Cooking with Charcoal
Big Green Egg believes that when cooking on a barbeque, the quality of fuel you use is just as important as the quality of food. Good charcoal can act as another ingredient, adding extra flavour to your cooking. That is why Big Green Egg sells its own specialised charcoal, available to buy from Rural Ranges.
The charcoal is developed specifically for exceptional barbequing. It is made from 100% sustainably sourced hardwood with no added accelerants; in fact, it is so clean that you can cook your food directly on the coals. It heats quickly in just 20 minutes with no need to wait for all the coals to go white, and lasts for hours. You can even reuse charcoal from previous cooks, reducing wastage.
Big Green Egg's bbq charcoal comes in two flavours: Oak and Hickory or Canadian Maple. Both add subtle flavours to your cooking, elevating the flavours far beyond your basic bbq. While Oak and Hickory is a perfect all rounder with a deep, rich flavour, Canadian Maple has a subtle sweet and nutty undertone.
8 forms of cooking, 8 ways to dine.
Rotisserie
Cook food on a spit directly or indirectly over the flames
Grill
Cook directly over the charcoal for the classic BBQ cook
Dirty Cook
Cook food right on the charcoal for a beautiful charred flavour
Low and Slow
Roast meats up to 24 hours, adjusting the vents to keep the temperature low
Pan Cook
Fry your eggs or cook your casseroles and curries in a pan on the grill
Pizza and Baking
Use the ConvEGGtor or baking stone for indirect cooking
Roast
Use the hot air of indirect cooking to evenly cook your meats from all sides
Smoke
Add burning woodchips to your coal for an extra smoky flavour
For more cooking inspiration, try the Big Green Egg recipe book from our shop. To find out more about how to use the full space of your Egg, visit our page on the Eggspander system.
Add charcoal so that it reaches 5cm below your fire ring. Make a little well in the centre in which to place your firestarter. Light the corner of the firestarter and then pile a pyramid of charcoal on top. Leave the dome open for 5 to 10 minutes until the fire properly gets going and then close it for 10 minutes with both vents fully open.
The key principle to remember when barbequing is that more oxygen means more heat. There are two vents on an Egg: the rEggulator at the top and the draft door at the bottom. To bring the temperature of your Egg down, close your vents slightly, and to bring it up, open them. It's as simple as that! It takes longer to cool the temperature, so a little patience may be required. Big Green Egg's thermometer will help you adjust the temperature with precision so you can adapt the temperature to suit the style of cooking.
When you've finished cooking, close both your vents. This will immediately extinguish your Egg so that you can use any remaining black coals for next time. When it's completely cool, rake through your coal to push the ash into the fire grate, open the draft door and remove the ash into an ash pan. Warm embers should always be disposed of into a bucket of sand or water.
Big Green Egg's ConvEGGtor is a clever and incredibly easy-to-use tool which disperses hot air around the dome, transforming the Egg into a roasting or baking oven. When your Egg has reached the desired temperature, place the ConvEGGtor on the fire ring. Baking and pizza recipes usually require the legs to be down, while most others have legs up. Wait a few minutes for the temperature to come back up before cooking. The surface of the ConvEGGtor gets incredibly hot, so it is recommend to use a baking stone rather than cooking directly onto the surface. If roasting, place the grill above the ConvEGGtor.
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Photographs courtesy of Big Green Egg
