Big Steel Keg or BGE?

[Fife]

Good luck with choice

 

[Bonewagon]

Wonder what happens over 800F with the BSK? It's all steel

Nothing. I can hold my hand on the outside while I'm cooking at about 800˚ and it's warm, but it doesn't burn. It's pretty well insulated.

 

[AndreasMergner]

Thanks Ted! I am the "friend" Ted was talking about. :-D

I cook a lot of different foods, but lately I have been cooking pizzas in my oven on half height fire bricks while using the self clean cycle. There are some drawbacks to this method including the smoke that is produced, especially if cheese hits the 700 degree bricks. Being able to cook outside will be much better in that regard.

I also want to try my hand at BBQ and grilling/searing. I love ribs, brisket and pulled pork. The ability to make my own how I like it will be a real plus.

Ted told me about the BGE and I looked into it. I found all of the other ceramic grills and then the BSK.

I think buying a BSK would be a good idea for me, but I don't think they are available right now. A local Egg dealer has a deal for a large with nest, the grill clamp, ash tool and charcoal for $999. Is there any benefit of the BGE over the BSK?

Thanks!

 

[The Smokin Texan]

In my opinion the BGE is the way to go if you can afford it. The insulation on the ceramic cookers is unbeatable. My father in law has one and it holds the heat and fire for many hours of cooking, even after the coals have gone out. It is an amazing pit.

 

[Shooter McGrillin]

I think buying a BSK would be a good idea for me, but I don't think they are available right now. A local Egg dealer has a deal for a large with nest, the grill clamp, ash tool and charcoal for $999. Is there any benefit of the BGE over the BSK?

Thanks!

I mentioned it earlier, but I would take a look at the Kamado Joe if you're deciding between the two. It's virtually identical to the BGE (slightly nicer, IMO), but closer in price to the BSK. I got mine for $699 with nest, side tables, and ash tool at a local dealer - $300 less than the set-up you're looking at.

 

[Baby Back Maniac]

In my opinion the BGE is the way to go if you can afford it. The insulation on the ceramic cookers is unbeatable. My father in law has one and it holds the heat and fire for many hours of cooking, even after the coals have gone out. It is an amazing pit.

Actually, the insulation on the keg is a little bit better, but that's got it's good and it's bad points. As much as I appreciate the efficient use of charcoal how it's almost impossible for my 3 year told to burn himself on the outside of the keg, I might have traded some of that effeciency for the ability to radiate a little more heat (and thereby cool down the internal temps a little faster) when I need it too.

Everything has trade offs.

 

[Bonewagon]

Either cooker is going to do a great job. The Egg and the Keg both have their strengths and weakness IMHO the differences between the two are minor enough for me, that it seems like splitting hairs.

If you want the opinion of someone who owns both check out Braddog's review.

 

[Fife]

Good Luck

 

[AndreasMergner]

The closest Kamado Joe dealer is about 1.25 hour drive away. I might be able to swing by the dealer when we drive to the in-laws for Easter.

I can only find BSKs online for $700 shipped right now. I think they come with a rack that normally would be extra for the ceramics, but that is about it. I do like the idea that I wouldn't be able to break the BSK as easily if I move to another house or knock it over.

 

[Boshizzle]

The BSK is tough. It's not as delicate as the BGE. If I were going to move it around a lot, I would go for the BSK over the BGE. And, the BSK and Bubba Kegs make great pizza too.

 

[Zippylip]

Thanks Ted! I am the "friend" Ted was talking about. :-D

I cook a lot of different foods, but lately I have been cooking pizzas in my oven on half height fire bricks while using the self clean cycle. There are some drawbacks to this method including the smoke that is produced, especially if cheese hits the 700 degree bricks. Being able to cook outside will be much better in that regard.

I also want to try my hand at BBQ and grilling/searing. I love ribs, brisket and pulled pork. The ability to make my own how I like it will be a real plus.

Ted told me about the BGE and I looked into it. I found all of the other ceramic grills and then the BSK.

I think buying a BSK would be a good idea for me, but I don't think they are available right now. A local Egg dealer has a deal for a large with nest, the grill clamp, ash tool and charcoal for $999. Is there any benefit of the BGE over the BSK?

Thanks!

Andreas, $999 is a little steep, if you want a break on the price consider attending an eggfest. They hold them all over the country & they are all hosted by local dealers. At the fest, you can register to cook on an egg & then buy it at a fairly significant discount. The fests are fun, & depending on their size they will have anywhere from 10 to 50 or more eggs cooking at once. You can pick up a tremendous amount of information on how to use it as well. The next one that's reasonably close to Albany is Waldorf Maryland, just outside of DC. They are offering a package deal on a Large BGE with nest and free registration to the fest itself for $699, so you can save yourself $300 & have a good time, meet a bunch of cooks, learn alot, & perhaps join the after party where the real fun begins. Check it out:

http://waldorfeggfest.eventbrite.com/

By the way, I'm not affiliated in any way with the fest or the egg, rather, a happy owner of a couple eggs & enjoyer of the beverage enhanced nature of the event :becky:

 

[OakPit]

$999.00 for all of that is not a bad price. The dealer looks to be about 15% off of the unit and 10% off of the accessories. I'm a BGE dealer here in CA and for a new BGE, that's a good price in our area.

Does the BSK have a lifetime warranty and an obsessive cult following?

The Eggfests are indeed a great way to pick up an egg, but they don't always come with much more than a nest.

Remember, the Plate Setter...the MOST important accessory.

As always, my .02

 

[JS-TX]

$999.00 for all of that is not a bad price. The dealer looks to be about 15% off of the unit and 10% off of the accessories. I'm a BGE dealer here in CA and for a new BGE, that's a good price in our area.

Does the BSK have a lifetime warranty and an obsessive cult following?

The Eggfests are indeed a great way to pick up an egg, but they don't always come with much more than a nest.

Remember, the Plate Setter...the MOST important accessory.

As always, my .02

Although the BGE is a fine cooker, that obsessive cult following you mention is a turn off for a lot of people. I've been to their forum.. any mention of cookers is like high treason over there.

 

[OakPit]

Although the BGE is a fine cooker, that obsessive cult following you mention is a turn off for a lot of people. I've been to their forum.. any mention of cookers is like high treason over there.

Absolutely. I've seen things get pretty ugly on the Egg Forum. I was mostly referring to fellow Brethren who are passionate about them while respecting many different cooker options that others choose between.

 

[AndreasMergner]

$999 doesn't sound like that bad of a deal. $699 would be better, but a 7 hour drive might not be possible with a 12 week old girl. I like a good deal and it sounds like fun though! I could swing it by my wife since we have friends in Baltimore although that is an hour away.

How helpful is the lifetime warranty? Sure, if the Egg cracks, that is a problem and would be covered, but I can't imagine anything else would fail...it would just wear out or rust which wouldn't be covered. I guess that would be a significant issue for the BSK, perhaps?

Because I'm curious, I started a thread on building a hybrid brick oven / kamado here: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1612112#post1612112

It might be a stupid idea, but I like to think about these things. I don't know if I'll really go down that route, but it is a possible option.

 

[Zippylip]

Although the BGE is a fine cooker, that obsessive cult following you mention is a turn off for a lot of people. I've been to their forum.. any mention of cookers is like high treason over there.

No doubt. I began lurking on the BGE forum when I got my first egg in 04, then joined as a member in 08. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time there (still do), have been to many fests, met many members over the years & have made a lot of good friends. There is an obsessive cult nature & it’s embraced. That is mostly a good thing but can at times be a bad thing. Many members (me included) don’t cook exclusively on eggs & are moderate in their attitude towards other cookers, accepting all. There is some smaller percentage that believe the egg is the end all be all & nothing else is worthy (as there are with some owners of any type or brand of cooker). Seems to me that is a ridiculous position to take as it relates to any cooker. It’s my theory that those that fall into that category are mostly people that didn’t really cook prior to getting, for example, an egg. When they begin cooking on it (& because of it) they believe there’s some element of magic to it because the food is so good, ignoring the fact that the food would be just as good on any other cooker had they went a different route & bought (or built) & learned how to operate a different cooker. In the end, any cooker is just a tool, if you know how to work it it’ll serve its intended purpose & yield great results. The best cooker in the world is the one that’s currently cooking your dinner at any given moment provided you know how to work it.

 

[Zippylip]

How helpful is the lifetime warranty? Sure, if the Egg cracks, that is a problem and would be covered, but I can't imagine anything else would fail...it would just wear out or rust which wouldn't be covered. I guess that would be a significant issue for the BSK, perhaps?

Andreas, I can offer a few examples. The interior of the egg contains 3 parts, a fire box, ring, and grate. The box & ring are ceramic & the grate is cast iron. Over the years of intense heat, they will all crack & need to be replaced. My first box & ring cracked after about 3 or 4 years of use (I do a lot of extreme temperature cooking though). Even cracked they remained useful & in the egg till this year (#7) when the box finally caved in. The grate also warped & cracked. All three items were replaced under the warranty (probably well over $100 worth of stuff). When I removed the box to place the new one in, I noticed a hairline crack in the base of the egg, about 7 inches long, that went all the way through. It was high heat related & BGE is replacing it as well (a several hundred dollar part). Basically anything can fail so the warranty is very helpful.

here is the firebox:

and the grate:

kind of hard to see in this picture, but the ring you see sitting ontop of the firebox is cracked & in about 3 or 4 pieces:

Like I said, the cracks you see were all there for years, they just got worse & worse to the point where a large section of the box caved in & I had to replace it. I was also losing large chuncks of lump through the grate. I could've made the warranty claim years ago but opted to squeeze every last cook out of the broken but still useful parts basically for environmental reasons...

here's a shot of the crack in the base. I'm picking up my new base in a couple weeks. I've continued to use the egg for a couple months after discovering this & it hasn't had any impact on the usefulness of the egg, but I am concerned that it will worsen & become a problem, thus the replacement: