Tips For Cooking With the Big Green Egg Grill

The Big Green Egg grill is the most versatile grill available and can be used for smoking, grilling or baking. The Egg has incredible temperature control, which allows you to cook almost anything on it. The thick ceramic walls and draft doors allow you to sear steaks at high temperatures (up to 750 degrees) or slow cook ribs at a low temperature of 200 to 250 degrees. Or if you're craving pizza or bread, the Big Green Egg bakes better than a brick oven. Here are some tips to make cooking with your Egg even more enjoyable:

Grilling

Most people are familiar with grilling, but just in case, grilling refers to cooking the food directly over coals at a moderate to high temperature. The Big Green Egg can go up to 750 degrees for searing steaks, or you can lower the heat for slow cooking (mmm... ribs). Use the adjustable dampers at the bottom of the Egg along with the daisy wheel at the top for super temperature control for your favorite grilling recipe.

Smoking

When it comes to smoking, the Egg's thick ceramic walls are perfect insulation for cooking at long, low temperatures needed to tenderize and smoke meats. When setting up your EGG for smoking, layer lump (wood) charcoal with your favorite wood smoking chips (we like grape). Add more charcoal, then more wood chips; repeat until the firebox is full. You can use either natural fire starters or an electric lighter to start the charcoal (never use lighter fluid!). You're ready to start cooking once the temperature has reached 250 degrees. One of the great things about the Egg is that with the ceramic material and the fact that you always cook with the lid down, you can let your grill cook for long time periods (even overnight) without worrying about flare-ups or overcooking your food. Consider adding the plate setter or the rib rack to make your smoking experience even better.

Baking

The Big Green Egg is known for its versatility and that is most evident when baking breads, dessert or even pizza in your Egg. You can turn your Egg into a fire brick oven just by adding a plate setter and baking stone. Eggheads love baking pizzas in their grills, so you can find many pizza recipes at the Egghead forum. And once you've tried a brick oven pizza in your Egg, believe me, you'll never order pizza again!