Big Green Egg: Is it REALLY worth the money?

[lspencer534]

Originally Posted by CertInsaneC5

I have several friends that have them from the small to the large ones. If your gonna lay that kinda coil down. Better be grilling a whole lot. They do a great job. But you still have to be a decent cook to make good food. A green egg won't make you that. They really excel at slow cooking and smoking. But so do a lot of other alternatives. They also make great pizza when you really crank up the heat.

^This

[kingpin]

I like my $75 charcoal grill.
Hardwood charcoal all the way.

I would like a smoker eventually though.

[Ol Timer]

I had one for several years and loved it. If you are willing to take the time to do low and slow, it's as good as it gets. If you want to do quick, it is not the tool.

I had a large and wished I had gone with the XL. I gave the BGE to one of my daughters and bought a Primo. I got a heck of a deal on the Primo and like the flexibility of the grate set up.

You can get other, less expensive slow cookers, but either of these will last longer that we likely will.

PM me if you have questions.

[bryanZ06]

I've had a large for about a year now. I love it and would buy another one tomorrow if something happened to it. I've baked cookies and pizza on it, cooked steak @ 700*, and smoked Boston butt at 225* for 16-18 hours without the temp moving at all. Once you figure it out and get the temp dialed in it's amazing. I have a hard time going out for BBQ/ribs/steak now because I know what I can cook and how much better it is.

[Rob]

Adam Boca has two and is always cooking on them.

[Mike Mercury]

now I want one.

[Chris Fowler]

Originally Posted by Ol' Timer

I had one for several years and loved it. If you are willing to take the time to do low and slow, it's as good as it gets. If you want to do quick, it is not the tool.

I do quick on it too. Light it, 20 minutes later I'm at 750 degrees. Drop the steaks on, drop the temp, cook to preferred doneness, close it up and it's ready to go for the next time.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by C5Nate

As does Cyber

I actually have a Primo and yes it is worth the money and then some.

[Sea Six]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

I actually have a Primo and yes it is worth the money and then some.

What led you to get the primo vs the BGE?

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Can't you just pick up an extra shift at McDonalds and buy one to find out? You're 44 and single, never married, no kids. Surely you're snorting blow with $100.00 bills.

[Sea Six]

Originally Posted by Thomas

Can't you just pick up an extra shift at McDonalds and buy one to find out? You're 44 and single, never married, no kids. Surely you're snorting blow with $100.00 bills.

I never take an outlay of ~ $1000 or more lightly. That's a lot of money.

Besides, to me at least, doing the market research before buying is part of the thrill of having a new toy. You don't get that by doing impulse buying. YMMV

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

That's a lot of money.

That's a lot of money for a damn grill.

[Sea Six]

Originally Posted by Thomas

That's a lot of money for a damn grill.

Exactly. Two for two.

[NEVRL8T]

Piggy has one and he swears by it and by the looks of the food that he posts pics of; worth every damned penny.

[wicked_c6]

Friend of mine purchased one of these last summer. Worked just as well as my other friend who dropped 1000 on a green egg.

Big Red Kamado Kooker at Menards

Take the money saved and buy this overpriced grill holder. Wow...seriously? $756 for a grill holder made from teak? ok then.

http://www.hayneedle.com/sale/primot...ence_amazonnew

[JStockton]

I have one, and I love it, but I smoke or cook on it about 3-4 times a week.

Here is a pork loin I did for the superbowl, stuffed with sausage and wrapped in bacon.

Smoked it for 4 hours at 215, very juicy.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by Sea Six

What led you to get the primo vs the BGE?

I like the size and form factor of the Primo. I have the XL, which is the only model of their's that truly is different than any BGE. With the Primo XL, I can cook true indirect using the firebox divider. The grilling surface is about 1.5x bigger than the BGE XL, and that's without the extender racks. The oval shape fits oval-shaped food like a full packer brisket perfectly. You have to cut it in half to fit it in two levels in a BGE unless it's a small one.

Other than that, it cooks the same as a BGE or any other ceramic. You can get it really hot but I rarely do. I've found that chicken cooks best at 425, and I do all my steaks and tri-tips "reverse-sear" which is a technique where you cook it indirect at 250 (I put in some wood chunks to add smoke) until the internal temp hits around 111-114. Then rest covered until temp stops rising. Meanwhile crank the temps up and set the grate as close to the fire as possible and sear them off a minute or two each side. Rest and they are perfect medium rare all the way through, even the thickest 2" ribeye.

Here are some pictures:

Searing off some reverse-sear tri-tip:



And the result:



Beef spare ribs cooked low and slow:



Two brisket flats:



Ribs:



You get the idea. I don't have any pictures using the extender racks but they add an additional and slightly smaller cooking level.

[Cybercowboy]

Originally Posted by Thomas

That's a lot of money for a damn grill.

20 year warranty on the Primo. It's also 100% American made unlike the BGE with is made in Asia somewhere. They stand behind their warranty too.

I can go through 5 "decent" grills in that amount of time. Heck, I've gone through more than that in the last 20 years.

[vtelvr]

Originally Posted by Sea Six

I never take an outlay of ~ $1000 or more lightly. That's a lot of money.

Besides, to me at least, doing the market research before buying is part of the thrill of having a new toy. You don't get that by doing impulse buying. YMMV

This. I love researching new toys, and he is right....It adds to the end enjoyment of whatever it is.

[Sea Six]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

20 year warranty on the Primo. It's also 100% American made unlike the BGE with is made in Asia somewhere. They stand behind their warranty too.

I can go through 5 "decent" grills in that amount of time. Heck, I've gone through more than that in the last 20 years.

Wow. Those are some great points. And, looking back over twenty years, I have spent far in excess of $1,000 on grills that didn't last very long.

I'll have to look into this.

How much was everything when you bought it? Did you get a stand or table?