Lighting the Egg

First, load the fuel. Fill the fire box with lump charcoal to at least 1 inch above the air holes. Use only natural lump charcoal; do not use briquets. Our favourite brand of charcoal is shown below.

Next, make sure the draft door is completely open. Then, light a Big Green Egg fire starter and nestle it into the charcoal. We keep these fire starters in the drawer to the left of the stove. Never use starter fluid or methyl hydrate in the Egg. Leave the lid of the Egg open.

After approximately 10 minutes, or once several coals are burning, close the lid. Use the draft door and the vented metal top to control the temperature of the Egg.

Once the desired temperature has been reached, install the accessories you'll be using.

Cooking with the Egg

Our Egg is size large. The diameter of its cooking grid is 18.25 inches (46 cm) and its cooking area is 262 square inches (1,688 square cm).

We have the following accessories:

porcelain-coated cooking grid – The Egg's basic cooking grid.
cast iron cooking grid – An alternative to the primary stainless cooking grid. The cast iron gets very hot and retains the heat, turning it into a perfect searing surface. Flip the grid over for a flat searing surface for fish or seafood.
plate setter – This facilitates indirect cooking on the Egg by providing a heat-directing barrier between the food and the fire, thus turning the Egg into an outdoor convection oven. Excellent for low-and-slow recipes. It can be used two ways: legs-down, with the legs resting directly on the fire ring, or legs-up, with a cooking grid placed on the three ceramic legs.
v-rack – A porcelain-coated rack that can be used upright to hold roasts and poultry or flipped over to serve as an efficient rib rack.
vertical roaster – A chrome-plated steel vertical roaster that will hold a chicken or turkey upright during cooking for even browning and easier carving when done.

Burping the EGG

If you have been cooking at temperatures above 300°, be very careful when opening the dome. First raise the dome an inch or two and pause to "burp" it before raising the dome completely. This will allow the sudden rush of oxygen to burn safely inside the Egg and not as a flashback which could startle you and possibly cause injury.

After cooking on the Egg

Never use water to extinguish charcoal in an Egg. Simply close both dampers and the Egg will extinguish itself. Once the Egg has cooled, cover it with the vinyl cover.

Periodically, open the draft door and rake out the ashes into the ash pan using the ash tool. (The ash pan and ash tool are hung in the kitchen when not in use.) Dispose of the ash safely, so that you do not start a fire.

It is not necessary to clean the inner walls of the Egg. The Egg will burn off any splattering inside, much like a self-cleaning oven.

Big Green Egg recipes

You can find Egg recipes all over the internet. Here are a few sources to get you started: