Big Green Egg Large vs Big Green Egg XL

This is purely a question of size, because otherwise they are the same: ceramic with a lifetime warranty, a stainless steel grate, the cast-iron rEGGulator, a felt gasket and the same warranty on the other parts. Both are supplied bare.

The grate is the difference. Big Green Egg gives the Large 46 centimetres and 1,688 cm², the XL 61 centimetres and 2,919 cm². That is over 70 per cent more area, not the few centimetres the names suggest. Weight goes up with it: 73 kilos for the Large, 99 kilos for the XL. The XL is actually lower, 78 centimetres against 84: the eggs grow wider, not taller.

More grate also means more dome to bring up to temperature and more charcoal per session. Anyone who usually cooks for four to six people will rarely fill an XL. Anyone who regularly cooks for large groups, or wants whole cuts side by side, will find the Large too small.

Buy the size for an ordinary evening, not for the birthday party. For most households that is the Large. The XL is the choice when you know you will actually fill the extra area. Count a nest or table in with either, because neither comes with one.