Set it up: direct, indirect or baking

The grid, the convEGGtor and the stone for each cook

Big Green Egg's own set-ups: BGE US's convEGGtor guide and load-and-light guide, and BGE Europe's user guide.

1. For direct heat (grilling, mostly 180 to 250 °C), lay the grid on the fire ring, straight over the charcoal. Never cover the whole grid with food (BGE Europe).
2. For indirect heat (roasting and smoking), lift the grid off and set the convEGGtor on the fire ring, legs up.
3. Lay the grid on its legs. For a long cook, put a drip pan on the convEGGtor under the food (BGE Europe).
4. For pizza or bread, lay the Baking Stone (not shown here) on that grid, or set the convEGGtor legs down with the stone straight on it, which bakes a thin pizza hotter (BGE Europe). Heat the stone through first: 10 to 20 minutes.
5. Put the convEGGtor in once the EGG is hot, about 10 °C short of your target (BGE UK). The cold ceramic pulls the dome down by about 40 to 75 °C; leave the vents and it comes back (BGE US and Europe).
6. Lift the convEGGtor in heat-resistant gloves or with the convEGGtor basket: the bigger convEGGtors are heavy (BGE US).

For how much charcoal, see light it; for the vents, control the temperature. BGE UK: Large and XL EGGs sold from October 2026 come with the Dual Zone Essentials Kit in place of a convEGGtor; this job shows the convEGGtor.