Smoking and Grilling Tips

Smoking

Since 1974 the Big Green Egg has earned its reputation as the World's Best Smoker and Grill. When it comes to smoking, the Big Green Egg truly excels. The thick ceramic walls provide ideal insulation for the long, low temperature cooking needed to tenderize even less expensive or extra lean cuts of meat, while imbuing them with the aromatic wood smoke flavor. The EGG® makes the process easy because the dampers can be used to adjust the heat to the desired temperature -- generally in the 200° to 250°F range. It will then retain the precise temperature for many, many hours. Cooking low-and-slow refers to smoking at this temperature for hours and hours, which is the key to "really great barbecue."

When setting up your EGG for a long slow smoke, layer the Natural Lump Charcoal with your choice of well-soaked wood smoking chips to ensure sufficient smoke flavor throughout the cooking period. Pour a layer of charcoal into the firebox, then sprinkle a small handful of chips over the top, add more charcoal to cover the chips and then add more chips. Repeat this until you have the charcoal filled up to the top of the firebox. Use either our Natural Fire Starters or the Electric Lighter to fire up the charcoal. Once the temperature has stabilized at 250°F you will be ready to start cooking.

One of our EGGcessories that is especially useful in smoking applications is the Plate Setter. The Plate Setter with the legs in the upward position provides an indirect cooking environment which makes the smoke swirl slowly around the food while it is cooking. The Plate Setter will also eliminate the need to turn the food during the extended cooking process. Place a Drip Pan underneath the cooking grid to catch drippings, if you desire; adding flavored liquids such as apple juice or beer to the drip pan will add yet another layer of flavor to the food during cooking.

For some terrific recipes that utilize the EGGcellent smoking capability of the EGG, please check out our recipe section.

Grilling

Grilling refers to cooking the food directly over the coals at a moderate to high temperature. The EGG easily reaches 750°F for perfect searing of steaks, whether you like them rare, medium or well done. Using the dampers, it is easy to lower the heat to a more moderate temperature for other grilled foods that may not require continued high heat.

When it comes to grilling, the EGG is unique because you always grill with the lid closed. This results in a dramatic reduction in flare ups and ensures more even cooking than you will find with most other grills. It surprises many a new owner to find chicken can be grilled at 350°F without having burnt skin and blackened edges, something they have come to accept as inevitable with other types of grills.

With the Big Green Egg you can grill steaks, chicken, pork chops, burgers, hot dogs, sausages, vegetables, or virtually anything else, knowing they will turn out juicy with a delectable, crisp crust and incredible flavor every time. Many EGGcessories, ranging from Fish Grids to a Wok to the Cast Iron Cooking Grid have been designed to make grilling in the EGG even more convenient. See for yourself why The Big Green Egg truly is the World's Best Smoker AND Grill!

Baking

Have you ever baked in a barbecue grill? The EGG is known for its versatility and nowhere is that more evident than when you taste something that has been baked in an EGG. Crispy-crust pizza or fresh artisan yeast bread, beautifully browned cornbread or flaky biscuits, cobblers and pies, even cookies and cakes all meet or surpass the brick-oven test. With the addition of a plate setter and baking stone you can turn the EGG into a world class fire brick oven without adding another expensive piece of equipment to your backyard. Once you try a pizza prepared on the Big Green Egg your pizza parlor days will be gone forever! The combination of precise temperature control and the properties of the ceramics in the EGG, plate setter and pizza stone allow the moisture to be drawn from the bottom of the pizza crust, providing that out-of-this-world crispy, yet tender, crust.