Intervention Request

shucker

mick7607 said:

...... My finished product just doesn't have me saying "Wow! That's better than I ever did on the WSM (or any other apparatus)"......

I have to say that I understand where you're coming from.  Although I love my eggs and cant ever imagine being without them, I can't say that bge cooks better food than any other grill.   I see the posts on here, on facebook, and wherever else with people saying "just got my bge, cooked these hotdogs, they were the best hotdogs Ive ever had".  I think its great that a grill can provide that much enthusiasm and satisfaction to a person, but I also think alot of that is undue hype. You show a person how to properly use any cooker and they can produce great food.  Before I got my first egg, I could cook the s#!t out of anything you game me on my weber kettle and the food was amazing.  I remember when I first got my egg, I wanted to cook a chicken but I couldnt get my temp right and ended up cooking some burgers.  I posted on this forum asking for help with controlling my temp and one of the responses was along the lines of "bet they were the best burgers you ever ate".  Well, no, they werent.  I actually preferred the burgers off my kettle to be honest.  As time went on, and with TONS of help from this forum, I got more comfortable with the egg, learned some little tricks here and there, learned about temperature control, different lumps and their characteristics and countless other things.  The food however was not astoundingly better than what I could produce on my other cookers.  At the end of the day, its all about comfort and ease of use for me. A couple years later and I am now very comfortable with my egg and recognize that its so easy to use, I dont have much use for the other handful of cookers in my arsenal.  I genuinely believe that I can cook chicken that tastes just as good, is just as tender, and is just as moist on my kettle or my uds or my wsm or any other cooker in my shed.  The key to any food tasting good is cooking AT the correct temperature, TO the correct temperature.  For me, the egg is much easier to manage and control than any of my other cookers, and its more versatile.  If I HAD to get rid of all my cookers except for one, the egg would stay for those reasons.   This is only my opinion and Im sure I have offended many but please dont take it personal, my mind is pretty screwed up sometimes.  My advice after this long post is to step back and realize that you already know how to cook good food, so appreciate the ease and versatility of the egg as it relates to any other cookers you may have used.  If ease and versatility are of little or no value to you, part ways with the egg and continue cooking in your comfort zone.        

pescadorzih

buzd504 said:

I was a pretty good cook before I got the egg (if I do say so myself), and I read so much about the egg before I got it that there really wasn't much of a learning curve at all.

The thing that changed for me is the convenience of it all.  Relighting charcoal, less ash, etc just makes it so much easier for me.  I went from firing up the grill every month or two (and certainly never in the cold or rain) to cooking on the egg several times a week.  And that convenience (as others have noted) have allowed me to try different things and get better at making them because I spend a lot less time fiddling with the fire on the grill.  This is especially true with any longer cooks (pork butt, ribs, etc) where I would have to add coal and wood to my old grill.  The egg is just about set it and forget it.

It's made a huge difference in our day to day cooking.

This sums it up for me as well. I used a bullet smoker for 15 years and had to always adjust as the temps would rise and fall as the lump burned. It was so inefficient because of lack of insulation. Plus after the cook, any leftover lump was wasted.
I had made one brisket on the bullet and it turned out terrible.  Wife said, "don't waste any more money on them". Well, I decided to try one after getting the egg. It turned out great. Especially after all the tips I got from this forum. Brisket is now a family and friend favorite. It is so simple on the egg to run a 15-20 hour cook.
I did struggle with BB ribs for the longest while, but finally got it figured out.
Ask questions, there is a wealth of info here and some great people I can't wait to meet some day. 

mick7607

@shucker Thanks. You are understanding my dilemma.

DoubleEgger

@mick7607  Considering that you live in upstate SC, might I offer that you head over to the Northeast Ga Mountain eggfest this spring. It's a beautiful drive over and spend some time chatting with the eggheads. You've got a lot a sweat equity in this endeavor that doesn't need to go to waste. If you're not enthused about the egg after the eggfest then it is probably time to move back to familiar ground. Just my .02

THEBuckeye

I'm a Buckeye although I have 'Cocks in my extended family in Columbia and Charleston. 

theyolksonyou

DoubleEgger said:

@mick7607  Considering that you live in upstate SC, might I offer that you head over to the Northeast Ga Mountain eggfest this spring. It's a beautiful drive over and spend some time chatting with the eggheads. You've got a lot a sweat equity in this endeavor that doesn't need to go to waste. If you're not enthused about the egg after the eggfest then it is probably time to move back to familiar ground. Just my .02

And we'd love to meet you

SkinnyV

What an awesome deal, someone can buy it for what you paid and have no warranty? 

Knock off some $$ if you're serious.

mick7607

@SkinnyV I'm sure the warranty is transferable. And yeah, getting that table for the cost of materials only? I'd say that was an awesome deal.

SkinnyV

mick7607 said:

@SkinnyV I'm sure the warranty is transferable. And yeah, getting that table for the cost of materials only? I'd say that was an awesome deal.

Fair enough I didn't sent he table involved. 

Biggreenpharmacist

mick7607 said:

@SkinnyV I'm sure the warranty is transferable. And yeah, getting that table for the cost of materials only? I'd say that was an awesome deal.

Your table is awesome, but the warranty does not transfer. 

TTC

@shucker nailed it.

mick7607

I'm still trying to be a good student; don't expel me just yet. Tonight's menu- big a$$ pork chops, sweet taters, and sautéed okra. Thanks for your attention and comments today.

Biggreenpharmacist

Holy cow your table rolls?  You can't get rid of that!!!  Even if you just store stuff in the egg, you gotta keep it. 

Biggreenpharmacist

And we want pics of your big ass chops!

johnkitchens

That is a great looking table! 

theyolksonyou

Don't over cook them and show us the money!

Biggreenpharmacist

johnkitchens said:

That is a great looking table! 

Oh hell you screwed up mick. You let kitchens see the table. I warned you. Board up the windows and hide your wife and kids. 

johnkitchens

Biggreenpharmacist said:

johnkitchens said:

That is a great looking table! 

Oh hell you screwed up mick. You let kitchens see the table. I warned you. Board up the windows and hide your wife and kids. 

It's almost out of the garage anyway. Uhm...........

Biggreenpharmacist

I guess you're gonna take the flag and the flowerpots in the yard, too, huh?

johnkitchens

I will have to play it by ear when I get there. 

mick7607

@johnkitchens Since I see the Bulldog thing working there, we could have some interesting conversation.

johnkitchens

mick7607 said:

Except Gamecocks.

You are good people Mick! We would get along just fine.

jabam

Just reading this thread has me thinking all is right with the world! Amazing how strangers can come together for the common good of a fellow egghead. I've only had mine for four weeks, and am definitely still learning, but have cooked the best beer can chicken I have ever cooked and my tri tip was awesome!! Had a few bad cooks, most of it my fault, but I wouldn't trade my LBGE for anything.  Reading this forum is almost as much fun as firing up the egg. Hang in there!!!

luckyboy

I also have years experience in b bqing, in my opion you shouldn't expect over night success, I have only had my egg less than a month and have a ton Horry stories already but none as bad as the time I cooked next to Myron Nixon in cook off.

grege345

luckyboy said:

I also have years experience in b bqing, in my opion you shouldn't expect over night success, I have only had my egg less than a month and have a ton Horry stories already but none as bad as the time I cooked next to Myron Nixon in cook off.

ok we are interested

Biggreenpharmacist

luckyboy said:

I also have years experience in b bqing, in my opion you shouldn't expect over night success, I have only had my egg less than a month and have a ton Horry stories already but none as bad as the time I cooked next to Myron Nixon in cook off.

This post made my day. 

TTC

Final thought for me, this forum can be self defeating in a small way.

While there is certainly a supportive group of people who willingly give of themselves and experiences in a genuine desire to help each other, it also makes clear the creativity and talent of fellow Eggheads that we are in many ways competing against.

Every time I feel proud of a dish thinking I am the big man on campus, I log in here to see something I am jealous of from both the creativity and execution perspective.

There are just a whole lot of kick ass cooks out there, and many of them hang out here.

mick7607

@Biggreenpharmacist As requested, sir.

grege345

Well how was it?? What method and temp did you cook to?

mick7607

grege345 said:

Well how was it?? What method and temp did you cook to?

Direct @ 400. Still do in'  chores. Haven't eaten yet