2nd egg small vs large

LoisLane · June 2011

Hubby and I are very new to this Smoker Cooker deal - but loving our efforts so far. Have a Large for starters, but can easily see where a 2nd one would be handy.

Initially- I was thinking of the 2nd one being a Small. I had seen a post on here previously about someone loving their small due it being a coal miser and it is a good size for most meats (this was in a post about someone's 2nd being a mini vs a small, and that responder owned a Large & a Small). I could see using the small for beer can chicken, a few burgers, a pork loin etc, and then having our orig Large totally avail for spreading out veggies / side dishes. In reverse, if we need the orig Large for ribs, maybe the small would hold a pot of baked beans ?

Are we limiting ourselves too much and do you think we would regret a small and wish we had gone for a Medium or a Large as our spare ? We don't have excessive patio space for two larges unless we give up the gas grill, which we are not ready to do yet at this early stage in our charcoal grilling lives.

Whatever size we get- it would either be a used (I know there is no warranty then) or as a "demo egg" deal. I am a bit more comfortable risking the no warranty on a used small size/ price range than a large.

Thoughts ?

Richard Fl · June 2011

I got a large in '02 and used it for ribs and larger meals. Normally only cooked for two. Never really wanted to lite it for a steak.
In '06 had a similiar quandry small, medium? Settled for a small and have never looked back. Now have 2 larges, medium(door prize at a fest), and a small. Cook most steaks, chix eggcetra on small.

fishlessman · June 2011

there are benefits to both, 2 larges and you can swap accessories,...large small combo works better for small meals. i have a large small combo but after all these years i would have preferred 2 larges and a mini

have you looked into the adjustable rig, i havent had a need to run 2 eggs at a time in a long time

Austin Egghead · June 2011

How much cooking real estate do you need? and how often?
I have a large and small and last nite the small easily cooked 1 2lb bone in ribeye 1 large russet potato , 1 corn on cob and whole jalapeno (used only one rack).
We are a family of 2 so the small gets used more often than the large. The large usually gets the weekend workouts. Last Christmas with lots of family both eggs and oven going full blast the entire day.
Expecting a mini this birthday...you just can't have enough eggs

Capt Frank · June 2011

I started with one large, went with a small for #2, bought a second large and small for our other home. Never looked back. The large with an AR and other accesories will cook plenty of food, the small is great for just the two of us or for a DO full of beans while the the big guy is chugging away on a few racks of ribs.
It is the right combo for me

Mainegg · June 2011

the nice thing with a lg/lg combo is they can share eggcessories

but you are loosing the point of the 2nd egg as a cooker for two or as an extra egg. another point is if you want to travel with it the small is easy to pack up and go. we built a carrier for ours and it makes it very easy to load and unload and then flips into a stand for it.
i will try to find a pic of it for you.

Found it

you can see the bottom has a big circle cut out of it. when you flip it over the small egg will sit right in the box to load and carry for transport.

LoisLane · June 2011

Thanks all for the quick replies so far.

Joan - there are just the two of us... but I love veggies and we are fine w/ leftovers ("planned overs") - so when we want to grill extra baked or sweet potatoes for the week or want to spread out thin zucchini slices etc there is sometimes not enough room for that plus whatever meat we are cooking on the large - which is why I though shifting the meat to the small would help (or just using the small for a quick steak w/out heating up a large).

How often is still being determined. Twice a week for starters. Could see that be 3-4 times per week at times.

Going to try our first ribs on it this weekend, after tasting the fabulous ones at Dr BBQ's class last week. I guess I will have to do the baked beans earlier in the day & then transfer to a crock pot or chill & reheat at dinner time to clear out room on the grill for the ribs for several hours.

Photo Egg · June 2011

I think you would be very happy with a small.
"If" you change your mind you could always sell and change either way. If you buy used or Demo at a good price you will not be out much money if you change your mind.
I have Woo Rings (Ceramic Grill Store) for both our Small Eggs and much rather cook on my Smalls than my Mini. Raised grid direct cooking is hard to top.
Small would be great second Egg.

Photo Egg · June 2011

The Small is great for a 5-6 quart cast iron pot.
Beans or chili while you are cooking ribs on your large.

Lit · June 2011

I would go with a small. I have 2 larges, a medium, small, and mini. The small and mini get used the most. As mentioned before the small is small enough that it is portable but I have also cooked 2 8lb shoulders in it before.

Mickey · June 2011

Have Large / Small / and Mini.
Just the two of us and use the Mini the most.

UPEgger · June 2011

We have a large here and a large down south. There are two of us. The mini travels with us. Except for the low/slow cooks we mostly use the mini. UPEgger.

skihorn · June 2011

I bought a Med to go with my Large and love it. However, I am always cooking for at least four in my family, and we like leftovers. For just two people the Large/small probably makes the most sense.

The Med definitely uses less lump than the Large, so I am sure you would save a lot of lump with the Small. I wouldn't go two Larges, unless you plan on doing a lot of big cooks and really need that much space. But then you lose the versatility of the Eggcessories as you would need two plate setters etc.

Freddie
League City, TX

Bigjohn · June 2011

Hi Mainegg,

I like the set-up for your small. From the picture it looks like a plywood top and bottom. If that is the case, doesn't the wood get very hot? Would you mind sending me the dimensions you used to build it. I'm getting my small tomorrow to go with my large and need to build something for it to travel in.
Thanks

Ripnem · June 2011

Sounds like you need the Lg, Lg, Sm combo. :P

Mainegg · June 2011

johnny I will check and see. I think Hubby just made it a 4-5 inches bigger than the egg and cut he hole to give an inch clearance for packing. we just set it on its feet on the top. a paver would give better insulation but it is used very little so we do not worry. Just when we go camping about 2 a year lol.

Bigjohn · June 2011

Thanks for the reply.

RU Eggsperienced · June 2011

2 large - share the eggcessories interchangeably.

Plus a large is very useful size...

BTW - I have two Larges and use them concurrently all the time...

Austin Egghead · June 2011

All done on the small tonight

cookingdude555 · June 2011

Lg, med, sm, mini here. I bought large, then small, then mini, then medium. If I was to do it again, medium would be second, not sure if I would have bought the small at all. Medium does much more, and doesn't use much more lump than small.

WingRider · June 2011

Check out wessb's website.
That is where I got the dimentions for the one that I built.

R2Egg2Q · June 2011

I'm an XL and Small owner and most of the time I only need to cook for 2 of us. Our small is a perfect size for us unless we have large gatherings requiring large cuts of meats or large quantities of food.

We can get the Small cleaned, loaded, and up to temp so much quicker than our XL. It is very efficient on the lump and light enough that we can pretty easily take it with us on trips.

I'm sure a 2nd large would be useful when you need to cook large quantities of food at different temperatures. If you just want to cook large quantities at close to one temp, I'd recommend looking into an adjustable rig first. It'd allow you to put more in your large for considerably less $s than a 2nd Egg.

It really comes down to what your priorities are for another Egg and picking the path that addresses your needs the best.

LoisLane · June 2011

Thanks for posting the pic. Neat idea.

LoisLane · June 2011

Thank you everyone for the replies. You have given us good "food for thought", LOL.

Cruezn · June 2011

I bought a small last year to compliment my large, and have been extremely happy with it. I tend to cook more on the small, and do low and slow's on the large. The small fires up faster, burns clean quicker and I feel is easier to maintain temps on. It's also much more portable and is a tailgating machine. I've done up to a 13 lb turkey on it, but mostly use it for chicken, fish, steaks and burgers. I love my large, but my small is my favorite. I can feed my family of four (2 teenagers) easily on the small.

Dimple's Mom · June 2011

I like it! How much does a small weigh?

Dimple's Mom · June 2011

We have 2 larges. We almost never have them both going at the same time, only for parties. Now that it's just the 2 of us at home, a small would be so much better. Last weekend we were bbqing and hubby was mentioning how much lump was being used, so I decided it was time to introduce my idea of getting a small! :P Being the frugal person he is, he did not immediately jump on board but neither will he be surprised now when I eventually bring one home. :laugh:

The only reason we ended up with 2 large is that I was vending at our local farmer's market and bought one to keep at the site. When I stopped vending, I brought it home with the idea that it will eventually go down to a family cabin in Oregon. Oldest son seems to think it's 'extra' and keeps asking for it.

I would be curious to know how many people with two larges really only have one large platesetter. Everyone keeps saying you can use the same accessories for both. I give you about a week before you decide to throw a big party and do zillions of ribs so have to run out to get a second platesetter for the second large.

I definitely would go for the small over a second large. I think you'll end up bbq'ing a lot more often. I know we would.

Cruezn · June 2011

I'd guess the small weighs around 60 lbs. Not super light, but much more so than a large.

PattyO · June 2011

Mini. It's portable and easily handles steaks or chops for two. I love my Mini. Everyone loves their Mini.

2nd egg small vs large

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