Not so new to me big green egg

Climbingshanman

I received a medium sized green egg from my father in law, who tried to use it burning only raw hardwood,  not lump coal. Consequentially, the inside ceramic lining is blackened by the soot. I’ve cooked with it a few times now and don’t really notice any particular taste but is this worth cleaning the lining to get back to its original cream colour? Or should I simply keep going the way it is?

shannon

lkapigian

Welcome aboard ...even if you clean it that will only last a cook or two....Egg On 

speed51133

I would wipe if clean with clean rags and the hose. that is about it. they turn black from lump also.

Climbingshanman

So it eventually blackens up. Every video I see the inside looks brand new. 

Gulfcoastguy

I wouldn’t be too concerned about the interior if it doesn’t have an off taste. Do you happen to be from Ontario province? I know a couple there that recently gave their medium to their son. Anyhow welcome.

kl8ton

I think if you did a higher temp burn (600-700) for 2 hours, you will "purify" it.  The internals would be white again.  As the two previous posters have mentioned, it will turn black as you start cooking on it with lump.  All the pics on the big green egg website are from "never been cooked in" eggs.

Gulfcoastguy

Climbingshanman said:

So it eventually blackens up. Every video I see the inside looks brand new. 

Because they were.

lousubcap

Cook on.  As long as no impact on taste then you are good to go.  I have never intentionally cleaned the inside of a BGE.  The next fire is the sterilizer and I don't go down the "clean burn" road.  But many ways to get there- FWIW-

Climbingshanman

Thanks everyone. That’s peace of mind. Still lots to learn. Temp management etc. Great source here. Grill on!

Photo Egg

Please don't stick a water hose in your Egg and try to wash it out.
If you don't do a lot of greasy low and slow cooks it will slowly burn clean as you use it. You can also put in a full load of lump and let it burn at 600-700 degrees til it burns through the lump to give it jump start. 

JethroBodeen

Photo Egg said:

Please don't stick a water hose in your Egg and try to wash it out.
If you don't do a lot of greasy low and slow cooks it will slowly burn clean as you use it. You can also put in a full load of lump and let it burn at 600-700 degrees til it burns through the lump to give it jump start. 

What he said! Please dont put water in it!

Climbingshanman

Thanks for the advice. 

speed51133

why not????

Photo Egg

speed51133 said:

why not????

Adding water to a porous ceramic Egg serves no purpose and will drive impurities deeper into the ceramic and make them harder to burn off.

speed51133

DO NOT allow rain or water to get inside your EGG when not in use. EGGs perform just fine in the rain, or snow, but do not allow water to get inside the EGG when it is not being used as it can penetrate into the ceramic and cause cracking if allowed to freeze.

Should the interior of an EGG get wet, dry completely then light a small amount of charcoal and allow the EGG to heat very gradually to not more than 350°F / 177°C to slowly burn off any residue or moisture.

this per the mothership. OK, so don't freeze it when soaked. :rolleyes:

JethroBodeen

Also, with the extra moisture soaked into the ceramic coupled with a screaming hot fire. Would increase a crack scenario.

Photo Egg

speed51133 said:

DO NOT allow rain or water to get inside your EGG when not in use. EGGs perform just fine in the rain, or snow, but do not allow water to get inside the EGG when it is not being used as it can penetrate into the ceramic and cause cracking if allowed to freeze.

Should the interior of an EGG get wet, dry completely then light a small amount of charcoal and allow the EGG to heat very gradually to not more than 350°F / 177°C to slowly burn off any residue or moisture.

this per the mothership. OK, so don't freeze it when soaked. :rolleyes:

And it still serves NO purpose to wash the Egg out in water.
So add water for no good no reason then take the time to build a small fire to burn off the moisture you intentionally added for no reason.  

speed51133

the purpose would be to wash out an egg. and "taking the time" to build a "fire" would simply be cooking your next meal.

you guys are too anal....

JethroBodeen

speed51133 said:

DO NOT allow rain or water to get inside your EGG when not in use. EGGs perform just fine in the rain, or snow, but do not allow water to get inside the EGG when it is not being used as it can penetrate into the ceramic and cause cracking if allowed to freeze.

Should the interior of an EGG get wet, dry completely then light a small amount of charcoal and allow the EGG to heat very gradually to not more than 350°F / 177°C to slowly burn off any residue or moisture.

this per the mothership. OK, so don't freeze it when soaked. :rolleyes:

And dont start a fire and let it rip the first time after wetting it down. Rolling eyes

Photo Egg

speed51133 said:

the purpose would be to wash out an egg. and "taking the time" to build a "fire" would simply be cooking your next meal.

you guys are too anal....

The guy who wants to wash out the Egg calling the people who would just continue to cook on the Egg anal...That's funny stuff right there.

speed51133

who said I want to wash anything??!@?!

JethroBodeen

Obviously, he was referring to your poor advice (substantiated by the mothership post) given to a new member at entry #3.

Photo Egg

speed51133 said:

who said I want to wash anything??!@?!

"I would wipe if clean with clean rags and the hose."
You did on your your first post above. Unless you are referencing "vacuum" as hose. If so, my bad.

Climbingshanman

Guys, let’s all stop now. I got good harmless advice. Thank you everyone. No negatives. 

Mattman3969

speed51133 said:

I would wipe if clean with clean rags and the hose. that is about it. they turn black from lump also.

No water in the egg and wiping clean is a waste of time.  We add natural hardwood to the cooks to encourage smoke taste.  So what if all he burned was hardwood.  Maybe if it was green there might be some creosote that needs to be burnt off.  No big deal.  

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Climbingshanman said:

Guys, let’s all stop now. I got good harmless advice. Thank you everyone. No negatives. 

welcome to the circus . It's all good. If you think this is bad, stick around for Friday/Saturday nights...

alaskanassasin

I never thought about it but after pondering your question I would say run your grill brush around the inside to knock off any debris and egg on brother.

  BTW its not you its them, you should have seen the time someone waxed their egg.

speed51133

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1220167/anyone-ever-wax-your-egg/p1

the OP seemed like he/she wanted to do SOMETHING. I was saying washing is something you can do, but it will get black again from use. I was not saying I want to wash mine. AND EVEN IF I DID, the caution is to not freeze it when wet. OK, thanks for the tips. move on.