The Bottom Line
Pros
- Ceramic shell holds heat for even cooking
- Excellent ventilation gives you great heat control
- Works great as a smoker
- Can be shut down to snuff out remaining charcoal
Cons
- Costs around $900
Description
- 24 inch diameter cooking surface (452 square inches)
- Top vent cap is cast iron - bottom vent is stainless steel
- Heavy ceramic shell holds heat and stops temperature fluctuations
- Glazed interior makes it easy to clean
- Spring loaded lid for easy lifting
Guide Review - Big Green Egg XL
The ceramic shell of the big green egg is strong and able to withstand a wide range of temperatures so you don't have to worry about it cracking if you heat it up on a freezing cold day. What makes this grill work so well is that the heat is held inside. Even at its highest temperature the outside remains relatively cool (though I wouldn't go putting my hand on it). Because of this efficiency of the design you will find that you don't use as much charcoal as you would on comparably sized grills. When you are done cooking you can close up the vents to stop the remaining charcoal inside from burning and hence save it for your next cookout.
Heat is controlled on this grill by a vent in the bottom of the unit and another one on the top. These vents are simple to use but give you a great deal of control. In fact I find that you get better heat control on this charcoal grill than you do on most gas grills.
Big Green Egg and their dealers are renowned for their service and support so you can really trust making this investment. Eggs tend to last for a long time so while the $1,100 price tag on the Big Green Egg XL may seem high divide that out by the ten year minimum you will get out of the grill and it really is a reasonable investment.
This grill is only available through authorized dealers. Check out Big Green Egg's dealer locater to find one.
Looking for something a little smaller? Try the Big Green Egg-Large.


