How much Egg do I need?

SGI Fran

I am going to take the plunge and actually get my own egg. Question is what is practical and necessary for a couple who occasionally entertains. Most of my cooking is a single steak or a butterflied chicken. I am never going to cook a 20lb turkey (anywhere!) or grill 8 steaks, but when my son occasionally comes home with his friends I may cook 3 or 4. We are a bit constrained on deck space (I may extend my deck specifically for the egg). I am leaning toward the medium egg, but the small egg looks pretty neat and tidy.

Any input from those with some experience?

Ripnem

Fran,

The medium really sounds like the one for you. A small will handcuff you once in a while, unless coupled with a large. :P Actually, a mini and a medium would be another good combo. Maybe start with the medium and then you'll see what I (we) mean by wanting, at minimum, a two egg combo.

Greenman72

In my humble opinion....
I doubt that I would ever get anything other than a Large.
The mini is a joke.
The small is too small to be really useful.
The medium will take up almost as much deck space as a large, but it might be hard to cook some of the bigger cuts of meat, such as a brisket, ribs, etc.
The XL is just too big. nless you need to feed an army, it's just too massive.

Plus, the Large is the original, so it will likely have more "toys" that you can accessorize with. You say you'll never cook a big turkey, but you never know. I didn't realize how much I'd cook on it until I got mine.

I have a Large, and if I could do it all over again, I'd get a Large.

fishlessman

if you can make the large fit, it would be my choice. has better space for a pizza, a rack of ribs laying flat etc. i mostly cook for my self or for 2 or 3, occasionally 8 to 10 and the large does it all, also have a small and find i dont use it much, i like the way the large cooks better. the egg changes how you cook, you may find yourself cooking that bird someday, i would prefer the 14 pounder over the 20 anyways

wkygriller

We have a large/small combo. Mainly use the small, but have had times that I wish had lit the large to cook the meat and sides at the same time. If your only choice is a small or a medium, I would go with the medium.

Susan Egglaine

Greenman72 wrote:

In my humble opinion....
I doubt that I would ever get anything other than a Large.
The mini is a joke.
The small is too small to be really useful.
The medium will take up almost as much deck space as a large, but it might be hard to cook some of the bigger cuts of meat, such as a brisket, ribs, etc.
The XL is just too big. nless you need to feed an army, it's just too massive.

Plus, the Large is the original, so it will likely have more "toys" that you can accessorize with. You say you'll never cook a big turkey, but you never know. I didn't realize how much I'd cook on it until I got mine.

I have a Large, and if I could do it all over again, I'd get a Large.

In my humble opinion, The mini is not a joke & the small is useful. Do you have a mini or small? I would get a large but sounds like a small might be best for his needs (space & cooking) You can always add a large or small later you will want to :laugh:

Lit

I agree that the large is probably the way to go but saying " The mini is a joke. The small is too small to be really useful" is crazy. I use my mini and small more than I do my medium or larges. I have done (2) 8 pound shoulders before on the small with no issues. I can have the mini up to 800 degrees in 5 minutes and have the steak done before your large is heated up.

Mickey

Susan and fishlessman are correct.
I use my Mini the most (have Large, Small, and Mini)as 80% of time just wife and I.
Most people are going to get second egg so start with one now and add on.
Picture of my joke mini:

[IMG]]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc79/mjrawls/Big Green Egg/photo-10.jpg[/img]

Griffin

You'll get a lot of arguments over this question. It seems to pop up quite a lot lately.

I have the large and love it. Usually its just my wife and I and I wish that I had a smaller egg, whether a small or a mini, but the money isn't there. The large will cook fine for two and you will be glad you have the room when you cook for more or when you start cooking whole meals on it (meat and veggies and stuff)

Not many people seem to have the medium. The only con I think there is about the medium is that there are not as many egg-cessories for it.

Florida Grillin Girl

I totally agree with Susan, Lit, and Mickey.
The mini rocks for 2 people. Maybe Greenman72 hasn't seen the slide show Spring Chicken put together of everyones mini cooks. I primarily cook on the small and mini, and I can put out alot of food from those two.

I can't find the slide show, but I know he took the pics on the mini from this post:

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=941464&catid=1

Fran, the small has about twice the cooking space as the mini, so I would actually recommend that one to you for the times there are a few extra people.

2Fategghead

I would venture to say you don't read this forum because if you had you would have read and seen just how useful all the eggs are including the small and mini eggs. My guess is you have opened a can of worms. So, read on my friend and you might change your thinking about the small and mini BGE. Tim

srq2625

I have a large and a small.

The DW and I are recent empty-nesters and find the following to be holding true for us:

The large is great for doing the low-n-slow cooks of things like ribs, pork butts (multiples), etc.

The small is great for single meal cooks for the two of us or for small dinner parties with just a couple or three frineds.

The small can cook anything the large can, just not as much of it. It'll do a single pork butt just fine. It'll do one chicken just fine and maybe two small ones.

It may just be me and my in-experience, but it seems air flow through the small, when configured with a small plate setter for indirect cooks, is not quite as good as it is in the large. But, like I said, that is most likely just my inexperience coming to the fore.

The bottom line here is that, for me and mine, the small/large combination is just right. Were I you, I would probably start with the small.

Mainegg

"In my humble opinion....
I doubt that I would ever get anything other than a Large.
The mini is a joke.
The small is too small to be really useful.
The medium will take up almost as much deck space as a large, but it might be hard to cook some of the bigger cuts of meat, such as a brisket, ribs, etc.
The XL is just too big. nless you need to feed an army, it's just too massive."

boy are you going to get it for that comment LOL
I can not resist and have to add my 2cents
:woohoo: :P :laugh: :S
Fran, I have a couple of eggs and the two used the very very most are the minis. they are split between Maine and fl and I guess the joke is on me LOL we have a large, med and small at both places. the large is used the least unless I am cooking for over 8 or butts or ribs where I am doing a very large amount.
it sounds like a md might be right for you. as for eggseories the ceramic grill store can set you up with everything you need. it is just the two of us 98% of the time and the med is used if I am woking or doing the whole meal in the egg or cooking in a dutch oven or using s couple small cast iron pans.

wkygriller

Scott,
I agree with you about the plate setter on the small. I have tried several times to do indirect cooks on mine and once I put the plate setter in (no matter how hot the fire is) it makes it almost impossible to get over 400 degrees.

fishlessman

something that no one has said yet but seems to be true is that its not a one egg choice, we have all bought another one, two, three eggs. the large is very versatile which makes it a good choice for a first egg, you can do alot of things with it. as you go smaller you sacrifice what can be done, they are all good cookers but i wouldnt want to do a low and slow in a mini, have done them in the small but the large just does them better. the medium is probably the least sold model now, almost never here much of them, but there are a few that have done alot of different cooks on them, would still get the large first, i think its the best of the lineup

Grandpas Grub

 
Welcome to the forum. Great question. I would always opt for the larger choice, in this case the medium.

There are two of here us and over the years we accumulated a large, medium, small and mini. Once a while I will cook for the entire family, kids & grand kids, a group of +/- 25 in all. The large will handle both small and large cooks just fine.

For the wife and I and 2 or 3 of grand kids the mini does a great job.

I would suggest getting a the larger egg, the medium.

GG

Egghead Willie

As a newbie myself I bought a large in September and love it. Most nights it's just the wife and I and on weekends in the summer we cook for more as the kids and grandkids seem to thing they can crash with us once the boat goes in the water. LOL!!! My X Mas gift this year was a small. I leave the large at the lake and the small is at the house and most all of my cooks are just for two. Its good but some times can be challenging. So I recommend the Large. IF you get into it and really enjoy it you will surely get an other. I like the large / small combo because I can transport the small to the lake for the summer. Just my opinion. Go LARGE

Susan Egglaine

I was hoping the mini egg goddess would see this I agree with lit also about the time it takes the mini to get to temp. I was eating turkey burgers off the mini for lunch before the smoke would have cleared on the large.

achtungpv

I'm a new egger and I got a large. I really wish I would've gotten an XL. I find it difficult to time everything right so I can get everything done on the limited real estate. If you get a large, the BGE extended grate is worthless so I'd go for the one at the ceramic grill store. It seems better and it'll be my next purchase. I'll probably get an XL next year to compliment the large. I don't see the minimal savings in charcoal between the XL & L worth it just to get the smaller size.

Gulfcoastguy

I have a medium and love it. I cooked a single filet last week. As soon as it was done I put some foil wrapped sweetpotatoes in it and closed off the air. I took advantage of the fact that the egg actually stays hot for a couple of hours. Turned out great and only used about a quarter of the charcoal I put in. The advantage of a small would be for tailgating but I hate to give up the ability to cook a 18 pound turkey or a good mess of ribs.

bees

If you had any questions about versatility Faith's link with her and Beli's post should settle it.

Ripnem

Sounds like some serious ineggsperience right there. :laugh:

Here's enough pork chops to choke a horse followed up by Halibut. Fed 14 off this small.


(excuse poor picture quality)

Desert Oasis Woman

Hi Fran,
Lots o different answers, heh!
You will learn on your first size and adjust what you learned on the next size(s) :laugh:
All are fun!!!
Might want to give ole Tom a call at his "store number" and discuss what you think you want to cook and he could probably set u up with what you need to do it!
You really can't go wrong with either, but the medium may teach you more ways to start with over the small simply because of the accessories.

RRP

please tell me why you think the BGE extender is worthless. Sounds like you are not springing it so as to lock on the grate. Maybe this picture will help.


I can lift the two grates in tandem when locked in place.

achtungpv

It seems to sit too low and there's not enough room between the legs. Trying to get that thing to sit over a brisket so I can put sausage and potatoes on the top shelf is a pain. the ceramic grill store adjustable grate that holds the grill around the edge appears to be a much better design.

RRP

I see - well I just happen to really like mine for ABTs, wings, stuffed mushrooms etc - but I can see your point if you are shoveling in that much. :laugh:

srq2625

That was the conclusion I came to so I got myself a small woo ring and then a couple of 13" (I think that was the size) pizza stones from Amazon to act as the heat barrier. This setup offered sufficient air flow while, at the same time, prividing the indirect I need for some of my cooks.

Bobbert

I was wondering how to get it connected to the grate, it seemed not too secure to me.

However, after seeing your picture and reading your text, I now see how to do it properly.

Pjoe

Same situation here..I got a medium. Almost immediately k
new I needed a large. They are more versatile with more eggcessories.
Bill

Austin Egghead

As an owner of both a large(1st purchase) and small, I would recommend the large or medium. The small is excellent for two people cooks, but I would not recommend it as a first purchase.
Let us know what you choose and welcome to the forum.

FSM-Meatball

I have only a medium and It's enough to cook for a family of four if it's steaks, more for burgers and dogs. I have found that it's a little tight for large butts and chickens but if you only need one of those items, it works fine. I will one day add a large so I can do more food at once but the medium is a good choice and has enough space for fuel to do long low and slow cooks. I don't have a small but I would think that the smaller space for fuel could be limiting.