Using wood as fuel in the Egg

Unknown · May 2008

Here's my quandery:
I live in France and am very much in need of a grill/barbecue of a more serious nature than my current Weber. I've been thinking about procuring myself a Big Green Egg. This would be a serious project, with the logistical difficulites of getting it across the Atlantic (I doubt it floats...) and the costs attached to that.

I am willing to overlook these challenges, however, if the following question can be answered by a person of experience: Can wood be used as fuel in the Egg without it breaking or warping, etc? Indeed, getting good quality charcoal in France is difficult and expensive, whereas I have a free and almost inexhaustible supply of good qualtiy wood on hand in the form of dead vines. I use them in my Weber all the time with great results, although the Weber suffers from it. The wood burns very hot and deforms the metal over time. This is ok because a basic Weber is not that expensive, but would be heart breaking with an Egg.

I look forward to your informed insight on the matter!

J

Nature Boy · May 2008

Hi J
Wood can definitely be used without breaking or warping your egg. That's really not an issue, as the egg is almost impossible to break with heat. You have to drop it, then it will break.

But using all wood poses some other issues. It needs a lot of air to burn cleanly, so you'll be limited to cooking at really high temps. If you reduce the airflow to cook at lower temps, the wood will not burn cleanly and you'll get a strong creosote flavor.

You could always burn the wood to coals, then shovel the coals in. But that's a lot of work. Might be worth looking into making your own lump charcoal.

Best of luck!
Chris

Unknown · May 2008

There is a Green Egg Dealer in the Netherlands. Check it out, should be a whole lot less (shipping).

Mike Tripp

Sundown · May 2008

Not sure if it's worth it but, I would contact Wicked Good Charcoal at www.wickedgoodcharcoal.com and just find out what it would cost to have a pallet shipped to France. Can't hurt to ask I always say.

That way you would be able to use the Egg from 250º to 1,000º+ and use the grape vines for your smoke flavor.

Good luck and keep us posted on how things work out for you.

Bacchus · May 2008

Are those Bordeaux vines you are using in the Weber?

Ron

Unknown · May 2008

Ron, those would be Burgundy vines, far superior to any other alternative... :laugh:

Nature Boy: thank you for the confirmation. I suspected the ceramic would take the heat, but it's nice to here it confirmed. Vines burn pretyty cleanly and produce a rather nice type of smoke. I cook with my Weber lid on all the time with no ill side effects, so I'm optimistic. I do actually save my ashes and unburnt cahrcola to use as lump coal for whan I need to heat up a grill in a hurry, so I could alsway save those for slow cooking in future.

M Tripp: thank you for the tip. I will go egg hunting in the Netherlands!

Sundown: France would throw down a 19.6% sales tax on the cost of that charcoal + the cost of transporting that pallet! God knows I love ribs, but for that price, I'll fly over and eat them in the US!

Using wood as fuel in the Egg

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