Murph27

10 hours ago, Cheesehead_Griller said:

I appreciate the detailed review. I have not placed an order for anything yet. Been still debating what I need and what I do not need. The only reason I would go with the Pro version to reach the higher temps is to leave the proves in the steak while searing a steak. I have through about this endlessly and I think I'm going with the basic Firebird 2 Drive. If I sear a steak over the coals I'll just wing it. I can figure it out over time without the need for a thermometer to finish it. 

I was considering the less powerful fan after reading the recommendation to close the port so much. I will take your recommendation and go with the smaller one. 

Glad I could help.  Fwiw, I also thought about getting the pro for that reason and do not regret my decision to stick with the FB2 Drive.

I might be too late if Cheesehead has already made a decision, but I have a relevant setup and thought I'd give my $0.02.

I went with the Fireboard 2 drive (up to 6 thermistor and/or RTD probes; no type-k thermocouples) and the pit viper fan (slightly cheaper version of the pit bull).  I am very satisfied with this setup and wouldn't recommend upgrading to the pro or the pit bull unless you expect most of your cooking to be at 450ºF or hotter.

While the pit bull is only $20-30 more expensive than the pit viper, I have never found the pit viper to be insufficient.  Remember, these grills are extremely efficient--they don't require the same kind of airflow you would need in a kettle (or even other kamado-style cookers, for that matter).  10 CFM has always been plenty for my needs (I believe the pit bull does up to 25 CFM).  If you expect most of your cooks to be high-temp cooks, I suppose the extra oomph from the pit bull could be worth the peace of mind.  That said, as others mentioned above with the pit bull, I close the damper on my pit viper to avoid too much unintended airflow.  I typically close it down to ~40%.  I also prefer the plastic housing on the viper to the metal housing on the pit bull--I can pull my fan off right after the cook without burning my hand.  To be fair, I don't know if this is an issue for the pit bull or not.

With respect to the probe types, I will admit that I rarely use more than three probes anyway--the three-port pro isn't likely to hamper you too much there.  Even if you have, say, five butts smoking at once, you don't need to probe all five constantly--maybe one per grate level.  The only time I will use more than three probes is when I want to keep ambient temperatures for multiple parts of the grill.  For example, I might do a brisket with a point probe, a flat probe, one ambient on the main grate's right side (over the fire using grate splitter), and one ambient probe on the main grate's left side.  Honestly, this arguably gives me too much data and I end up spending more effort than necessary trying to perfect my cook.  Having said all of this, I have never been in a situation where I wanted to monitor a temp beyond the max temp for the probe ratings.  If you're cooking at those temperatures (over 700ºF for the RTD probes), you might want to consider a different type of grill.  Also, the hottest temp I cook at is for making pizza, and you don't really need more than the dome probe for that.  As such, I wouldn't spend the extra $50 to get the pro, even if you never expect to use more than three probes.

Great video--thanks for sharing!

Is it safe to assume that you'll be making a video on homemade bacon next???  I've been thinking about trying to cure and smoke pork belly with the KK.

I have a few questions about the jerky:  First, what did you use to make it before the KK arrived?  Do you plan to use the KK going forward, do you prefer your previous method, or will you mix it up from time to time?  Also, how much temperature fluctuation did you see over the course of this "cook"?  The lowest temp I've tried to maintain is 225º F, which the KK does with no problem, but I assume there is a lower limit to what these cookers can reliably do.

On that last point, has anyone used Dennis's hot/cold smoker without a charcoal fire below it?  If so, what dome temps do you usually see, and does it vary depending on what size/type of wood you've got in the smoker tube?

My experience is spot-on with your description of Cowboy & Royal Oak.  I've had some pretty good low & slow cooks using Cowboy...there is a fair bit of uncertainty as to what wood (& therefore what smoke flavor) you're going to get out of it, but if you want a cheap option that adds a bit of flavor without adding any hardwood into the mix, Cowboy can work out just fine.

JD is on the other end of the spectrum--it tends to burn very clean, with less flavor imparted from the charcoal itslef, the chunks are fairly consistent, it burns consistently, and it produces less ash than most charcoals I've used.  It isn't going to be as neutral-flavored as a coconut/extruded charcoal, and it will produce more ash than those, but it also (in my experience) burns much hotter.  That said, I feel that it's a bit too expensive for high-temp pizza cooks and the like...and I wonder how much of the price goes into marketing and the appearance of quality.  For example, they use a ziplock-style zipper at the top of the bag to re-seal it, and I've found that this is prone to fail well before you get to the bottom of the bag.  A great option for 300-400 degree cooks, in my book.

5 hours ago, johnnymnemonic said:

This guy (in the video above) said he's not getting scientific but this is a lot of work to evaluate charcoal.  Is it worth it to do all this work? I guess it depends on the "level of obsession" you have about this hobby.

I've done enough cooking in a kamado over the last dozen or so years - I probably cook once to twice a week on average, that's a lot of cooking.  I haven't gotten my KK yet so take me with a grain of salt.

I never use gadgets when I cook.  OK - I have one gadget - an instant read contact thermometer.  No probes, no air regulation jobs that go in the bottom vent of the green egg.  I have learned the hard way and get great results.

This is not to say that when I get my KK I'm not going to get a probe (b/c once you've spent this kind of money, why not get one), and that's not to say that in the future I'm not going to start sifting my charcoal b/c of the way the KK firebox works, and using better charcoal all the time - b/c again - once you're at this level, why not have the best all the time - but - 

My opinion is that "I can cook with anything".  I'm a value shopper - if you can't get "really good" charcoal or don't want to spend the money, learning how to "cook with what you've got" is a good skill.

What people say here about removing the ultra small pieces and just getting to know your equipment and how it works with different loads of charcoal - more small pieces, more large pieces, etc - what does your grill do?  Once you cook a few hundred times on something - you'll know.

While I can't completely argue against the notion on charcoal bags that charcoal is an ingredient to your food -- "the first ingredient" as some say --  I find it might be more important to learn about how fire behaves under different conditions (and different sizes and with different amounts and types of wood) in your equipment than it is to choose a certain charcoal.  ESPECIALLY when you're not using a BBQ guru and probe.  You need to know how to lay a good fire in your particular grill - one that will go the distance.

It seems like this guy is fishing for a sponsor or something.

My opinions based on all the cheap charcoal that I have used - 

The only charcoal I really dislike is Cowboy.  I've found nails and other metal debris in the bags.  One time there was an old hinge in there with screws sticking out of it. Even when there's nothing metal, I invariably find one or more rocks in every bag.  It's just crappy charcoal.  That said, I have had several successful low and slow cooks with Cowboy charcoal, including a really good brisket only a week ago.  Just because it's the crappiest doesn't mean it doesn't work.  I have to work with Cowboy often because my father in law is a Costco member, and he always buys the big bag of cowboy.  He sometimes gives me a bag, and instead of turning it down, I use it.

 If you want to go cheap, the best charcoal to me is a tie between Royal Oak and Frontier.  Royal Oak of course is at home depot - most people are familiar.  Frontier is at Sam's club (when you can find it).  I also find that Publix Greenwise charcoal is "OK".  I've used a lot of that because my wife found it easy to pick up a smaller bag of that at the grocery store.  I can't complain - she bought me charcoal without me asking her.  I give a slight edge to royal oak b/c all of it seems to be made of the same wood whereas it seems some other cheaper charcoals can vary in their flavor profile due to a mixture of woods.  Also it has a milder flavor.  But it's rather light and burns up quicker than other brands, so I feel even Cowboy can be better than royal oak for low and slow.  Shocking right.  Frontier is the most dense of these (at least the bag that I am currently using is).

To me, the green egg brand is basically just royal oak - I quit using it a long time ago b/c it costs too much for what it is.

If there's a medium end, I think the best is the black Fogo.  It seems like a good value to me just b/c it's not the most expensive charcoal, but I feel it is very good based on the 3 bags I have used.

I've not used the better Fogo.  I've not used JD.  Have not tried rockwood - will try it if I can get a hold of it.  If the flavor profile is as good as this guy says it is, I look forward to it.

On the higher end I wish I could get weekend warrior - it used to be my favorite but the Ace Hardwares in my area quit carrying it.  Maybe I'll find out how to order it.

18 hours ago, Syzygies said:

Ha! We use our drug dealer scale all the time. I'm told it's essential for formulating cola extracts. I use it to weigh yeast and salt for bread, or saffron for tagines.

I loved my trip to Morocco. I was cheated exactly once, in the most surprising setting:

    Hamid Fondouk li Houdi
   http://www.jaztravelweb.com/MOROCCO/Perfumery_%26_Herbalist.html

He was one of the most sophisticated gentlemen to take us into a shop. (After asking for the best spice shop, we were lead there by an official guide recommended by our hotel, but they probably had no idea what was about to transpire, and I am not going to tell them.) Along with other spices, my friend and I each purchased 5 grams of his highest quality saffron. He measured without hesitation by sight, with the authority one would expect from decades of practice. My friend then objected that this looked like less that five grams, so he moved over to an ancient balance scale probably not used since the Indiana Jones movies were filmed, and used an unmarked weight to demonstrate perfect balance. Like I said, decades of practice.

I got home, pulled out my drug dealer scale, and sure enough, measured 1.06 grams (not 5.00). Huh. I can easily afford the loss, and what little I have is great saffron. This was just deeply amusing. One doesn’t expect this from someone who proudly displays his picture taken with Bill Clinton. Or perhaps I am also naive about politics?

I fantasize about bringing a hidden camera, and getting him to cheat me again. He was too practiced for this to be a one-off. But one can actually be arrested for bringing such a scale into Morocco. They take the "drug dealer scale" bit seriously. What I should do instead is bring one and five gram weights, ready to use with his scale. He'll know at this point I'm a repeat customer.

Bring two 5g weights, to ensure the scale is calibrated.

I imagine the exact dimensions are subject to change over time, and perhaps subject to some % deviation.  With that caveat, the KK Grills Homepage FAQ section lists a crate size of 46" x 46" x 59" (117 x 117 x 150 centimeters) for the 32" BB.  I would be very interested to know what your actual crate size is, as I expect to face the same Plan A / Plan B scenario later this year.