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Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I have a question for anyone that may be reading now. I am contemplating get a BGE grill and would like to know what someone that owns one says. The salesman obviously says its the greatest thing since sliced bread. My wife and I grill nearly everynight. I am tired of spending thousands on grills that I wear out in just a few years. The last grill we bought we paid nearly $7k for and it lasted only about 4 1/2 years. Any of you grill alot?? What do you think about this grill?? Does it cook well?? And how about lasting. Whats the longest any of you have had one. I am concerned about surface area as well. The XL seems a bit small for some of the grilling we do. Anybody have an XL and wish they had something bigger?? Thanks for the help.
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Comments

  • "Sparky"
    "Sparky" Posts: 6,024
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    I love all four of my eggs :woohoo: The XL has a bunch of space,but for me,is to much(most of the time).I recently cooked 40+lbs of Boston butt on the XL,but I know that I could have done more ;)

    40lbs003.jpg

    40lbs013.jpg

    BTW,I got my first egg 4.5 yrs ago,and still use it a few times a week,and it is still in great shape ;)
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  • Susan Egglaine
    Susan Egglaine Posts: 2,437
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    RUN, RUN, right now to the store & get a BGE. You will not be disappointed! Who has a pic of that pig at Eggtoberfest or multiple level cooking? See you on the forum soon! :)
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  • Richard Fl
    Richard Fl Posts: 8,297
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    If you will scroll thru the last 2 days of posts there are many testimonials 1700+ in Atlanta last weekend and 225 BGE cooking.

    http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=527314&catid=1

    Seriously. Some folks here cook competively and use large xl and other smokers. Depending what you wish to do there are some variables. I have a large and small and can cook for 30-40 people with a little pre-planning. Hope you join us.
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  • "Sparky"
    "Sparky" Posts: 6,024
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    Here ya go,BTW,this was on a large :woohoo:

    Eggfest08043.jpg
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  • Bama Chad
    Bama Chad Posts: 154
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    Buy the egg. I have had a medium for about 6 years and will never go back to anything else. Just bought a XL at the fest for the family back in my hometown just so I will have something to cook on when I go home to visit. Spend 20 minutes a day looking over this forum and you will get all the info you need on how to cook, recipes, and anything else you want to know. Not a bad group of folks to chat with either.

    The food off the egg is outstanding.
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  • Richard Fl
    Richard Fl Posts: 8,297
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    Yes! I saw and stood in disbelief when I heard the size. Does anyone have the details temp time etc?
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  • Fire Walker
    Fire Walker Posts: 241
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    The clay komodo is the great great grandfather of the BGE. alot of guys brought them back from Japan after WW2 and are still using them today. The BGE is made of space age ceramics which is not unbreakable but alot tougher and has a lifetime warranty. For me the XL is the perfect size, but all the sizes are exellent cookers.
    FireWalker
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  • elFloyd
    elFloyd Posts: 50
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    14 years and counting. Use my Large 3 -4 times per week, all year long. It's surprising how much food you can get on the large.

    elFloyd,
    Cumming, Ga
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  • Tennisbum
    Tennisbum Posts: 228
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    Have to agree with Bama and others. I have just acquired a large egg and although it is smaller than my webber 22.5 inch grill it does what I need it to do. there is an adjustment period as you now need to cook more by temp than time. I did an 8lb boston butt the other day and the BGE held temp for up to 22 hours. could not believe it.
    Also this forum is fantastic. The posts and helpful hints are unbelievable. My 2cents worth go with the BGE :) you will not be sorry
    gp
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  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
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    Sean,

    My story was much like yours a lot of money, a lot of grills, smokers and expensive stainless steel bbq's.

    I only use the egg now and all but one gas grill is gone. The gas grill is storage for my egg accessories.

    I started out with one egg now about 2 years later I have 5. Not that I need that many.

    At first with my large I cooked for 12 adults and 12 young adults and kids.

    It is much easier with multiple eggs as I can cook multiple temperatures when I want or I can just cook for the wife and myself.

    Doing some oriental pork in just a few minutes.

    Let the forum know more about your normal cooking needs and your larger cooking needs and we all can give you some experience and our thoughts.

    Broc on the forum cooks for 50 to 150 people on a medium. Possibly he will jump in with his experiences.

    I expect you will get a few more posts saying they like their eggs.

    You also might be interested in looking at some of the Octoberfest pictures. I think that gathering had 225 eggs cooking at one time. There were a lot of people at the annual get together. This fest was a special fest but there are fests held all over throughout the year.

    GG
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  • Buster Dog BBQ
    Buster Dog BBQ Posts: 1,366
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    I have the XL and the flip ring from the ceramic grill store. Doubles the capacity of the XL. That is a lot of space. I can easily get 8 racks of ribs laying flat.

    Honestly, if you are looking for more than that you will need a pit that will cost you 5k or more. I guess you need to ask yourself what do you envision your largest cook will be, does everything need cooked at once, and how much do you want to spend.
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  • lowercasebill
    lowercasebill Posts: 5,218
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    late for bed and tired so i did not read the other responses,
    bge has a life time warranty.. i regret not buying mine earlier.i had so many gas grills that died . do the math ... i did and the results were ugly.
    we all grill alot. hang out here for a while and look at the pics.. my $$$$tove sits almost unused
    i have had my large for 4 years my mini for three ...the better question is how many of us own more than one and/or want another .... please ask it as i would like to know..
    some here have cooked 30+lbs of meat on a large. but the real answer to your question is for the price of an xl you can get a large and small [or medium i forget which] you can cook all you need, unless you are a caterer, with that combo.
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  • JalopyBob
    JalopyBob Posts: 175
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    The egg will definitely last you more than 4-1/2 years for a whole lot less than you paid for your last grill. I look at the eggs as a lifetime investment. The small is the size that works best for me. If you tell this forum where you live, someone close by will probably invite you to cook with them to try it out.
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  • Michael B
    Michael B Posts: 986
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    I retired my old terracotta BGE after 20 years and bought a new ceramic BGE. The new ones are better.
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  • WADoug
    WADoug Posts: 191
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    You have the best of the best advice regarding the Egg. I'm a new user, but convinced of it's unique character. People, like water, seek it's own level, so getting to this site means something - listen to that. But, in a full-disclosure type message, if you want a quick, turn the knob to HOT and cook - as in a gas-type grill, the Egg is not that grill. You must appreciate or love the primitive adventure of fire, getting your hands dirty, and in the end, enjoy a meal cook in it's most basic method, on the fire. The Egg temps can be controlled, it can cook hot, as in a high-temp sear, or like an oven, or it can cook like a bbq pit doing a long to very long, low and slow temp cook. The construction and support of the Egg company is great. And, obviously, you know how useful this forum can be. My advice, get the Egg, but turn your choice to what size will be your first Egg purchase.
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  • jeffinsgf
    jeffinsgf Posts: 1,259
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    I have a 9 year old Medium that has been out in the weather its whole life and gets used an average of 3 times a week. I just replaced the gasket and put a new style draft door on it. You would not be able to tell it from a brand new one if it were in a showroom (until you opened and saw the "black of use" versus the "white of new"). I just bought a Large and love it, too. In your shoes, I would consider getting 2 Larges or one large and one medium rather than an XL. I think it is more versatile.
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  • EggZona
    EggZona Posts: 108
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    Grasshopper, snatch the pebble from my hand! Sean- You have heard the testimonials about the quality and service that you get from BGE. The only thing that was not bragged about very much was the TASTE of the food that the BGE creates. It is unmatched by any form of grill/smoker out there! Once you catch the fever you will day dream about what you are going to cook! My kids run around the house saying "Daddys cooking Pork Butt" and asking me "When will the Rib's be Ready".

    If you paid $7k for a grill then I would assume that you can afford the $1K for a BGE with accessories so do it. You may want to keep the gas around for those times when you want grilled food but don't have the set up time. Which will be very rare in just a few months after you master your egg. You will also be surprised at how much you can cook on one of these. However, if entertaining is burgers and dogs or maybe steaks on the big grill, maybe you should pass. But, if it is food TO DIE FOR. Get a BGE.

    I went to the local BBQ store 5 months ago looking to buy a horizontal smoker but they were out. They convinced me to buy the egg and I did and I will never look back. And I have yet to screw up a cook! Did a Turkey and 6 racks of Ribs this last weekend. I have 16 lbs of Pork Butt marinating in the fridge right now. Came home from work and went straight to the fridge just to take in the smell! Prepareing tomorrow for an office party. Signed up at the church to provide meals for families. I just love to cook on that thing!

    Good luck and welcome to the club! LOL
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  • EggZona
    EggZona Posts: 108
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    Grasshopper, snatch the pebble from my hand! Sean- You have heard the testimonials about the quality and service that you get from BGE. The only thing that was not bragged about very much was the TASTE of the food that the BGE creates. It is unmatched by any form of grill/smoker out there! Once you catch the fever you will day dream about what you are going to cook! My kids run around the house saying "Daddys cooking Pork Butt" and asking me "When will the Rib's be Ready".

    If you paid $7k for a grill then I would assume that you can afford the $1K for a BGE with accessories so do it. You may want to keep the gas around for those times when you want grilled food but don't have the set up time. Which will be very rare in just a few months after you master your egg. You will also be surprised at how much you can cook on one of these. However, if entertaining is burgers and dogs or maybe steaks on the big grill, maybe you should pass. But, if it is food TO DIE FOR. Get a BGE.

    I went to the local BBQ store 5 months ago looking to buy a horizontal smoker but they were out. They convinced me to buy the egg and I did and I will never look back. And I have yet to screw up a cook! Did a Turkey and 6 racks of Ribs this last weekend. I have 16 lbs of Pork Butt marinating in the fridge right now. Came home from work and went straight to the fridge just to take in the smell! Prepareing tomorrow for an office party. Signed up at the church to provide meals for families. I just love to cook on that thing!

    Good luck and welcome to the club! LOL
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  • Pharmeggist
    Pharmeggist Posts: 1,191
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    SeanD.,
    You asked some great questions.
    Buy an egg from an authorized dealer to get your lifetime warranty on the ceramics. I had a Gas grill before I bought an egg and then sold it real fast after I got my Large egg. I am hooked I added a Small & mini egg for fun. I like the fact that I can cook multiple things with different setups and temps.

    Just a little history:
    Mom & Dad Medium BGE
    Brother Medium BGE
    Sister & her husband Large BGE
    Mother in Law 2 large BGE's
    Neigbor bought a Large BGE after having samples off of mine :blush::blush:
    Myself: Large, Small, & mini BGE

    A great site to check out www.nakedwhiz.com

    Look and see how many used eggs are for sale... are better yet are left on the side of the curb for Garbage rusting out :laugh:

    Best advice read this forum and search the archives and read and ponder and ask questions here and you probably reach the same conclusions the rest of us have reached.

    Good luck in your decision, Pharmeggist
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  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
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    The XL is a bit small??? How many people do you cook for?

    I own an XL, 3 Larges and 2 Mall Eggs. The only time my XL gets used is when I have to cook for 50 or more people and then it depends on what I am cooking for them. I have had 18 pork butts on three large eggs. That was enough to feed almost 400 MARINES

    As for longevity they are guaranteed for life.

    Good food that is the job of the cook not the cooker; however, the egg does get you going in the right direction. I cater and compete with mine and I am not the only one.

    Look at all the eggfest pictures if you want to know what can be cooked on the egg. To simplify this answer I have yet to find something I could not cook on the egg.
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  • Bacchus
    Bacchus Posts: 6,019
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    As far as grilling space, Eggs do have less than typical/average gassers, but adaptation is very easy. It is rarely an issue for me or anyone else I know.
    Of course for well under $7G's you could buy multiple eggs, which many of us have.
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    I would like to thank everyone that responded. Your thoughts and comments are very helpful. I am most impressed at how truly helpful you were and not rude or arrogant. That means alot. What I seem to be seeing alot of, from multiple people is that the XL is not nearly as common, but multiple smaller units is what is the norm. We will be going by a dealer today to take a closer look. Have only seen a BGE one time and we were actually looking at another gas grill. The brief look at the BGE has sent me on a chase for more info. Like I said, I am not to keen on spending another $5k plus for a unit that I will wear out rather quickly. Again, I really appreciate your help and comments. Thanks.
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  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
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    Look at the Large and the Small. This is the combination that most folks have.

    BGE's accessories for the large and small and third party accessories for both make them the most versatile eggs in the fleet. Though the other three sizes are nothing to sneeze at..

    While I have six eggs I do plan on adding two more to my collection. I want another Large and a Mini.
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,771
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    you really cant compare a bge to a gass grill. while the egg will grill up the perfect steak, it will also low and slow 30 plus pounds of pork and or brisket, it can go even lower and make up some really descent jerkey, you can raise up the temps for pizza, my record is a 53 second pizza cooked at 1100 degrees plus. you will look at big cooks differently and think big roasts and turkeys and wont even notice the smaller grill space in time. then there is cooking with dutch ovens and it also does great wok food plus many other things, dont look at it as only a grill.
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    7K for a BBQ, are you nuts?

    If you do lots of BBQ I would recommend that you get either an XL or two eggs. That should cover you most of the time. I also have a Traeger which is big enough to do things such as pig (OK, not an adult) and they are complimentary. You could buy all of these for considerably less than 1/2 of what you have spent.
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