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wife's objections to purchasing a charcoal grill

Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I am interested in purchasing an egg but my wife has serious reservations to how often she would use it and the practicality of frequent use. We had a gas grill we had used several times a week and she would like to purchase another. Her concerns largely center around prep time compared with a gas grill with lighting of charcoal and time for heating, cleanup, etc. Can you provide me with your thoughts and experience along these lines; particularly if these rings a note with you.

Comments

  • Squeeze
    Squeeze Posts: 717
    Aaron Hensley,
    You will find yourself using the Egg more than a gasser. Why you ask, once you taste food off the egg and see the difference for yourself between gass and natural lump, you will not use your oven much at all. As for cleaning, I did a top to bottom cleaning of mine today as I put it in a new table and it took all of 30 minutes to pull apart the insides, vacuum out and put into the table. It is filled up and ready to go. You can't go wrong with an Egg.

    Kevin Jacques
    The University of Que L.L.C. ®
    Killen, AL
    www.uofque.com

    Take Your Taste Buds to School!
  • Pakak
    Pakak Posts: 523
    So far as bringing the egg up to cooking temps goes, *if* the lump is properly loaded and lit, I feel I can achieve cooking temps as fast as a gas unit - 10-15 minutes. The reason for this is two-fold. First because of the fuel, lump charcoal. It seems to light faster and come to temperature quicker than briquettes. Second, because of the shape of the egg and the two vents (top and bottom) one can mimmick a chimney, which supplies oxygen to the fuel much more effectively and results in a faster fire.
  • BlueSmoke
    BlueSmoke Posts: 1,678
    Aaron Hensley,[p]I thought I was "moving up" when I bought my first gas grill. Within 2 to 3 years of use about 4 times a week I realized I was spending more money on replacement parts than I'd pay for a new one so I went out and got my second. Again, it took about 3 years to have replaced everything but the shell at least once. In nearly 4 years of the same kind of "Egg-use", I've replaced two gaskets. Period. It cooks better (because I've become a better cook using it) than when it was new.[p]To your wife's concerns. Cleanup is cleanup - I hate it, but it takes no longer with the Egg than either of the gassers. Oh, I also have to remove the accumulation of ash 3 or 4 times a year - every 40 to 50 cooks or so. Startup time is comparable to the gassers - about 10 to 15 minutes from lighting the fire to cooking. (The second gasser claimed "instant heat" - more like 5 to 10 minutes, depending on weather, and weather is never a problem with the Egg.)[p]As I mentioned, I think I'm a better cook now. The Egg has enabled me to do things that were just impossible with a gasser. I can grill steaks at 700+ degrees, barbecue a pork shoulder at 225 degrees for 18 hours (or however long it takes), and bake hearth-style breads and pizzas to perfection (or at least close enough for me).[p]Hope this helps.[p]Ken
  • Steve-B
    Steve-B Posts: 339
    Aaron Hensley,
    Tell her that the egg is not your normal charcoal grill. I changed this year from a kettle to the egg. Her concerns were very valid with the old grill, but not the egg. It gets ready just as fast as a gas one. The cleaning is very easy and no weird little metal parts that get covered in grease. The thing I think I love the most is I can cooking anything anyway. Be it a 20 hour boston butt at 220 degrees, a 800 degree seared steak, or a pizza. I love pizza from my egg. The other responce said you will use your oven less and less...VERY true. I bet I have only used my oven once in the last three weeks. I have found the best thing my oven is for a warm space to let my pizza dough rise. One more thing, this will be the best food you have ever made. The egg is so forgiving almost everything comes out great. I'll stop rambling now and start my egg (water chestnut stuffed chicken tonight)

  • Dave
    Dave Posts: 163
    Aaron Hensley,[p]There is something that I need to ad to what everyone else has said. I have a top of the line Weber Gas Grill . I still have flame-ups & have ruined a lot of meat because I was not right there when it happened. This won't happen when you use the Egg. You control the temp of the grill not the grill controlling you.

    Dave

  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 25,880
    Aaron Hensley,
    My $550 Ducane was my third and ABSOLUTELY last gas grill I'll EVER buy. I haven't used it even once in 3.5 years. Once you get hooked on a BGE you'll never go back! If your wife is the principle cook in your abode then I know she likes the idea of a gasser - but if you want food that tastes great - not something that has been cooked over an LP flame then you have to consider the egg.

    Re-gasketing America one yard at a time.
  • Sundown
    Sundown Posts: 2,980
    Aaron Hensley,[p]You'll go with whatever she wants kid.
    But, if you can find an Egg Cult memeber near you and plead a case with him/her to invite you over to taste some of the food from the Egg you'll be just fine. Anyone that tells you there isn't a learning curve isn't being straight. It takes a while to get into cooking on and Egg and cooking with lump charcoal. We've all been through it and not one of are likely to go back to gas. You might want to think about becoming the Egg chef in the house. Let her enjoy some time to have a glass of grape and eat well! The forum is where almost every Egger comes to learn qand learn they do.(go see if you can find a used Egg anywhere!)
    Another suggestion might be to visit one of the Egg fests that are cropping up everywhere. On the front page of the forum os a link to the Waldorf MD event in May.
    Good luck and let us know what happens.

  • Wise One
    Wise One Posts: 2,645
    Aaron Hensley, I had the same thoughts as your wife until I tried the BGE. I had wanted a cheap smoker to accompany my gas grill and when my wife bought me a BGE I thought it was too expensive. I cooked some chicken after protesting it would take too long to get it set up and I was hooked. The real problem your wife might have is that if you cook on your gas grill a couple of times a week, you will probably wind up cooking on your BGE everyday. She may not see as much of you.

  • Bamabob
    Bamabob Posts: 246
    Aaron, my wife had the same concerns since she would often be the one having to use the grill when I couldn't get away from the office. She's a convert now. Moving from a gas grill to a ceramic is like changing from an AM radio station to FM stereo. There is a little more effort involved, but not that much and it's WELL WORTH it.
  • Hammer
    Hammer Posts: 1,001
    Aaron Hensley,
    This was never a problem in my home, so I can't identify with it. I decided that I wanted an
    Egg after reading and seeing them in action, and I bought it.
    I can't say that she particularly liked what I paid for it, but it was cheap compared to the $1,500 Ducane Gasser that I had.
    After one(1) cook, the BGE became the household favorite. I now have two(2), and I recently bought five(5) to give away to my sales representatives for incentives.
    My advice is buy it, and let the results prove themselves.
    Hammer

  • chuckls
    chuckls Posts: 399
    Aaron Hensley,[p]I, too, had a Ducane gas grill - modified with the natural gas burner and plumbed into my house gas line. The ultimate in ease of use, I thought.[p]After a couple of months with that rig, I wasn't too happy with its performance. I could never get it hot enough, and the flareups were annoying. Then, when the seasons rotated around and it was time to clean the fire ceramics, what a pain.[p]I've had my egg now since last July, and man what a difference. Outside cooking with an egg is a joy to be experienced for yourself.[p]Good Luck![p]Chuck
  • nikkig
    nikkig Posts: 514
    Aaron Hensley,
    What you need is a womans perspective.....so here goes. [p]When we were contemplating getting an egg, I had the same reservations. I used to fire up the gasser and cook on it no problemo. Once I saw how easy the egg was, those reservations went right out the window. Just dump some lump in and light...how easy cxan you get? You dont even have to arrange the lump like you do briquettes. At first I started out just using the starter cubes. Then we got MAPP gas.....fire is fun! As it it heating, I go in and prep my food while it comes to temp. It takes the same amount of time to warm up as a gasser. As for cleaning, it is also a snap. Every few cooks, you just scrape the few ashes out of the bottom vent with an ash tool. A few times a year, hubby will take a shop vac to it, and give it a good cleaning. Once she tastes food off of the egg, one of you will be cooking every night![p]~nikki

  • Lawn Ranger
    Lawn Ranger Posts: 5,467
    Aaron Hensley,
    If you've never trusted me on anything before......trust me on this one...BUY THE EGG![p]Mike

  • Shelby
    Shelby Posts: 803
    Aaron Hensley,
    Are the reservations on how often SHE would cook on it OR how often it would be used in general? If she's used to lighting the gas grill and cooking on it, she can easily handle the egg. There are several women who are the primary cooks...Nikkig being one of them...and they seem to have no problems at all.[p]If the concern is how often would it be used...well, not only will it replace any grill and/or smoker you have, but it'll also replace the oven.[p]As someone mentioned in a previous post, there is a bit of a learning curve but then there's a bit of a learning curve when you change methods on anything. The egg is easy to use and very forgiving.[p]If you don't mind a little (emphasis on little) extra effort, the egg will give you much better quality than any gas grill.[p]See, my wife had no reservations...but then she's not 'authorized' to use it. I've had my large for almost 3 years; small for a year...and they are the best things I've ever bought.

  • Easy
    Easy Posts: 1
    Greetings! [p]I am about to purchase my second Egg, a large. Just finished my table and I am very excited. My first Egg is a medium made of the old ceramic material and I have had it for fifteen years. My wife actually suggested the second egg because we are now in the mode of supplying food for aging parents and two Eggs will make this easier. As expensive as they are, it is a very inexpensive proposition since they last forever. My father bought one in Japan in the 60's that is still in use today.[p]Easy
  • Aaron Hensley,want a nice new gas grill? I have one you can have...since we tried egging, the gasser has not been turned on ; two years now...only used twice...Egg is easier to use , food is 1000% better on the egg, it much more versatile than gas, electric, or anything else. We have several eggs and use them constantly...

  • tn slagamater,
    Right on! It does change the whole taste!

  • Borders
    Borders Posts: 665
    Aaron Hensley, pull the trigger, buy the Egg, get to know your butcher,
    Scott

  • Wingnut
    Wingnut Posts: 26
    Aaron Hensley,[p]If you have the money and room, just get one of each. It is nice to have a gas grill around too. [p]Wingnut

  • Aaron Hensley,[p]I purchased an egg fourteen months ago and gave my Weber grill to my brother. It just collected dust. Use the egg all the time. Buy and egg. One of the best consumer purchases I have made.

  • QBabe
    QBabe Posts: 2,275
    Aaron Hensley,[p]From a woman's perspective....[p]We were in a patio and fireplace store when my husband first approached me about one of these. I didn't give a hoot about yet ANOTHER grill, but he REALLY wanted it and so I bought him the cooker and he bought me some new patio furniture.[p]From the first cook, I was hooked! When I saw how easy it was to operate and how well it held a temperature and how AMAZING the food was that came from it, I began doing more and more with it, and now, I've become the primary user. It has allowed me to become a MUCH better cook and we hardly ever use our oven any more since anything you can cook in the oven can be done on an egg. You can bake, grill, do long overnight cooks at 225° or sear steaks at 750°. It's really incredible how versitle this cooker is, and you'll constantly be finding all sorts of new things to try.[p]Yes, it is a little messy, and yes, you'll smell like smoke, but that's what showers are for![p]If she's still hesitant, show her my webpage. Everything you see there in the BBQ Photos section was done on using these cookers. Check out some of the recipes. Its a new section I've just started, though the Cheesecake is NOT something I've done on the egg. [p]Do it, it's the best decision on a grill you'll make and once you've had the food, you'll never go back to gas...[p]Tonia
    :~)

    [ul][li]QBabe's BBQ Adventures[/ul]
  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 441
    QBabe,
    If Aaron Hensley can't sell this one I feel sorry for him... He is doomed to bad food and God knows what else...LOL! Joe

  • Daddyo
    Daddyo Posts: 224
    Aaron Hensley,
    Your wife is right to be very concerned about the frequency of use. She's just concerned about it for the wrong reason, if you get my drift.

  • Borders
    Borders Posts: 665
    Hammer, any openings in your company? Will sell for BGE's!!

  • Tonia, I simply love that BBQ photo thing you got going on... I find myself checknig it out about once a week in search of new grub to try. Nice job all around![p]Brews
    Matt.

  • Aaron Hensley,
    My husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas (2003) and I instantly told him a BGE! The only thing I knew about the egg was what I had read at this web site. Had never seen an egg or eaten anything off of one either only believed it was fabulous because of the people on this site. (Found BGE when web searching for a "smoker" thought I was going to get a New Braunfels smoker - anything other than the Brinkman water smoker I was d by for endless hours of cooking).
    In 20 years of Christmas gift giving this is the best gift I have ever received and I have fun with it every week and every time I read this forum. Yes, I am the cook of the house and feeding a husband and 3 teenage boys so I cook alot. In the few months I have had the egg I have cooked a wider variety of meats than I have ever done on my gas grills or oven.
    Another great feature (other than taste) is the ability to maintain a temperature. I live in Wisconsin so baby it is cold up here and I have gusting winds blowing across my deck. You can imagine what a struggle that was for my Weber Genesis but the egg doesn't bat an eye-as a matter of fact it loves the wind and I have to sometimes rotate it a bit to keep the bottom vent from embracing those gusts with too much gusto!
    It may seem hard to rationalize the expense but with all the help you receive from the experts on this site and years worth of archive info you can be assured it will be money well spent and you will soon be planning to buy another egg-my hubby will build me a table to fit my large and maybe a small- we are even talking about expanding the deck to accommodate the egg....it is addictive. I also like it when my co-workers are gathering around me at lunch drooling over my BBQ -moist, flavorful and aromatic while they are eating cafeteria slop. I took some ABT's to work last week and by the time I finished "sharing" them with co-workers I had two left! Thank goodness I had a slab of prime rib to fill me up!
    The downside is smelling like smoke but that is of little consequence when your family is so deleriously happy. Afterall, who can't use 2 showers in a day anyway? Yes, I will keep my gas grill because sometimes I am cooking too many things to fit it all on the egg but that 500.00 grill is just my "back-up" now.

  • QBabe
    QBabe Posts: 2,275
    South O,[p]Hey, thanks...that's nice to know. Mostly the photo album is the place to put my pics so I can post them. I didn't know anyone actually went there, LOL! [p]Now that I know, I'll have to get the album up to date. I'm not the most computer literate, and there are a bunch of pics that aren't in the album, because you "create" it with a wizard and once it's been "made" then any pics I put in the folder afterwards are not in the album. So, I have to periodically go in and "create" it again...[p]Maybe someone out there can tell me if there's a way for it to update itself whenever a new pic comes into the folder? The program I'm using is Dreamweaver...[p]Tonia
    :~)[p]

  • Hammer
    Hammer Posts: 1,001
    Borders,
    I wish when I was a sales rep that I had of had an opportunity to win a BGE. It has really fired up the sales team by using the BGE as an incentive.
    Hammer

  • tach18k
    tach18k Posts: 1,607
    Aaron Hensley, This came up a while ago, I think the it went like this.
    An average wife took 22- 24 hours at 700 degrees before they were finished.[p]Ha just kidding :-)