Grills

Big Green Egg SHDA All-in-One Grill / Smoker Big Green Egg SHDA All-in-One Grill / Smoker Product Technical DetailsTechnical Details:SHDA...

The Big Green Egg is absolutely the most FANTASTIC smoker/grill combination ever invented Big Green Egg Large AllinOne Grill / Smoker After doing some extensive research on the Internet in regard to information concerning charcoal smoker/grills I d...

Introduction

I’m certain if you ask around or search the Internet, you will find out that among the many choices of grills or smokers, the Big Green Egg has fans that are said to approach the level of a cult of fanatics. Why should a ceramic grill that looks like something laid by Godzilla’s mother be the subject of such huge enthusiasm? Maybe this review will shed some light on that, and on how well this grill/smoker does as an outdoor cooker.

What is the Big Green Egg

The Big Green Egg (BGE abbreviated) is a ceramic charcoal grill/oven/cooker based on the Japanese kamado cooker. The original kamado or kamadomushi was a charcoal pot that fired up on minimal fuel and was able to keep warm enough to steam mountains of rice for a Japanese family.

Oriental cooking is characterized by an economy of fuel use. Woks were traditionally heated over hot wood fires in ovens, sometimes even heated with reeds and grass in wood-poor areas. Rice and steamed breads required the most economical use of scarce fuels in heavily populated regions. The hibachi and the kamado make use of little fuel and found their way into American grill tradition by way of returning soldiers from the Pacific. The kamado actually was introduced in the 60’s and has various forms. The BGE is probably the most popular.

But what is an Oriental charcoal rice cooker doing on so many decks and patios across the greater US and Canada? This cooker, with its ability to use pure lump charcoal and be temperature-regulated with a touch of the finger, is one hell of a grill and more versatile than you could imagine.

What does the BGE include?

The BGE is a heavy ceramic bowl hinged to a domed ceramic lid and glazed in thick green. The bowl has a gasket of heatproof felt glued to the rim, and inside is a firebox or inner bowl that holds charcoal. The bottom of the outer section has a damper of metal, opening and shutting with a flick of the finger on a sliding panel. The top of the dome has an open chimney, closed either by a cap or an iron daisywheel adjustable cap. The damper and the daisywheel cap are key to adjusting the temperature. More oxygen means more fire means–more heat. Closing down the damper means a lower, slower fire.

Inserted into the lid is a thermometer, to show the temperature of the air inside this effective oven. A porcelain glazed grill sits on top of the fire box.

That’s the basic BGE. A “nest” (four legs and casters) is an optional item to replace four ceramic feet that come with the grill. Optional side tables clamp onto the hinge band and there are grill tables available if you want to get fancier.

And there are many more “egg-cessories” to be mentioned later.

How to use the BGE

The BGE is fired up by putting pure lump charcoal (such as their own brand or Royal Oak) into the bowl up to the draft air holes or a little above. An electric starter (not included but easily purchased anywhere) or pure paraffin infused starter cubes are used to light the charcoal. In about 4 minutes or so, you can have a hot fire well on the way to getting the food cooked. And at the end of the cooking session, you have a remarkable amount of lump left. And only a handful of ash. The BGE focuses the heat and uses very little fuel per session.

NOTE: YOU MUST use pure lump charcoal and not briquets or fast starting charcoal or any hydrocarbon-infused product. This is because the ceramic will absorb these chemicals. The fire starts fast enough with lump charcoal and the flavor is so superior, do not think this is a disadvantage. It is an advantage.

Once the fire is started, you adjust the damper (lid stays closed, chimney hole is opened) until you reach the temperature you wish to cook at. You heat UP to your desired temp, not cool down to it. So if grilling steak, up to 650 or 700, if baking a roast, up to 325 and hold.

Then you choose: cook direct (grill steak for example) right on the grill or cook indirect by placing something inbetween the fire and the cooking surface. This can be a drip pan with a rack inside or you can buy a platesetter, which is a kind of pizza-stone like plate with legs that sits on the fire box. This lets you use the BGE as an oven. A pizza stone (10 inch only for the small egg) can sit on the platesetter or a baking pan, roasting pan, dutch oven or even a cast iron skillet.

When you are done cooking, put the cap on the top (the ceramic cap) and shut the damper. The fire goes out. Shake out ash later when it cools and save the remaining charcoal. DO NOT quench with water.

Another thing; if you live in a hostile climate (say, Caribou, Maine or International Falls, MN) you happen to know that even if you are hardy and shovel your way out the deck to your grill, the gas grill does NOT work in temperatures below 20 degrees. (Yes, we have first-hand knowledge of this. We’ve tried to roast turkeys in mid-New England winter on a gas grill. Can’t be done.) The ceramic of the Egg holds in the heat and you can grill down to 20 below. If you want. And many people want to.

What did we cook?

We’ve done steak, flank steak, hamburger, chicken breast, scallops on skewers, plum cobbler, roast chicken and roast beef and pork so far. Everything has come out juicy and tasting pleasantly of wood smoke. Once, we threw on chunks of maple (you can use chunks or soaked wood chips) and we had a smoked chicken.

This is dry smoking, unlike the wet smokers all you do is put on a bit of wood and cook at a low temperature. Cleanup is absolutely easy–take off the food. Close. Cool. Clean grill.

We often grill something, and lower the heat to cook a dessert like apple crisp after the heat is reduced to 350. While we eat, dessert is baking.

You can make pizza (but the small is not ideal for this–only a 10 inch stone fits), you can bake bread, even put a wok or skillet over the fire. The small is able to be taken camping, buckled into a crate or box in the truck or car. (They make a mini if you really are serious about camping and don’t want to haul a 60 lb small BGE.)

There are many other accessories: dual racks, remote thermometers, a “guru” that adjusts the damper for temperature control, quick-read thermometers, cast-iron grills, dutch ovens, more.

What accessories do you want or need?

We found an instant-read thermometer is a must for doing roasts. While our normal instant-read is good, the Thermapen, an expensive very very fast instant read probe is considered the cadillac, as it requires you open the lid for only a short amount of time to get the temperature.

A remote probe is also nice (Maverick) but people report that the sensor transmits only over a short distance (less than 20 feet.) Don’t think you will be grilling on the patio and sitting down in your home theater miles away from the patio, therefore.

You can cook in an iron dutch oven, so a small (5qt) is a good investment; stews and gumbos have a special taste when cooked over charcoal.

Some people put paella pans, pizza stones and other items on the grill. Remember that the small is only a 12 inch grill surface and has limited height; for more versatile cooking, the larger Eggs are better.

You can do “beer can chicken” by either putting the chicken upended on a beer can or buy a rack (ceramic or wire) to hold up the bird.

What tasted good?

Everything so far came out absolutely the best we ever grilled. Our usual lean flank steak was rubbed with a pepper-sugar-herb rub (available online) rather than being marinated as usual. It was crispy crusted and cooked to medium rare perfection and had a slight smoky taste we found compared to steak house restaurants. We cooked some potatoes slivered on a mandoline in thin slices and packed with garlic and onion in a pie pan covered with foil. (Dual racks are available.)

We did a rump roast, very lean. Rubbed it with a lemon-pepper rub and roasted to 140 deg, then foiled it for 20 minutes. It was very juicy despite being very lean.

Some “Eggers” point out that they eat out far less often as they are producing better food than local restaurants in their area. There are a number of Fests where you can go and pick up tips, recipes and samples to try out. We went to one and learned some interesting recipes for vegetables and even jambalaya.

The only downside to a small sized egg is that the cooking surface does about 3-4 burgers, 2 steaks or one medium-small roast. If you cook for a big family gathering, a large Egg is probably a better bet. There are just two of us, so the small is perfect. Many Eggers find they start with a small and get a large for side-by-side cooking, and people who start with a large add a small to do additional things or to take on the road.

How to buy the Egg

Please note that the BGE is not authorized for internet sales (voids the lifetime warranty.) Some dealers do discount and one way to buy an Egg is to attend a Fest and pick up a demo model at the end. For the fact that the Egg has a long lifespan and is more versatile, we felt the price of the small was fair per use–we’ve cooked non-stop on it since we bought it and gave away the other grill we owned. We won’t be needing it anymore. We did opt for the Nest (brings it to convenient height and you can wheel it around the deck.) We added a platesetter, a v-roasting rack from an Egg dealer, and got a grill mat from the home center, to keep ash and grease off the deck.

Summary

We think this is the best grill/cooker we’ve ever owned. The charcoal flavor on meats and fish is beyond compare, and it even cooks vegetables, bread and dessert. It’s versatile and fun to use. We look forward to cooking on weekends because it’s fun and we make up food for the weekdays when we don’t want to cook when we get home. On nights when we do cook, it doesn’t take long to get a dinner going, and cleanup is minimal. A big success.

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