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Question about cleaning my Egg

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sump411
sump411 Posts: 21
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Ok, so I've had my egg for about 3 years now and couldn't be more happy. One thing I noticed lately when I took it apart to clean it, is that there is a fairly thick layer of black buildup (grease?) under the lid. I'm assuming that my egg is fairly well seasoned and I shouldn't worry about this. However, I don't want the stuff dripping on food when I cook. From what I understood from the company I bought it from, it was a self cleaning grill. Do I need to do anything to clean this off?

Any advice/comments are greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Sump411
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Comments

  • Austin Egger
    Austin Egger Posts: 256
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    Load it up with lump, light, open all vents, and let her roar. It will burn off most of it. Let it burn real hot for an extended amount of time, like a few hours. You might not have a gasket when you are done, but it will be clean. :laugh:
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  • stevesails
    stevesails Posts: 990
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    there was another thread about this a day or three ago. Fill it up with lump, leave the plate setter and grid off (it might deform, in my opinion) light the lump in a couple places, open up bottom vent all the way and close the lid. Let it burn all the way to nothing. you may have flames coming out the top, and the inside will be white like new.

    That's what the pictures showed.
    XL   Walled Lake, MI

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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    I've never heard the Egg was self cleaning. Depending on how and how much an Egg gets used, it needs a cleansing burn every now and then, and maybe a manual scraping down.

    Every few months, when I've finished a cook, and have about half a fire box of lump left, I open the bottom wide, and remove the daisy wheel. That is usually enough to reduce the crud on the inside to a dry black coating.

    At least once a year, after the hot burn, I wipe the soot away with crumpled foil.

    One of my Eggs is waiting for a gasket replacement because I did a cleansing burn with almost a full load of lump. I stopped the fire before it melted completely thru the gasket. Once cool, the deposits on the dome fell away in sheets.

    Every now and then, if I see creosote hairs/spines around the top vent, I scrape them off, because they are really nasty if they fall onto food.
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  • XLentEGG
    XLentEGG Posts: 436
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    Just did a clean burn on my XL Thursday night. Yesterday I replaced the gasket. No big deal, I was in need of a gasket so i figured I would kill two birds with one stone.The clean burn did finish off the old gasket.
    More meat please !! :-)
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  • sump411
    sump411 Posts: 21
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    All great suggestions! Thanks to everyone!
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  • asianflava
    asianflava Posts: 313
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    Lots of people say to load it with lump. I just use cheap briquettes (or cheap lump). The reason BGE doesn't want you to use them is because they leave a lot of ash, if you are going to clean it afterwards this isn't a problem.

    I load up a full bag, open the bottom vent wide open, take off the top (don't use the vent on top), light it and let it burn. Don't bother with it till it has cooled back down.

    It will melt the gasket, take a utility knife and slide it between the lid and base. When you open it up, it will be white and look brand new.
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