mguerra

Tar I have had a major problem with this. Normally I barely crack open the top damper for a low and slow. Then I use the Guru or the Stoker to"push" the smoke out through this tiny little crack. This has caused a tremendous build up of tar on the gasket and its' corresponding mating surface on the damper. So much so that it is nearly impossible to get the damper open for the next cook because it is glued shut from the tar. I have had to heat the damper top from the inside with a torch for quite some time to get it freed up. To avoid this I have been removing the damper completely at the end of each cook and sealing the top opening with a clay saucer base. After the fire is out, I replace the damper top and don't screw it shut. Dennis came up with a solution for me that I will try when it arrives. But I do think it might be a good idea to try to control the fire temp with a more open top vent and then use the bottom vent or Guru or Stoker for temp control. This might prevent the smoke from squeezing through a tiny, relatively cool top opening and precipitating out the tar. Somehow I seem to be the only one with this problem, so it must be my technique of barely opening the top. So don't do that.

Lodge Pizza Wow, those Amazon folks love it! Just ordered one. And a great price, it's $56.00 at Lodge. Thanks for the heads up on the price.

simple Get a really hot fire going, don't worry about the exact temp. Open the top and bottom dampers wide open. Put the sear grill on the charcoal basket handles. Put a heat deflector on the sear grill. Put the Tri-Tip up on the main grill and cook indirect, with the KK lid closed, with a thermometer until it hits your target temp. Open the lid, remove the Tri-Tip and the main grill. Take off the heat defector and sear the Tri-Tip on the sear grill. You're done. No need to fool with the fire, just get it good and hot and leave it that way.

P14P3 Lodge has this pizza device: https://secure.lodgemfg.com/storefront/ ... oduct=3984 You could use it for lots of other purposes, so it's not a unitasker!

inquiry Out of curiosity, I have an inquiry in to Lodge asking them if they have ever experimented with using cast iron for pizza.

seasoning Good question. Certainly there is no reason to use cast iron other than just out of curiosity. There's plenty of stones available. But if I ever did try it I would just clean and oil the cast iron after use like any other piece of cast iron. So far I have not tried pizza on the KK yet anyway, just thinking out loud.

Fe I wonder if a piece of cast iron would make a decent pizza cooking surface?

1st comparison There's the first WSM comparo right there, on the first cook, moister bark. I thought "What, you aren't a fan of bark?!" Then realized you have been cooking on steel.

temp First realize you don't need the temp as low as you think for a low and slow. But certainly you CAN keep the temp under control. Do a Minion Method fire start. Just start a small amount of charcoal in the center of your charcoal basket and let it slowly spread. For sub 250 temps, the bottom damper opening should be very slight, the thickness of a coin. The top damper should be just cracked enough that some smoke is able to flow. That will ballpark your temps in the low to middle 200's for a low and slow. Believe it or not, any temp below 300 will yield perfect "low and slow" results.

idea After a few months of using your KK, give us a comparo relative to the WSM.

Hey Larry Good job, Larry, my first cook on night one was a pork butt. It's the best use of a KK!! Don't sweat the exact temp too much, it will come out perfect at any temp between 200 and 300, I guarantee! My first cook, I was out there freaking out about the temp getting to 240, instead of 225. I soon learned this is of no consequence. Enjoy that Zin and fire up a nice cheroot.

method Open the lid by unlocking it fully. If the current spring setting holds the lid fully open, reduce it til the lid just starts to drop a fraction. If the current spring setting has the lid in the down or partially open position, tighten it little by little until when you push it fully open, it stays fully open.

All weather It's so cool you can cook on these babies in any weather.

Ditto Dave Yeah, do what Dave says. You don't want the spring too tight. I set mine so that the lid will not fully self open, but will stay fully open if I push it up to the fully open position. This is the least spring pressure that will hold it, and therefore the least stress on the mounting bosses on the lid and the body. We are having an unusual cold winter here in Texas and the spring setting for summer is a little too light for the cold. So I tighten it a bit in the cold. I'll slack it off when we get to inferno time!

over thinking a non problem The plug is not necessary. You can just leave the little hole open all the time, with or without thermometer wires passing through it. The only possible problem might be that the small air leak could theoretically prevent you from shutting down the fire. You can just stick a cork in there, one that fits naturally or whittle down a wine cork to fit. Sometimes I stick a plug in there while cooking, sometimes not. I have shaved down a wine cork and cut a little slot to allow the wires to pass; don't need to use it though. The silicone plug from jdbower will fit right in there with the thermometer wires, it just snugs right up around them. Sometimes I plug it upon shutdown, sometimes not. Don't worry about it!!! It's a non issue.

clarity Well, what I meant by kin to EC was that they are pure. Of course the similarity ends there. They have some at Lowe's, I'll try it.

source See if jdbower still has any of these: http://www.komodokamado.com/forum/viewt ... cone+plugs

briquettes If I'm not mistaken, Larry comes to us by way of the Weber Smoky Mountain forum. They are briquette people over there, through and through. I have not tried the pure hardwood briquettes, but seems like they would be ok. I mean, they seem awfully kin to extruded coconut.

two methods Here's one answer: http://www.komodokamado.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3330 Then there is the low and slow method. Cook between 220 to 250 until an internal temp of about 185 to 195. The time on this is unpredictable, but ballpark about 1-1/2 hours per pound. You can actually get a moister result with the fast cook, but the slow cook is a classic bbq technique. If you search these forums you will find an enormous wealth of info on briskets!

note well If you move it according to the picture you linked, BE SURE to put padding between the 2x4's and the KK. The elastomeric grout is soft and pliable and I gouged the hell out of mine moving it without padding. I fixed it. But pad that thing.

Centex goats We eat a fair bit of cabrito around here in Mexican restaurants. Lots of folks around here raise goats, very common. We also have quite a thriving Mohair industry as well, different goats for that.

re-post Here's a keeper. Marinate a hunk of salmon in pineapple juice for some hours. Lightly brush on some soy sauce. Rub on a mix of brown sugar and cayenne. Grill skin side down, don't flip it. When that white squoogy goo starts oozing out, it's done. Keep the lid shut as much as possible. Absolute heaven.

fitment From the Ribolator website: "You will need a tape measure. 1st place your rotisserie rod and motor onto your grill 2nd remove the grill grates (cooking surface) 3rd depth: (up and down) from the center of the rotisserie rod measure down to the heat plate covering your burners. You will need 5 ½ inches clearance, if you do not have 5 ½ inches, then remove the heat plate covering the burners and re-measure. 4th length: (end to end) now measure lengthwise. You will need 19 inches from end to end. 5th width: (front to back) now measure the width (side to side) you will need 12 ½ inches. The video says 10 ½ inches, this is incorrect. If you find the above measurements will work in your grill, then the Rib-O-Lator™ will fit." In the 5th step above, "Width" actually refers to front to back dimension on our KK's. Looks like you would have to cut the main rod to fit inside the KK, but the rotating device itself seems to fit.

cool device Looks like the main advantage of the ribolator is for gas grills, in that it will do two things. First it looks like it increases the food capacity, and second it prevents one food from being in a hot spot and another food in a cooler spot. Neither of these is an issue in the KK. There is plenty of capacity and pretty even heat from the thick ceramic. But it is a cool toy! And it would impress your guests to pop the lid open and see that thing going around.

foiling See the sticky at the top of the "Techniques" section, high temp brisket. Foiling is not needed in a KK, generally speaking, however it can be used for a fast cook. On butts or briskets. The purpose in a fast cook is tenderization more than moisture retention. These hot fast cooks come out as good if not better than low and slow. Low and slow has a place, however, if for no other reason than purely emotional! If you do some low and slows and some hot fast cooks, you will start to decide when you may want to do one or the other. But for low and slows you really don't need to foil. Here's one reason you might want to, however. Let's say in the latter part of a low and slow you need or want to go do something and you are not sure you will be back at exactly the right time to pull the meat off. Foil it. In this scenario you ARE using the foil for moisture retention. Even if you really let it go longer than you might like, as long as the fire temp is 220ish, and you have the meat foiled, it's going to come out excellent.