Guides

This part's easy, and you'll have the hang of it in no time.

1. Fill the Firebox with Charcoal to just above the rim. Don’t be afraid of overloading your EGG – any unburned charcoal can be left and used next time. It's better to overload than underload!
2. Light your EGG using a Big Green Egg Natural Fire Starter. Ruffle the edges a little to make lighting easier.
3. Place a few pieces of charcoal over the Fire Starters to create a teepee shape. This will help the charcoal to get going faster.
4. Open the Draft Door fully and leave your Big Green Egg open for 10 minutes.
5. After 10 minutes, you’ll notice the charcoal in the middle of your EGG is glowing.
6. Now open your rEGGulator fully.
7. Leave your EGG to heat for a further 2-5 minutes.
8. Once the ceramics have warmed up, add your cooking surfaces. Wait a further 5-10 minutes, or until your EGG has reached your cooking temperature.

What is direct cooking?

When you cook at a high temperature in direct contact with the cooking surface, that's searing. This cooking mode falls under the "direct heat" category, as whether you're using a searing grid, skillet, or plancha griddle, you'll be utilising the heat without anything blocking or deflecting it around the dome of the EGG.

What is indirect cooking?

When you're cooking directly, the flames cook your food. That's good for smaller items that take less time to cook or for things that can easily be flipped over. However, if you've got a large cut of meat with lots of connective tissue to break down, a loaf of bread that requires consistent, even heat all around, or something you're looking to roast or smoke at a very low temperature, direct cooking won't cut it for you.

By placing a ConvEGGtor into your Firebox (or by using the EGGspander System), you block the direct heat and deflect it around the dome of your EGG. Thanks to the EGG's careful design and amazing ceramics, this heat bounces back to your food, cooking it indirectly.

If your EGG isn’t performing as well as it should, our Servicing Team may be able to come to your home and fix the problem. This offering (available in those parts of the UK covered by our White Glove installation service) is designed to help with repairs such as the replacement of gaskets and bands; it does not include cleaning and basic maintenance.

Email us on info@biggreenegg.co.uk (with ‘Servicing’ in the subject line), including your address and a photo or two of your EGG.

Our team will then be in touch to confirm whether your home is within range, assess what the problem is, and, if it’s something we can help with, provide you with a price. If your location or the nature of the problem mean that a servicing visit is either impossible or unnecessary, they will point you towards the resources you need to tackle the repairs yourself.

If you have a lot of grease or food remnants on cooking surfaces, just turn up the temperature, leave it for half an hour or so and it will burn off like a self-cleaning oven. For any stubborn areas or carbonised food you can always use the mesh scrubber or ash tool. Ceramic or cast iron parts should NOT be immersed in water.

The outside of the EGG is easy to clean: just use a damp cloth and water, or for stubborn marks use our Speediclean Ceramic Cleaner.

Come to think of it, the inside is easy too: crank up the heat, and debris on the inner ceramics will burn off.

For metal surfaces, get them hot and use one of our wire scrubbers to remove leftover food. If there are stubborn areas, coat with a bit of oil, then try again. You should be good as new in no time. Don't do this on your ceramic surfaces though, or you'll ruin the coating.