# mes vs big green egg



## hilltopper (Dec 17, 2011)

Does anybody have a big green egg or grill dome and either a smokey mountain cooker a or a MES?  I have the last two and am wondering if a BGE or GD cooks better 'Q than the other two.  I know you can do baking, grilling and the like on the BGE, but is it worth the money to cook better 'Q?  They sure look nice, but I can't decide if I really want or need one. What do you think?


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## daveomak (Dec 17, 2011)

hilltopper, evening.... In my opinion, anyone can become an expert on any q device... time, patience and experimenting until you get your food the way you like it.... The ugly drum smokers UDS have won at Q contests..... Any device you select, the learning curve is a lot less now that you are a member here.... Your new pals have worked out all the kinks, so to speak....  Dave


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## so ms smoker (Dec 17, 2011)

I have been looking for that answer myself...

Mike


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## michael ark (Dec 17, 2011)

That's like comparing a pickup and a mini.Look at a primo more room and made in the usa.


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## SmokinAl (Dec 18, 2011)

Like Dave said, it's the cook not the cooker!


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## tjohnson (Dec 18, 2011)

Every smoker has a learning curve

I know guys who have mastered the BGE, and wouldn't cook on anything else

Then there are guys who are dedicated "Stick Burners", and won't even consider any other smoker

Like the others have said, it's the cook, not the cooker!

Todd


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## mballi3011 (Dec 18, 2011)

In a word

             EGG


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## kydave (Dec 18, 2011)

I've been considering the big green egg XL for about a year now. I've seen (and tasted) some great food off that grill. A friend (internet) of mine did a beautiful turkey on his this year. http://www.alcoholian.com/?p=6590


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## hilltopper (Dec 18, 2011)

I still would to here from someone who either has both a MES and a ceramic cooker or has cooked on both.  There has to be a bunch of people out there that has a preferance.


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## SmokinAl (Dec 18, 2011)

hilltopper said:


> I still would to here from someone who either has both a MES and a ceramic cooker or has cooked on both.  There has to be a bunch of people out there that has a preferance.


Hey if it's within your budget buy them both. They each have a purpose. I have 3 smokers & a lot of guys on here have more than 3. We do need our toys don't we.


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## fpnmf (Dec 18, 2011)

If you used the the handy dandy search tool you would see that I have a BGE,MES 30 and a WSM.

There is a bunch of threads about this topic.

I have answered this a few times and will again now.

I have a medium BGE...I could never make hold low smoking temps,ever. It is a marvelous machine.

But for me. smoking with it was an impossible thing. Too much work.

The BGE works better than anything for all things except smoking in my eyes. Perfect steaks and pizzas etc....all things done in an oven and grilling.

I have a MES 30 that has worked great with the amns dust burner. I cant get the pellets to work quite right for me.

I have made tons of great smoked goodness with it.

I also have a WSM...It is my go to smoker...it is perfect. out of the box.

If you want one smoker... get a WSM  I have the 18.5.

Gp to my profile and look at the threads started...

Of course this is my opinion...YMMV.

  Craig


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## SmokinAl (Dec 18, 2011)

fpnmf said:


> If you used the the handy dandy search tool you would see that I have a BGE,MES 30 and a WSM.
> 
> There is a bunch of threads about this topic.
> 
> ...




I totally agree with Craig on the WSM, but I didn't think you were considering one. As he says it's the best charcoal smoker made right out of the box.


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## fpnmf (Dec 18, 2011)

SmokinAl said:


> I totally agree with Craig on the WSM, but I didn't think you were considering one. As he says it's the best charcoal smoker made right out of the box.


Actually Al (I have yet to get a gasser),I think the WSM is the best bang for the buck as far as a smoker in general in the lower price range.

  Craig


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## duck10 (Dec 28, 2011)

I have a Big Green Egg and a MES 30. The egg does all things better in my opinion. _t does take time to get used to it and figure out how to set it. Once you get it you can set it and forget it. it holds low temps very well!!!!_


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## smokeysteveo (Feb 9, 2014)

You're not going to get the Bark with the MES that a BGE will give you.  I've had a Large BGE for some time. Best grill/smoker I've ever owned, and it'll be the last I ever own.  (Unless I get an XL Egg!!)

Bark is flavor.  MES won't give you this!!!!


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## flebag (Sep 9, 2014)

fpnmf said:


> If you used the the handy dandy search tool you would see that I have a BGE,MES 30 and a WSM.
> 
> There is a bunch of threads about this topic.
> 
> ...



What's a wsm


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## welshrarebit (Sep 9, 2014)

flebag said:


> What's a wsm



Weber Smokey Mountain!


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## jirodriguez (Sep 9, 2014)

BGE 24" - 1 rack and $1200

WSM 22.5" - 2 racks and $400 leaving $800 for meat to fill it with! (plus no hernia when you have to move it around)


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## Bearcarver (Sep 9, 2014)

It depends on what you want & sometimes what you need:

My Son has a Large BGE, and he makes Awesome Q !!!

However if My MES 40 made any better Q, it would be illegal.

Here's a whole bunch of examples:

Just click on *"Bear's Step by Steps".*

*Bear*


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## timberjet (Sep 9, 2014)

I vote Weber, why? I have 4. Best out of the box and for the money plus lasts forever. That said, if I had the money I would probably have a ceramic smoker for pizza.


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## b-one (Sep 9, 2014)

WSM way to easy to use. Get one and be happy:). I have the 18.5 it rocks!


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## addertooth (Sep 10, 2014)

The charcoal vs. electric comparison has been looked at before.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...rcoal-vs-electric-and-pellet-with-pulled-pork

In this case, it was a mini-WSM vs the Masterbuilt 40.  The meat was pulled pork.  Cooked at the same time, with the same rub, at the same temperatures.

Egg-type (kamado) cookers can be tough to get dialed in.  On another site, there are multiple pages of techniques to optimally achieve an ideal temperature for smoking.  However, owners of the egg, who have them dialed in, rave about the temperature stability.  The weber smokey mountain models appear to be easier to get dialed in. 

Part of what makes an egg harder to get dialed in is it's excellent insulation and huge thermal mass.  It requires a smaller amount of heat (than a WSM) to maintain a temperature; at very low temperatures (fish) some struggle with choking their fire out.  However, the high thermal mass of an egg makes adjustments in air supply slower to show up.  This leads many users of the egg to initially do a lot of temperature chasing.  Every egg owner has a "sacred technique" to achieve low-and-slow on their egg. 

All that said, I have a Akorn kamado smoker in-transit as we speak.  I am also considering picking up a 13 inch ceramic egg for camping as well.


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## Bearcarver (Sep 10, 2014)

Addertooth said:


> The charcoal vs. electric comparison has been looked at before.
> 
> http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...rcoal-vs-electric-and-pellet-with-pulled-pork
> 
> ...


If I'm not mistaken, the MES you used in that other comparison was a Generation #2 MES. Generally speaking, that smoker is not worthy of being compared to anything other than a cardboard box. IMHO

Bear


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## addertooth (Sep 10, 2014)

BearCarver,

It is a Gen II.  It has had all the good mods done to it, such as the mailbox mod and the AmazeN product line goodies added to it.  If the comparison was stock, I would jump on your bandwagon.  It's competitor was a home-made mini-WSM.  The comparison was far from unfair.

A modified Gen II (and not a factory lemon) will go toe to toe with a Gen one MES.  If you have one of the buggy Gen II smokers, then a Gen I unit will stomp it into the dirt.  I got lucky, other than the built-in meat probe giving unreliable temperature, it works well (with the mods).  Before the mods, I didn't care for how well it smoked; being tethered to the unit and feeding the chip tray was a pain.


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## Bearcarver (Sep 10, 2014)

Addertooth said:


> BearCarver,
> 
> It is a Gen II.  It has had all the good mods done to it, such as the mailbox mod and the AmazeN product line goodies added to it.  If the comparison was stock, I would jump on your bandwagon.  It's competitor was a home-made mini-WSM.  The comparison was far from unfair.
> 
> A modified Gen II (and not a factory lemon) will go toe to toe with a Gen one MES.  If you have one of the buggy Gen II smokers, then a Gen I unit will stomp it into the dirt.  I got lucky, other than the built-in meat probe giving unreliable temperature, it works well (with the mods).  Before the mods, I didn't care for how well it smoked; being tethered to the unit and feeding the chip tray was a pain.


The first thing you mentioned was a 30* swing. I don't have that in mine. What mod fixes that?

The Gen #2 Has a ridiculous slanted drip plate that keeps the right side hotter than the left. That's Not in the Gen #1. What Mod fixes that?

All I'm saying is if you're going to compare the MES to the BGE or the WSM, please don't use the MES Gen #2 that most people, including me tells everybody not to buy. It's not a fair representation of the MES. 

No Gen #2 is going to go toe to toe with a Gen #1. No problems in 4 years. Awesome "Q".

This is not to say it's worse or better than the BGE or WSM, but 100% better than a Gen #2.

Bear


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## addertooth (Sep 10, 2014)

If I can find a gen one, I will characterize it as well.  All electrical smokers, unless they have an external heat control unit (which provides a continuously varying voltage), have some swing in temperature.  You just have to look for it.  If you look at the posting that number was based upon, it was with no water pan, and no meat in the cabinet.  I wanted to see the worst-case maximum swing, which was measured under the least desirable conditions.  I am with you on your admiration of Gen One MES, it typically does not need mods to work well.  A properly modified Gen II is not a bad box, but it certainly has a bad reputation.  People who get a bad one, scream loudly.  Those which have a good functioning one, spend their time smoking with it, instead of screaming.  As such, you will see more sad postings than happy postings.  This is normal on any product.  You seem to have very strong feelings about this; did you have some bad experiences with a Gen II?


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## Bearcarver (Sep 10, 2014)

Addertooth said:


> If I can find a gen one, I will characterize it as well.  All electrical smokers, unless they have an external heat control unit (which provides a continuously varying voltage), have some swing in temperature.  You just have to look for it.  If you look at the posting that number was based upon, it was with no water pan, and no meat in the cabinet.  I wanted to see the worst-case maximum swing, which was measured under the least desirable conditions.  I am with you on your admiration of Gen One MES, it typically does not need mods to work well.  A properly modified Gen II is not a bad box, but it certainly has a bad reputation.  People who get a bad one, scream loudly.  Those which have a good functioning one, spend their time smoking with it, instead of screaming.  As such, you will see more sad postings than happy postings.  This is normal on any product.  You seem to have very strong feelings about this; did you have some bad experiences with a Gen II?


I tested one with nothing but problems, but that's not my problem.

My problem is the Gen #2 giving the whole company a bad name. 

It's because of the Gen #2 that people think because of all the complaints about the Gen #2, that means that other electrics are better than MES.

That's why I don't like to see the Gen #2 used in any comparison tests, and then noting problems that are pretty much Ge #2 Specific.

The other thing is that I try to help as many MES owners as I can (especially Newbies), and I have no problem helping Gen #1 owners.

However the problems the Gen #2 has are not as easy to deal with, and I didn't see any Gen #2 owners jumping in to help them.

That's why I direct as many people as possible to buy the Gen #1, instead of the Gen #2. Less problems = Easier to help = Everybody Happy.

Bear


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## flebag (Sep 11, 2014)

How do ya know if you have a gen 1 or 2 I've had a few mes's they have always worked good for me with no issues only reason I've gotten rid of them is because mold would start to grow out of control before I would catch it I like them I've looked at the ones that take the pucks and self feed them but I just can see paying that


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## addertooth (Sep 11, 2014)

The easy way to spot a Gen II:

Door hinges on the left (not the right) AND Control unit on the top front (not top back) AND the upper vent is on the side (not the top). 

I have seen some odd units which didn't exactly match either description, they had a mix of features.  But these are good general descriptions.

I have gotten decent service out of my MES 40 Gen II; it got my foot in the door on smoking meat.  Like many people who smoke, I have collected other

smokers since getting the electric.  It is still one of the easiest ways to smoke meat.  It makes great low and slow corn and potatoes too!

It's massive interior space allows the user to do an entire meal in one smoker, you just stagger the time you add food to it.


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## daricksta (Sep 12, 2014)

hilltopper said:


> Does anybody have a big green egg or grill dome and either a smokey mountain cooker a or a MES?  I have the last two and am wondering if a BGE or GD cooks better 'Q than the other two.  I know you can do baking, grilling and the like on the BGE, but is it worth the money to cook better 'Q?  They sure look nice, but I can't decide if I really want or need one. What do you think?


I took a BBQ class and two things I learned about the BGE taught me one wouldn't work for me. 1. It won't go below 275*. 2. After you light it, you have to "burp" before fully taking the cover off or you'll get a headful of high temp flames shooting up out of the top. I know guys who love their BGE but I'm very happy with my MES 30.


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## addertooth (Sep 12, 2014)

I have a Kingsford grill, modified for low temp smoking, a mini-WSM, a WSM-14.5, a MES 40 and as of today, an Egg style (kamado) cooker/smoker.  They are like old girlfriends; each loved for separate reasons.  No excessive favorites, each has unique strengths, and things they do well.  Any Kamado cooker/smoker can "do it all" on paper (Sear, Grill, Bake, Smoke), the trick for most is getting it to actually do it.  The MES 40 has a massive amount of smoking space.  The Kingsford has a large amount of grilling space.  The mini-WSM and the WSM-14.5 are small, but perfect for long slow smokes when the meat quantity isn't huge.  Each of them have their quirks.  Modifications tend to make them less quirky.  I would hate to answer the "desert island" question, as it applies to which ONE would I pick.


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