Forrest

I'm on Untappd @ForrestGee follow me! I also run a Utah Craft beer group for any other Utahn's here.

Dennis sent me the tracking for the boat with my grill on it. It was unloaded on April 1st, a bad day I know... jokes on us due to the physical inspection... Haven't heard anything else since Dennis sent me the e-mail stating the physical inspection would delay shipment with no ETA... Hope to hear something soon. I know Dennis is crazy busy with the the huge spike in demand for his products. I expect KK's will become way back-ordered in the near future.

I understand the feeling. I just bought my 2nd Big Green Egg and I still have my KK stuck on the Cali coast do to the container getting flagged for a physical search who knows when I will get it... I’m keeping my eggs and my KK will be my main work horse. I have to sell my Kamado Joe due to space, just listed it:

https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/63618491


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[mention=3735]Bruine[/mention] I think that half grate is a game changer.  In combination with the basket splitter it gives you more flexibility and the chance to try out two zone cooking in your 23 or 21.  

Doesn’t the basket splitter split the charcoal in the opposite direction of the half grate though?


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ScaryD, lots of issues here.

1st, ditch the deflector, use the drip pan in a higher position if you need a deflector, even just cut a piece of foil that is large enough to cover the meat you are cooking and place it a level below the meat. This will protect the meat from direct radiant glow heat from the coals, even a fat cap on the meat itself can be sufficient for deflection purposes. This will promote airflow. Airflow is king in Kamado cooking.

2nd, realize the CocoChar doesn’t really provide smoke. That’s the whole purpose of it. It allows for baking bread, or doing other cooks where you don’t want smoke. It also allows for added smoking woods to shine through rather then the charcoal being the star. Remember charcoals primary purpose is being an efficient heat source.

3rd, don’t be worried, you don’t need a lot of wood to create a smoke profile. Remember Kamado’s are a low airflow environment, especially KK’s! This means more BBQ flavor! Your smoking wood will provide plenty of smoke with a couple of chunks of wood. As long as you are using 90% charcoal to 10% wood ratio you will never have temp issues.

4th, you don’t really need smoke in the 4-5th hour of the cook. Most of the smoke profile you want to impart will take place in the first couple of hours as food heats and loses moisture smoke becomes less attracted to it.

5th learn about the wonders of the smoke pot, search this forum, this will provide you with clean good tasting smoke.


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As a user of Kamado Joe for a long time I can vouch that ash trays suck ass. They cause ash to get stuck underneath them making it very difficult to get a thorough clean. And even worse they mess with your airflow, they are just a block to high heat cooks.

First thing I’d do with an ash tray if my KK had one was throw it in the garbage. OP I hope you find a solution to your problem, I would recommend a larger heavier duty shop vac with a larger intake mouth.


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Pizza Easter Sunday

Buz, you have become the pizza king as of late. Will you pm me your dough recipe?


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Plum wood smoked and reverse seared “Top Sirloin” it definitely didn’t look like sirloin to me and the marbling caught my eye, no other package even looked close to it so I think I lucked out at $5. Made a board dressing to go along with it and finished with some Kamado-San rice. My 475 ML smoke pot even fits in my Big Green Egg MiniMax!










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Syzygies what is the fire pit like thing you are cooking the broccoli on?


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Big Green Egg MiniMax is my choice. It is about 100 lbs. I have no issues carrying it by myself with the integrated handles, however I understand it is easier to move it with two people. The removable foldable nest and egg mates make it an awesome tailgate or camping setup.



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Tekobo, if you watch the show they don’t cook for themselves, they hire a chef to do it. All power to them that they have the money to hire a chef.

I was sad at the fact the the KK prob doesn’t get used much and is more of probably yard art. This is all me assuming of course based on what I’ve seen from this stupid reality series my wife must watch, and we know what assuming does...


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I agree with all of you, it’s a stupid show. I’m thinking there is prob other high profile people who have KK’s. Sad thing is those women on the show probably have never even used it. If it does get used it is prob by some chef who they hired to cook for them.


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My wife was watching T.V. and I spotted a beautiful Komodo Kamado on Keeping Up With the Kardashian’s.
 


 
 
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I got the washing machine drain pan today. Looks like it will serve its purpose well, I like that it has some raised portions to allow the liquid to contact the under side of the grates. $17 well spent.



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Some exciting new information I discovered about the 475 ml MSR Smoke Pot:

1-
I did a low N slow cook, beef plate ribs 225 F cooking temp at the grate. This cook was overnight and I could have sworn 8 hours later when I woke up I was still smelling smoke production.

2-
The fuel I used was B&B Comp pellets, I stuffed the whole smoke pot full of pellets and I placed the smoke pot directly on top of the hot glowing coals. 14 hours total cooking time and it appeared some of the pellets were still brown and not carbonized. Seems like this little pot really can put out long smokes with pellets at least. Still using the sink strainer.

3-
This excited me: When I went out to clean the grill the smoke pot lid was hard to remove, I had to use some force to get it off. Seems like the lid is getting an even better seal with use.




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”with a KK if you target 50deg over your desired temperature”

Especially if you let it heat soak fully. I have noticed most Kamado’s that haven’t fully heat soaked for over an hour once you add any stones or deflectors the temp is going to settle and stabilize at a lower temp even with the same vent settings. Of course every Kamado is different and the KK’s are best at retaining heat so that point may not be necessary or even detrimental with a KK, thanks for pontning that out Basher.


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I just put some beef ribs on (I believe they are plate ribs) they were on sale at my local grocery store. Using my 475 ml MSR Syzygies styled smoke pot with B&B comp pellets. Will update in the mornin these are going over night.







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GnB, I haven’t got any off smells from the smoke or off flavors in my food. Just clean smoke!

It is possible the sink strainer may not be totally stainless steel even though it states that is the material on the website of the manufacturer of the part. I tested it and it doesn’t seem to be magnetized.

Maybe if there is any of this so called copper sulphate it probably isn’t enough to effect my health or flavor of my food.


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I wrote this up while ago for a friend. Hope it helps.

How to get Kamado hot 500F°+

-Remove any items or debris from the lower intake vent (e.g. ash catcher, small charcoal pieces, etc.)

-Make sure the bottom of your firebox is well aligned with your lower intake vent.

-Store your charcoal inside away from the wet elements. Only use dry fuel.

-Use lump charcoal, it will get a lot hotter then briquettes or extruded charcoal and produce less ash.

-Don’t blame your brand of lump charcoal, all major lump brands are capable of producing high heat temps for cooking pizza.

-Deliberately build your fire:
* Keep in mind small pieces of lump burn hotter however they also restrict airflow.
* Larger pieces won’t burn quite as hot but they promote airflow.
* Airflow = Heat
* Airflow restriction is the primary factor preventing you from getting your Kamado to pizza cooking temperatures.
* Do not pour your charcoal directly into your firebox, small pieces of lump can fall into the bottom of your firebox and block free airflow.
* Lay your lump charcoal out in a wide mouthed bin.
* Sort your lump by large, medium, and small pieces.
* Discard any really small lump pieces and the dust that settles at the bottom.
* Deliberately build your fire box to promote free airflow.
* Start with large chunks (fist size or larger) place them one by one at the bottom of your firebox until you have a complete layer of large chunks on the bottom of your charcoal basket.
* Now light your layer of large lump pieces. I prefer using a torch until I get a visual flame coming off of two spots of the large lump pieces.
* Once your large lump is lit continue building your lump pile by using medium pieces on top of the large lit coals, lay them on top in such a way they don’t interlock with each other and block airflow.
* Fill your firebox to the brim with medium lump atop the large chunks at the bottom. Cooking at high temperatures requires a lot of fuel. If you do not use enough lump your fire will run out of steam.
* Optionally, you can place some smaller pieces of lump at the very top of your charcoal basket on top of the medium pieces. Don’t use too many small pieces and ensure they don’t fall down into your firebox.
* Again, light several more spots on top of your now fully filled firebox, I recommend lighting until the charcoal is glowing in at least four different additional spots.
* Once your fire has been built for airflow and is lit remove any platesetters, fire deflector plates, or any larger objects in your Kamado blocking the free airflow of convective and radiant heat up into the dome.
* Close your Kamado lid.
* Open your bottom vent completely.
* Open your top vent nearly fully open, the more your top vent is open the stronger vacuum airflow will be created making your fire burn hotter. However, if you completely remove the top vent then you also allow some of the hot convective air to escape rather then being trapped in the dome so there is a fine balance, explore this with your own grill.
* I like to let the grill heat soak for at least 1/2 hour at a temperature of 50 degrees above my intended cooking temperature.
* Time is your freind, I recommend starting this process 2 hours before your intended cook time. Rushing things will lead to unsatisfactory results.
* Once you’ve allowed sufficient time for the dome to heat soak open you grill and set up your pizza cook with your stone and deflectors if you are using such, close lid once again.
* Keep your grill lid open as minimally as possible. You will lose some heat after installing your deflectors, let your Kamado stabilize once again at your cooking temperature for at least 15 minutes without adjusting vents.
* Place your pizza on your stone.
* Check on your pizza as infrequently as possible, you want to retain dome heat for cooking your toppings.
* Burp your grill dome before opening.

*Additional tips
-You can pre-heat your pizza stone in your oven while you grill is heating up.
-An infrared temperature gun is a good idea, this will allow you to determine if your stone is to temp before placing your pizza on.
-A fan such as the BBQ dragon, a hair dryer, or leaf blower can force air into your lower vent speeding up this whole process. Getting your Kamado hot too fast can put additional stress on your ceramics.
-Beer helps


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What is the blue residue on the lid?

I don’t know, I’m no scientist. Even when I have used the smoke foil method I have got discoloration.


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Some strip steaks for lunch.




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Nicely built 304 SS with a removable 10 in spike

Ty, that looks well made. I bet that would work awesome inside the KK Double Bottom Drip Pan. Another thing to add to the list...


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I love everything about this post.  Thank you buddy.

Glad you found it useful! Also next time remove the pictures from the quoted text so we don’t have to see them twice, lol. I have made that mistake myself...


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CABG, I assume you use one cup of a live sour dough culture correct?


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Those cooks aren’t mine lol! those are from the Bricknic website. I ordered direct from the German Bricknic website shipping was $40ish but it was lightning fast, I had the bricks in 5 days ordering into the USA.


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