Big Green Egg — Reviews, Complaints and Ratings

In the beginning, there was wood, dry leaves, lightning and eventually, fire. Early man soon learned the flavor benefits of cooking meat over this exciting discovery, which quickly gained acclaim as far superior to gnawing on raw Tyrannosaurus ribs! Later cultures discovered that the results were even better when the fire and food were contained inside a dome-shaped, earthen vessel. Evidence of these early prototypes of the Big Green Egg have been found by archeologists in the ruins of nearly every civilization around the world…except for the Propanians, who preferred to scorch their meals using volcanic gasses, the Pelletonians, who starved to death while trying to un-jam their augers, and the DriveThruians, who ate all their meals from take-out and quickly vanished from planet Earth. Today’s Big Green Egg is a modern-day evolution of these ancient cookers. Centuries ago, these knee-high cookers – known as kamados – were fueled by wood or natural charcoal (just as the Big Green Egg is today), and pots were hung inside them for cooking rice. Eventually a slatted cooking grid was added inside for grilling and roasting meats. Popularity spread as U.S. service members discovered kamado cookers during World War II and shipped them home after the war. The domed cookers were an exciting alternative to the metal charcoal or gas grills of the day, and people became enamored with the added flavor and juiciness this “newly discovered” style of cooking gave to foods. American serviceman and entrepreneur Ed Fisher was one of those who discovered the domed clay cooker. He was amazed at how much better the food tasted, and he began to import them, sensing that there might be an interest back home. When he opened the first Big Green Egg store in Atlanta in 1974, he sold a simple clay kamado based on the same design and materials that had been used thousands of years ago. Despite the great results they produced, these original cookers were fragile and not durable after exposure to the elements. Ed Fisher was fully committed to developing a company to produce and market these amazing cookers, and set out to make the best one ever created. As the EGG gained popularity, the company evolved away from clay and into ceramics utilizing state of the art manufacturing processes. The engineers at Big Green Egg worked tirelessly with experts in ceramics to find ways to improve the design. The result was a far superior outdoor cooker that is more durable, better insulating, and offers unmatched heat retention, a distinction that the Big Green Egg is known for.