Comparing the Small to the Large BGE

ChefFubar

I ordered a small while at the Texas Eggfest, and know it will complement my large. [p]Searching through the archives, I see a lot of posts that contain statements about all sizes of eggs, but have not stumbled across any direct comparisons between the large and the small cooking characteristics. I would appreciate any comments about temperature control, low-and-slow duration, etc. Will the small hold a small turkey? A "typical" pork butt? Other than portability, what are some of the strong points of the small?[p]Thanks!!

The Naked Whiz

Chef Fubar,
I haven't fully explored my small, but it will definitely hold 2 butts. My experience on temps is that it appears to be similar to the large. I've not tried to see how long I can do a low/slow with it though.[p]TNW

WessB

Chef Fubar,
I personally think they are 2 different animals..I started out with a large therefore all my initial learning came on the large..ie.. low and slow, when I got my small I had no need to do any indirect or low/slow on it as I already had the large and all its accesories..so I cant fully answer your question...on the otherhand..the small is a direct cooking machine..specifically steaks...due to the grids closeness to the coals ( as opposed to the large ) you can sear like nobody`s biness..in general anything you want to cook direct, size dependent, you can do on the small at less temp and burning less lump...I love them both..but for different reasons..the large and the small combined will do everything/anything you can imagine....HTH[p]Wess

QBabe

Chef Fubar,[p]We have the large, medium and the small. Each of them will do pretty much anything the others will do, with some exceptions. The small is a great little cooker. We take ours camping all the time and on road trips and it does everything we've ever needed it to. We also use it regularly at home, sometimes for the main course, sometimes for side dishes.[p]Our longest cook on the small was 18+ hours for an 8-9 lb pork butt roast. So, in comparison to the large there isn't much of a difference (unless you're into 24 hr cooks). To do that long a cook, we filled the lump to the top of the firebox and almost all the way to the top of the firering. No problems at all maintaining the 250° for the cook all that time....[p]The small is also my cooker of choice for steaks, whether traveling or at home. For whatever reason, I think it just does a better job than the others. Maybe it's the proximity of the grate to the fire, since in the large, there's quite a bit more distance. Don't know.[p]I've done spatchcock chickens on both, equally successful. Same for burgers, dogs, brats, shrimp, fish, veggies, beans, german potato salad...most any "grilled" stuff. The one thing I haven't yet figured out how to do on the small is ribs, though I saw a post recently where the person formed the ribs into a circle and that looked like just the perfect solution for ribs on the small...[p]We made a raised grid with stainless steel bolts, nuts and washers for all our cookers, including the small, and it is a wonderful addition. For ceramics, we use the BGE 9" deep dish pizza stone (we picked it up at the store in Atlanta a few months ago), but before we had it, we used some split firebricks for mass, since they don't make a small platesetter (though I sure wish they would...!).[p]All in all, I think you'll find that you can accomplish most anything with the small that you can with the large, with the exception of the big hams, roasts and turkeys that sheer size directs the use of the larger one. I haven't tried a turkey in the small yet (or the large, for that matter), but am told that a small one should fit, or a whole breast would work easily.[p]Have fun with your new cooker...![p]QBabe
:~)[p]