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I have a BGE and love it. Last night, I did a raack of baby back ribs and two pork steaks, cut from the boston butt (shoulder). So good. But, a lot different from cooking steaks on an open flame (like the hibachi).

Turbodog wrote:I have a BGE and love it. Last night, I did a raack of baby back ribs and two pork steaks, cut from the boston butt (shoulder). So good. But, a lot different from cooking steaks on an open flame (like the hibachi).

That's the cool thing about a Mini Green Egg (which is made of the same ceramic as a Big Green Egg)--it can work very hibachi-like, because of the grill's close proximity to the burning charcoal. Yet it still has very precise temperature control, like its bigger brothers. With a fully loaded firebox, it will run for about 4 hours. You might want to look at the small, as it will hold a bit more food, yet still heats up quickly & will run for a bit longer without reloading. My mini serves as the weeknight complement to my Large BGE.

I'm attempting to insert a photo of steak cooking on the mini, using an after-market device to raise the grid a bit. I'll also try to insert a pic of pizza cooking atop two stones, also on the mini...here goes:

The price of the Mini is what stopped me. I was wanting something small for those times I want to throw a steak on for just me.

I've owned the Big Size, which I loved for all the fifteen years it lasted. If I could have only one backyard cooker, a large BGE or Primo would be it. You can do anything with them.

Let me show you what I've been looking at lately. Check out those rotisserie models at the bottom. Should I? I can think of million reasons not to

http://www.anbewleyfabricators.com/products.nxg

I want the 1000. Do you have pricing info ratcheese?

Carbon steel, as pictured, those units are going to run in the $15-35,000 range. That is just a guesstimate based on the JR Oyler which I know are $35,000 +-.
http://www.jrmanufacturing.com/oyler.html

Rotisserie and stainless take them on up there. But they are thermostatically controlled so you can leave them unattended overnight. No 24 hr babysitting.

The Oylers are electric assist and have some pretty sophisticated engineering in them, whereas those Bewleys I posted are 100% wood fired. They tell me that old man is the best but I've never cooked on one.

Both are made in the DFW area. J&R has a test kitchen so you can cook on the model(s) your interested in. I'm sure Bewley does also. We're getting ready to find out. I'm setting up a trip to Texas to work some details out now.

Looks like this thread is going a different direction than the OP, and I hate to keep diverting it (maybe it can be moved to a new discussion?), but have ya'll heard of the Backwoods Smokers? They're made here in Louisiana. I saw them everywhere last year at Memphis in May, and I think most of the winners in the competition were using these smokers.

http://backwoods-smoker.com/

crrush wrote:Looks like this thread is going a different direction than the OP, and I hate to keep diverting it (maybe it can be moved to a new discussion?), but have ya'll heard of the Backwoods Smokers? They're made here in Louisiana. I saw them everywhere last year at Memphis in May, and I think most of the winners in the competition were using these smokers.

http://backwoods-smoker.com/

Those are referred to as "gassers". Looks like they are best suited to pork ribs and maybe shoulders. Maybe the same company, I'm not sure, but there is a Louisiana company that is producing "pellet burners", also.

I have never entered a BBQ contest, but I can tell you that is a specialized type of cooking that doesn't have a lot to do with real world cooking.i.e., the judging is based on differing criteria, depending on the sponsor, association, individual judges, etc., A lot of it is showmanship, fun, and camaraderie. But there is also a lot of commercialization involved, as you can see on their website.

Here's a good explain about why serious BBQ people never use gas. http://www.jrmanufacturing.com/mercaptans.html

ratcheese wrote:I've owned the Big Size, which I loved for all the fifteen years it lasted. If I could have only one backyard cooker, a large BGE or Primo would be it.

I'm confused by this comment, as all BGEs have a lifetime warranty. Every dang component on the "real thing" is replaceable, so if something broke or wore out, you can easily get a new part. (Unless, of course, you had some other brand of kamado cooker...) I can't see how routine use could possibly wear out a BGE in 15 years: you might have to replace a metal detail part or two, but the ceramic doesn't wear out.

Anyway, Contractors' Discount on Albany Street in Kenner has the best prices around for Big Green Eggs; nice people, and they'll deliver & set up, too.

hungryone wrote:I'm confused by this comment, as all BGEs have a lifetime warranty. Every dang component on the "real thing" is replaceable, so if something broke or wore out, you can easily get a new part. (Unless, of course, you had some other brand of kamado cooker...) I can't see how routine use could possibly wear out a BGE in 15 years: you might have to replace a metal detail part or two, but the ceramic doesn't wear out.

Anyway, Contractors' Discount on Albany Street in Kenner has the best prices around for Big Green Eggs; nice people, and they'll deliver & set up, too.

You are confused because I was imprecise, as I tend to be...sorry. I wrongly used the term BGE as a generic term.

In the late seventies, I bought what I believe they are now selling as a Kamado. The BGE's are made on that traditional model as far as I can tell. They look the same.

It was the first I had ever seen and it was fabulous. Back then, they did not come with a stand. They sat directly on the ground and over the years they tended to disintegrate even if you sat them on bricks, etc.,

Judging by today's stands, they learned that lesson and that's a good thing.

ratcheese wrote:Those are referred to as "gassers". Looks like they are best suited to pork ribs and maybe shoulders. Maybe the same company, I'm not sure, but there is a Louisiana company that is producing "pellet burners", also.

I have never entered a BBQ contest, but I can tell you that is a specialized type of cooking that doesn't have a lot to do with real world cooking.i.e., the judging is based on differing criteria, depending on the sponsor, association, individual judges, etc., A lot of it is showmanship, fun, and camaraderie. But there is also a lot of commercialization involved, as you can see on their website.

Here's a good explain about why serious BBQ people never use gas. http://www.jrmanufacturing.com/mercaptans.html

I think a few of the bigger Backwoods come with a gas "option", but the smaller versions are charcoal and wood only -- I'm with you on the use of gas. And, competition bbq is definitely a different beast than what we do in the backyard. Memphis in May was an eye-opener -- I'm not bragging when I say I think I can make better ribs than most of what we tasted there. Just a statement about the judging criteria. There was a lot of "meat jello" and sweet-sweet sauce.

Me, I use a Weber Smokey Mountain. It's an incredibly versatile and efficient cooker -- you can use it for long, indirect cooks, or re-jigger it for direct heat, or even "smoke-roasting".