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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2014 19:40:21 GMT
Bradley's are cool, same principal as a pellet grill for the most part. JDave, get what makes you happy, it IS your money after all. Eggs are great, just not in the slightest bit portable. If you insist on going ceramic though, I'd take a look at a Primo. The oval shape allows you to cook things like ribs much easier. Plus, it's the ONLY kamado made in America. Not that it really matters these days lol. Just trying to help. I've cooked on just about every type of grill and smoker imaginable so you take take my advice or leave it Primo
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Post by Ramen on Dec 3, 2014 23:12:43 GMT
Bradley's are cool, same principal as a pellet grill for the most part. JDave, get what makes you happy, it IS your money after all. Eggs are great, just not in the slightest bit portable. If you insist on going ceramic though, I'd take a look at a Primo. The oval shape allows you to cook things like ribs much easier. Plus, it's the ONLY kamado made in America. Not that it really matters these days lol. Just trying to help. I've cooked on just about every type of grill and smoker imaginable so you take take my advice or leave it PrimoAside from the cost, the main concern that I've got about kamado's and other charcoal grills has to do with regulating the heat. But looking at these, it seems that might not be as big a deal as say the standard metal charcoal grill. How easy is it to maintain constant heat without frequently adjusting the vents? Not going to buy one anytime soon (again, the cost), but I'm more interested in them now than before.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2014 23:24:50 GMT
They are VERY easy to maintain the heat. If you want an entry level Kamado, try the Char-Griller Akorn. It is made of steel and is also light and portable. It is not nearly as well insulated as the Keg but it will match the ceramics for thermal efficiency. Kamados use very little fuel compared to other charcoal grills. The Keg is 2.5 times more thermally efficient than a ceramic kamado so you can cook a LONG time on one load of lump. I've done 28 hour cooks (low and slow) with about 4 pounds of lump charcoal. A buddy of mine ran his at 225 for 50 hours on a heavy loaded fire bowl once! It's so well insulated that you can actually rest your hand on it at 750°! Try that on a regular grill and you'll be going the E.R. LOL!  Sorry, got off on a tangent! Here is the Akorn I'm talking about, cool little grill for the money. It, like all grills, has a learning curve but once you got it, you got it. Here's a great deal on one - Akorn $200.00 CraigslistOne with a cart at Home Depot
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Post by JDaveG on Dec 5, 2014 17:12:41 GMT
Bradley's are cool, same principal as a pellet grill for the most part. JDave, get what makes you happy, it IS your money after all. Eggs are great, just not in the slightest bit portable. If you insist on going ceramic though, I'd take a look at a Primo. The oval shape allows you to cook things like ribs much easier. Plus, it's the ONLY kamado made in America. Not that it really matters these days lol. Just trying to help. I've cooked on just about every type of grill and smoker imaginable so you take take my advice or leave it PrimoAside from the cost, the main concern that I've got about kamado's and other charcoal grills has to do with regulating the heat. But looking at these, it seems that might not be as big a deal as say the standard metal charcoal grill. How easy is it to maintain constant heat without frequently adjusting the vents? Not going to buy one anytime soon (again, the cost), but I'm more interested in them now than before. From everyone I've spoken to that owns one, regulating heat on the BGE is a piece of cake. I haven't actually used one, but that's what I've heard.
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Post by JDaveG on Dec 5, 2014 17:14:03 GMT
They are VERY easy to maintain the heat. If you want an entry level Kamado, try the Char-Griller Akorn. It is made of steel and is also light and portable. It is not nearly as well insulated as the Keg but it will match the ceramics for thermal efficiency. Kamados use very little fuel compared to other charcoal grills. The Keg is 2.5 times more thermally efficient than a ceramic kamado so you can cook a LONG time on one load of lump. I've done 28 hour cooks (low and slow) with about 4 pounds of lump charcoal. A buddy of mine ran his at 225 for 50 hours on a heavy loaded fire bowl once! It's so well insulated that you can actually rest your hand on it at 750°! Try that on a regular grill and you'll be going the E.R. LOL!  Sorry, got off on a tangent! Here is the Akorn I'm talking about, cool little grill for the money. It, like all grills, has a learning curve but once you got it, you got it. Here's a great deal on one - Akorn $200.00 CraigslistOne with a cart at Home DepotI'll definitely take a look at it. The cost of the BGE is the biggest x-factor, so a cheaper alternative that's just as good would be fine with me. The thing for me is this -- I don't know anyone who bought a BGE and said "man, I wish I'd gotten something else." Literally everyone I know who has one raves about how awesome they are. That may be confirmation bias, but I have yet to hear a bad thing about them.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2014 12:55:01 GMT
You will love a BGE, no doubt. I was originally looking at one myself, that's how my brother ended up with one. I have several friends "forum members on another forum that I've met over the years" that own a Keg that used to own or still may own a BGE and they like the Keg better. In reality a kamado is a kamado is a kamado. They ALL cook very similar, so much so that THAT portion becomes a non factor. I can cook the same on a $300.00 Akorn as I can a $4000.00 Viking kamado. So what's the difference in a BGE and a Keg? Mainly, it's the portability thing. You mentioned about the BGE having a lifetime warranty. It's true, it does. It's not what you think though. It will cover most but all things and not EVERY thing is lifetime either, check the small print. I can tell you what it doesn't cover. Breakage due to falling over and I'll go ahead and tell you, this happens a good bit. I have a buddy who used to sell BGEs in Alabama and he would tell me that people would come in, mad as hell, because they were rolling the heavy beast around, hit a rock or uneven spot on concrete and over she went! Can't put Humpty Dumpty back together again, and you're out of luck on the warranty. Ceramics also hold moisture and can and will crack over time. You'll be replacing that firebowl every so often, count on it.
The one thing that BGE has done is marketing. They've done a freaking fantastic job making themselves visible and everybody thinks because they've heard of it, it must be good! They ARE good, are they the best, no. But they're out there for the masses. Primo is a better ceramic, but again, it's ceramic. Also, to your statement about anyone who has never said "I wish I had gotten something else" let me offer you this. After spending a grand on something, would YOU say that yourself? Nope. Also, they have nothing to compare it to and have only cooked on a BGE. Lastly, a LARGE portion of people who buy a BGE do it for a "status" reason. They may cook a few burgers and dogs on it here and there, most eggs don't get used much. People like cooking with gas, they think that charcoal cooking takes too long so the poor egg sits unused. I see it all the time as I am in different peoples houses everyday. I see that they have and egg and I'll start talking about grilling and whatnot, most buy it for the fact they can say that they have an egg. Silly really.
I do A LOT of cooking on my grills. My kamados (Kegs) get the most use. I cook on them 3-5 times a week. I would buy them again in a blink. Granted, when I bought my kegs, they were called Big Steel Kegs then, I paid $679.00 for my BSK 4000 model, which came with a 2 tier grate (lower cast iron grate, stainless top grate), side shelves, a "multi tool" which is an ash removal tool and vent adjuster, cart with wheels and a receiver to sit on the hitch adapter for transporting it and a cover. They now are called Broil King Keg and sell for $899.00 w/o a cover. BUT they are still cheaper than an egg with all of those options. So.......in the midst of all of this kamado discussion, the end result is portability. If you are going to buy an egg and put it in an island and never plan on moving it, then no worries, go for it. It you want to load a kamado up on the back of your truck to go camping and eat better than everyone else or take it tailgating, get a keg. It's that simple really. Both make GREAT food (as long as you know how to cook that is, it's just a machine, not a miracle maker lol)
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Post by Ramen on Dec 6, 2014 14:13:08 GMT
You will love a BGE, no doubt. I was originally looking at one myself, that's how my brother ended up with one. I have several friends "forum members on another forum that I've met over the years" that own a Keg that used to own or still may own a BGE and they like the Keg better. In reality a kamado is a kamado is a kamado. They ALL cook very similar, so much so that THAT portion becomes a non factor. I can cook the same on a $300.00 Akorn as I can a $4000.00 Viking kamado. So what's the difference in a BGE and a Keg? Mainly, it's the portability thing. You mentioned about the BGE having a lifetime warranty. It's true, it does. It's not what you think though. It will cover most but all things and not EVERY thing is lifetime either, check the small print. I can tell you what it doesn't cover. Breakage due to falling over and I'll go ahead and tell you, this happens a good bit. I have a buddy who used to sell BGEs in Alabama and he would tell me that people would come in, mad as hell, because they were rolling the heavy beast around, hit a rock or uneven spot on concrete and over she went! Can't put Humpty Dumpty back together again, and you're out of luck on the warranty. Ceramics also hold moisture and can and will crack over time. You'll be replacing that firebowl every so often, count on it. The one thing that BGE has done is marketing. They've done a freaking fantastic job making themselves visible and everybody thinks because they've heard of it, it must be good! They ARE good, are they the best, no. But they're out there for the masses. Primo is a better ceramic, but again, it's ceramic. Also, to your statement about anyone who has never said "I wish I had gotten something else" let me offer you this. After spending a grand on something, would YOU say that yourself? Nope. Also, they have nothing to compare it to and have only cooked on a BGE. Lastly, a LARGE portion of people who buy a BGE do it for a "status" reason. They may cook a few burgers and dogs on it here and there, most eggs don't get used much. People like cooking with gas, they think that charcoal cooking takes too long so the poor egg sits unused. I see it all the time as I am in different peoples houses everyday. I see that they have and egg and I'll start talking about grilling and whatnot, most buy it for the fact they can say that they have an egg. Silly really. I do A LOT of cooking on my grills. My kamados (Kegs) get the most use. I cook on them 3-5 times a week. I would buy them again in a blink. Granted, when I bought my kegs, they were called Big Steel Kegs then, I paid $679.00 for my BSK 4000 model, which came with a 2 tier grate (lower cast iron grate, stainless top grate), side shelves, a "multi tool" which is an ash removal tool and vent adjuster, cart with wheels and a receiver to sit on the hitch adapter for transporting it and a cover. They now are called Broil King Keg and sell for $899.00 w/o a cover. BUT they are still cheaper than an egg with all of those options. So.......in the midst of all of this kamado discussion, the end result is portability. If you are going to buy an egg and put it in an island and never plan on moving it, then no worries, go for it. It you want to load a kamado up on the back of your truck to go camping and eat better than everyone else or take it tailgating, get a keg. It's that simple really. Both make GREAT food (as long as you know how to cook that is, it's just a machine, not a miracle maker lol) So what's the major difference between the King Keg and the Akorn other than price?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2014 14:20:24 GMT
Quality of materials. The Broil King Keg is a much more solid grill. The Akorn feels cheaply made by comparison, hence the price difference. The Keg is far more insulated than the Akorn, will hold heat better and use less fuel. The food they cook will taste the same though. The Akorn is a good buy if you're just going to use it at a normal rate, if you plan on cooking on it all of the time, you're going to want a keg or and ceramic kamado for longevity. Like I said earlier, the Akorn would be great for a entry level kamado cooker, let you get your feet wet so to speak. I have recommended them to people in the past.
Also, the keg can be hooked to a receiver and transported. It's the ONLY kamado that does this.
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Post by JDaveG on Dec 6, 2014 20:56:17 GMT
So.......in the midst of all of this kamado discussion, the end result is portability. If you are going to buy an egg and put it in an island and never plan on moving it, then no worries, go for it. It you want to load a kamado up on the back of your truck to go camping and eat better than everyone else or take it tailgating, get a keg. It's that simple really. Both make GREAT food (as long as you know how to cook that is, it's just a machine, not a miracle maker lol) That's pretty much it for me. I wouldn't take a full size kamado camping. Our camper is a pop up that doesn't lock and wouldn't keep anyone out if it did, so I wouldn't want to leave the grill when we leave the camper, and we don't want to have to have someone there all the time. We don't do any tailgating, so mine will stay on the back porch 24/7/365. I could try to find a used MiniMax (or another brand) to take camping, but even then, I'd probably use a little Weber instead. It just makes more sense to take a cheaper grill somewhere that you might end up having it stolen. If I had a BGE MiniMax from Craigslist, we're probably talking $300-400, and it's easy to carry off, so I wouldn't feel very good about leaving it in the camper or outside. We probably won't be doing any smoking anyway, so a Weber Smokey Joe makes more sense for the only portable use I'll need. Plus, when we're camping, we need the receiver hitch to pull the camper. Can you lock it to the receiver hitch? If so, that might induce me to get one down the road as a purely portable smoker/grill, because when we all go camping together, one of us could pull the camper and the other could take the grill. For now, it's not something I would do, but when I get a truck down the road a few years, I might get one of these as a 2nd.
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Post by Ramen on Dec 6, 2014 21:25:53 GMT
Second attempt at brisket tomorrow. Got a dalmatian rub on it in the fridge and a much better thermometer than before. The last one wasn't bad, just a little tough.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2014 23:02:36 GMT
JDave, yes you just buy a locking hitch pin and it's not going anywhere. Look for BGEs on CL, you can save some $$$. My brother bought his for $500.00 and the guy just had replaced the fire bowl with a new one. If you plan on doing low and slow cooks on it or baking, you're going to want to pick up a BGE plate setter as well. It's a diffuser and is a must have for indirect cooking. Good luck with it, you'll love it! Post some pics too 
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Post by Ramen on Dec 7, 2014 21:16:15 GMT
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Post by JDaveG on Dec 7, 2014 23:21:54 GMT
JDave, yes you just buy a locking hitch pin and it's not going anywhere. Look for BGEs on CL, you can save some $$$. My brother bought his for $500.00 and the guy just had replaced the fire bowl with a new one. If you plan on doing low and slow cooks on it or baking, you're going to want to pick up a BGE plate setter as well. It's a diffuser and is a must have for indirect cooking. Good luck with it, you'll love it! Post some pics too  How much do they weigh? I might seriously scout one of those out when I have a way to tote it around. Right now it makes little difference. I'm not putting a receiver hitch on my Fusion.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2014 0:33:49 GMT
Ramen, every grill has a learning curve. I NEVER overshoot my temp, EVER. I figured it out very quickly. The reason it takes time to come back down IF you overshoot is that it IS so thermally efficient. All of that insulation keeps it from consuming more lump than an egg. Ceramics cool down quicker because they don't retain the heat as well. I also use an ATC for overnight cooks for peace of mind. Automatic Temperature Controller to answer your next question, lol!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2014 0:36:59 GMT
BTW, I am not trying to sound like I know everything but I KNOW kamados. I've cooked on them and read everything I can find about them. All of them. I too was on the fence when I was in the market so that's why I'm posting these long winded responses. It all comes from experience. I had a choice and I chose what I chose. I am not rich by any means but I had the money to buy any kamado I wanted and went with the keg. As I said before, I get nothing in return for recommending it. I don't collect a check from broil king, just spreadin' the word!
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