Newbie1925

Hey guys. Wanted to thanks those that helped me with ideas for cooking Thanksgiving turkey. It turned out great. I cooked two of them. Definitely moist. Thanks for the help. I used applewood pellets in the cold smoker. I think though next time I may just use very little smoke though. As I did this cook though I came up with some questions which I will post in the other topic areas. Everyone was pleased with the end product.. komodo kamado for life.

Thanks guys for the information. It will come in Handy this Thursday. I think I’m going to set the bottom vents and then only mess with the top turn wheel as you guys suggest. Definitely going to heat soak it. Thanks guys.

Hey Guys, I know I should have done a prerun with perhaps a small turkey to cook but This Thursday I will be cooking two 23 lb turkeys on the 42 inch. So a couple of questions as I have used my 42 inch that have come up for me that I think will help with cooking this week if I can get some advice and suggestions. 1. So I have been using aluminum foil as my heat deflector when I have used the entire grill and then only been using the divider as my deflector when I don't need the entire grill. In addition I have my drip trays underneath. Is this too much deflection? Sometimes I find it really hard to get it up to the 325-350 temp I want for chicken and in this case a turkey with the aluminum foil in. Perhaps Im not waiting long enough for it to heat sink and absorb all of the heat. Do I need to wait a good hour-1.5 hours before putting food on and also the aluminum foil deflection or should I have that in from the start. Are drip pans enough to serve as heat deflection? 2. Controlling temp. I know the mantra here is small adjustments can make a tremendous difference in temp control. I am trying to get the hang of the bottom vents and then the top turnwheel. If I am wanting to get to a higher temperature is it better to leave the bottom vents alone and adjust the top turn wheel, adjust both or adjust only the bottom vents. I seem to want to adjust everything and I think its probably too much, If Im not getting the temp I want and then I seem to do a lot of chasing. 3. When starting your fire, how many places do you start your coals? One, two or three places? Maybe I am starting too many spots. For low and slow do you only need one spot and then for the temp I want with this turkey or chicken do I light a couple of more places? I use a heat blower/gun to start my fire which works great. 4. This cook this thursday with two 23lb turkeys which I will be spatchcocking, should I plan it to take much longer because its two turkeys instead of one? Meaning should I plan on 8 hours or more at the 325-350 mark because it is almost 50 lbs of meat? I know the I have cooked on other grills that the more meat that was on, the longer it took to cook. Is this principle true with the komodo kamado? I have read on the website here some great ideas with cooking turkeys. I have done well cooking whole chickens and I hope that maybe cooking the turkey is just a chicken on a bigger scale. I think just having some advice with the heat deflection will help me or maybe I don't want any heat deflection at all other than just the drip pans. Thanks in advance for the help. I am hoping to post some pictures this week of the cook and also of my set up as I finally got my potion built which I wanted the 42 for. Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone, Ray

Hey thats great you Are getting a 42. I think I’m just going to wait on the Controller. I don;t have a problem waking up if something goes wrong during a night cook. I am going to pull the trigger I think on the meater wireless thermometers. IT looks like a great system. I would really like to get a rotisserie perhaps but I think I will be spending enough here initially with the grill, cover and cold smoker and if I get the meater thermometer. I have never cooked with a Komodo style grill but have watched a lot of videos and just seems like if you take your time and don;t overshoot temps in getting it up to temp then you don;t suffer later since it is a lot harder to go back down in temperature.

I think you're right. Probably need to wait on the controller until after I learn real well to cook with it. Likely in the future then. That is a pretty sweet set up for a dehydrator.

Hello all, So I had joined this community in May and then in June purchased a 42 inch Komodo Kamado. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel as I received the final emails from Dennis that hopefully it is now on the truck making its way to NC. I am really excited for it to get here and have been trolling this site for a long time, even before becoming a member. In addition to purchasing the KK, I also purchased the cold smoking apparatus. Does anyone else use this? Do you use it for other smokes besides cold smoking (like brisket, pork etc)? When I heard that it would p[rovide that clean smoke that all of us want, plus the benefit of cold smoking I added to my list. Was just curious if anyone else uses it for other cooks besides cold smoking. Second question. I see a lot of people using one of the BBQ guru devices or fans. Is it absolutely necessary to get one of these? I have been really impressed with the meater completely wireless thermometers and was thinking of getting that set up. It looks like it would alert me if my temp starts changing. I know it means I would need to wake up during the night of a long cook, but my job is such that I work long days and sometimes nights so that doesn't;t bother me as much. I guess what I am asking is I should be able to hold a temperature without a Guru device pretty well right? I really don't want to buy the guru or the billows device by thermoworks and the meater set up. I think that might be overboard. Anyways, thanks for the opportunity to be a part of the group.

I am considering purchasing either a 42 inch KK or having an offset smoker being built. I recognize certainly the ease of use of the KK compared to the offset smoker. Can any one comment on the taste of low and slow meat like brisket if for example you used the kk smoker device or placed an iron pot in the coals with wood inside. Was just curious . Thank you.