Want an Easy & Reliable Way to Fire Up Your Big Green Egg?

Often our clients will ask what is the easiest and most reliable way to fire up their Egg. Well good news!........ it’s actually very simple using a few basic items.

If you’re not quite ready to invest in a butane or electric EGGniter, one of the best ways we’ve found to light the Egg is to use the Australian designed Blazaball. It’s as easy as a twist to add your favorite all natural firestarters like Jealous Devil BOOM or Big Green Egg SpeediLight to the Blazaball.Twist the Blazaball open, drop in your favorite all natural firestarter and twist the Blazaball closed.

All that’s left to do is light and drop the Blazaball in the center of your charcoal.Open the bottom vent and the Egg dome completely and the Blazaball instantly goes into action. Blazaball's unique design creates a protective barrier for the fire starters that facilitates air to circulate. This is due to the strategically designed air pockets which allow the flow of air to distribute within the fire and prevent suffocation.Isn’t that easy?! Check out the Blazaball and our all natural firestarter options in stock now at the Fleet-Plummer showroom. We can help you to have your Egg fired up within minutes every single time.

Which Grill Brush is right for my grill?

As the warmer temperatures of Spring and Summer finally begin to arrive in earnest here in the Triad, it’s time to get those grills out and do a little bit of cleaning and maintenance before we light them up. One of the questions we get asked often in the shop is “What should I use to clean the grates of my grill?” This is a seemingly easy question to answer but there are so many options on the market that it warrants a little bit of thought before attacking those grates. I’m going to break down the main options for you in quick detail so you can make an informed decision as to what is best for your grill.

Wooden Scraper

The Wood Grill Scraper is a bristle-free and natural way to clean your grill. The specially designed handle, and notches that conform to your cooking grate, make it easy to effectively remove buildup and residue. The more you use it the better it gets. As you use the scraper, the heat from the grates will burn in an exact pattern to fit your particular grate. One other positive to the wooden scraper is that you don’t have to worry about scratching Enamel coated grates. Also, there are no metal bristles to worry about coming dislodged.

Palmyra Brushes

Palmyra is a tall fan-leaved palm (Borassus flabellifer) of India cultivated for its hard resistant wood, fiber, and sugar-rich sap. Big Green Egg has two options in Palmyra that work GREAT to clean even the most filthy of grates. The brush can be used on a warm or cold grill either before or after cooking. One positive is that after the grilling season is over (if you subscribe to grilling seasons) the head can be thrown away and replaced easily.

Metal Brushes

Metal brushes are made to remove grease and debris from cooking grates of all sizes. The handle design provides a secure grip when brushing off stuck-on food or cleaning tight spaces. Use this grill brush to clean your grates before each use so that your grill lasts longer and your next meal is as delicious as the one before. Two things to consider when using metal brushes. First, the bristles will over time become dislodged and can potentially get into the food you are grilling. Second, if you have a grill with Enamel coated grates these types of brushes tend to scratch the enamel down to the metal and will overtime cause the grates to rust prematurely.

Hopefully these tips will help you get off on the right foot this season. As always feel free to call us if you have any questions. We are always here to help.

 Hot Coals and Clean Grates

~John

10 Simple Tips for Maintaining Your Green Egg to Last a Lifetime

1) After the 1st month of use, and once per year thereafter, tighten all nuts and bolts snug to avoid loosening fasteners from the expansion and contraction experienced while cooking.

2) While storing for long periods, open the bottom draft door fully, take the top lid completely off and store under a grill cover or in a dry place like a garage or storage shed. This will give the egg proper airflow while in storage and eliminate the growth of mold on the inside.

3) Scrape all food remnants off the grill grate after each cook. Big Green Egg SpeediClean Cooking Grid Cleaner is a great product to help with this.

4) Clean the ash dump every 2-4 cooks as needed. This will help produce the airflow needed to maintain proper temperatures.

5) As needed, clean stains off the outside of the egg. Big Green Egg SpeediClean Exterior Ceramic Cleaner works great for this.

6) Each year, apply a little WD-40 to all moving parts and hinges on the outside of the egg to keep them operating freely

7) Once per year, apply a light coat of vegetable based cooking oil to the cast iron top to keep it free from rust.

8) Cook with the grill fully closed as much as possible to extend the life of the gasket. Depending on how much and how hot you cook, the gasket may need to be replaced after several years of use or after a high heat clean burn.

9) To clean the inside of the Egg, each year or as needed, run a high heat burn (over 750 degrees F) for 1-2 hours to burn off soot and grease from the inside of the dome and off the grids and conveggtor.

Check out this great video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY2VynKTWtM

10) Once a year, you may need to calibrate the Big Green Egg thermometer by placing the tip in boiling water and verifying the temperature. If it needs adjusting, turn the nut on the back of the dial in order to fine tune the readout. Place in boiling water again to verify the temperature.