The CheckerBoard

I've tried the flat Brisket as well on the BGE and it is the hardest thing for me to perfect. Both of mine had good flavor but they were just not very tender as most meats that i cook on the Egg. I am thinking about trying a whole brisket to see if that cooks any better. Check on some of the BGE forums and you should find plenty of discussions about the brisket but i have not yet mastered it either.

I think the BGE is the best gift i have ever received in my entire life. My wife got me the large egg a couple years ago for my birthday i don't think i have used my other grill or smoker since that day. They are expensive but well worth the investment in my opinion. I cook a lot of steak, chicken and fish on it and i have gotten to the point where i don't like to order those things in the best restaurants because i think that i can make it better than most places on my BGE. I also make a lot of barbecue(pork shoulder) on the BGE and i think it is better than anywhere i can buy it in Nashville. Definitely worth getting one if you like to grill and enjoy eating all kinds of meat and fish.

I agree with everything stated. Love mine, and haven't turned on the gas grill in a year and a half. I am moving up to a full shoulder this spring, but ribs, wings, pork tenderloin, all have turned out awesome. I wouldn't trade mine in for anything.

I highly recommend it to anyone. Once you cook your first piece of meat on it you will be sold. Like I said at the beginning of all the things I've cooked they've all turned out really well, except the brisket. I'm a decent cook but the BGE makes me look like a pro. Similar to Jetervol, I've cooked fish, steaks, hamburgers, ribs, chicken, whole chickens, half chickens, several butts, pizzas, cookies, the list goes on. If you like cooking and want something to tinker around with during the day it is fun. I usually do butts from midnight until about 2 or 4 in the afternoon the next day and I think it's great bbq. I like it better than a lot of local places in Charlotte.

I always tell my wife if anything happens to it, I'd go out and buy another one that day. It really changed the way we eat. Since it's only the two of us and with work schedules we'd eat out all the time. Now with the BGE we eat at home a lot more and since we're in Charlotte we use it year round. I had a Charbroil (Lowes brand I think) gas grill for 5 years and everything I made on it was okay, it just wasn't anything special.

If you make a steak or even chicken breasts on the Egg it tastes completely different.

If you're looking into buying one the only drawback is the accessories. You'll end up paying anywhere from 750-1000 dollars for the large size egg. That will usually come with the nest (stand), a bag of lump, and maybe a couple accessories on top of that. Each place is different so I suggest calling around and see what they offer you in a package. I got the nest, bag of lump, and I think the electric charcoal starter for 899. Others were offering the same package within $100 of that.

I have a lot of accessories and they can get pricy, but I've built these up over the past 2 years. The main HAVE to HAVE accessory would be an ash tool and the plate setter. It allows you to cook indirect and costs $100 for the large I believe. I have that, I upgraded to a cast iron grate, I built a table out of Tigerwood because I didn't like the nest, half moon riser, half moon ceramic plate, several meat and dome thermometers, several different types of wood for smoking, and a few other things.

The coolest gadget I have is the BBQ guru. It's a fan, meat thermometer and dome thermometer that you hook up to set your parameters for long cooks. It works great for cooking butts, since I usually start them at midnight the fan blows air into the bottom to keep the fire and dome temp. at a consistent range. And it is extremely efficient, I've cooked for 16+ hours and it's kept the fire at the same temp the entire time. Some may say it's cheating a little since it is essentially turning your smoker into a oven. But it's worth every penny. I'd done about 10 butts without it and it's a lot of checking to make sure your fire is going, and making sure it's staying at the temp you want. The only drawback is that it's $350.

Again, I highly reccommend the BGE. I love the thing and I'll probably always own one. If you have any other questions let me know and I'll try to answer them.

BTW, my dad bought the Extra Large BGE and he wishes he would have gotten the large. It's too big and wastes a lot of charcoal. Says it doesn't do as well as mine holding low temps.

I'd avoid the XLBGE, I know my Dad uses his gas grill if he's making anything that he doesn't want to smoke. I use mine for everything. His main reason is it takes him a 1/2 hour to an hour just to stabilize at a decent temp, and uses a lot of lump. I can get mine to 350 and stable in 20 minutes and be ready to start cooking.

The most I've cooked at one time is 3 butts. I probably could have gotten one more on there but 3 seemed to be about right, keeping the butts under the plate setter and not over any direct heat.

I have always had food luck cooking brisket on my Egg- I usually put a pan full of apple juice between the place setter and the grill. 260 degrees until meat reaches 190 or so. Then I wrap immediately and place in fridge until it is cooled.
Usually 10lber takes around 12.
I too cook on a large Egg.

A grilled chicken breast maybe the biggest difference maker when using a BGE. It probably improves it more than anything I cook on the Egg because of how moist it remains- truly remarkable!

Not my favorite thing on the BGE but defiantly wins the award for Most Improved!

I brine whole chickens in water, salt and sugar.

Gotta use whole brisket. Brisket is tricky on BGE. I suggest injecting with apple/pineapple juice mixture, then rub with salt, pepper, or you choice of rub. Wrap in aluminum foil. Wrap in foil, cook for 2 hours, then pull foil. Smoke until done, basting with juice mixture thru smoking process. Long marinating periods don't seam to work well with brisket IMHO. U can run at higher temp and shorter cook time on BGE just don't go crazy.

That sounds good! Trying brining them in a water sugar salt solution. Some ppl like a little vinegar depending on the desired flavor profile. If your cooking super moist chicken on the BGE brining it can only make it better. But watch out don't brine to long or they will be way to salty.