DennisLinkletter

It's well known online fact that in 2003 Kamado Corp of multiple locales imported and sold a container of high quality extruded coconut charcoal that was very well received by the public and when tested by the Naked Whiz charcoal review site burned long and created very little ash.. Subsequent shipments seemed to go downhill steadily. The problem is that most producers and exporters were selling and shipping extruded charcoal mixed with large percentages of starch binder. Regardless what anybody tells you, ALL coconut charcoal is mixed with a starch binder before being extruded. The best uses 3-5% some almost 50%. The volume of ash is in direct proportion to the volume of starch added. In the last few years the demand for activated carbon for water filters has driven the price of the raw material up. I tested and cooked with many samples from around SE Asia. They all sang the right song but ash testing always told a different story. I've been offered extruded coconut charcoal from as little as $260 a ton and as much as $580 a ton. Last June I was told about a charcoal seller/agent in Jakarta who had supplied Kamado with the 2003 container (here is the BOL) as well as a couple of container afterward which word on the web was were never paid for. (more BOLs) I contacted these people and was told I could get the high quality 74% fixed carbon, 3.4% ash. This was late June of 2007, I immediately sent them a deposit to secure a container and UPS'ed stickers to the factory for the boxes. I asked for a current MSDS and was sent one that read 57% fixed Carbon and 19% ash. I immediately called and told them that this was not what we talked about and I was not interested in sending 2nd or 3rd quality charcoal. Time went by and there were excuses followed by excuses until they finally sent me a MSDS with 64% fixed Carbon and 10.70% ash. November 30, 2007 he sent me a proforma invoice offering 57% and 67% both with low ash.. I requested and received my deposit back. From the test information I was able to track down the original factory. When I asked the Jakarta Agent for my stickers I learned that they were sent to another charcoal factory.. Classic bait and switch. It's been a long road but this last week I sent a container of top quality 74% fixed Carbon, 3.5% ash extruded coconut charcoal from the same factory as the now legendary 2003 shipment. (Anybody who wants copies of documents to confirm any of this please write me.. I have them all;-) The container is scheduled to arrive in Long Beach July 12th. More information soon..

the dense hot face is very hard and durable. Let me be the first to say that the hot face material what I usually refer to as the dense material is very hard and durable. It gets even stronger after it's been over 800º. It will never get crumbly.. What gives you the illusion of being soft is the white cosmetic, plaster like material.

a prize for the healthiest lawn! I think you should win a prize for the healthiest lawn! Damn.. Make a commercial on that stuff!

Welcome Tim Hi Tim, Welcome to the forum.. DJ, I called him first thing this morning.. at 6:30am by 7:00 he was the proud owner of this bad boy.. Tim delivery is booked.. give them 2 days to call.

My penchant for Insecta.. It's very clear now.. I will never live down my penchant for Insecta.. Oh well..

Little time to Shrink them down and put them up.. I actually just had some time to come up for air this weekend.. Shrink them down and put them up.. I've been working on 32 arched doors, molding and flooring for a Komodo customer in FL and it's been very attention intensive. Arches and elliptical molding require lots of thinking.. I'll post some shots of the doors and the jigs we had to make up to make the curved multi lam molding. I actually impressed myself..

Presto Ham.. Just brine and cook'em a little less.. Presto Ham..

I'm not sure what these are called but I bought a vacuum packed bag of 5. They seemed pretty meaty. I've eaten these from goat with a sweet brown sauce here in Indonesia. Lower legs? And I also bought another Aussie boneless leg of lamb. I rubbed these both down with just a little French's mustard and then sprinkled them with my trusty McCormic's savory herb roasting rub. Started at 350º for a half hour then down to 260º until the big leg was 145º. The lil' legs were in the mid 150º's This was the most tender and moist lamb I've ever cooked. More tender than great tenderloin.. This will make great thin sliced sammies later this week. These did not have a lotta meat on them but it was very flavorful.. Isla cooked the wild vegetables we found in the garden.. absolutely the best I've ever play eaten...

Not spending much time bent over! Please remember that 27 is NOT Hibachi height. Standard dinning room table is 30" so this is just a little under that. AND please remember that this is not a gas grill. You're really not spending much time bent over!

On my last trip to Bali, I filled my carry on with a great selection of pork and ice. A boneless butt with skin intact, a rib rack and two racks of babybacks.. a bit thin but still baby backs. I used apple and really smoked them up for 40 minutes at about 200º dome. I then cranked it up to 280º dome (240ºgrill) The rib rack was pulled first at 142º wrapped and dropped in the cooler. I brined the butt overnight a bit saltier than usual as I wanted to end up with something ham like for sammies. I painted it with apple cider vinegar and honey at 170º and pulled it at 182º. Pulled the ribs when they broke when I bounced them and the meat tore..

After eating some Jack in the Box cheese filled deep fried Jalapenos, Sai, my better half was in love. I've long wanted to make her an atomic turd or twelve. As we have no Jalapenos here in Asia, I brought back seeds and had a friend grow them hydroponically. That was last summer and here are the results. 12 Jalapenos 250gram/8 oz block of Philly cream cheese (easier if at room temperature) 1/3 C finely grated parmesan cheese 1 tsp granulated garlic 1 Tbsp dry onion powder 1 Tbsp of your favorite paprika based Q rub 1 Tbsp honey 12 slices streaky pork belly/bacon We sliced them in half and took out either half or all the seeds and membranes. Leave some seeds for more heat. Fill halves and wrap and skewer with toothpicks or sate sticks.. I cooked/smoked them indirect with a little hickory at 325º for 30 minutes and the Jalapenos still had crunch and the bacon was chewy.. I cranked it up to 425º and then closed it down to kill the burn. I came back about 20 minutes later to perfection.. Melt in your mouth, flavor loaded, just enough heat to know there are chilies in there but not so much to make you sweat.. Ahh their reputation for being a BBQ great is well deserved..

More shots.. Shots of both OTB domes.. The chimney on the 19.5 has been scaled down so adjustments will require more movement of the damper top. The large diameter on the 23" results in very minor adjustments change the volume dramatically. Close up of new process and insulation

Our big 23" OTB was designed for ease of use and luxury. This is why I built for a target grill height of about 32". No bending over or not much for you tall guys. I then set the target height of the new 19.5 at 30".. Actually the new smaller OTB is still a pretty good size, it just looks small next to the larger model. After mounting the wheels on the new cooker, for asthetics I've chopped and dropped it down to a 27" grill height. This will also give me more room in the containers to more easily stack them. What do you think?

I sent some shots of the KOmodo in Washington I sent some shots of the KOmodo in Washington.. LV.. Not worth the postage. I never think about them any longer. KOmodo will celebrate 5 years in August.

I've ordered one.. I've ordered one..

Quick and easy.. Washes right off Ash I've found doesn't bite so I usually just pull out the charcoal basket and with a little piece of cardboard in my my hand sweep the ash out the door into a box or bag. Quick and easy.. And the ash.. washes off your hands easily..

I've been told KOmodo is in the new Better Homes and Gardens' "How To Outdoor Kitchens" book page 114 I love it..

Been working on a EZ clean insert.. I've been playing with a few ideas and will eventually have something that holds a trash bag that fits into the front draft door assembly so that when you sweep out the front opening it goes directly into a bag and makes no mess! I definitely think the Ultimate grill should have something like that...

Does the one shown above have the insulation? Is insulation another layer or what? The one shown above is just standard portland cement.. Both layers, we just wanted to make sure the mold released properly.

Never needs sealing.. It's an outdoor industrial insulation and very durable.. You can hit it with a hammer and not chip it off.. It's elastomeric enough that you can spray it on copper sheet, fold in in half open it up and it's fine.. At high temps you can put your fingernail into it like a hot tire..

It's been in a garage safe and sound.. It's been in a garage safe and sound..

This is an older mixup.. I sent this Supreme Classic to a customer who had changed his mind and wanted an OTB. He had already opened and trashed the crate and this has been stranded in his driveway.. I lost his contact information and just heard from him.. Pick up only.. First $1080 OBO Save $640

In the last 2 months or so word has gotten out that I helped some of RJ's customers with spare parts. Since then I've shipped fireboxes, charcoal baskets, grills, draft door assemblies and damper tops. I feel for these semi stranded KAmado customers and I've been happy to help. Problem is that I have no staff in the States, my brother helps out but just can't deal with this new demand for little stuff.. As you know we are small boutique company who build a small volume of very high quality cookers.. By choice, I personally handle all correspondences with my customers.. I have two companies and two children and not enough time and energy to handle RJ's customer service shortfalls. So I'm going to have to apologize and tell you that I have chosen to no longer handle these requests. Life is short and I need to prioritize and focus these days. . My family, KOmodo and Hand Hewn Floors customers have to come first... It also just delays your getting a precision cooking machine! Thank you for your understanding on this issue. Dennis PS If anyone knows where people are reading that I'm selling K7 supplies please add a post that I no longer can do this..

Digital World.. Is there a way to tell which I have? I know it has the new grout, but I'm not sure about the lip. I'll have to go thru my production manager's notes... but she's in Germany on holidays. I obviously pay her too much. I think you might have the new lip but not the new grill spacing.. But don't stress.. The lip you have is still great. I just wanted zero tolerance and you can't get that from hand made. As you know we now live in a digital world, so I had to go digital for the new Gen 2.2 lip

The Gen 2.2 has it all! It does look that way but it's still on the right. It must be late afternoon light shining through the front door.. I always use a tripod and the timer to take low light shots in the factory.. But the door is higher and wider (so ash won't pull out with the burner), thicker metal in the door plate and there is a SS burner support that sits in holes in the floor and takes the weight off the burner door rods.. Oops more unannounced 2.2 features! Most have now been sold.. the Gen II's without the new grout/insulation have been reduced and if you look there are new build classifications. The Gen 2.1 has the new grout/insulation. The Gen 2.18 has the new lip and the new grout/insulation but not the new firebox. The Gen 2.2 has it all! So from this announcement on.. upgrades will appear as different numbers just like software and there will be a chart showing what the changes are. The larger the number the more significant the change. Just remember last years Mercedes still looks great and drives beautifully and this years model is always going to have improvements...