBQ forums some modifications done to correct the seal problem you mentioned using various industrial type products that will not melt. Having the abilitiy to "self clean" the BGE certainly would be nice!

The BGE melted gasket is not a universal problem. It usually, but not always, happens when new Eggs go to top temperature. Older gaskets do sometimes burn away, or melt, but its usually happens when they are new-ish. The newer Nomex gaskets are supposed to be more resistant.

A clean off burn is in fact a good idea. Some folks recommend only burning off about 1/4 load of lump to do this. That much will easily get the temperature up over 800, and wipe out any grease or creosote. But otherewise, taking the Egg up to and beyond 800 is quite a standard operation for searing steaks. The searing period is usually under 5 minutes.

Using left over lump is pretty standard if it has been used in "indirect" cooks, where no grease has splattered on it. It does not get hot quite as fast. Just be sure to knock off as much ash as possible, and clean out some of that ash from the bottom.

Driving IL-22 today past Quentin Road in Lake Zurich, I saw a pretty impressive Big Green Egg.



Other signage said they sold hardwood charcoal, which people are always looking for suburban sources. The Green Egg hardwood charcoal is offered for a steep $23 per 20 pound bad.

Cedar Hill Nursery
21854 W Highway 22
Lake Zurich, IL
847-540-8474

Regards,

Hi,

There is a potential option to the largest ceramic grills at a significantly lower cost. The Bubba Keg Convection Grill is an insulated steel version of a ceramic cooker.

Tim

Found that Big Green Egg Lump Charcoal is produced by Royal Oak. They bag the larger pieces for BGE. Other is bagged as Royal Oak (among others) which is available at Wal-Mart at a much more reasonable price vs. BGE

I have a Kamado too. For low and slow cooking, you can't beat it...especially if you have a BBQ Guru to tend to it. I can normally cook at 220 for about 12 hours or so on one load of lump.

BBQ Guru

That's pretty crazy that it melted the seal. I burn mine off the exact way you mention once a month or so. Maybe do it with the vents at 3/4 open instead of full?

i have read and heard some good things about the BGE. Kind of expensive, but if I had an extra thousand $$$ burning a hole in my pocket I would think about buying one.

LTH,

Brisket on the Big Green Egg for Mother's Day, started the large Big Green Egg with a full load of lump and a few hickory chunks at 7:30am, at 10:30pm it was still holding steady at 260-degrees. That's over 15-hours on one load of lump. No guru, no computer, no probe, no electronics. Just a few minor vent adjustments along the way. I might check in an hour to see if its still holding, but 15-hours in the 250 range is impressive.

Just to be clear, I did not add charcoal to the BGE, just a few pieces of hickory, and not many of those.




Enjoy,
Gary

Has anyone [this is most likely aimed directly at Gary ] spent some time mastering pizza in their egg, kamado, or big steel grill? If so, was it hard? Pros and cons?

Geo

I've done some pizzas on my Kamado. From reading up on it and w/ experience, the key is to use 2 pizza stones. The first should be used as a heat deflector close to the fire. The second stone will be what you put the pizza on. I get my second stone on a platform as close to the top of the dome as I can. I let the cooker heat up to 600+ for about 40 minutes. . It's a delicate balance on getting the crust cooked w/out burning and the toppings melted. So, give yourself a couple extra crusts the first time you try it.

Note - I've noticed that the super high temps (I got 750+ sometimes) enable you to use 00 flour and make Neapolitan style pizzas. These are by far the best pizzas I've made on my Kamado. I simple 00 flour crust, good San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and some basil come out kinda like you'd get at Spacca Napoli.

Geo wrote:Has anyone [this is most likely aimed directly at Gary ] spent some time mastering pizza in their egg, kamado, or big steel grill? If so, was it hard? Pros and cons?

Geo,

I've spent quite a bit of time "mastering" pizza in my Big Green Egg, 50+ pizzas including BGE demos, obsessive testing at home, even had the honor of making pizza for Pizza Boy. With its ability to hold 700-degrees with lump charcoal accented with wood chunks the Big Green Egg works well for high heat wood kissed pizza.

I've settled on a slightly 'wet' dough, refrigerator rise and, depending on who I am cooking for either a target grate temp of 500 or just shy of 700. The hotter temp is preferable, but I've found I burn the bottom crust on one out of four pizzas, fine with an understanding home crowd, not ok if doing a BGE demo.

One slight downside to high heat pizza on the BGE, unlike a traditional wood fired pizza oven, you can not view the process as to obtain high heat the lid must be shut. This is the main factor in my tanking one out of four pizza at the higher heat.

To use a BGE effectively as either a Low Slow smoker or high heat pizza oven one must purchase a BGE Plate Setter which diffuses heat for indirect cooking, for pizza a pizza stone is mandatory as well.

Though I have mentioned it before I should note my BGE was provided by Big Green Egg. If you feel this in any way affects my perception of the product feel free to factor that into to my positive response.

Enjoy,
Gary

Tnx Gary!

I very much appreciate your info—and your full disclosure (the connection, I suspect, makes totally no difference in your claims! : ). It sounds to me like the BGE-type devices are extremely versatile, and, as you note, can excel at both low-'n-slow and blast-furnace modes.

Because of price and one or two other factors (including The Other Dr. Gale, God bless her pecunious little heart), I've been seriously thinking about theBubba Big Steel 'egg' keg. From looking at discussions on their board, it would seem that appropriating some BGE accessories, particularly the spider and stone, makes some tasks in the Bubba quite feasible, including pizza and Ruth's-Chris-type steak searing.

My buddy Jean's Québec Bread Oven got me thinking about doing pizza right--outside, in an oven--but I most certainly didn't want to build one of those in my backyard. Besides, the QBO is *not* a low-'n-slow device!

We're going to be down in Vermont this weekend, and I've located a Home Depot with a Bubba for sale. Given what you've told me, I think I'll give it a look. I realize that BGE and Bubba are not precise counterparts, but I think that the analogy is close enough to bear looking more closely.

Tnx again!

Geo

Geo wrote:I realize that BGE and Bubba are not precise counterparts, but I think that the analogy is close enough to bear looking more closely.

The Bubba Keg is made of steel, BGE ceramic. Ceramic is what enables the BGE and counterparts to maintain high heat. With a stock Bubba Keg around $650 and a large Big Green Egg with all the necessary accessories $899 I'd suggest going BGE There are other good ceramic cookers out there as well, Primo, Kamado, Grill Dome to name a few.

Enjoy,
Gary

I've recently (today!) acquired a Big Steel Keg, the successor to the Bubba Keg, and have had a couple of test runs. While I haven't used a BGE, I have about 2 years' worth of experience cooking ribs, chickens, and turkeys on an 18" WSM, having passed the 5-step program after several misfires.

First, the BSK appears to be marketed as a direct competitor to the BGE - it is indeed made out of steel, but it's double-walled and insulated, not single-walled. With respect to pricing, the $899 deal that G Wiv references includes the egg, the wheeled stand, and a diffusing plate(?). I picked up the BSK at Menards for $499 (Memorial Day sale - prices good through 5/31). Mine came with shelves on both sides, a stand with wheels, and a grill cover. The BSK also comes with an elevated swivelling grate which increases the overall cooking surface by maybe 70% - this design seems similar to the Primo, albeit implemented slightly differently.

Second, I threw a few test subjects at it: Miller Farms Amish fryers from Fresh Farms (heart) with the One-derful rub from Smoke & Spice. Results were quite nice, considering that I hadn't really read the directions. Total of a 3 hr. cook at 270F. Based on what I've read of the BGE, temperature management and fuel efficiency seems similar.

Third, I was able to assemble it solo - pretty neat trick, considering its heft. It also has an (upcoming) attachment for a trailer hitch, so it can be used on the road. Big advantage, IMHO.

Finally, there's the issue of warranty. Given my experience assembling the materials, I can understand why it might be a 10-year warranty instead of a lifetime warranty. Steel will corrode if not maintained and protected. Ceramic, maybe not so much. However, I'd expect this thing to last as long as my stove.

I'm planning on firing up both the WSM and BSK for this weekend for chicken, baby backs, and pulled pork - hopefully this will give me a much better feel for the BSK's capabilities.

-s.

Sherman,

I understand that a setting plate for the Big Steel Keg is being developed. It is also clear that a BGE plate setter fits perfectly.

It seems to me that the Steel Keg's advantages include construction and pricing. The Steel Keg doesn't break when dropped. The Steel Keg's surface stays wonderfully cool. The seal seems to be vastly superior. The base is dramatically superior.

Is there any easy way to add wood chips/chunks to the cooker? Is this desireable? I know the Saffire grill has a port in the side for adding chips.

Tim

Sherman wrote:With respect to pricing, the $899 deal that G Wiv references includes the egg, the wheeled stand, and a diffusing plate(?). I picked up the BSK at Menards for $499 (Memorial Day sale - prices good through 5/31). Mine came with shelves on both sides, a stand with wheels, and a grill cover.

The BSK seems a nice cooker, especially for the price, though I have not seen one in person. The BGE "diffusing plate" is called a plate setter and is necessary for Low and Low cookery. For a BSK I would check out the Large Green Eggs setups from Ceramic Grill Store.

I bought a Bubba Keg last Sunday at Home Depot in KC for $449. Wasn't in KC long enough to do anything more than set it up, but I'll tell you one thing: that monster is built like a tank, and the fit and finish are really fine. I'm really looking forward to using it. But, as Gary notes, you need to buy the goodies from the Ceramic Grill Store before you can do anything serious. The Board on the BSK site has lots of very valuable chat among users.

Geo

2/3 of the way through 4 racks of ribs. Temps steady at 250F for the last 2 hours. Once the ribs come off, the chickens will go on at 300F. Very impressive performance so far!

I "borrowed" my WSM water pan and charcoal grate to use as a diffuser. Hey, the price is right...

Gary, you have an open invitation to come by and check out the BSK. The price of admission will be a 4 oz. jar of your patented rub. Yum...

-s.


[update]
Total of 4 racks of ribs followed by 3 halved chickens all in one cook. Happy guests, full bellies! Slight flare-up in the water pan reminded me that I should put something in to prevent this from happening. Color me impressed. This may well become my outdoor cooking device of choice.

FORGIVE ME GARY, FOR I HAVE SINNED


My family gave me an XL BGE for a fairly significant birthday that I had recently, and had everything planned for a test drive on Monday. 2 Pork shoulders and 2 racks of babyback ribs. I am up at 7 in the morning getting everything ready, when I notice a word on my Trader Joes 100% natural hardwood charcoal that I missed at the store when I bought it......"briquettes." I was not sure where in the burbs to buy lump early memorial day morning. Besides, it said no chemical additives, only corn starch, so I decided WTF, I am just going to use it. I had about half a load of lump left, so I used that with half a load of the Trader Joes briquettes, and some mesquite chunks. My plan was for 9 hours for the shoulders and 3 for the ribs. My kids soccer game got hit with a lightning delay so it ended up 11 hours for the shoulders, which were perfect, and 5 for the ribs, which had dried out quite a bit, but were still edible. The Egg kept a perfect 200-225 the whole time. What I found remarkable is that half the charcoal is still in there....I suppose it could have made it for 20 hours.
But back to the Trader Joes 100% natural hardwood (and corn starch) briquettes from Argentina. I really liked it. It smelled just like the New York city pretzel/chestnut cart smoke I used to love when I lived there. I have no clue why, but it smelled great. It also made some fine bbq pork. So can I still look myself in the mirror if I keep using it (it is cheaper than lump, and has a lot less waste in the bag), or should I repent?


BUT IT FELT SO GOOD



Thanks, Will

Sherman wrote:Gary, you have an open invitation to come by and check out the BSK. The price of admission will be a 4 oz. jar of your patented rub. Yum...

Sherman,

If you throw in lunch I'll bring chili oil as well as rub.

Enjoy,
Gary