Purchased after considering the Big Green Egg and the Primo Oval XL ceramic grills. I did a lot of research and finally came to the conclusion that the Big Steel Keg had more bang for the buck than the Egg or the Primo. Similary equipped, the Egg or the Oval were $350 $500 more than the Big Steel Keg and then you still need to be concerned about cracks on the ceramic grills from my kids when playing around it.
I can say that so far I've cooked pork chops, beer can chicken, spatchcock chicken, brisket and burgers on the grill so far all were winners. It will cook low and slow at 250 degrees, or you can sear steaks at 750 degrees. I've had good luck holding the low temps with little trouble or variance. Using lump charcoal, the food tastes great and uses small amounts of fuel compared to traditional charcoal grills.
Pros: Smokes or grills awesome!
Even temperature control
Cast iron grill
cradle with wheels included
Cons: Wish the side tables would fold in the down position for storage. That said, they do remove very easily.
Needs better packaging mine arrived with the entire bottom taped by UPS and I thought the grill may have been damaged. It was not.
The manufacturer says that a grill cover is included with this grill mine did not come with one and I have tried to contact the company for a couple of days now and have not had any luck.
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Like other reviewers for this product I had been looking at the Big Green Egg (BGE) for some time prior to being introduced to the Big Steel Keg (BSK). Having never had the pleasure of eating food cooked off of either device I had to solely rely on the reviews and recommendations of those wonderful folks online who had. Both product seemed to have dedicated followers online with the BGE having the more... well lets say "devoted" group of people who call themselves "Egg Heads." These fine folks are very dedicated to their cooking vessel of choice and are very vocal about their choice. They post up pictures of their cooks, they write blogs on what they plan on cooking, and they share "how to" articles with each other. ALL GREAT STUFF BTW. The BSK has a smaller yet equally devoted group of fans, who refer to themselves as "Keg Heads" (how original :)). Their related websites show blogs, pictures and "how to's" as well.
So now I'm stuck. No one really says anything negative about their products; both are almost "fanatical" about each. Next I began to actually look at the products. The Egg is well built, heavy ceramic, and has a strong network of dealer support. The Keg is well built, heavy double walled insulated steel, and has a smaller network of retailers who carry the product. It is nearly a wash again.
Next, I looked at the price. The Egg (Large version most similar to the Keg) retails in the neighborhood of $750. This will get you just the keg and a steel cooking grate. The "nest" stand, cover, side tables, cast iron grate are all extra $$ and the total cost can get closer to $1000 by the time you are done. The Keg retails for $699 (but due to being sold through retailers can be had for substantially less) For the price of the keg you get the keg, a stand, side tables, cast iron grate, grill cover, upper grill, and two built in bottle openers (you need these when you grill!) The edge here goes to the Keg.
I ended up buying the Keg. I liked its steel construction, as I tend to move my grill to where the action is, vs forcing the action to be near or around the keg I didn't want to worry about tipping my Egg over and cracking it (you do need to treat the Egg as if it were and egg). I also like the list of accessories it came with from the factory for no additional charge (though I'm sure they could mark down the price if it were sold with out them, I'm glad they include everything you need in one box). And lastly the price, I'm sure people are going to say that you can buy the Egg for much cheaper than retail, but they forget that they then have to worry about getting all of the accessories to go along with it. This is where they where the real price difference comes into play. Sure side by side the prices are close enough to say "Why bother with the `new' product when you can purchase the `standard.'" However, once you make the two equally equipped there is no comparison in price.
Cooking impressions are going to be one sided on this one because I bought the Keg. It is by far the best and easiest grill/smoker I have ever used. I have owned several gas grills (for convenience reasons only), a small Weber grill, and a Char griller Smoker Pro w/ side firebox. The Keg uses the smallest amount of lump coal for every cook. A single 10lb bag can last weeks instead of one to two cooks. The food I have cooked on the keg has been some of the best food I have ever eaten. The grill can get up to 700-800 in a matter of 20 minutes to seer a rib eye steak, and can hold on to 225 for hours on end for those slow cooked ribs.
Buy this grill; it will be the last grill you will ever have to buy, and your food will be come "legendary" :)
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I bought a Big Steel Keg as a back-up/addition to my Big Green Egg. Instead of a second Egg, I thought I'd try a Keg since it was less expensive and lighter (in case I want to transport it). The Keg is pretty much exactly like the Egg, except I found a couple of key differences after using them both for awhile now. In a nutshell, I find that the Keg heats up much faster than the Egg, but I find it harder to maintain a low temp on the Keg. You really need to keep on top of it, because if it shoots past your desired temp, it's near impossible to get it back down. Interestingly, it holds heat longer and takes hours longer than an Egg to cool down after you shut all of the vents. All in all, it is a well built unit that works great. If I am doing long low and slow, I will tend to go with the Egg because I find it superior at holding low temps. However, For cooks up in the 300+ range, I will go either way. The accessories are pretty much interchangeable between the two (which is great if you have both!). One thing I like better about the Egg's design is that the air holes in the firebox on the Egg are a bit higher than they are on the Keg, meaning they don't get blocked by the lump as easily and allow for better circulation. All in all, I would have no problems recommending the Big Steel Keg. It is well built and works as advertised.
Honest reviews on Big Steel Keg 05503 Charcoal Grill for Convection-Style Cooking
I have been looking at the Green Egg for years hoping the price would come down or some competition would arrive. Price an Egg and you pay for everything as an add on, the stand (nest),then you need blocks (extra of course) to stop the wheels on the nest from rolling, a cover that's extra too, no kidding its one fee after another. The Steel Keg is one size and big enough to feed the entire family with the double rack INCLUDED or to cook for just a few. Unlike the egg which goes up 1-200 through the three sizes available. Before you know it your up to 800 or above.
Fear not, the Keg has landed. Everything you need to do a great job with your BBQ even a way to hitch it to your car/truck is included. Steel, not ceramic, I had mine up to 700 degrees to do a steak and held my hand on the outside of the keg without any problem. It stays cool on the outside while up to 700 inside. Bring your drinking buddies over and show them the Steel Keg and you can be proud to announce it out loud. Tell them you have a green egg and they ask if you called your doctor. So far we have cooked chickens, burgers, steaks outstanding results, made a steak for my friend this weekend and he liked it so much he went out and purchased one the next day. Spend much less, get the same or better results as other Kamado cooking devices and get everything you need for one price including the COVER. You will cook all day at the temp you want with only a hand full of lump charcoal. If your like us and have been waiting for Eggs to come down in price, don't anymore, the competition is here and its gooooooood eating, enjoy!
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I bought this when it was the Bubba Keg Charcoal Grill. Fantastic. As I mentioned in a comment on another post, I bought it to replace a GrillDome ceramic cooker on which all of the paint had flaked off and my firebox had cracked twice. It was still functional, but as soon as I saw this I wanted one. As another review mentioned, at $600 it compares very well with the ceramics out there because you get all the basics standard which are extras on the ceramics.
One thing not mentioned, is that the grill itself is really cool cast iron. The grill bars are triangular, and it appears obvious that they intend you to use it with the pointed tops up because the formed-in holes that upper shelf sits on extend downwards (ie, the top of the grill is all the same level with the triangle points up, and if you turn the grill over so that the flat side is up the collars on the holes extend up into the cooking surface. I DON'T CARE! I almost always use it "upside down" because all that cast iron in contact with the meat gives you fantastic carmelization. I don't want skinny little lines that look good, I want big seared lines that taste good! Do the usual 90 degree turn partway through each side to give you cross-hatch marks on your meat and the is more area in the grill marks than between them. YUM.
Being cast iron, it works best if you season it well with several sessions of coating with lard or bacon grease (or shortening, I guess, if you must) and then cooking it at 350 or so for an hour. I had a beautiful season on mine. Then left it wide open during a party and two hours at 800F reduced it all to fine ash.... Got to start all over again.
Anyway, I'm maybe over the top a little on this, but after dealing with the GrillDome for about 8 years, and now this for a year, I still love this thing. I just leave it full of charcoal from the last cook, so when it gets a bit low I dump more in. When I want to use it I stick the electric starter in it, I'm cooking in 10-15 minutes no muss no fuss. When I'm done I close the top and bottom dampers so the charcoal (lump, always) goes out quickly and is ready for the next cook. It makes grilling almost as easy as using the stove. Once in a while I clean out the ashes (every 5-6 cooks, maybe more) and I give the grill a quick wire brushing after I heat it back up for the next cook, but that is it. Takes a lot longer than that to clean the stove top.....
And it does low and slow for ribs (6 hours) or pork butt (24 hours) really well, too. I have a little trouble keeping it dialed in on temp, but if I check it every hour for the ribs I'm set (usually no changes are needed). For the butt, once I get it stable over several hours of adjustments I'm usually fine for the rest of the cook. There are a couple of automatic dampers (bbq guru or stoker) which can be used with this, and I've considered getting them, but so far I do well enough on my own. But I like toys, so maybe....
But for now, the steaks I make are some of the best I've ever had, and I've only had spare ribs at one place in Tennessee that were better (now closed, sadly). My only problem is that I'm trying to lose weight and this isn't helping....
I guess this reads like I'm shilling for this company. Nope. I don't even know who makes the thing.
