Consideration on size of BGE

Unknown

We're looking at purchasing a BGE and not certain if there is a "best size" for performance and quality results. We are a family of 2 and enterain occassionaly. We believe the medium size would suite our quanity needs, but maybe we should consider the large. Are there any couples out there who could offer some advice and share there experience?

Grumpa

Kitfox,[p]If I could have just one, I would opt for the large. You can always do smaller meals on the large but, when you need to cook a large meal on those rare occassions, the extra space comes in handy. It is just me and the wife now and I have both a large and a small which is the ultimate for any occassion. I cook on the small most of the time but the large still comes in handy very often. The biggest advantage in the large is the amount of lump that can be loaded in for the looooong cooks.

Dean

Kitfox,
I just went through the same discussion a couple months ago. Here's some of the factors I considered - 1) likelihood of buying accessories. It's hard to deny that you'll buy some more toys along the way after you get into this, and the cost of the accessories will start to add up, so eventually the purchase price of the egg won't be the only factor 2) side dishes - in retrospect, I'm sure a medium would have suited me fine, however I can't complain about the extra room the large affords me: I cooked burgers in the middle the other day, with a side dish of veggies on one side, and my foil wrapped garlic bread on the other. Yes, I could have put some of the other items in the oven, but once you have the egg going, then why not use it? Also, I cooked wings for two - 20 in all, and I'm sure it would have been tight on a medium. 3) Recipes - there seems to be a bit more advice and recipes for the large, though I think much of the learning is self taught trial and error.
All these egg fanatics will tell you to buy large, but I don't think it would be a mistake to go medium. I found that the price difference in my area wasn't great enough between the two, so that was the final factor in going for the large. The small was much less expensive, but then it would also probably much to small as well.
Good luck

Mr Beer

Kitfox,
Go for the largest one your budget can afford. I cook for mainly myself and use a large. There are times when I wish that BGE had and extra large. Just remember, you can always cook small things on a large but can't always cook large things on a small........[p]Mr Beer

J Appledog

Kitfox,
If you are a guy & you buy a medium, you will probably not be really happy until you own a large one. (It's all part of the "A guy's gotta have new stuff" syndrome). If you're a woman, you'll probably be happy with the smaller one. In our case, we bought the large one first, HIS, and a small one later - HERS. JCA

McKevin

J Appledog,[p]
Sheesh, and they call ME sexist... :-P

Fireball

Kitfox,
I own a medium egg and have for about 4 months. For our family of two it is a great size. I haven't yet wanted to cook more than I could in the medium. If you wanted to Q a whole turkey a large egg would be needed. I am thinking of purchasing another BGE so I can Q or grill a second item (bake beans for example) while finishing up a low and slow.
The second egg would be used for Q-ing at differnt tempertures. I hope this helps you. Medium or large the food is great. Oh yes, welcome to the BGE family and the forum.
Fireball

Gatortail

Kitfox,
I think Mr. Beer said it best...You can always grill something smaller on a large egg, rather than cook something too large on a medium egg. I just got my egg last weekend, and it's myself and my wife eating from it, and I'm really glad I got a large. Once you let your family and friends sample some BBQ off of the egg, they'll want you to cook everything, hence needing a large egg. Let us know what your decision is...Gatortail

Unknown

Kitfox,
I originally purchased a large egg. It is plenty big unless cooking for a crowd. Last summer I purchased a small egg to travel with. Most of the time I could get by using it for just my girlfriend and me. However, all things considered, I would probably spring for the large.[p]Tarheel

Unknown

Kitfox,
What I meant to say was that the large is necessary if cooking for a big crowd. Otherwise, unless you're doing a very big bird, the medium is probably OK. At any rate, I was faced with the same decision and I'm glad I purchased the large.[p]Tarheel

Mike Oelrich

Kitfox,[p] BGE used to have a trade-up policy -- don't know if they still have it. You'd buy one size and if you decided w/in 30 days you needed a lrger size, they'd give you full trade-in value. I know NatureBoy got a medium and traded it in for a large that way. Of course, NatureBoy's what I'd call a "power user"![p] I'm not even a couple (that other voice in my head ain't spoken to me in a while :-o), but I do have friends that like to eat, so I got the large. Turned out to be real handy last Thanksgiving (cooked a 24.5# turkey for a get-together at my parents'). Still, I found myself a bit hesitant to fire it up if I was just cooking for me. So, last Christmas, Santy Claus brung a small BGE down my chimey. Now Mr. Avocado's got Egg Jr. to play with and I've got something to cook a single steak on.[p] My personal opinion is that you should go for the large. If you really don't plan on cooking a bunch of stuff at once and you don't want to spend the extra money, I'm sure you'd be happy with the medium as well.[p]MikeO

Wise One

Kitfox, the only other consideration you might want to make is how much will you need to move it around. The medium is 95# and the large 140#. That extra 45# can make a difference if there is a lot of moving to be done. Keep in mind that the extra 3 1/4" in the grill size means that the cooking surface of the large is almost 50% bigger than that of the medium. The medium is only about 1/3 more than the small. I have a medium and am quite happy with it (family of 4), but if someone gave me a large, I'd pull out my saw and cut my table opening bigger tonight.

FrankG

Kitfox,definately buy the large. I own a med and it works for most occasions but for a party you will be glad you spent the extra cash for large

Earl

Kitfox,[p] Welcome to the Egg forum Kitfox. Many of use have two eggs
for a number of reasons. First, when not having company,
the mini, small or med works great. You save on heating time, as well as the amount of charcoal you use. However the
large does have the extra space so you can load up on extra
pulled pork & brisket for a snack.
Bye the size you feel will fit your needs & if it turns out
to be not what you hoped, then trade-up if you have that
choice. [p] Earl

Spin

Kitfox,[p]Welcome to the forum.[p]We are a family of two that entertain regularly. I started with the large (on the forums recommendation) and love it. I added a small because it is the largest model that travels comfortably (our relatives in FL cannot cook very well :-}). Recently a mini found its home here. I use all of them and having more than one is nice as differing cooks can be done at the same time.[p]The thing you need to define is how much you will be using the Egg. My anticipated use at purchasing time has proved to be much less than the actual use. The only reason I underestimated this use is because I had yet to experience the food from it, or understand how truly versatile a cooker it really is.[p]My best to you on your road to great eats,
Spin