LG vs XL Big Green Egg

[eggzlot]

yeah not sure how the XL is a fuel hog. I've ran mine at 250 degrees +/- for over 24 hours straight without adding any more lump.

There is a lump reducing ring you can buy which will help you "pile" a smaller load of lump in the center of the egg for smaller/quicker cooks, or as others pointed out, just move all the lump to one side of the egg.

I am happy I got the XL egg, you can make it smaller if you want, and you have the larger capacity when needed.

If you like ribs, and like laying them flat pick up the adjustable rig from the ceramic grill shop. I can get 6 spares or 9 baby backs on my XL with that tool. Its a rib cooking machine!

[R2Egg2Q]

One thing has changed since this thread began back in 2008: the gap in accessories has closed. I'm having a hard time thinking of any accessory for the Lg that also doesn't exist for the XL.

As for saving lump, you can bank the lump to one side like this:


Or just build a smaller pile in the center or use a reducing ring:


Considering you have an Akorn, I would imagine you'd use it for smaller cooks.

If you just need more capacity for ribs you might see if the Adjustable Rig from the ceramicgrillstore would work in your Akorn and cook ribs on multiple tiers.

[fingerlickin']

You will have to pry my XL out of my cold dead hands. I farking love that thing. I had the same dilemma before I went with the XL. My buddy sells them and he had the L on the truck on the way to my house when I had an epiphany, so I called him and told him to load up the XL instead. Best move I could've made.

Now that's just me and maybe I am burning a tad more lump than I would with a L. I don't care, #1 I've never cooked on a large so I don't have any basis of comparison so maybe that's for the best and #2 to me it's worth it to be able to use it without all those racks and stuff, maybe because I'm lazy. I only have a plate setter and on occasion I use two bricks and the grate from my 22' kettle when I need an extra rack. I like to be able to go out and throw 4 racks of BB's right on the grate, or if I cook something in a pan I can get 2 half pans or 1 full disposable pan right on the grate. I'll bet with my second ghetto grate and 2 rib racks I could probably do 10 racks or more. I wanted to have something that had enough room to entertain and I've yet to find myself looking for more room.

Now that I look at this pic, I've actually had 2 racks of spares and 3 racks of BB's on there at once. I'm certain you could get this amount of meat on a large with some finagling, and someone will probably post some pics of just that. Which I encourage. It's nice to have all your options lined up for you.



In the end you'll probably end up just like me after reading everyone's different opinions on the L vs. XL....even more confused. I guess you really can't go wrong with either one, you know unless you pick the wrong one.

When I bought my 50in. TV it only took me a week to wish I'd have spent the extra money and got the 55. Just sayin'.

[eggzlot]

excellent point - forgot you can fit a full size pan into an XL egg, not the L egg. I've used that to do briskets, butts, large pan of sausage and peppers, etc.

[firefighter4634]

I have had my large Egg for over ten years and love it. The only draw back is that it does not hold a ton of food. But with a grate extender to double up you can cook a fair amount at one time. It really depends on how much food you plan on cooking at a time. With the xl if you cook mostly for two or four people you will use a lot more lump versus cooking the same amount of food on the large.

[Smoothsmoke]

Get the bigger one man. Cooking space even when not in use is good thing to have. Look at those wings, with all that room to maneuver.

[plowin-fire]

I have both. Started with the large. Worked great for two years. Then I realized most of the time I cook with it, there are people coming over and the demand for more space on the grid was present. Decided to buy the xl. Love the fact that I can get a full size foil pan on there. Then I bought the adjustable rig setup from cgs. That was the best investment for the xl there is. Can get a ton of food on there if needed and is very versatile in how you can set it up. Have gotten eight pork butts on there at one time. Didn't run out of charcoal either. It does use a little more that the large but nothing outrageous. After buying the xl, the large does get a bit lonely. But they do both get used the same time a lot too though.