spider22
Full Fledged Farker
I am very fortunate that I earned a new Large Big Green Egg. I was hoping to find out from some owners if you had to season it any special way or just start cooking on it the first time you light it up.
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New Big Green Egg
- Thread starter spider22
- Start date
drunkenmeatfist
is Blowin Smoke!
I believe they suggest that you first do a sub 300 degree cook in order for the gasket to settle. There are not supposed to be any factory oils that you need to burn off so you can throw food on right away. Many suggest a fatty as the perfect first cook.
spider22
Full Fledged Farker
I see that it suggests the first couple cooks under 350. I am thinking wings for the first cook. Might be a couple weeks before I find time.
My first precook was at 225 for a few hours Then I did a Naked Fatty at 250 I like to use lump Build your fire well- large pieces on the bottom to promote airflow very important- on high heat cooks ie searing steaks make sure you lift the dome a crack before you open it- called burping otherwise the flame will shoot up and you will lose the hair on your arm You also want to bring it up to temp slowly because if ypu over shoot your target temp it takes a while to get it back down The ceramic grill store is a Great place for accessories You will love this cooker
spider22
Full Fledged Farker
Thanks for your help. I believe they suggest you only use lump charcoal in the eggs.
Lots of Egg users here I am sure others will offer advice
JohnH12
Full Fledged Farker
Try here for all things egg.
https://eggheadforum.com/
Some other good info regarding ceramic cooking
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm
No seasoning necessary but do as they recommend with a couple of low temp cooks before you start trying to see how hot you can get it.
https://eggheadforum.com/
Some other good info regarding ceramic cooking
http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm
No seasoning necessary but do as they recommend with a couple of low temp cooks before you start trying to see how hot you can get it.
EdF
is Blowin Smoke!
I've never used anything other than lump - less residual ash. A great book on all the things you can do with your new BGE is https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LDYFIC2/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I picked it up after owning one for 12 years, and was still able to learn some new tricks.
I picked it up after owning one for 12 years, and was still able to learn some new tricks.
JokerBroker
Knows what a fatty is.
In addition to curing the gasket, learning where to set the upper and lower vents is a good reason to do a cook or two without food. You want to bring up the temps slowly with any kamado because if you get it too hot, it takes a while to cool down. Be patient and allow 15-20 minutes to get the temperature stabilized before you tweak it from there. You will also find that it doesn't like to run much lower than about 260°. At that temp, the lower vent and daisy wheel on top will almost be shut. Opening the vents slightly from there can move the temps up fairly quickly. If possible, I prefer to leave the daisy wheel wide open and control my temps from the bottom vent but as I said, below about 275°, you will need to restrict air flow on top as well. You will get the hang of this quickly and you will love how flexible it is. With a full batch of good lump charcoal, you can smoke something for 12 hours one day and cook a pizza at 700° or higher on another.
Kack
Full Fledged Farker
I did a couple low and slow rib and butt cooks. No issues so far.
Always use lump, I start my charcoal on the side burner on my gasser. Then use my power blower or shop vac on blower setting to get it up to temp. Order yourself a platesetter or one of the adjustable "rigs" from Ceramic Grill store. The kick ash pan is nice too
Always use lump, I start my charcoal on the side burner on my gasser. Then use my power blower or shop vac on blower setting to get it up to temp. Order yourself a platesetter or one of the adjustable "rigs" from Ceramic Grill store. The kick ash pan is nice too
I do a lot of cooking at 220-225 on my large BGE I also do salmon and have done Bacon @ 150* When I am lazy I use a Temp controller You can cook low and also really hot
WeberWho
is one Smokin' Farker
Start with something cheap and easy. If something gets carried away you only ruined a cheap cut of meat. You might just fire up the egg and play around with the vents before cooking anything on it. The vents will be the biggest leaning curve. To keep things simple you can remove to the top daisy wheel and not even use it for cooks above 300 degrees. You can control the temp with just the lower vent. The only time I use the upper daisy wheel is for low and slow. This might take some of the headache out when learning temps
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firefighter4634
is one Smokin' Farker
No need to season, just start cooking whatever you like. I've had mine for about 17 years now, it's a great cooker!
miked125
Knows what a fatty is.
What's been said, keep the temp low for a couple cooks for the gasket... no seasoning needed.
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Congrats on the new BGE. You're going to love it. There's a bit of a learning curve with it, but it's not rocket science.
I washed the cook grate in soap and water before my first cook and that's all the prep I did. I kept my first few cooks below 350 and the gasket was fine. My original gasket lasted 3 years before I replaced it.
I washed the cook grate in soap and water before my first cook and that's all the prep I did. I kept my first few cooks below 350 and the gasket was fine. My original gasket lasted 3 years before I replaced it.
BGWolf
Knows what a fatty is.
Grab a couple of packs of biscuit dough, the kind that comes in a tube. Arrange the biscuits evenly in your egg and cool according to directions. You will quickly learn where the hot and cool spots are in your egg.
Use that information to your advantage, move more done food to the cool spots and less done food to the hot spots. Pit the chicken thighs near the hot spots and the breasts toward the cool spots so they will get done at the same time.
Use that information to your advantage, move more done food to the cool spots and less done food to the hot spots. Pit the chicken thighs near the hot spots and the breasts toward the cool spots so they will get done at the same time.
