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For owners of the Small,.....

DryFly
DryFly Posts: 351
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
......I just received delivery of the GrillMates rig made by Evans Tabor (Chubbie on the forum). I bought the deluxe version which has 2 sets of supports, one brings your grid up to the felt line and one brings you above felt a couple of inches. You also get he version of Tom's "spider" which gives it great versatility. It is an ingenious configuration. I like to cook direct but above the fire ring and this permits you to do that. You can also 8" pizza stone on the "spider" (for want of a better characterization, sorry Tom) and go indirect. Check out the product review on Naked's site.

Comments

  • Zippylip
    Zippylip Posts: 4,768
    Glad you posted this, my buddy is considering an egg but he lives alone, likes the mini, but wants the ability to do a little more when his kids drop in. What kind of low & slow capability does the small have, how long can it hold 225 on a load of lump & what can you realistically fit in it? Also, the 8 inch stone, is that a BGE stone or otherwise, & does it cause any gasket melting issues? Thanks
    happy in the hut
    West Chester Pennsylvania
  • DryFly
    DryFly Posts: 351
    If you fill the lump to slightly above the fire box you can do a butt/brisket @ 200 to 225. If you split them and use a rack and some ingenuity you can do a few racks of ribs (3), a couple of whole chickens, 30-40 wing parts. The diameter is 13". An 8" stone is not a BGE product. You can google it and find it on the net. I use an 8" cast iron flame tamer I use on my commercial stove in the kitchen. That does the trick. I guess you can nuke a gasket in any size Egg but I don't think you can reach ore smelting temps in the small. Anyway, I don't ever open my eggs like that. After all, they're my babies!
  • Zippylip
    Zippylip Posts: 4,768
    I am not referring to excessive heat but directed heat from the stone, like the first photo below (which should be in the gallery of what not to do), I was trying to create a platesetter to do so ABT's indirect, unbeknownst to me for about an hour the flame was squeeking through the edges of the pie tin & melting my gasket towards the right rear, see photo two. The question about the 8 inch stone was in that respect, is the stone small enough that it allows sufficient space between itself & the rim so you avoid what I did to my mini (on my first cook I might add :evil: ). My buddy is a pizza junky & I know he will want the capability of doing pizza without constant gasket issues:

    IMG_1842.jpg

    IMG_1854.jpg
    happy in the hut
    West Chester Pennsylvania
  • Zippy, a small will do most anything that one of the larger sizes will do, just on a smaller scale. The small is the perfect size for me. It is not as portable as a mini, but may be more useful, just based on cooking capacity.
  • DryFly
    DryFly Posts: 351
    Zippy, the longer supports on the deluxe GrillMates actually lift the grid a couple of inches above the felt line. I would imagine that heat, in that configuration, would not be directed into the gasket but would be diverted above it. Pizza may be doable. In fact it would be easier to get on and off the stone and be above the felt. Then again I could be talkin' out my a$$. I never make pizza. I live in north Jersey, the pizza capitol of the known Universe. I have 5 pizza joints in my town of 18,000. I'd cook one in my oven, if I was so inclined, and never risk vaporizing my gasket.
  • You can do pizza on the small. I have a plate setter and a 12" BGE stone. Works great. Like JalopyBob said. You can do anything you can on a large.

    Leo
  • Zippylip
    Zippylip Posts: 4,768
    That is understandable, however our friends down south live in the bbq capitol of the known Universe & that doesn't stop them from going low & slow on the egg, just say'n you might want to explore the outer limits of your egg, if just for the fun of it, you may not be able to compete with the pie turned out by the pros up there, but you will have a lot of fun doing it & you may surprise yourself with the quality of what your egg can produce, pizzaiolos in Philly are no slouches by any measure but I still do my own, & with the proper configuration, there is no risk of gasket vaporization:

    On a lazy summer day, forget the traffic, forget the waiting, keep your wallet in your pocket & serve one of these to yer gal:

    030.jpg

    On football Sunday, crank out a pile o' pies for your buds thusly:

    IMG_1714.jpg

    IMG_1782.jpg
    happy in the hut
    West Chester Pennsylvania
  • Roudy
    Roudy Posts: 431
    Dryfly,

    Yeah - you're going to use those Grill Mates regularly. I'd estimate that 75% of my cooks on the Small Egg incorporate some sort of set up with them. My Large is for the low and slow cooks, but my Small is used for pie baking, fatties, ABT's etc.
  • DryFly
    DryFly Posts: 351
    You convinced me Zippy! I should be always open to new experiences. They look so good. Thanks!