How does the Big Green Egg Work? | About Outdoor Cooking.

How does the EGG work?

The Big Green Egg is a blend of the best of ancient wisdom, modern technology and proprietary processes, resulting in a far superior product that is stronger, more durable and provides better heat insulation than any other outdoor cooker on the market.

Simple To Start

The Big Green Egg reaches cooking temperature and is ready to use in just minutes. Big Green Egg brand natural lump charcoal is made in the USA from oak and hickory for superb performance and results. Lighting the charcoal is quick and easy, as the design of the Big Green Egg allows air flow to work like a fireplace. Use a natural charcoal starter or an electric starter; and never buy lighter fluid again!
Precise Temperature Control

You can grill, smoke and bake at exact temperatures by easily adjusting the patented air flow controls. You have total control over temperature at your fingertips, maintaining accuracy within a few degrees! The Made in USA precision temperature gauge provides accuracy to 750°F / 400° C. Many indoor ovens cannot match the EGG's temperature control and accuracy!
Safer to Use

The Big Green Egg is extremely safe to use because the ceramic surface doesn't get as hot as a metal grill, and the heat source is protected within a ceramic fire box inside the base.
Self cleaning

The Big Green Egg features a stainless steel cooking grid and an elegant green exterior with a lifetime glaze that maintains its good looks and wipes clean easily without chemical cleaners. Inside, residual heat burns away any grease build-up - just like a self-cleaning oven.

Patented Technology

What makes The Big Green Egg by far the best cooking device of its kind are the patented components and state-of the-art ceramic technologies that provide improved insulation, thermal shock tolerance and material strength. The high-quality ceramics used in each and every EGG will not crack or deteriorate over time, and many EGGs are passed down to the next generation. The Big Green Egg comes with a Best-In-Class limited lifetime warranty.

CONVECTION - IN THE DOME

Unlike Conduction which moves heat to the food and through it by way of the metal grills, Convection moves heat around the food. The design of the Big Green Egg means that air currents develop from underneath the Firebox moving the air through the grid and up and around the domed lid. Circulating hot air then forces cooler air down towards the charcoals where it is heated and then rises again - and so it continues. The ingredients cook by the heated juices circulating throughout the food.

CONDUCTION - ON THE COOKING SURFACE

Conduction is the basic way that heat moves from the fire, through the grill grate and into the food you are cooking. Metal is a particularly good heat conductor and the metal grids you grill on should be thoroughly heated before you begin to cook so the meats gets a blast of energy at the onset of cooking. The amount of heat coming from the charcoals has little effect on how fast the heat transfers through the meat - hotter charcoals simply mean a crustier finish to your food.

RADIANT HEAT - OFF THE COALS

Using Radiant heat is completely different from other forms of cooking. Radiant heat is a form of electromagnetic energy that is directed at the food you cook. Anything that is heated to a high temperature radiates heat so hot coals in a charcoal grill give off some radiant energy (charcoal cooking is about 25% radiant cooking). This is infrared energy - just like the heat you feel from the sun.

Mix Ancient Wisdom with Modern Technology

The Big Green Egg journey started some 3000 years ago in the East until the idea to modernise the concept was hatched by Ed Fisher in the early 1970's. The ancient wisdom of controlling air flow for a cooking flame in a sealed vessel is the ingenious legacy of this eastern technology. The tandoor and kamado are typically made of a clay material, and function by limiting air flow to produce more even heat and temperatures. This principle remains the core design feature of the Big Green Egg and accounts for much of its remarkable results.

Charcoal - the natural choice

Big Green Egg Natural lump charcoal ensures the delicious results that EGG owners have come to expect. Briquettes and other charcoals with chemical additives produce distasteful effects in the food. Our wood is FSC certified and environmentally sustainable.

Fast & Easy to Light

When using Big Green Egg Firestarters to light the natural lump charcoal, the Big Green Egg is ready to cook in fifteen minutes. Unbelievable but true.

Unlike metal barbecues that take 45 minutes to get ready to cook, the Big Green Egg is ready in a third of that time.

A single firestarter nestled into the centre of the coals burns at high temperature for ten minutes until the core mass of charcoal glows hot; five more minutes with the dome closed and the vents open and you're ready to cook.

Big Green Egg Firestarters & Charcoal

Take Control

With the Big Green Egg you are always in control. You have the ability and versatility to sear a steak, roast a chicken, bake a pizza, slow baking cinnamon apples or cook a shoulder of pork. The double venting system built into the Big Green Egg gives amazing flexibility.

The technology here is quite simple but also quite effective. The vents allow air to flow through the BGE and when the vents are wide open the oxygen levels for the hot coals are at their greatest. Reducing the opening of the vents limits the air-flow and reduces the available oxygen thereby reducing the temperature.

Ancient technology meets space-age materials

Using state of the art ceramic technology developed by NASA for their heat shields, this ceramic product offers improved insulation, thermal shock tolerance, durability and strength and will keep the outside surface far cooler than any gas grill.

Because it is kilned at thousands of degrees, the EGG is resistant to fissures and cracks even at high cooking temperatures, or under extremely cold weather conditions that would cause normal ceramics to crack. The external surface is a weather proof green glazing that offers lasting durability.

The Big Green Egg is hot to the touch, but won't instantly burn you. Also, the fire is always inside the EGG and the lid and vents can be closed to snuff the fire. It can be left running for hours without needing to tend to the temperature setting.

Precise temperature control

Take control simply and effectively by adjusting the top and bottom draft vents. Watch as the thermometer zeroes in on the desired temperature as you make adjustments.

The EGG stabilizes easily, allowing you to cook a wider range of recipes on open flame.

EGG-cessory thermometers expand the precision of the cooking process by measuring internal meat temperature, the temperature of the cooking surface, or even a remote reading for the sake of convenience.

Moving your EGG

If you need to move your Egg, take extreme care and follow a few simple rules to make sure you do so without any accidents to yourself or your Egg! A full set of instructions comes with every Egg, but you can also see them at View instructions

Take a look at the diverse styles and functionalities of the bases available for the EGG, including the elegant Royal Mahogany Base, the Stainless Steel Long Table, or the durable and functional Metal Nest. View more

Safety with your EGG

The fire is safely contained inside the EGG. The Lid and vents can be closed to easily and safely snuff out the fire. The Big Green Egg will be hot to the touch, so do take care, but it won't burn you on impact like a metal grill could so small children and pets should be much safer.

The Big Green Egg Explained

Solid Quality. Superior Ceramics. Serious Barbecue

EGG-cessories

Many additional benefits of the Big Green Egg are achieved with myriad ancillary products that are affectionately called "EGG-cessories." These include grilling tools, assorted thermometers, various grilling surfaces (or grids), racks and pans, and other innovative items that add convenience and creativity to the cooking EGG-sperience.

Shop for EGG-cessories

Hundreds of EGG-spert recipes await your talents. They are Egg-specific to help you best understand and master your Big Green Egg, while progressing through beginner, intermediate, and EGG-spert levels.

Some of our Big Green Egg EGG-cessories

Rocking Pizza Cutter
With a wooden handle and sharp stainless steel blade, this utensil cuts pizzas in one easy motion. This is a true must-have for giving good presentation to a beautiful pizza perfectly cooked inside the EGG.
Ash Pan
This receptacle is a big help when disposing of ash from beneath the Fire Box; it fits neatly into the grooves along the lower lip of the draft door and has plenty of capacity for even a full load of charcoal that has burned out.
Dual-Probe Remote Thermometer
This thermometer is one remarkable device: it transmits the temperature of the meat internally and the grill surface to a remote digital display so the EGG can do its work, and you can relax.