How To Light The Big Green Egg

There are several means to light a Big Green Egg and each take their ain benefits/merits equally well as disadvantages. Below will walk you through all of the means I've tried throughout my 10+ years of egging.

Ways to Calorie-free Your Big Light-green Egg

1. Electric Starter
2. Looftlighter
3. MAPP Torch
4. Wax Starters
5. Charcoal Chimney
6. Oil Rags
7. Weed Burner

Electric Charcoal Starter

My outset charcoal starter for my Big Greenish Egg was an electric charcoal starter similar to the one on the left. I believe mine was a BGE brand version that came with the egg at the time of purchase as function of a parcel deal.

• Pros: Reusable & fairly cheap – this Char-Bake version is only $21 – and you can buy these at Lowes or Home Depot
• Cons: Need an electrical outlet nearby. Burns out inside a year if y'all are a serious user

Afterwards going through about 3 of these in the beginning 2 years, I moved on to other ways to low-cal my egg.

Looftlighter

The Looftlighter was a serious upgrade from the electric charcoal starters I had been using. Information technology lights your charcoal within a few seconds equally compared to several minutes with the electrical charcoal starters.

• Pros: Fast lighting. Piece of cake to Use
• Cons: Needs electrical. Burns out after a year of serious usage

For a $75 lighter, I was very happy with it'southward performance & speed. However it melted the tip later on about six months (lighting 1-ii eggs per 24-hour interval) and the warranty does not cover those sort of bug.

Mapp Torch

The Mapp Torch Kit was my next terminate afterwards my Looftlighter burnt out. Note – the canisters will not be shipped by Amazon – but yous tin purchase at your local Lowes/Home Depot.

• Pros: Piece of cake to use. Fast. Long Life
• Cons: Hard to determine volume of gas remaining. Can get expensive based on how long yous let it burn

The Mapp Torch is my go to for lighting my eggs these days. It's fast, make clean, like shooting fish in a barrel to use and relatively low maintenance. I go through near a canister every ix-12 months (I appointment the bottoms to determine how fast I'm called-for fuel).

Wax Fire Starters

Wax burn starters come in many different variations and sizes. The ane I use near is the Rutland squares version because they are much cheaper then any other and exercise the chore just the same. That said, I have to remember to social club them from Amazon. Otherwise I'll pickup a fire starter cube pack at the grocery store.

• Pros: Great for travel. I only take these when travelling.
• Cons: Slow starting. Demand to always take on mitt. Sometimes takes more than i. Needs longer burn time to go rid of smell.

I apply these exclusively when I travel with my eggs & also when lighting my eggs at home when I can't exist standing over the eggs with the Mapp Torch. Very handy when lighting multiple eggs at once.

Charcoal Chimney Starter

The charcoal chimney starter is another way to light your Big Dark-green Egg – especially helpful if you already accept one of these laying effectually from another BBQ pit.

• Pros: Reusable & can be bought at nigh grocery & hardware stores
• Cons: Dull. Storage can be an issue. Need safety place to light

I've used this method in the past with success – it'south tried and true for sure. Information technology works but information technology's deadening. And having a prophylactic place to light and store the chimney tin can exist an issue at times.

Oil Rags/Greased Paper Towels

Greased paper towels are another option that you can use to light your egg. And with annihilation out in that location, yous tin chose from a variety of methods. The ane I typically use here is after a long brisket or pork butt melt, I salve the drippings from the pan in a jar and stuff with paper towels. Those towels can and then be added to your egg and used to start the fire.

• Pros: Economical and uses resource you might already have on mitt.
• Cons: Messy & requires storage usually in a fridge.

Weed Burner

The weed burner option for starting your egg is the big blood brother version of the Mapp Torch – they work very well merely are probably overkill if you have just 1 egg and not another use for the weed burner.

• Pros: Works very well – fast. Tin use for other things similar burning weeds.
• Cons: Storage of the weed burner and your propane tank. Probably overkill for the BGE.

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Proud owner of (6) Big Green Eggs since 2007. (1) Twoscore, (2) Larges, (1) Small egg, (1) MiniMax and (1) Mini. Bastrop, TX backyard BBQer constantly trying new recipes and learning new things. @bbqfit on Instagram and @HoustonEgger on the Egghead Forum

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