It’s annoying when you’re trying to cook something but your Big Green Egg (BGE) is not heating up. Especially if you’re trying to make pizzas or preparing steaks, you need a cooking temperature of over 600℃.
How to get big green egg to 650?
You can raise your BGE temperature by cleaning it properly before you start cooking. But there are some other options. For example, keeping the lid open, removing the daisy wheel, etc. Opening the draft door or lower vent can also help. Apply one of the tricks or all of them if you need to do so.
From the small overview above, you’ll only get a brief idea. For a greater description, we’ve discussed the whole topic below. Please have a read.
6 Ways to Get Big Green Egg to 650 or More
Whether you’re cooking brisket or grilling other stuff, your Big Green Egg should reach the proper temperature. Now we have 6 tricks and tips to help you do that. Let’s get to know that one by one.
1. Cleaning the Big Green Egg
It’s recommended to clean your Big Green Egg (BGE) before cooking something at a high temperature. Because the residual ash from the previous cooking can resist BGE to reach a high temperature. In fact, when you need to cook over 500℃, first you should clean the BGE well.
A fresh, clean BGE eliminates the chance of improper airflow and allows it to work properly. To properly clean your BGE, you can follow the steps below.
- Displace the fire ring from the BGE and keep it in a safe place. Otherwise, it can break or get damaged.
- Use a rubber glove to remove the residual ash and other substances. You can do that with bare hands, but that will make your hands dirty. Also, there can be any remaining coal that you can use later. You can store them in a plastic bag temporarily.
- Take the coal-holding metal grate and put it aside. Make sure you don’t break it by keeping it in an unsafe place.
- Displace the firebox. For this, open the lower vent draft door and pull out the firebox carefully. Keep the firebox aside.
- Finally, you’ll just have some leftover ash at the bottom. For cleaning the ash, you can use a vacuum cleaner. Small, portable vacuum cleaners are recommended to use for your convenience. However, regular ones will do the work as well if operated carefully.
- Put all the components back to the place that you removed earlier. Be careful to set the firebox properly. By doing all the things properly you’ll be able to ensure proper airflow to your BGE.
So, the above steps will help you clean the BGE and thus make it reach the desired temperature.
As for the cleaning, you’ll need portable vacuum cleaners and other items, please check the items below. You might just find the right product for you.
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We hope you’ll get the things you’ll need from here.
2. Using Fresh Lump Charcoal
Using proper fuel can be the key factor to raising the temperature. Always use natural lump charcoal and light them with an electric lighter.
But keep in mind that you shouldn’t use lighter fluid. Using lighter fluid can bring unexpected situations.
3. Keeping the Lid Open
Understandably, you’ll have to close the lid to start the cooking in your BGE. But closing it too soon can be the reason for your BGE not reaching a high temperature.
For overcoming this, you can use a trick. Keep the lid open for around 10-15 minutes after you start cooking. By this time, small-sized coals will start to burn before you close the lid. It will help to increase the temperature.
4. Daisy Wheel Removal
The daisy wheel works as a secondary temperature vent. Cooking at a high temperature may not require this secondary vent. This is used to partially bring small temperature changes.
So, if you’re willing to reach a high temperature, consider removing the daisy wheel. This can bring a significant change in the heating cycle and increase the temperature.
Again, you can use temperature controllers like Green Egg Genius to control the temperature.
5. Completely Opening the Lower Vent
The lower vent works as the main temperature controller. A major temperature change can be brought by modifying the lower vent placement of your BGE.
When you require a high temperature for cooking, opening the lower vent can help. If you keep the lower vent open, the temperature will rapidly rise. Thus you can achieve the desired high temperature.
6. Aligning the Fire Box Correctly
We all know how important it is to ensure proper ventilation in the BGEs. If the firebox is not aligned with the lower vent, maximum airflow won’t be ensured. As a result, reaching a high temperature won’t be possible.
So, always keep the firebox aligned with the draft door (lower vent) and see the difference. And don’t forget to use a good quality thermometer to measure the temperature of BGE.
These were the six ways to get the big green egg to 650 or more. Following these ways, you can increase the temperature of your Big Green Egg.
FAQs
How much time is needed for BGE to reach 600℃?
If all the things are done right, it will take 15-20 minutes to reach 600℃. But in winter, it may take longer due to cold weather.
Big Green Egg or Traeger – which one’s better?
Traeger is good for beginners. Big Green Egg is for the experienced ones who like more customization. It allows them to reach higher temperatures easily.
Does the inside temperature of BGE affect the outer surface?
No, the outer surface is insulated well. So, even if the inside temperature of the BGE is high, it doesn’t affect the outer surface.
Conclusion
The above discussion was all about how to get big green egg to 650 or more.
Here is the last tip for you. Although the outer surface doesn’t get heated that much, keep something under the grill. This will help to keep the heat off of your table or the lower surface.
That’s all from us. Have a good day.