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I thinking of becoming an egghead..please help

Magicman_007
Magicman_007 Posts: 65
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I have a friend of mine who cooks on an egg and he loves it. I have a new place and the last item for me to get is an egg. I was planning on getting an egg, but he is kind of discouraging me. I am kind of lazy when it come to cleaning and maintaining things. He is telling me that I would be better off with a gas grill as it will be less maintenance and less labor intensive. Is he right? what is the maintenance and labor required when I cook.

Another drawback, but def not a deal killer is that for the cooking area I want, I need to buy two eggs. One XL and not sure what size for the second one. Really no biggie.

Lastly, I have questions about the accessories I would need / want. What are the "must haves" and the "nice to haves" to make you cooking life easier.

He pokes oround here on a regular basis and tells me what a grwat community this place is. It will be kind of funny oif he sees this post.

Thanks in advance

Comments

  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
    The Large has many eggcessories available from BGE or from aftermarket vendors.If you have two the same size the eggcessories will interchange.I suggest 2 Larges.Your friend wants you to get a gasser so he can continue besting all your cooks! ;)
  • I'll advise you to go cook on your friend's Egg, maybe this will answer some of your questions.

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
    VERY GOOD ADVICE!!! :)
  • He is too picky. No way me or anyone else would be allowed to touch it.
  • Dude,

    I don't maintain anything. It is a serious character flaw. I have eight eggs and they require no maintenace at all. I think your friend is giving you a body smell. You are probably a creative type and he is worried about what you might accomplish.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • Richard Fl
    Richard Fl Posts: 8,297
    How many would you normally be cooking for? Why do you believe that you need 2 eggs right away? If you friend is so down on an egg vs a gasser maybe you should offer to buy him a gasser and trade.
  • Laker
    Laker Posts: 110
    Less maintenance on the egg. No burned out burners, rust, etc. Very little on egg, just small caution on the gasket.

    Food tastes much better and it has a cool factor and a cult following.

    First add ons would be a plate setter, pizza stone and new 3 tier grid.

    Good luck.
  • If you aren't concerned about spending several hundred dollars on a cooker you may not want to use...buy it.

    If you really have concerns contact a dealer closeby that has a Demo Egg they cook on, they should let you come and cook on it one afternoon.

    No one can really tell you if it will in fact be too much maintainance for you to handle.

    I think the Large Egg is the Egg to buy. Most people buy a nest, platesetter, and a cover. Grill grip and ash tools can also come in handy. Without knowing what BBQ tools you already own it's hard to go beyond this list.

    Good luck, and do read this board for advice.

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

  • I'm same way, and love my large, need platesetter (or another way to cook indirect). Would start with large easier to buy another and add to your egg crate later on. Goodluck ;)
  • i have gasser with the infrared side and a charcoal grill also. i bought my large egg 2 months ago and may be putting the other 2 on ebay. the large is big enough to cook a lot of steaks(15 filets at once last week), some have cooked up to 8 whole chickens at once on a large. with that being said, i may set a small later on, but only in case i am cooking for just me and the wife. go with the large.

    Geaux Saints!!!!
  • You guys are great. A few people have suggested a large. I was kind of thinking of an extra large. Which is better. Any disadvantages to the extra large.
  • I concur with the others - get a large, plateseter, pizza stone. And if an egg-owner is trying to persuade you not to buy one, he has an alterior motive! I was cautious spending that kind of money on a grill this past summer but I am extremely happy I did. :woohoo: Best tasting food, most versatile (grilling, smoking, baking, pizza oven...), easy to use and maintain. Here's the long maintenance list that you will need to follow: after about 3-4 cooks, empty the ashes. ;)
  • SkySaw
    SkySaw Posts: 656
    When I bought my Large, I thought that I would be taking a step back in cooking grid-space. After all, my Weber Kettle has a 22-inch grid compared to the 18.5 for the Large.

    What I didn't realize was that you can use practically all that grid-space on the Large (on a Weber, an indirect cook cannot use the space above the coals, and a direct cook cannot use the space that is not under the coals...). Also, with a Large Egg you can increase space vertically. Whether it's one big piece of meat, or a bunch of smaller things like chicken wings, drums, or thighs, a Large can hold much more than its 18.5-inch grid would lead you to suspect.

    So, you might be able to revise just how much space you will need, and also how much space a Large can provide.

    As far as whether or not you are right for an Egg, I think the biggest deterrent to using it would be getting out lump charcoal, loading it into the Egg, starting it, and waiting 15 minutes for it to be ready to cook.

    If you can deal with that, you will probably grow to love doing that, and the rewards that come from it.



    Mark
  • If you're going to spend that money regardless, I'd opt for getting a large/small combo. That gives you more flexibility in cooking two different things at once, plus the ability to do cooks for two or three people without firing up an XL.

    Don't worry about cooks for a large number of people...the LBGE can do things like pulled pork, ribs or other bulk meats for dozens of people with the right accessories. I'm doing pulled pork for 50 next weekend.
  • When I first got my large, i thought I should've gone for the XL because then I'd have the max. grill space and I'd never find myself in the position of needing more grill space. I soon came to realize that thinking was flawed by inexperience. I still find that the large typically has more grill space than I use for most cooks.

    I cook way more on the Egg than I had ever cooked in the damn oven let alone my old 3-burner gas grill!!

    'Bigger' doesn't mean 'better', it's just a different size.
  • Flashback Bob wrote:
    'Bigger' doesn't mean 'better', it's just a different size.

    That is what I keep trying to tell my girlfriend....j/k.

    That is exactly what I was thinking that if I bought the XL, I have max cooking space. I know you said that thinking was inexperience, but why is it not true.

    I do appreciate the feedback from everybody!
  • I bought my XL in July. Had used a gasser for the past 12 years. The BGE requires a little more work in getting it going and stablizing the temp. After that there's no comparison in what you can do with it vs the gasser. If you enjoy the "sport" of BBQing, you won't regret buying the BGE.

    Barry
    Marthasville, MO
  • EGGARY
    EGGARY Posts: 1,222
    Nothing wrong with going with the XL. I like having the extra space. Either way you go, you can't go wrong with the BGE.

    Good luck on your journey.

    Gary
  • I started out with a back yard full of grills both gas and regular. After buying my BGE three years ago they all have disapeared. I have owned and used large commerical units on tandum axel trailers and Large built in units. In my opinion the BGE is the best most functional smoker/grill on the market for home use. I noticed on this new program "Pit masters" lots of chefs use the BGE in competition. I have found that three or four times a year{I use it alot" I really do a good job of vacuuming out the base of my BGE. It seems to help !!
    Plate setter is a must.
  • What I meant by inexperience is that as I used the Egg, I came to understand both how to use it as well as what my actual cooking needs are. The grill area is all usable, not any cold spots.
    The following photos are posted to give you a sense of how much space you have to work with on a large. Hopefully this will help:
    tritip-2.jpg
    my first TriTip- lots of cooking space not being used there.
    Bread-3.jpg
    Baking bread - I could've fit 2 or 3 on there.
    ON-3.jpg
    +/- 12 lb picnic shoulder. A big hunk o meat with room to spare.
    Tuna-1.jpg
    A Tuna steak- this thing looks tiny there's so much unused grill around it.
    SloChicken.jpg
    A 6+ lb vertical chicken with some foiled squash. How much room do you need? People cook turkeys on these things!
    IMG_0715.jpg
    Leg of lamb with taters below.
    IMG_2718.jpg
    (4) 8+lb Butts
    How much do you need to cook?
    I don't have any photos of thighs, wings and ribs which tend to take up more real estate. I can fit a large family pack of thighs on at once (not sure if that's 12 or 16) I frequently cook 6 racks of BB ribs at a time.

    There are others here who fit a LOT more on a grid than I do, too!

    Good Luck!
  • Dude,

    Those are some scrumptious photos.

    I really appreciate the explanation, that really helps!
  • I just want to thanks everyone for all of the help, suggestions and information. I will become an egghead! Not sure if it will happen this year, but it will happen soon.

    You guys are AWESOME!
  • I was just goofing off at work and noticed you had also asked about accessories.

    New Folks ask that question from time to time and they get buried with responses recommending everything from a DigiQ II to a DFMT.

    If cost and storage space are no issue, then go for all of it. But it really depends on what and how you like to cook.

    I built a table for my Egg before I got it so I had that from the beginning. Stike had his first Egg for years before I got mine and he still doesn't use either table or nest. It all depends on what you need.

    I find the Thermapen indespensible, but that's just me.

    I use it as well as the Ash tool, grid brush and grid lifter (pliers) on every cook.

    I use the plate setter, raised grid and welders gloves a lot too.

    I use the spider & wok, pizza stone and rib rack not as much but I'm glad I have them and would recommend them.

    If you intend to do long cooks like Butts, Shoulders and Brisket, you'll need a remote thermometer like the Maverick ET-73. I got that particular one because a friend had it and sent me a link.

    back to work....