Let's talk about the BIG GREEN EGG!

[Disney Addicted]

Who has one? How do you like it? What size do you have? What do you cook with it? What are the "must have" accessories? Is it really THAT amazing?

My husband has been talking about the BGE for at least 5 years on-and-off. This past year he's much more serious about it. And I'm getting more intrigued the more I read. And the variety of foods that can apparently be cooked on a BGE - wow! Do you really cook breads, desserts and more?

We have had 3 BBQ's in about 11 years that are garbage... they do the job well (steaks, burgers, chicken) but just keep rusting out so badly. He flat out refuses to cook anymore with the one we currently have. I have to admit I'm sick of BBQ's at this point and really wary of shelling out more money on one.

Yesterday, I phoned & got mom to agree with looking after the kids 5 months in advance of the date. There will be a BGE festival / cooking event in Toronto on June 1st and we really want to go there - without the kids. Hmm... bet my dad would love to join us.

 

[mward73]

I got DH one for Christmas. He had also been talking about it for ages. We got a large one mainly because a lot of the bbq forums I looked on had people selling their medium to upgrade to a large. I also talked to a friend of his who is a bbq fanatic and he said large is the way to go.

Let's see, accessories. We have:
- Spider (similar to the place setter. Both allow you to cook various things at once, at different heights)
- Lump charcoal (he likes the BGE brand but said as long as it's lump, it's pretty good)
- Pizza Peel - got this after trying to wrestle pizza on the stone a couple of times - makes it easier (parchment paper also worked - I just wanted something more permanent that paper every time.)
- Pizza stone - just use the Pampered Chef one I had sitting in a box for 3 years. lol Just make sure you put the stone on the egg to pre-heat right after lighting the grill or it will crack
- Charcoal fire starters - you can use something else - just got these because they were on sale pretty cheap
- ThermaPen - some thermometer he swears by

The only ones we got the day we got the Egg were the Spider and Charcoal - everything else was either on sale later or a gift.

We cook everything!! Pizza, pork roast, beef roasts, ribs, rib roast, veggies, kabobs, fish... pretty much anything I would use the oven for (except baking - haven't tried that yet) we use the Egg for.

Look around for deals. I got ours at the local bbq joint called Dizzy Pig. They have a "Dizzyfest" every year and use the Eggs 1 day. Then they clean them up and sell them at a pretty big discount (complete with warranty). When I ordered it, they asked if I wanted shelves or handles because those were easier to put on when they build it, so it was sort of a built to suit thing. We walked around the Dizzyfest until we found our Egg, then chatted with the people cooking on it. Good source of info from them, too

Don't buy second hand if you can avoid it - the warranty doesn't transfer so if something goes wrong, you're stuck. I think that's it! If you get one, have fun!

 

[DisneyBill]

I too lust after a BGE and until I became unemployed I was setting aside money for the purchase. Poke around on biggreenegg.com and look at some of the videos, recipes and suggestions for installation of the egg. I grille a lot and have a old Ducane gas grille I've managed to still find replacement parts for. But since no new model gas grilles seem to even utilize briquets any longer, I'm drawn to what I see in the BGE. It seems apparent to me that a successful and flexible ownership will require a number of accessories to enable full usage, so the cost of the egg is only a piece of the equation. Good luck with your decision.

 

[rsschneck]

I bought one for DH over 4 years ago. He loves it so much he just bought a second one 6 months ago.

If you can get one from an eggfest that is a great deal.

Both of ours are large. The coal does matter. BG egg coal has a funny taste and does not burn great. My DH fell in love with a coal we could buy in Texas and when we moved we had to try others and then had to order a pallet of his favorite.

Accessories: wok, pizza stone, multi-level stone, digi Q, etc. He makes bread, pizza, all types of meat to grill or smoke, potatoes, etc. Most everything we eat for dinner is cooked on the egg.

Worth every penny! I no longer have to cook

 

[mikehn]

I dont have a green egg, but a XL grill dome. I basically just use mine for grilling and smoking. They seem expensive but they arent much more than some of the high end gas grills.

 

[Disney Addicted]

Thanks for the replies!

I got DH one for Christmas. He had also been talking about it for ages. We got a large one mainly because a lot of the bbq forums I looked on had people selling their medium to upgrade to a large. I also talked to a friend of his who is a bbq fanatic and he said large is the way to go.

Let's see, accessories. We have:
- Spider (similar to the place setter. Both allow you to cook various things at once, at different heights)
- Lump charcoal (he likes the BGE brand but said as long as it's lump, it's pretty good)
- Pizza Peel - got this after trying to wrestle pizza on the stone a couple of times - makes it easier (parchment paper also worked - I just wanted something more permanent that paper every time.)
- Pizza stone - just use the Pampered Chef one I had sitting in a box for 3 years. lol Just make sure you put the stone on the egg to pre-heat right after lighting the grill or it will crack
- Charcoal fire starters - you can use something else - just got these because they were on sale pretty cheap
- ThermaPen - some thermometer he swears by

The only ones we got the day we got the Egg were the Spider and Charcoal - everything else was either on sale later or a gift.

We cook everything!! Pizza, pork roast, beef roasts, ribs, rib roast, veggies, kabobs, fish... pretty much anything I would use the oven for (except baking - haven't tried that yet) we use the Egg for.

Look around for deals. I got ours at the local bbq joint called Dizzy Pig. They have a "Dizzyfest" every year and use the Eggs 1 day. Then they clean them up and sell them at a pretty big discount (complete with warranty). When I ordered it, they asked if I wanted shelves or handles because those were easier to put on when they build it, so it was sort of a built to suit thing. We walked around the Dizzyfest until we found our Egg, then chatted with the people cooking on it. Good source of info from them, too

Don't buy second hand if you can avoid it - the warranty doesn't transfer so if something goes wrong, you're stuck. I think that's it! If you get one, have fun!

Lots of information, thanks! We also are looking at purchasing the large one. I keep wondering though if the extra large wouldn’t be better. I think I’m having hard time visualizing tiered cooking. I really need to see some BGE’s in action. Whichever we purchase, I want to be large enough to cook for a lot of people. Say burgers or chicken for up to 12-15 people. Is the large sufficient? The extra large overkill? I need to start looking at prices. I bet the price difference will kill that thought quickly enough.

Thanks for the heads-up about second-hand. Good to know the warranty wouldn’t transfer. At the price, we want the warranty. And that reminds me to check about the warranty at the EggFest. Last year my husband stumbled upon advertising for an EggFest (we’re going this year!) and they did the same thing your Dizzyfest did. I need to find out if they will be offering BGE’s (after being used once for the Festival) at a discount again, and if they come with the warranty. I think they were selling them in advance of the Festival as well.

Looks like I have more research to do. I’m not sure what a Pizza Peel is but I’ll have to look that up. We like to make & bake pizza in the oven so that would probably transition over to the BGE. What kind of veggies do you cook on it?

I too lust after a BGE and until I became unemployed I was setting aside money for the purchase. Poke around on biggreenegg.com and look at some of the videos, recipes and suggestions for installation of the egg. I grille a lot and have a old Ducane gas grille I've managed to still find replacement parts for. But since no new model gas grilles seem to even utilize briquets any longer, I'm drawn to what I see in the BGE. It seems apparent to me that a successful and flexible ownership will require a number of accessories to enable full usage, so the cost of the egg is only a piece of the equation. Good luck with your decision.

Yes. The more I read about the BGE the more accessories it seems we’ll want. My husband’s original estimate in cost is too low.

I bought one for DH over 4 years ago. He loves it so much he just bought a second one 6 months ago.

If you can get one from an eggfest that is a great deal.

Both of ours are large. The coal does matter. BG egg coal has a funny taste and does not burn great. My DH fell in love with a coal we could buy in Texas and when we moved we had to try others and then had to order a pallet of his favorite.

Accessories: wok, pizza stone, multi-level stone, digi Q, etc. He makes bread, pizza, all types of meat to grill or smoke, potatoes, etc. Most everything we eat for dinner is cooked on the egg.

Worth every penny! I no longer have to cook��

Wow, a second? Mind if I ask why? Do you just do that much cooking or find you need a second to accommodate cooking for lots of people?

My husband laughed when I read your reply about no longer having to cook

Oh, and mward73 and rsschneck - how did you set yours up? Do you have it on a wood deck or patio blocks? I read one article that suggested placing a cement block underneath for the egg to stand on. I see a lot of eggs “embedded” into “tables”.

I dont have a green egg, but a XL grill dome. I basically just use mine for grilling and smoking. They seem expensive but they arent much more than some of the high end gas grills.

I’m not familiar with a grill dome. I don’t think I have heard of it before. I’ll look it up online, thanks!

 

[rsschneck]

Yes, DH uses it that much. He has even baked bread in it.

When we have people over and he is cooking a 24 hour pork butt or several racks of ribs you need a second one for potatoes, corn, etc.

We have the rolling egg stands. We used to have a tile/concrete patio and now we have a wooden deck. Both eggs have their own covers as well.

Let me know if you have more questions. We do have other accessories and fire starters are a must.

Last nights dinner was a Flank Steak with a Canadian coffee infused rub and baked potatoes. I had to open a bag of salad and get the plates down. Tough job I know!

 

[North of Mouse]

Who has one? How do you like it? What size do you have? What do you cook with it? What are the "must have" accessories? Is it really THAT amazing?

My husband has been talking about the BGE for at least 5 years on-and-off. This past year he's much more serious about it. And I'm getting more intrigued the more I read. And the variety of foods that can apparently be cooked on a BGE - wow! Do you really cook breads, desserts and more?

We have had 3 BBQ's in about 11 years that are garbage... they do the job well (steaks, burgers, chicken) but just keep rusting out so badly. He flat out refuses to cook anymore with the one we currently have. I have to admit I'm sick of BBQ's at this point and really wary of shelling out more money on one.

Yesterday, I phoned & got mom to agree with looking after the kids 5 months in advance of the date. There will be a BGE festival / cooking event in Toronto on June 1st and we really want to go there - without the kids. Hmm... bet my dad would love to join us.

We have had a BGE for 4 years now and absolutely love it. The medium size is pretty large and will hold a huge turkey, so we have no need for anything larger (they are *so* heavy).

My dh built his own counter/stand for it. Used heat tiles for top, also underneath on lower shelf. It's great as he has both sides as counter space, and storage beneath. We also have a Weber Grill, so we always have room for whatever we need to cook.

We love it and have *no* regrets on the $$'s spent