Kitchen

Big Green Egg

Classic ceramic smoker/bbq

The Big Green Egg is an awesome-looking ceramic smoker with amazing heat retention. Modeled after the ceramic kamado pots used in Japan, the “BGE” has been around since the 70’s, but has developed a rabid fan base in recent years (They call themselves “eggheads”). It’s easy to see why people love them. The BGE gets to temperature in 10 minutes, allows a bag of charcoal to last for 6 months, and can cook from 150-700F. Thus, it enables proper smoking and grilling, where the flavor gets right into the meat.

The top and bottom halves feature a felt seal that’s virtually airtight; the only holes are a variable intake vent at the bottom front and a variable exhaust. With the combination of these vents you can vary and maintain the temperature to around 25 degrees of accuracy within that 150-700F range. This keeps all the smoke and heat inside, while also limiting the amount of fuel burned. Like an oven, the ceramic doesn’t develop hot spots, so the cooking is completely even and food stays moist and juicy (We’ve had awesome pulled pork, ribs and steaks).

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With the right accessory, you can also use the BGE as a clay oven for cooking pizza, tandoori and even pies. We have the XL BGE, which is massive enough for smoking 15 chickens at once! The smaller BGEs are cheaper, of course, though not cheap. Still, you can basically do everything on a BGE that you can on a regular grill. Our old bbq and BGE sit side-by-side on our back patio; these days, we only use the BGE.

-- Matt Field 02/11/08

(NOTE: A reader pointed out that the Big Green Egg Company has an odd policy regarding "internet retailers." The manufacturer does NOT honor the warranty if you purchase online instead of ordering from an offline retailer. -- SL — editors)

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