From Searing to Smoking: Controlling Heat on Your Big Green Egg

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One of the best advantages of having a Big Green Egg for your outdoor cookouts is the precise temperature control it provides.

However, if you’re new to this convenient grilling tool, you may wonder how to control or maintain heat while cooking with the Big Green Egg.

Well, here’s your answer.

How to Control Heat on a Big Green Egg

Controlling the temperature of a Big Green Egg while cooking is effortless. With its convenient features, increasing or decreasing the temperature on a grill has never been easier.

Here’s how:

Mind the Ventilation

The Big Green Egg has two vents for air to circulate. One is located at the top of the egg, and the other at the ceramic base.

Both vents feature a sliding lid for easy opening and closing.

The idea behind the Big Green Egg’s ventilation system is simple. That is, to control the airflow, particularly oxygen, that goes into the grill.

Oxygen is flammable and a crucial component for combustion. More airflow means more oxygen, ergo, hotter charcoal and grill.

In other words, opening the vents will result in higher BGE temperature while closing them will cool the grill down.

You should use the vents in tandem, though. If you open or close one, you should open or close the other depending on the heat you want to generate.

Note that heating the BGE is faster than when cooling it down. So, it might take some patience to get it down if you go way above your desired temperature during setup.

Watch the Temperature Gauge

Besides the vents, another incredibly convenient feature of the Big Green Egg is its temperature gauge.

It’s attached near the middle section of the dome, making it easily seen from the cook’s perspective. Some even feature Bluetooth connectivity for easier temperature tracking!

Load your charcoal, light them up, and open the BGE’s vents. Then, wait for the temperature to rise by observing the gauge.

After reaching the desired temperature for your dish, slowly adjust the vents until the gauge stops fluctuating. Once that’s done, you’re ready for grilling!

Achieving certain temperature ranges is also possible by controlling how much you close or open each vent while keeping watch on the gauge.

For example, you can get a temperature between 280 and 350 degrees Celsius (536 to 662 degrees Fahrenheit) by opening the regulator cap halfway and the draft door completely.

Still, you should avoid cooking at high temperatures when using your BGE for the first time.

Keep the temperature under 177 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit) to give the gasket’s adhesive time to cure and stick to the BGE.

Use the Right Grilling Charcoal

Of course, using the right charcoal can also help you control grilling temperature.

Hardwood lump charcoal is a great option for its hotter temperatures. Made from irregularly shaped hardwood, it’s an ingredient in itself, thus lending a subtle flavor to your food.

The meat can smell and taste differently, depending on the hardwood charcoal you use.

Sprinkling wood chips into the charcoal can also provide a uniquely smoky flavor. As with charcoal, you can pick between many types of wood chips, such as pecan, hickory, or cherry.

Rockwood is another superb option because of its almost smokeless characteristic. It also starts quickly and burns longer than regular charcoal.

Briquettes are excellent for their cheap price and long-lasting burn, perfect for slow, and low-temperature cooking. However, you should avoid using these charcoal for your BGE.

Final Thoughts

That’s how you easily control heat in your Big Green Egg. Use the grill’s vents to manage airflow, the gauge to observe the temperature and the right charcoal for easier cookouts.

Mastering all these takes some practice, though. So, give it a little test run before considering hosting a festive BBQ dinner with your family and friends.

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