Big Green Egg

The Big Green Egg (or EGG) is the brand name of a kamado-style ceramic charcoal barbecue cooker.

The Big Green Egg is commonly referred to as a kamado because of the origins of the basic design that lie in southern Japan.

The word "mushikamado" means "steam cooker" (from "mushi" meaning "to steam", and "kamado" meaning "cooker, oven, or kiln") The mushikamado was a device designed to steam rice and used by Japanese families for ceremonial occasions and took the shape of a round clay pot with a removable domed clay lid. It featured a top damper and bottom draft door. The mushikamado first came to the attention of the Americans after World War II when US Air Force servicemen would bring them back from Japan in empty transport planes. In the late 1960s manufacturing started in the Americas.

The Big Green Egg Company was founded in 1974 by Ed Fisher and is based in Tucker, Georgia in the USA. Production of the Big Green Egg takes place in Monterrey, Mexico, by the company Daltile.

Big Green Egg grills are available worldwide, however they can only be sold by authorized dealers.

The shape of the Big Green Egg is designed to contain the heat with only a small vent at the top to create a draft to keep the fire going. Today's Big Green Egg is manufactured from high fiber ceramics developed for the Space Shuttle program designed to reflect heat and this allows temperatures of up to 650 °C (1,202 °F) to be reached. The external surface has a high gloss ceramic glaze applied to provide crack and weather resistance.

The Big Green Egg is a charcoal barbecue: the manufacturers recommend lump wood charcoal because alternatives such as charcoal briquettes contain many additives that can contaminate the flavor of the food. The sealed design of the grill results in a slow burn that uses small amounts of charcoal compared to a regular grill, and lump wood charcoal also creates little ash.

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Wikipedia