Big Green Egg….is it worth it??

[BBQOutdoors77]

So I’ve been thinking about getting one. For those who’ve had a pellet smoker and a green egg, what do you find yourself using the most/easiest? How tedious is it?

I have a PitBoss pellet smoker I’ve been using for years and it’s been awesome! It’s getting close to end of its life and I’m not sure if I should stick with it or get an egg.

 

[Hoss]

Got a Vision (green egg type) and a pellet grill. Like the Vision, but pretty much exclusively use the pellet grill. Much easier to control and hold temperature. Also pretty much set and forget.

 

[TJay]

I have a small cheap pellet grill at the deer camp and a large Green Egg here at the hacienda. I would venture to say the pellet grill would be easier, but not by a lot. Once you've cooked on the Egg a few times you kind of get it down to a routine and you don't really think about it much. The pellet grill at camp gets used mostly as a grill and it sure is handy. Good results from both.

 

[pjciii]

I don't own a pellet grill but I do own a BGE. I think once you get the hang of a kamodo style grill you will love it. Unlike the pellet grill you cannot put any additional smoking wood without a big ordeal. You really need a plate setter. It cost extra and directs the heat up the side walls. It helps circulate the heat. If you just want to cook a steak or 2 I just use my big webber and if I just want a quick cook I use my 3 burner gas grill. They sell all kinds of tools to get ashies out of the egg but I just use a small shop vac. Once you learn to control your heat on the egg it is less a chore and more enjoyable. Just look at reviews of both and make your decision.

 

[elfiii]

BGE with a BBQ Guru set up is tough to beat. I got a Stump's Junior but f I had it to do all over again I might go for the Egg.

 

[Deerhead]

BGE is a grill, smoker, oven.... The taste is awesome and like everyone else has already said there is a learning curve. Its not a quick cook grill. But the food is worth the wait. Plus I no longer have to worry about it rusting out.

 

[specialk]

Santa brought me one so i never worried about price...

 

[kayaksteve]

I knew several people with eggs that swore by them for years but I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that kinda money on a grill. When my wife and I got married we had some gifted money and she convinced me to buy an egg since it’s something we would both benefit from. That was 6 years ago and if it broke today I’d be in the market for another. The learning curve was much less than I expected. I use it for grilling and smoking about 50/50. I’m sure some of the other ceramic “egg” style grills are probably just as good though.

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

I have two, a large and a mini and a medium that's essentially mine at my parents place (since I'm the only one who ever cooks on it).

I've had the large and mini for almost 25 years and my brother and I bought the parents the medium about 15yrs ago as a retirement gift.

I think the medium ended up being about $1k then with nest and all accessories. We wanted to get them a large but it would $1.5k and that was just too much.

I used to say they had gone up too much for me to buy another but honestly they haven't gone up in price like everything else has. I went to a BGE dealer the other day for something else and the large fully equipped would run about $1K.

All that to say they are probably cheaper now accounting for inflation than they have been in a long time. Worth it? I think so.

 

[Tight Lines]

I've had them all. Gas, pellet, BGE, small charcoal, Oklahoma Joe sidebox, etc. The BGE is great. I have two of them, an XL and a mini-max. My brother has the Kamado Joe. My Dad has the medium BGE and the mini-max.

The learning curve is not bad at all. Season it, and start practicing. The first week I did a rib roast, brisket, butt, turkey, biscuits, pizza and short ribs (family was in town for Thanksgiving).

If you can afford it, the powered fans are great for long cooks, but you don't have to have them. I have one, as does my Dad and brother. I find the bigger the egg the more useful they are. Not needed on the smaller ones that have less air volume e.g. the mini-max. On an XXL they are almost a must for long cooks.

I will say that my brother's been through a bunch of fire boxes on the KJ while his metal parts are more durable than the BGE.

The Primo is great too, a friend has that version.

The best part to me over the electric smokers or the pellet grills is that I can use large chunks of wood and get much better flavor that way over pellets or chips. With that said, we did a brisket at the lake this weekend on a friends electric and it was great...also can grill and bake on the BGE.

The only reason I waited as long as I did to get one was my wife and I were in townhomes and a small house...once we moved into our current house I got one immediately.

You will not regret it - if you use it!

 

[Tight Lines]

I have two, a large and a mini and a medium that's essentially mine at my parents place (since I'm the only one who ever cooks on it).

I've had the large and mini for almost 25 years and my brother and I bought the parents the medium about 15yrs ago as a retirement gift.

I think the medium ended up being about $1k then with nest and all accessories. We wanted to get them a large but it would $1.5k and that was just too much.

I used to say they had gone up too much for me to buy another but honestly they haven't gone up in price like everything else has. I went to a BGE dealer the other day for something else and the large fully equipped would run about $1K.

All that to say they are probably cheaper now accounting for inflation than they have been in a long time. Worth it? I think so.

You sound like us!

 

[TJay]

The BBQ Guru and the Party Q (the no frills version of the Guru) are handy to have. At our old house I never had any problem with overnight cooks then we moved to the country and around 3 or 4 in the am the dew is so heavy and the air so moist it was choking my fire down. I bought a Party Q and haven't had any problems since. You just crack the top vent and connect the fan to the bottom vent. Set the controller for the temp you want and the fan turns on and off to keep temps where you need them. I use it all the time now for daylight or overnight cooks.

 

[douginga]

I'd consider a Primo over the BGE. I've had both & they both are great but the oval shape of the Primo makes it the better option for me.

 

[elfiii]

If you're gonna do the BGE go big or go home.

StackPath

 

[NCHillbilly]

Many, many of us on here have been turning out delicious smoked meat for many years on Akorn kamados, which cost a fraction of what BGE does, but aren't as sexy to the wealth virtue signallers. Carry on.
And if it has a cord you plug into the wall that it don't work without, it ain't a smoker. Sorry.

 

[slow motion]

Many, many of us on here have been turning out delicious smoked meat for many years on Akorn kamados, which cost a fraction of what BGE does, but aren't as sexy to the wealth virtue signallers. Carry on.
And if it has a cord you plug into the wall that it don't work without, it ain't a smoker. Sorry.

Are you screening us for glasses? Had to zoom in. Yes I now need reading glasses.

 

[Tight Lines]

Many, many of us on here have been turning out delicious smoked meat for many years on Akorn kamados, which cost a fraction of what BGE does, but aren't as sexy to the wealth virtue signallers. Carry on.
And if it has a cord you plug into the wall that it don't work without, it ain't a smoker. Sorry.

Nothing at all wrong with the Akorn and it's a great alternative to the BGE (or any of many alternatives to the BGE). We had one and we took it to Talladega and deer camp many times. Personally, I decided I wanted a ceramic one due to the thermal properties with the largest grate I could afford, and that was the BGE XL. There are times I wish I had the XXL but I really just needed to be able to do two briskets simultaneously and the BGE XL can. It was the largest at the time I bought it with maybe the exception of the Primo but I couldn't get one of those at the time. I bought both my eggs from the BGE Eggtoberfest used at a significant discount which is a great way to go if you can time it right. They didn't have an XXL when I bought them or I would have gotten that.

EGGtoberfest

Our 26th annual EGGtoberfest will be Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Georgia, home of the Gwinnett Stripers, the Triple-A affiliate of the 2021 World Champion Atlanta Braves!

biggreenegg.com

 

[Big7]

Seen one today at the pawn shop/gun store for $999.99+ tax.

That will buy a nice rifle or shotgun.

Hard NO for me. The Weber works just fine.

 

[LonePine]

The egg is more versatile than the pellet grill. I can get my egg up to 700F+ to sear a ribeye for 90 seconds a side or cook a brisket at 225F for 14 hours. As others have mentioned, there is a bit of a learning curve to the egg but doesn't take long. Both have their place and I've been thinking about adding a pellet grill to the mix for times when I am busy and just want to set it and forget it

 

[mrs. hornet22]

Seen one today at the pawn shop/gun store for $999.99+ tax.

That will buy a nice rifle or shotgun.

Hard NO for me. The Weber works just fine.

Amen brother. I wanted to post that earlier today. To me everything I've ever had on the BGE taste the same. Maybe because of that BGE charcoal. I'm just not a fan.