Newbie with used large egg

biggreenbowtieegg

Hi, thanks for having me.  I just got a 15 yo large egg. Not taken care of too well. How do i clean it before cooking on it? Not sure its ever been cleaned.

Thanks in advance

JethroVA

Search for "clean burn"  essentially an extended high temp cook for the sole purpose of turning gunk into ash.  

kl8ton

I agree with Jethro there.  600 degrees should be good for 30-45 minutes.  Once cool, use a wadded up ball of aluminum foil to scrub down anything left on the dome.

jtcBoynton

Agree that 600º is hot enough to burn off the organics, but it may need more time.  No telling from here how much build up is in that 15 year old egg.  

Jeremiah

Pics would help here. And welcome. 

lousubcap

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Above all, have fun.  

lkapigian

Post a pick before a clean burn ....dirty to,you may be normal to some

six_egg

I never plan to clean mine but sometimes if I have low lump I let it burn out. It might get to 600 or 500. Seems to do ok.

fishlessman

if i did not know the history of it i would probably start with temps under 300  just to get any moisture out of it. 15 years old and it probably has the porcelain coated grids, would probably upgrade that to a new stainless one if the porcelin is cracking. pics would help, i dont do a high temp burn unless theres really heavy flaking coming off the dome, light flaking can just be wiped off with a tinfoil ball. that all being said, i would be cooking on it right now

SemolinaPilchard

If you ever do a high temp burn I would suggest that after the burn, let the egg cool down before lifting the dome. The bands stretch a bit, and the dome may fall out. Also, I believe that is when most of the misalignment of the bands happen, at least with the old style bands.

20stone

Agreed on all tips (clean burn, tighten bands).

One additional tip - You will have a clean, 600F egg after the burn.  I would throw on some steaks/burgers to reward yourself for that hour of hard work (which was really 5 minutes of filling/lighting the egg and 55 minutes of waiting).

You deserve it (and the beer that goes with it).

bluebird66

Welcome aboard!

td66snrf

Make sure it's BGE and not a clay kamado. Otherwise a clean burn could be  disastrous. I am not a fan of clean burns and see no reason other than looks. I've never read on this forum " I was doing a low and slow and heard a loud crack" but I have read posts when people have heard it doing a clean burn.

fishlessman

td66snrf said:

Make sure it's BGE and not a clay kamado. Otherwise a clean burn could be  disastrous. I am not a fan of clean burns and see no reason other than looks. I've never read on this forum " I was doing a low and slow and heard a loud crack" but I have read posts when people have heard it doing a clean burn.

one low and slow and one 325 degree turkey cook here. turkey cook sounded like a shotgun, low and slow caught the deck on fire. no real rhyme or reason, bge did 1200 degree dome temps and then tossed water in with no damage testing these. im more worried tis egg sat outside without use and moisture got into the ceramics, ive had the whole side flake off with one egg. first burn take it slow if you dont know an eggs history, definitely dont do it on a deck

biggreenbowtieegg

Thanks for the info.  So, the fire bowl completely disentigrated, and the fire ring is cooked in at top.  Im assuming i cannot put in a new fire bowl without taking out fire ring.  I tapped on bootom of fire ring, but probably not a good i dea. Trying to figure out what to put in bottom to start a fire so i can hopefully burn out the edge of the fire ring and remove. Also, there was a ton of moisture sitting under the coals.   And now it seems as though the egg itself is cracked. This thing may be done.

biggreenbowtieegg

pgprescott

The crack is not death, but you need to be aware of where you are cooking and what it is set in. I would go with a nest and cook on concrete if possible. It may never amount to anything critical.

biggreenbowtieegg

Thanks. Not sure what a nest is.  Egg is over concrete near gas grill.

WeberWho

biggreenbowtieegg said:

Thanks. Not sure what a nest is.  Egg is over concrete near gas grill.

biggreenbowtieegg

Ok, it is on a nest, a rusty one, but a nest.  Any ideas to break loose fire ring?

jtcBoynton

biggreenbowtieegg said:

.....  I tapped on bootom of fire ring, but probably not a good i dea. ......

Taking a hammer to ceramic is not the most wise move.  Try using a propane torch to burn away some of the build up between the fire ring and the shell.

pgprescott

The interior ceramics are beveled so you will obviously need to apply some force in the upward direction. Maybe a rubber mallet. I would work in a circular fashion to avoid pinching it as it works loose. A two person job IMO, one person pulling up and another tapping gently upward in a circular fashion around the piece in question (fire ring). Good luck

Packeracct

Got a demo large egg and live in MN.  Question on temp.  How much does humidity affect your temp?  Seems like I am having to keep the bottom screen all the way open and the daisy wheel wide open or even skewed on the top a little to get up to 300 degrees.  Any suggestions.

RRP

Packeracct said:

Got a demo large egg and live in MN.  Question on temp.  How much does humidity affect your temp?  Seems like I am having to keep the bottom screen all the way open and the daisy wheel wide open or even skewed on the top a little to get up to 300 degrees.  Any suggestions.

Humidity should not be a factor even for you in MN unless your lump has been floating in water for a week!

To get to a higher temperature I would suggest to remove Miss Daisy and then see what temp you can get to. Besides that you should check the accuracy of your dome thermometer... it may be WAY out of whack!

BikerBob

I once wondered why temp with vents wide open only got to 300....then found out the thermometer had wrapped.