Gas? Charcoal? Electric? Pellet? Kamado? WiFi-enabled? Flat-top? Are you exhausted yet?
By Paul Kita for Men’s Health
Published: Jul 02, 2024 8:41 AM EDT
The Incredible, Unbeatable Egg
When Big Green Egg offered to send me their Large Big Green Egg to test, I was kind of surprised. The company is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. Both Weber (officially Weber-Stephens Products) and Big Green Egg started in the 1970s and each brand has taken dramatically different paths. Weber is everywhere, BGE is only in select retailers. Weber markets-markets-markets, BGE seems cool with just hanging back. Weber has diversified into countless styles, BGE is, well, big and green and shaped like an egg. What did Big Green Egg feel like it needed to say? “Grilling is about family, friends, and neighbors. We want to get the word out about how the [Big Green Egg] can help to bridge the gap with the loneliness epidemic,” says Dan Gertsacov, who became the CEO of Big Green Egg in 2023. He’s not bullshitting, either. “People are emotionally and socially connected to our products,” Gertsacov says. He’s heard from the spouses of men involved in neighborhood BGE cooking clubs, who have told him that without their club, they wouldn’t have friends. He keeps a record of how many times a Big Green Egg shows up in someone’s obituary. (No, really.) People who love their Big Green Eggs refer to themselves, appropriately enough, as “Eggheads.” Gertsacov equates “breaking bread” with “sharing BBQ.” All of this may sound like complete hooey to you. I was skeptical, but I had played around with a Mini Big Green Egg years ago and remembered what a different and incredible product it was. Whether it’s a Mini or the Large, all Big Green Eggs largely operate the same: A coal-fed fire, nestled within a ceramic insert, can stoke incredibly hot temps and hold heat for a long time. Lid closed, the domed shape can act as an oven or, when you toss wood chunks or chips on the fire, a smoker. It’s simple—and that’s the entire point.