XL Big Green Egg Review

by Curt McAdams - Bucky McOinkums BBQ
(Dayton, OH)

XL Big Green Egg Cooker

First of all, I have to say that I’m partial to charcoal/wood cooking over gas. I have nothing against gas, but it just doesn’t impart that extra bit of flavor that wood does.

With that said, I’ve had a variety of smokers and grills, from Chargrillers to Weber kettle grills, but I’d seen Big Green Eggs online and at competitions, and I always wanted to try one. For those that don’t know what one is, it’s a ceramic cooker that’s kind of egg shaped, and it’s green. There are other ceramic cookers, but the BGE is the most popular.

Last Spring I got my chance. A friend was going to an Eggfest, a weekend of learning how to cook on BGEs. When these are held, the demo units are sold at a great price, so I pulled the trigger and got an XL BGE that my friend brought to me from the Eggfest.

Since that time, I’ve rarely used any of my other smokers or grills.

The reasons for this are:
I use much less charcoal than with my other grills/smokers
I can set the BGE for smoking or baking and just leave it alone until it’s time to check on the food. This is due to the ceramic construction, the unit holds heat very well, so it works well for both low and slow smoking as well as higher temperature baking.

I can cook just about anything on the BGE, from bread to steaks to brisket. The XL has enough room to smoke 2 packer briskets and 4 Boston butts at the same time. I can get a good night’s sleep when I’m smoking since I don’t have to fiddle with the BGE once it’s set at 225 degrees!

The reason I got the XL instead of the standard Large is that the cooking area is almost doubled. By adding a second rack, I can get even more on the BGE, and a 27 lb turkey fits with no problem.

The units are pretty tightly constructed, allowing air only to come in at the bottom vent and out the top of the dome. This allows for really good temperature control, and the ceramic allows for very even heating. Accessories like the plate setter allow for indirect cooking/smoking, and the pizza stones allow higher temperature cooking without burning the bottoms of the food.

If you’re looking for the most versatile cooker on the market, this is as far as you need to look. Chances are you’ll be looking for excuses to cook outside.

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See Curt McAdam's interview with the Gas Grill Review