How To Clean A Big Green Egg Grill{Easy Tips+deep clean}
Big Green Egg Grills are unique grills and they require a deep clean and maintenance to retain their quality, so this is a guide on how to clean a big green egg.
I clean my Big green Egg after every use but I deep clean my Big green egg once in two weeks or once a month.
They cost a lot of money as they are the best cooking device of its kind so you will need to make sure that they last for a long time. Luckily, they are not that hard to clean and maintain.
If taken care of properly, Big Green Eggs can last for a lifetime, and you can pass it down to your kids. Now, it would also be great to use it at its full power.
When spring comes, and you are ready for your grill weekends, the Big Green Egg can come in handy, and it will cook a variety of foods that you and your family can enjoy.
The Big Green Egg brand makes sure that they are durable, but they still need maintenance. You should also know how to store the Egg to prevent any mold or algae build-up.
Before we start, one important thing is always to take note that you should not use water in cleaning any Kamado grill. It is to keep the integrity of the high-quality ceramics and the overall body of the grill.
To keep using the Big Green Egg, we are here to help and guide you in cleaning and maintaining the grill so it will last for the years to come.
So, How do You clean a BIG GREEN EGG?
If you are a Big Green Egg owner and you are wondering “what is the best way to clean my big green egg?”, then you would be happy to know that it is a self cleaning grill.
The Big Green Egg grills can reach high temperatures up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, while this might not be a lot of heat, it is enough for cleaning.
The high temperature that the grill produces is enough to burn leftovers on the grate and the grill’s ceramics.
The ceramics are a little tricky since food and grease can easily build up on them. However, you will not need to clean the ceramic firebox and walls because it keeps the grill insulated despite its dirt.
After cooking, you can let the grill stay heated for a while to make sure that all residuals and leftovers will be burned clean in a process called pyrolyzing.
Pyrolyzing is when the heat burns all the foods stuck on the grill so they can be easily scraped or scrubbed off the surface.
You can also clean the ash from the Big Green Egg’s firebox to ensure that the Big Green Egg reaches the right temperature for cleaning the grates and the ceramic surfaces.
These are the basic cleaning processes but you can deep clean a Big Green Egg to remove any bacteria from the past cookouts.
Should you clean inside of the Big Green Egg?
After Pyrolysing the Big Green Egg has cleaned the insides of itself in this method, so NO, there is no need to clean the inside surfaces a lot.
You can take a ball of aluminium and scrub off anything on the sides of the Big Green Egg but for the most part it does not need any cleaning.
Since the Big Green egg burn off method is so effective where the Egg can clean itself, you do not need to do much. Deep cleaning the Big Green Egg includes the interior but you have to be meticulous.
If you deep clean the Big Green Egg including its interior, make sure not to use water or harsh chemicals. This is the best way to clean the Big Green Egg interior.
You should still clean the inside of a Big Green Egg but avoid using liquids. Cleaning the inside of a Big Green Egg can usually be done by pyrolizing.
Cleaning the inside of the Big Green Egg is a little complicated since you need to avoid any dirt or chemical from sticking to the ceramic walls.
How to clean Mold off Big Green Egg?
If there is a mold formation on the inside of the big green egg then all you have to do is remove all the cooking grates and burn the old charcoal inside the BGE.
Crank up the heat to 600 degree Fahrenheit and leave the grill this way for about 60 minutes. You do not have to heat at the exact temperatures but anything about that range is fine.
After an hour, you will see that the mold in the Big Green Egg would have burnt off and then you can remove the ash from the BGE and use the ash removal pan to catch the old ashes.
It is very easy to remove mold from Big green egg, you just need to burn it off. If the mold in the Big Green Egg stays after burning, try scrubbing it with a soft-bristled brush to prevent scratching the ceramic construction inside.
Cleaning Ash in a Big Green Egg
To make the Big Green Egg heat up at its maximum temperature, you need to ensure that no residues block the fire’s airway to get as hot as possible.
This will also enable for a Big Green Egg clean burn. You need the Big Green Egg to have a clean burn to reduce the usage of fuel.
Ashes can prevent the Big Green Egg to have a clean burn and will only waste some of the remaining charcoals from previous cooks in it.
To do this, you will need to shake up the ash from the charcoal. By doing so, the remaining ash will immediately fall on the ash removal pan or the draft door.
You can also use accessories such as the ash basket, which holds larger charcoal pieces and let the ash and small charcoals fall right through.
This technique is beneficial, especially if your charcoals are damp. Too much ash can stick to the leftover charcoal, so you will need to make sure that you get rid of those.
If you do not have an ash basket, then that is okay too. You can heat the charcoal to dry it off and then easily scrape off the ashes.
You can check out this video to get a better understanding of how this process works.
Firing It Up
When you want to dry off the charcoals, all you need to do is let the wet charcoals stay in the firebox and put some dry ones on top of the wet charcoals.
Then light up the dry natural lump charcoals and leave the grill to heat up. After it reaches its maximum temperature, let it burn away the other charcoals for an hour.
This way, you can make sure that all the various parts of the grill are dry so that the ashes will not stick to any surface in the grill.
By the hour point, the ashes will already have fallen on the draft door so that you can scrape them off easily with the ash tool from Big Green Egg.
Cleaning The insides of the Big green egg
We know this is common sense, but we are also here to remind you to always let the Big Green Egg cool down before getting rid of any dirt to prevent accidents which are common with large eggs because of the immense heat they produce.
If you are cleaning the insides of the big green egg then it is very a very important step to do so only when the grill has completely cooled down.
As long as the grill’s interior is dry, you can easily remove the dirt and ashes from the grill, so do not rush the cleaning process.
You can use the top vent as a precision temperature gauge to get to the exact temperature when burning the food residues inside the grill. The top vent is perfect for controlling in low temperatures.
Once you get rid of all the small, old charcoals and ashes with the ash tool, it will not be a surprise to see some residuals still on the firebox.
So what you will need to do is disassemble the firebox to get better access to the firebox’s insides and get it cleaned more easily.
Remove the fire ring and the firebox, and then using a shop vac, clean
the leftover ashes from the grill.
You can also get rid of the dirt on the firebox and the fire ring while they are out.
Agan, the best way to clean the Big Green Egg interior is to prevent moisture from getting inside it. So keep it dry and clean as much dirt as you can.
Replace Parts on the big green egg
Some parts will need to be fixed or even replaced with the Big Green Egg. With that said, there are not a lot of elements that need replacement.
However, you will still need to make sure that there will be no damages when you use the Big Green Egg further. You will need to get rid of rusts on the screws and other metal parts.
So, you can use olive oil on the metal grill parts, including the top and bottom vent of the grill; this is to clean it and season it.
You will also need to inspect the gasket on the grill. It is to make sure that the lid will not damage the body and vice versa.
The gasket is also important because it seals the heat of the grill inside. If you did not inspect it properly, you would be surprised that you are losing heat and have no idea why.
It is a cheap part, and it is the only part that needs checking frequently. So take some time and inspect damages before using the Big Green Egg again.
How to clean exterior of big green egg
If you are wondering how to clean the outside of my big green egg then we have got you covered.
Cleaning the outside of the Big Green Egg is pretty easy as you need a damp, clean cloth, and then start wiping off the exterior of the grill.
Since the surface is painted smooth, dirt will easily come off of the grill’s exterior so you can clean the outside of the Big Green Egg easily.
You can clean the grates easily, and you can purchase Big Green Egg’s scrape or wire brush to clean the metal grates and get rid of any food leftovers.
They also have a combination of the scraper and the brush in one tool, so that would be more efficient for cleaning, and you will not need to switch tools now and then.
You can also use steel wool or sponge to clean the grates. Just make sure that you do not put too much pressure to damage the grates.
I would not recommend steel anything to clean the grates and I always use sponge since that just works better and I cannot risk any scratches or damages on my grill.
The same goes as to cleaning the outside of the Big Green Egg as any hard object will scrape off the paint from the grill.
How to Store the Big Green Egg
Now you are done with the grilling season, and it is the winter season, so you need to store the Big Green Egg somewhere.
So, the common question is what is the right way to store a Big green egg or in general how to store the big green egg.
Well, since the grill is massive, you will need to find a place where it fits.
You would usually store it in a dark place where the grill is covered not to get too dirty again.
Make sure you have a Big green egg cover as it is very important for the safety of the grill.
The problem here is that dark places are the perfect place for mold to grow.
To get rid of this, you will need to keep the grill open. Contrary to the belief, the grill needs to be open so that mold can enter, but it will not grow.
Although you will need to put a cap on the grill’s top vent or daisy wheel vent to have total control of the patented airflow controls, you will also need to get the draft door at the bottom vent or draft door fully open.
It allows the air to circulate inside the grill and get rid of mold formations. If mold still builds up, it can be easily removed by firing up the next user’s grill.
Where I live I usually leave my Big green egg with a cover on the outside and it never snows where we live so we never have any issue with moulds.
If the Big Green Egg has problems that cannot be solved by merely cleaning it, make sure you have the requirements to claim the lifetime warranty to get authorized dealers to fix or change any parts.
Tips on cleaning the big green egg
No Chemicals
Never use water, soap, or any chemical cleaners in cleaning the Big Green Egg. The grill has ceramic material in it, and ceramics have a porous nature.
It means that it will inevitably soak in all the water and chemicals in and it will damage not only the ceramics but also the taste of your food when you cook in it.
As for the water, when it seeps into the ceramics, it will evaporate when heated up, causing the ceramics to expand and will be prone to breakage.
You can use dish soap to clean the green egg grill grates or even white vinegar water but no where else you need to use any chemicals.
If you clean the green egg grill grates, make sure to rinse them thoroughly. Cleaning the green egg grill grates is a little more complicated especially with the dual-function metal top.
Cleaning the green egg grill grates needs a lot of care since the grill grates can also absorb some chemicals. So rising them thoroughly is extremely important.
If you clean the Big Green Egg convEGGtor, you will also need the same care. The convEGGtor is ceramic as well and you do need to clean the Big Green Egg convEGGtor as it is a crucial part of the grill.
A clean Big Green Egg convEGGtor amplifies the insertion of smoky flavors on your food.
Always Clean
It is a good idea to repeat the cleaning process every time you finish cooking and before cooking in the Big Green Egg. I always clean my Big Green Egg to get the ultimate outdoor cooking experience.
By doing so, you not only discourage the build-up of any bacteria or mold, but you will also make the airways in the oven open for full ease of the egg’s temperature control,.
Conclusion
The Big Green Egg grills are handy and durable. So with enough and proper care, it is possible to let it be part of your family.
It is a massive (as the name implies) grill, so you will need help setting it up, but because of the size, you can also cook for the whole family in a little time.
Cleaning the Big Green Egg is not that big of a deal at all. You only need the basics, and there are no special skills required to do so.
So keep your grill clean and ready for when you want to grill at any season. The Big Green Egg is there to help you and your family for a great steak and barbecue.
I hope this guide on was helpful and if you have any tips, please leave them in the comments.
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