If you are looking to buy a new Big Green Egg, chances are you are going back and forth between the most popular Large and XL sizes. As someone that has gone through the decision making and eventually purchasing both sizes, I want to share everything I have learned in the last 10 years to help you make a good decision for your backyard.
We will check out the cost difference, exterior space requirements, the interior grilling and smoking capacity, and try to point out what both of these smokers do the best.
Large vs XL Cost
There is an obvious elephant in the room when comparing the most popular green egg sizes, Large and XL. The original Large Green Egg costs about $1150 at the time of this article. The XL Green Egg costs about $1600. That is just for the grill itself. I would factor in spending another $400 or more for accessories after you haul your egg home as well. Some of my favorite green egg accessories are:
Green Egg Setup and Transportation
I think it is worth pointing out that the XL green egg is much more difficult to move. This is even more true if you try this by yourself. Take it from me, as I have moved both of them by myself as I hate asking for help. The Large Green Egg is feasible for anyone with a good back to move a short distance. The XL is awkward and damn near impossible to move by yourself.
Large Green Egg Weight: 162 lbs
XL Green Egg Weight: 219 lbs
Both eggs have inner parts you can remove, reducing the weight when moving the outer shell. However, they are still beasts to move around by yourself.
The hinge setups for the Green Eggs can be a little challenging for any first time buyers as well. So, if your retailer has the option to deliver and set up your egg for a little more money, I would take them up on it.
If you are worried about moving your green egg in the future… the large green egg will be a lot easier to move around.
Green Egg Exterior Dimensions and Required Patio Space
Obviously the XL is larger than the Large Egg. Let me help quantify this in a way that is actually useful.
The large green egg will take up about 2 ft x 2ft space on your patio, if it is by itself, without side tables. With side tables or a built in setup a large green egg will take up at least 2 ft x 5 ft of patio space and up to 3 ft x 8 ft depending on how big you want to go with a built in setup.
The XL green egg will take up about 3 ft x 3 ft of patio space by itself. If you add side tables or a larger grill table build it will take up at least 3 ft x 7 ft of patio space and up to 3.5 ft x 10 ft of patio space.
Large and XL Green Egg Grilling Capacity
The large green egg grill grate is 18” in Diameter and the XL Green Egg grill grate has a diameter of 24”. Keep in mind, for both of these grills the outer 1” is sometimes covered up by the ceramic insert that holds up the grill grate. So, in reality the usable diameter is around 16” and 22” the Large and XL respectively.
Large Green Egg – 16” Usable Grilling Diameter = 201 sq inches
XL Green Egg – 22” Usable Grilling Diameter = 380 sq inches
So, by the numbers you can see that the XL has about 90% more grilling capacity with the standard single grill grate setup. If you plan on using your green egg for grilling more than smoking, you will love the extra space on the XL Egg.
From my experience, the large green egg is good for grilling a small number of steaks – I would say 4 is pretty comfortable. More than 4 or 5 and it gets real tight. The XL feels like a Cadillac compared to the large egg in regards to grilling steaks, burgers, or chicken. You can easily fit 10 or more steaks on the XL Green Egg if you are using the entire grill grate.
50/50 Grilling Setup: Half Direct Heat and Half Indirect Heat Setup
If you like to use a 50/50 setup with indirect heat on one side and direct heat on the other side of the grill, then the XL is your best choice. The grilling space on the large green egg gets super tight if you are trying to divide the grill grate in half. For the best grill grate setups on the market, check out The Ceramic Grill Store for expanded capacity and flexible setups. I have purchased adjustable rigs for both my Large and XL Egg and love them both. They last forever too!
Smoking Capacity on the Large and XL Green Eggs
We already examined the grilling capacity in regards to square inches of grilling real estate. Now, let’s examine what cuts of meat you can fit on the standard grill grate setups on the Large and XL Green Egg when smoking meat. Below are some examples I will try to quantify from my experience:
Large Green Egg Capacity
- One Full Brisket
- 2-3 Chickens depending on size
- 2 Racks of Ribs (sometimes you can squeeze 3, but it depends on the size of the ribs.
- 2 Eight pound Pork Butts
- 1 Turkey – not spatchcocked
XL Green Egg Capacity
- Two Full Briskets
- 5-7 Chickens depending on size
- 4 Racks of Ribs
- 4 Eight pound Pork Butts
- 1 Large Turkey – Spatch-cocked is fine or Two Small turkeys
Now, the above capacity is with the standard grill grate setup. Green Egg and other manufacturers make a lot of accessories that let you add a 2nd grill grate or even a 3rd level to max out your smoking capacity. They sell some pretty nice setups on Amazon for a good price and I still love the setups at The Ceramic Grill Store.
I find the expanded grill grate levels help the most by allowing you to add more racks of ribs. By adding a 2nd grill grate level to a Large Green Egg you can increase your capacity to 4 racks of Ribs. However, it can still be a little cumbersome to rotate the ribs or check your fire if needed when you have a stacked or tiered grill grate system.
If you add a 2nd grill grate tier on the XL Big Green, you can easily smoke 6 racks of ribs or more. The setups on the XL Green Eggs also have more clearance between tiers, so the meat is easier to access and rotate as needed.
Large Green Egg Strengths
I believe the Large Green Egg is a better pound for pound smoker than the XL Green Egg, due to the efficiency of it and the way it is designed in comparison to the XL Green Egg. The large egg fire box is deeper and more narrow than the XL, making it easier to set up a fire that will burn longer, in excess of 24 hours without stoking if you set up your charcoal correctly. The XL fire box is very wide and pretty shallow in relation to the size of the smoker. This makes it difficult to set up the XL green egg for smoking sessions longer than 12 hours. Even with a charcoal temperature controller device, this can still be a problem with the XL.
The Large Green Egg heats up a little faster than the XL Green Egg. If you are a weeknight charcoal griller, then you may enjoy the large green egg more due to the ease of use and shorter startup.
The Large Green Egg is definitely more efficient than the XL, as I have mentioned. When thinking about this in regard to charcoal usage, you can save a lot of money over time if you buy a large green egg. I would estimate charcoal usage to be almost double when using the XL Green Egg.
I have found the Large Green Egg a little easier to control at lower temperatures in the 225°F to 250°F range. From my experience, the XL Green Egg wants to burn a little hotter, in the 275°F-300°F range.
Overall, I think the intangibles for the Large Green Egg make it a better pure smoker than the XL Green Egg. If I were to buy two green eggs again, I would probably buy two large green eggs instead of one large and one XL.
XL Big Green Egg Strengths
The obvious strength of the XL Green Egg is its generous grill grate size. The size makes the higher temperature grilling setups a breeze to handle, with lots of flexibility for multi-zone temperature setups.
Fitting a dozen steaks on the grill or 50 wings is a nice option for larger parties in the backyard.
The multi-tier expanded grill grate setups are easier to access, in comparison to the Large Egg setups, making rotating meat a lot easier. The aftermarket two tier setups do not feel forced… they seem practical and make a big difference if you want to cook for a lot of people.
Overall, I love the XL green egg for direct grilling the best in comparison to the Large.
Which one Should you Buy? Large or XL?
If you think you are going to use your egg primarily for smoking and small gatherings, I would choose the Large Green Egg. I have a small family and I find myself using my Large Green Egg about 90% of the time. It is so good for smoking meat.
If you grill over high heat most of the time or enjoy the dual temperature zone setups, then the XL is probably right for you.
If you are worried about having enough capacity for a larger family or frequent larger gatherings, I would buy the XL Green Egg. You will never regret having the grilling capacity and ability to smoke a lot of meat when required.
Either one will treat you well. I have tried pellet smokers and other charcoal smokers, and I still keep coming back to the Big Green Egg. If cost is an issue, start out with the Large Green Egg and upgrade later on.
If you have an opinion on Large vs XL Green eggs, leave a comment below for us. I would love to hear your thoughts. – Cheers, Keegan
