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When and how you discovered the big green egg?

2456

Comments

  • gerhardk
    gerhardk Posts: 942
    I use to buy charcoal and wood chips at TA appliances in Kitchener and Saturday mornings they always cooked something on the egg.  Each time I saw a demo I was impressed and then when my offset smoker rusted out I bought the egg.

    Gerhard
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    I always brought food into the office off my WSM so one of our PMs said he had a small egg that he never used and one day he showed up with it and gave it to me.
  • Cookinbob
    Cookinbob Posts: 1,691
    A buddy of mine learned about the egg from some of his co-workers who live in the south.  He knows me well and told me in no uncertain terms there would be an egg in my future.  I did some reading, and wasa interested but skeptical in that I already had a gas grill, Weber kettle, and a vertical smoker. I said that two of them would have to go if I got an egg.  

    6 months later, another neighbor who has a garden center started selling eggs, and it was not long until I had mine.  One son now has my old Weber, the other will have the vertical smoker as soon as he has room for it.
    XLBGE, Small BGE, Homebrew and Guitars
    Rochester, NY
  • CANMAN1976
    CANMAN1976 Posts: 1,593
    Wow some great stories shared here.So glad I asked.Keep them coming:)

    Going to be hard to beat VI's story though lol!! That was Hilarious:)

    Jamie.
    Hows ya gettin' on, me ol ****



    Kippens.Newfoundland and Labrador. (Canada).
  • EggoMatic
    EggoMatic Posts: 130
    I mostly bass fish when I have time. When I didn't bass fish I would watch the professional guys on espn. I would see this guy named J Todd Tucker and he is sponsored by BGE. I said I would never pay that much for a grill. Then one day I'm at my friends house and he has a large BGE. We made chicken thighs that day. Needless to say I gad myself a large within the following week! I haven't looked back since. I love this thing!
    LBGE Virginia Beach, Virginia
  • A good friend I have, bought one, and he only spends money if he has done a LOT of research... I looked at it and thought he had lost his mind. I thought it was one of the ugliest things I had seen, and could not believe he spent as much as he did...

    He then cooked dinner on it for us, and I knew then, I had to have one.

    I find it a thing of beauty now, and am passionate about telling folks about my adventures with the BGE.

  • Scottborasjr
    Scottborasjr Posts: 3,494
    Me and a couple buddies discovered the Egg when we were relatively fresh out of college on a road trip to a football game. At the time none of us had substantial money to make such an investment at the time but agreed that it would be a goal of ours. About six years ago one of them got the first Egg in our group as a present to himself after a very successful year with his newly formed business.

    I would get the chance to cook on it a good portion of the time for football games and family/close friend parties and by word of mouth my mother in law heard about it. So about 4 years ago my wife broke her ankle on some slippery ice and uneven sidewalks outside a bar at a party for my future sister-in-law. My  mother-in-law bought me a large BGE for Christmas that year in hopes that I would cook while my wife was laid up. Needless to say probably 65% to 75% of the family meals come off of an Egg now. And I have added a Medium and a Small to the grilling utensils. The gas grill has become a storage unit for grids and drip pans for the Eggs and hasn't been fired up for more then hotdogs for the kids in nearly 3 years.
    I raise my kids, cook and golf.  When work gets in the way I'm pissed, I'm pissed off 48 weeks a year.
    Inbetween Iowa and Colorado, not close to anything remotely entertaining outside of football season. 
  • BigWader
    BigWader Posts: 673

    In 2003 I was really interested in real southern bbq.  In Canada back then real bbq wasn't something that anybody knew about, or had available.  I was lucky enough to go to Memphis in May for business and saw a few teams cooking on them but didn't think much of it.  The whole experience was overwhelming. 

    I came home and bought an offset New Braunfels stick burner for $150 on clearance at Building Box because nobody would buy them.  Nice and heavy steel, but required lots of modifications to work right, and needed constant attention.  I never really mastered that thing.

    In 2005, there was a bbq contest in Barrie Ontario called the Canadian BBQ Championship and they were looking for judges.  Figuring I'd get some great free and real bbq I signed up.  Noticed several of the teams there cooking with Eggs.

    It also happened that Ray Lampe was the head judge for the first two years and learned more about the egg through his affiliation.  Given my experience with the offset I decided then that I wanted to have an Egg some day.

    In Canada egg prices are tightly controlled and much higher than the US.  So for years I dreamed, and life, a condo, and price kept me from getting one.  I told my wife for years that if she wanted to do anything for my 40th birthday - all I wanted was an egg.

    She did tons of research on the dealers, called every one of them in the GTA for pricing on the best package, what I needed, what I should start with - even called Canadian headquarters for advise about which dealer was the best to go to. 

    So on my 40th birthday she took me to the Healthy Butcher in Toronto and I walked out of his store with the full set up - LBGE, platesetter, ashtool, grill gripper, charcoal, wood chips, cover, nest, composite shelves, nest handler and a smile on my face a mile wide!!!

    I waited almost 10 years before I got my egg but I couldn't be happier how the whole thing came together. 

    Toronto, Canada

    Large BGE, Small BGE

     

  • Steve Raichlen's BBQ cookbook about 10 years ago while I was in college and just getting interested in heating meat over a fire.
    Killen, AL (The Shoals)
    XL, Small, Minimax, and Mini BGEs
  • Vegas Eggus
    Vegas Eggus Posts: 152
    edited October 2013
    Wore out a Webber and went to gas about 15 years ago. About 4years ago I started thinking about another Weber. Happened to be on one of my motorcycle sites and some braggart was showing off some new table he had made for his BGE. Started doing research and was impressed by the nearly 100% positive feedback on the BGE's. Bit the bullet and started following the forum as well. I've helped sell a couple since then as well.
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,008
    Bought a generic Weber Smokey Mountain with a gift card I had laying around. So after a few years of playing around with the fake WSM I kept thinking to myself that there must be an easier way to tend a smoker . Went online and started looking at different types of smokers. Could hardly find a negative review on a smoker called Big Green Egg. Up here in MN you see a grill for 5-6 months out of the year and then gets tucked away for winter. So a smoker is a even more of a rare occurrence. Read and read about the BGE and found an appliance store across town what carried them. The appliance sales person gave me his speech about the egg and then had a BGE rep come over and talk to me about the egg. The BGE rep would talk and talk and even talk over you and begged for attention from everyone 25 feet around him. Turned me off and went home eggless. Wasn't going to buy one off him. Went a few towns down and talked with another BGE rep who was in town for the weekend. Super nice guy and a total people person in a good way. Showed me around the egg and explained to me what he was doing when cooking on it. Bought one 30 minutes later. One of the best investments I have made. Not sure that my wife (girlfriend of 5 years at the time) would have agreed. :))
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
  • minniemoh
    minniemoh Posts: 2,145
    edited October 2013
    I met the BGE when I met my girlfriend's parents for the first time. My girlfriend took me to her parents house to meet them. It was a totally impromptu visit and he had made burgers on the egg. I remember it had flavor that just amazed me so I asked him what his secret was. We walked outside with a beverage and he was showing me the egg and telling me how it worked - then he turned to me and said "So are you sleeping with my daughter?"

    Two years later, he bought us one for a wedding gift....  Now I have two LBGE, two wonderful step-kids (hers), and my own first-born on the way. Talk about a life-changer!
    L x2, M, S, Mini and a Blackstone 36. She says I have enough now....
    eggAddict from MN!
  • I work for a construction company who has an owner who wanted to buy one after eating a steak off a friend of his.  The closest dealer was 90 miles away.  So, we contacted the corporate office and now we sell them.  Very convenient to buy the lump.

    Ernie McClain

    Scottsbluff, Nebraska

    (in the extreme western panhandle of NE)

  • caliking said:
    Saw one on display at an Ace Hardware when we lived in Iowa.Then was at a cookout where I was able to cook on one. Was really interested in its high temp tandoor-like capabilities. Lusted after one ever since. That was in 2007. Learned how to cook on charcoal, acquired and built a variety of cookers (Weber kettles, drum smokers, tandoor, wood-fired pizza oven) until I kicked my BGE fund drive into high gear in 2012. Protested my property taxes, negotiated down  the unit rate for electricity and internet service, etc. Pulled the trigger last December, then bought 2 more before SWMBO realized what I was doing :D

    Had no idea the "King of Calcutta" lived in Iowa. I'll just leave it at that :)
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Tjcoley
    Tjcoley Posts: 3,551
    A couple co workers talked about them and I started looking. Was at a restaurant in Akron Ohio at a public golf course and had a pork chop cooked on the Egg. It was so good I went home and bought one that weekend. Never looked back.
    __________________________________________
    It's not a science, it's an art. And it's flawed.
    - Camp Hill, PA
  • caliking
    caliking Posts: 18,727
    edited October 2013

    Had no idea the "King of Calcutta" lived in Iowa. I'll just leave it at that :)
    Yep - lived in Iowa City (North Liberty, actually) 2006-2009. Its been a long road to TX :). We miss it in some ways. We really learned how to cook in Iowa though - SWMBO could make xiao long bao, hand thrown noodles, injera bread, etc. I built a tandoor and learned how to marry meat to fire. Good times!

    #1 LBGE December 2012 • #2 SBGE February  2013 • #3 Mini May 2013
    A happy BGE family in Houston, TX.
  • ads75
    ads75 Posts: 391
    A co-worker had one and recommended one. Another co-worker then bought one and recommended one. I got mine shortly later. I guess that was around 3-4 years ago.
    Large BGE, Mini BGE
    Morgantown, PA
  • bo_mull
    bo_mull Posts: 363
    A couple of coworkers has them and told me about the egg. I mentioned to SWMBO about the egg last year and she bought me one for christmas. So this year I went to Jared for her christmas present.

    Cleveland, TN.

    LG BGE, PSWOO2, Stoker WIFI.

  • My wife started watching Pitmasters in 2012, and began the discussion. A little research and a lot of sticker shock delayed her about a year. This year, we started watching the show together, and it was all over but the shouting.
  • 3sheets
    3sheets Posts: 81
    Went into a store on Clairmont Road in Atlanta in the mid 1970's to buy a Pachinko Machine for my kids and saw them cooking on a BGE. I remember there was a cat that had the run of the store and seemed well fed. I still have the Pachinko Machine but waited many years to buy the egg.

    Location 33.537588, -83.969298 (33.5 miles and 41 minutes SE of the Mothership)

  • SmokinDAWG82
    SmokinDAWG82 Posts: 1,705
    Had a few friends who had them and raved about them, I had looked at them for years but they were so expensive. Then I attended a BBQ class taught by a local BBQ Chef and he cooked on an Egg.
    So the next year when I got a big bonus from work I just rewarded myself with a Lrg BGE. Now it's part of the family and is part of my way of life!
    LBGE
    Go Dawgs! - Marietta, GA
  • mr toad
    mr toad Posts: 779

    I bought the large 18 years ago – first saw the BGE in a food magazine – called the company a few times – could not get courage to spend 325.00 + 50.00 shipping for a cooker I had never seen – finally Ed Fisher said, “Give me your credit card – I will send it to you – if after 30 days you do not like it – I will send someone to come get it and refund your money.” It was thanksgiving – holiday seasons – wife must have been in holiday mood – for she said – “Do it” – Our first cook was the thanksgiving turkey – our only accessory was a rib rack/turkey holder and a polder thermometer -  wow – we and the family were so impressed – by Christmas we were, “Eggsperts” – today using the same egg – only changed the bands over the years – a good and tasty journey

    See no Evil - Hear no Evil - Speak no Evil
                        Smoke no Evil

    BGE - Mini, Small, Medium, Large
  • Saw an ad in the Atlanta Journal back in 1990 and it looked intriguing. The original Mothership (called the Pachinko House) was located in a seedy part of Chamblee. Paid $275 for the clay version. No additional accessories were available and quite frankly, I only did wings and smoked fish on it. Rebuilt the firebox and refinished the exterior. When I took it in for trade-in (2006) for my first ceramic they BGE sales guy said "Wow, this should go into the Smithsonian."

    It went from a conversation piece to cult...

    In the  Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GA
    Med BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating
  • My dad had an office in Atlanta when I was a kid, so he travelled there at least once a week.  He says he saw this funny cooker outside of a shop every once in a while.  We can only assume that it was Ed Fisher's pachinko machine shop.  He doesn't remember where it was, but it was in the 80s.
     
    Fast forward to the early 90's and the first shop in St. Louis started carrying them.  They had a small ad in the newspaper and had a BGE in the corner.  He recognized it and we bought one a few days later.  Medium BGE with stand, cover, tools, & charcoal for $299 (we still have the receipt!)

    Yeah, they would do wings on Saturdays outside the Pachinko House. That's what eventually sold me. They used to sell "Mr. Meat" dry rub (which is the BGE rub now). I figured, anything called Mr Meat had to be good...


     

    In the  Hinterlands between Cumming and Gainesville, GA
    Med BGE, Weber Kettle, Weber Smokey Joe, Brinkman Dual Zone, Weber Genesis Gas Grill and portable gasser for boating
  • Seanr7
    Seanr7 Posts: 207
    I saw a knockoff about five years ago, had no clue why someone would spend so much money on something that looked so odd. After eating food off of it my desire to have one grew. I researched and researched and researched some more, visited my local dealer, researched some more. Had to figure out a way to justify the expense but in the end, I said "screw justification, just buy the damn thing!" Went to buy the Large, saw the XL, got confused, went back to research, and decided bigger was better.
    XL BGE
  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
    Watching Boy Meets Grill with Bobby Flay first.  After that I started looking for them.  Noticed a local store carried them and then started noticing a lot of people cooking with them.  Now, after having one for almost a month, I love this thing! 
    ------------------------------
    Thomasville, NC
    My YouTube Channel - The Hungry Hussey
    Instagram
    Facebook
    My Photography Site
  • Grillmagic
    Grillmagic Posts: 1,600

    I have been grilling for 38 years starting with a Weber and adding several gassers over the years but always using the Weber on special cooks, then my job (I am a entertainer) took me to perform at the Memphis in May BBQ Championships 7/8 years ago where I seen the egg for the first time and really loved the food I sampled, I have performed 3 different times now at the Memphis Event and always seek out the BGE BBQers. I finally wore out my second Weber this spring and took the XL plunge and I'm loving every minute of it.

    Chuck

    www.chuckkingcomedy.com

    Charlotte, Michigan XL BGE
  • @Grillmagic  Just saw one of your videos.  Great stuff !!!!  Can you hypnotize people into thinking that I can cook tasty meals, or is there a limit to your capabilities?
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    My dad had an office in Atlanta when I was a kid, so he travelled there at least once a week.  He says he saw this funny cooker outside of a shop every once in a while.  We can only assume that it was Ed Fisher's pachinko machine shop.  He doesn't remember where it was, but it was in the 80s.
     
    Fast forward to the early 90's and the first shop in St. Louis started carrying them.  They had a small ad in the newspaper and had a BGE in the corner.  He recognized it and we bought one a few days later.  Medium BGE with stand, cover, tools, & charcoal for $299 (we still have the receipt!)
    For those here who don't know what a pachinko looks like here is mine:
    image
    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • johnkitchens
    johnkitchens Posts: 5,227
    My local hardware store is a dealer. Every Saturday they cook on their egg.

    Every weekend I would become more and more interested in the egg. Finally last year at Christmas I bought myself a large and couldn't be happier with it.

    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's