For Ripnem and others who have to \"prove the Egg\"

Sorry if I shouldn't create a new thread here. The other was on an older page and I didn't know if anyone would see a new response. Still getting used to how this forum works!

Ripnem posted yesterday that he's been asked to cook the greatest steak ever for a friends wife so that he can buy his own Egg. I think this is a sketchy situation because in my experience because any cut of meat can come out so-so or outstanding and the method by which you cook it doesn't have to change for that to happen. So you could cook her a fantastic steak, or you could cook her something that is just "really good" and she'll think that her husbands gas grill can do that.

What I would do instead is try to make a more convincing argument over a number of meals instead of just one. Marinate some chicken, and grill one breast on gas, and one on the egg. Pickup a couple of steaks, cut side by side, and do the same. Have them compare the results of how much better the Egg-cooked food is.

Then go get some ribs, and have her try to figure out how she's going to cook them on her grill while you slow roast them in the Egg. Then buy two small whole chickens, spathcock them, and let her try and make hers taste good on some gas grill without burning the crap out of it.

I agree you should be mindful of your friends choice in the woman and not offend her. Rather than making it a competition, call it an experiment. Don't feel like you have to be in a rush to swing her over. It shouldn't take very many meals for her to be convinced. You guys can alternate who buys the food since it's more about hanging out. This is just an excuse to do that.

Another thing you could do is have her husband cook the food on your egg over beers while the women-folk are doing something else. Let her see how easy it is to turn out a great meal.

But ultimately the two of them have to deal with the finances of it all. He might have to promise her a big purchase as well. Marriage is about compromise a lot of the time, and these Egg's are not cheap.

Here is a personal story of how things worked out for me. The first time I ever had food on a BGE was with my wife, on a charter boat 50 miles off shore. Chicken breasts of all thing, and it was great. We thought it was the marinade someone used (some Mojo brand). We bought some of the marinade thinking it would make all our dry grilled chicken come out moist and tasty like it did on the charter boat, and it never worked for us very well over gas or Kingsford. Even I didn't believe the grill could make that much difference.

I had BGE food a couple times after that, but my wife did not. I slowly became convinced that it was the Egg itself, and not some marinade or rub. I wanted a BGE so bad, but I didn't want to spend the money on it either. My wife certainly didn't think it was worth it since she had only had food cooked on an Egg once, and she thought it was ridiculou what the Egg's cost. I could have really pushed the issue and my wife would have agreed to the purchase, but like I said I didn't want to spend that kind of money either. After years of looking at them in the stores, I just happened across a used XL at the exact same time that the bottom of my semi-stainless Weber rusted out. It was somewhat habit for us to spend $300 or so ever 4 years for a new gas grill, so we new what a replacement would cost. This person had a 1-year old XL for $600 with a bunch of accessories that he wanted to sell because he said the lump charcoal was too rough on his sinuses. My wife and I agreed that we wouldn't pass that up! It came with a platesetter, pizza stone, ash tool, nest and the new spring assembly!

We've had it for a little over a month now, and my wife picks out things for us to try. Steak, chicken, seafood, veggies, pizza, etc. She loves it as much as I do. The first meal isn't what did it. Consistantly eating food from the grill is what convinced her. I've always loved grilling before the egg, and she knew all too well what I was capable of cooking...always a hit-or-miss experience on gas, especially with regard to burning poultry or getting it too dry. Now that we're Egging, it seems everything we even think to try comes out really good, with a good portion of it being downright hard to believe. It wasn't me or the recipes. It's the Egg. Now me and my wife both believe this, and she tells others about what the BGE can do for them.

Here's the clincher for me. The Egg changes everything, but most folks won't believe it is the EGG that is making it all possible, at least not at first. They'll assume it's the recipe or skill of the chef. Those things are certainly important, but the EGG gets you started at a whole different level than gas or briquettes. That's the only thing anyone has to show a friend to make them a believer.

All "in my humble opinion"