BGE VS Gas Grill

swordsmn

aukerns08 said:

Carolina Q said:

Charcoal is a PITA. And I'll bet over on the gasser forum, no one it arguing over which brand of propane is best.

That's because Blue Rhino is the best...

No,   Blue Horse!!! ..  Better cause it's organic horse methane........ and you get 3 ring notebook paper

Ladeback69

SmokeyPitt said:

Ladeback69 said:

Thatgrimguy said:

Gas grills make me realize just how inexpensize eggs really are. Buying a new 300-3000 grill every couple years is much more expensive than one $1100 egg every 25 years

My brother in law has bought 3 gas grills in the last 10 years I have known him.  That's about $1000 for the models he has be buying.  He likes the egg, but has his gas grill on the deck and worry about the egg catching it on fire.  I know there are a lot of people who have them on the deck, but gas can get going faster and he does a pretty good job cooking on it.  He also has an old smoker he uses once in a while.  I do agree that if you can cook on one grill, you should be able to cook on anything with a little practice.  I think the Egg does make things better and my food has been better since I got it and I do most of the cooking now because of it.

This is probably a skewed statistic because more people have gas grills these days, but I read on the interweb that gas grill start many more fires than charcoal grills.  

http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/outdoors/grilling

I agree with you on the gas grill causing more fires.  My brother in laws grill is next to the house, I used to keep mine away from the house like I do with the egg and mine is on a concrete patio, but the siding is vinyl and I don't want to melt it when doing heat heat cooks.  The other thing is the egg shouldn't blow up, because the gas valve was left on and you try to light it.  Now if you don't remember to burp it you will need a hair cut and eye brow trim maybe.  Speaking from experience.    I will keep working on him about getting one, but his wife won't like the cost and they make more money then my wife and I.  The Egg is not for everyone and that is fine with me.  I wanted one and finally got one after 20 years.  I'm just sorry it took so long.

DoubleEgger

gdenby said:

DoubleEgger said:

I love my eggs but my infrared grill cooks a better steak with more consistency. My TEC gasser gets waaaay hotter than the egg. Comparing a cheap $200 gasser to a BGE isn't a fair fight. 

Beg to differ. To summarize from "Modernist Cuisine," Vol. 2, page 11, gas burning grills that provide their cooking heat by radiating IR deliver between 300 - 500F less temperature than the IR from glowing lump. Beyond that, an Egg at full draft gets hot enough to kindle CO, whose flames are approx 2100F. Also from MC, the IR energy from glowing lump is about 210% greater than the re-radiating surfaces of gas fired units.

Be that as it may, I cook steaks at 900F on my TEC and my eggs max out at about 700F dome. 

gdenby

DoubleEgger said:

...

Be that as it may, I cook steaks at 900F on my TEC and my eggs max out at about 700F dome. 

I've run my Eggs way past 700. I came out one time to see the needle all the way back around to 200F, and a blue jet 8" high coming out the top.

The thing is, that IR drops off by the square of the distance. At the dome the reading may be 700, but at the fire ring, its 1400+.

Ladeback69

DoubleEgger said:

gdenby said:

DoubleEgger said:

I love my eggs but my infrared grill cooks a better steak with more consistency. My TEC gasser gets waaaay hotter than the egg. Comparing a cheap $200 gasser to a BGE isn't a fair fight. 

Beg to differ. To summarize from "Modernist Cuisine," Vol. 2, page 11, gas burning grills that provide their cooking heat by radiating IR deliver between 300 - 500F less temperature than the IR from glowing lump. Beyond that, an Egg at full draft gets hot enough to kindle CO, whose flames are approx 2100F. Also from MC, the IR energy from glowing lump is about 210% greater than the re-radiating surfaces of gas fired units.

Be that as it may, I cook steaks at 900F on my TEC and my eggs max out at about 700F dome. 

Max out at 700?  I have had mine to 800 and it can go way past that if you let it, but I would remove the dome temp gauge first.  This is a clean burn at around 700 to 800.  700 is more then hot enough to sear my steak and I can do 12 at one time.  Which TEC model do you have?  Those things are more then an egg from what I found online.

jak7028

BGE vs propane is like a gun vs knife fight

Sure the knife could win with a skilled user, but not likely.  The flavor is the big thing missing.  I prefer lump or wood coals then briquettes then propane.  

I have had really good steak on a propane grill.  There are special grills and infared you can get, but you have better overall versatility on the egg.  Mainly being able to reverse sear steaks.

The best propane steaks I have eaten were thick rib eyes.  Turned the grill on high and let it heat up.  Put the steaks on to sear for about 2 minutes per side.  Took them off and double wrapped them in HD foil, and let them sit for about 10 minutes.  Came out a nice medium rare with a great texture.  

That being said, reverse sear on the BGE beat them in quality and flavor.

DoubleEgger

Ladeback69 said:

DoubleEgger said:

gdenby said:

DoubleEgger said:

I love my eggs but my infrared grill cooks a better steak with more consistency. My TEC gasser gets waaaay hotter than the egg. Comparing a cheap $200 gasser to a BGE isn't a fair fight. 

Beg to differ. To summarize from "Modernist Cuisine," Vol. 2, page 11, gas burning grills that provide their cooking heat by radiating IR deliver between 300 - 500F less temperature than the IR from glowing lump. Beyond that, an Egg at full draft gets hot enough to kindle CO, whose flames are approx 2100F. Also from MC, the IR energy from glowing lump is about 210% greater than the re-radiating surfaces of gas fired units.

Be that as it may, I cook steaks at 900F on my TEC and my eggs max out at about 700F dome. 

Max out at 700?  I have had mine to 800 and it can go way past that if you let it, but I would remove the dome temp gauge first.  This is a clean burn at around 700 to 800.  700 is more then hot enough to sear my steak and I can do 12 at one time.  Which TEC model do you have?  Those things are more then an egg from what I found online.

700 is about all I get without letting it burn uncontrolled for hours. It takes a long time to hit 700F and just a few minutes on the TEC.  I've got an older Patio II and it cost more 14 years ago  than my XL with nest and my medium with the cedar table.  It was bought before I changed "religion"

Ladeback69

DoubleEgger said:

Ladeback69 said:

DoubleEgger said:

gdenby said:

DoubleEgger said:

I love my eggs but my infrared grill cooks a better steak with more consistency. My TEC gasser gets waaaay hotter than the egg. Comparing a cheap $200 gasser to a BGE isn't a fair fight. 

Beg to differ. To summarize from "Modernist Cuisine," Vol. 2, page 11, gas burning grills that provide their cooking heat by radiating IR deliver between 300 - 500F less temperature than the IR from glowing lump. Beyond that, an Egg at full draft gets hot enough to kindle CO, whose flames are approx 2100F. Also from MC, the IR energy from glowing lump is about 210% greater than the re-radiating surfaces of gas fired units.

Be that as it may, I cook steaks at 900F on my TEC and my eggs max out at about 700F dome. 

Max out at 700?  I have had mine to 800 and it can go way past that if you let it, but I would remove the dome temp gauge first.  This is a clean burn at around 700 to 800.  700 is more then hot enough to sear my steak and I can do 12 at one time.  Which TEC model do you have?  Those things are more then an egg from what I found online.

700 is about all I get without letting it burn uncontrolled for hours. It takes a long time to hit 700F and just a few minutes on the TEC.  I've got an older Patio II and it cost more 14 years ago  than my XL with nest and my medium with the cedar table.  It was bought before I changed "religion"

I can get to 700 in about 30 minutes if I let it go on its own, but now I have a new tool to help it get there faster.  What size egg do you have?  It shouldn't take hours to get to 700 on any of the sizes I know of.  My dealer has a small and he said it is up to 400 in 5 minutes and 700 in about 10.

jak7028

That is unusual.  Might try checking your air flow, adding more lump, or changing lump brands.  I can get my large to 600 or 700 easy.  I messed up some pizzas the other day because it got up over a 1000 on me. 

One time I was going to cook a chicken and shooting for 350 to 400.  The fire was at about 200 and rising.  I had the lid closed but no daisy wheel and the vent was wide open.  I checked back looking out the window of my house and the temperature hadnt changed in about 10 minutes.  Thought my fire went out.  Turns out fire was shooting out the top and the thermometer had wrapped back around to 200.  

keepervodeflame

Due to the fact I live in the mountains of Arizona with high fire danger, I am forced to cook on my Weber Summit every year usually during the months of June and July before the heavy monsoon rains in August. (Local county enforced fire restrictions on ash producing outdoor fires and cooking devices) A while back, I had the same thought of can I cook as good a steak on the Gasser, as I can on the Egg. I bought identical Prime Sirloin steaks. I cooked one on the Gasser and one on the Egg. I did them both using a reverse sear technique. Both steaks were very good (although I prefer Rib Eyes) but the steak cooked on the Egg had a nice smokey taste and more moisture and thus more flavor, even though both steaks were a perfect medium rare 130 IT. Here are the pics. Gasser steak first. 

jtcBoynton

I was running my LBGE earlier today at 850º. Had to cut back on air flow to keep it from going higher.  This was with a ceramic grill grate (half the holes of the newer metal grates) and all small pieces of lump (with a few briquets thrown in). It took a little while for the fire to get going - the small pieces were packed in pretty tight. After stirring up the coals a bit, it took right off. 

aukerns08

This thread makes me think if we did some sort of double blind taste test on steaks cooked on an egg vs. a gasser by a trained chef quick seared, how many would actually get it right.  I bet most of us right now would say that we could tell the difference and get it right but I also bet the results would surprising to a lot of people.  Giving myself an honest assessment I probably wouldn't be able to tell much of a difference on most bites.  Eggs = awesome in my book I have 2 and enjoy them, but I also know good food is mostly about the user and only slightly determined by the instrument.

Acn

Foghorn said:

I cooked steaks on a friend's gas grill on Mother's Day.  They were among the best steaks I have ever cooked.  It was the first meat I have cooked with gas in a long time.  I reverse seared them by cooking them at 250 on the upper grate - then searing them on the IR side burner.  I've learned a lot here about cooking and am grateful to BGE for hosting this forum.  But most of what I have learned here can be applied to any grill if I pay attention to the underlying principles.

You can absolutely transfer what you learn here to gas.  Sometimes I wonder - everyone here says their cooking ability increased once they got an egg.  Also, the consensus first piece of advice newbies get here is to get a thermopen and cook to temp.  I'd honestly never think to say that, just because I've had an IR thermometer and a probe thermometer in every apartment/house I've ever had.  

If learning that came from getting an egg and joining this forum, I think that would increase your cooking ability more than getting the egg.

Ladeback69

The only thing I miss about my gas grill is the rotisserie, but I only used it a few times over 20 years.  To me the main difference is the egg is more versatile like they claim and can do more then a gas grill can all in one vessel.  

aukerns08

@Acn I'm with you, when I suggest accessories the first thing I think of is a Woo or AR setup as I already have some sort of thermometer to cook to temp.  I think the best way I can rationalize it is that the purchase of the egg for whatever reason made people decide to be better cooks.  Most likely to use it more and justify the purchase to their significant other, etc.  Let's be honest most wives mine included just look at all grills the same, gas, charcoal, egg, doesn't matter she just sees grill and is typically unimpressed by it.  So the big upfront cost to them is hard to justify.  Cooking on it and cooking well on it though makes it easier to justify that $1K green grill.  

DCahill

I've had a gas grill for a long time, and have only recently moved to the BGE.  Noticed a difference immediately; food seems to retain moisture better.    It could be user error on the gas grill!

blasting

+1 on the infrared.  

I learned that trick from this forum and use it every time I cook with cast iron (which is daily)

Skiddymarker

Not being a scientist, but I think comparing a TEC infrared to an egg is like comparing an apple to an orange. Two vastly different arrangements. I'm thinking @DoubleEgger hits temps close to 800º within 10 minutes and cooks without having to break down the moisture barrier around the food - that's why IR grills sear and develop the Maillard reaction so quickly. Just what you want in a steak. An egg, albeit a very hot egg would have to be at twice that temp to get similar results using its convective(moving the air), conductive (heating the air) and direct IR from burning lump.
Much like a microwave or an induction burner will boil water much faster than an equivalent powered gas or coil burner, I think the TEC units are pretty awesome at getting the job done. 
Many infrared searing units only work at about 50% efficiency, are often ceramic based or use cheap metals, I think that is what is behind the MCAH statement of 400-500º max noted by @gdenby. TEC can wring very close to 100% out of its IR burners. 

DoubleEgger

Thanks @Skiddymarker

TonyA

I love my gas grill. Weber Summit 470.  I can go as far as chicken and ribs with it and turn out very high quality food. I cook on it all week rain sleet snow. I've said it before that the rotisserie chicken is probably my most celebrated meal. 

There are some great cooks on this site.  I think they recognize the egg as a useful tool.  If people have elevated their craft investing more time and energy to justify their expensive equipment .. good on them.  But to say the egg just makes better food without the input of the cook ... that's just drinking the green kool-aid.

Acn

Ladeback69 said:

The only thing I miss about my gas grill is the rotisserie, but I only used it a few times over 20 years.  To me the main difference is the egg is more versatile like they claim and can do more then a gas grill can all in one vessel.  

I'd agree with that, and if I had to choose only 1, I'd probably go with the egg for that versatility.  Luckily I don't have to - I can have both.  I use both, and I turn out good food on both.  There are things that I cook that I like better off the gasser and there are things that I cook that are good cooked on either but use the gas because it's ready in 5 minutes.

Ladeback69

Skiddymarker said:

Not being a scientist, but I think comparing a TEC infrared to an egg is like comparing an apple to an orange. Two vastly different arrangements. I'm thinking @DoubleEgger hits temps close to 800º within 10 minutes and cooks without having to break down the moisture barrier around the food - that's why IR grills sear and develop the Maillard reaction so quickly. Just what you want in a steak. An egg, albeit a very hot egg would have to be at twice that temp to get similar results using its convective(moving the air), conductive (heating the air) and direct IR from burning lump.
Much like a microwave or an induction burner will boil water much faster than an equivalent powered gas or coil burner, I think the TEC units are pretty awesome at getting the job done. 
Many infrared searing units only work at about 50% efficiency, are often ceramic based or use cheap metals, I think that is what is behind the MCAH statement of 400-500º max noted by @gdenby. TEC can wring very close to 100% out of its IR burners. 

I can see your point, but it looks like the cheapestTCE grill starts at  $1600 and that is a table top one.  DoubleEgger said he has had it for 14 years so if still is doing well I can see using it.  I paid a little over $1600 for my egg, nest, tables and a few more things.   The TCE that compares in size to XL would be over 5K.  Can't justify that for anything.    It would be nice, but my wife would have only want me to spend a couple hundred on a gas grill.   I like the taste of the charcoal too.  Sounds like I may have to a side by side test or something. 

DoubleEgger

I do want to be clear that I'd give up my TEC in a New York Minute over my eggs. I'm not saying it's a better grill overall. It just does a specific task better much like those Blackstone pizza grills. As far as gassers go, it's an awesome grill that looks like new after 14 years of sitting outside with no cover. 

Over the years, I've determined that a gasser costs about $100/yr. You buy a $200 grill, you'll get two years out of it. Buy a $700 grill, you'll probably get seven years give or take a little. With the lifetime warranty, the egg is insanely cheap in the long run from an equipment standpoint alone (not getting into propane vs lump cost). 

4Runner

I have the small TEC portable.  We bring it to the beach and it does a fantastic job.  Nothing wrong with a TEC...except the price.    Still, my go to is the Egg.  

Ladeback69

4Runner said:

I have the small TEC portable.  We bring it to the beach and it does a fantastic job.  Nothing wrong with a TEC...except the price.    Still, my go to is the Egg.  

I don't think anything is wrong with it,  it's just out of my price range.   It looks pretty cool.   I almost bought a $1000 gasser instead of the egg.  Glad I did or wouldn't have all this fun on the forum.