moebutt

On 9/9/2024 at 11:44 PM, Mcdddy said:

Is there a chart or guide for what vent settings both top and bottom for each temp range? Also,I’m very curious to know —-> Does the amount of charcoal affect your vent settings? In other words if you use more charcoal your vent settings would be different ie less open than if you used less charcoal? Or are the vent settings independent of amount of charcoal used? Finally I do as c6bill does and use a cookie sheet with a wire cooking rack to elevate meet off the cookie sheet  - curious to know for those that use aluminum foil only are you wrapping the aluminum foil around the grate to hold in place ? Top grate or bottom grate?

This last cook (two pork butts) was my first cook without a temp controller just manual vent control. I do obsess a bit about my temps - wanting them to stay in a particular range - so when I see it rise substantially or decrease substantially what should I do if not change vent settings? Or check to make sure the coals are not burning in one spot?

maybe this is all part of the long process of learning the vent settings?

wondering about top vs bottom settings and which to prioritize - in other words is the top hat setting mostly kept the same setting for a larger range of temps than is the bottom vents?

the Fireboard temp controller and some others always drove me crazy because even though I’m clearly over temp it would continue to blow and blow too hard sporadically for the temp it was over so I would easily overshoot and stay over temp.The same would often happen with temps under my target range but would not blow aggressively enough and I’d stay under temp. I always thought it would learn over time much better but it never seemed to - and I always chalked it up to a poor algorithm. So I’d like to just stick to not using the temp controller and learn vent settings.

I think flame boss was somewhat better.

Thanks for everyone’s input.

Hi, what type of charcoal you're using?

I only ask because on my Ultimate 23 using the half-basket I can "easily" get 12-14 hours at a rock solid 250 degrees by burying a half split of wood under just the small amount of "CocoChar" shown in the pics below and there's always plenty still left over for use in the next cook, it's "super dense" and every piece is literally identical so it's "extremely" predictable once lit and it just burns steady for a "ridiculously" long time...I only use about 12-14 fresh pieces-per "long cook"-and a Grill Gun and a single buried Jealous Devil Boom Firestarter are my ignition source...I don't use any temp control devices either as a KK is so temp stable once heat soaked it simply doesn't need one IMO.👍😊

From my own trial and error, I now let my starter fire run "vents wide open" for a good 15-20 minutes to make sure I've got good charcoal ignition/flame before I start dialing things in and by the time I'm at 250 and fully heat soaked (usually about 45-60 min later) I always end up on the smallest "pinhole" intake setting with my top vent opened about "two and a half tiles wide" and the KK is always locked in for the duration with zero hiccups.😊

Hope some of this helps!👍😊

Always been curious about these so I finally took the plunge-and glad I did!!!😲

Smoked at 200 degrees for 3 hours over hickory and oak using CocoChar (only charcoal I ever use in my KK) then bumped up to 275 to finish off, total cook time was 5 hours (no wrap)...Great bark and "very" tasty, these are SO easy to do-WILL DO AGAIN!!!👍😊

4 hours ago, C6Bill said:

I love a nice tri tip but we don't get them around here often.  But as far as wagyu briskets, they are the only briskets i cook. I love them  

Same here, with exception to a few "rare" Prime Grades I've found with unusually spectacular marbling in the flat, I've all but given up on doing anything less than a Wagyu BMS-7 when it comes to a brisket since I "never" wrap my briskets until they're almost done (at least 185-190 internal then a long hot hold at 150 degrees) and the Wagyu's just consistently turn out fantastic with a nice, juicy flat that hasn't dried out.👍😊

6 hours ago, JDBBQ said:

Looks good ... love tri tip.  I usually do to med rare / med.  will have to try the smoking to 195 method

Thanks!

I always do a few Wagyu "Tri-Tip'skets" whenever we're in the mood for brisket but I don't want to spend 600 hours doing a full packer, lol, it's a great, delicious hack-they're a lot like like a really kickass brisket point without being overly rich...😊

Smoked two of them like briskets (probe tender at 194 internal) and one to my normal 135 internal then seared, all turned out fantastic!😊

2 hours ago, Tyrus said:

The last time I had a box of COCO Char I remember the lengths were very long, those looked all about 2 1/2 inch to 3 in size. Did you cut them up on a band saw? Like the chunk

No, they actually come pre-cut that way now...😊

14 hours ago, Tyrus said:

It sure did come out wonderful, more like fantastic...love the bark.  Great job Moebutt, unfortunately technology prevents me from seeing your list of pics. That's ok, those two hit the mark.

Had to reload the pics several times on this post for some reason (very weird) but they should all be viewable now...Thanks!😊

Had to reload the pics several times on this post for some reason (very weird) but they should all be viewable now...Thanks!😊

3-day salt brine got "very" deep into the roast, then hit with black pepper, garlic, thyme and rosemary overnight.

Smoke time was roughly 4.5 hours at 225 degrees (6lbs) over hickory (buried) and cherry and then seared, came out wonderful!😊

5 hours ago, Tyrus said:

That's a lot wood moebutt, I've seen others use more, well in other cookers and with different meats. I've always sat back on someone else's interpretation of how much wood should be introduced into the fire. Alot of smoke will create additional color and that's good, it creates flavor, but that's subjective. It may be like me saying I'm going to add 10% more alcohol to my gas to get better results in my car, it may or may not work.  I like it though, more smoke to me means better BBQ if done right. In a slow KK smoke is either a friend or an enemy, I do subscribe to your thought, I have thrown chunks on here and there and waited until the smoke clears. I have to agree, playing center field you have to cover a lot of space. Great cook

Thanks, smoke flavor is subjective indeed👍, now obviously I wouldn't suggest anyone try this method on a short cook of a few hours-just bury a nice sized chunk or two under your charcoal and you'll get what you need-but having done quite a bit of experimentation for my long "10+ hour" KK cooks (brisket, beef dino-ribs or pork butts), I simply love the deep, smokey offset flavor I get every time using this smoking technique-and my family and my grilling buddies at work who keep eating it do too, lol.🙏😊

My New Preferred KK Smoking Technique On Long Cooks:

Using the Half-Basket Splitter, I now bury one wood split under 12-14 pieces of CocoChar (that's all it ever takes for a 12-16 hour smoke!😲) and once the CocoChar's ignited and burning good I just place one larger wood split right on top of the stack. It may seem unorthodox, but I've done this "numerous" times now on my Ultimate 23" and the result consistently rivals any "Offset" smoked beef or pork I've "ever" had-and I've had A LOT, lol-with none of the "constant fire management" headaches of an Offset...

Once temps locked in (rock solid 250 degrees for 12 hours no problem using the "pinhole" intake opening and top exhaust barely open, so there's almost no airflow required) it seems the KK really is burning just the wood splits for it's main fuel source (like an Offset) because the smoking wood is all but gone at the end but a surprising amount of "useable" CocoChar always remains, end result being that "OMG" deep, clean and delicious "Offset Smokey" flavor and bark I love without the smoke being overpowering at all...BTW: I also no longer wait for my smoke to go "completely" clean to put on the proteins (see "Jirby" of Goldee's BBQ on youtube) but just when it's starting to go opaque and smelling great (the smoke goes fully clean and near invisible translucent blue after about 45min to 1 hour like clockwork on the KK every time.)😊

Hope someone else tries this method on their KK, love some feedback-and to make sure I'm not crazy, lol!👍🙏😊

Boxes just arrived this afternoon, cook report to follow...👍😊

Seeing Goldilocks, I wonder if there's any future possibility we could one day see a 28" model?

I currently have a Terra-Blue Ultimate 23 named "Heisenberg" (lol) so I already know logistically I'll never have a need for the Big Bad 32, however, something "in-between" an Ultimate and Big Bad would be VERY appealing...😁

Beautiful 

Nope, still there...☺️

Thank you🤗, I can't wait until I actually know what I'm doing with this thing, lol😂

I may have to buy a 2nd one in another finish just to test your theory, lol!😂

Fired up a couple of BMS 7 Wagyu Beef Ribs: 6 hour smoke at 250 with 1/2 basket of CoCo Char using Hickory & KK Coffee Wood for smoke...What shocked me most was once it was fully heat soaked, I actually ended up just using smallest intake hole "only" and top vent just barely open to maintain 250 degree temp and it did "not" budge the entire cook and nearly all the CoCo Char is still in there and some pieces hadn't even needed to light😲-if this thing were any more efficient it would likely become self-sustaining like a nuclear pile, lol.

These were easily the best, juiciest and most flavorful beef ribs I've EVER made-and I've made A LOT-everyone freaked at the difference over my KJ and Egg, this thing is next level LEGIT!!!

First up will be 2 Beef Dino-Ribs (for the initial learning curve of dialing in my low & slow temps, lol) then this monster drops, a full packer "A5" Japanese Wagyu Brisket that's been chilling in my freezer since last November...Wish me luck!!!👍🤞😊

My new beastie, Ultimate 23 in Terra Blue.☺