investigating purchasing BGE

Unknown · February 2005

I am looking at buying a BGE and am a little surprised at the price. Also, I dont know if I would need a large or medium egg. I like to have cookouts and get together for football games, but I don't have a large family to feed - just my wife and I during the week. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated.

badbruce · February 2005

Morning btravis,
The Egg & accessories are not cheap by any means, but the alternative for me was stainless, drum style with an off-set firebox @ about $2500. I live near the beach, lot's of salt in the air, rust is a problem.
I bought my large egg last July & was so impressed I bought a second large for multiple cooks.
bruce

katman · February 2005

btravis,
You didn't describe the nature of the "surprise" asssociated with the price. Here's my spin: I have three eggs--an 18 year old large "clay" egg, a large modern ceramic egg and a small. I also have a webber gas grill, a webber kettle grill and a New Braunfels offset smoker. We use our outdoor cookers all year. My wife loves food cooked by lump heat on the egg, but she also likes the gasser for a quick cook on weeknights when we are both late getting home.[p]I think the gasser cost about $450.00. I've had three during the 18 years since I got my first egg. Replaced grates, flavorizer bars and other parts in each one of those gassers before buying a new replacement unit. Haven't replaced a thing on that original egg.
The second large and small egg were added to the collection even though I usually cook just for two. Boy has got to have something to play with![p]Get the large egg. You'll like it and your food will have taste you can't get with a gasser.

Mark Backer · February 2005

btravis,[p]If you're looking for pro-BGE talk, you came to the right place. [p]After having lobster tails prepared on my brother in law's BGE, my wife bought mine for me as our anniversary / my birthday present last year. My first one, anyway.[p]Her thought was, rather than buy a new gasser every four years for $300 bucks or rebuild one forever, why not invest a little more in a grill/smoker/cooker that can do literally everything?[p]I have to add that the joy you get from your egg will vary depending upon how much you put into it. My brother - in - law had never done any lo and slo's or indirect cooking or anything else. He loved it just because it was the best grill he'd ever used. Once he started using some of the accessories and trying different stuff, he loved it even more.[p]We bought a small and a mini for christmas and we cook on at least one of ours five days a week. I frequently cook for other people (i.e. boston butts like I will be doing this weekend for a friend) and I love doing it.[p]I quit playing golf when my daughter was born. Not enough free time and I couldn't rationalize dropping the jack it took to play. [p]Now, the egg replaced that hobby. We cook great (usually) healthy food at home, my daughter, the rest of my family and neigbors love it, and my wife usually cooks more than me now. [p]And if you want to be convinced that you not only want one, but that you need one, then just go to an EggFest. You'll never be the same again.

The Naked Whiz · February 2005

btravis,
The standard advice is buy the largest Egg you can afford. Even if you don't plan to cook large quantities of food, you may find that the extra grid space is handy. If you want to do chicken parts or burgers, you might need the room. After you start cooking, you may find that you gain a reputation for good cooking and you may find yourself asked to cook larger quantities of food. (My wife volunteered me a couple of times to cook pulled pork for a women's shelter and then for her church ladie's group, for example.) Do you ever want to cook a big turkey for a holidy meal? So there are probably times when a large will come in handy. There are a lot of medium Egg owners out there who are very happy, too, so whatever you choose, you will love cooking on a ceramic cooker. Good luck![p]TNW

JSlot · February 2005

I think one of the most telling things about the quality and satisfaction we get from our Eggs is that 90% of the folks that post here regularly added more Eggs after they experienced cooking on their first one. I would also venture to say that well over 50% of all Egg owners own more than one. I've got 4 larges that I use in competition, 2 2 larges and 1 small on the deck, and an XL at the warehouse waiting to be picked up. LOL. I still say my first Egg, purchased in '97, was the best money I ever spent. You won't regret deciding to buy one.[p]Frosty Ones,
Jim

JSlot · February 2005

LOL

Mac in NC · February 2005

btravis,[p]This question gets asked alot and the best answer is always to buy what you feel comfortable in purchasing. I am in the same position that you are in. I bought a medium four years ago. It gets the job done without regrets and I've had parties with the likes of 25 people. I'm happy in my purchase so I'll leave it at that.[p]Now, you mentioned price. When I bought my medium, I paid roughly $550.00 which included the nest. Nowadays, you can attend an Eggfest and buy the LARGE for the same price. This is only at Eggfest. That $550.00 includes the large BGE with new springe hinge (vastly superior to my hinge),egg nest, bag of lump, some accessory tools (not sure which) AND a free ticket to the event. At the event, you'll meet all the fine folks that post here on the forum. Sounds like a no-brainer if I was in the market to buy another Egg. Hopefully you live near Maryland, Florida, Texas or Georgia. These are current "Eggfest" locations held at different times throughout the year. Florida and Maryland are right around the corner. [p]Whatever you choose, rest assured that you will be a satisfied customer. The Egg will reward you ten fold for the initial cost one must put up front.[p]Happy cookin'[p]Mac

BlueSmoke · February 2005

btravis,
You're right: that's a chunk of change in front, but as others below have said the trade off is not having to replace or refurbish the cooker after 2 to 3 years.[p]There's also the temperature range: my last gasser was stuck to no lower than 300, no higher than 425 degrees. With our Egg, I can easily go as low as 200 degrees and peg the thermometer out at 750+. This, plus the heat retention, make the Egg the most versatile cooker I've ever used.[p]I'd recommend the large for your cookouts and games; it will still be perfect for dinners for two. You may decide later, as we did, that a second, smaller Egg has a place on your porch.[p]Ken

Smokin Joe · February 2005

btravis,
Folks tend to say you get what you pay for... With the BGE I say you get MORE than what you pay for! Why - well for one the food prepared on it is superior to any other type of cooker - even for the novice egger. Second, it lasts forever - sure you'll shell out more money over time for toys/tools etc. but you truly are adding stuff (as you build upon your cooking eggspertise) and not replacing stuff. Three, the service and warranty is awesome. Finally, you get the wisdom & wit of this forum - people willing to help, share and do so much more such as co-op buying of thermometers, lump coal - you name it.
From my perspective, when you buy a BGE you not only buy a "cooker", but yoeu are buying into a way of life. Some refer to it as a cult - others refer to it as a culture. Either way - you can't miss. HTH Joe

Mark Backer · February 2005

Smokin Joe,[p]Great call there, Joe. It's cult and culture, with the best food you've ever eaten mixed in. Our Eggs have totally changed how we think regarding eating, entertaining, what we cook, what we'll try, where we shop, how we shop, etc.[p]I never cared enough about steaks on my gasser to really care. Now, I find sales like the last few weeks at kroger and sam's and I've got 40 pounds of vacuum sealed ribeyes in the basement.[p]

Sundown · February 2005

btravis,
IF you take a few minutes and read back through some of the older posts you'll find your questions are answered very clearly and maybe get answers to questions you didn't even think of asking. But you're doing the right thing.
There's only my wife and I most of the time and my first Egg was a large - I've never regretted the purchase. My kids gave me a Mini for a birthday few years ago and Now, I'm trying to get my better half to agree toa small or a medium. I would really like to have another large though. Pick the size you can afford and enjoy some of the best food you've ever tasted. You are in for a major learning curve but, belive me it's over really fast with the help of the cult members here in the best cooking forum in the universe. I used to replace my gassers every 5 years or so. Currently there doesn't seem to be a need for the replacement of my large that's heading into it's sixth year. Looks damn near as good as it did when I bought it! If you go back a few weeks and Look for "retired railroader" you'll get a good insight into your new purchase. Good luck and sign up at the gym soon.

Retired RailRoader · February 2005

btravis,
I can not really tell you much about the egg as I have not received mine yet. The egg is on order and I should have it by weeks end. I will however tell you that this forum and it participants or nothing short of fantastic. I too had some reservations and I have posted many questions (if you scroll down and go to the archives you can see all the questions that I have asked). Whenever I have have asked a question no matter how elementary the answers given were quick and very informative. When I purchased my egg I did go a little overboard with the eggcessories but when my wife gave the go ahead I wanted to strike while the iron (egg??) was hot. Just look at some of the wonderful pictures of food and reccomended recipies that has been posted on this forum or on releated links such as http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm or http://www.wessb.com/. Anyway good luck whatever you decide to do.[p]John

Retired RailRoader · February 2005

Sundown,
I guess I really did ask alot of questions!!

Sundown · February 2005

Retired Railroader,
No sin in asking questions. The sin comes when you don't ask and you mess something up. If you can, join us at Eggfest in Waldorf, MD in May It's worth all of the effort and you get to meet a bunch of the names on the forum face to face.
Welcome aboard and enjoy your retirement with us.

fishlessman · February 2005

<p />btravis,
the price sounds high at first, but the egg does bring savings in the end. i won't buy steak in a resteraunt any more, this 28 ounce sirloin was 11 dollars. this weekend served about 12 pounds of pulled pork sandwhiches wich cost about 30 dollars with the fixings while the grill next to me served marinated steak tips, about 10 pounds at about 80 dollars, people devoured the pork before picking onthe tips. i live alone,and need the large, if you can afford the large, its worth it.

Bobby-Q · February 2005

Retired Railroader,
I'm surprised you haven't noticed the patern yet. For every question you ask and get answered you have to either post a mouth watering picture or answer 3 questions from others in the future.[p]It's a system as solid as Dewey and the Decimals!!

J Straus · February 2005

btravis,[p]My two cents here...[p]I was looking for something to do low and slow cooking with, because my Weber cannot hold temps in the 225 range. Problems are, a: it wont run that low, and b: it fluctuates temp because it's just a relatively thin steel cooker that does not insulate against ambient weather/temperature changes. This last part is key here. The Egg will hardly fluctuate in any weather because of its thick ceramic structure.[p]I was surfing around looking for something like a Brikman offset smoker, but I wanted something with a little better quality that ran on lump charcoal and wood. I did find some really nice looking stuff (very expensive) and then I saw this silly "Big Green Egg" contraption. [p]When I researched further the Egg sounded too good to be true.
Low and slow with very precise temp control.
Grilling temps for chicken etc.
Searing above 750.
Impervious to corrosion and weather.[p]My only question at the time was: "How long will it run on a load of lump?" I called BGE and they basically said "plenty" [p]I have done two Boston Butts at a very steady 205 for 36 hours without adding or adjusting anything, and had some lump left over.[p]Then I noticed this forum which is all you need in addition to the Egg to begin producing the best food you'll ever cook![p]The keys here are:[p]Versatility
Durability
Tech support[p]I would have been happy with this purchase at twice the price. I was a bit skeptical going in to this, not that I didn't believe the Eggs capabilities, but because I thought I might not use it that much. HA! [p]Get one and we'll see you back on the list! And thanks to everyone here on the list, you are a wonderful community![p]Justin[p]

Smokin Bob · February 2005

EASY:[p]1. Large (it's worth it when you do need it)[p]2. Lifetime Guarantee (just don't launch it off your deck)

Borders · February 2005

btravis, ditto on the comments below. Pull the trigger on the large and get to know your butcher on a first name basis.
Scott

RRP · February 2005

btravis,
Keep it mind it's a lifetime investment that keeps producing fine returns! BTW it's just two of us here too, but we started with a large, then added a small for the perfect combo and then filled out the set with a medium. Go for it - life isn't a dress rehearsal!

Unknown · February 2005

RRP,
thanks for the input RRP!

Unknown · February 2005

SmokinBoB,
thanks for the input - lifetime guarantee does make a difference. Has anyone had any problems with warranty claims?

Unknown · February 2005

J Straus,
thanks for the input - i had to get rid of my brinkman because the lid expanded and caught the sides of the smoker thereby spilling the water onto the hot coals and searing the skin off of my leg and left with 2nd degree burns. typically, i told my wife right before it happened that we should get a better smoker.

Smokin Bob · February 2005

btravis,[p]I think the only thing they won't do is drive your warrantied part out to your house if it's snowing...

Unknown · February 2005

fishlessman,
great picture - looks wonderful. i am seeing a pattern here and like what i am hearing.

Unknown · February 2005

Retired Railroader,
thanks for the input - where did you order yours from? i have gotten a ton of nice replies - it is great that so many people are on here daily.

Unknown · February 2005

JSlot,
thanks for the input - i like that you still use one 8 years down the road. now that i think about it, i will save lots of heartache when the propane tank runs out in the middle of cooking.

Unknown · February 2005

katman,
thanks for the input - it looks like i dont have enough toys

Smokin Joe · February 2005

Mark Backer,
Wassup! That's a lot of meat in your freezer. Sounds like you, the missus and itty bitty are set for a while. LOL... Joe

Trouble · February 2005

btravis,[p]The holidays are especially nice around here (in the forum) and Mad Max seems to rule. Check the archives for Mad Max turkey and (to die for) gravy. Then decide, knowing that you'll want to cook your turkey on the egg, how big a turkey you want to do...then go from there. I know Thanksgiving is a long ways off, but I'd hate for you to buy one size egg then, come November, wish you could fit a 22# turkey on it.[p]It's easy for me to spend your money for you, but if you can, get the Large. [p]Good luck and happy cooking.

investigating purchasing BGE

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