NonDawg Big Green Egg Thoughts?
- Thread starter Porkins2
- Start date
Yes they are worth the money. Get an XL.
I love mine and with a lifetime guarantee, it’s definitely worth it. I think the Kamado is probably made the same way and is just as good, @qarnau can offer his thoughts though.
Both the BGE and KJ work.
The KJ is the better value for your dollar and has some nice accessories available beyond the starter gear.
The BGE is the bigger name and has plenty of accessories and 3rd party support in the marketplace.
I'd suggest going to see them both in person to see if you can find a reason to go with one over the other. A grilling or outdoor living specialty store would be preferred if any are local to your area to see various accessories and upgrades.
At the end of the day you can't go wrong with either brand as far as use goes. I agree with getting the biggest of either. For the price, you don't want to be restricted by space in the long run.
They’re great but the RecTec, Traeger, PitBoss pellets grills are a better choice imo. Just so easy and it does more things!
Big fan of Kamado Joe here and recommend them over BGE. Here are my main reasons:
-Better customer service (anecdotally since I haven’t had to replace or repair anything)
-More innovative with more first party accessories and add ons
-Hinge holds the lid in position at any point. BGE will slam shut with weight of lid. This is a big ease of use factor and helps avoid any crushed fingers
-Comes with all needed extras out of the box. BGE is ala carte
-Red and Black is a most excellent color scheme for the Dawg faithful
-Better customer service (anecdotally since I haven’t had to replace or repair anything)
-More innovative with more first party accessories and add ons
-Hinge holds the lid in position at any point. BGE will slam shut with weight of lid. This is a big ease of use factor and helps avoid any crushed fingers
-Comes with all needed extras out of the box. BGE is ala carte
-Red and Black is a most excellent color scheme for the Dawg faithful
I Love my Big Green Egg. It’s easy to use and cooks Great!! I’ve never had a problem with it.
- Aug 22, 2015
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I prefer Kamado Joes but that’s just me. Aside from their superior innovation...they’re red
I have a bacon wrapped pork loin on my BGE right this minute and I agree with the above poster.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Egg but the KJ has improved leaps and bounds in the past three/four years and comes with so much more than the egg. It is the better value and I have heard they cook just as well.
But go in person and visit them. If you’re in the ATL area, I recommend GA Spa company for Eggs and ATl Grill Company for KJ.
Kamado Joe is better.
Big green egg, Primo, KJ . I believe Costco sells KJ.
I like the xl primo oval . They are the one made in the good ole USA.
You can’t go wrong with anyone of those . BGE is the most expensive .
Also have a 5 rack pit boss for long smokes and a lot of meat .
We’re drifting from the egg conversation but I own and love the PitBoss for what it’s worth.
How do you know how many people he typically cooks for? I’m so glad to have the Large over the XL for my family of 4.
I got a KJ in August and I’ve used it 2-3 times a week since. My mistake was not buying one years ago
I recommend the kamado Joe, cooks as good as egg and better bang for the buck
Cant go wrong with the ceramic cookers. I've have had a medium BGE for 15 years. It can cook 4 racks of ribs or two large Boston butts. At times I wished I had a large for larger cooks. If he isn't going to cook for a large group often I would go with a large ceramic smoker. I actually bought an Acorn Jr a couple years ago when Amazon had a big sale on them. I use it more often than the BGE since it fires up so quick and is great for small cooks. Its just a miniature version of the kamado style grills.
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Same dude. I cook everything on it and literally just change the P Setting and get it to work however I want it to. Best $500 or so I’ve spent!
Kamado Joe has the better features currently, I have an egg but if I was buyting today KJ is the way to go, they are the same thing so its purely aesthetics and functionality
I have two large BGEs (at different locations). Love them. The hinges on the newer ones are dramatically better than what's on the older models. Got one of my older ones replaced at no cost since they're under a 5-year warranty.
Aside from the obvious things you can do with a smoker, one of my favorite things is salmon on a cedar plank. Cover the fish as it cooks with Thai sweet chili sauce....
Aside from the obvious things you can do with a smoker, one of my favorite things is salmon on a cedar plank. Cover the fish as it cooks with Thai sweet chili sauce....
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You tell me. How do you know how many people he typically cooks for? I have a large as well, but wish I had an XL. Anytime I fire it up I’m cooking for more than 9 ppl.
Yes...after you get one you feel like you have joined a cult of egg heads. When I first got mine 8 years ago it changed my life all I could think of what was I going to cook on it next and what eggserorries I needed for it. It’s probably one of my most cherished things I won. There are lots of good Kamado grills but I think the eggs are the best and it’s an Atlanta Company.
I had a large BGE for many years. It was fine for a family of 5 and maybe occasionally for up to 8-10 depending on what I was cooking. We host larger groups than that fairly regularly, so I upgraded to an XL about 3 years ago. I can get a 17-18# brisket on there. It cooks wonderfully and I use a digital temp system to regulate airflow overnight for long cooks. The XL is less efficient than the Large and uses more fuel, but I’ve been happy with every single cook. My problem at this point is, our parties keep getting bigger and now I need to be able to cook at least 2 and maybe 3 of those briskets. I’m starting to think about a full on smoker which might fit some other meats on it as well.
I have two large BGEs (at different locations). Love them. The hinges on the newer ones are dramatically better than what's on the older models. Got one of my older ones replaced at no cost since they're under a 5-year warranty.
Aside from the obvious things you can do with a smoker, one of my favorite things is salmon on a cedar plank. Cover the fish as it cooks with Thai sweet chili sauce....
How did you get the hinges replaced? Did your old ones break or did you just do a warranty request?
BGE, I’ve had mine for 14yrs, have the
Large,depends on size of crowd, the ceramic bowl cracked in year 9, was replaced in 2 days......it will be the,last grill you will buy.
Large,depends on size of crowd, the ceramic bowl cracked in year 9, was replaced in 2 days......it will be the,last grill you will buy.
Go check out both the BGE and Kamado Joe. Functionally, they are the same, but the KJ has better features, and you get more at a lower price. Have had one for about a year and a half and absolutely love it. You’re about a week late on their warehouse sale in Duluth, they had some great deals. Can’t beat the colors either!
Loved my Green Egg and my Primo (liked my Primo better). But sold both to go RecTec pellet grill. I won't go back to any other kind of grill.
- Aug 22, 2015
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- 104,745
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Also, another thing no one is talking about is assembly. You can go from in the box to cooking on a KJ in under 30 mins. You basically have to assemble every single piece of the egg and it’s a huge pain in the ass.
I have had a Large BGE for 15 years. January I bought a RecTec. I have only used BGE once since then. I think the RecTec has 90% of the flavor that BGE imparts but 100x easier to use. I can start my RecTec with my app on the way home. Controls temps way easier.
Completely agree. Not Quite as much smoke but the trade-off is well worth it. Do you have the bull-700?
Brisket on the egg
outside black inside tender
this is a good day
outside black inside tender
this is a good day
Bought a large BGE on Memorial Day. I love it. I am a lousy cook - I have been amazed that even I can make things taste good. It’s been easy to use.
BGE has (finally) redesigned the hinge so it is much easier to install. You are correct, though - they used to be a complete pain to setup.
