Is A Big Green Egg Worth The Money

Having a reliable grill is the central to taking your barbecue game to the next level. Do makes perfect, sure, and you can work on your skills on any grill. But having one that'due south durable, easy-to-use, and dependable goes a long manner toward building your confidence in outdoor cookery. Later on testing dozens of gas, charcoal, and portable grills, I can tell you with 100-percent confidence that not all grills are built every bit, and you often get what you lot pay for.

Y'all'll need to cull betwixt charcoal and gas, a complicated debate that mostly comes down to ease of utilize or smoke-infused flavor. We're not here to change your mind if yous're a die-hard gas grill enthusiast, simply I take to say I'll likely be trading in my gas grill for a Large Green Egg in the near future. It can practise just about everything—in add-on to grilling burgers and hot dogs, you can use the Egg to fume brisket and ribs, cook a whole turkey, or plow information technology into an outdoor oven for pizza and breadstuff. There'due south a reason it won our award for near versatile charcoal grill, simply its hefty price tag may take y'all wondering if it'south really worth the hype.

What makes a Big Green Egg different?

Credit: Big Green Egg

You can employ a kamado to grill steaks and burgers, or use information technology equally an outdoor oven or smoker.

The Big Green Egg is a charcoal grill, simply dissimilar kettle and barrel-fashion grills, the Egg is what's known as a kamado-style grill, an oval cooking vessel made from ceramic. The thick walls of this grill store more heat than regular charcoal grills, allowing it to radiate effectually the food as it cooks. While you tin employ it equally a regular grill for high-temperature cooking, y'all can also lower the temperature and apply all that stored oestrus to turn the grill into a smoker or an oven. As an added bonus, those thick walls also make the Egg more efficient; during our tests, it e'er had more than leftover charcoal equally compared to other charcoal grills, ready to relight for the next grilling session.

Unlike well-nigh of the grills we tested, the Big Light-green Egg isn't available at national chain stores. It's bachelor at most Ace Hardware stores, but other private dealers too sell the Egg. The prices tend to vary past dealer, who may sell it every bit part of a package deal or a special. You can find a Big Green Egg dealer nigh yous to get the cost (the Large model we tested was available at my local store for $850).

How we tested

Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay Mattison

I tested a Big Green Egg at home—here's what I learned.

How did we assess the Big Green Egg? We put it through hours of comprehensive grilling tests, cooking burgers over high temperatures before lowering the oestrus to cook craven drumsticks. Then, nosotros added the grill's ConvEGGtor—a ceramic plate that facilitates indirect heat cooking—and turned the unit into a smoker, cooking a rack of ribs and a iv-pound bone-in pork shoulder until information technology was shreddable and tender. To round out the tests, we added a pizza stone to the mix and cooked flatbread and pizza on the grill.

In addition to determining if the grill could cook tasty food (spoiler alert: information technology did), we also wanted to test the grill's design. The look and feel of a grill is only as important every bit its ability to melt cracking nutrient, so nosotros looked at factors like the location of the vents, the weight of the grill, whether it was maneuverable on a patio or driveway, the fabric of the cooking grate, ease of cleaning, ease of calculation and moving coals, and the overall aesthetic and build quality.

How does it perform?

Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay Mattison

The vents on a kamado grill permit you to regulate the corporeality of airflow inside the unit.

Overall, we had no complaints nigh the Egg'south ability to cook everything nosotros threw at it. The Big model had an 18-inch grill space that was large plenty to fit a dozen burgers, up to half dozen chickens (cooked vertically), a few whole pork shoulders, or a big turkey. Our burgers had perfect grill marks, the craven drumsticks were infused with a deeply smoky flavor, and our pulled pork turned out super juicy and tender.

Temperature command was one of our favorite features of the Egg. By sliding the lower vent closed, we were able to get the temps every bit low as 150°F without worrying near extinguishing the coals. Opening up the vent ignited the coal bed, burning them red-hot and edifice to temperatures every bit hot as 700°F.

Our model featured a rEGGulator top vent cap that opened all the way, letting in more air than nigh charcoal grills allow. Fully opened, it helped us accomplish maximum airflow to boost the temps, and it trapped all that tasty smoke within when we slid it halfway or almost all the way airtight. Both vents were cool to the touch, even while cooking over high estrus.

When it came to indirect heating, the Egg'southward oval design makes information technology nearly incommunicable to fix a 2-zone burn down, where coals are physically moved to one side of the grill. This type of cooking is required for bone-in chicken and any other foods that have longer than 30 minutes to cook. On the Egg, you'll have to purchase a convEGGtor, a ceramic plate that separates the food from the coals. Information technology worked well and we didn't have any complaints almost its function, but it'due south an additional cost on summit of an already expensive grill.

What we like

Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay Mattison

Kamado grills are great for grilling brisket, turkey, pork, and more.

The bottom vent command made it really easy to set a precise temperature inside the grill, while the meridian vent let united states of america control how much smoke stayed within equally we cooked. With a little practice, changing temperatures in the Egg was about as easy as turning a knob a gas grill (although, it's worth noting that it does take a while to cool back down if you lot accidentally overshoot your temperature).

It was piece of cake to plow "off." On about charcoal grills, y'all can close the vents to extinguish the coals. Because the Egg is more insulated than most grills, endmost the vents removed all air inside the unit of measurement, extinguishing the coals very rapidly. These extra coals are preserved and prepare to apply for your next grilling session.

The lid hinges near halfway open, a characteristic we originally idea would be a pain. As we used the grill, nosotros came to understand its purpose. Like the balance of the grill, the lid is heavy, then the hinges make the lid easier to open and shut. As an added bonus, the design prevents smoke from funneling into your face, a feature we always appreciate.

The coals seem to concluding forever. At first, we were worried about cooking items with a long smoke fourth dimension, similar our pork shoulder. Once the ConvEGGtor plate was in place, it's hard to add together extra coals to the grill. Luckily, that wasn't a problem; we filled the grill to the peak of the fire ring and still had plenty of leftover dress-down later a vi-60 minutes smoke time.

Information technology doesn't utilize much charcoal. We cooked on the Big Green Egg for a full calendar week, spending hours cooking burgers, chicken, pork shoulder, ribs, and multiple pizzas. Fifty-fifty subsequently all that cooking, nosotros only used somewhere between x to 15 pounds of charcoal.

What we don't similar

Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay Mattison

To make clean the Large Green Egg, y'all have to use an ash tool to work the coals around the firebox, pushing the dust and ash through the holes at the lesser.

This grill is large, heavy, and takes a while to absurd down. Although it's easy to movement with locking wheels, nosotros wouldn't recommend buying an Egg if you're planning to store it in a shed or a garage. Information technology stays hot to the bear upon long after the dress-down are extinguished and it shouldn't be moved while information technology's hot.

Cleaning out the ashes was a flake of a pain. The coals are stored in the bottom half of the oval-shaped grills, and they sit on superlative of a plate with perforated holes. Those little holes let air in and let the ashes to fall through when they're spent, but they need a little coaxing with the Egg's proprietary ash tool. To remove them from the bottom of the grill, yous take to open up the bottom vent and utilise the tool to rake the ashes into a basin or bucket. It would have been squeamish if they automatically fell into a removable saucepan, speeding up the cleaning process quite a fleck.

Buying one can get a chip pricey. The grill itself is significantly more expensive than your standard charcoal grill. In fact, it costs more than virtually gas grills. On summit of that, there are a ton of optional Big Dark-green Egg accessories (we'll talk virtually a few of them in a minute). It would exist really easy to rack up a hefty bill to customize the Egg to your liking.

The grill itself may be heavy-duty, but the interior components are a little delicate. If you're taking the Egg apart for cleaning, you'll need to be very conscientious with the firebox and fire band nestled inside the grill. These pieces are all made from unglazed ceramic, and they can hands flake. Luckily, y'all tin can buy replacements if they do suspension, but that'due south an unnecessary expense.

How are the accessories?

Credit: Big Light-green Egg

Have your option from cast-iron cooking grates, side tables, custom cooking islands, covers, pizza stones, grill racks, woks, and more.

Nosotros only tested a few EGGcessories, only there are hundreds to choose from. Have your selection from bandage-fe cooking grates, side tables, custom cooking islands, covers, pizza stones, grill racks, woks, and more. Big Green Egg too has its own brand of oak and hickory lump charcoal and charcoal starters. They even sell a wireless temperature control unit that allows you to set up the grill'south temperature from your smartphone. All of these items come up at a price, and customizing your Egg can add up pretty speedily.

Where can I find recipes?

Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay Mattison

I turned my Big Greenish Egg into an outdoor oven to make pizza.

One matter you lot'll definitely receive with the purchase of an Egg is an archway into a community that calls themselves Eggheads. Big Green Egg's website has hundreds of recipes to assistance you lot go started using your Egg, and there's fifty-fifty a culinary middle with classes. If you actually get into it, you tin attend Eggfests in cities across the country or participate in the online forum to get (and share) communication with your fellow grillers.

Warranty

For residential (not-commercial) use, the Egg comes with a limited lifetime warranty for materials and workmanship on all ceramic components, including the dome, base of operations, damper top, firebox and fire band. The warranty on Eggcessories varies from i to five years. Go on in mind you accept to be the original owner and register each production.

Is the Big Green Egg worth it?

Before testing the Large Dark-green Egg, I thought it was merely an expensive charcoal grill. Now, I know why it has a loyal following of Eggheads. The versatility of the Big Green Egg really sets information technology apart from other gas and charcoal grills. Turn information technology into a smoker, use it as an oven, or fire up some actually tasty burgers. I would exist lying if I said this grill isn't on my Christmas listing this yr.

Find a Big Green Egg dealer near you

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Prices are accurate at the time this article was published, but may change over time.

Source: https://www.reviewed.com/cooking/features/big-green-egg-review

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