Decision Large or XL Big Green Egg

dstearn

sjm1027 said:

I have a small family but am the type that hem and haw about purchasing something. I am ready to buy my BGE in the next week and am really battling over L or XL egg. I figure this will be my only Egg and want to make sure I am making the right decision. I was thinking about the amount of lump coal, the height of the grill for making pizza... Surface area, do I really need the XL? Does anyone have a Large and wishes I got an XL? Anyone get an XL and wishes they got the L? Interested to hear the pro's and conn's
Thanks

I was agonizing over the same decision a few years ago. I went with the XL as I was tired of cutting my rib slabs in half and dealing with rib racks. I can easily set up a two zone cook on the XL and cook at 15 lb whole packer brisket without draping it over a brick.

motowfo

As has already been spoken.. Welcome to the collective!!  I started with a Large for my family of 4 about 15+ years ago (no XL at that time).  When the XL first came out, I looked and my thought was "That thing is F*****G Huge!".  Never really considered it.  When the MiniMax came out... I jumped on that!  Most cooks done are just for my wife but I now love the ability to have 2 different things cooking at the same time.  My Weber Gas grill does a great job of keeping my Egg-cessories stored!

There is no right or wrong to the choice!  When you start playing with the Egg and find the diversity of things you can cook as well as just trying to do things on the Egg that most people wouldn't think of (Baked Alaska?) you'll find you've fallen down the rabbit hole into a whole new way of life!!

Best of LUCK!!!

The Stasche

sjm1027

motowfo said:

As has already been spoken.. Welcome to the collective!!  I started with a Large for my family of 4 about 15+ years ago (no XL at that time).  When the XL first came out, I looked and my thought was "That thing is F*****G Huge!".  Never really considered it.  When the MiniMax came out... I jumped on that!  Most cooks done are just for my wife but I now love the ability to have 2 different things cooking at the same time.  My Weber Gas grill does a great job of keeping my Egg-cessories stored!

There is no right or wrong to the choice!  When you start playing with the Egg and find the diversity of things you can cook as well as just trying to do things on the Egg that most people wouldn't think of (Baked Alaska?) you'll find you've fallen down the rabbit hole into a whole new way of life!!

Best of LUCK!!!

The Stasche

Yes, your right. I look at this as a hobby, education... propane you just light, slap something on and blast it with heat to get it done. BGE cooking is something you experience and continue to tweak each time you go out. 

Legume

Whatever you pick will be right and in 6 months you'll be telling people asking the same question what you did.

Gdfein

I debate same and we  are a family of 3, but I like to entertain, or cook extra and give some to friends. So I went with the XL.  We fell in love and it immediately became primary grill and relegated the gasser to when I'm out of town. 

I will admit, that when all you want to do is 3 burgers or boneless half chix breasts for dinner on a busy school/work night the XL is more than is needed. For said mini cook it does takes long to get a good temp, and cool down (I store my XL inside my third car garage bay, so cool down is important).

So I fixed these XL shortcomings by getting a MiniMax and now the world is perfect. It's about the right tool for the job. 

sjm1027

Gdfein said:

I debate same and we  are a family of 3, but I like to entertain, or cook extra and give some to friends. So I went with the XL.  We fell in love and it immediately became primary grill and relegated the gasser to when I'm out of town. 

I will admit, that when all you want to do is 3 burgers or boneless half chix breasts for dinner on a busy school/work night the XL is more than is needed. For said mini cook it does takes long to get a good temp, and cool down (I store my XL inside my third car garage bay, so cool down is important).

So I fixed these XL shortcomings by getting a MiniMax and now the world is perfect. It's about the right tool for the job. 

Haha, Yes it is... I should just get the XXL and really piss my wife off... Ha! What I have learned is we all love our BGE and your correct, there is no wrong or right way of doing this. Can't wait to get my egg and start posting pictures of some of the food I will make. Really looking forward to it.

dstearn

You will be using the same amount of lump whether it is a LG or XL. If you go with the XL I can assure you that will be glad you did. 

bruce527

I bought an XL for just the two of us most times. Very happy with it and am glad I listened to my wife and got it instead of the large. I hate having the food crowded if I am cooking sides along with the main course 

FarmerTom

I began egging with an M my family got me almost 3 years ago.  It's great for smaller cooks or if you're very innovative as some on here are.  But I struggled trying to cook for larger family gatherings.  The first of this year I bought an XL and I love the extra real estate.  This past weekend, for our daughters wedding, I cooked 4 large briskets on it at once with the aid of a second layer I made in our shop. If you anticipate doing some large cooks, the XL is hard to beat.  

 

onedbguru

For those of us that only have 1 egg (and may never add to the family), there is nothing I can't do on the XL from a single hotdog to 4-6 butts. 

Go big or go home.  

bhedges1987

lousubcap said:

I would offer the following just to change it up- many figure out that while the real estate of the XL is  a great thing to have, you soon find that you want to have two different cooking styles (direct and indirect) running at around the same time.  Thus another BGE -  if you even think that would be in your future I would go with the LBGE and either a SBGE or MM for the second.  I would guess the total initial $$ outlay is fairly comparable to a XL.  I am not counting the after-market gear you would feel compelled to buy down the road.  Wherever you land you will enjoy.  FWIW-

+1

Smoker317

I would buy the XL again in a heartbeat.  My neighbor and buddy at work have larges and they have been in need of more space more frequently than not...  If I am going to fire the egg up, I may do a spatch **** chicken and rack of ribs for example.  We will eat the ribs that night and use the chicken throughout the week in a big salad, chicken salad, tacos, etc..  If not cooking other stuff, so what, not the big a difference in lump consumption.  Guys who complain about lump consumption costs after dishing out nearly a thousand dollars on a porcelain Weber style grill are the same guys who buy $60,000.00 diesel trucks and then **** about MPG...

J-dubya

sjm1027 said:

15 minutes south of Boston

What dealer are you using? I've had very good luck with ACE in Hanover.  I own an XL and love it. 

Jameson19

I have a large and small. Majority of my cooks are on the large, but small egg gets lots of use. Having two cooking zones is ideal. For example, this past weekend was ribs and steelhead in the indirect smoke (250°) on the adjustable rig in the large. The small took great care of the bacon wrapped chicken legs indirect at 325° until crisp bacon. 

If if I had it to do over again, I might get the XL just for big cuts of meat and/or large gatherings. It's a comfort thing, IMO, but no regrets on the large because I make it work for the situation. Having two eggs is the biggest advantage

BilZol

sjm1027 said:

Gdfein said:

I debate same and we  are a family of 3, but I like to entertain, or cook extra and give some to friends. So I went with the XL.  We fell in love and it immediately became primary grill and relegated the gasser to when I'm out of town. 

I will admit, that when all you want to do is 3 burgers or boneless half chix breasts for dinner on a busy school/work night the XL is more than is needed. For said mini cook it does takes long to get a good temp, and cool down (I store my XL inside my third car garage bay, so cool down is important).

So I fixed these XL shortcomings by getting a MiniMax and now the world is perfect. It's about the right tool for the job. 

Haha, Yes it is... I should just get the XXL and really piss my wife off... Ha! What I have learned is we all love our BGE and your correct, there is no wrong or right way of doing this. Can't wait to get my egg and start posting pictures of some of the food I will make. Really looking forward to it.

Go for it!
Ive got the wife on board but would need a new area, that thing is heavy. And pricey. Wish they had an Eggfest up here and would discount it. Haven't seen a dealer around here stock one. 

tonkaegger

XL

sjm1027

BilZol said:

sjm1027 said:

Gdfein said:

I debate same and we  are a family of 3, but I like to entertain, or cook extra and give some to friends. So I went with the XL.  We fell in love and it immediately became primary grill and relegated the gasser to when I'm out of town. 

I will admit, that when all you want to do is 3 burgers or boneless half chix breasts for dinner on a busy school/work night the XL is more than is needed. For said mini cook it does takes long to get a good temp, and cool down (I store my XL inside my third car garage bay, so cool down is important).

So I fixed these XL shortcomings by getting a MiniMax and now the world is perfect. It's about the right tool for the job. 

Haha, Yes it is... I should just get the XXL and really piss my wife off... Ha! What I have learned is we all love our BGE and your correct, there is no wrong or right way of doing this. Can't wait to get my egg and start posting pictures of some of the food I will make. Really looking forward to it.

Go for it!
Ive got the wife on board but would need a new area, that thing is heavy. And pricey. Wish they had an Eggfest up here and would discount it. Haven't seen a dealer around here stock one. 

I am pushing it with the XL but she is onboard. Looks like either Friday or this weekend. Can't wait to post a few pics once set up. Thanks to all that helped.

bellestad

XL all the way.  No issue with heating up. No issues with using too much charcoal.  Having a larger grid allows you to have different temperature zones.  I also have the adjustable rig for the XL which gives me ultimate flexibility.

GrateEggspectations

sjm1027 said:

Durangler said:

Ok ... You have a propane grill for your weekday cooking ... cool. That's great.
You have saved for a BGE ... More cool.
Get a XL and don't look back.
You can dial down your lump consumption with a couple fire bricks on the fire grate and cook high heat or low heat too. 
You can load the firebox with 10 - 15# of lump and cook low n slow for 30 hours. Back to back butts, ribs or briskets.
No need to load it up every time. You have head room to raise grids.
The firebricks allow for indirect/direct at the same time without a platesetter!
Fire bricks divide the fire grate, fire on one half, protein on the other half.
Grid space is king. Don't wish you had more grid space. Be happy you have extra grid space
You will have leftover lump most every time. Just stir and burn again.
I've done 8 - 10 hours at 300 with 1/2 a load of lump using firebricks dividing the grate. Lump consumption is not an issue.

Good luck with your decision 


Interesting comment with the firebrick. I talked to a dealer yesterday about coal consumption and what I could do to save coal with XL. We are empty nesters and I am sure 65% of my cooking will be for 2 but we will have my daughter, her husband and other family over. We also host parties on the holidays and I just love to grill. So this brick, he told me not necessary but in my head it makes a lot of sense. How do you lay them in, flat or a teepee? I assume you need the air to get under them?

tikigriller said:

@sjm1027 where are you from?

tikigriller said:

@sjm1027 where are you from?

tikigriller said:

@sjm1027 where are you from?

The echo in this thread is strong.
 

tarheelmatt

My perfect combo would be XL and Med.  My large is a work horse, but I long for more space a lot.  

DoubleEgger

It's hard to beat the XL - Medium combo. Those who have that setup love it. 

dstearn

As long as your wife is onboard with the XL you may want ro consider going with the Woo2  and stone instead of the standard platesetter for the XL. It is less heavy then the platesetter and you can cook raised direct very easily. When my platesetter cracked I went with the Woo2 and stone and have been very pleased with that combo. Check out the Ceramic Grill Store

DynaGlide

Around here Eggfest pricing is a joke. They mark everything up, force you to buy a package of stuff you don't want and try to tell you its a deal by listing the price compared to "MSRP."

sjm1027

I will have to read about Woo2. No idea what that is yet.

tikigriller

sjm1027 said:

I will have to read about Woo2. No idea what that is yet.

No reason to read, just buy it! You will anyways!   LOL

MattBTI

Im happy with a large. I am wanting more capacity though. Looking at an adjustable rig in the future. For now I havn't ran out of space. cooking for 2-8 hasnt been an issue. 

Doc_Eggerton

onedbguru said:

For those of us that only have 1 egg (and may never add to the family), there is nothing I can't do on the XL from a single hotdog to 4-6 butts. 

Go big or go home.  

Very well said.

westernbbq

I started with XL then picked up a used L on ebay.  I use the L far and away more than the XL.  I believe in bigger is better but wish that I had learned on the L first. L is so efficient.  On the XL be sure you get a vortex to contain lump if you're cooking for a small group or just your family, otherwise you'll burn through lump like crazy.

My  biggest gripe with XL is the difficulty in the spring band adjustment.  It never seems to be leak free- and it makes me crazy.  on the L the adjustment is much easier.

Doc_Eggerton

tarheelmatt said:

My perfect combo would be XL and Med.  My large is a work horse, but I long for more space a lot.  

That is what I have except it is two XLs.  I use the MBGE quite a lot.

tikigriller

tikigriller said:

sjm1027 said:

I will have to read about Woo2. No idea what that is yet.

No reason to read, just buy it! You will anyways!   LOL

Quoting myself now.......I just went and did some "reading"  and now I have buyers remorse that I went with the Woo and not the adjustable rig set up.   just thinking about the ribs I hosed yesterday by not cooking them long enough, I wish I had this set up, as for some reason, I like the idea of laying the ribs flat and not on a rack, which the rack was the only way I could do three racks of ribs, cut in half, and get them all to fit.

Absolutely get the adjustable rig if you go with the Large vs. the XL.  IMHO