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Why should I get a Big Green Egg

Ohio48
Ohio48 Posts: 20
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Old gas grill is about to die. Been interested in the Egg for some time now, but the price has kept me away. So talk me into getting one.

Thanks
Mark S. B)
«1

Comments

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    you have already sold it to yourself. you don't need any help from us. :laugh:
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,668
    because your new gas grill will also die in a few years. save the propane tank for a weed burner to light your new egg, maybe the regulator as well to hook up to an outdoor burner :)
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • PhilsGrill
    PhilsGrill Posts: 2,256
    I don't understand, your gas grill should last 25 years or more.

    Read this forum.
  • We could have already bought one if we added up the $$$ we have already spent on other grills. It does more than just grill. It grills, bakes and smokes. You can regulate the temperature. You can re-use the lump charcoal. It is built to last and is easy to use. We have had ours 2 weeks and absolutely love it. You also have this fantastic site to ask questions and get answers from those who have been using them for a long time. You can't go wrong with an Egg.
  • I'm in Houston and the gas grills would die or rust every 2 years. But what I didn't realize was dead were my taste buds, they came back to life after grilling/smoking on an egg, and the pizzas, my health concscience wife whoo never went near one now demands them :P
  • EGGRPh
    EGGRPh Posts: 180
    Mark,
    I was the same as you. I agree with all that has been said. After buying 2 gas grills, replacement parts to keep them running year after year, the propane tanks and refills. It is more cost efficient to buy the BGE.
    My wife didn't really like the cost, but after all of the fantastic food and the ease of fuel costs....Definitly buy it. It will be the last grill/smoker you ever buy. My next door neighbor is going to get one. I made fish tacos (grilled the Talipia on the BGE) and he is sold.

    Stef in Brunswick,Oh
  • EGGRPh
    EGGRPh Posts: 180
    Mark,

    Where are you in Ohio? Close to Brunswick, Oh? If so and you want to see one in action, let me know.

    Stef
  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
    Look through this forum...you will see tons of recipes and pics to convince you to get a BGE...then go to one of over 20 Eggfests throughout the country and meet Eggers who will become lifelong friends...oh and another thing if you are like most of us you will not end up with just 1 Big Green Egg.... :P :silly:
  • I have had my original egg for 15 years now. How many gas grills would I have had to buy in the same amount of time? Not to mention the great food, the fests, the fun egging with friends. You really can't go wrong.
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
  • Ohio48
    Ohio48 Posts: 20
    EGGRPh wrote:
    Mark,

    Where are you in Ohio? Close to Brunswick, Oh? If so and you want to see one in action, let me know.

    Stef

    East side Lyndhurst.

    Thanks
    Mark S.
  • Ohio48
    Ohio48 Posts: 20
    vidalia1 wrote:
    Look through this forum...you will see tons of recipes and pics to convince you to get a BGE...then go to one of over 20 Eggfests throughout the country and meet Eggers who will become lifelong friends...oh and another thing if you are like most of us you will not end up with just 1 Big Green Egg.... :P :silly:

    I have been looking for a couple days. Love this forum.
    So what should I get with my Egg??
  • EGGRPh
    EGGRPh Posts: 180
    Mark,

    My cell 440-409-8550. I'm thinking of doing some sausages tomorrow. Ribs are just awesome!! Pulled Pork is incredible! I haven't done a brisket yet and that will be my next slow cook. Maybe next weekend when I am off. I work every other weekend.

    Stef
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    I too was hesitant about getting an Egg for several years because of the price, and that was the dumbest things I've done.

    Here's the sales points that got me to go:

    Lifetime warranty for ceramics, no buying a new cooker every few years.

    Remarkable fuel efficiency.

    Great temperature control.

    All weather cooking.

    The dealer was smart enough to give one more little push, and tossed in the nest.

    So, within 2 weeks, I had made the best ribs I had ever made, and within six months was making ribs good as any available anyplace in town.

    And then the steaks, and the pulled pork...
    And then the baked breads and pizza...

    Most of the restaurants and cafes in the area are now no longer worth visiting. Can do it better and cheaper at home.

    Oh, and then there are the big family get togethers, where Grandma pays the compliment "I haven't had a Christmas goose this good since I was a child," or the graduation parties where the kids say the loved the food, and take thirds.

    And now the house is cool in the summer, 'cause I don't need to use the stove.

    But there is a downside. There are all these wonderful accessories that help make just about every kind of food. And one starts seeking out really good butchers for prime cuts. And in the dead of winter, one finds oneself going out in sub-zero weather to see how how the burgers are doing. Nothing like a fresh grilled burger when the weather is -15, even though there is a 40' walk over ice to get it...
  • Mud Pig
    Mud Pig Posts: 489
    I always tend to tell people that the BGE is amazing with the caveat that you should be more than a once in a while BBQer if you intend to buy one. Its pricey no doubt about that, so you need to ask yourself if the cost of one is going to be worth it. Belive me you won't be dissapointed with the food an egg can produce, but if you only do hamburgers once in a while for the family do you really need a ceramic grill. Probably not.

    Bottom line, if you aren't into BBQ don't waste the money. It would be like buying a Ferrari that you just keep in your driveway because you like the way it looks instead of driving it.
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    Ohio48 wrote:
    I have been looking for a couple days. Love this forum.
    So what should I get with my Egg??

    It sounds like you are already sold on the egg ;).

    "What to get" is a whole new thread! Have you decided on a size? Large is the most common. The least expensive way to get you up an running is:

    the egg
    nest
    plate setter (for indirect cooking)
    ash tool
    grid gripper

    Something else to consider is cooking on a raised grid, or having extra levels. You can make your own raised grid, or Big Green Egg has grid extenders and a 3 tier rack.

    Many people like the adjustable rig from the ceramic grill store. It is a little pricey, but if you get this set up you don't really need the plate setter or the extra grids.

    You might also want to consider the "mates" (the little side tables), or you can skip the mates and the nest and build or purchase a table. In my area, I see people selling custom tables on craigslist all the time.

    So, for an "ultimate" set up I would go with.

    The egg
    ash tool
    grid gripper
    egg table
    adjustable rig combo

    Confused yet?


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • Egg Juju
    Egg Juju Posts: 658
    I am probably going to repeat what a few others have or will say. I purchased my egg about a year ago and had very much the same conversation that you are having now. The way that I justified it was by simply summing what I had spent on offsets, bullets, and gas grills over the past 10 years. It far exceeded what I spent for the egg. I really began the process when I needed to repair a 2 year old gas grill. I can safely say that I have had no second thoughts about my decision.

    One of the arguments I often hear when I say I have an egg or I like to cook on charcoal goes something like this. "I would prefer to cook on charcoal because it tastes better, but the gas grill is so easy." Well... I have a gas grill... its in my kitchen and I cook on it often. :) I will also say that my other grills took an hour to get ready to grill. Not the egg. I knock the ash off the lump in the bottom, maybe rake out a few ashes, drop in a starter or 2, light them, get my favorite beverage, and sit down. When the beverage is gone the fire is ready. Turning a knob may be faster, but that's pretty easy and really fast enough.

    I will also add that my fuel consumption has been reduced to almost nil by comparison to every other smoker/cooker I have owned. I would go through a couple bags of hickory chunks per cook in the offset plus charcoal. In the bullet I would go through a bag and a half of charcoal and 8 or 10 chunks of wood-- an improvement. I get multiple cooks out of a bag of charcoal on the egg and wood consumption is down to a few chunks per low and slow. From a cost perspective that is a fair amount of savings per year. How long will it take to pay for the egg? I don't know, but I am happy to not spend $20/week on fuel for the other cookers.

    One of the most important reasons I bought the egg was versatility. I can make pulled pork in a cardboard box with a hot plate, but I wanted to have variety. I wanted to make pizzas and bread and grill fabulous chickens and fish. The Egg will cook anything; butts, briskets, chicken, fish, bread, dessert, veggies, and a whole lot more. It can cook in any style, direct, indirect, bake, roast, braise, low and slow, hot and fast, or right on the coals. It can be a pit barbecue, grill, pizza oven, wood oven, wok, or tandoor. I have done in one 25 hour period-- low and slow pork butts, smoke roasted fatties and loney, and indirect grilled chicken wings. I never reloaded the charcoal or put out the fire.

    Most folks on this forum could extol the virtues of the egg 10 fold of what I just wrote. I could too. Sounds like you are already ready. Go... If you enjoy grilling and barbecuing I believe you wont regret it. The slogan is true... it is the ultimate cooking experience.
    Large and Small BGE * www.quelfood.com
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    Ohio48 wrote:
    So what should I get with my Egg??

    toldja you already sold it to yourself :laugh:
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • transversal
    transversal Posts: 719
    I agree with all of the foregoing. Not a bit of untruth in any of them. The BGE is definitely for grilling at another level. If you are not inclined to enjoy the fun of presiding over an all night pork butt or brisket cook that will have everyone oohing and aahing with the first bite, you can probably get by with something less. I've owned'em all........I've wanted an egg for years.....my wife surprised me with one this past Christmas........I only wish that I had gotten one years earlier....but thankful that I was fortunate enough to be among those to enjoy one now. Half the fun of egging is the learning that takes place on this site and the comaraderie of sharing your successes with everyone here. Eggs are not BBq grills......they are a gateway to one of the most rewarding past times I have ever pursued. The folks on here are great. Whether or not it's for you is your call...... Oh hell, just go ahead an buy the darn thing!
  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    Lump, meat and a good thermometer. ;)

    thermapen is the one of choice for most of us.
  • Chief Chef
    Chief Chef Posts: 199
    If you're near Mason, just bring some beer and 2" thick ribeyes over and I will provide you with a live demonstration.
  • skihorn
    skihorn Posts: 600
    It is pricey but in reality not as much as it seems. As already mentioned, it will last a lifetime. My kids are already talking about which one gets the Large and which one the Medium. They are 9 and 12 and I think I still have a few good years left!

    Another big cost saving for me is we never go out to a nice restaurant any more. (The only time we eat out is for convenience.) I would much rather stay home and cook on the Egg than go out to a nice restaurant. Even for my birthday or Father's Day my wife will ask where I want to go eat. I always reply I want to stay home and cook on the Egg.

    Freddie
    League City, TX
  • skihorn
    skihorn Posts: 600
    "It will be the last grill/smoker you ever buy."

    Mark, I have to disagree with this statement. Just six months after I bought my Large BGE, I bought a Medium. :)

    Freddie
    League City, TX
  • bees
    bees Posts: 335
    You will be amazed at the taste of the food that you cook on the BGE. All your previous experience with grilling/smoking with gas should be a big change. Also,the variety of types of cooking are numerous. Don't worry you won't be sorry.Good Luck,Randy
  • Ohio48 wrote:
    Old gas grill is about to die. Been interested in the Egg for some time now, but the price has kept me away. So talk me into getting one.

    Thanks
    Mark S. B)

    Itn not just a grill. It's an EGGventure
  • BENTE
    BENTE Posts: 8,337
    you will never regret your decision if you ever get one ;)

    happy eggin

    TB

    Anderson S.C.

    "Life is too short to be diplomatic. A man's friends shouldn't mind what he does or says- and those who are not his friends, well, the hell with them. They don't count."

    Tyrus Raymond Cobb

  • Morro Bay Rich
    Morro Bay Rich Posts: 2,227
    Because you want to. :)
  • I really don't care if you get one or not if I have to talk you into it!
  • tjl5709
    tjl5709 Posts: 76
    skihorn wrote:
    "It will be the last grill/smoker you ever buy."

    Mark, I have to disagree with this statement. Just six months after I bought my Large BGE, I bought a Medium. :)

    Freddie
    League City, TX


    Ditto here, but I added a small.

    A typical gasser cannot go from 180 degrees to 750+ degrees. The temp control & flexibility is incredible, and the results can't be matched at your local food joint. You will not have buyers remorse, and you WILL wonder why you waited.
  • jaydub58
    jaydub58 Posts: 2,167
    I'm not a true Eggspert yet, but I intend to get there. After 50 years (okay, I'm 70), cooking on briquets, transitioning to gas, moving back to briquets at my retirement, etc., I got interested in the Egg because of the precise control of the air flow, therefore temp control. She Who Must Be Obeyed bought me the Egg for my 70th birthday last summer, and I haven't looked back Buy one, spend time on this great forum and Naked Whiz, and you won't regret it for a moment (I sure don't)
    Happy Egging!
    ;)
    John in the Willamette Valley of Oregon