Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen Outdoor Kitchen Design Discuss Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen in the Outdoor Kitchens and Living Rooms forums; Originally Posted by gjbingham I've heard about the Big Green Egg many times, but never seen one. Briquettes are kind ...

[Doc]

Originally Posted by gjbingham

I've heard about the Big Green Egg many times, but never seen one. Briquettes are kind of a pain. Do you use lighter fluid or one of the chimney starting devices to get it going?
G.

First, you are correct ... briquettes are a pain and are not particularly good fuel. They contain too many fillers (cornstarch, etc), make way too much ash, and can flavor food in a not-so-good way. The BGE uses lump charcoal which is whole wood converted to charcoal. For a good description of various charcoals visit nakedwhiz.com (I promise it is a good site ... not what you may think at first) and check out Doug's lump charcoal database. He also has a good bit of info about the "egg".

I NEVER use lighter fluid in my eggs (I have a large and a small). They are made of a high-temp ceramic and I don't want the chemicals in the fluid on them. Also, I don't like the taste of the fluid residuals in my food. You can use a chimney type starter but I simply use a propane torch and light a small area in the center of the load of charcoal. With lump charcoal, about 60 seconds with the torch gets a large enough hot spot going to light the entire mass. With both dampers open, the egg will go to over 500 degrees (F) in about 20 minutes.

Since this isn't a forum about the BGE, if you want more info or links about the "egg", PM me and I'll help direct you to some egg information.

[dwm3546]

forget gas except for quick cooking I use the "BIG GREEN EGG"

[Bandrasco]

For what it's worth I picked up an electrolux Icon 51"multi burner-lifetime guarantee with infrared searing zone along with the infrared rotisserie zone. 3 years in the outside uncovered Florida humid elements it's still cooking like a champ. we use it at least 3 times a week, more in the summer. Still looks great.

I plan on getting a stainless steel rack made for my pizza oven so I can grill some meat over the coals. That will be very cool. Thats actually how I got this idea to build a wfo. I started looking at an addition to my already freakin huge outdoor kitchen and then saw one of these and said to myself, "myself' this would be the ultimate challenge"...So I jumped in. Not with out the help of everyone in this forum.

Thanks,

[gjbingham]

Almost a year later, and after much searching, reading, and hand wringing, I finally decided on a BBQ.
For those of you searching for a grill, I'd recommend that you visit BBQguys.com website. They have vids of their major brands in use which also shows their major components and . While they don't point out too many flaws in the BBQs, they give you a great idea what to look for and what you are getting for the money. Following RT's lead on the Lynx grill, I ignored them completely.
Personally, I loved the TEC grills, all infra-red design, and state of the art. Wierd noise though when you cook with them, and no flames! ???? What fun is that?
Then based on the reviews, Fire Magic (and another) was right behind that. Nice grills, some stupid digital thermometer newly added, but not to be used as a probe in a roast. (?) Same price as the TEC, but not as cool. Decisions, decisions......
Two young kids and goofing off for a living has my wallet a bit more strapped than I figured, so I settled on the American Outdoor Grill (AOG) grill made by the same manufacturer of the Fire Magic Grill. A great grill (so far) at half the price. I suspect that somewhere along the way I will decide that I got what I paid for, but so far, the thing has totally fulfilled my expectations. It's got an infra-red burner and infra-red rotisserie burner built in. If it lasts more than just a few years, then I'll feel good about the purchase. Much like the pizza oven, the hair on my hands quickly disappears over that IR burner. Hot hot hot!!!
Pics to follow......

[RTflorida]

Interesting you mention Fire Magic, that was my second choice at the time (probably should have bought it). The TEC grills were just coming on the scene and although the folks at the grill stores raved about them, I wasn't completely sold (they were a few hundred $ more at the time than my Lynx, so that weighed on the decision as well).
Since I have ZERO desire to give Lynx any more of my money I am going to check out BBQguys, just to stay up on things.....I could burn another big hole in one of my "lifetime warranty" burners any day.

RT