We study the efficient use of the discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for the computation of steady solutions of the Euler equations. In particular, we look into a few methods to enhance computational efficiency. In this context we discuss the applicability of two algorithmical simplifications that decrease the computation time associated to quadrature. A simplified version of the quadrature free implementation applicable to general equations of state, and a simplified curved boundary treatment are investigated. We as well investigate two efficient iteration techniques, namely the classical Newton-Krylov method used in computational fluid dynamics codes, and a variant of the multigrid method which uses interpolation orders rather than coarser tesselations to define the auxiliary coarser levels. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.