OT- ceramic grill?
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Couldn't be happier with my Big Green Egg!
I've made everything from steaks to cheesecakes (candied bacon ) yes, it's good!
Most of them,are,all made virtually the same though. The accessories they sell are what end up costing you though..
If you have the budget, I’ve heard nothing but great things about the Big Green Egg. If your wife is like mine and isn’t sold on spending $2,000+ on a grill, I love my Weber charcoal kettle grill. I have the 26” and it was a little over $100. You can do all the normal grilling on it and smoke ribs and pork butts, etc.
It isn’t nearly as nice as a BGE or ceramic grill, but I have been really impressed with it so far. I just did a spatchcocked turkey on it and it turned out great.
It isn’t nearly as nice as a BGE or ceramic grill, but I have been really impressed with it so far. I just did a spatchcocked turkey on it and it turned out great.
It really depends on what you are trying to achieve. I have a Weber Grill, XL BGE and the large Traeger. Each good in their own way. Best and EASIEST smoker is Traeger as you can set it and forget it. Quickest eats is Weber and BGE turns out best food product and most versatile.
I was reluctant to get a smoker because I don't cook large quantities of food. So I found the Green Mountain "tailgate" edition - I think it's called the Davy Crockett - and it is perfect for both smoking and grilling. Same pellet system with WiFi that is in the larger Green Mountain smokers, but in a size and price (about $300) that works great for me. Only thing i didn't like were the cheap portable legs. But since I don't actually use it for tailgating, I just removed those legs and built a stand for it out of wall block and a slab of flagstone.
What’s your opinion of the Monolith grill guru edition- comes standard with a lot of accessories that cost $$$ with BGE
Assuming quality of construction is the same I LOVE that wood pellet feature on the Monolith. On the BGE you have to add all your wood at once and hope it doesn't burn off to quickly on long smokes etc.
Can't go wrong on either. BIG deal is search some comments to find how well the ceramic shell holds up and what temp it is insulated to. My BGE holds temp in -20 weather. ALSO...ask the MAX temp you can hit. I can get the BGE upwards of 800 degrees for searing. HAVE them assemble so everything is tight and in order. I like that thermometer also. My Traeger has that and makes monitoring easier.
I'm a big fan of ceramic kamados. Are they the best cooker for every type of cooking? Well no.
IMHO:
For straight grilling - a Weber, PK Grill or Santa Maria style grill would be best. (With the Weber being the cheapest)
For Hot Smoke - an offset style smoker or a pellet grill would be best.
For Cold Smoke - a dedicated smoke house would be best.
For Pizza - A dedicated wood fired stone / brick oven would be best.
If I had the money and space for all these style cookers I would have one of each. Problem is I don't have the money or the space so I have a ceramic kamado that is good at at 3 of these types of cooking. (except cold smoking)
Cost of operation is a major consideration once you lay out the initial investment. The kamado is a penny pincher when it comes to fuel. I've loaded it up and cooked for 13.5 hours and could've easily gone another 3 to 4 hours on that single load. How many slits of wood or pounds of pellets would it take to cook for 13.5 hours on offset style smoker or a pellet grill? Also how many times would you need to refuel the offset style smoker or a pellet grill to cook that long?
I started out with a Vision (from Costco) and later upgraded to a Primo Oval XL. I'd buy my Primo again in a heartbeat but whatever kamado you buy you'll love it.
Here are the Pros of the Primo as I see it:
1. I really like the versatility of the oval shape.
2. With the different accessory rack you can set it up with 4 different temperature zones during the same cook.
3. With fire box divider in I can cook on just half of it. Makes it kind of like a smaller kamado. Plus I can get a round D.O. in on one side and not worry about it overlapping the fire zone.
4. Made in the USA. (If that's important to you)
Cons as I see it:
1. Cost. You'll find that they run anywhere from an extra $300 to 700 depending on which accessories you buy.
2. Dealer network isn't as extensive as the BGE.
Here's a few pics of mine in action that will show you the versatility of the oval shape. It's an Oven:
Including Pizza.
Cooking on half:
Cooking over the fire.
Now on non-fire side.
Cooking at full capacity.
Ribs.
Sears with the best of them.
Paella anyone?
I'm not sure why the some of the pics won't show up/ I tried resizing / re-pasting them 3 times but you get the idea.
IMHO:
For straight grilling - a Weber, PK Grill or Santa Maria style grill would be best. (With the Weber being the cheapest)
For Hot Smoke - an offset style smoker or a pellet grill would be best.
For Cold Smoke - a dedicated smoke house would be best.
For Pizza - A dedicated wood fired stone / brick oven would be best.
If I had the money and space for all these style cookers I would have one of each. Problem is I don't have the money or the space so I have a ceramic kamado that is good at at 3 of these types of cooking. (except cold smoking)
Cost of operation is a major consideration once you lay out the initial investment. The kamado is a penny pincher when it comes to fuel. I've loaded it up and cooked for 13.5 hours and could've easily gone another 3 to 4 hours on that single load. How many slits of wood or pounds of pellets would it take to cook for 13.5 hours on offset style smoker or a pellet grill? Also how many times would you need to refuel the offset style smoker or a pellet grill to cook that long?
I started out with a Vision (from Costco) and later upgraded to a Primo Oval XL. I'd buy my Primo again in a heartbeat but whatever kamado you buy you'll love it.
Here are the Pros of the Primo as I see it:
1. I really like the versatility of the oval shape.
2. With the different accessory rack you can set it up with 4 different temperature zones during the same cook.
3. With fire box divider in I can cook on just half of it. Makes it kind of like a smaller kamado. Plus I can get a round D.O. in on one side and not worry about it overlapping the fire zone.
4. Made in the USA. (If that's important to you)
Cons as I see it:
1. Cost. You'll find that they run anywhere from an extra $300 to 700 depending on which accessories you buy.
2. Dealer network isn't as extensive as the BGE.
Here's a few pics of mine in action that will show you the versatility of the oval shape. It's an Oven:
Including Pizza.
Cooking on half:
Cooking over the fire.
Now on non-fire side.
Cooking at full capacity.
Ribs.
Sears with the best of them.
Paella anyone?
I'm not sure why the some of the pics won't show up/ I tried resizing / re-pasting them 3 times but you get the idea.
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Der never fails to impress with his BBQ prowess, he's the Steven Raichlen of the board!
My parents have a Trager. They’re really nice and very simple. My mom uses it all the time. She’s a great cook but never grilled or smoked anything before the Trager. It is pretty user friendly.
The pro/con about pellet setups is that they are somewhat ‘set it and forget it.’ Which is great for a lot of people, but I love the process of smoking/BBQing/grilling. I love all the steps, the tinkering, the whole science of it all. So a pellet unit doesn’t really appeal to me as much. But they turn out great food and are perfect for a lot of people.
The pro/con about pellet setups is that they are somewhat ‘set it and forget it.’ Which is great for a lot of people, but I love the process of smoking/BBQing/grilling. I love all the steps, the tinkering, the whole science of it all. So a pellet unit doesn’t really appeal to me as much. But they turn out great food and are perfect for a lot of people.
He's the Hugh Hefner of food porn.
I'm a big fan of ceramic kamados. Are they the best cooker for every type of cooking? Well no.
IMHO:
For straight grilling - a Weber, PK Grill or Santa Maria style grill would be best. (With the Weber being the cheapest)
For Hot Smoke - an offset style smoker or a pellet grill would be best.
For Cold Smoke - a dedicated smoke house would be best.
For Pizza - A dedicated wood fired stone / brick oven would be best.
If I had the money and space for all these style cookers I would have one of each. Problem is I don't have the money or the space so I have a ceramic kamado that is good at at 3 of these types of cooking. (except cold smoking)
Cost of operation is a major consideration once you lay out the initial investment. The kamado is a penny pincher when it comes to fuel. I've loaded it up and cooked for 13.5 hours and could've easily gone another 3 to 4 hours on that single load. How many slits of wood or pounds of pellets would it take to cook for 13.5 hours on offset style smoker or a pellet grill? Also how many times would you need to refuel the offset style smoker or a pellet grill to cook that long?
I started out with a Vision (from Costco) and later upgraded to a Primo Oval XL. I'd buy my Primo again in a heartbeat but whatever kamado you buy you'll love it.
Here are the Pros of the Primo as I see it:
1. I really like the versatility of the oval shape.
2. With the different accessory rack you can set it up with 4 different temperature zones during the same cook.
3. With fire box divider in I can cook on just half of it. Makes it kind of like a smaller kamado. Plus I can get a round D.O. in on one side and not worry about it overlapping the fire zone.
4. Made in the USA. (If that's important to you)
Cons as I see it:
1. Cost. You'll find that they run anywhere from an extra $300 to 700 depending on which accessories you buy.
2. Dealer network isn't as extensive as the BGE.
Here's a few pics of mine in action that will show you the versatility of the oval shape. It's an Oven:
Including Pizza.
Cooking on half:
Cooking over the fire.
Now on non-fire side.
Cooking at full capacity.
Ribs.
Sears with the best of them.
Paella anyone?
I'm not sure why the some of the pics won't show up/ I tried resizing / re-pasting them 3 times but you get the idea.
Wow— NIce! When can I come over to eat and check that Primo out?