Big green egg owners

whta

Well-known member
Messages
63
Location
Florida
Grill(s) owned
  1. Bull
Question for BGE owners. I’m currently in the research phase and I am leaning heavily towards the 700. For those that came from a BGE, we’re you ok with the lack of smoke flavor as compared to the BGE? Not saying “how great thou art” about egg, but a lot of reviews talk about the amount of smoke flavor is not as strong as ceramic smokers.

Also, I live in the St Petersburg / Tampa area of Florida, and we have a lot of humidity and I live within 1 mile of the salt water. How does your 700 stand up to the elements? Should I cover when not in use?

Lastly - i cook on the Egg about 3 times a week - burgers, pork chops, chicken, Salmon etc . How does the 700 stack up to those? I know it can cook them, but the egg is not a big deal to me to get started, BUT, the convenience factor is weighing heavily on my mind.

For clarification, I am keeping the egg, the 700 would be in addition to…
 
I have a kamado Joe and a rec teq 700. I love the bull but still prefer the flavor of the smoke from the Joe. We basically use the 700 during the week and the Joe on the weekend when I have more time. Hard to beat firing up the bull on the way home and having it hot when I get there. Smoke flavor definitely isn’t as strong on the bull but it works great from convenience.
We cook pork chops once a week on the bull and they’re great. Still haven’t decided the best way to cook chicken and we cook our burgers on the blackstone.
Overall the bull was a great addition to the kamado Joe and blackstone.
 
For some 20 years, I have used a large BGE and still use it today. Late last year, I bought a 590 and have since worked to adapt some cooks to it. I can tell you, I still do pork butts and ribs on my Egg. Burgers, pork chops and chicken are done on the 590. I have come around to using Bear Mountain Bold pellets to try and boost the smoke flavor. The bottom line for me was convenience of the 590 vs the BGE. Both have attributes and I'm working to settle differences where I can. Lump charcoal and its flavor captured me years ago. I cover my 590 here in east TN. It does a great job of late collecting yellow tree pollen floating around between thunderstorms........
 
Between my Weber Performers, large BGE, Blackstone and RT1250 I cook outside 5-6 times a week
I find the TR1250 to be a little more of a set and forget than the BGE and if I want more smoke I use a smoke tube
So far we’ve enjoyed everything that’s been cooked on the 1250 and I have no regrets for buying it
And it’s nice to have more real estate when cooking for parties
Will I ever get rid of one of my other grills or smokers and use the 1250 exclusively….probably not
I like having the option of choosing which grill/smoker I’m going to use based on what I’m cooking
By the way I lived in Tampa for 34 years
 
I had a Large BGE for 14 years and I cooked some amazing food on it over that time. In 2019 I bought a RT-700 and, no exaggeration, I never fired up the BGE again. Since then, I’ve bought two more recteqs and I believe the pellet grill hits a sweet spot in grilling for me.

Summer of 2020 I gave the Egg to my son-in-law and he couldn’t be happier with it. Do I get the same smoke flavor on the recteqs that I got with the BGE? No, and frankly I don’t miss it. I also don’t miss the mess of starting and cleaning a BGE, and I don’t miss the annual process of replacing the internal ceramic parts that broke, although BGE was good with their warranty.
 
For some 20 years, I have used a large BGE and still use it today. Late last year, I bought a 590 and have since worked to adapt some cooks to it. I can tell you, I still do pork butts and ribs on my Egg. Burgers, pork chops and chicken are done on the 590. I have come around to using Bear Mountain Bold pellets to try and boost the smoke flavor. The bottom line for me was convenience of the 590 vs the BGE. Both have attributes and I'm working to settle differences where I can. Lump charcoal and its flavor captured me years ago. I cover my 590 here in east TN. It does a great job of late collecting yellow tree pollen floating around between thunderstorms........
First - I love your photo. We have had 2 cavaliers over the years and we LOVE them.

One of the reasons I am looking at pellets is for the convenience factor. The last 2 times I did butts overnight, I was awakened a couple of times by the Thermapen smoke alarm - either the grill temp was rising or falling below my targets. Now, I've had my egg for over 10 years, so this was something I am used to, but it usually was never a problem before.

I was hoping to "move" my overnight cooks to the 700 for the "plug it and forget it" capability. I like the idea of setting the temp to 225 and going to bed, only to find it at 225 in the AM. I am concerned about the potential for only a little smoke flavor, just not sure if I'm willing to trade that off for a solid night's sleep :)
 
I had a Large BGE for 14 years and I cooked some amazing food on it over that time. In 2019 I bought a RT-700 and, no exaggeration, I never fired up the BGE again. Since then, I’ve bought two more recteqs and I believe the pellet grill hits a sweet spot in grilling for me.

Summer of 2020 I gave the Egg to my son-in-law and he couldn’t be happier with it. Do I get the same smoke flavor on the recteqs that I got with the BGE? No, and frankly I don’t miss it. I also don’t miss the mess of starting and cleaning a BGE, and I don’t miss the annual process of replacing the internal ceramic parts that broke, although BGE was good with their warranty.
Luckily (knock on wood), I've owned mine for over 10 years, and all I've replaced is the gasket 2 times. I will admit, the hinge will probably need replacing soon - but other than that, it's a workhorse.

For starting, I just use 90-proof rubbing alcohol, really fairly simple and inexpensive.

But, you mention you've owned 2 - how come? did they break / rust / rot, or just an upgrade :)
 
I have a kamado Joe and a rec teq 700. I love the bull but still prefer the flavor of the smoke from the Joe. We basically use the 700 during the week and the Joe on the weekend when I have more time. Hard to beat firing up the bull on the way home and having it hot when I get there. Smoke flavor definitely isn’t as strong on the bull but it works great from convenience.
We cook pork chops once a week on the bull and they’re great. Still haven’t decided the best way to cook chicken and we cook our burgers on the blackstone.
Overall the bull was a great addition to the kamado Joe and blackstone.
Again, as I have said to others, the convenience of "plug it and forget it" is very appealing.

Another area of concern is the app, and perhaps more specifically, the Recteq servers. Sounds like, on the Holidays, it's very slow to non-responsive for some, yes? Have you had any issues with the app, or do you not use it that much?
 
Actually I own 5 recteqs, three of which are pellet grills. I have a Wyldside, Matador, Bullseye, RT-340, RT-700. The first 2 on the list have nothing in common with the others, the Bullseye is my hot grill, so I only consider the RT-340 and RT-700 to overlap. The RT-340 technically was purchased by my wife for her to bake on and for us to possibly travel with, but I use it primarily alongside the Bullseye. Now that we are empty nesters, the RT-700 doesn’t get used nearly as much these days.
 
Again, as I have said to others, the convenience of "plug it and forget it" is very appealing.

Another area of concern is the app, and perhaps more specifically, the Recteq servers. Sounds like, on the Holidays, it's very slow to non-responsive for some, yes? Have you had any issues with the app, or do you not use it that much?
The servers admittedly arent the greatest... However I use my Thermoworks to track temps and act as an alarm on overnight smokes. If you depend on the servers you may run into issues but for most of us who use Meaters, Thermoworks, inkbirds, etc, it isnt really a factor anymore.
 
Luckily (knock on wood), I've owned mine for over 10 years, and all I've replaced is the gasket 2 times. I will admit, the hinge will probably need replacing soon - but other than that, it's a workhorse.
I used to have to replace the OEM gaskets 2-3 times a year because I liked to cook pizza and steaks and near max temp. I then replaced the OEM with a Rutland gasket and it has lasted over 10 years. My son-in-law replaced the original hinge with the latest version and it is a nice upgrade!
 
Actually I own 5 recteqs, three of which are pellet grills. I have a Wyldside, Matador, Bullseye, RT-340, RT-700. The first 2 on the list have nothing in common with the others, the Bullseye is my hot grill, so I only consider the RT-340 and RT-700 to overlap. The RT-340 technically was purchased by my wife for her to bake on and for us to possibly travel with, but I use it primarily alongside the Bullseye. Now that we are empty nesters, the RT-700 doesn’t get used nearly as much these days.
humm... We too are empty nesters. Maybe the 700 is overkill? Man, the more I ask, the more I get confused...
 
humm... We too are empty nesters. Maybe the 700 is overkill? Man, the more I ask, the more I get confused...
Some people have only a RT-340 and appear to get along fine with just that. I’ve found that it’s too small for some things I want to smoke, like a whole (non-spatchcocked) turkey, some full packer briskets, etc. The RT-700 is still a solid choice and if I could own only one recteq pellet grill for my needs, it would be one of the following-the RT-590/1070 or the RT-700. You can always cook small meals in a larger grill, but the reverse is seldom true!
 
humm... We too are empty nesters. Maybe the 700 is overkill? Man, the more I ask, the more I get confused...
We're empty nesters too and have a 1250. But we do entertain, so I do load it up from time-to-time. No regrets getting the bigger real estate, Unless space is a problem, I would not hesitate going with the 700. Would rather have more room than I need as opposed to need more room than I have.

As for the smoke flavor, the pellet grills are going to lack a little in that category - but I have smoked about everything out there on my pellet grills, and have never looked back. I also have a Kamado Joe, and use it as well. But the set it and forget it convenience of the RT is well worth the slight dip in smoke flavor - at least for us.

Best of luck, and welcome to the forum!
 
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I have used the BGE for about 10 years. My favorite grill of all time. I have a built in Fire Magic gas grill, Blackstone griddle, RT 1250 and the Bullseye. I replaced a first generation traeger when I purchased the RT 1250 and bullseye. I use my BGE much less now due to the convenience of the RT grills. I almost never use the built in gas grill unless I use it as a warmer. My advice is go for the RT 700 or better yet the 1250 if it is in the budget and keep the BGE. The BGE will stay in the rotation. I live in ND so can’t comment on anything that has to do with salt water but if you have questions about grilling in a blizzard I may be able to help!
 
Think you’ll lose some flavor for convenience, but you’ll love to set the RT at 225 with a pork butt in and sleeping peacefully while it does all the work. Pellet tube or 2 can help a lot with more smoke flavor.
I’m in ca but zero issues with the grill holding up. No rust or anything falling apart other than the grill grates weld breaking. I need to call have them replaced. Just been lazy lol

Only thing I don’t like about the RT is when I do carne asada. Get zero char or sear on it.
 
THANK YOU ALL! I will be pulling the trigger I "believe" on the 700. What, if any options/add-ons or necessities do you feel it needs?

Oh, and how are the coolers - I love the red, white & blue ones...
 
THANK YOU ALL! I will be pulling the trigger I "believe" on the 700. What, if any options/add-ons or necessities do you feel it needs?

Oh, and how are the coolers - I love the red, white & blue ones...
Better hurry while they're on $ale!
 
THANK YOU ALL! I will be pulling the trigger I "believe" on the 700. What, if any options/add-ons or necessities do you feel it needs?
I thought I could get by without the front shelf. I was very wrong. If you use your light, having an extra light lens to swap out while the dirty one soaks is nice. Also, Grill grates will be your best friends if you plan to sear anything on your 700.
Oh, and how are the coolers - I love the red, white & blue ones...
I was very lucky to get a 45 qt. ICER this winter (thank you, Mike!), and it’s great! Meat says hot for hours, and one of these days I’m going to do the America’s Test Kitchen 32 lb. ice test on it to see what it can do. Oddly enough, there was an ice shortage in Minnesota this winter 🤔.
 
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