churchi

Dennis, i like this idea. For us in AU, my usual 10KG Mallee Root charcoal bag sometimes comes in small pieces. So adding in a few extra bits of stainless to the basket makes sense for us. However if you dont take out the basket then its a bit less of an issue. I guess it will come down to cost. If it adds another $50 to the basket, some people may pass, but if you can add it without too much cost then id say its a nice addition. cheers.

Awesome thanks MacKenzie. I will be giving some burgers ago this weekend i suspect. Do you light the fire in multiple places when you are just doing a quick cook like this? Seems like im going to have to experiment with the fire for these types of cooks. Im hungry already

Killer job mate, and welcome to the family. Really looking forward to the delivery and unwrapping pics. Also of course the first cook on her Great to have another grill out in the wild.

Awesome news Newg4!! you will not regret it. Bosco, so good to see so many new grills flying (well being shipped) out the door. Killer little community here and i hope that all those getting a new grill will become active here and stop by to help and post up their cooks and pics. Cant get enough of them

great idea. im keen for one for my 32"

Welcome to the forum. As the others have said you will not look back on your decision to purchase one of these. Once you commit to spending the coin, you wont ever look back. I can tell you from experience. I have only had my Big Bad 32" for less than a month now and i can say it is without doubt the best grill i have cooked on for low and slow. Its a bit more fiddling around from the pellet smokers however once you get the hang of it (i am still learning here) you can set and forget for days long. I too have a pellet smoker and it just compliments the KK so well. My pellet i use for quick and fast (lets get up and cooking) after work, with having the benefit of being a smoker and burning wood as the fuel. I can sear on mine so thats the added bonus i have there. Add some grill grates to it and away you go. So would i own both a KK and a pellet, there is absolutely no changing that decision. They are not one is better than the other, rather they compliment each other very nicely. So welcome. Dont be afraid to ask the questions you want as there is some awesome people here on the forums to help you out. I look forward to seeing the KK you WILL end up purchasing... haha. cheers.

Ripper mate. Im gunna have to try one of these as well

wow that looks unreal MacKenzie. Especially when it was cooked out side when its snowing! Cant beat a good burger on the BBQ. I am guessing (as i have not cooked a burger on my komodo yet), that you are just cooking on the top grill with an open flame? no head deflector of sorts? What temp do you like to cook your burgers at? Thanks.

Hi All, Well just an update from the party last night. The meat was run and done in the komodo by around midday. SO wrapped it up and put it in the esky in some towels. I thought there may be some juice come out of it when i left it in there, but nah it was pretty dry. Pulled it around 7pm and it was still screaming hot! its the first time i have put meat in an esky and wow, i couldn't believe how long it held its temp for. It was not too bad to be honest. The one i cooked earlier in the week was better but when you got to the middle of the shoulder it was really nice. I did notice the extra 100F that i cooked this shoulder at, and i much prefer keeping it under 300 if i can. The guests all loved it with all of it going. So that was a big win, i can be critical cause i know what good pulled pork tastes like, however over here in AU there are still quite a number of people who have not really had the low and slow over charcoal. Its usually in a crock pot or slow electric cooker. SO the comments were really positive. I think a few things i learnt from this cook: 1. Obviously keep the cook around the 275F mark 2. Maybe not the whole shoulder with the bone in next time. I think just a few pork scotch fillets (neck) would be nicer. thoughts? 3. Light less charcoal for these low and slow cooks So anyways i had a quick chat with Dennis late last night. He mentioned that i may have been lighting too much charcoal as well. So i walked him through what i did and he said right away thats enough for a 350F fire, and thats exactly what i had. So he recommended testing today to see if i can get the temp to sit around the 250F mark. So today was spent playing around with the lighting of the Komodo and getting it up to temp slowly. Good news is i have now mastered it and i have it sitting at 250F for the past 2-3 hours. Its just running along and holding a solid 250F which is what i was shooting for. So i should be prepared for next time. Just an FYI, that was without using the looft lighter this time. Just a few wet cotton buds soaked in metho, lit them in the middle of the basket and closed the lid. I cant even see the burning charcoal at the moment as it must be burning through the middle of the charcoal stack. Either way i am happy So another thing i learnt from this cook is i thought that even though i lit so much charcoal in my basket, i assumed that since i restricted airflow on the top and bottom dampers, that doesnt really matter if i have lit too much charcoal in the first place. So i assumed i needed a big fire going, then can shut off the vents almost all the way and it would settle down, but no this is not the case. Hard lesson learnt Anyways, until next time. Thanks again for all of your help and support on this cook. Ill be back at it over the next few days. If didnt get up so late this morning, id have some beef ribs on for dinner. Just didnt get there.

Thanks Robert, i am thinking the same. Since Bosco got me to check the seal on the lid and it seems to be ok, i can only think there is a leak somewhere or i am just simple lighting too much charcoal at the beginning. Does anyone have a pic of their lit charcoal when they begin the low and slow?

Thanks Bosco. I have just tested the resistance and from the first position to the second position there is a good bit of resistance. I can push it with my thumb but it doesn't feel too sloppy. How hard should it be to push to the 2nd position? Also did what you suggested and measured with a ruler all around the lid where the top lid and the base touch on the rubber. I measure 7mm all around for the gap. Not sure if thats too much, but its the same all around. hmm. One thing i have noticed is the gas port on the right hand side, looks a little loose (not a snug fit) on one of the corners. Once it cools down ill see if there is some ash that has gotten caught in the corners. I have been trying to remember to ensure the port holes and openings around the base of the grill are always pushed in before i leave it. When the temp creeps up over the whole cook like it did for me, i guess i have had an air leak somewhere right? If i had say fired up too much charcoal in the beginning, it should settle down throughout the cook right? it shouldn't keep climbing i would have thought. Do you think this may have been the case too? cheers mate.

Hi All, First off thanks again for all the help and ideas over the past few replies. Really appreciate it. Well the final cook didnt go so well. The komodo was set to around 240F when i went to bed and it was steady there for 15-20mins, so i thought yeah all good ill leave it. Well i got woken up with my temp alarm going off around 6:30am. Needless to say its my old issue of it being too hot. The temp had climbed to 350F through out the previous 3 hours! i couldn't believe it. Had the bottom vent open only a CC width and the top was less than 1/4 turn. hmm. Took the advise of cookies other post where it was mentioned to let it rip for 10-15mins, then back it off to get the fire going at the beginning. That is when the temp was at a low and good just before bed. So i think there is only 2 reasons this may be happening. Like Bosco said, i may need to do a smoke leak test to ensure i dont have any other air coming into the grill or quite simply (and more likely) i am lighting too much charcoal at the beginning and it just never calms down and stays on the hot and fast temp. I have attached the temp graph so show how the cook went. The meat on the outside is hard and dry (on a piece that fell off). So looks like i have killed this big piece. Ive got it resting in the esky in towels. We are not due to pull it for another 4-5 hours. So a quick question. I am still not sure if i have killed the whole piece of meat, do you think its ok to unwrap it and put a knife (or something like that) to pry open a bit of the meat to see if its still tender, then wrap it back up and put it in the eksy? Or will this not be a good idea? Just trying to work out if i need to get a plan B going. Oh and to answer one of the questions from a previous post, when i took the pic with only half the deflector in, that was just for a pic, i put the 2nd piece in right away. Just seems the fire burns off to the left of the pit.

And to show how insanely efficient the Komodo is here is an after shot of the firebox when i had finished my 7-8hour cook (plus 1h heat soak). The Komodo's are just unreal for the low and slow with regards to fuel consumption. Super happy!!

Ok so i have worked out how to upload some pics that will stay around (thanks to wilbur). Attached you will find some of the pics from the cook.

It was absolutely fantastic!! Ended up cooking it at around 300F which is more than i wanted, but i dont think it made much difference. The meat was outstanding!! Its now my favourite way of cooking pork (accept bacon after a hangover). This pulled pork beats the hell out of sliced pork any day of the week. The bark was nice and crispy and a bit sweat (due to the rub) and the pull of the meat with just standard table forks was so easy. It just fell apart. Also it was juicy as well. I cant thank you all enough for all the help this week in getting me to the point. I am now confident in giving the 5kg piece (i just picked up) a go. I will try and get the komodo to cook around 275 this time, as it kept rising during the day (maybe the sun hitting it outside) and ended up just over 300F. However i am still happy with the way it turned out. Invited my sister around last night to sample before her birthday this weekend and she said it was awesome. So fingers crossed for the cook this evening. Does it make any difference to how long the piece of shoulder will take at the same temp in the kamado? I am guessing since the one yesterday took around 6-7 hours, that this one (as its bigger) will take around 10 hours? is that how it kinda works? Also, pics will be uploaded, just working out how to upload them and in the correct size for the forum then ill unleash them. cheers.

Thanks Rob, just did that. See how it goes cheers

Cheers thanks Charles. Thanks for advising that the fire wont go out, thats a big relief. Thought i may have closed it up just a little too much, but good to know it should stay lit. So you think the slightly higher cooking temp shouldn't make too much of a diff? Much better than finishing 2h late like you say. I have not lifted the lid, just gunna let it get to its temp and see how it goes from there. Got an alarm set for 195F to see how its going.

Ok guys, so my testing day has come around. I have just put a piece on the 32 and got some smoking wood on there too (apple). Had a bit of an issue getting the temp to where i wanted (practise will fix this), so originally shot up to 300f then i have it back around 280 now still seems to start and creep up again. hmm. maybe i have let it get too hot in the beginning i dont want to close the vents as the fire will go out. So have opened up the top vent like less than a 1/4 turn and the bottom vent has just enough room to put a CC through it. Quick question. How much smoke should be coming out of the top when i have put some wood on the coals? i put about 4-5 pieces on the coals where it was lit and where it was not lit (just in case it decides to go one way or the other).

Hi All, WOW, thank you very much for all the generous help in this thread. Muchly appreciated. And thank you to everyone who took the time to answer all of my questions, i really appreciate that. Well i tell you i am now in a much better position mentally then i was last night. Phew. Thank you. Cheers Cookie for the link as well. I had not read that thread but have now. Some great tips and advises for total KK newbie's. I have been using charcoal and a webber for quite a long time, so i am used to the charcoal side, just the whole KK is new to me, so hoping its not gunna take long to master So a few things to ask. - Just back to the head deflector. So it looks like i should be using the actual head deflectors just above the fire on the first grill? is that the place for them? Then i should be putting the double thickness drip pan onto the top of them. Would i be correct in saying that should be the preferred method? - I have been to the butcher today and asked for a 4.5-5kg shoulder. This apparently comes with the neck on it which is what smaller pulled pork can be made from. I have bought a 2kg piece of neck which i will do a road test on tomorrow night just to see how it all goes. I think thats the best approach for me. Also allows me to test out all the suggestions in this thread. - With the 2 proteins in the same cook. Totally understand if they are under each other for the dripping to drip to the piece that is below, however how about if they are just sitting next to each other on the grill? shouldn't be a problem i am guessing? - See your point about not resting it for too long, just dont want to be late with it when its still cooking, so going off whats above and i have a 4.5kg or so piece, i think ill allow 12 hours for the cook. - Also thinking ill bump up the temp to 275 like you all have mentioned. Is there any issue with running a low and slow that high? just it may push through the stall? Would a lower 250F yield any better results, or just cost you extra time for not much gain? Once again, thank you very much all for taking the time to write back to all my questions. Ill be posting pics when i cook it for sure

Im happy with the current size of the temp gauges. They look great on the 32.

Hi All, Well i am a new owner of a Big Bad 32" that is in black pebble and I have named her B Double (as in one of the biggest trucks on the roads in AU). First off I'm sorry I have not posted up any pics yet, they are coming. So me and my big mouth have said that I will cook some pork shoulder's for my sisters birthday this weekend in my new KK. Its a kinda big deal and a huge party and I don't want to stuff it up. I've only cooked on my KK about 5 times and I have done just chickens and pork legs plus a leg of lamb. All were good, just none were low and slow for 12 hours or so. Since the KK holds temp rock solid, I am guessing this should be quite easy with some preparation. I have to have the food ready by around 3-4pm on this Saturday. So a few questions if I may. 1. Am I crazy? should I just try something different until I have had a chance to test this out before the party? 2. I am going to cook around a 3-4kg shoulder and will give it a rub myself and prepare it the night before. What time should i start the cook? I am thinking late on the Friday evening so it can cook over night and take as long as it needs? 3. I am thinking of cooking it on about 250F. Is this a good idea? Should i pick another temp? I dont have 20 hours to sit around and wait for it, so i thought the 250F should be about right. (Certainly open to suggestions here). 4. Is there a resting time? If so how long is normal? Im happy to keep it warm in an esky if need be 5. I have a digital wireless meat probe, so i can monitor it and set an alarm when i go to bed. So thats covered. 6. Should i be using the whole basket of coal filled up or split the basket? 7. I have the double thickness drip pan, is this good enough for a heat deflector on the 32" or should i put in the actual heat deflectors with the drip pan on top? 8. Im thinking of just putting in the normal top grill (not the one that sits on another grill). Is this the best height to cook the shoulder? 9. Thinking of apple wood, is this the best idea? i have olive and peach as well at home, so i can put them in as well if needed. 10. Will i need to add extra wood chunks during the cook? 11. If I am placing the wood chunks on the lit coal, should they be spread out all over the fire box/charcoal? or should I make sure some are near where the coal is not currently lit? 12. Would you consider cooking a pulled pork and beef say in the same cook? or will each of the meats impart their own flavour into the other piece of meat? So should I only smoke one type of meat at one time in the KK? 13. Will I need to spritz or wrap the shoulder? 14. Is there anything else I need to know about cooling the pork shoulder? Well I am sorry for so many questions, but that is all i can think of now. Would really appreciate any of you guys who have been through cooking on your KK a pork shoulder to pass on a bit of feedback to the above questions. Im still learning and looking forward to picking up some tips for this weekends cook. I thank you very much in advanced. Cheers

Awesome job rak. My KK arrived 2 days ago and I'm yet to do a cook on it or burn it in. I got the rotisserie and it's good to see it in action. What can be done to collect the drippings do u think? I guess they will just vaporise like u said happened when the drip pan gets super hot. Hmm. Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Seriously cant wait to show you all the one i got. I have not seen that colour from any posts here on the board, so im keen to post up some pics once its delivered over the next 2 weeks. Ill start a bit of a thread when the time comes. Does anyone else have any thoughts on their 32" Komodo? Im sure there are some other 32" owners out there on the board.

Is it simple to check the calibration on the KK? do you need to take the thermometer off the KK and test it in boiling water? or is there an easier way to do it? cheers.

Excellent post, i too was wondering if the 32" was going to be too big and thought to order the 23". However after a long think about it and summing up how i cook and want to cook on it now and in the future, i decided to go with the 32". Also with the option of using the rotisserie inside of it i may be able to get rid of my spit at some stage to save some room in the backyard if required. While i have not received mine yet (hopefuly in the next 2 weeks) i cant wait to cook on it knowing with posts like this explaining why certain people purchased the same size 32" as i did i have made the correct decision. Ill be sure to post up some pics once it arrives. starting to get a bit excited.