If you think your backyard is missing something, then, you’ve come to the right place. Investing in a Big Green Egg ceramic outdoor cooker may just be the upgrade you’ve been looking for.

If you are curious to learn more about the famous Big Green Egg, and what it takes to properly clean and maintain it, then keep on reading. Below you will find tons of helpful information to help you keep your Egg running in eggcellent condition.

What is a Big Green Egg?

The Big Green Egg is a ceramic, kamado-style charcoal grill. Kamado style cooking originates from Asian tradition, and attempts to replicate traditional wood fire oven cooking via charcoal and ceramics.

The Big Green Egg has been around for over 40 years, and for good reason. It is one of the highest-quality, most versatile and easy-to-use kamado-style outdoor cooking grills on the market.

The Big Green Egg is famous for its ability to do it all. It’s a 3-in-1 grill, oven and smoker. You can:

• Grill steaks, pork chops and burgers
• Bake pizzas, casseroles and cobblers
• Smoke ribs, turkey and chicken

We might be a little biased, but we firmly believe that every single backyard space deserves a Big Green Egg.

The 5 Benefits of Owning and Using a Big Green Egg

There are many other attractive benefits to owning and cooking with a Big Green Egg ceramic cooker.

Besides the delicious food, the Big Green Egg:

• Is quick and easy to light
• Performs efficiently and can be precisely temperature controlled
• Is easy to clean up and maintain
• It is durable and constructed with high-quality materials
• Comes backed with a lifetime warranty

Between the Big Green Egg’s assembly directions, cooking recipes and growing community of  Egg fanatics and special events, learning to cook with the Egg and sharing your passion for outdoor cooking have never been more inclusive and fun.

The Benefits of Cleaning and Maintaining Your Big Green Egg

If we are being honest with ourselves, we would love to just cook delicious food and never have to clean up. However, you cannot have one without the other, and so it’s best to form good cleaning habits.

This is especially the case with a Big Green Egg. Like most things in life, for example, our cars, the more you take care of your Egg, the longer it will last. The good news is that cleaning and maintaining your egg is a lot simpler than other outdoor cookers.

Some basic benefits that arise from routinely cleaning and maintaining your Egg are:

• Better tasting food
• Longer lasting components
• More accurate thermometer
• An overwhelming sense of purpose and pride in yourself and your Egg

In a perfect world, simple and routine cleaning should occur before or after every usage. Routine cleaning includes scraping off any residue from the Grids and wiping down the exterior of the Egg.

But besides routine cleaning, there are a couple of other cleaning and maintenance tasks that are vital for the longevity of your Egg.

Below, we will talk about the materials you will need in order to properly clean and maintain your Egg, and provide a step-by-step explanation for the different tasks.

Cleaning the Various Components of Your Egg

Besides some basic cleaning before or after each usage, there are some other cleaning tasks you should perform in order to keep your Egg running in tip-top shape. These tasks are especially important during the warm weather months, and when you are outside, cooking with your Egg frequently.

Depending on how much you are cooking, and your personal cleanliness standards, some focused cleaning of the various different parts of your Egg is recommended about once a month.

In order to successfully clean all the important components of your Egg, some materials you will need are:

• Steel Brush or 80-grit sandpaper
• Vegetable oil
• Dual Brush Grid Scrubber
• Grid Lifter
• Soap & water
• WD-40
• Ash tool & ash pan

The Reggulator

The reggulator is a newer component on the more recent Big Green Egg models. Depending on when you purchased your Egg, you may or may not have a reggulator. Nonetheless, it’s cool to read about.

The reggulator is the successor of the dual-function metal top. Like the original metal top of your Egg, the reggulator is a cast iron air regulator with a silicon handle. However, unlike the metal top, it has an anti-rust coating.

The rust-preventative coating means that you do not need to season the reggulator. In fact, seasoning the reggulator may damage the coating, and the silicone handle.

Keeping your reggulator clean literally only involves putting a cover over it once you’ve stopped cooking, and the Egg has cooled down. Over time, if it begins to look a little dull, you can rub on some Crisco or vegetable oil.

Cast Iron Dual Function Metal Top

In the long run, the dual-function metal top requires very little cleaning. That is, of course, if you take the time to season it properly before your first cook on your Big Green Egg. Seasoning the cast iron metal top will enhance the longevity of the top, and keep it from attracting dirt.

Here is how you season the metal top:

1. Heat your egg up to about 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Place the metal top on the grid, inside the Egg
3. Place the snuffer cap on top of your Egg
4. Close the draft door
5. Leave the cast iron metal top for 1 hour
6. Once it has cooled down, take out the top and rub on some Crisco or vegetable oil
7. Bring the temperature back to about 350 - 400 degrees
8. Replace the metal top on the grid inside the Egg
9. Put the snuffer cap back on, and close the draft door
10. Let the metal top sit until the Egg completely cools down

It is best to repeat this seasoning process about once or twice a year in order to keep the cast iron metal top in ideal condition.

The Base and Dome

The exterior base and dome of the Egg will also eventually get dirty. Especially if you are outside, enjoying the nice weather and cooking on your Egg every night. Luckily, keeping the base and come clean is super easy.

Simply soak a rag in a solution of soap and water, and wipe down the exterior of the Egg. Warm water makes this job more efficient. Or you can clean the exterior when the Egg itself is still warm.

You can also clean the inside of the dome by brushing it with a steel brush, or 80-grit sandpaper. 

Stainless Steel Grid

The stainless steel grid is another component that is super simple to keep clean. It may not seem necessary, but the Egg cooks so much better without any leftover residue on the grid.

Simply scrub the grid with the Dual Brush Grid Scrapper when the grid itself is still slightly warm. The leftover bits will fall off into the egg and burn off. Afterwards, rub the grid down with a rag, or clean paper towel.

If you are in a food coma and don’t feel like cleaning your grid after your meal, this process can be done first thing the next time you cook, and as the Egg is warming up.

Cast Iron Grid

The cast iron grid is cleaned the same way you clean the stainless steel grid. As the Egg heats up before cooking or cools down afterwards, simply scrub down the cast iron grid with the Dual Brush Grid Scrapper.

However, because this grid is cast iron, it does require an additional step to keep it in ideal condition. Like the metal top, the cast iron grid should occasionally be seasoned. The steps for seasoning the grid are the same as the metal top:

1. Heat your egg up to about 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Place the grid, inside the Egg
3. Place the snuffer cap on top of your Egg
4. Close the draft door
5. Leave the grid for 1 hour
6. Once it has cooled down, take out the grid and rub on some Crisco or vegetable oil
7. Bring the temperature back to about 350 - 400 degrees
8. Replace the grid inside the Egg
9. Put the snuffer cap back on, and close the draft door
10. Let the grid sit until the Egg completely cools down

The Egg Frame

Over time, dust and other grime will build up on the frame of your Egg. Soap and warm water is the perfect solution for wiping down and bringing the shine back to your Egg’s frame.

You may also find that some hardware on the Egg’s frame has come loose, especially if you tend to move your Egg a lot. This is pretty normal, so it’s good to keep an eye out for it. The nuts and bolts on the frame can easily be tightened up with some basic hand tools.

Conveggtor

The conveggtor is an additional component that you can purchase for your Egg. The conveggtor functions as a heat-directing barrier between the food and the fire. Essentially, it transforms your Egg into an outdoor convection oven.

You can keep the conveggtor clean by always cooking with a drip tray. But if you forget the drip try, and need to completely clean the conveggtor, simply:

1. Bring your Egg to about 250 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Place the conveggtor in the Egg
3. Let the conveggtor cook and clean itself until no more smoke comes from the Egg

If you want to skip this step, you can also use the Dual Brush Grid Scrapper to scrap the conveggtor clean. 

Maintenance Tasks for Your Egg

Maintaining your Big Green Egg is like maintaining your car. Sure you give your car a wash and vacuum once a month. But also, every so often, you perform maintenance tasks on the engine, brakes or wheels, and even replace old parts.

Well, it’s the same for your Big Green Egg. Below you will find some maintenance tasks that are important for increasing the lifespan of your Egg.

Felt Gasket Replacement

The felt gasket on your egg functions as a cushion for closing your Egg’s lid, but also as an airtight seal. Over time, the felt on your Egg can become hardened, and fail to do its job properly.

If this is the case for the felt gasket on your Egg, it may be time to replace it:

1. Scrape the old felt off the edges of your Egg
2. Using 80-grit sandpaper, scrub the Egg and remove any leftover residue
3. Wipe the edge clean with a clean rag or paper towel
4. Apply a brand-new felt gasket
5. Let the new felt sit set for 24 hours before cooking on your Egg

If all goes to plan, you should only have to perform this maintenance task every two years or so.

Thermometer Calibration

Over time, the thermometer on your Egg may begin to register inaccurate temperatures. Pulling out under or overcooked food is a hassle. So if you think your thermometer needs calibration, it’s best to take care of it as soon as possible.

Follow these steps to calibrate your Egg’s thermometer, and get back to perfectly cooked food:

1. Carefully remove the thermometer from your Egg
2. Bring a pot or pan of water to a boil, or about 212 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Place a skimmer or strainer in the pot, and place the thermometer through the strainer, so it’s suspended in the water, and not touching the bottom
4. If the thermometer does not read 212 degrees, use the adjusting nut on the thermometer to calibrate
5. Place the newly calibrated thermometer in ice water
6. After a few minutes, bring the water back to a boil, and check the temperature again to make sure the thermometer is correctly calibrated

Perform a Cleaning Burn

A cleaning burn is similar to the cleaning mode on your convection oven. It uses heat to clean the interior of the Egg. Essentially, with extreme heat, you can completely burn off any residue in your Egg, and reset the Egg to a clean state. This maintenance task should be performed once or twice a year.

Follow these steps to perform a cleaning burn:

1. Completely remove any ash that is currently inside the Egg
2. Add charcoal and light your Egg
3. Replace the cooking grids in your Egg
4. Raise the temperature to 600 degrees Fahrenheit
5. After letting the Egg cook for 1 hour, shut all the draft vents, and let it cool completely
6. Remove all the cooking grids, fire bowl, and fire rings
7. Remove all the ash using the ash tool and pan, or better yet, a shop vacuum

Clean and Maintain Your Big Green Egg for Best Results

Keeping your Big Green Egg clean and properly maintained may sound like a lot of work at first, but trust us, it’s not that bad. You will get the hang of it. In fact, in many ways, due to the high-quality materials, the Egg actually requires less cleaning than many other outdoor charcoal or gas grills.

The time you invest in your Egg is worth it. Your family, friends (and your Egg) will thank you when they are enjoying the outstanding recipes you’ve crafted,

If you are curious about the Big Green Egg, or other outdoor living space upgrades, don’t hesitate to contact us.