When You Switch To A Big Green Egg You Have To Adapt
If youre used to using a gas grill or conventional charcoal cooker, youll have to change your grilling style when you get a Big Green Egg. As previously noted, the BGE grills have a pretty complex air ventilation process to have optimal temperature control inside. As Fines Gas details, there are a few critical things to know before firing up your Big Green Egg for the first time. One of the most important items is to utilize the vents in the lid, rather than lifting the lid to let smoke out or check on food. There are vents at the top and the bottom of the grill for air flow, so opening the lid will mess up the internal temperature and could lead to uneven cooking.
Also, as pointed out by BGEs website, the grill master has to burp the grill, or slightly crack open the lid slowly before removing the top. If not, it can cause a flare up that will not only ruin your dinner, but result in burns. Luckily, Big Green Egg offers a wide variety of first-timer tips so switching over to the BGE lifestyle is an easy process.
The Best Kamado For Tailgating: Broil King Keg 5000
Since the heavy ceramic most kamados are made of can crack if dropped or knocked over, they’re not the kind of thing you tend to bring to a tailgate. Unless, of course, you have a Broil King Keg. It’s made with lightweight fiberglass encased in powder-coated steel, and, while it’s not light enough to pick up and carry around, it’s easy to lift off the base and pop onto the optional trailer hitch. And if it does get dropped, this baby won’t crack like Humpty Dumpty.
Broil King put together a nice package deal for the 5000 that includes a sturdy stand with big wheels and removable side tables, a multifunction tool for handling the grate and removing ash, and a secondary extender rack that hovers above the primary grate to provide extra cook surface. The side tables have handy tool hooks, and there’s even a couple of bottle openers built into the handle.
Cooking Area: 280 square inches
Is It Okay To Use Regular Charcoal Briquettes
Many kamado manufacturers recommend or even dictate that you use more expensive lump charcoal rather than briquettes. They argue that briquettes produce more ash than lump, and the ash can block airflow as it builds up over long cooks. Most kamado manufacturers also sell private-label lump charcoal, so they just might have a conflict of interest.
Generally, we recommend using Kingsford Original Briquets in charcoal burners, because they’re affordable, consistent, and readily available. Lump charcoal, especially the bargain-basement varieties, can be inconsistent. We’ve seen bags that were half pulverized charcoal dust and half large chunks of construction material. It’s not unusual to find metal and plastic debris mixed in. Nonetheless, we personally prefer high-quality lump in a kamado over briquettes, because it’s lighter and easier to stir around at the bottom of the deep firebox, while briquettes tend to get compacted.
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X Easy Recipes For On Your Big Green Egg
The best basic BBQ recipes
Easy recipes for on your Big Green Egg are always useful. Whether youve just started with your EGG or you want to make something nice on your EGG at the last minute. With these 11 simple and tasty BBQ recipes you can get started right away. Theyre aimed at beginning cooks, but their flavours would satisfy any gourmet.
Big Green Egg Free Standing Grill For Large Egg
Model #: 117632
At a Glance
Get to knowthis product.
Large
- The Large EGG is the most popular size and a favorite to handle the cooking needs of most families and gatherings of friends. Accommodates all EGGcessories for baking, roasting or smoking and its versatile enough for weekend cookouts or pizza parties, large enough for eight steaks at once, and efficient enough for an impromptu meatloaf for two!
Specifications
- Grid Diameter: 18.25 in / 46 cm
- Cooking Area: 262 sq in / 1688 sq cm
- Weight: 162 lbs / 73 kgs
The Large EGG can cook:
- 20-pound turkeys
- 7 racks of ribs vertically
EGG Sizes
- The Big Green Egg stands alone as the most versatile barbecue or outdoor cooking product on the market, with more capabilities than all other conventional cookers combined. From appetizers to entrees to desserts, the Big Green Egg will exceed all of your expectations for culinary perfection and with seven convenient sizes to choose from, there is a Big Green Egg to fit any lifestyle! Get ready for the best kamado-style charcoal grill and smoker on the market, making the Big Green Egg The Ultimate Cooking Experience!
The Ultimate Cooking Experience
Patented Technology
Useful Documents
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Big Green Egg Grill: Are They Worth The Money
Even to a novice barbecue enthusiast, somegrill names have the advantage of being universally recognizable. This isespecially true for the iconic ceramic, or kamado, style grill the Big Green Egg. The BGE garnered attention as the first of its kind in the United States.
Not every product thats first to the markethas the luxury of becoming so synonymous with its brand, yet the Big Green Eggremains known to this day.
In spite of nearly fifty years since itsintroduction, the Big Green Egg still remains one of the most accessible kamadogrills, and one of the most durable. And when parts need to be replaced, the job can easily be done on your own.While many grills appeal to either novicesor accomplished backyard veterans, the Big Green Egg is a fantastic choice forboth.
So, what makes the Big Green Egg so enticing and expensive?
Have You Ever Wondered What Is So Special About A Big Green Egg
The EGG is much more than just a grill its a complete outdoor cooking system engineered to be stronger, more durable and provide better heat retention than any other outdoor cooker on the market.
Convenience, ease of use and fantastic cooking results truly set the EGG apart. Once you taste the difference, youll agree!
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What Makes Kamado Grills Special
Kamado grills are known for allowing the userto keep a sustained temperature for a long period of time. Thats due to thembeing built out of clay or ceramic , depending on the manufacturer. While traditionally theywere built out of clay, the Big Green Egg is built out of thick ceramic.
This is one of the reasons why they are somuch more expensive than traditional charcoal barbecue grills. Whereas acharcoal grill is a fairly simple thing, it isnt as easy to build large grills made out of ceramic.
Yet, the benefit is obvious: ceramic is abetter insulator, which means that kamado grills typically perform better thancharcoal ones built from metal. A kamado grill can hold a steady temperaturewithout finicking with coals or fancy igniters.
Typically, these grills are also larger andheavier while Big Green Egg makes smaller grills, chances are if youve seenone before, youve probably seen one in their Large or XL sizes. These grillsarent just large in size, theyre also heavy: so much so that you typicallyneed a special stand to accommodate them. You wouldnt just want to lift onearound by yourself, or just stick one on a typical outdoor table.
A simple look into the fanatical communitiesrevolving around kamado style grills will yield a staggering number of obsesseddevotees who claim nothing comes close to their performance. Barbecuers fromall skill levels seem capable of wielding a control over their final productsthat leaves the mouth watering.
Indirect Barbecue & Smoking
This is my favorite cooking technique, as it produces the most dramatic results. There is also something about the anticipation of a long cook that adds to the satisfaction. The tenderness and flavor of meats cooked slow and low cannot be matched. This technique takes a bit longer than other methods, but you will not be disappointed by the results.
Smoking and indirect cooking requires the Big Green Egg platesetter, which is a three-legged ceramic piece that creates a firewall between the coals and the food. This assures that the temperature will be even on all sides of the food, so rotation is not required and food is cooked evenly everytime. Put your platesetter legs-up on top of the fire ring. The cooking grid rests directly on top of the platesetter. The platesetter also provides a place to put a drip pan below your meats to capture juices that escape during the cooking process.
If cooking at low temperatures, it may be useful to only light a very small portion of the charcoal, as it will slowly burn across the firebox for many hours. There is no need to light most of the charcoal.
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All Throughout The Year
Whether its freezing cold or a real scorcher you can EGG all year round. So bring on that juicy entrecote, that gorgeous piece of fish with a salty crust, stir-fried shellfish, hearty stew, crusty bread, pizzas with the perfect crust or that mouth-wateringly delicious dessert. Feel like skipping meat for a day? How about preparing stuffed pointed peppers, roasted beetroot soup and bruschetta caprese on your EGG for a change?
The Big Green Egg: Endlesseggcessories
Speaking of limits, the BGEs unique naturemeans that youve got to have somewhere to put it. This means that youreprobably going to want to purchase a rack from BGE to accommodate your grill ofchoice.
This is, unfortunately, an added cost.
Likewise, there are a handful of otheraccessories , that can improve yourexperience. Theres customizable regulators, rain caps, thermometers, bakingstones, and more.
Theres even the EGG Genius that allows you tofinely-tune your temperatures through an app.
Theres plenty here to push the limits of whata kamado grill is capable of.
Yet, the sheer number of accessories might beoff putting to some especially after youve already bought an expensivegrill.
Can the cost of all the additional accessoriesyou’ll likely want be overlooked? Thebenefits of kamado grills extend into other benefits the average grill usershould consider. BGEs are notorious for lasting a long time after all,theyre essentially huge chunks of ceramic. While we cant say for sure if theEGG Genius will stand the test of time in the same way, we can at least saythat most people seem satisfied with it so far.
Ultimately, we think the amount of flexibilityoffered by the accessories is a good thing just dont assume that buying thegrill by itself will be enough to achieve the results youre looking for.
ItsGood, But How Does The Big Green Egg Compare to Other Kamado Grills?
The Big Green Egg lauds itself as being thebest kamado grill there is but is it?
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The Best Kamettle Kettlelado The Weber Summit Charcoal Grill
The Weber Summit Charcoal Grill is a radical departure from George Stephen’s original Weber Kettle. It’s Weber’s first major upgrade to the Kettle in decades. Sure, the prices are in line with Summit gas grills and premium-quality kamados on carts, but they’re a big leap up from the Kettles we know and love. It’s true that a regular classic Weber Kettle can grill and smoke, but the new Summits are just plain bigger and better in every way. You get more capacity, ease of use, and more versatility. It actually is an excellent dedicated charcoal smoker by design, and the adjustable coal grate that burns directly under the cook surface for better searing also makes the Summit an even better grill than the classic Weber Kettles.
Cooking Area: 452 square inches
Quick And Simple To Clean
Burning natural lump charcoal results in less ash than burning briquettes, thus less frequent ash clean out is required. The Big Green Egg exterior has a lifetime glaze that maintains its good looks and easily wipes clean with a damp cloth. Inside, the heat burns off any grease build-up like a self-cleaning oven.
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Should You Buy The Big Green Egg
The Big Green Egg is definitely worth the purchase. Yes, its a bit pricey, but so are all the other kamado-style grills. Besides, once you buy a Big Green Egg, you wont need to buy another grill for the rest of your life.
Like many other people, I give the Large Big Green Egg a five-star rating. It produces incredibly wonderful meals and its easy to use, especially for those who havent cooked on charcoal grills before.
With the weather warming up and the rainy spring season moving on, I plan to pull out my Large Big Green Egg and grill regularly this summer. There are so many recipes Im dying to try. Barbecue at my place, anyone?
Red Is The New Green: Kamado Joe Classic Ii 18
The Kamado Joe Classic II 18 is an elegant, well-crafted ceramic cooker that presents strong competition to other 18-inch models in the premium-priced market. This company pays attention to detail and offers upgrades, like top-quality 304 stainless steel cooking grates, as standard features. In 2014, Kamado Joe introduced a unique multilevel grate and heat-deflection system called Divide and Conquer, which comes standard with this model at no extra charge. The system is a grouping of multilevel racks and deflectors that relieves some of the pain and cost of creating different cooking zones in a round kamado. Kamado Joe is always on the move, innovating and offering unique features not found on other kamados.
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Prevent Sticking Tearing And Smoking
Ensure that the grid in the EGG is as hot as it needs to be before placing the ingredients. A hot grid prevents ingredients from sticking and/or tearing. When you place ingredients on the grid for the very first time, wait at least one minute before moving them around or flipping them over. It is not necessary to constantly move the ingredients.
Brush the ingredients with very little to no oil before grilling. Thanks to the small amounts of oil used, grilling is not just a delicious way of preparing food, its also a healthier one. Too much oil can also cause wafts of smoke.
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For Direct Grilling Preheat The Egg To 600 To 700 Degrees
For direct grilling , have all the coals lit, open the bottom and top vents wide, and preheat the Egg to 600 to 700 degrees. Sear the steak on the grate for 2 minutes per side , then lower the lid. Heres where the genius of the Egg comes in: The juices drip on the coals, sending fragrant smoke up to the steak. The lowered lid traps the smoke and seals in the moisture. It also speeds up the cooking time7 minutes in all should do it.
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Can You Grill On A Kamado
Kamados can get mighty hot. We cranked a Big Green Egg until a column of fire shot out the top, and it was like a blast furnace inside. That’s great for searing the snot out of thin meats, like skirt steak, that you just want to cook hot and fast, but once kamados get hot, they take forever to cool down. Along with the difficulty of creating a two-zone setup, this is why we believe most kamados function better as smokers and ovens than as grills.
If you really want to take your grilling skills to the highest level, then you need to master two-zone cooking and get a charcoal grill in addition to the kamado, or select a kamado that can do two-zone cooking.
Is It Worth Getting A Big Green Egg
The Egg provides all of the benefits of efficiency. It can also be used for everything from cooking hamburgers to roasting and baking all of these dishes can be prepared in one pot. Extra accessories such as a pizza stone, tiered grill grates, and heat deflectors, on the other hand, are required to truly capture its versatility.
Big Green Eggs are a popular type of Kamido grill. This cooker is made of a ceramic material, such as clay, and it has the appearance of an egg. The Egg is also outfitted with other accessories, allowing it to function outside of its enclosure. In the United States, the company sold nearly $20 million in merchandise in 2015. Because of the Eggs heat adjustability, it has the most advantages. The heat is high enough to make it a pizza oven however, the heat is lower enough that it can be used as a smoker. To reduce the amount of air entering the fire box, an adjustable drawer at the bottom and a cap at the top of the Egg are used.
Before you can purchase the necessary equipment, you must first pay $1,000 for a large Big Green Egg. Thick ceramic walls trap heat, which is unlike grilling in a traditional oven. Hot Kamado can quickly reach boiling point, so overestimating your temperature can make cooling difficult.
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Burping The Big Green Egg
For safety reasons, its important to burp or slowly vent the Big Green Egg when you open the dome. Slowly crack it open to allow incoming air to slowly enter the EGG and prevent flashbacks. This will protect you and keep your food from unintended flare-ups. For maximum safety wear heat protective gloves. Watch the video for more details.
The Grills Are By No Means Cheap
The Big Green Egg has become such a common appliance for veteran grillers looking for the best of the best. As you mightve anticipated, the best is going to cost you. The BGE comes in a variety of sizes from mini to 2XL, with the largest grill setting you back for around $2,000 while a mini runs for about $400. The large or extra large, which seem to be the more popular sizes, will cost you around $1,000+. To put it in perspective, a Weber charcoal grill goes for around $200, so its definitely a big jump.
However, Big Green Eggs do come with a Limited Lifetime Warranty when you register it after purchase. Despite the high price tag, Big Green Egg does expect its product to be the only charcoal grill/smoker that you will need for life, which is important to weigh into the cost.
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