Another Newbie Question-Small versus Mini Max

In my opinion, it depends not only on what you currently like to cook, but also what you may want to cook in the future. For example, if you ever want to smoke a packer brisket, you won't get a very big brisket on a MM or a SBGE without getting very creative. I am fortunate enough to have a wife that lets me have several eggs. With that being said, my medium is my favorite as it is quick to temp and is big enough for most of my cooks for my family of five. 

@minniemoh that's a lot of Eggs you have!

 

 As far as the MM, Id have to agree with  everything @minnemoe posted earlier, the MM, has such a small cooking surface, that while you say its just for you...you will be extremely limited to your cooks...I think that in time it would be a decision you would regret, if this is a one time investment for you.

 

if its not, you can start with the MM and then later bump up to a MED/LG and use the MM for traveling.  my two cents.

That's a great idea as @lousubcap said, see if you can go to a fest or at least a dealer demo day. Lots of dealers will have a Saturday cook out in front of the store to showcase the product. Not many of them here in MN will do that in the winter, but I would bet in FL you won't have any trouble finding one that is.

@anton ... come on my friend ... help Bill make up his mind.

anton has a medium and has done some great cooks on it.  He should give you the best input on a medium egg.

My .02¢ Although I love my MM if it were my only egg I wouldn't have enough room. Yes, you can get creative and fit quite a bit in it. However, my first egg was a large and the MM was in my radar for a second egg. As a second egg it has been awesome. And for smaller cooks the MM is perfect even for say 4-5 people. My advise has always been get the largest you can comfortably afford. Better to have too much grid real estate then not enough.

@allsid‌ I thought about mentioning the "how many people". But, truthfully we vary from 2-4 people and many times we'll have guests so it's a crap shoot at times.

@Jeepster47 @Sameydog, Hi guys, sorry for the delay in responding, I am a firm believer in more vs. less. I would get a medium if you are looking at the small sizes, grid diameter is 15". I can do 12lb briskets, two butts, two 6lb chickens, and cooked a 12lb turkey for thanksgiving. I know the mini-max is close in size, but I would lean towards bigger. I will add that the medium does not have the amount of accessories available, but I have a woo that allows me raised direct, and raised indirect cooks, and there is a two tiered grid available as well. I have a small family, (me and son), I am recently single, so I cook for myself +1 usually, unless I have a date over,(which chicks dig the egg and the stuff I cook)!! If you have any other questions or concerns about the medium, just ask. I hope this helps you with your decision, again please just ask for any other details, I would be happy to give input. Jeepster47, very nice of you to bring me in on this.

Sameydog said:

I/div>

So mostly I'm looking at simply making things for me that I can't, or don't want to do, on the gas grill. I have in the past done a lot of smoking meat and this Green Egg thing has me wanting to get back to doing something that isn't always fast and easy.

I appreciate the advice and will be open to any and all suggestions.

Bill

I would say, most anything you can do on a gasser, you can do on an egg and then some. And likely, it will be better. Seriously, a reverse seared steak is hard to beat off the egg.

Get a large and dont look back. I have a large and a small. I use the small a LOT, but if I could only have one it would be the large. Small enough to just cook burgers or chicken breasts, but large enough to cook a feast for a crowd and probably more aftermarket options/toys to go with large as compared to the other sizes.

Mini max....the mini was my only egg for over a year. It verified that I was into the egg thing and I bought the large later. I have a family of 4 2 little kids and the mini did us very well , still use it all the time today. It's just more convenient.

I'd suggest to go bigger. It's just my wife and I and I sometimes find my large to be too small. I highly recommend a medium plus.

I think the MiniMax name is a misnomer. It is far more akin to a squat small than anything resembling a mini. I was very surprised by the weight and general lack of portability. If you want a portable egg and can live with the grid size, the mini is the way to go. The MM makes a nice tabletop small. IMHO of course.

I live by myself and have had my SBGE for about 6 years. I had a lot of people try to talk me out of a small, and to go bigger, even the dealer that sold it to me. I am extremely happy with my small. I regularly grill both meat and vegetables at the same time for my meals. I can easily spatchcock a chicken, I have smoked an 8 lb pork butt for 12 hours. IMHO a small can work well for 1 to 3 people. No you are not going to smoke a full packer brisket on a small but that is one of it's few limitations.

I have not yet seen an MM in person so I cannot really comment on it, but they both have the same 13" grid size. I also have a LBGE for entertaining and I am really happy with it.

The small is a workhorse. I cook for 2-4 and it sees 75-80% of the action at my house. It's easy enough to put in the truck by myself I haven't ever seen the MM so can't truthfully comment on it but I do think you will be happy with a small. You will want to upgrade the grate to a HighQue and get a Woo & Stone for raised direct or indirect cooking instead of the platesetter.

I think a key decision maker is how many people you'll be cooking for. For 2 adults and some children the small or minimax would be fine. The plate setter on the minimax has short legs and may not be as good for low & slow cooks as the meat will be closer to the hot plate setter. Some else with the minimax pointed that at. From a design stand point the minimax has a larger fire grate, it seems it would be better for higher temperatures for grilling.

The small and minmax will handle 4 hamburgers easily at a time. That doesn't mean your limited to just cooking 4. Cook the first four and pull a little early, then when the next batch are almost done put those burgers back on the Egg. The same can be done for pork chops, steaks, wings, etc...

The small egg will easily do a rack of ribs, pork butt, whole chicken, and small turkey.

Some Eggers start small and add a large. Others start large and add a small.