First reflections on the XL

The Virginian

Dear All, [p]Last Saturday I lugged home an XL from the Eggfest in Waldorf. I have been playing with temperature control,and have cooked a few things. Temp control has been no problem. I have kept it at 200 for an 2 hours, and at 450 for a whole afternoon, and several temp levels inbetween. It does take a while to cool down with all that mass once you get it up into the higher temperature realms. Temp seems to be pretty even across the grill, though I mean to measure that with my redicheck this weekend. [p]I love the extra acreage on the grill! I justified getting the beast for competitions, but I can already see the extra space coming in very handy at home. I expect to throw 3 rack of ribs on the thing this weekend, and just lay them flat on the grill: no rib rack, no cutting off ends to make them fit: joy! I think I will also hook it up to the guru this weekend, fill her up, and see how many hours she goes on a full load of lump at 230 degrees. I should probably throw a lot of meat in there to justify the effort, but really I am more interested in just playing with it at this point to see what it can do. [p]This is fun. More later if I find interesting things to share. [p]Brett
Free Range BBQ[p]

Bama Hosta Man

The Virginian,[p]Brett, Keep us posted on your experiences. We have had our Large for appx 3 months and are loving it. Since my Saturday run to The Fresh Market in Birmingham for meat, I've cooked 2 boston butts, 2 boneless turkey breasts, NY Strips, Chicken Kabobs, Tilapia on maple plank and about 6 lbs of bacon. Sunday dinner, my wife wanted tilapia and my daughter chicken kabobs. So I cooked theirs and then cranked it up and TRexed a filet for myself. Wife is in agreement that we need another BGE so I'm trying to make up my mind between another large or to move up to the XL.[p]I know I tend to want the XL because its the largest (I have a habit of always wanting the biggest/most expensive). I also am concerned about the accessories available for the XL. Is there a cast iron grill yet? [p]
I'd be interested in any other comments that you have on the XL[p]thanks,
Mark

Julie R

Bama Hosta Man,
We just got our first one for the show floor in today. Yes, it has the cast iron grate. The only Egg-cessories listed on the lastest BGE sheet is the Egg nest. Measure the difference between the grilling surface to the top of dome. You will notice you have lost about 1-1/2". Be careful when thinking about doing a turkey on the VTR.
Julie