Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Accessories.....Accessories........

Careful now, every time you get into a new hobby you go an buy a bunch of stuff and toys half of which you do not use...

So, Table is ready and getting a good weathering from all the rain we have had over the last 48 hours, firebricks and steel bars for airspace ready

BGE Cookbook received from Amazon - BGE comes next week, and comes with Placesetter, the grill lifter thingy, firestarters and a bag of stuff

Got to Ceramic Grill Store and see a multitude of toys and configurations.  Something that will raise the grill to the level of the opening makes sense for handling Pizza's, etc  

Also on the shopping list are a means of having two levels for different foods, a ceramic stone, new BBQ tools and a means of measuring temperature.

Good so far ?  -  my Bride will give me grief whether I buy 2 things or 6, so might as well

«1

Comments

  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    Better to ask forgiveness than permission!

    OK, personally I love my thermapen instant read thermometer (use it away from the egg too), and my maverick for long, and slow cooks. 

    Love My AR rig. 
    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
  • CANMAN1976
    CANMAN1976 Posts: 1,593
    tazcrash said:
    Better to ask forgiveness than permission!



    Love My AR rig. 
    We'll find out soon!!!
    ;)
    Hows ya gettin' on, me ol ****



    Kippens.Newfoundland and Labrador. (Canada).
  • Budgeezer
    Budgeezer Posts: 669
    Welding gloves are nice to have as well. 
    Edina, MN

  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    Not a fan of book. Much more on this and other forum.
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • If you're just gonna go for it, how about some Cast Iron.  I frequently use my Dutch Oven for chillis and stews.  Also have a few skillets for mainly deep dish pizza.  And also have a griddle for mainly fish and veggies.

    Damascus, VA.  Friendliest town on the Appalachian Trail.

    LBGE Aug 2012, SBGE Feb 2014

  • Charlie tuna
    Charlie tuna Posts: 2,191

    Plate setter is a must for me, although there are other ways to cook indirect.  Then make your own gasket level direct heat from part found at a big box store.  and some type of multi level grill.  I bought the BGE three tiered adjustable grid which has a center support post and i use it quite a bit.  But since i started cooking complete meals(veggies, sqaush, potato, pineapple, etc. i find the center post is a problem and am considering an AR by Ceramic Grill Store.  I did buy a BGE cast iron grid with my egg purchase, but am using it less and less now that i am cooking my steaks direct at gasket level..  And of course, as stated above, don't even think about lighting the egg without a thermapen!! 

     

  • robnybbq
    robnybbq Posts: 1,911
    If you are going to buy the AR then ditch the plate setter (Not compatible) and get one of their stones - I use their oval stone and I just gor a 13 in round stone for the spider to be able to cook multiple racks indirect.  Wish I would have known before buying the plate setter that I used once and is rotting away in the shed. 

    _______________________________________________________________
    LBGE, Adjustable Rig, Spider, High-Que grate, maverick ET-732, Thermapen,


    Garnerville, NY
  • dpittard
    dpittard Posts: 126
    I'm a month and some away from my BGE as well, so I've been madly shopping around trying to figure out what I need and want.  Surprisingly, there's lots of options out there.

    @Charlie_tuna would you mind extrapolating on your "gasket level direct heat from the big box store" comment?  What parts from Lowe's/HD do you use to raise the grid?

    LBGE with a massive wish list
    Athens, Ga.
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    He probably means either getting fire bricks or a second grid with carriage bolts, nuts, and washers to create a raised grid.

    All of these can be found at Lowes/HD
  • Charlie tuna
    Charlie tuna Posts: 2,191
    Here i found, at Home Depot in the BBQ section replacement grills for Webber products.  Measure your egg and carry your ruller to the store.  I think my webber grill was 17 inches in diameter(?) and it is perfect for my large egg.  Then i bought four 1/2" X  5 inch carrage bolts, four 1/2 inch fender washers, and four 1/2 inch nuts.  These carrage bolts must have threads all the way to the top of the bolt since you will fasten the bolt to the grill by running the nut all the way to the top of the bolt.  Install the bolts in four different corners of the grill so that the four bolts will rest on top of the fire box, and support the new grill.  The square, under the carrage bolt's head will lock into the grill between the wire bars. I think the whole thing cost me $23.00.. Mine supports the grill about an inch above the gasket. 
  • J_Que
    J_Que Posts: 223
    +1 on the Thermapen
    I know all the rules, but the rules do not know me.

    Small, Medium, 2 Large, XL ,Stumps XL Stretch, Workhorse 1975
  • Beaumonty
    Beaumonty Posts: 198
    One thing I didn't realize about the Egg was that the magic of the recipes is the ability to repeat results from your cooks and other's guidance. You can do that because the Egg permits precision through temp control. You can't really take advantage of that precision unless you have precise temp measurements. In my opinion the Thermapen is the only way to go. Trust me, I tried others. It will unlock all of the recipes you find here. That and using google to do searches instead of the site's engine. ;)
  • I got a large a few Weeks ago, in my quest to plan my initial setup and stretch the budget as far as I could, I came across a post where a bge owner was using a Kamado Joe indirect setup. Yes it is from "the other cooker", but it fits the lbge perfect, gives more coverage for indirect, can be set high or low like ps legs up or down and the metal "frame" the ceramic sits in gives same function as CGS woo. It makes switching from indirect to direct easy, and you can use the frame without the indirect piece for raised direct. It was a few dollars less then the BGE PS. After inquiring with my local dealer he agreed it was a great solution, and he knew guys using them. He even offered to get one in for me. Glad I learned about the KJ indirect setup, does everything I thought it would do.
    I also made a 2nd tier with a weber grate with handles for easy handeling and ss hardware. For $30 it works good, if main grate bars and 2nd tier are lined up, I can slide the top back about 2.5 inches with the dome open to get front access to bottom grid. Was enough to get tonges under BB ribs to pull them off without removing 2nd level. Great way to start without busting the budget.
  • Springram
    Springram Posts: 430
    Mickey said:
    Not a fan of book. Much more on this and other forum.
    Totally agree with Mickey. I have more cookbooks than the Library of Congress but if I want to know how to cook something on one of my Eggs and need a recipe and/or help, I go to the Egg forums.

    Springram
    Spring, Texas
    LBGE and Mini
  • HogHeaven
    HogHeaven Posts: 326
    Jim... I got a large BGE for Christmas last year. I use it at least 3 times a week. I've done 16 hour cooks with never lifting the lid until the meat thermometer told me I had reached my desired temp. For that you need the plate setter or something that will create an indirect cook. I also agree if you are going to cook pizza you have to be above the regular grid level. To do a steak really well you have to get the meat within 2 to 3 inches from the hot lump to sear it properly. I also think you need to increase the volume of meat and other items you can cook at the same time by adding another level. Here's the good news... You can buy 1 item from BGE that will make all of those needs doable and it only costs $25. It is called a GX or a grill extender. It is hinged in the middle and... The legs that are used to stand it on top of your regular 18" grid are hinged too. The GX is 13 1/2" across. Your fire box on your large BGE is 13" across. The fire ring that sits on top of your fire box is 13 1/2" across so... The GX sits on top of your fire box like a glove. The reason they hinged the legs is so when you drop it down on the fire box to do your reverse sear you can fold the legs up to get closer to the hot lump. Don't bother going to their website to look for it, it is not there. Call your BGE dealer and ask him/her about the GX grill extender for the large BGE. I bet they have no clue what you are talking about. He will look it up in that catalog they keep by the desk and he won't find it. Ask him/her to go online and check with the factory... They have it listed there. When I bought mine I saw it there and asked the clerk what it was. He said it would give me another cooking level so I could add more ribs or vegetable or whatever. I figured for $25 it made sense. Neither he nor I had a clue that this thing would fit on my fire box. I was chatting with a BBQ genius by the name of Meathead. He owns a BBQ website called Amazingribs.com. He told me that the BGE was a great oven and a really great smoker but it was a lousy grill. He said you can't get your meat close enough to the hot coal on a BGE to sear it properly. I had only had my BGE for about a month at that time and had cooked many steaks on it at the normal grid level and I agreed with him that I had to find a way to get my steaks closer to the coal to sear it at the end of the cook. That discuss with Meathead prompted me to go out to my BGE with a tape measure and see if I could get that odd looking GX down lower to the fire box. Surprisingly it fit like a glove... Just like their engineer got it and knew we egger's needed that. My problem was SOLVED! I went back to the BGE store I bought it from, BBQ Galore, and showed them what that funky highed grid was really for and their jaw's hit the ground. They had no clue. I now use that grid as much or more than my 18" grid. I don't know why BGE's marketing team have done such a poor job of marketing this product. Probably because it is so inexpensive. I closing let me say... Cooking indoors or outdoors without a temp thermometer to measure the done ness of the meat and the temperature that your meat is actually cooking at is like driving at night without your headlights. Under cooked meat is dangerous for your health and over cooked meat tastes bad and is a waste if money. The dome temp and the cooking temp where the meat is, is very different. If your dome temp gauge says it's at 350 degrees the heat you are actually cooking at will be about 310 or 320. The longer the cook goes on the dome temp and the cooking temp come closer together but that take a couple of hours. The Maverick has 2 probes to measure both your meat and your temp at cooking level. If you can afford it buy the thermopen too but if I had to chose one or the other, I would buy the maverick first. You can't cook right when you have no clue what temp your meat is actually cooking at.
  • Thanks much for all the advice The Grill Extender solution seems like a good multipurpose answer Opinion on the Maverick vs the iGrill ?
  • Bought the Grill Extender, Thermapen and iGrill today Wife caught me sneaking the shopping bag into the house....she did not say anything, been married for 35 years, so i know she is waiting for the right moment
  • HogHeaven
    HogHeaven Posts: 326
    Jimfastcar... Go for you. I really do use my grill extender more than my regular grid. Both down low for a reverse sear and up above the regular grid to add a layer of ribs or vegetables. It is a great addition to any BGE and it only costs about $25. When you went to the BGE dealer to buy it did they know much about it? Did they tell you that it fits right on top of your fire box like a glove? Where I bought mine... They had no clue.
  • HogHeaven
    HogHeaven Posts: 326
    Women do know what's best... When dealing with women there is only 1 right Answer! Yes dear, I think you're right. Then do what you have to do.
  • CANMAN1976
    CANMAN1976 Posts: 1,593

    Happy wife, happy life!!!!

    Hows ya gettin' on, me ol ****



    Kippens.Newfoundland and Labrador. (Canada).
  • Bought the Grill Extender, Thermapen and iGrill today Wife caught me sneaking the shopping bag into the house....she did not say anything, been married for 35 years, so i know she is waiting for the right moment

    [-X busted, well the worst is when they see you turn all red then they know they got ya ha ha then its like  :-@
  • canegger
    canegger Posts: 540
    If you get them mad enough then they don't say anything for awhile :D
  • Duganboy
    Duganboy Posts: 1,118
    HogHeaven said:
    Jim... I got a large BGE for Christmas last year. I use it at least 3 times a week. I've done 16 hour cooks with never lifting the lid until the meat thermometer told me I had reached my desired temp. For that you need the plate setter or something that will create an indirect cook. I also agree if you are going to cook pizza you have to be above the regular grid level. To do a steak really well you have to get the meat within 2 to 3 inches from the hot lump to sear it properly. I also think you need to increase the volume of meat and other items you can cook at the same time by adding another level. Here's the good news... You can buy 1 item from BGE that will make all of those needs doable and it only costs $25. It is called a GX or a grill extender. It is hinged in the middle and... The legs that are used to stand it on top of your regular 18" grid are hinged too. The GX is 13 1/2" across. Your fire box on your large BGE is 13" across. The fire ring that sits on top of your fire box is 13 1/2" across so... The GX sits on top of your fire box like a glove. The reason they hinged the legs is so when you drop it down on the fire box to do your reverse sear you can fold the legs up to get closer to the hot lump. Don't bother going to their website to look for it, it is not there. Call your BGE dealer and ask him/her about the GX grill extender for the large BGE. I bet they have no clue what you are talking about. He will look it up in that catalog they keep by the desk and he won't find it. Ask him/her to go online and check with the factory... They have it listed there. When I bought mine I saw it there and asked the clerk what it was. He said it would give me another cooking level so I could add more ribs or vegetable or whatever. I figured for $25 it made sense. Neither he nor I had a clue that this thing would fit on my fire box. I was chatting with a BBQ genius by the name of Meathead. He owns a BBQ website called Amazingribs.com. He told me that the BGE was a great oven and a really great smoker but it was a lousy grill. He said you can't get your meat close enough to the hot coal on a BGE to sear it properly. I had only had my BGE for about a month at that time and had cooked many steaks on it at the normal grid level and I agreed with him that I had to find a way to get my steaks closer to the coal to sear it at the end of the cook. That discuss with Meathead prompted me to go out to my BGE with a tape measure and see if I could get that odd looking GX down lower to the fire box. Surprisingly it fit like a glove... Just like their engineer got it and knew we egger's needed that. My problem was SOLVED! I went back to the BGE store I bought it from, BBQ Galore, and showed them what that funky highed grid was really for and their jaw's hit the ground. They had no clue. I now use that grid as much or more than my 18" grid. I don't know why BGE's marketing team have done such a poor job of marketing this product. Probably because it is so inexpensive. I closing let me say... Cooking indoors or outdoors without a temp thermometer to measure the done ness of the meat and the temperature that your meat is actually cooking at is like driving at night without your headlights. Under cooked meat is dangerous for your health and over cooked meat tastes bad and is a waste if money. The dome temp and the cooking temp where the meat is, is very different. If your dome temp gauge says it's at 350 degrees the heat you are actually cooking at will be about 310 or 320. The longer the cook goes on the dome temp and the cooking temp come closer together but that take a couple of hours. The Maverick has 2 probes to measure both your meat and your temp at cooking level. If you can afford it buy the thermopen too but if I had to chose one or the other, I would buy the maverick first. You can't cook right when you have no clue what temp your meat is actually cooking at.
    Paragraphs, man paragraphs.
  • Beaumonty
    Beaumonty Posts: 198
    Thanks much for all the advice The Grill Extender solution seems like a good multipurpose answer Opinion on the Maverick vs the iGrill ?
    I am thinking about pulling the trigger on a Maverick ET-732, but I just saw the iGrill.  It's a bit more but...looks pretty cool.  

    So, i was wondering everyone's thoughts on the best option on remote thermometers and whether the Maverick 732 was the way to go.  there are a lot of Mavericks and I have not found enough threads to answer the question; I haven't tried the other forum and don't feel like it.

    Is the 732 the way to go?  does anyone have much experience with the iGrill?
  • U_tarded
    U_tarded Posts: 2,041
    Beaumonty said:



    Thanks much for all the advice
    The Grill Extender solution seems like a good multipurpose answer
    Opinion on the Maverick vs the iGrill ?

    I am thinking about pulling the trigger on a Maverick ET-732, but I just saw the iGrill.  It's a bit more but...looks pretty cool.  

    So, i was wondering everyone's thoughts on the best option on remote thermometers and whether the Maverick 732 was the way to go.  there are a lot of Mavericks and I have not found enough threads to answer the question; I haven't tried the other forum and don't feel like it.

    Is the 732 the way to go?  does anyone have much experience with the iGrill?


    Unfortunately there are not a lot of options with dual probe remote monitoring. I like mine, I don't foil my leads but do always run them over the plate setter leg. Some guys get the dual channel from thermoworks but it doesn't have the remote display I like to sit in the ac in the hot summer and see what's happening. Before I had a dual probe polder it was nice but no remote display just alarm.
  • HogHeaven said:
    Jimfastcar... Go for you. I really do use my grill extender more than my regular grid. Both down low for a reverse sear and up above the regular grid to add a layer of ribs or vegetables. It is a great addition to any BGE and it only costs about $25. When you went to the BGE dealer to buy it did they know much about it? Did they tell you that it fits right on top of your fire box like a glove? Where I bought mine... They had no clue.
    No they did not know of this alternate use
  • A picture of the table I built
  • @jimfastcar - I like the use of the angel iron to put some space between the egg and the paving stone. What's with the extra slate? Do change out the top to provide a different "mood"?
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
  • I would suggest a thermapen, and instead of a pizza stone, look into getting a baking steel. I am kicking myself for getting a pizza stone as I had not yet heard of the baking steel. It makes better pizzas apparently, and can double as a griddle.
    Persistence and determination are omnipotent!