Pequod

I've only used the binchotan once, but found it was a bear to light. I placed it on top of a fully lit and actively flaming bed of lump in my KK. Left it there for about an hour. And found it STILL hadn't really "lit". Next time I will use my chimney starter to see if I have more success that way.

Welcome Alex! See this thread for olive & gold:

Good question. The engineer in me says that split basket is like AC current and full is closer to DC (actually a lower amplitude AC since it still spins the food away from the heat source periodically). To achieve the same RMS voltage (or heat transfer in our case), AC has a higher peak (and lower minimum) amplitude, while DC is constant throughout. In other words, it requires the same amount of heat to be transferred either way, so not real sure it would matter. Would take some experimenting and blind taste testing to see if it matters on the plate. My guess is no.

@alimac23 inspired Triple R chicken underway. That’s Roti’d Roadside Roadkill chicken in a basket. Using the Meater, of course. Shaker bottle of roadside mop to baste it as it spins. Done.

Welcome Paul! The 32 is a great grill. I speak from experience. Please do chime in and ask questions. We’re all here to learn from each other.

@alimac23 - nice! Not sure why I haven't spun roadkill in a basket before, but I'm thinking I need to!

I have a 23, which is roughly the same size as the 22. My guess is you’d find the 22 will do the job, but if you can describe the cooks you’d like to do I can tell you a bit more. How many steaks? How many whole chickens?

Oh heck yeah! I've been hoarding my last box of coffee lump. My favorite all around charcoal BY FAR. Will be looking for that email...

Sooey! That looks awesome!

Pork shoulder. I don't recall the temp on this particular cook, but I typically do shoulders at 250-275. Oh...and looking at it, I think this was the Korean Pulled Pork recipe from Steven Raichlen. The "rub" is gojuchang.

Here's a pic of the second method -- with the meat on the indirect side. What I like about this is that it leaves the coal exposed so I can throw on more wood chunks if I want, or just reposition them to make sure I'm getting smoke (sometimes hard to do in a kamado due to very small flame zone for low and slow cooks).

The splitter is designed so you can remove one or more flat sections. Most useful configuration is 50% (one flat section removed). I haven't used it any other way and can't imagine why I'd want to. For low and slow, yes you want indirect heat. In the 32 you could do this one of two ways (and I've done both successfully). 1) Use a full basket lit in ONE SPOT ONLY. Put in the middle grate. Lay down a sheet of aluminum foil as a heat deflector (that's all you need...aluminum foil). Put the meat on the main grate above the foil. 2) Use the splitter and put the meat on the half main indirect. Make sure you put a drip pan on the flat part of the splitter to catch the drips.

https://komodokamado.com/collections/32-bad-boy-accessories/products/charcoal-basket-shield-for-bbq-32-18-lbs

Turns out I don't have a pic of just the basket splitter. The pic on the KK page is probably the best: https://komodokamado.com/collections/32-bad-boy-accessories/products/charcoal-basket-shield-for-bbq-32-18-lbs. The two flat plates are optional and give you the flexibility to use 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 basket. Here's a pic of my using it in the 50% position, which is nearly my permanent configuration. Here is a full basket of Fogo. Kinda boring, but you asked. Here is a full basket fully lit. For low and slow cooks, you will not have a fully lit basket of coals, nor do you need one. A small, softball size chunk of lit coals can sustain low and slow. If you light multiple sections, you will have difficulty keeping the temp down. So...light just one spot and set your vents. Done.

Very nicely done!

Another round with the KK23 warming grate. Wanted to see if I could put my Weber grill pan down in the hole whilst simmering some brats in beer. Answer: YUP! The brick and inset pan are for displacement. Once the onions are ready, move them to the pan on the warming grate whilst searing up the brats. Brats are from our local Farmers' Market, seriously delicious, if a bit uneven in size. The big’n is mine! Done! On a bun with a bit of grainy mustard. Yum!

Yup, two. You mean, why not use one for the “roasting” and the other for sear? I could, although I’d normally just use the 32 for this cook since it is in a semi-permanent 2-zone configuration. Purpose on this cook was to test whether the 23 with warming grate and basket splitter could compare with my 32 in 2-zone configuration. Matched up reasonably well.

First use of the new warming grate for the 23. I wanted to put it through its paces to see if this new grate would turn the 23 into a true two zone machine similar to my 32 with its half main. Started with the basket splitter and the warming grate. Put some sweet potatoes directly on the coals while monitoring the temp on the indirect side with the warming grate. A bit later, I removed the warming grate, added a chunk of pecan, and inserted the sear grate. Put on some ribeyes for a reverse sear, starting them on the warming grate the same way I would use the half main in my 32. Moved the sweet potatoes to the rear of the lower grate to finish cooking. Just admiring the view on this fine spring day with a wee bit of thin blue pecan smoke. The ribeyes are almost up to temp. Plenty of room for them and the sweet potatoes while I cranked open the vents for the sear. Almost there... The big moment. Boom! Top with some blue cheese chive butter and a side of baby brussels. The verdict: This fancy new warming grate has brought one of the best features of the 32 to the 23. Super easy and flexible two-zone grilling. Highly recommend it for anyone on the fence about buying one of these things.

I run at 550 on my steel in the KK, but no higher. That’s for a dough I’d normally do at 650-750 on my Blackstone. If you’re using a typical elements of pizza recipe, with unmalted 00 flour and no oil or sugar, 550 should work for the bottom, but the top might be a bit “blond”. You might want to switch to a malted AP flour to get a bit of browning. The pizza in the pic above used a malted flour to get achieve the browning you see there.

Maybe on the main grate. Here’s the configuration I use:

Don’t know about these recipes in particular but I love using the baking steel in my KK. The one thing you need to do differently is make sure you have some kind of deflector below the baking steel or it will go nuclear. For example I use re-purposed GrillGrates, but you could use anything that provides a bit of a thermal cushion from the direct infrared.

The stall is much diminished for hot and fast cooks. Stall is due to evaporative cooling, so the higher the temp the faster the evaporation. At 225, expect a loooong stall. Butts and briskets I’ve done at 275-300 have very little if any stall. Haven’t done 350, but maybe I’ll give it a go.

I got mine but haven’t used it yet as well. Concur with your planned use, which is why I got it. A mini version of my 32 with basket splitter and half main. Now available on the 23!

...and Lane's Ancho Espresso!