thoughts on the Small BGE

stike

just back from a week away on the lake with the new small.[p]here's the maiden cook, a pair of strip steaks at around 550. [p][p]I had no issues getting quickly to 600 or so. I would have gone higher to see if she'd get there, but the steaks were cold from the fridge. meaning I didn't have time to hot-tub/Trex/etc. in order to get the middle up closer to room temp so the sear could be shortish. Just did a semi-long (but lower-temp) sear til they were medium rare. flipped twice for some cutesy criss-cossed grill marks, but that's about it. Pretty convinced that the only issue keeping folks from 700-750 (quickly) on a small, is that the size of the lower vent, firebox opening, and upper vent are all substantially smaller in area than on the large. it's an airflow thing I think, restricted more by the size of the openings in the egg than by lump or ash (though that would confound things further).[p]as always, great steaks. It's a searing machine. the small amount of lump (cheapo 'scrap lumber' stuff) had plenty of air and was just a couple inches from the steak. In the large, I suppose I could drop the grid lower or fill the lump higher, but it was nice to have a close sear with nothing more than a (large) handful of lump.[p]Followed the first sear with another sear the next night . The third cook was a sear as well. ...we have a friend in that area with a high-end butcher shop, so we went nuts on the steak a bit. [p]last cook was a lo-and-slo. did two full slabs of spares, which I trimmed St. Louis style. Didn't cook the trimmings, but pre-cut the slabs into three racks each (6 total). (I'm under the impression that the giant un-trimmed bun ch of meat and bones is a "slab", and that when they are cut into 5-or-6 rib portions, those things are the "racks". i may be wrong) put them on in a pinwheel layout of sorts. all on no problem.[p]I think the old man's camera has those pics. [p]Had no issues holding 250, though it slowed down twice. don't know the cause, but jiggled the lumpgrate from below to jostle the lump/ash, and she did fine thereafter.[p]mom and dad brought some hickory from home (they came up to visit that night), and I scrounged oak from the woods. man o man. i love that smell. the other folks at the lake (cottagey-reosrt kinda place) were simultaneously scratching heads and drooling while viewing the production.[p]
The thing (as fishlessman stated) is a lump miser. I used maybe a third of an 8-pound bag of lump for three high temp sears, a seven hour lo-and-slo, and a high-temp burn-off to clean it. this is pic of the ENTIRE ash production from those cooks. [p][p]unbelievable. I watched some guy at a football game the week before dump a damned pile of briquette ash on the ground that was 6 inches high and 16 or so in diameter.

Sundown

stike,
Where did you finally get the new small?

JETCITYFIRE

I don't know about the small, but i fired up my medium for the first time last night and with both vents full open that baby pegged out the 700 degree thermomter in a matter of minutes. no telling how high it would go if you let it. the only problem i see is getting the temperature down in a reasonable amount of time. i finally got down to 300 and smoked a couple pork loins, which, as expected, and advertised, were the best I've ever tatsted. Good Luck.

stike

Sundown,
my wife called one of the dealers we'd gone to three times before.[p]instead of going in and asking about it, she just called, pre-empted their "you don't want a small" spiel, and said "i'm ordering a small. here's my credit card number"[p]got it as a surprise for my birthday

Unknown

stike,
Good info, Every time I see a thread talking about a small I get the bug to go buy one. I have been cooking on a large since 2001. The small looks perfect for cooing a couple of steaks, burgers, chicken breasts etc.

stike

JETCITYFIRE,
don't let the temp go above your desired temp.[p]you won't have a 'better' fire by going high and then backing down. it doesn't establish a fire any better to get it roaring first.[p]a tip i always tell new folks is to light the thing, shut the dome, and set vents for roughly the temp you want, including the daisy. ...if you desire nuke temps in the first place, open the loewr vent all the way, but put the daisy on with the slider swung full-open. that will hold the fire to just below a full roar. say 600. then when you want to put the meat on, take the daisy off while you are standing there to watch it. at 600, it won't take more than a few minutes to climb to nuke temps. [p]remember, generally, the top off and lower vent wide open don't get to 300 any quicker than if the vents/daisy are set for 300 in the first place. and that way, you'll never over shoot (or, in flashback bob's case), return after being distracted to find a toasted gasket and egg at 1100 or so.[p]
good luck to you too.

stike

GaryJ,
yeah
for the wife and me, the small looks like it'll be our searing machine of choice.[p]the large (4 years now) is great too, but i think the small will help make it all seem even easier than it is aleady to cook quick, great food for two (plus the two boys)

YB

stike,
You will love the small.I have had mine for 8 years and it's still like new.BGE in Atlanta sells a small ajustable v-rack that really works good in the small egg.I spent 4 hours yesterday removing the fire boxes,cleaning and putting new gaskets on 5 of my eggs.I am in good shape for a couple of years now.
Larry
[ul][li]V-Rack For The Small Egg[/ul]

stike

YB,
that v-rack looks pretty cool. I like the clipped corners, giving you more clearance under the dome. smart idea.[p]...can't wait for the fabled new BGE site to be up and running. would love to find the rack available on-line.

YB

stike,
Just call John Creel at BGE in Atlanta and he will send you one.I don't think it was much more than $20.00.
Larry[p]Big Green Egg
Retail Showroom
Retail Orders
3417 Lawrenceville Hwy
Tucker,GA 30084-5802
Telephone: (770) 934-5300[p]

Herm

stike,[p]Did you take it to Foxboro?

stike

Herm,
had it then, but didn't take it.[p]was afraid it would get swiped.
even at the lake, i pulled it intom the poch each night after it cooled. hahaha[p]that thing is just the right size for it to grow legs and walk away by itself.[p]i'm going this week for the opening game, and might (might) convince myself to bring it. maybe i'll bring a bike lock!

Sundown

stike,
Leave it to a woman to make things happen! I asked because I've had a bit of 'attitude' for the dealer we talked about and I'm not sure what it's all about. [p]I scored 20 11# bags of WG Competition Blend two weeks ago from a dealer in Johnson RI. I'm a happy camper with that in the shed. Like I told my wife, lump is never going to go bad unless it burns. [p]Good luck with the new small.

stike

Sundown,
i went through RI that weekend you grabbed the lump, but wasn't near the spot nor in a position time-wise to get there. damn.[p]we got the small in middleton, ma, by the way.[p]by the way, be careful. there are some folks here that think the slightest mention of a dealer's "uneducatedness" (?) is an affront to ALL dealers, and somehow that it's an indictment of dealers in general. i get accused of dealer bashing, yet have never spoken ill here about a good dealer.[p] i HAVE lamented (here) having to deal with sellers that were sub par, and I take it with a grain of salt when someone who lives in a region where the BGE is well-known and well-supported tells me i'm over-stating my case with regard to dealers up here. some of the folks telling me to "shut up" are self-styled guardians of all-things BGE, and see even constructive criticism as heresy. ...and asking them to try to imagine that someone's post might be tinged with frustration (yet still pro-BGE) is nearly impossible.[p][p]

Car Wash Mike

stike,
It is amazing what you see at football tailgate parties. I didn't realize it took a pint of lighter fluid to light 5 lbs. of charcoal.[p]Mike

Sundown

stike,
I still support my local guy in spite of the 'attitude' problem at the moment. I'm sure it's a passing thing. I think it's incumbent on all of us to let newbies know if a dealer is knowledgable or not. [p]However a dealers pricing is his business and I don't beleive in wasting/saving a few dollars running around "getting the best price" because I think we should try to support the locals as much as we can. [p]I for wone will never tell someone to shut up when they are giving an opinion whether I agree or not.

JETCITYFIRE

thanks for the tips, I am doing some steaks tonight and i will give it a try. At 1100 degrees you could fire clay!!!

ronbeaux

stike,
What? No fish? I was really looking forward to some fish pictures. I love my small!

stike

ronbeaux,
no.. no fish.[p]
wanted to, trust me.[p]