Trouble Deciding...Weber S-470 or Green....

davewolfs

I'm looking to buy a new grill and the Weber 470 and Green Egg have definately caught my eye, the searing ability + roasting is definately something that I want. As far as grilling goes, I'm pretty amateur but have been able to do pretty well using a cheap charcoal Weber. Right now it's pretty much a tossup for me between the 470 and a large Green Egg.

As far as dishes go, brisket and roasted whole chicken are definately on the list and grilled fish is another important one.

So perhaps those of you who have experience with both a Gas Weber and Green egg can share your experiences about either of these grills.

I look forward to your replies.

Dave

gdenby

I suppose someone may have experience with both, as there are lots of folks who have used gas grills along with the Egg.

But let me make one comment about the Egg vs. gas. Depending on where you live, the Egg in winter is a definite positive. You never have to worry about it getting too cold to keep a charcoal fire going, unlike propane, which looses too much pressure when its really chilly.

Buster Dog BBQ

Use to have a Weber gasser. Bought the egg because I was tired of changing the burners on it plus wanted to do more low and slow BBQ like brisket and ribs.

The Egg can do both low and slow at 225 or so and sear at 1000. My first cook was ribs and never used the Weber again except to store egg stuff. Finally gave away Weber and bought three more eggs. Even started doing KCBS competitions have have done over 20 contest the last two years all because of the egg.

The amount of knowledge I gained on this site when I was a newbie is priceless.

Try maintaining a constant temp at 20 below and wind/snow or 100+ with a gasser.

Celtic Wolf

First of all there is no comparison between the two.

Lets move down a list:

The Egg has a lifetime warranty
The S-470 does not.

The is capable doing low and slow cooking and hot and fast grilling.
I reckon you could do low and slo on the S-470.

The egg comes with this forum..
Weber has one for the bullet, but you aren't looking at the bullet.

More important you are asking a bunch of Eggheads to tell you the pros of a gas cooker.

You won't regret buying the egg..

davewolfs

I actually live in a tropical climate so weather really isn't an issue.

Obviously gas is convenient.

Oh another one for the egg is pizza

But seriously, what advantages will I gain by purchasing an egg over a gasser? I've read that a gasser can dry out your food, is that fact or myth? Obviously a lot of people have success using their webers or alfresco grills.

Mainegg

LOL this is posted so many times on here it should just be a sticky at the top of the page. and the next post should be all of the people that go one and said WOW why did I wait??? and then we could do a post of why did I do this. I think the first two would be full and the last one would be empty. Spend some time on here reading the posts. You will meet a lot of great people all waiting to help you with any problem you will encounter. and there are not to many. Plus you will see that most of us have more than one. Wouldn't do that at all if they were not the best I have 5 :P these will cold smoke cheese and get roaring hot to sear a steak. But tell me this, I live in Maine and delt with about 4 feet of snow all last winter. My eggs cranked along at the temp I set them for for hours if I asked them. will any metal cooker do that> and the lump was left to do another meal no problem. these are year round top of the line. hands down not that I am opinionated or anything.
Oh and the fests??? I have never heard of a Weber fest but you have not lived till you have attended an egg fest

Grandpas Grub

This question on any cooker specific board is going to get you a predictable answer.

With that said... I got my 1st egg about 2 years ago. All I knew then was I was buying different grills/gasser's/smoker's time and time again trying to find something I really liked.

After getting the egg things changed. I began selling all those previously purchased grills/gasser's/smoker's.

The egg's were all I needed or wanted after about a year of use of the egg.

Then this mid spring I was at a grandson's football game. The league was selling bbq food & candy to raise money for the team.

I remember smell the odor of the kingsford being lit. It wasn't until that day smelling the lighter fluid and charcoal. It was that day I actually knew there was a huge difference in the egg over other types of cookers/smokers. I could also smell the difference when using propane cookers.

Do yourself a huge favor, get the egg.

GG

Grandpas Grub

You will get a completly different tasting food on the egg. Your food won't be dry as it often is with propane.

GG

Celtic Wolf

The lifetime warranty and this forum..

That gasser has way too many parts to break. The egg has parts that can break, but there is that warranty.

Gas really isn't that much more convenient. I light my eggs and go inside and get the food ready. When I am done the egg is ready to cook.

Setting up the egg for low and slow is easy. Setting up that gasser for a low and slow is not damn near as easy.

However, the choice is still yours.

fishlessman

i would get a weber smokey mountian smoker and a kettle if you want to make some good to great food over that stainless hot dog cooker, sure it will impress your friends and neighbors but honestly the other two cookers will get you some great food. now the only thing better for the backyard bbqer than the wsm and kettle is an egg, it works all year round, has a lifetime warrantee, and is a step above all the other cookers for the food product you can put out. i use mine from temps as low as 145 to as high as 1100 degrees which is a little tricky, but you get the idea.

Austin Smoker

I was a Weber Gas fan for years...built a new home when we moved to Austin (not "Tropical" as you are, but certainly not cold) and installed an outdoor kitchen complete with a RIDICULOUSLY expensive DCS stainless built-in unit with rotisserie, etc. I thought I was in heaven...EXCEPT, I missed my smoker for true Barbeque. Don't get me wrong, the DCS is a helluva GRILL, but it CANNOT product barbeque.

A year after completing the outdoor kitchen, and a lot of whining from me about how much I missed my smoker, my wonderful bride bought me a Large BGE. Since that day last Christmas, I can count on one hand how many times I have cranked up the DCS!! Biggest benefit - FLAVOR, there just is no competition between the flavor/moisture that the Egg delivers.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have (and could have) bought 3 large eggs for the cost of that DCS that serves as storage for all my Eggcessories now. Could, shoulda, woulda....but you can!!

Good luck.

davewolfs wrote:

I actually live in a tropical climate so weather really isn't an issue.

Obviously gas is convenient.

Oh another one for the egg is pizza

But seriously, what advantages will I gain by purchasing an egg over a gasser? I've read that a gasser can dry out your food, is that fact or myth? Obviously a lot of people have success using their webers or alfresco grills.

vidalia1

Try baking bread, pizza, cookies, cakes, pies on the Weber...it is an outdoor oven...you will never regret buying a BGE...or two... :laugh:

davewolfs

Do a lot of folks purchase your BGE's with the cypress tables? Seems like the Large is the most popular size.

FlaPoolman

I'm tropical here also. I've been grilling pretty good I thought for 30 years but didn't really start cooking and have friends brag about the cooks until I got my first egg 8 years ago. Sold my $3300 gasser for $600 5 years ago but still have my weber silver for storage but hasen't seen a bottle in over 5 years. Also you don't replace the egg every few years you just add to the family. Just my $.02

dukedog

Probably not the best place to get unbiased advice but........

As far as gas grills go, that weber looks like a nice unit. I have one of the older Genesis series (smaller two burner) and it was better than most other gas grills I had used, not many hot spots, decent heat control etc. But I always had a soft spot for charcoal grilling so I had a weber charcoal that I'd use as much or sometimes more than the gasser. The thing that always irked me with either of these is that I'd read these BBQ books and try to cook ribs, brisket, shoulders etc. on either of those webers and could never get a decent product despite constant babysitting and tweaking. I know there are cooks that can, but it escapted me. Was pretty frustrating, especially after eating at a couple of joints in St. Louis and being blown away by just how good and addicting good barbeque is.

So I did a lot of research on different types of bbqs including offsets and barrels and they just didn't have the versatility to justify the expense (was looking for one that could more or less do it all). There's a bbq store here in town that had all types of smokers and grills and also this thing called the Big Green Egg which seemed to me way overpriced. But the guy in the store said he had access to all this other fancy equipment and the only thing he cooked on was the egg.

So I did more research and stumbled onto this site, where I spent a lot of time witnessing the enthusiasm and support and all the fun these fine folks seemed to be having.

After some additional thought, I bought one. Sounds cheesy but it's literally changed my life and has exceeded by a mile every expectation I've had. Most important, it's been and continues to be a LOT of fun. At home, it's the only grill I use for everything and I've also had fun with pizzas, bread and a bunch of other things I'd normally bake in the indoor oven.

My advice to you would be the same as the bbq store owner gave me. If you're just going to grill steaks, burgers and brats, and don't enjoy the whole process of outdoor cooking, get a gasser. If you like to expand your capabilities, take some time and turn out 1st class bbq in addition to all that other run of the mill grilling...get the egg.

My old gas weber sits in the garage awaiting a new home....I still take the weber charcoal to tailgates and camping, but wish I could lug my large egg around for that too! One of the best purchases I've made in my life, no kidding.

Firestarter21

Not to mention you will see ads similar to this one everyday.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/hsh/943622619.html

A common theme, gasser for sale, bought a BGE and no longer use it.

Richard Fl

You live in a tropical climate. Where? Here in Melbourne Fl for the last 30 years have seen MANY stainless steel grills rust and look like great scrap ..
Eggs do not rust. You get more cooking choices with the BGE. The only thing it will not do is rotissere, but we have ways around that. Come on aboard!

vidalia1

You just add to the family...

how true Pat...I get to buy a mini this year....yippee :P

davewolfs

Richard Fl wrote:

You live in a tropical climate. Where? Here in Melbourne Fl for the last 30 years have seen MANY stainless steel grills rust and look like great scrap ..
Eggs do not rust. You get more cooking choices with the BGE. The only thing it will not do is rotissere, but we have ways around that. Come on aboard!

Given the green eggs ability to conserve moisture and the face that it acts like a convection oven is the rotisserie even necessary? All pictures of turkeys and chicken that I have seen look fantastic.

FlaPoolman

Great Kim,,, I'm hoping for a small

fishlessman

since you were already to plunk down all that money on the weber, you might want to consider two eggs or buying one first to get used to it and buyng a second later and then build or have built a table for the two of them. most everyone here has two because its convienient at times to have multiple setups cooking, with a custom tabble you could also setup a side burner which comes in handy

FlaPoolman

NOPE... I don't miss my infrared rotisserie at all.

davewolfs

fishlessman wrote:

since you were already to plunk down all that money on the weber, you might want to consider two eggs or buying one first to get used to it and buyng a second later and then build or have built a table for the two of them. most everyone here has two because its convienient at times to have multiple setups cooking, with a custom tabble you could also setup a side burner which comes in handy

Do most people do two large eggs? Why the two egg setup?

dukedog

I have the rotisserie attachement for my weber charcoal and it does work well with that unit, but I've never had a need for that with the egg, enough heat circulating around that everything you roast is as if you had used a rotisserie.

Little Steven

davewolfs,

Many of us have more than one egg. It is nice to be able to do low and slow on one and searing or baking on another. I think most folks have a large and either a medium, small or mini as a companion. There are some that have more than two.

STeve

fishlessman

most get a small and large, large is the most practical, small is a lump miser, good for sides, a steak or two etc and its nice to be doing a low and slow on one and a different cook on the other. if you buy the webber, you will always wonder what your missing with the egg anyways, and then you will be buying one down the road and kicking yourself for not getting it sooner.

FlaPoolman

But very few have 20 like you :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

gdenby

Some folks have whole families of Eggs, 4 or more, just because they are so good.

However, the most recommended set-up is a large and a small. Its more convenient when you want to cook things that require much different temperatures, or cooking times.

Check-out:

www.nakedwhiz.com/TableGallery/tables.htm

for shot of how various people have put their Eggs in tables.

davewolfs

fishlessman wrote:

most get a small and large, large is the most practical, small is a lump miser, good for sides, a steak or two etc and its nice to be doing a low and slow on one and a different cook on the other. if you buy the webber, you will always wonder what your missing with the egg anyways, and then you will be buying one down the road and kicking yourself for not getting it sooner.

So for those with the two egg setup, do most of you have custom tables? Do you use the cypress setup or keep it simple and go with the nest and wings.

FlaPoolman

Both

Little Steven

Gee Pat,

Is that a chiminea under the blanket?

Steve