good for beginners?

Unknown

I'm looking for a smoker for my hubby for his birthday. How hard/easy is an egg to cook on for a beginner? I was advised on other forum to look at a weber smokey mountain. How do these compare as far as ease of use, etc? And how much is an egg? I don't see prices on any of the sites I've been to. Is it so high they don't want to scare me away? Thanks for any info. dee

BlueSmoke

dee,
For ease of use, BGE and WSM are very comparable. Beginners "jump right" in all the time. For cost, a large BGE is about 3 times as expensive as a WSM. For versatility, IMHO you can't beat the BGE. I bake on mine, with temperatures as rock-solid as anything I can get in the oven in the house. I cook pork shoulder at 250 degrees for 15 to 18 hours. And I grill steaks at 750+ degrees. What's more, I can go from one mode to another in a matter of minutes.[p]I guess it comes down to how much you love hubby, and what all the two of you are liable to be cooking.[p]Ken

Wise One

dee, I think the BGE is as good for beginners as any cooker you can buy. The BGE has four sizes (5 soon) and prices (fully equippped and somewhat on the high end - you can do better by shopping around) range from $125 for the mini with a 9-1/2" grill to $375 for the small (13"), to $500 for medium (15") to $700 for the large with a 18-1/4" grill. These prices vary from location to location and with what accessories are included but these are in the ballpark. They are a bit higher than some metal smokers but they literally will last a lifetime. My wife bought me one five years ago and after 25 years of cooking on agas grill, I have cooked on gas exactly once since then. I now have 3 BGEs and think they are a bargain at any price.[p]But the best part is that folks on this forum will help you (or your hubby) through those first cooks. Go for it! You - and he - will never regret it.

Toy Man

dee - I personally found the the WSM a lot harder to learn. Especially trying to set/maintain a temperature.[p]I find it very easy to do on a BGE.[p]Costs more - WORTH it.[p]Toy Man

Nature Boy

dee,
If you and the hubby hang around this forum, then the learning curve will be short and sweet. Good chance the egg will even change your alls' life. If you time your purchase to coincide with an Eggfest, you can have a large egg in the 500-550 range. Otherwise, with some shopping, you are looking at 650-800. May sound like a lot, but with the jump in the quality of food you are eating, and with the savings on fuel, it is a small price to pay.[p]Another suggestion is to scroll down through the forum and the archives and take a gander at the pictures of food folks are cooking up, and the awards they are winning..[p]Best of luck on your decision!
Chris

The Naked Whiz

<p />dee,
Along with the other comments, I'll take this opportunity to finally unveil a picture I made up in response to one of the features on the WSM website. This is a joke of course, but there is a lesson to be learned here. The egg is more versatile and in some ways easier to learn and more forgiving. Good luck whatever you choose![p]TNW

Hammer

dee,
I'm biased, and I admit it. The BGE will cost you more than a WSM, but it is truly a purchase that keeps on giving every time you use it.
Hammer

Prof Dan

dee,[p]If you have never had any sort of a smoker or a grill, and you aren't even sure if you want one, then I might suggest that you first get the cheapest one you can. I have known a few people who gave it up after a few cooks -- that's why you see cheap smokers at garage sales.[p]But if you are pretty sure you like to grill and/or smoke --then the BGE is terrific for beginners because it is so easy to control. Much more user-friendly than a metal unit, and much more versatile. And you don't have to mess with any water, so it is much less effort and hassle.

Cornfed

Prof Dan,[p]I've gone through a few of those $30 at Home Depot smokers like the one from Char Broil and the famed El Cheapo Brinkman (ECB). You can certainly turn out some good food on them, and they will introduce the uninitiated to the world of smoked foods, which is a good thing. They also will probably help build one's internal business case for buying a better cooker, since temp control is a tad difficult in them.[p]There are some mods which are apparently pretty cheap and easy which supposedly make those work better. I'm not motivated enough to try them, though, so I went with the Egg and a couple other cookers and have not looked back. The cheapo smokers will at least give one a taste for smoked foods, though, and for $30, why not?[p]Later,
Cornfed

Unknown

I got a Egg a few days ago and they are really easy to use. If your hubby watches the video and reads the first part of the book that comes with a BGE he should have no problems cooking really good and juicy stuff. I have been using a Brinkman electric to smoke food for a while. You can turn out some really good food off of one. But they are hard to control the temps. On a hot day your food cooks faster and on a slow day your food might not cook at all. I am guessing all thin metal smokers are like that. [p]My BGE has been very easy to start. I grilled steaks and burgers for a few days and they were really juicy. And today I done stuffed pork loin and nailed my target temperature and held it just the way I had planed out. I have smoked alot of pork loins in my Brinkman but this one was unbelievable. I can't believe how juicy everything has been. [p]

JSlot

"....your alls'......"? C'mon, Chris!! The proper way to say that is "y'all's life". Yankees. Geez. [p]Beers in the Mornin'!!!
Jim

JSlot

Throw that instruction book away as fast as you can!!!!!!!! Only two good pages in it- the registration/warranty card and the cutaway view of the Egg parts. Times and temps on everything else are way off!!!!!!!![p]Jim

Unknown

thanks everyone for your help. He's done some smoking long ago and has even tried it on our weber, so I'm sure he'll be using it a lot. I think I'll jump in and go for the ceramic now. Save me having to get one later and it saves me the price of the weber. Now I just have to decide between this and the primo. They sound like the same thing. Guess that'll be down to price. dee

usa doug

dee,
If you really love your husband, you will buy him a lg. Big Green Egg![p]And he will love you for it.[p]Doug