RaoulDuke79 Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Anyone here have experience with these type of grills/smokers? I'm looking to get one and have been doing some research. The Big Green Egg seems to be the most well know, but from what I've been reading it only has a single tier cooking surface whereas some of the others have dual tier surfaces which better for cooking items that have different temperature requirements simultaneously. Most of the ones I'm looking at are pretty salty price wise, but they have good reviews vs.the cheaper ones that have average to low reviews. It seems that this is one of those "you get what you pay for" type of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherpa Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) I've had a Primo XL for years and I have been very pleased with it. I believe its the only one made in the US. I didn't like the look or shape of the Green Egg. There is a learning curve, and I would absolutely recommend a controller for it. I use a DigiQ controller which has pit temp and meat temp probes. The controller nails the temp, which is quite hard to do manually. As an example, when I slow cook beef or pork, I use a temp of 220 degrees. The included temp probe at the top indicates about 280. You can also avoid a lot of mistakes by reading forums. I use the Primo forum for tips etc. http://primogrillforum.com/forums/content.php You also need a table. Easy to make your own though. Just get a used wood table of proper size, draw an oval of proper size and cut it out. Grill fits in, and support it on the bottom with cinder block/bricks whatever. Anyway, its nice to set it up for slow cooks and let it go for 8-10 hours, (lump charcoal only-no briquettes), without having to open the lid. Edited July 24, 2017 by sherpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) Anyone here have experience with these type of grills/smokers? I'm looking to get one and have been doing some research. The Big Green Egg seems to be the most well know, but from what I've been reading it only has a single tier cooking surface whereas some of the others have dual tier surfaces which better for cooking items that have different temperature requirements simultaneously. Most of the ones I'm looking at are pretty salty price wise, but they have good reviews vs.the cheaper ones that have average to low reviews. It seems that this is one of those "you get what you pay for" type of things. Not quite so sure about the different temps thing, be interested to see how that works. One fire, one temp...maybe a slight difference between middle of dome and lower grate, but can't imagine that is more than 50 degrees or so. I have an Egg for going on ten years, and I like it. But maybe what you are talking about is an oval shape, so can do more indirect cooking that just using the deflector plate that comes with the round Egg...and that i can see. I want with a Large Egg, and have a riser grate to effectively increase cooking area by about 30%, but would still spend the extra and get an Extra Large if I was to do again. The problem with the Egg is not in keeping temp, that is easy, it's more if you need to refuel for smoke purposes...pain in the ass to add wood chunks/chips. If i was buying today, think I would look at a Traeger Pellet Smoker really hard...just looks a chit ton easier. Now, no matter what they say, those just cannot do high heat searing, so if this will be your only grill, pellet prolly out. Best place for reviews I think is right here for all your questions. Amazing Ribs is just a great site overall as well. http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/ Ad as Sherpa mentioned above, almost 100% of the thermometers in ALL of these grills suck, you need to buy one for air temp/meat temp as he mentioned. I have had the Maverick for 9 years or so, always performed great. Edited July 24, 2017 by plenzmd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheElectricCompany Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 (edited) Several friends have them and rave about them, and all the research I've done on them shows the hype is real. One did an 18 hour cook at 225 on a pork shoulder with no need to refuel charcoal. They can easily hit 700 degrees, but I've heard some guys have pushed 1000 degrees with them. Of course, this burns out the felt gasket. Lots of chatter about "sous vide" lately, screw that! Crank that egg up to high temps, sear that steak and feast. While a large egg is ~$850, after building a table and adding some accessories (electrical starter, temp control, pizza stone, heat deflector, rib rack, etc. etc.) you are probably closer to ~$1500. Look at the Classic Kamado Joe, they have some nice features that are improvements over the BGE design. Check out the Costco Roadshow schedule, you can snag an 18" model with two grill levels, heat deflector, side tables and nest for $970. If you wanted to go the pellet grill route, go to a store and look at how thin those are. There are dozens of manufacturers, but many of them are glorified fuel drums with an auger on them. Thin equals poor heat retention, more moisture loss and lots of fuel to keep them hot. We burned $22 in fuel in ~14 hours! The higher end Traeger and Yoder smokers are much thicker, but you'll pay for them. I had a poor experience cooking on a Green Mtn Grill recently, and while my experience isn't the "end all, be all" I would be hesitant to go that route. Edited July 25, 2017 by TheElectricCompany Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaoulDuke79 Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 Thanks for the feedback fellas. Lots of good info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted July 25, 2017 Share Posted July 25, 2017 Thanks for the feedback fellas. Lots of good info. One thing Electric mentioned above sprang a memory to mind if you buy an Egg. He talked about the gasket burning, and it will if you do high heat searing with the top open. So just do yourself a favor, and when you buy the Egg buy the high heat gasket at the same time and just slap that sucker on there from the get go, the standard gasket is a piece of chit. Next thing that brings to mind, Big Green Egg is a brand marketing machine, and you pay out the wazoo from chit branded Big Green Egg. Best example i can give is the Maverick thermometer I mentioned above. I paid like $49 for it, Big Green Egg dealers sell it $89.. the same unit, just rebranded BGE. Same with the lizza stones and other gadget/gizmo..for the most part do not buy anything branded BGE. And just be aware, dealers cannot discount anything branded BGE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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