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Why do I need to "clean burn"?

I mean, I get that it "cleans" the BGE but why do it? I would think that left over flavors would make everything taste better. Welcome thoughts and feedback, fellow eggheads.
BGE novice from Arlington, Texas

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Comments

  • tulocay
    tulocay Posts: 1,737
    i guess technically there is not a need to do it. after a messy low and slow, i like to burn some of the crud off the sides so that next time i cook salmon or something similar, I don't get the pork flavor on it.
    LBGE, Marietta, GA
  • Cook enough low and slow and you will get alot of build up then you will understand grasshopper
    1 XXL BGE,  1 LG BGE, 2 MED. BGE, 1 MINI BGE, 1 Peoria custom cooker Meat Monster.


    Clinton, Iowa
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,657
    if you do mostly low and slows grease can build up in the dome, eventually it turns to a hard tar like substance that can flake down onto your food. if you do more higher temp cooks like searing steak or pizza this doesnt happen as often
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,482
    So variety is the spice of life. I like to mix it up, but haven't done pizza. I may change that this weekend or next.
    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
  • jhl192
    jhl192 Posts: 1,006
    I did more than a few Low and slow cooks and then tried to cook a Pizza.  Tasted awful.  Did a clean burn and cooked a Pizza.  It went from Awful to Awesome!  The flavor it impacts is not just a smokey BBQ flavor.  It is sometimes a overpowering, not pleasant, taste. 
    XL BGE; Medium BGE; L BGE 
  • R2Egg2Q
    R2Egg2Q Posts: 2,136
    Do it because the flakes off your dome don't make for a tasty pizza topping. :)


    I rarely do a dedicated burns but rather keep pizza cooks in the rotation (and I scape the loose flakes off of the dome interior with a ball of foil first).
    XL, Large, Small, Mini Eggs, Shirley Fabrication 24x36 Patio, Humphrey's Weekender, Karubecue C-60, MAK 1-Star General, Hasty Bake Gourmet, Santa Maria Grill, Webers: 14" WSM, 22.5" OTG, 22.5" Kettle Premium, WGA Charcoal, Summit S-620 NG

    Bay Area, CA
  • I have never done a clean burn, but I know I need to. I know it sounds crazy, but I don't want to fry my gasket. What temp will do the trick and for how long and NOT fry my gasket? 



    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
  • Short Answer:  You Don't

    Long Answer: You don't. However, you don't always want some of those leftover flavors on particular items. Example: Egg pizza is terrible right after a long low & slow cook without a burn. The fat that rendered off of whatever you cooked will flavor the dough. The term "clean burn" could almost be renamed as "transition phase" in between two different types of cooks.  
  • SMITTYtheSMOKER
    SMITTYtheSMOKER Posts: 2,668
    edited September 2014
    We are careful not to burn off our flavor build up on our competition Eggs prematurely.  We do an annual Pizza/Bread class that gets everything all clean once a year. We run the Eggs for 2/3 hours at 550/600 for these cooks and we get no damage and Eggs come out very clean.

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

  • Why man groom? Just let that crap build up. I haven't showered in weeks.
  • Zarcon
    Zarcon Posts: 540

    SloppyJoe said:
    Why man groom? Just let that crap build up. I haven't showered in weeks.

    :-t
  • westernbbq
    westernbbq Posts: 2,490

    I do a clean burn after every long cook.  Preheating the BGE for pizza accomplishes the same thing. BUT a clean burn gets the grease that drips down the side of the inner walls as well as any residual buildup on the dome's interior.  The main thing here is that you don't want stale, or moldy sooty organic carbon materials dropping onto your food.  As to the need to season your grill, the other reason I do clean burns is that BGE is so good at flavoring food, it actually tastes better when it's made after a clean burn.  I get the purest food and charcoal flavor that isn't overwhelming.


    I live in AZ and have two huge mesquite trees which provide me all the fuel I need so it's pretty easy to pull of a few sticks from the pile and get the BGE good and hot (900 plus).  The next day after she's cooled down, there is minimal grey - white ash cleanup and the inside of the BGE has that vanilla ice cream color it came home with when new.  My sister has a pecan tree and that is the source for much of my flavoring wood.  Mesquite will burn hot for a long time though which is pretty nice for pizza, searing steaks and of course the clean burn.

  • jaydub58
    jaydub58 Posts: 2,167

    @westernbbq, I like to use mesquite lump once in a great while on a beef cook.  That would probably be a good fuel for clean burn (a lot more spendy than your system, though). 

    John in the Willamette Valley of Oregon
  • westernbbq
    westernbbq Posts: 2,490
    jaydub58 said:

    @westernbbq, I like to use mesquite lump once in a great while on a beef cook.  That would probably be a good fuel for clean burn (a lot more spendy than your system, though). 

    yep, you're right on the money there my friend.  the mesquite trees around here grow like weeds and honestly, i wouldn't do clean burns with stuff i had to pay money for.  I have to trim pretty good sized branches off (2" to 5" diameter and 6'-10' long) at least four times per year off of two trees that grow like crazy.  Even the sticks are worth saving and the dried out mesquite wood burns hot and it'll burn for a LONG time.  Interestingly, I discovered this by accident about two  years ago.  I decided to attempt making home made charcoal in the BGE and threw in about four logs- 5" long and maybe 2"-3" diameter and decided to just let them burn.  Once all the resin was gone, all that was left was pure heat which ended being perfect for a subsequent pizza cook.  The hi heat fire lasted for at least three hours.  Cleanup the next day was so easy I was again humbled by the BGE's capability.  Now, if I can dig a well, get solar power, catch all this rain we're having and raise some chickens and pigs, i'll be able to get off the grid for 90% of my needs!
  • Sixpack1
    Sixpack1 Posts: 189
    edited September 2014
    Check out the pics on my last post Clean Burn. All those accessories were black from a lot of cooking. Now they are as white as when they were new. Throw all your grates and place setter, pizza stones and return them to like new condition...
    The Gator Nation, Central Florida
    LARGE & MINI  Life is good...
    GO GATORS!!!

  • Sixpack1
    Sixpack1 Posts: 189
    edited September 2014
    Heck here are the pics I posted on my thread. See how clean everything is. I didn't pull out the dome thermometer but I should have. Luckily I didn't damage it. As you can see I clean burned at 800* and let it burn til it burned out. Next time you finish a cook crank up the temp and let it ride...
    The Gator Nation, Central Florida
    LARGE & MINI  Life is good...
    GO GATORS!!!


  • If you cook high heat pizzas, steaks, etc., once in a while, there's no need to do a clean burn in my opinion.  I've never done a "clean burn".
    Packerland, Wisconsin

  • Zmokin
    Zmokin Posts: 1,938
    What is the minimum recommended temp for a "clean burn"?
    Large BGE in a Sole' Gourmet Table
    Using the Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter,
     and a BBQ Guru temp controller.

    Medium BGE in custom modified off-road nest.
    Black Cast Iron grill, Plate Setter, and a Party-Q temp controller.

    Location: somewhere West of the Mason-Dixon Line
  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
    A 1 -1 1/2" hrs at 600 is plenty to clean the egg. A self clean oven does it at 550-600. I just don't see the point of goin nuclear just to say my insides are white.

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
  • I like my pizza stone clean.  I also like to burn the grease off the grid and Woo so it does not leak on my deck when I hang it outside. 

    Gasket, who needs a gasket.  Haven't had one for years.

    XXL #82 out of the first 100, XLGE X 2, LBGE (gave this one to daughter 1.0) , MBGE (now in the hands of iloveagoodyoke daughter 2.0) and lots of toys

  • @Mattman, Your self cleaning oven isn't ceramic. If you like the old greasy dripping taste and black snow flakes from the low and slow cooks falling on your meat keep up with the half a$$ cleans...
    The Gator Nation, Central Florida
    LARGE & MINI  Life is good...
    GO GATORS!!!

  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
    Not being a smarta$$ by any means but that 600 technique has worked fine for me for over 8yrs. After the 600 burn I will hit the dome with a ball of foil. Never any crud fallin from the dome into my food from my half ass cleans. To each his own.

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
    I think self cleaning is like low and slow vs turbo. High heat for a short time or lower heat for a longer time. Both will work. Cleaning at 600°F should work, but will take longer to remove the same amount of buildup as cleaning at 800°. Cook a 600°F pizza every week and you may never see a heavy buildup.
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
  • kwdickert
    kwdickert Posts: 308
    I used the last 1/4 of my bag of lump and it burned for a few hours but i don't think it was enough lump to keep it above 700 for more than two hours. the top still had flakes of buildup around the neck. Will redo again tonight i think.
    Memphis TN - Large Green Egg
  • 5 years in and never done a clean burn. Gasket has been fried for years but the thing still functions just fine. I prefer to think of the egg as well seasoned :)
  • slovelad
    slovelad Posts: 1,742
    I do it because I'm OCD
  • Thatgrimguy
    Thatgrimguy Posts: 4,722
    edited January 2016
    when you get grill marks from your grid even when the grid is cold.. it's time to clean.

    When you get enough junk built up that if flakes off the lid onto your food when you close the lid.. it's time to clean.

    When there is funk sweating out the outside of the egg.. it's time to clean.

    Past that. Keep grilling
    XL, Small, Mini & Mini Max Green Egg, Shirley Fab Trailer, 6 gal and 2.5 gal Cajun Fryers, BlueStar 60" Range, 48" Lonestar Grillz Santa Maria, Alto Shaam 1200s, Gozney Dome, Gateway 55g Drum
  • News2u
    News2u Posts: 335
    I waited until much too long before doing my first burn last month and couldn't be happier I finally did it. I mostly go low and slow so I'm thinking at least a burn once every 3 months from now on. 
    Beef...It's what's for dinner tonight.
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    News2u said:
    I waited until much too long before doing my first burn last month and couldn't be happier I finally did it. I mostly go low and slow so I'm thinking at least a burn once every 3 months from now on. 
    Throw pizza into the rotation and it'll help. 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • News2u
    News2u Posts: 335
    It'll be my first. Been waiting for the opportunity. Thx

    Beef...It's what's for dinner tonight.