Planning to light the charcoal in the Big Green Egg to cook something delicious? Extend your cooking session by using the residual heat, i.e. the afterglow, because by harnessing this heat, you get the most out of your charcoal, cook extra sustainably and enjoy the flavour of the Big Green Egg the next day too.
What is residual heat?
As you no doubt know, the Big Green Egg is known for its unique ceramic. One of its properties is its insulating effect, as a result of which the kamado uses very little charcoal. And the heat stored in the ceramic due to cooking still radiates long after the charcoal has already gone out. We call this stored heat the residual heat, or the afterglow. This heat can be used in numerous ways, such as to roast or dry ingredients. In most cases, no extra charcoal is consumed, so it is a very sustainable way of cooking on your kamado.
The cooking technique
The initial temperature at which to cook with residual heat depends on what you want to roast or dry. When roasting root vegetables, start at a temperature around 180°C. For most ingredients you want to dry, start at a lower temperature, between 110 and 140°C. If you want to dry ingredients that contain a lot of moisture, it is sometimes necessary to dry the ingredient beforehand. In that case, keep the kamado at the indicated temperature for 1 to 2 hours, then close the air regulator at the bottom of your Big Green Egg’s ceramic base and open the rEGGulator slightly. The lack of oxygen will extinguish the charcoal and the moisture released during the cooking or drying process can escape through the crack. The residual heat will do the rest!
Cooking with residual heat
Vegetables such as beetroots, onions or potatoes can easily be roasted this way. It is delicious to incorporate the roasted beetroots, onions or potatoes into a salad the following day. Or make dishes like an onion compote or mashed potatoes. You won’t believe how good they taste! Or how about beef jerky, dried tomatoes for a salad or roasted garlic to make aioli?And once you have tasted smoked carrot from the Big Green Egg, we’re sure it’ll become a stable on your menu. It’s very simple to prepare: just sprinkle a handful of smoking wood in the form of wood chips on the still-glowing charcoal. Place peeled carrots in a heatproof dish with mild olive oil and place on the grill. The following day, the carrots will have a delicious flavour and soft texture.
Zero waste
You can even use the residual heat to create the most delicious seasonings that also have a long shelf life. For example, dried mushrooms can not only be preserved in oil, but also ground into a powder. And when it comes to zero waste, you can make more than just a tasty broth from the heads and shells of crustaceans. Dry them in your kamado and grind them into a powder in a coffee mill or spice grinder the following day. This is delicious for adding flavour to mayonnaise, dressings, butter or olive oil. You can also dry vanilla pods in residual heat. After drying in the residual heat, grind the pods with some sugar in a food processor the following day to make delicious, slightly smoky vanilla sugar, which you can use to give your desserts or baked goods a unique twist.
Discover your skills
Curious about cooking with residual heat? Get inspired by our chef’s recipes or let your creativity run wild. You will soon discover what residual heat does to your ingredients and how easy it is to cook with residual heat.
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