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i am trying the 2 guys and a cooler shelf stable tallow recipe. apparently, the key to making it shelf stable is to add no water (as opposed to many recipes that call for added water)

Sounds interesting. I have some wagyu fat I haven't figured out what to do with. Maybe beef fat fried chips/fries? How do you render your tallow?

@tekobo yes i cleared all the fat on the surface. the point will be braised for brisket daikon (kind of like chinese corned beef). the flat i'm making pastrami. smoked until bark set and steam oven finished. i do have an injector i've never used so maybe i might introduce tallow into the flat, but we'll see..

I agree about the bright display. I thought the dimmer didn't work on mine, but then I realized it was dimmed. It reminds me of the "chicken roaster" episode of Seinfeld.

Thermoworks is having a 20% off sale.

Pull up a chair Dennis, this could take a while lol. You know there are multiple Santa Maria's out there, each having something to draw you in..be it styling, size, design, options, budget, stainless vs steel, gauge of steel, mechanics, interpretation of quality, reputation or reviews, shipping, firebrick or not, weight, portability, and the list goes on. The main concern is, in the end it's what your happy with regardless of the confusion, there are so many factors to consider depending on your wants and desire. The pit I bought was called the Hooray Grill, it's manufactured here in the USA in Kansas, I'm not going to lie...it was expensive compared to the other manufactures. I liked something in each one but settled on a 36 inch/3 rack Hooray because I was first intrigued with the mechanics of how to lower and raise the cooking grates and simply how it locks in when you stop. Next was the rotisserie, it was 5/8" or 3/4" thick 304 SS with massive SS spits and it could hold and turn 80 lbs with the One grill motor. There's a little work involved when cleaning, nothing hard but involves lifting out the bottom coal grate by attaching forks and then raising it with the crank mechanism. At first unusual, a bit daunting but in the end once past the apprehension your safe to vac out. I also purchased the 3 ft grill because it fits my need, the Goldilocks syndrome so to speak. Would I change anything? Good question, like David mentioned earlier in a post concerning the dreaded rust and it's demise, well I'd consider SS...however it's wicked expensive, yah, sticker shock. This is how I look at it, if you do what you can to minimize this and in the end you get years of enjoyment from it then it's worth the investment. Besides, have you ever been outside on a sunny day near a SS grill, hell if your not wearing sunglasses the reflection going to blind you and then having those glasses on you can't see what your cooking. Toss a coin, I'd say. I'm thinking that ol'bbq bug bit your ear and whispered sweet nothings into it mentioning how much you need it and how well it's going to look parked in the backyard. He's right, you will love it, pull up a high chair, light that stogie, crack that beer and watch the rotisserie go round and round. Now look at you, living down there in Port St Lucie Fl and the other Dennis in Bali so warm and comfortable ....I envy you both, so if you see where I'm leaning, you my friend have all year to perfect your technique . Others here have there own, I hope they weigh in and provide their nickels worth. Let us know which way the wind is going to blow.

I suspect you have taken off more fat than you need to @David Chang. I tended to have a bit of a fat cap left on the few briskets that I have cooked and that helped with the taste too. I just did a search for an Aaron Franklin brisket prep and he cleans the underside off well but leaves a fat cap on top. Is that the same for you or are both sides of your brisket clear of fat per your photos above?

Shame to have to box up such a pretty thing. Maybe they can offer an update that lets you turn the light off.

@Tyrus Bringing up an old post to find out how you are enjoying the Santa Maria? Which model did you purchase? Would you have changed anything. I am very interested in adding one to my outdoor kitchen set up. Seems like a fun cook for steak and ribs? TIA Dennis

Their chat recommended masking tape. I asked how to vent a box; they said leave the back open.

The Sourdough Home is a clean design that works. My one objection so far is light pollution. Up till now, the brightest object in our night environment has been our SimpliSafe home security Base Station. We keep it far from our sleeping quarters, and it's too bright even with the light ring wrapped in electrical tape. The Sourdough Home ("Starter home?" "Starter marriage?") has a sleep mode, but even that generates more light than the other 50 LED sources in our night home. I can imagine someone in a studio apartment frickin' despising this thing.

separated another brisket tonight and i think i'm getting better at it... but the meat yield after fat trim is terrible. this 6kg prime brisket which costs me $96 USD in HK with next day free delivery is not bad? ended with 3.4kg fat trimmings. i guess i'm making tallow this weekend...🙃

My turn to apologize for a delayed reply to your very thoughtful post. I am away on business travel and have a couple of questions and will post later this week. Thank you @Dennis L.

Please excuse this delay, I wrote this out last night and then closed the window by accident and lost it.. Did not have it in me to start again! Dennis.. I'm sorry to say you probably need to forget everything you know about controlling temps from your last Kamado. It did not have forced airflow because of the gap between the firebox and the grill wall. With glazed pot grills, air goes around the firebox and through the charcoal. In your KK, all the air is forced through the charcoal. The hot air leaving the damper top crates vacuum, which sucks fresh air through the front door and forces it through the charcoal. Air will always take the path of least resistance and will find the best way to feed the burn.. even or uneven, it all has to do with the resistance/how the air travels through the charcoal. Once your charcoal is burning, you can almost forget the lower draft door settings for low and slow unless it's completely closed. I always use the pencil-sized hole on the right dial, but if the top is choked down, you can even open the lower vents all the way without affecting the airflow or temp. The volume of air entering the grill is only what is permitted to leave the top. Temperature is airflow, and the best way to limit the airflow is with the damper top. With pressure or vacuum, a lot of air can be sucked or blown through a very small hole. Likewise, with no vacuum or pressure a large hole will have no airflow. Watching this video might help visualize the airflow differences.. Click on this YouTube - Komodo Kamado Grill Basics For low and slow cooks, the heat coming off the walls creates uniform heat distribution, not where in the basket or how many places the charcoal is burning. (high temp grilling yes) For low and slow temps, you are only burning about a large orange volume of charcoal. It should be in one place, as there is not enough charcoal burning to distribute it around the basket. The heat rises, and the hot air hits the foil and is well distributed. (does not need any fancy gizmos designed by Harvard students-LOL) As long as it does not directly hit your meat, you are good. I do not suggest cooking on the lower grate with a 32 or 42 using the splitter to create indirect heat for a low slow cooks. The walls on the far side down below will not be properly heat-soaked. I always light my low and slow cooks in the middle of the charcoal basket, but don't worry where the burn ends up. I do not suggest heating your grill to 600º first if you plan to cook low and slow. Once you know your damper top setting is for, let's say 235º, light your charcoal, set your top, forget it, and walk away. The damper top settings will always be the same. Actually, they will be the same after the damper top rope gets flattened and hard; when you first get your grill, the rope is flat, and as it breaks in, your settings will change a bit, but once flat, they will be the same always. I do suggest taking notes about your cooks, but the most important thing is to have fun with it!

You can certainly let t ramp up to 600F. However, it may get a bit high and not come back down to your desired temp in time. This is why I switched my method. A nice even layer of hot coals across the entire basket seems to work well. https://tmgpits.com/products/tmg-torch-charcoal-chimney

Thank you @Cheesehead_Griller perhaps by letting the KK ramp up to 600F accomplished the same as your technique with charcoal chimney? Next time I will light from the center only and see how it goes. My concern is the same as you stated on long slow cooks. Next test...

This site talks about the use of Huacatay in the green crack sauce. You need to scroll down to H to see their recipe. Looking forward to trying it (and @troble's variations) out. https://www.realseeds.co.uk/herbs.html

That chicken looks fantastic !!!!

It's a good combo, that or the Thermoworks Billows with damper. Those seem to be the two most of the folks here use now.

@Dennis I had similar problems for a while when I first got my KK. It was super frustrating for me. However, I found a very simple solution. I know fill a charcoal chimney with lump. Once the lump is red hot, and going strong, I pour those hot coals over the entire charcoal basket. I can now burn a complete basket of lump and avoid these dead spots. For small cooks it isn't too big of an issue. I had the most issues on longer cooks where I needed the whole basket to burn and it wouldn't. I also now only use the Fogo Premium; not XL. Sometimes those XL chunks just wouldn't burn.

Yes, Fireboard 2 Drive or Pro and a Pit Viper would be the best. I have the FB Pro and Pit Viper. Love it.

I know this thread is a little old but wanted to see if anyone would suggest anything different in terms of a control unit and fan. I think it's time to retire my Rock's BBQ stoker. From what I read, learning towards a fireboard 2 with a pit viper fan. Thanks,

Looks outstanding. I need to do the same for my tables!

Perfect! I am just sowing my seeds here in the UK so I will track down some Huacatay and maybe the Aji Amarillo so that I have the ingredients ready for when you reveal your new and improved recipe. I do already have a LOT of chilli plants underway so I am less sure about the Aji but we'll see if we can fit that in. Looking forward to joining you on this journey!

Thank you @remi to your point this is what made my experience odd to me as I did light in 3 spots across the whole basket. And after reading the commentary, that maybe unnecessary. Perhaps to Dennis L point it won't make any difference as long as it does not go out completely during a long overnight low and slow cook. The draft was open on the top enough to hit target temp and control easily. I'm not a newbie to this style of cooking and very comfortable with draft control. To that end I intentionally used both left and right lower vent adjustments for that reason, thinking maybe I am having a draft issue, cracking one side. On the last cook I lit the basket the same way and let the ramp go to 600F which happened very quickly then shut down to target settings. Luckily the KK was not heat soaked yet and allowed for a fairly quick drop to my target temp, no chasing involved. Now what's interesting, when I looked at the basket this time following the cook albeit only 4 hrs. the basket burned evenly across. BTW I was using the KK Smoker so it was very obvious the top was open appropriately allowing for the smoke to exhaust out the top vent. Hey these KK's are beasts and I am only trying to dial in their idiosyncrasies'. I know it will happen and with the input from those on this forum with over a decade of experience.