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

considering an Egg purchase

wrjohns
wrjohns Posts: 11
edited November -0001 in EggHead Forum
Well, I guess I'm past the "considering" stage. At this point, the real question is do I get the medium or the large?

I looked at the Eggs they have at our local distributor here in League City, and the large looks about right. But when I looked at the brochure which compared the number of burgers/turkeys/chickens/or steaks you can do at once, I was bit a surprised. I'm not sure if the large is overkill or not now. What do you owners think? Do you wish you had gotten a bigger or a smaller one? Any cons (aside from price) to getting one bigger than you need?

League City TX
Wyatt

Comments

  • jpEGG
    jpEGG Posts: 61
    I was in your situation a few weeks ago and went with the large. I appreciate the extra cooking space when I need it. I think that if I had bought the medium, I'd be disappointed today (only in the size, not the egg).
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    I have 2 mediums. The dealer made a good offer on my first, tossed in the nest and a platesetter. At the time, with 3 out of 4 kids still in the house, the medium was a little to confining. Got another later, mostly for the convenience of cooking at 2 different temps.

    Now, with only 1 kid around, a medium is fine most of the time. But having 2 Eggs is nice, 'cause I can clean them on the weekend, and with some stirring of the lump, be ready to cook most days after work. I don't need to start lots of lump for some burgers or brats.

    The downside is that some racks of ribs don't quite fit without being cut up, and I can only do about a 15 lb bird for the holiday family meals.
  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    How about a large and small. Once it becomes your main cooker for the house, you'll want another. B)

    Table6.jpg

    Knowing this would have saved me the cost of a nest and shelves for the large.
  • Gunnar
    Gunnar Posts: 2,307
    Large...it has more accessories and gives you more versatility when cooking.
    LBGE      Katy (Houston) TX
  • jonnieAZ
    jonnieAZ Posts: 66
    I started with a XL and 5 months later got a med!

    100_3059.jpg

    both are great depending what your needs are..
  • With just 3 of us at home now, I was thinking the same as you at the beginning of the summer.

    I ended up going with the large and glad I did. It is very versatile. The extra room is used more than I thought it would.

    Once you get it, you'll be using more than you imagine.

    Good Luck!
  • Get the size that'll work for twice the number of people in your immediate family.
  • Misippi Egger
    Misippi Egger Posts: 5,095
    Wyatt,

    Definitely go with the large! You can get lots of accessories that expand your cooking capabilities without increasing the amount of lump you need for each cook. After 3 years, I recently added a small for quick cooks for just the two of us and for sides being cooked at a different temp than the main course.

    http://theceramicgrillstore.com has well-thought out accessories

    The large also allows you to load enough lump for those long, slow cooks like boston butt and brisket.
  • One thing I never see considered is the amount of fuel used. But I assume that the smaller sizes use less fuel for the same length cook as the bigger sizes.
  • Go with the large. When I bought my egg I was trying to decide between the 22 sizes. You can't cook that 20 lb turkey at Thanksgiving on the medium. As someone pointed out there are more accesories for the large. I want a medium for my second egg, when I can convince my wife we can't live without another egg.
  • Sorry - 2 sizes, not 22
  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    You can go back in and edit your post. :)
  • EGGARY
    EGGARY Posts: 1,222
    Good luck on convincing your wife on getting the Medium. I bet your wife complained about the Large. I can relate as can a lot of us.

    Gary
  • Misippi Egger
    Misippi Egger Posts: 5,095
    Newb42,

    The great thing about the BGE is the ability to reused the unused lump. If you "shut it down" after your cook, the fire quickly goes out. All you have to do is stir the ashes down through the holes add a little more if needed and '"light her up".

    I recently did a 16 hour cook on my large, followed by 2 more cooks without adding any more lump.
  • Double Bogey
    Double Bogey Posts: 635
    Wyatt, as others have said as your cooking skills mature you will always find a need for more space. The large is most often chosen and for good reasons. Not too large and a great variety of accessories are available for it.
    I started with a large, later added a small and recently a mini found its way home from the Florida Eggfest.

    8x6.jpg
    Larry
    Aiken, SC. and
    Fancy Gap, Va.
  • The large is the most popular and I believe the most versatile. I have a family of three (at home) and I couldn't imagine anything smaller than my large as my primary Egg. I also have an Xl that I use on bigger cooks mostly on the weekends. There are a lot of accessories to add to the large if you ever needed the space. I usually cook the entire meal on the Egg and the space of the large will accommodate that without cooking everything separate. I would recommend getting a little more space than you think you will need and you will grow into it. It is better to have the room and not need it than to need it and not have it. A lot of Eggers have both a large and a small combo of Eggs to cook at different temps at the same time. You will get to that later. :laugh:
  • emilluca
    emilluca Posts: 673
    Buy the large because you will end up a multiple egg family. Lot's of us go the mini route as a second egg if their is just 2 or 3 people. The little mini does a great job and quickly.
    The large is great for larger cooks.
    E
  • I was at chim chimney in League city yesterday . There was a guy at the counter contemplating an egg purchase. I said get one ,it'll be the best thing you ever did. That wasn't you was it :laugh: . Get the large. more is better when you need it

    doc
  • wrjohns
    wrjohns Posts: 11
    Must have been me. :) My wife and I were there in the afternoon. She was hooked when she saw the outdoor kitchens.
  • MississippiEgger,

    That is a cool feature but it doesn't mean that the eggs use no fuel. What fuel is used, will be smaller in a smaller egg, because the fire box is smaller and the fire covers less coal. So the smaller sizes should be cheaper to use if they're big enough to fit whatever food is necessary.