Every March information technology happens. Nosotros accept that first twenty-four hour period of sun and balmy temperatures and my mind starts to call up – Large Green Egg time! But if yous are like me, you were lazy and left your Egg in a sad country concluding autumn. And so earlier you get smoking, grilling and roasting, your Egg needs a good spring cleaning.

Here are my 6 tips for bound cleaning your Big Dark-green Egg.

Take a common cold hard await

I say cold, because that first balmy twenty-four hours that gets you Egg-cited, commonly doesn't last. The weather turns to cold once again, but you don't care. The BBQ sauce is out of the bottle.

Accept the cover off, open the lid of your Egg and just cheque information technology out. Take a good look at how things were left. The winter is long and I am sure you forget what you cooked terminal and the Egg may not be in the best of shape (and probably still smells like meat).

Now some of you cook all winter outside and if yous are in a cold climate, nice work. I used to do the odd winter smoke, but maybe I accept grown weak in my onetime historic period? In the common cold of winter it's just easier to put something in the oven and hunker downwardly inside. But it's only not the aforementioned correct? Y'all don't get that smoky flavour you commonly get from charcoal.

What needs work? Cleaning out the burn box? Tightening some screws? Is your cover looking beat upward afterward months of being cached in snow and water ice?

I am not much of a car guy, so fine tuning my Egg before hitting the BBQ road is about as close as I get to tinkering in an auto shop.

Are you happy with your fix upwardly? Would a change of placement of your Egg be fun? These are things I consider each spring. The grilling season is a wonderful fourth dimension of year and you will spend a lot of time tending to food outside, then might as well make information technology awesome.

Once y'all get a lay of the BGE landscape, it's time to become bound cleaning your Big Green Egg.

spring clean your big green egg

The burn off

Depending on what yous final cooked, you lot volition take some old charcoal and definitely some ashes to remove. Simply before doing any of that, I like to practise one of the most heady things y'all become to do as an Egg owner. The burn off.

Basically you are going to get the temperature to a ludicrous heat and burn off all of the build up of gunk from previous cooks. If you utilise your Egg a lot, it no doubt is very black on the within. Only the fire off will pretty much get it dorsum to the lovely white colour information technology was when yous bought it.

Start by stirring up any left over charcoal so the ashes fall into the fire box. Cheque that the remaining charcoal is even so good (non wet or moldy) and add some more than if needed. Roughly one-half full.

Now the goal is to become the Big Green Egg as hot as y'all can get it which is anywhere from 700 F to 1,000 F. Yep I know, that is hot. Don't have the kids effectually.

Lite the Egg however you practise it. Get some charcoal glowing, shut the chapeau and open the draft door wide open. Forget the daisy wheel for this. You lot want it going full throttle.

Hang out until you see the temp rising fast and it gets to at to the lowest degree 700 F, then set a timer for an hour or two and go do something else. Perhaps read BBQ recipes? Possibly work on a puzzle. I thing I suggest is you don't go that far. I hateful it is an insanely hot burn roaring in your backyard, even if it's relatively safe.

For the next hour or so the high heat will burn off whatever buildup within the Egg. The grill, the fire ring, the inner dome, fifty-fifty the daisy wheel if you leave it inside will become cleaned upwards.

The kickoff fourth dimension I did a burn off I was skeptical. I missed having my Egg await clean and new. Simply information technology definitely worked.

One thing to mention that I accept read. Don't exercise a burn off if yous have zilch to burn off. Like, if your Egg is pretty new. Some say it can practice damage.

So become the burn raging, take a photograph for IG of the temp gauge maxing out similar a noise meter at a Metallica concert and bask the rut.

Next nosotros take everything autonomously.

So fresh, so make clean

After your timer goes off, head back outside and close everything up and permit the Egg cool downwards. If you lot did non set up a timer no worries, the charcoal volition run out eventually and it volition cool itself downward. I like to set a timer just so information technology does not become and all day projection.

Your Egg should look pretty damn make clean over again. Bringing back memories of the twenty-four hours you brought it home from the hospital. Whoops, got confused for a sec. Take I mentioned I love my BGE.

No it'southward fourth dimension to give information technology the final clean. Take out the grill, fire ring, grate and burn down box and put them on the ground. Brush off any concluding bits of gunk and ashes and motility back to focusing on the inside of the Egg.

Try and scoop out any remaining ash at the very bottom and if you want, utilise a dustbuster. I have not considering I don't really like the idea of the ashes inside my house dustbuster. Merely if you don't intendance, buzz away. I guess if y'all have a shop vac, that would be perfect.

One time you clean it all up, it'south fourth dimension to put the pieces dorsum in.

One annotation. Don't use whatsoever cleaning products on ANYTHING that is inside your Egg. The ceramic will soak it upwards and pass the chemicals on to the season of your food. If you must, just utilize water and thoroughly dry out the pieces before putting dorsum in.

Add together the burn down box, grate, fire ring and grill back in and admire your work.

Looks like new I bet. I am not proverb you need to call the family unit out to look, only maybe y'all should. Show them this is the beginning of where their awesome dinners come from.

Now that the inside is clean, let'southward focus on the side by side part of spring cleaning your Big Green Egg. The exterior. Yous know, the green office.

Outer Egg maintenance

Your Large Green Egg not only looks great in the yard, it was by and large likely a crazy investment. This is not one of those $99 BBQs we accept all bought and let rust to death until we buy a new ane.

Y'all really want to follow through on up go on each year. Thankfully, there is non much to do as the Egg is incredibly durable.

Await dorsum to your initial assessment. Anything seem loose? Any noises when y'all open and shut the lid? It could be more green?

Very bad things could happen if y'all ignore this step. Only think Humpty Dumpty.

Focus on where the acme and bottom bands come together. In that location are two carriage bolts. Ane property each band together. Make certain these are good and tight. If these bolts are loose the lid of your Egg could autumn right out of the top ring when you open up the lid and crash to the ground. I can't even imagine the feelings I would accept. So please, tighten them. While you are there, give it a modest spritz of WD40, effectually where the springs are. Non much.

Next, simply become around the top and metal ring of your Egg and gently tighten anything if needed. Then check the hinge bolts and work your way down and around your Nest (if y'all take ane). For those wondering, the Nest is the stand the Egg sits in. Check the attached side tables. Check annihilation and everything that is attached.

How is your super clean daisy wheel? Does information technology need a quick tighten?

Is your draft door sliding shine? I have never had to practise anything to mine as for the most part the Egg is low maintenance. But exercise grit off any ash.

Big green egg

The one role I have had to change a few times is the gasket. Information technology's the seal that goes around the hat and the bottom section. And then when the lid is closed you lot don't have any heat escape. It's like a felt-like cloth that meshes when the chapeau closes. Over fourth dimension it can fire off, stick and only wear down. It's normal. You tin can order a new one online pretty like shooting fish in a barrel and it'south like putting on LEGO stickers. Or at least I remember so. Just brand sure you fully make clean off the old ane before sticking a new 1 over it.

I ripped mine off one time when trying to open a frozen Egg in one case. Water had gotten on the gasket and information technology froze together. So pro tip, go along your Egg covered in winter especially if yous want to open information technology on a freezing day.

Now that everything is tight. Give your Egg a practiced wipe downwards to go rid of the gunk build up on the exterior. It likes to congregate in the dimples. Make that Egg polish again.

I usually only employ a mix of warm water and any grease fighting dish soap. Again, don't get any INSIDE your Egg.

Wipe downward the dome, wipe down your Nest and let the sun dry out information technology. Obviously if it's cold, maybe skip the outer wash until it's warmer. Again, you don't want the gasket freezing together.

If your temp estimate needs centering exercise that. But otherwise, your Egg should be all clean and set to rock at this point.

Open up your Boomerang feature and open up that hat to show everyone your success. Open, close, open up, close. Nice. You are almost done spring cleaning your Big Greenish Egg.

Don't forget your gear

You don't desire to have a pristine Egg and so use muddied gear and accessories. Clean those likewise. Anything cast iron, you could add it to the burn down off stage.

How is your cleaning castor looking? Be honest, did you lot leave it on the ground again?

Wipe down your grills. Polish up your pelting vent. Wash your side tables.

How is the area around your Egg looking? Sweep upward the ashes left on the ground. Become those vii leaves that are still stuck nether your Egg from the autumn.

Is your spot the all-time spot for optimal Egg usage? I pretty much based my location on trying to reduce smoke for neighbours. While the smells are delicious, not everyone enjoys sitting in a camp fire.

Do yous demand to supplant anything? A new flipper? Cover looking crude?

What near brand new gear? This is the best time to think virtually what you want for the season ahead. I call back I want a chimney starter next.

Final summertime I got a big cast atomic number 26 skillet that I hardly used. I can't wait to apply information technology more than this flavour. Stay tuned.

Batteries working in your WI FI thermometer? Okay, now I am going overboard.

You are gear up. Spring cleaning your Big Green Egg is complete. And so the existent question is what are you lot cooking outset?

Bonus tip: What to melt

And so your Big Green Egg is make clean as tin be. It'southward set to provide you with summer dinners. It's gear up to exercise the heavy lifting. At present, what practise you cook first?

Practice you go low and dull for a pork shoulder or brisket? High estrus for a juicy steak? Or do the kids simply want crispy hot dogs?

Whatever you pick, information technology will be swell to be back, standing at the grill, smelling the smoke and feeling alive. Spring is the all-time.

My suggestions to kicking off the grilling season? Hither are a few.

Beer can craven

Beer tin can chicken was a bit of a gateway food for me. We had it at a friend'due south house that had a Large Dark-green Egg before I even knew what one was. I was hooked as soon as I had that juicy chicken.

Burgers and veg

Burgers are my favourite matter grilled. So many possibilites. Add a grilled veg like asparagus or some peppers and it's a pretty like shooting fish in a barrel meal.

Smoked ham

Underrated all-star of smoking. Ham seems boring and there is not a lot of work to it. But damn, it's tasty. Even those who never liked ham were a convert.

Chicken wings

Kid favourite. Who doesn't love some good wings? I unremarkably make two kinds. Plain and spicy.

Steak

The Egg is the only way I can get steaks to be fifty-fifty close to a steak house. Get a good cutting of meat, utilise the reverse sear method and it's heaven.

There are so many other recipes that are protiens, veggies, even desserts. What do you love to cook on your Big Green Egg?

Wondering more most the Big Green Egg and if it's worth it?

Did I miss anything when it comes to spring cleaning your Big Green Egg?

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