This post contains affiliate links.
After visiting with family last weekend, it occurred to us, not all Big Green Egg owners are familiar with the extent of maintenance needed to maintain your Big Green Egg investment.
AND….
A Big Green Egg owner makes a LIFESTYLE INVESTMENT with the purchase.
To produce such delicious quality food, a pit master must first learn to take care of his investment.
To understand how your BGE has been constructed; see our article http://www.smokinjsbarbeque.com/the-big-green-egg/anatomy-of-a-big-green-egg/
Purchase the right tools for the job
Here is a list of some basic items a Big Green Owner should have to properly maintain his smoker…
You can use the ash tool, which should’ve come with your egg purchase.
We like to use the grill brush after the smoker is at a warm temperature.
After cleaning with the grill brush, make sure to use a paper towel and olive oil to lubricate the grates, which prevents the food from sticking.
Use this to scrape out ash through the bottom vent door.
We keep this 1.5 gallon vacuum in our cook trailer. It cleans up wet or dry issues.
Consider buying a cover for your Big Green Egg if exposed to the weather elements for long periods of time. This will help extend the life of your vessel.
OTHER BIG GREEN EGG TOYS!
Before every cook session
Pull out the used lump to make sure all the ash has filtered down to the bottom.
Clean out the bottom compartment and remove all ash.
Refill with larger lump pieces on the bottom, with smaller lump pieces on the top to advocate good air flow movement.
Incorporate flavored smoking wood in layers as you add your lump.
Use a reputable lump charcoal to mitigate excess ash..
Once egg is warm, scrap the grate with your grill brush
Every 3-4 cooks
Take all anatomy pieces out of the egg and remove all ash.
If you cook anything with excess fat and you did not utilize a drip pan, the plate setter may need to be scraped, removing excess grease.
If you grill brush came with a scraper side, use that or you can use the ash tool
Before prime cooking season
Examine and monitor the seal for wear.
Monitor fire box for cracks – it can happen but the egg is functional despite cracks
NEVER..
Never use a water hose or water to clean ash from inside your BGE
Never use lighter fluid inside your egg.
Never pull an egg, if on casters, always use equal balanced leverage around the egg to move it.
Never burn paper in your BGE
Your Big Green Egg works based on good air flow. Maintaining and keeping the egg clean will encourage good air flow, therefore produce optimum heat.
We hope these tips help you maintain and keep your Big Green Egg for your lifetime. We value our Big Green Eggs so much, we consider them a treasure to passed down to the next generation of pit masters.
2 Comments
David
Thanks. I’ve never actually removed all the charcoal. I usually just “gently stir” with the ash scraper to shake the loose dust down, the scrape it out. But that probably also distributes the smaller pieces to the bottom. I’m learning all the time.
Rusty
The vacuum idea is a good one and I happen to have one already! Never thought to use it on the BGE!