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

Egg And I

Large is very popular as a first (or only) egg. On the tables, lots of folks roll their own. To get an idea of what's possible, see this link. The Whiz's site is also good for a lot of info on how to use the egg.


I've owned two Weber Genesis gassers. When the last one had more parts needing replacement than a new one cost, I bought the egg and never regretted it.

dukedog

I built my own table from the plans on Nakedwhiz's site (referenced above). Personally, I liked the idea of a solid base to prevent tipping over and also the expanded counter space next to the grill. I don't think there's anything wrong with buying a premade cypress table and I came close to doing that, but I enjoy a little woodworking now and then. I just set the egg on patio bricks while I was building my table and saved the expense of the nest and side tables. But, if I add to my collection with a small, like others have been talking about and making me think more about I'll probably go with the nest and side tables for that unit. There are some really cool dual egg tables out there too that people have built.

Richard Fl

Most who have 2 eggs have a large and a small. I can do a 20# turkey, pork butts, or4-5 racks on the large. Each at a different time. Then I can cook veggies, pies or other dishes on the small.

Here is a set-up of veggies and a turkey about 15#s.

stike

that weber is a pantload of cash. keep in mind, it's a gasser, so much of that ca$h is going to the stainless. looks nice, but no easier to keep clean (harder, actually). like fishless said. get two eggs for the price, plus accessories.

as for the food... i guess it comes down to what you want out of it. why do you cook what you cook?

most of us are foodies. some trained chefs on here, too. and there are guys making award winning (as in, national award winning) championship barbecue on the egg. you can't really barbecue to the same level on a gas grill as you can on an egg. we bake, we grill, we make pizzas at 60/70/800 (only fishless goes to 1100). i did a beef wellington for chirstmas last year. nearly everyone did a turkey for thanksgiving...

etc. etc.

if you only want to push a button and grill, the weber might be the grill for you. but for most here, 'convenience' is relative. i light the grill, go inside to prep the food, and when i come back out it's at temp. gas grills aren't designed to push a button and throw steaks on anyway, they all need ten or fifteen minutes to get to the correct temp too, it's just most folks don't do that.

i'm surprised no one has bombarded you with pics.

i'll show some of my personal greatest hits, and the first thing i'd say is i can't imagine how i would have done this on a gas grill.

pan seared scallops in various pan sauces


ribs... 8 hours at 225, never opened the lid or added fuel


small lobster pizza (we have pizza easily once a week)



the crust


in spain, paella with rabbit was traditionally cooked over an open oak fire. guess what the BGE essentially is?



overloaded seafood paella.


wild mushromm lasagna with a hint of oak


chicken pot pie


beef wellington




best damn dog and linguica you could possibly make. no comparison




more pizza!


more paella


and the requisite turkey


good luck in your decision.

Nature Boy

Dang Stike. Very nice.

So, you recommend the weber? heee!

Chris

Sundown

You should read more of the forum before you come in with a question like that!

Most people agonize over the same issue as you are and mostly they buy an Egg . . . and never look back.

11 years ago I went out to look for a Weber on orders from my wife. Wandered into a place I was told sold Webers. Asked where the Webers were and the guy looked at me funny and said. "No Webers. Got Big Green Eggs."

Started out the door then decided I should at least find out what a Big Green Egg was. 30 minutes later and $700 lighter I left with a Big Green Egg, a large table, and a bunch of extras. First meal, hamburgers, was a flop! Had no idea what I was doing. The burgers were like cardboard and dry. A few weeks later we were eating better than we ever had with the other Webers in out life and were fast becoming Cult members!

Used to replace our gassers about every 4 or 5 years. Still have my old Egg and my kids are fighting over who gets it when I drop dead.

Go read some of the forum then come back and ask us where your nearest Egg dealer is.

fishlessman

i think some have hit 1100 by accident, probably scared the bejesus out of them, now if i only knew what a bejesus was. there is a few that go to 900 though, not many, but a few

Sundown

Chris,

Don't play with him he could be off his meds right now and when he is he gets 'funny' if you know what I mean.

stike

you best start kissing my ass, old man. i have four bottles of bomba up here with your (soon to be 'my') name on it!

hahahaha

Celtic Wolf

I am sure my bejesus left me years ago, but I did bury the needle on a 1000 deg. Tel-Tru once.

I even managed to open it up after it cooled way down.

stike

table? maybe someday

fishlessman

you gotta go for the 53 second pizza, true its scary, but thats part of the fun. that blue flame that shoots out the top actually hovers fractions of an inch over the pie, a thing of beauty

Celtic Wolf

If only I could eat pizza

fishlessman

is it that you have to cut back on it or completly elliminate it from your diet, an 1100 degree pizza needs to be an extremely thin pizza, maybe a third less dough than a regular pizza

Celtic Wolf

Too many carbs for a Diet Controlled Type II Diabetic..

Photo Egg

Your Wellington looks so great.
Any chance you could email me with
some basic details?
I would like to give it shot
for our next family gathering.
Thank you,
Darian
darianhofer "at" Yahoo.com

RVH

Stike, I've just been "re"-motivated to try some new stuff. Thanks.

Crimsongator

Do you really expect a weber suggestion from this bunch?

davewolfs

stike wrote:

that weber is a pantload of cash. keep in mind, it's a gasser, so much of that ca$h is going to the stainless. looks nice, but no easier to keep clean (harder, actually). like fishless said. get two eggs for the price, plus accessories.

as for the food... i guess it comes down to what you want out of it. why do you cook what you cook?

most of us are foodies. some trained chefs on here, too. and there are guys making award winning (as in, national award winning) championship barbecue on the egg. you can't really barbecue to the same level on a gas grill as you can on an egg. we bake, we grill, we make pizzas at 60/70/800 (only fishless goes to 1100). i did a beef wellington for chirstmas last year. nearly everyone did a turkey for thanksgiving...

etc. etc.

if you only want to push a button and grill, the weber might be the grill for you. but for most here, 'convenience' is relative. i light the grill, go inside to prep the food, and when i come back out it's at temp. gas grills aren't designed to push a button and throw steaks on anyway, they all need ten or fifteen minutes to get to the correct temp too, it's just most folks don't do that.

i'm surprised no one has bombarded you with pics.

i'll show some of my personal greatest hits, and the first thing i'd say is i can't imagine how i would have done this on a gas grill.

pan seared scallops in various pan sauces


ribs... 8 hours at 225, never opened the lid or added fuel


small lobster pizza (we have pizza easily once a week)



the crust


in spain, paella with rabbit was traditionally cooked over an open oak fire. guess what the BGE essentially is?



overloaded seafood paella.


wild mushromm lasagna with a hint of oak


chicken pot pie


beef wellington




best damn dog and linguica you could possibly make. no comparison




more pizza!


more paella


and the requisite turkey


good luck in your decision.

My god, that looks unbelievable. I'm pretty much sold Have you posted the recipes for any of these fantastic dishes online? Also, if you cooked these on gas what would happen, they simply would not turn out as good or what?

davewolfs

For those who built your own table. How much did you spend roughly in materials?

Mainegg

:evil:

brisket

diced potatoes and corn

egg fest

cinnamon rolls

fish in parchment


tailgating

pea soup

apple pies

flat bread

stike

i don't know if you could get a gas grill hot enough to do paella. needs a fire burning at max heat. charcoal burns around 1200 degrees, and i don't know if you can get a paella pan hot enough over the gas.

keep in mind that one of the byproducts of propane gas combustion is water vapor. not sure how much, but it is a consideration. it might affect breads, crusts, pastry, etc.

gas is a heat source only from below. the temperature of the metal gasser's lid is immaterial and doesn't help cook the food, because it will radiate heat OUTWARDS away from the food. at 600, you can touch the ceramic dome of the egg. it's hot, hell ya. but it isn't 600 degrees. try laying your hand on the hood of a metal gas grill. that heat is wasted. the dome of an egg radiates heat bake onto the food. you have direct heat from the flame, and radiant heat (browning of pizza, breads, etc.) from the dome. you don't get that with metal.

another thing about metal grills (not just gas) is that when they give up heat to the atmosphere (because they aren't insulated) they need to replace that heat from somewhere. one of those sources of replacement heat is the meat itself. water vapor, namely. and that's why there's a tendency to dry things out on a gas grill. biggest issue bar none that you will have with an egg is that you will think your chicken or turkey is undercooked. even at 200 (don't ask how i know), your chicken breast will still be juicy. maybe not the next day, no. but straight off the egg, even that badly overcooked it will be moist. at 155/160, itr will be so moist, your mother in law will refuse to eat it, and won't trust any thermometer in the house.

as for ribs... you can slow cook ribs in a gasser, an electric oven, or a smoker (the egg is a great smoker). only one of these will add flavor besides simply cooking them.

i'm about out of sales pitches. hahaha

just get one, and in a year when some dude asks if he should get a stainless gasser or an egg, you can answer for me.

stike

can you ping me on the forum tomorrow or via email.... i can't do it right now, but i'd be glad to give you a run down. wasn't difficult, it just took time. time which i spent in a bathrobe and pajama bottoms all christmas day, with a spoon in one hand glass of scotch in the other

Sundown

Thinking of coming up tomorrow on a speed run. You around?

Regis

I've owned a Weber Genesis and Summit 6 burner. The Genesis was a much much better grill. If I ever went back to gas (no plans) I would never buy another Summit. Terrible to light and uneven heating, and way over priced. My brother bought one a less than a year after mine and experienced the same problems.

The Genesis that I sold to my neighbor and that is 10 years old still lights the first time and has never had a part replaced in it.

The only good thing about the Summit is that I became so frustrated with it that I decided to look to other grills, found the Egg a year and a half ago, and never looked back.

The Egg is the best way to go in my opinion.

dougemsmacks

I might be beating a dead horse but I have to say after having a gasser and a kettle for 20 years, I got an egg and for some reason going out to eat is not that good anymore.

I still have the others but they don't get used much, unless I have a party and the egg is tied up.

newegg

We love our Large Big Green Egg. Went to Eggtoberfest and we purchased a Small Big Green Egg. They are the best...I just love the food that we have made on them. This site is wonderful for advice and help. I wouldn't trade the Egg for any other cooker. :laugh:

stike

yeah
whattay wanna do? no fred's. quick lunch somewhere? turner's seafood?

dog's at the house? it's a mess with christmas crap everywhere. hahaha

[Deleted User]

I don't have good food pics, the stuff doesn't last long enough to take pictures!

But the table I have a few

this is how it started, basic plans, mahogany wood, total cost was around $200 - $230 for everything including deck sealer, wheels, deck screws and sawblades.

Then after using it for a few years I had come up with some improvements

I don't know how much I spent but it was a little here, a little there...
Bottle openers, casters on the non-wheeled end, platesetter storage, raised grid and spider (for a wok) storage, pizza stone storage, hooks to hang utensils on end, drop leaf extension on the other end, hole for an umbrella, metal washers to secure magnetic adjustable light...I think that's it.

If you enjoy building stuff or if you've wanted a good excuse to try something like this it's a great project. I wouldn't recommend building a table unless you think you would enjoy the process. If you do, take your time and build it to last. Or buy one!

Start with a large, see how you use it and then get another if you want.
I hear that a small can cook enough for two adults and two small kids. A large can cook a good amount of food. The more you use it the better you'll get at knowing how much you can reasonably expect to fit. I don't max it out except when I'm cooking ribs (I think 6 racks of babybacks is the max I'm comfortable with. 4 racks of spares plus trimmings is the most of those ribs I do- others will do more (I've seen photos!)

davewolfs

Is it possible to get some sort of a deal on an egg? All the dealers that I have called are selling their eggs for retail price. $699+ for a large egg.