One of the aspects of a Big Green Egg that isn’t for everyone is the fact that you have to get a fire going. It’s not a one-click start like a gas or propane grill. That means sometimes it’s quick and easy and other times it’s a giant pain in the ass.
Add in variables like your lighter being dead, your wife used the last of the matches or you forgot to pick up more starter cubes at the grocery store. That’s when you’re stuck, and you need a few hacks to light a Big Green Egg with whatever you’ve got.
Dinner still has to happen. All of these situations have happened to me and I have always managed to get a fire going. Here’s what I do, and it’ll work on any charcoal grill.
How to light a Big Green Egg when you’re stuck
Fill the firebox with lump charcoal, not briquettes. Big Green Egg advises against briquettes because of the additives in them, and pouring lighter fluid into the Egg will void the warranty. Make a small well in the middle and that’s where your starters go.
On a kettle or any other charcoal grill, the same tricks work, and they let you skip the lighter fluid there too. The only difference is you stack the charcoal in a pyramid over your starters instead of tucking them into a well. Whatever you’re lighting, don’t reach for gasoline or any other highly flammable liquid. It can cause dangerous flare-ups.
What can you use as a fire starter?
I usually light the Egg with a chimney starter, which is on my list of Big Green Egg accessories I actually use. It gets the coals going without lighter fluid, but it still needs something lit underneath it, so everything below works with a chimney or without one.
Newspaper or cardboard
Twist a few sheets of newspaper and tuck them into the well in the charcoal. Cardboard torn into strips works the same way. Newspaper burns out fast, though, so it works best paired with one of the other starters.
Egg cartons
You can use egg cartons too, as long as they’re the cardboard kind. Foam and plastic cartons give off toxic fumes when they burn, and you don’t want that anywhere near your dinner.
I use egg cartons all the time. I set the carton in the middle of the charcoal, put a lump of charcoal in each cup like eggs and light the edges. The cardboard burns slowly enough to give the charcoal time to catch, and it works the same way on a kettle grill.
An oil-soaked paper towel
When I cook bacon, I keep the greasy paper towel for the grill. It’s already soaked, so it’s ready to go.
If you make bacon a lot, you can build up a stash. Tear the greasy towels into pieces, roll them into balls and throw them in a freezer bag. They go straight from the freezer to the grill.
No bacon? Ball up a regular paper towel, wet it with cooking oil and tuck it into the charcoal. If it doesn’t catch, give it a bit more oil.
What can you use for kindling?
Kindling is what carries the fire from your paper to the charcoal, and you can usually find it in the backyard. Dry sticks work, and so do dead weeds.
Tuck a small nest of them in with your starters, leave room for air and light them together. Start with the small twigs and add bigger pieces once they catch. If a stick bends instead of snapping, it’s probably still wet and will smoke more than it burns.
How do you light a Big Green Egg without matches or a lighter?
Having your starters ready doesn’t help much if you’ve got nothing to light them with. That’s when I go full MacGyver and start looking around the kitchen for anything that makes a flame.
Use the gas stove
This is my go-to when the matches have gone missing again. I light a piece of newspaper, some cardboard or a stick on the burner, walk it out to the Egg and use it to light my starters.
Just keep it small, and don’t forget to turn the burner off before you head outside. Don’t try this on an electric stove. Paper on a hot element is a fire hazard.
No gas stove?
Full disclosure, I haven’t tried any of these, but they came up while I was researching this post. If you don’t have a gas stove, they’re worth a shot.
First is a 9-volt battery and steel wool. Touch the steel wool to both terminals and it starts to spark and burn, so do it right at the grill with your newspaper ready to go. Store the two apart, too, so they don’t end up touching in a drawer.
If you don’t have steel wool, a foil gum wrapper stretched across both ends of an AA battery will heat up and catch. It burns out quickly, though, so have a few on hand.
And if you happen to have a gas grill next to your Egg, you can light your paper on its burner.
How long until you can cook?
Once the starters are lit, open the bottom vent and the top vent all the way. Leave the dome up for 5 to 10 minutes, then close it for about 10 minutes and let the temperature climb.
On the Egg, go by the dome thermometer. Once it’s holding the temperature you want, you’re ready, and here are my Big Green Egg recipes for beginners if you need something to cook. On a kettle grill, lighting without lighter fluid takes a little longer, and the coals are ready when they’re glowing and covered in grey ash.
What if your wood or charcoal is wet?
Wet wood isn’t going to get anything started. Light the charcoal first, then add the wood once the coals are going.
Don’t try to burn wet charcoal. It won’t light properly and gives off a lot of smoke with little heat. Lump charcoal can be dried by spreading it in a single layer in the sun, which can take a day or two. If you use briquettes on a kettle and they’ve gone mushy, throw them out.
Once your Big Green Egg is lit
Running out of matches, lighters or starter cubes is annoying, but it doesn’t mean dinner’s cancelled. Lump charcoal, a greasy paper towel or an egg carton, and a flame from the gas stove have gotten me out of it every time I’ve had to light a Big Green Egg with whatever was around.
Once it’s going, my Big Green Egg temperature guide has the dome temperatures for whatever you’re cooking. If the fire caught but the Egg won’t climb, check my Big Green Egg troubleshooting post.
