GETTING
STARTED
With the brief guide below, which includes some handy tips for
the three most commonly used cooking methods, we’d like to
help you on your way towards getting the best out of the Big
Green Egg. Once you’ve used the Big Green Egg a few times,
many of the instructions below will become second nature.
For the best results, we advise you to fire up the Big Green Egg with
high-quality charcoal like Premium Organic Lump Charcoal (see the
chapter ‘Essentials’). Charcoal burns quickly and cleanly and leaves
little residue compared with wood or briquettes. When you use
briquettes, it is more dicult to keep the temperature under control
and the EGG can become blocked.
The Big Green Egg is suitable for many cooking techniques. Aer
igniting the EGG, various accessories can be used to setup the Big
Green Egg for grilling, baking, boiling, stewing, smoking or slow
cooking.
How to ignite the Big Green Egg
1. Fill the ceramic fire box with charcoal till the rim. Place three Big
Green Egg Charcoal Starters among the charcoal.
2. Fully open the dra door at the base and light the fire starters.
Leave the lid open. The large amount of oxygen will soon get the
charcoal glowing.
3. Aer 10-15 minutes and once the fire starters have burned up,
install the accessories for the desired setup, depending on what
you are cooking.
4. Close the lid and install the dual function metal top. Set the
temperature.
N.B. Aer ignition, keep the lid of the Big Green Egg closed as much
as possible to maintain the desired temperature and to prevent the
gasked from burning.
Temperature control
In broad terms, the dra door determines the range temperatures
(especially the upper limit). The dual function metal top is intended
for finer adjustments and allows you to adjust the EGG to within a
degree.
Adjusting the temperature takes some practice. If the temperature is
too low, provide more air flow by opening the dra door slightly
further. To increase the temperature quickly, open the dual function
metal top halfway. When the correct temperature is reached, close
the disk, but make sure the holes in the dual function metal top are
open all the way. This is a stationary position. If you want to reduce
the temperature, close the dra door at the bottom and half open
the holes in the dual function metal top.
The EGG will not cool down when you open the lid because this
allows more oxygen to reach the charcoal, making it burn more
fiercely.
CAUTION! As a safety precaution, at high temperatures it is
important to open the lid carefully in two steps: first open the lid
about 5cm wide so that cold air can enter the EGG and hot air can
leave. Then open the lid fully.
