The Big Green Egg vs. Vision Grills- Which one is better?
Kamado grills are becoming more and more popular these days. This is a common comparison between the Big Green Egg grills and the Vision Grills. So, if you wonder which one amongst the Big Green Egg vs Vision Grills is better then do read this post.
The most well-known kamado grill, the Big Green Egg, and a righteous competition in the form of Vision Grills are both amazing, and it is going to be fun to compare them.
Now, a little bit of history, Kamado-style cooking was invented thousands of years ago in China and has now spread worldwide because of the unique way of cooking.
They are powerful grills that can either sear, smoke, or grill. Kamado grills use charcoal and are great in adding that smoky flavor to your food.
Big Green Eggs are the most popular Kamado grills in the market, and they come in various sizes. All Big Green Egg models have their similarities, but they also have unique features.
Speaking of features, I feel the Vision Grills are known for their innovations and are part of the Kamado grills that offer performance and style, and ease-of-use.
If you are just starting to cook, these types of grills are great for you to learn a new way of cooking that gives you the same if not better results on your cooking.
Here, we will compare these two brands of amazing Kamado grills and see which one fits you better. They come with power as well as features that will surely help you in cooking.
Big Green Egg vs. Vision Grills
Set Up
Since these grills are extremely heavy, you will need an extra hand to set these up. Both the Big Green Eggs and the Vision Grills weigh over a hundred pounds.
The manuals that come with the grills are pretty easy to follow; assembly alone will not bring any trouble if you just go step by step with the manual.
However, there is a lot of carrying involved in setting the grills up, so you will need a helping hand. You can carry the whole grill if you want, or you can use a few tricks.
First, you need to let the delivery guys bring the product close to where you plan to set up the grills. This way, you will not need to carry heavy loads from a distance.
You can also disassemble some parts of the grill, like the firebox, and bring them one by one from your doorstep to your backyard or wherever you are setting them up.
For the Big Green Egg, you will only need to set it up far from perishable objects and are prone to burning up.
These grills produce a lot of heat, and nearby objects might get damaged if they go unnoticed or used carelessly.
As for the Vision Grill, you will need to set it up just like the Big Green Egg; however, depending on the model you have bought, you will need an electric socket for it to work.
For example, if you chose to purchase the Vision Kamado Pro, then you will need a wall socket or an extension cord to make it work.
Some of the Vision products have the unique electric ignition to start them up, so you would not need to manually fire up the grill.
You also choose to set up the grills on a strong tabletop, or you can go with the best option using the dedicated nest, which is a stand with wheels to keep the grills off the ground.
Now the Features
Design
The Big Green Egg has a shape as it is named. It has an egg-shaped compartment containing all the necessary objects for firing it up and retaining the heat.
The Vision Grills have this design as well. The shape’s key purpose is to limit the airflow for the grills to produce the smoky flavor.
Although, you can sear on these girls when their lids are open. But the egg-shaped grills are perfect for slow cooking, so you can enjoy a whole day of cooking without losing too much power.
The Heavy Lids
Speaking of the Lids, both of these Kamado grills are made mostly of ceramics. These ceramics are extremely heavy and keep the heat inside the grills.
It means that the lids of the grills, which make up almost a third of the grills, are also made out of ceramics, which means they are very heavy.
To make up for the weight, many companies have made innovative designs to help their users.
Both the Big Green Egg and Vision Grills’Grills’ lids are made with spring-loaded hinges to help pull the lid up when you are opening them.
This reduces the weight of the lid, so you can lift it with a single hand. The Big Green Eggs’Eggs’ lids do not open all the way to retain as much heat as possible when opened.
Because of the not-fully-opened lids, it also reduces the stress on the hinges. Unlike most grills, including the Vision Grill that opens all the way, putting weight on the hinges.
Impressive Airflow
Perhaps, the best vent in any Kamado Grill is the one on the Big Green Egg 2XL. It produces a lot of airflows and has a protective lid, so rain does not get in the grill.
The vent on the Big Green Egg 2XL can also be fully open, optimal for preheating the grill or searing steak.
The Vision Grills have these innovative cast-iron vents that allow you to control the heat inside and give the right temperature for cooking.
Some models have their vents numbered while the others labeled with settings as to which you will cook.
For example, the Diamond Cut series have their vents labeled with ”smoke”, ”grill”, and ”sear” so you can select which type of cooking you are getting into.
Since the cast-iron vents heat up easily, they installed a cool-to-touch handle to make the vents accessible at any time.
Both grills have bottom vents where the air comes in and blows the fire and smoke from the firebox up to the food you are cooking.
Built-in Thermometers
Kamado grills produce a lot of heat, and they can cook a variety of recipes. That is why you will need to measure the temperature to get the right amount of heat to cook.
Kamado grills such as the Big Green Egg and the Vision Grills have built-in thermometers that you can use.
They are usually installed on the lid of the product and measure the grill’s accurate temperature with an extended thermal stick inside.
This real temperature inside the grill is measured with a thermal stick, so you don’t need to open the grills to know the temperature.
Powering the Grills
Charcoal is a very great fuel for grills. They produce a lot of heat without making too much flame, and they give out that smoky flavor and inject it into your food.
The Big Green Eggs are known for their fuel-efficiency. Their fireboxes are also adequate for long periods of cooking.
The same goes for the Vision Grills. When their fireboxes are fully loaded, you can smoke any food you want for the whole day without needing to refuel constantly.
If, however, you need to refuel, you just get the grill grates out of the way with gloves and then fill up the firebox once again.
Studies show that lump charcoals are the best fuel for kamado grills since they do not produce too much ash, and you use the leftover charcoals for the next cooking session.
Dirt-catcher
Both of these grills have their self-cleaning features, so the ashes and other objects that fall on the firebox clean easily.
The Vision Grills have a removable ash-catcher at the bottom of the grill. By simply pulling that out, you essentially cleaned the grill with ease.
The Big Green Eggs also have these. Although some models do not have an ash-catcher, you will need to scrape off the ashes from the grill.
The Vision Grills have the ash-catcher at the bottom by the vent, so you need to regularly clean those up to get optimal airflow and get cooking at a high level.
Maximum Power
Due to decent amounts of ceramics, the grills can attain maximum heat of over 700 degrees Fahrenheit in a short amount of time.
The ceramics on the grills make them well-insulated, and since there is only one outlet for air, the heat does not go to waste.
The amazing insulation in the grills allows them to heat up quickly, even in cold temperatures. So you do not need to be bothered if the temperatures are freezing outside; the grills will heat up just fine.
Getting That Smoky Flavor
The key to getting that smoky flavor on your food is to allow the convection and the radiant heat to cook your food while limiting the air outlet.
This means that you do not need to let the fire burn up your food. Slow cooking is key to attaining that amazing smoky flavor in your food.
To do this, the grills have a heat deflector in the form of a disc. These discs are made either with ceramics or cast-iron.
The purpose of these heat deflectors is to prevent the fire from getting to your food while heating themselves to cook the food just right,
The heat deflectors allow proper airflow, so the smoke from the firebox transfers to your food before going out through vents.
Comparing how meat cooks within both the grills, one has to say that the meat cooked inside the Vision Grills is more tender and juicer.
For some reason, the Vision Grills infused a more smoky flavor inside the meat, making it taste amazing.
The Big Green Egg does a great job, too, but when compared with the vision grills in terms of cooking, we have to vote for the Vision Grill without any doubt!
Cooking grates
The new grates on Vision Grills are stainless steel. Initially, they made the grates out of cast-iron, but they figured that they get food bits a lot and are hard to clean.
When the Vision Grills opted for stainless steel, they still offer the same grill marks on steaks while having the ease of cleaning after every use.
The grates on the Vision Grills are known for the space that they produce. The grills might be small at first glance, but they can fit a lot of food with their two-tiered grates.
As for the Big Green Egg, the flex on cooking space also comes with the BGE 2XL, which has a single rack but enormous.
The rack of the Big Green Egg can fit a whole pig on it for roasting. This means that you can also fit dozens of steaks all at once in the Big Green Egg.
Conclusion
The Big Green Egg grills are considered the best Kamado grills in the market right now. They are functional, easy to use, and are very powerful.
However, they do have a lot of competition, and these competitors are keeping up. The Vision Grills are not that known yet, but they are certainly in the game.
The Big Green Eggs are famous for their amazing performance and their design that was patented and made as to the standard for Kamado Grills.
The Vision Grills are great; they can attain high amounts of heat and have new innovative designs.
Kamado grills are a great investment, and we think that you should start investing in them and if we had to choose one amongst them, then the Vision Grill would win when it comes to taste and everything else.
The Big Green is pretty close to the Vision Grills, and there is not a huge difference, but with just a few more points, the Vision Grill is definitely for the win.
Check out the Big Green Egg and the Vision Grills websites to see their offers and other amazing products that are worth looking into!
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