merrill

so when using the splitter basket your only filling one half would that work for steaks at a high temp for short period of time? I have been using FOGO lump and it seems to burn out very quickly. I think I prefer the coconut extruded. It seems to last longer and gets plenty hot. For Christmas I did three ten pound prime ribs at 275 for almost 4 hours, then took them off and wrapped in foil, towels and put them in a cooler because they were getting don too quickly. I then turned the grill down for and hour and then attempted to cranked it up to 550 for a sear. The fogo had pretty much grunt out. Had to refill it.

Most people would consider me a very good builder. I used to have five guys that helped me out but two of them no longer will work with me. They say I need to supply them with more and better tools. But what do they know? The guy on the bottom after just one day went home and never came back to get his check?

I am wondering if there are any threads on local meat suppliers in this forum? I just ran across one in lower mid Michigan that supplied me with about $400 worth of great steaks. I first read about them on Meat'n Bone. They are called Ferry Farms in Litchfield. It is a big Dairy farm where they milk around 500 cows. They raise and feed all of their cows with good products and have dieticians on the farm helping to insure their cows are healthy and treated properly. They sell mostly to local people in the mid Michigan area and also sell whole cows to Meat'n Bone. Their pricing is very good and I have to admit the first three or four steaks I tried were top notch. So far I have done a few Tenderloins, an a couple of strips and am doing Ribeyes today. I believe they age for around 20 days or so. They were very tender and the flavor was excellent. I like helping to support our local farmers especially when they offer a great product at a very fair price. I also got some of their home made butter. My girlfriend is a very good cook and she stated it was the best she has ever seen.

I ended up doing a 16 pound spatchcocked Turkey on the mid grate and an 11 pound Turkey breast on the upper. They were both fresh from a local very good meat store in Mason Mi called Merindorfs. MY girlfriend likes to make her own gravy and we had three pounds of wings for that. The cook took about 5 hours as I did the first hours at around 275. Everybody at the table said it was the best most moist Turkey they have ever eaten. In fact three and 4 days later it was still very moist. It was the first time I paid $3 to 4 dollars per pound but it won't be the last! I tried to post some pics but couldn't get them to transfer from my cell phone. I will try again later.

I have been using cocochar for the past 4 months and I usually throw in some apple to get more smoke. I have found it to be very neutral. Does it very from box to box?

your an engineer and I am a door to door insurance salesman. Now you know not to use to many big words when giving me advice! Same temperature but more radiant heat? What is radiant heat?

I haven't looked at a lot of the recipes in this site because I have been doing them for so long I know most of it by heart. I just read a thread on a "7 pound turkey breast" and it has some good info as well about the different temps at different levels. Tomorrow I am doing a 11 pound turkey breast and a 16 pound turkey. I am planning on doing them around 325 to 350, indirect I was thinking of putting the turkey on top but considering the size difference it might make more sense to have the turkey closer to the bottom because it appears that it is a little hotter down there? However; when using a HD, one might think the temp right about it might possibly be lower than 8 inches higher? Any thoughts? ps I used to really like the old Kamado forum because there were a lot of seasoned veterans with lots of very useful info. The more I read here the better I like it. The old RJ forum went back 20 years or more. How far does this one go back?

Heat soaked, Thermal Equilibrium, Radiant heat transfer, Black body radiation! Hard pressed or not you said a mouthful. Now I have to look up what those terms mean and I will be all set.. ty and Happy Thanksgiving

Hey Pequod, you seem to be pretty knowledgeable, thanks for your suggestions. I have been using Komados, the originals from Richard Johnson for 25 years. I am pretty much a ham and egger ie not real technical. I notice it is much easier and quicker the turn the Komodos up and down temp wise. The temp for the grill is mounted higher than the grill so from your experience if the guage says 350 what would you expect the different grill levels to be from low to high?

My Thermometer is acting up. It will be working fine then it goes to zero and then it can go very high very quickly, in maybe 5 to ten seconds. It can go from 350 to 125 and then up to 500 all in 15 seconds .I have another thermometer and that one is working fine but I use that on my old K7. Any suggestions? Also what kind of probe thermometers can you guys recommend. I want something where I can read the temp of the meat from inside the home. I am currently using a therm something but the probes are kind of weak. I also had two or three of those older ones that talked to you. Your Entrée is almost ready etc.

Hello all. Its been a while since I have visited the site. I have been doing mostly high temp steaks and everything is going well. Getting the hang of how much lump to use. I have been using extruded coconut from Dennis. It works great but it can be a little more difficult to get it up to temp. I think I was just not using enough lump. I have also been using a torch and paraffin balls. and that seems to help. It is the day before thanksgiving and I am going to do a 15lb turkey, spatchcocked and I am also doing a 9 pound turkey breast. Will I be able to do them both on my 23'? I was thinking the breast on the lower and the turkey on the top. My grill was an older one and it did come with a heavy stone for indirect heating. I was planning on using it but it seems I have heard that with these grills indirect is not a big issue? My girlfriend makes great gravey so I won't be needing a pan underneath. I still have and use my 25 year old K7 and can also use that for the breast if need be? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I bought my original Kamado 7 in 1998 from Richard. In 2004 I bought a Kamado 3 for my girlfriend apartment. They sent it directly to my girlfriends apartment just like I had requested; however, They sent the bill to my house. That did not make my wife very happy.

Working out is a good thing and hopefully it will help with a speedy recovery. good Luck to your whole family.

very nice grill and very nice back yard. How much for the dog!!!

Another issue I am having is using the grate handles. It is very awkward for me when using them.

Wow, some of you guys have it down to a science. The first thing I do is open a beer and set it on the side table. Then I hit the one iron to get into the proper frame of mind! Last night was probably the 5th or 6th time I used the 23" KK. It was the first time I did real thick steaks, the tommyhawks. I did the reverse sear method and was extremely pleased on how quickly it got to 600+ degrees. Much faster than the old original K7.

lol my fiends and neighbors already think I am nuts. I did two large tomahawk steaks last night. I used the coconut extruded lump which I am just starting to use. The steaks were a little on the bland side, with not much smoky taste. Is that a reflection of the coconut lump? Is it necessary to use other woods for flavoring when using this lump? It does burn very nice and gets hot very quickly but I do want more of a smoky taste.

The problem is the thermometer points up and unless your standing very close you can't see the dial. I've always had mine with 400 straight up.

I finally broke the seal! I used the new grill this weekend. My daughter is moving to Spain on Thursday and wanted some of my signature ribs. I did 4 slabs, with 2 on the grill for the whole time, maybe 4 hours at 235, and the other two the last hour and a half in Aluminum foil. for fall off the bone style. It was very enjoyable. I like the top the way it goes up and down so easily compared to the old K7. I also think the temp is much easier to control. I do wish the thermometer was more flat so I could see it from inside the house or out back by the pool. Also the old K7 had more places to hang utensils. Overall the new grill is fantastic. L

Bingo, Way too go Basher. NIce close! I now am a man with a plan. I will start using the new K in order to put the old K to pasture with some life left in her! Its just a matter of time before the top breaks and the bottom is showing more cracks. 4 or 5 tiles fall off after every cook. It's time to put her out to pasture with some dignity. I am even going to dress her up a little by putting the missing tiles back on one more time! I will start the embalming process tomorrow.

Great tips, thanks Tony. When you guys are cooking on the higher level do you remove the lower level to help keep it clean or just leave it there. I also have read where some people put theTomahawk steaks directly on the coals. Has anybody ever tried that? I have never had enough nerve and don't want to risk ruining a good steak. FTR I still have not fired up the new one. I almost feel like I am dissing an old friend, the old K7. I also spent the last 3 days tracking our missing 8 pound, 9 year old, Shitz Sue.. After 4 days of searching he was found 4 miles from home in a farmers field half a mile from the road. I felt like we had hit the lotto.

For a standard inch and a half ribeye how high do you guys want the temp? 500 600 or do you go even higher?

On my K7 I have it so the 400 is at 12 o'clock. That way I can see what the temp is without having to go outside. If the gauge moves it messes up my system.