My opinion of our new egg

Buster Dog BBQ

Why did you do 700 degree sear on your first cook? You could easily fry your gasket.

Unknown

My best advice is to get to an eggfest as soon as you can, where people who have been cooking on the Egg for a few years crank out the best the Egg has to offer. You may have your horizons expanded (or maybe you are right and you really can do better on a gasser, but try the food at the Eggfest as see what you think)

Brett

AZRP

Where are you in NM? I would hold off on buying that gas grill until you give the Egg a little more time. I gave away one gas grill and only use the other for storing Egg accessories. I haven't lit a gas grill since getting the Egg. -RP

Unknown

There is a learning curve with the egg. One of the biggest mistakes for first uses is putting the food on too early. Really, wait at least 30 minutes until cooking.. I think I read 15 minutes in the manual...

I still use my gasser for the kids by the way!

Rick's Tropical Delight

I wish the people we had spoken to and read their comments were less biased in their opinions of their egg so that we would have had better information to form our decision to purchase.

who did you speak to and where were you reading? it's a little niave to come to the big green egg forum and think you would read a bunch of comments saying the egg wasn't all that.

i guess i'm having trouble trying to figure out why you are making the statements you are making to the big green egg forum. are you trying to get people to not buy big green eggs and buy gassers instead? are you saying you wouldn't have bought the egg if people told you it was a great smoker and baker but just a regular old griller like any gasser?

anyway, i hope it gets better for you. i'm sure there are several people here that would purchase your egg if you wanted to get rid of it.

Celtic Wolf

I have done a lot of cooking over the years and on many different types of cookers and really can not disagree with you more.

One of the best steak houses I have ever eaten in is the Angus Barn in Raleigh, NC. I will gladly match a steak coming off one of my egg against Chef Royal's any day. If I was closer to New Mexico I'd come to you and prove that same thing.

It is a phenomenal smoker, oven and grill.

Beanie-Bean

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and observations. I hope that you'll achieve what your looking for with the BGE, as I did last year. I haven't relied on my old smoker (sold it) kettle, or gasser to cook a meal since I got my first egg. I still use the metal cookers for other useful things, like hot transfer work surfaces and storage

Best of luck with your new cooker! Hopefully hiloboy can give you some insight on how he does things...

Grandpas Grub

elmuyloco5,

I appreciate your post. From my experience I take exception to the inference of the egg “it’s not all it’s advertised to be” and your review or probably better stated “opinion” of the grilling aspects of the egg.

I do agree with your statement about the smoking capability of the egg. I have had many different smokers until I purchased my first egg. From that point on all my other smokers, at the time, 4 good working smokers, have not been used since nor do I expect to use them. The taste difference of food done on the egg is much superior, to me, than any of the other smokers.

Obviously other smokers are also good as one can see by watching the results of competition winners who do not use eggs. But enough of smoking as we agree on the smoking capabilities of the egg.

On to grilling. I would have to think that you being such a good cook that it is very possible your stove & grilling cooking is much superior. I have found and many above have testified that their cooking was improved when done on the egg. Possibly even your skills will produce better tasting food when done on the egg.

For me, there is a huge difference in my egg grilling over a ‘gasser’ or charcoal cook. I can taste the difference in the propane and I can very much taste the difference in charcoal cooks. From the first cook on the egg, there was a enormous improvement of the taste. Once the fire has stabilized in the egg I can achieve lower or higher smoke flavor in the food by adjusting the top vent. Also, there are some lump that produce less smoke flavor if that is what one is looking for.

If you are looking for a full meat sear or a deeper sear, I would suggest you get a spider from tvj http://eggaccessories.com/spider.htm and a cast iron skillet. You will be able to accomplish a much better sear than could ever be done in a gasser. You can also do a direct sear on the lump. It works and it is a great sear. I get my lump to a ‘lava’ heat lever (bright orange) about 1180° and put the meat directly on the coal for 90 seconds, turn and find a new glowing spot and sear the other side. Keep in mind if your meat is thin cut the sear time down. This will give you a almost complete meat sear.

I would hope you will use your cooking skills and keep testing/using the grilling capabilities. From what you have expressed you must have some great ideas and possibly recipes that all on the forum would love to try.

Lastly, it is very well possibly that you possibly just don’t like the taste of food grilled on the egg, people do have different tastes.

For other new folk reading these posts, in my opinion…
The egg cookers are every bit as good and better than advertized. For us, the food on the egg is much better than we can get anywhere or cook by any other method. I would venture to say that we have paid for our egg by the money we have saved not wanting to eat out or get home delivery food.

We love our egg’s (2 for now and thinking of a 3rd).

Grandpas Grub

Michael B

Ok, so it is at least equal to your kitchen range, your one smoker, any charcoal grill you know of, a personal pizza oven, and comes up just a little short compared to your gas grill in the one area of searing steaks, but then you’ve only tried that a once with the BGE.
All this in a single "all weather" package that is "definitely built better. . . has a great warranty. . . (is) definitely a luxury model and will last (your) lifetime. . . cooks well. . . (is) built like a tank and the packaging was top notch.”
Your retail experience was positive, with a "knowledgeable and very helpful" sales associate.

Pretty high praise from someone who just got started with the Egg. Many people in your position are here asking how to light the thing!

**********

From a couple of your other posts:

“Well the food was juicy…”

To many, that is one measure of “better.” The BGE, like an oven, grill, etc., is just a tool. Use all the same ingredients in each, and you should get similar results.
Most of the ‘betters’ you will experience are subtle. You can’t put a chuck roast in the cooker and expect to take a prime rib out.

Is there any single cooker that can measure up to what you already said about the BGE? That the BGE is at least as good at doing practically any kind of cook as is possible with a kitchen and back yard full of other types of cookers?

I am not a great cook. In fact, I am far from it. Take away my three cook books and the folder of recipes I’ve collected from this site and a couple others, and I’d be lucky to make a passable bowl of cold cereal. (By the way, I think cold cereal is one of the things the BGE does NOT excel at, but that is just my opinion.) That said; I’ve had many aficionados of other cookers over for dinner who have all said that they can not match the food they have had at my house. Some will say they can match one thing with an ABC cooker, or something else with an XYZ cooker, but then admit that they would have to use water pans and/or constant attention and basting to do it.

Enjoy, check back often, and I’d be interested to hear your opinion in a few months. I didn’t think the Egg was all that special until I noticed that the quality of the fare at my favorite restaurants seemed to be falling, and the accolades I received from guests we had over were rising.

Michael B

P.S.
The Egg ain’t that great with popcorn either.

P.P.S.
My cousin uses a paper bag when she cooks poultry too.

Michael B

Works in the kitchen oven too.
Cook a chicken on the rack with no drip pan and you not only get a bad tasting chicken, but a house you can't live in for several weeks while it airs out again.

Michael B

The egg cookers are every bit as good and better than advertized.

I agree.

For us, the food on the egg is much better than we can get anywhere or cook by any other method.

Not quite.
On occasion I still use other cooking methods for some things.
For example, I still use my pressure cooker, skillet, popcorn popper, and crock pot. Just not as often as I would sans Egg. I still do omelets on the kitchen range, and I don't believe I have ever used the BGE to make hot coco.

I would venture to say that we have paid for our egg by the money we have saved not wanting to eat out or get home delivery food.

This I completely agree with!

mollyshark

Ya know, when you have a zillion people saying there is a definite difference and one saying nah, it's pretty average...maybe it is the user and not the grill. Or that person is just a spectacular cook given a microwave and a meat loaf. Or we're all under kool-aid hallucinations. Cults do that to a person. Since this seems to be a whinefest and not really an attempt to ask for specific information, we're obviously not gonna talk you out of it. So enjoy...or not.

mShark

Rascal

Funny, I was in an Air Guard unit around that time and they flew C-97's back and forth to Nam. They were most often empty on the return trips and the crews would load them with everything they could buy. I always thought those ceramic things were some kind of growing containers or flower pots! 8 - )

Rascal

civil eggineer

I forgot to mention in my previous post ... I would bet your disappointment with your steaks had more to do with the meat then anything else. The egg is a wonderful tool but nothing can take a mediocre steak and turn into fabulous. That said if you purchase top quality meat the egg will meet or beat any steak house hands down. Steaks need to be at least 1.5 inches thick to sear properly otherwise you get dried out jerky.

I have 15 lbs of butt on my medium egg right now, outside temp of 26 degrees. The dome temp has stayed pegged to 225 degrees for over two hours without any adjustments. Can't wait till its been transformed into butt heaven. :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

TomM24

Since you are like my wife and don't want everything to be smokey do like I do and put the wood chips or BBQ delight pellets in a foil pouch. That way they are easy to remove for the next cook. If you want the least charcoal flavor 20 minutes is a little short. The best advice is wait ten minutes after you think the grill is ready.

Rick's Tropical Delight

dired out jerky just by searing a thinner piece of beef?
not in my egg.

here's a flat iron with just the sear. not dry at all

civil eggineer

You're right that was a poor choice of words. I cooked some 1 inch NY strip steaks once seared at 700 degrees for 90 seconds a side hoping to rest the meat and finish it at a lower temp but they were already medium well. Live and learn!!!

TomM24

Try some more sometimes it the meat not the grill or the cook.

NJ-GrEGG

Thank you for posting this topic! You got a lot of us talking. I never received this many replys on one of my posts.

Happy Egging! :cheer:

Rick's Tropical Delight

ah, got it. you have to be a little careful on here as to which words you choose to use because the words are often taken literally. they are, after all, the only thing visible here... the words.

have a great day!

civil eggineer

Thanks for the photo of that great looking beef. It looks like "prime" material.

elmuyloco5

I really don't feel that a good many of you read my complete posts. Many of you act as if I somehow trashed the egg and claim that other grills or methods of cooking are better.....none of which I said. I've only had praise for the egg. I simply stated that the one comment made over and over to us prior to purchase about the difference in taste of food, was not true in our experience. And that I was able to make the same level of food using other methods. I still don't see what the big deal is to everyone.

I'm not sure how my post was a "whinefest", just seems like that comment was meant to be mean and hurt. That's fine, I know I wasn't complaining. If you want to treat people that way, I can't stop you. I haven't been rude to one person on here. I thought a group of adults could act mature enough to leave that sort of behavior aside, but I guess not. I've seen many refer to it as "passion", well I'm passionate about many things in life, but I would never treat any of you with disrespect.

I would think forking over $900 + would give me the right to state my opinion of the unit, but I guess not. It's clear that honest opinions are not welcomed on this site. If you only want hard core eggers to post here, that's fine too. I didn't come to stir the pot as many think, I told you all why I posted. I did it for those who are shopping. I came here to read before I purchased the egg, and others do too. I'm not trying to keep anyone from purchasing an egg, I was just trying to give my opinion incase someone was interested. Like I said before, when I shop I look for reviews where people not only say the great things about a product, but the bad things too. I feel their reviews are more honest. That way, I know better what I'm getting into.

You see, it's not just one person, it's my husband too. And I'm pretty sure that we're not the only people on Earth that have purchased the egg and left feeling less than thrilled. I'm not going to get on here and start arguing about my cooking skills, there's no need. I made the statement of my opinion, and that's that. If the powers that be want to remove my post, go ahead. I'm sorry it obviously bothered many of you to hear that some people aren't as thrilled about their eggs as you are. I would think someone confident in the egg's capabilities wouldn't worry so much about my little ole opinion.

We'll be going to the Pork and Brew coming up and will be able to compare the eggers to the non-eggers there. We had wanted to go to an eggfest in the future, but now I'm not so sure that we would greeted openly.

Rick's Tropical Delight

ah come on... we still love you!

secondo

I think it is funny that you accuse the owners of the BGE of being "biased" as if this were a bad thing. When I watch a sporting event, I want the refs not to be biased. When I read the news, I want the paper to be unbiased, but the reason I bought a ceramic grill was exactly because all the owners of the BGE and its main rivals were so biased. Almost everyone that uses one does love it and does think it is better than anything they have used before. If all the owners of one type of car thought it was by far the best type of car on the market, I'd consider it seriously, too, if I needed a car and it was in my price range.

Having said that, I found it far exceeded my expectations which were already set quite high. I've cooked on nice ovens and cheap ovens, and the truth is that the nice oven was fun to use and sometimes easier, but I never thought there was anything that I could make it the nice one that I couldn't have made in the cheap one. For grills, I had a nice gas grill and a cheap weber kettle. There was very little that I could do on the gas grill that I couldn't do on the kettle, but there was nothing I could do on either of them that I can't do at least as well on the ceramic.

In my opinion (and obviously it is reasonable for you to disagree, but it is clear that lots of people agree with me) there is nothing that can be done as well on a gas grill as a BGE and while there are a few things that you could do almost as well on the kettle as the BGE (these would be quick cooks where you are mainly relying on direct heat and in which don't need a really high or really low temperature), everything else is dramatically better in a ceramic grill than in any other type of grill.

There also are some delicate things that I would do in the oven instead of a ceramic grill because I don't want to have any smoke taste at all, but there aren't very many. I used to use my oven for 80% of my cooks, now I use it for closer to 20%.

It occurred to me that over the years as my kitchen has slowly become better equipped, I've loved the convenience, but I've never felt like I could make food that would taste better than if I made it somewhere else, but this is the first time that I had to admit that I had a tool at home (the grill) that I was dependent on that gave me results I couldn't duplicate at a friend's house.

elmuyloco5

Have any of you ever stopped to think that others may feel the same way as me, but are not comfortable speaking up? One can see the reception I got when I didn't even say anything bad......I just mentioned I was a little disappointed. Imagine what one would get on here if they really had anything bad to say.

You all say that there's so many on here that have nothing but praises for their egg. But the active members of this site are a very small percentage of egg owners out there. I'm not saying the egg isn't great. I think it is for many reasons, all stated in my posts. I just don't agree with some of the statements made about it. There's a few others too, but Heaven forbid I speak of any of them.

I wish I could give everyone on here a blind taste test of our food before and after an egg, but I can't. I can only say that myself, my husband, and my three kids haven't noticed a difference in taste. It's not worse (with the exception of a few items I think need to be cooked differently or with another appliance), but it's not better either. Sorry I don't agree with you all, I just don't.

Secondo: Where biased is bad is when it leads the average person to think something that isn't totally true. I'm glad that you all have a strong community and that so many of you feel close-knit. That's nice. It's an appealing factor that helped us to chose which ceramic company to purchase from. But, you see, you turn on the first member that speaks up slightly against the group "opinion". That's not "close-knit" to me, that's a....."everything's fine as long as you agree with us and do it with a smile" attitude. But I'm not going to lie to fit in here. My husband and I are slightly disappointed with the egg and so we said it. If that's enough to get us blackballed on here, then it's not a group that we'd want to part of anyway.

Unknown

I own an Egg and I agree with you about there being no difference in taste compared to other cooking methods. It is the skill of the cook and quality of the ingredients not the appliance that make the difference. Take heart I am sure that are many other that agree with you, but they are afraid to post with their real handle or name.

Rick's Tropical Delight

what would you have us say? :huh:

who said anything about blackballing? what the heck is that anyway?

you've said your piece. can we get on with enoying life now, please?

have a great easter sunday.

Angie2B

elmuyloco5 wrote:

Well we finally got our egg and finally got it set up (snow storm delayed us for about a week). The hubby did a lovely smoked brisket and baked beans while I labored over a bad case of the flu. We also made potato salad to go with it. It was sooooo yummy and juicy. He did a fabulous homemade BBQ sauce and rub....YUM! I'm so proud of him doing his first cook....and first brisket!!! I think it went very well considering some crazy winter weather today!

Apple Baked Beans (altered a bit with sauce and spices)


Brisket cooking


All done! The pink ring didn't show up well in this photo, but was really nice and rich looking

---

She's had this cooker since the 16th and sharing this opinion/ argument a week later.
I don't know, seems like a normal person would say "Hey I must not have the hang of this yet." Instead she starts this thread.
I don't know about the rest of you, but this smells of Troll, a subtle troll, but troll never the less. Just my 2 cents.

---

-Angie2B
**************
Life's too short, always order dessert, and use butter on your tator!
If you want low 'n slow light up high, if you want high, light below.
reply | quote | edit

elmuyloco5

A troll???? Good grief! Wow, someone has an opinion after they use their egg....they must be a troll. Look, I have better things to do then defend myself on here.

You know, one of you took the time to write a nice email to me personally to welcome me to the site. I wrote them back and they have my email address. If I was troll, would I do that? I have an opinion. I made it. Sorry it does bode well with most of you. But I do agree that this has gone on a bit too long. I'm tired of defending my opinion. It's mine, and I'm not going to lie to please the group. If it changes, you'll be the first to know. I'll post again in a month to update otherwise.

Marc from IL

elmuyloco5,
Just keep posting , you will be an Expert Egger in no time. LOL
Marc