Big Green Egg-Case

[tyrion]

I'm looking into buying one of these after doing some reading. I was curious if anyone owns one, has used one or has any knowledge regarding The Big Green Egg.

[skullguise]

Some pretty good reading on another forum I frequent:

Outdoor grilling, Grills and cooking tips - Tweak City Audio and Smoking meat - Tweak City Audio

Used to be a GREAT thread on AV123 forums, but since they went belly-up it disappeared. It talked a lot about the BGE's, and some competition. Plenty of food forums out there to check out, too, if you have the patience.

[tyrion]

Thanks, I've been reading some of the stuff out there and it has an almost cult like status.

[Aimless1]

My cubicle partner has one. Brags about how good it is all the time. Anything specific you would like to know?

[luvdunhill]

Mike, have you considered a Traeger pellet grill?

[kevin gilmore]

My boss has one of these things, (the bigest size one) and absolutely loves the thing.

I've had some food from it, and it sure is tasty. It can do things my gas fed weber cannot do.

[tyrion]

My cubicle partner has one. Brags about how good it is all the time. Anything specific you would like to know?

I guess whether any issues with reliability. I've read some people have issues with cracks in the firebox. The fact he brags about it all the time suggests that he's pretty happy with it which is the kind of thing I was looking for.

Marc, I will look up the Traeger.

Reks, if you mean by campfire, a big ceramic egg that is green in color, nope.

KG, thanks, that's the kind of stuff I wanted to hear.

[kevin gilmore]

Before i had the weber, i had a TEC. Way expensive. Was supposed to last 20 years.

Firebox and ceramics cracked after 9 years, then i found out that they can't sell replacement

parts because the ceramics were wrapped with an asbestos like compound and then inserted

into the firebox. So even though it had a 20 year warranty i would have had to send the

thing back somehow to the factory. That was not going to happen. Moral of the story,

nothing lasts forever. If you don't run the thing at 11, it should last 10 to 15 years.

But it is made of clay/ceramic/who knows what. And if you drop it, or if it falls over due

to wind (kind of hard to do as its pretty damm heavy) it might break.

[tyrion]

If I could get 10 years out of this or any grill, even $1200, I would be pretty happy.

[Duggeh]

Was it just that the cost and difficulty of sending it back wasn't worth the money?

When my dad installed our kitchen, the sink came with a 20 year deal. 19 years later it cracked down the centre and, what with mum magically still having the reciept, it was replaced at no cost, with a fresh 20 year deal.

If that happens again, my parents wont outlive the third sink.

[jvlgato]

My buddy in Atlanta has one. It's been about 8-9 years now, and he still raves about it. Yes, it's pretty much a cult, and he fully expected me to join. I'm too lazy to grill as much as he does, and I like to eat more than to cook, so wouldn't spend the cash, but I will say when we visited him, we had some of the best grilled meat ever!

Off the top of my head, I remember him saying it's based on some ancient Japanese design, but using modern materials. It affords you great control over temperatures based on its shape and degree of opening/closing of top and bottom vents. Great for grilling, great for smoking, great for socializing - there's some big Green Egg club he's in ... not sure if it's formal or just a group of fanatics in the area.

He says that anyone who loves grilling should have one.

[tyrion]

Now that's what I am talking about. Anyone want to buy an Amarra 4? Just kidding. I think the Egg may be doable.

[jvlgato]

If you gave any ?s, let me know. I can get you in touch with him. I do remember him saying not to go cheap. Get the big one, and don't forget the nest! But then this is HC, I would expect no less!

Also, it uses chunk/lump charcoal, rather than briquettes, so start looking for good sources of that, too.

[kevin gilmore]

Well the TEC at the time cost me $4500. Completely stainless steel guaranteed not to rust.

They lied. The only way to send it back to the factory was to take it apart, because no standard

shipping company would have taken it in one piece. And all the screws and a lot of the stainless

was rusted pretty bad, so there was no way to take it apart. Went into the trash can. Only some

of the parts had the 20 year warranty, so it would have likely come back with a $2k bill. Never

again.

[Aimless1]

Just checked with my co-worker. Reminded me they love it and it's the best grilled food evar. All that aside, the only issue they have had is difficulty in getting it lit. I'm assuming it is operator error. Otherwise it has worked flawlessly. Apparently they discovered it because a deli they go to uses a big green egg to cook their pulled pork, which means it is getting hard commercial use. Apparently the deli has had theirs for about 8 years without issue. Theirs however gets light use, maybe a couple times a month in the summer.

[tyrion]

Thanks all! What younall are telling me is confirming what I've read which is what I was hoping. The wife is a go but I want to finish the bathroom, which is a couple of weeks away.

[jvlgato]

they have had is difficulty in getting it lit. I'm assuming it is operator error.

My buddy has an electric starter. Plug it in, heating coil into bottom of the the charcoal, ready in 10-15 min!

[Aimless1]

My buddy has an electric starter. Plug it in, heating coil into bottom of the the charcoal, ready in 10-15 min!

Good suggestion. Apparently his problem is not getting enough air to get it started. After listening to the long explanation, he appears to have been slow to learn to leave the lid open when igniting it.

[tyrion]

My concern was with temperature control, which is done by opening and closing a lower vent and one at the top. While it can fluctuate a bit, maybe 25 degrees, apparently it does not effect the finished product. Maybe you can ask your friends whether that has been an issue.

[luvdunhill]

My concern was with temperature control, which is done by opening and closing a lower vent and one at the top. While it can fluctuate a bit, maybe 25 degrees, apparently it does not effect the finished product. Maybe you can ask your friends whether that has been an issue.

That would be my chief concern as well. The Traeger has a dial that is used to control the pellet feed, which controls the heat. The lower end models have three settings and the higher end models offer continuous adjustment. This weekend I smoked a pull-pork butt and a brisket at the low setting was dead on 200 for about 30 hours between the two meet cuts.

I'm looking into grills at the moment as well. These two are on my list, as well as something that has an infrared heating option. I've narrowed these down to one of the Napoleon Grill models. At this point, I'm leaning towards one of the Napoleon's, but have to wait until some remodeling is finished, like yourself

[grawk]

Smoking and wood based grilling isn't a precise thing, it's a feel thing. You control the temperature by adding more or less wood

[Salt Peanuts]

Your post piqued my interest until I looked up how much it costs - I/we just don't do enough grilling to justify the cost.

Keep up posted how you like it when you get one.

[luvdunhill]

Smoking and wood based grilling isn't a precise thing, it's a feel thing. You control the temperature by adding more or less wood

for those that disagree, the Traeger solution is pretty much perfect, huh?

[grawk]

Couldn't say, not having experienced it. I've always used a smoker of some sort (weber, and now my oil drum style w/ sidecar)

[tyrion]

I guess I need to look into the Traeger grills. Marc, how do they compare in terms of price to the XL Egg?