D.Drackett

Congratulations from an expat Arizonan now living in Sun Valley, Idaho, with a blue Komodo. Dan

Congratulations from Sun Valley, Idaho, where (even in our covered “Smoking Section” in “The Woodshed”), It is too cold to cook out there. We are still skiing, but the fire pit and several cookers, especially my favorite, a KK 21” black tile model with almost every accessory and lots of fuel, are ready to strike the first match of BBQ Season. Lucky you to be on FL where you can cook all year! Dan

I am still learning and it is already cold in Idaho. We have a pavilion with all my barbecue equipment out there. It has a huge fire pit, three cookers and shelves of paraphernalia with canvas covers and Velcro, but when it gets too windy, the Traeger by the kitchen door gets more use.

Have it shipped to the new house and order as much of Dennis’ fuel as you can get, because it is far superior to anything else you can buy locally.

I have the 21” Supreme and reverse searing works just fine if you get the meat slowly up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, rest it while opening all the vents and the lid (optional) to get a roaring sear ready in minutes. I find that people slow cook too long and go too hot (120) and then getting a crusty steal-house char makes it too well done. This works just fine. I have the BBQ Guru and all that messy paraphernalia, and use it for low and slow, but not for a reverse sear. You might watch Steven Raichlen’s YouTube on the subject. That gave me the confidence I needed. Dan

I bought the 21” Komodo in black with every accessory and lots of fuel and love it. It is big enough for a packer brisket, ribs and whatever we cook. Been too cold in Idaho to use it, but spring is here and we are getting psyched! Buy one the size you need, but buy one!! Dan

Forrest, Wow! If there was ever a guy who deserved a Komodo Komoda, you’re the one. I also bought the 21’ Superior (with square black tiles) after being reassured by Dennis that it was large enough to cook a large packer brisket, and indeed it is. I love mine, but it’s so cold and snowy in Idaho, I am not using it very much. But spring is coming and so is entertaining, so I am watching every video and reading every book on the subject. I can hardly wait to get back at it. Dan

Congratulations and welcome

I am a confident and experienced outdoor cook, but I found myself surprisingly inept at building a proper fire in my KK and lighting it correctly. I also ordered all the accessories offered with my model and really wished there were a diagram of how to configure all of them for the various types of cooking. I encourage you to read, word-for-word, Dennis’ entire set of instructions, view lots of videos and keep in touch with this very helpful forum. There is definitely a learning curve, particularly if you have just graduated from a gas grill and a Traeger, but it is a fascinating journey and worth the effort!

Oh! This is a real problem. Out housekeeper is not happy and I forbid SOS pads. I will try this. So much to learn. Merry Christmas. Dan

Thank you all. As a newcomer, I am still struggling to learn what all these components do, how to configure them in layers for various kinds of cooks, how not to damage the elements and how to clean them. This experimentation has been a little tough on grates and pans. I will try using foil on the lower grate, this weekend, instead of warping another drip pan and some hi temperature oil spray on the grates. I have moved everything out to our covered “party pavilion” where my KK will not get covered by the impending snow storm in Idaho. There is a huge fireplace out there to keep me warm while I cook and I can use the BBQ Guru to monitor temperatures from in the house. DD

Thank you, Dan

Beechcraft planes are all Nirvana. I toured the factory and watched my B-36TC being manufactured and they let me fly home, left seat, hands on, from Wichita to Phoenix in a new King Air 350. Later, I was a King Air passenger from PHX to London and Paris (via Minneapolis, Goose Bay, Rikiavik and Shannon). Fun stuff. I miss it.

Yes, Coco Char is available and I ordered 4 boxes of each and the order was confirmed already. I sequentially owned two new Bonanzas I think my first was an F-33 to learn on, but quickly replaced with a new B-36 TC, because I was based at Phoenix Sky Harbor and really needed air conditioning and the turbocharger for mountain flying. Tail number was 91DD, and it was a 1991. It is still flying and based in Van Nuys.

Indeed, I received immediate, helpful, friendly advice and ordered Dennis’ fuel. My tendency was to use hardware store cheap fuels, fill the charcoal basket to the brim with raging hot coals and too much Post Oak, then try to control an out-of-control situation with the dampers. This is a far more subtle and restrained method of cooking and I want to become an expert. I can remember marveling at the chefs at Trader Vick’s making Chinese spare ribs on grills like this. I am determined to get good at this. Thank you all for your advice. Dan

You guys are all so helpful. I am going online the second I finish thanking you, to order several more boxes of extruded coconut fuel from Dennis. My suspicions are being confirmed, that “slow and easy wins the race.” Reminds me of my early pilot training in a Bonanza; trying to overcorrect variances in altitude, keeping the wings straight and level and the speed constant. Those first few lessons, I was flying through airspace like a porpoise. I will now use high quality, consistent fuel and restraint. Maybe now I can “navigate” to blue smoke and ultimately a great brisket, by the time we can safely entertain again. Thank you so much, Dan

Thank you both. I have some of Dennis’ Coco Char fuel, but it was stacked with random boxes in the garage. Cowboy Brand Natural Charcoal Briquettes are highly recommended at BBQ competitions, and my other smoker manufacturer (Stump’s Gravity Fed Smoker) recommends against “lump charcoal,” because big lumps clog the feeder chute. Sounds as though I need to use Dennis’ Coco Char extruded coconut shell fuel exclusively. For those of us who can justify buying such a great cooker, fuel cost is hardly the issue. My wife, Martine is not a fan of harshly smoky BBQ, so I have to remedy this problem quickly. Sounds as though I have an “overkill” issue with both smokers, trying to light a fire hot enough to fire enamel jewelry and able to grill a steak in a half an hour as with my Viking grill or a Weber. It seems these sophisticated cookers require much more restraint and are far more efficient, able to burn at smoking temperatures for 85 hours on a basket of fuel. I overdid it and then over-controlled to tamp down the raging temperatures I created. Thanks for pointing that out. Dan

Our Spatchcocked Thanksgiving Turkey made me realize I need help. I have a new KK 21” Supreme with all of the accessories. There was already lots of charcoal in the basket from a previous cook I had smothered, but not realizing that, I filled a charcoal chimney with Cowboy brand natural briquettes and combusted them to red hot and little or no “dirty,” white smoke, added it, with four small chunks of Post Oak and hooked up the BBQ Guru and fan bellows, fully opened and also opened the exhaust chimney wide to get things going. (It was 21 degrees Fahrenheit at the time.) I set the Guru for 350 pit temperature and the Turkey probe in the center of the breast at 155, figuring it would continue to 165, while resting. After about 40 minutes, having partially closed the exhaust chimney and with the Guru fan running regularly, acrid, “dirty” smoke was still billowing from the exhaust damper and when opening the cook chamber, but it was better and time to start cooking, so I put the turkey on the top grate. There were red charcoal and red flames by then, but still lots of smoke and NOT the almost invisible “blue smoke” we all strive for. I lowered the desired pit temp to 300 degrees and went inside to monitor the cook from the warm kitchen, basting quickly every 30 minutes or so. Most videos had estimated a 90-100 minute cook time for a spatchcocked, 16-pound turkey, but we were prepared for a longer cook if necessary. The Turkey probe was probably not inserted, because it read 145 very quickly and repositioning didn’t seem to fix it, so I switched to my Thermo-Pen and relied on that. At 100 minutes the chamber was 300 and steady and the bird about 145, but looked magnificently mahogany and juicy, so I took it off at 150 instead of 155 and rested it for a 40 minutes, but when I tried to remove a leg-thigh, I realized it was far from cooked and put it in the oven, already preheated from side dishes. When I rested again and carved, the breast was juicy and appetizing looking, but so smokey we only took a few bites and focused on the dressing and the wine, happy that it was just the two of us this year and no embarrassment to be shared. I have the same “smoke-fire management issues with my Stump’s Junior, Gravity Fed Smoker, so I am doing something basic in a very wrong way, but I am determined not to regress to my old Traeger. That Turkey went out with the trash! I need your help. What am I doing wrong? Thanks, Dan.