mdbinkc

Thanks for the kind replies. As I'm sure you know, cooks don't always go as planned, and when all is said and done, there are usually things you wished you had done differently. This was a rare case where everything went as planned, and I ended the meal with a real sense of accomplishment. Can't wait until the next effort! dsrt8: By the way, I asked Malcom why he uses margarine instead of butter. He tells me that competition guys use it mainly because it's easy to use, and easy to store. He says you can use butter instead, or omit it altogether. My better half is a little skittish about margarine after reading the ingredients label, so this was music to her ears.

Congratulations Dennis - a well-deserved award for this engineering masterpiece!

Did I tell you that I love my KK? I have to share the rib cook I did yesterday for our Independence Day celebration. These meaty baby backs were my best yet. I followed a process from a pitmaster named Malcom Reed on YouTube: Yellow mustard binder for rub Rub with Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust KK @235 degrees for ~2 hours with Apple (look for mahogany color) Wrap in foil, first drizzling with about 1 tbs of margarine, 1 tbs of honey, and 1 tbs of brown sugar Back on KK for ~1:45; peek after ~1:15 to check for desired tenderness Unwrap, glaze with your favorite sauce, put back on for about 30 minute to set the sauce. Plate up with a little pasta salad, Thai cucumber salad, and watermelon Enjoy!

The 2 racks were placed inside a large disposable roasting pan, on the top grate. We had to slightly bend the pan to close the lid, but it worked well. The turkeys were brined for about 24 hours, then rinsed, patted dry, and air-dried overnight in the refrigerator (this step is key to crisp skin, as other posters have stated many times). We rubbed a coat of olive oil on the skin, with a little seasoning, prior to smoking. I foiled the wing tips and leg knobs, but did not tuck or tie. As I mentioned, temp was maintained in the 300-325 degree range. The skin turned out nicely browned, and was relatively crisp. Overall, I was very pleased with the outcome. I should have taken pictures, but was too busy entertaining while I was cooking. I hope this helps.

I'm probably late on this response, but I cooked 3 turkeys over the last 2 days. The first day, I cooked two 12-13 pounders at once, on racks in roasting pans on the top grate, at 300-325 degrees, with heat deflector in place. It took right at 3 hours and 45 minutes for the breasts to reach 167 degrees (thighs about 171). Yesterday, I cooked a 10.5 pounder. The grill temp got away from me a little, up to about 340 degrees, and turkey was at 170 degrees in 3 hours and 10 minutes. On both cooks, I took brined and air-dried birds directly from refrigerator to heat soaked KK, with no time at room temp. I would say you should start checking IT at 2:45 - 3:00. depending on size of turkey.

Normstar, it sounds to me like, if you did check the thickest parts of the thigh and breast, it could be as simple as a thermometer calibration issue. I also use a Thermapen, and mine seems to work fine. My wired Thermoworks thermometer does have a calibration issue - I learned about it the first time I depended on it to tell me when my prime rib was at rare, only to find out later that it was overcooked. I then did a side by side comparison with my Thermapen, and found there was about a 20 degree difference. Based on the end result of the pime rib cook, I decided that the Thermapen was closer to the correct temp. I tell you all this to demonstrate that these thermometers can be off. Based on your description, I don't think it was a problem with the way you managed the temperature of your KK. Logically, since you always had it in a nominal range between 300-400 degrees, you were still cooking, and should have had success. Only if you had pulled the bird based strictly on time in the KK would I conclude that it was a smoker temperature issue. One suggestion - you may want to consider brining your next turkey - I find that for some reason it reduces the cooking time, and it definitely improves the moisture content. I have had so much success with brining, I don't cook poultry without brining it first. I hope all of my rambling is helpful, and good luck with your next try.

Re: A pallet? Carpetride, I live over in the KC area, but I travel to Columbia and St. Louis on a fairly regular basis. I am interested in sharing a pallet, and will make a special trip over that way to pick it up. I'll take as much or as little as you want to part with. Just let me know.

Re: Midwest Share That's an awesome offer, thanks. I will reach out and see if you're still willing to part with a couple of boxes when I'm on my last box. It may not be until spring, depending on how much I brave the weather. I also want you to know that I am in any time you want to order some in the future. I am using Royal Oak for most of my cooking as well. In addition to the cooking you mentioned, I prefer the coco char for long brisket cooks also - it seems to give me more temperature stability than the Royal Oak. Have a great holiday season!

Re: Midwest Share CP, let me know if you ever want to go in on an order. I'll drive down to Ottawa to pick up my share! I love this stuff, and I'm down to 2 boxes.

Re: Can't put it out! My mistake, Talisker did say thermo probe port. I agree, probably not much effect.

Re: Can't put it out! I had the same thing happen on my last cook - the rear door was slightly ajar. Apparently, when I was cleaning ash, I must have accidentally pushed the door open. I only realized it when the grill stayed at 250 or so 3 hours after I shut her down. I think your open guru port would supply enough air to keep the temp up some as well.

Re: New here Carpetride, welcome to the forum. I am a new owner over in the KC area, and new to ceramic grills. I have cooked on various charcoal kettle grills and gassers over the years. I also owned an electric smoker, but recently sold it. I only kept the gasser around so my wife could prepare quick burgers or chicken breasts on weeknights. My bronze metallic 23" arrived in mid-October. I purchased out of the LA inventory, and had my KK within about 3 weeks of ordering. The process was very easy overall. As I'm sure you've read here, Dennis is great to do business with, and has the utmost integrity. My grill was delivered when promised, arrived in perfect condition, was easy to unpack and set up, and I was ready to cook within an hour or so. I am still learning, obviously, but I have to tell you that everything I've cooked on the KK so far has been excellent. I have seared burgers and steaks, cooked salmon patties in a cast iron skillet, made pizzas, smoked ribs, pork shoulder, and turkey. All great. The grill temp is very easy to set, is extremely stable, and will go for days on one basket of charcoal. To answer your question about moisture, I always used a liquid-filled pan under my meat when smoking on the electric, or for indirect on the gasser. What I have cooked so far on the KK has been without any added moisture, and the finished product has always been very moist (I do brine my poultry). Overall, just a great product. It sounds like you are an avid BBQ man - I highly recommend that you pull the trigger on a KK. And, by the way, the extruded coco-char is a fabulous product, you should order some when you buy your Komodo Kamado.

Re: Ruth Chris Sweet Potato Casserole This sounds great, I'm going to try it. There's nothing like a good sweet potato casserole with your favorite KK BBQ or smoked meat. I had a variation of this recipe last night with my ribs, and it complemented the meal well.

Re: Unpacking video of Komodo Kamado Nice video, and love your covered patio set up there, talisker63!

Re: She's in the truck! WOW! Absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations!