Merry Eggsmass! New Egger and Accessory Question(s)

Hey_Bulldog

Good evening, I (like several others I have seen posting) received a LBGE for Christmas from my folks... Great parents, eh?

Anyways - I have YET to assemble this bad boy (a 9 month old in the house tends to delay things a bit) but I am already pondering my first cook, and first accessories.  

I am a researcher... so I have been watching and reading a LOT of materials and I figure posting my direct questions here would be my next best step.

A little about me and my typical smokes... I am coming from the ECB (El Cheapo Brinkmann) smoker, heavily modded, and it has been serving me well over the last 5 ears or so.  I typically smoke wings, ribs, butts, some brisket (would like to up my game here), whole chickens, turkey legs, etc  I usually find myself cooking for 6 - 8 eaters.  Sometimes I blow that out to about 15/20 for summer BBQ's and whatnot.

So onto my questions...

1) I need a plate setter for the low and slows... Ceramic or Cast Iron?  I love Cast Iron, have a lot of it, and I am intrigued at the idea of having a multitasker that is both a heat shield for indirect cooking AND a cooking surface for searing off steaks, chops, etc.  Pros / Cons to that vs. the ceramic?

2) I am somewhat nervous at my ability to cook for 20 on a Large Egg.  I see there are a lot of accessories out there that can double or triple the cooking surface area - would you all recommend I just pull that trigger now, or work up to it?  I really like the adjustable rig with sliding grates I have seen all over this board.  I saw that that Egg sells a TRI level rack - anyone have experiance with this?  how much height do I get on that top rack?  not enough to stand some ribs vertically, right?  Ideally I would love to fit 2 sets of ribs in vertical racked formation in the LBGE - feasible?

2A) if I were to go down that road (adjustable rig), purchasing the woo along with it... should I even bother with a plate setter and just work with the stone that comes with that set?

3) I am sittin in northern Ohio, about to go into snow season... do you recommend a full cover for the Egg and nest?   I am really hesitant to just leave it out, even covered, in the cold that we get up here... but maybe thats being overly cautious.  Keeping it in the garage and wheeling it out when cooking is an option.

I realize I should probably assemble the darn thing before I dump money into accessories, but I also don't want to invest money into accessories that will be replaced by future purchases so let me know what you pros think.

Sorry for all the words and thanks for your time!

henapple

Probably the after market rig. No need for a cover. Might even hold moisture. Cooking for 20 depends on the type of cook. Wings would be tough...pork or brisket would be easy. Welcome

anton

Welcome, if I owned a large or xl, I would buy the Adjustable rig and stone.
:-bd

jcaspary

Welcome, I agree with the above.  AR and no cover.  With the AR there is no need for the Woo.   Tri level rack is hard to use and the grates are smaller.  If you are moving it a lot you might be interested in the Nest Handler.  Great piece of insurance for help with moving an Egg.   Where at in northern Ohio?

bluebird66

Welcome!

anzyegg

Welcome and I agree with the above AR...

Tinyfish

I have the AR for LBGE works as advertised. I also have the woo that i put my cast iron pan in for searing.

I just got an XLBGE last week. Just waiting till after the holidays to get another AR and woo for the XL.

Chubbs

I know the feeling with little ones causing delays. Welcome and don't buy a plate setter. Go AR or Swing Rack. If you are a cast iron guy a few on here like the cast iron combined with the extra cooking space in the swing rack. To me, the AR is more versatile. Glad to have you and look forward to seeing some of your cooks

grege345

I've never covered mine. Not once. I would suggest if your going to keep in the nest get a nest handler and always, always pull your egg. Never push it. Never. Btw welcome and looking forward to seein u around the forum

theyolksonyou

Welcome. All of the above.

Jeepster47

If I could only buy one, it would be the nest handler instead of the cover. 

Hey_Bulldog

Thanks for all the input.  So after looking through the myriad of options on the AR rigs I'm poised to throw some money at:

Large AR Rig Customer Combo

3 Leg Spider

13 inch round stone

14 inch drip pan

16.5 inch round Grid

So if my understand is correct - this should allow me to set the spider, legs up and stone into the fire ring for indirect heat, and use the above 16.5 inch grid AS WELL AS the grid that came with the LBGE for a 2 tiered cooking rig.  This correct?  I can smell the wings already... mmMMMmm... Chicken Wings...

Any last minute correctsions / suggestions before I pull the trigger?  Im going to throw an extra set of crossbars at this order for safety's sake.  just missed out on an extra set for free deal - darn my overthinking!

DTEgg

Roll with it, but I would use disposable aluminum pans rather than spending on a drip pan you need to wrap in foil anyway.  As long as you are not running really hot the aluminum works and you don't use drip pans when you are searing…your call!  Enjoy!

jhl192

Man that's a lot of Info you asked for. I could write a book. All good questions though. I have a XL, a L and. Medium. Large is perfect for the AR Ribs & Brisket Combo. Skip the plate setter. The combo comes with a oval stone long enough to cover a full rack of baby backs. Then add the extended grid for ultimate flexibility and easy dual level cooking. That will be as close to cooking for 20 as you will need. Hell there are some guys on this forum that could feed 20 on a medium. It may take some practice but it will be a snap. Frankly I don't think you need the Woo with the AR. I have the woo for the XL and the Med. The BGE will not step up your game from the Brinkman, you will be in a different league. Once you get the basics down the sky is the limit. As for cooking in the cold. I am in CT and I cook all year round. I find covering the BGE does help it from freezing shut. Once it freezes shut you are out of luck until a thaw or you'll have to light a fire inside or heat the egg until it opens. Not that easy. I recently switched to a Rutland gasket on the XL and that has not frozen shut yet while the Medium still does. I may have to switch them all over to Rutlands. I was planning on it eventually anyway. You won't regret buying the AR. especially if you like to entertain guests. Plus the steel is top quality. Mine is 2 years old and still cleans up nice on the rare occasions I clean it up. Welcome and enjoy.

Hey_Bulldog

jhl192 said:

Large is perfect for the AR Ribs & Brisket Combo. Skip the plate setter. The combo comes with a oval stone long enough to cover a full rack of baby backs. Then add the extended grid for ultimate flexibility and easy dual level cooking. 

I took another look through CGS resources and I think I totally agree with the R&B combo with the extended grid.  I think I will go 16" Sliding D Grid at that so I can access both cooking surfaces without lifting and pulling the top grid (one of my major complaints with my old smoker).

Thanks again for all your help!  I promise I will not be this question-heavy in the future.

BTW - assembled the egg last night - no issues there, looks great and I intend to find something meaty to put on it today....

jcaspary

Don't worry about the questions.  That's how we all learn and everyone starts at the beginning.  Now where's the food???

UrbanForestTurnings

I cover mine. Don't like bird poop all over. Bought a cover at SAMs. Well three. Great deal. Plate setter a must. Rest of the stuff read and learn. Great comments here. I use fire bricks and an extra grill grate for multiple levels on my xl. Egg. But then again I piss more money away on other toys

AUCE

I'm a noob bge owner as well. XL Here. 20 plus cooks thus far. I too research everything to ad nauseum..I'm in agreement on the AR package. I own a platesetter as well. The pizza.stone could double for ID cooks but I like having the clean stone idea for sole pizza cooks. Get the complete AR package imo..gives multiple options and cooking for 20 is a breeze even with wings. It opens the door for any type of cook including wok.and levels only attainable with that package. I wrestled with the CI platesetter and choose not to go that route as a couple pieces of CI provide greater versatility. Searing, baking , roasting vegs etc. I'm a big fan of my thermoworks dual temp thermo with smokehouse probes and also have a pop for.spot checking.
The Smokeware cap is a nice add as are good insulated pair of welding gloves. Turning wings for 20 ppl gets HOT on the hands. I'll be buying a DO for soups and chili, roasts etc. I also bought a Looftlighter and love it. Just bought a jalapeño rack and corer for those morsels.
These are imo about all you'll need. Best advice I can give you is ASK and then review and research....it'll save you a pile.
Opinions vary here and experiences by others are most helpful. This is a great group here. Good luck