TheNakedWhiz

And I thought I was being funny when I posted this photo on my website: Or maybe I was just predicting the future, LOL!

Hey Theo! Glad to see you are a happy camper! Here is a link to my web page on temperature control: The Naked Whiz's Page on Temperature Control As you can see in this chart: the amount of time it takes to bring the temperature of your cooker down, depends on how hot you have allowed the ceramic to get. Also, the more mass the cooker has, the longer it will take the cooker to shed heat. In the above chart, the pink line is where I heated an Egg up to 700 degrees and then immediately shut down the vents. The blue line represents when I let the cooker sit at 700 degrees for a while, allowing the ceramic to heat up, before I closed the vents.

Theo, great to hear that you were pleased and that I didn't steer you wrong! I (and the rest of the readers) will be eager to hear how the cooking goes!

Me too. I keep dropping hints to Dennis about how he should send me a free cooker so I can do a review for the website, but he doesn't seem to get the hint, See, I just did it again!

Amen. I have 6 of them. Incidentally, they make two models in two different stem lenghts, 5 inches and 2.5 inches. You may be tempted to order the short stem, but you might want to read the following web page first: Which Tel-Tru Thermometer Should You Buy? The short stem isn't long enough to get the entire sensor portion of the stem into the cooker. Hence, the short stem models will read artificially low temperatures. If you want the short stem thermometer in order to avoid poking the food, you need to make sure you get a long stem thermometer of some sort in order to be able to calibrate the short one. For example, if the long one reads 400 and the short one reads 300, you can then figure out a percentage to use to adjust the readings from the short stem models. However, it's a lot easier just to use the long stem.

This photo was taken after a long cook at 400 degrees to test burn time. Other charcoals leave a similar deposit, but not such a visible white color. I don't think it is anything to be worried about. Here is a link to the full review: Review of Kamado Extruded Coconut Charcoal

Farmer John, Well, now that you let it out of the bag, I can also say that is what I heard. A very interesting product!

Even the best camera in the hands of an idiot can produce bad photos. I could post some of mine, if you like. No, Porkchop, you need to buy a couple of light stands, an umbrella, a softbox, a couple of good lights, and you'll be in business!

Leejp, Actually Lee, I think you will be quite surprised at the price of the Stoker when it is announced.... I can't reveal the approximate price, but I don't anyone to get the wrong impression. (I am not affiliated with them, I have just had exchanged some emails with the owner.)

Farmer John, Actually you can open either vent first. Heat rises and it doesn't matter which vent is opened first, the airflow WILL go from top to bottom. In fact, another way to avoid flashback (at least on an EGG where you can totally remove the top cap) is to remove the top cap for about 45 seconds and then burp it. Also, don't be fooled into thinking that Flashbacks only occur below some magical temperature or under one set of conditions. They can occur at lower temperatures and even with the vents open. I had one happen last weekend around 500 degrees with the vents partially open. I had one occur when the cooker was at 350 degrees, and had never been any hotter than that. The secret is that flashbacks can occur any time that there is a surplus of volatiles and carbon monoxide from the charcoal, and a deficit of oxygen. The greater the disparity between these two sides of the equation, the bigger the result. I'd recommend anyone unfamiliar with flashback to visit my webpage on the topic and listen to the Whizcast.

I'm pretty sure that the 22" measurement is the diameter of the grid/cooking surface.

I wouldn't bet that letting the charcoal burn 30 minutes will burn off all the volatiles and prevent flashback. I've had flashbacks occur using previously burned charcoal. Flashback occurs also because of the presence of carbon monoxide in the cooker. When the charcoal is burning, carbon combines with oxygen to produce carbon monoxide which then burns with the blue flame we often see. I recommend that venting the cooker always be used, and don't rely on things like the temperature or how old or used the charcoal might be as a guage of whether or not a flashback is possible.

From the movie!

For those of you who might be new to cooking with ceramic cookers, something to be aware of is the phenomenon of Flashback. I have a movie on my web page which is devoted to this subject, and tonight I just posted the latest Whizcast which is also devoted to Flashback. (A Whizcast is the new and improved version of a podcast. ) You will find all the Whizcasts at www.nakedwhiz.com/whizcast/ and the address of our flashback page is www.nakedwhiz.com/flash.htm. I hope you find something informative there!

I didn't use any smoking woods with this one. I wanted to see what all those flavors were about!

I just tried this recipe for the first time and it's a keeper. It goes on my list of recipes of things to do for company: Qbabes Coffee Crusted Pork Tenderloin Redeye BBQ Sauce The sauce is the secret to this dish, so don't try making the pork without the sauce. This is an easy cook and great dish to impress your friends with your new cooker and your cooking skills!

I see that no KK owners have posted any recipes yet. I thought I'd point you to my web page of cookbooks. Many of these cookbooks are short PDF cookbooks compiled from various Eggfests. Of course, you should be successful using these recipes on any ceramic cooker. Also, I have a web page that shows how to get a $3 discount on Living Cookbook software (no affiliation or kickback to me, dang it!) and I have Databases containing over 3000 BBQ/Grill recipes which you can then import into the Living Cookbook program. Have a look if you are interested: The Naked Whiz's Cookbooks Page

And there are charcoals which burn even longer than the extruded coconut if you really need a long cook, so like I say, I think it is safe to say that one of these puppies can cook longer on a full load of charcoal than any human might like to go for!

What Dennis said. Here is a data point for you to get a rough idea. I have cooked for 20 hours at 230 degrees in a large BGE and I still had at least 1/3 of the charcoal left. (The cooker was loaded up as full as it would go when I started.) So, I think a KK would last longer based on Dennis' comments. Another consideration is the density of the charcoal you use. Cowboy charcoal is not very dense and thus takes up a whole lot more volume than an equal weight of your "average" lump charcoal. I did a burntime and ash comparison of 5 major types of charcoal in which I burned 6 pounds of charcoal in a small BGE. I was cruising along until I got to Cowboy charcoal and 6 pounds wouldn't fit. I'd say I got about 4 pounds in and had to add the last 2 pounds after some of the original charcoal had burned down. So, a lot of factors, but for low and slow cooking, any ceramic cooker that comes in a large size like the KK or a large BGE will cook longer on a full load of charcoal than you will ever need.

I believe that if you cook in a Kamado cooker, you need to vent any condensation when cooking in cold weather. Otherwise the moisture forms on the inside of the top of the dome, freezes and damages the spider that holds the screw thread for the top. I don't know if this is necessary on a KK, but it sure sounds like it is on a Kamado, according to Harry D who lives somewhere near the north pole, it seems....

Amen to the "wife explanation" bit. I own four Eggs and the ONLY way I'll get another ceramic cooker of ANY type is if it shows up free on my front doorstep with a note that says it will cost $300 for me to ship it back, LOL! Of course, the wife is getting a total renovation of our house, hmmmmmm........

Well I tried the pork steaks. Awesome. I actually did them at 250 for 2 hours. Spritz with some olive oil, a good shake of Dizzy Pig's rub and finished with Dickies sauce. Yum!

I'm going to try some pork steaks. I've seen hot and fast, and low and slow, recommendations, so I'll try hot and fast first since that's quicker! LOL

Porkchop, maybe I should come over and take photos for you, lol!