leejp

Re: A gas unit to mount in the rear

With 600 containers of teak furniture under my belt.. This week I'm going to dabble in making some teak tables/BBQ centers that an OTB would fit into..

Now you're talking!!! I've been considering a prep table/area for my OTB and there just isn't one available that I found to be suitable!!!

Don't forget to add a weatherproof compartment for a BBQ Guru/Rock's Stoker!!!

Re: Yep.. both layers...

Sorry Gerard,

I had not selected notify me when a reply is posted... Thank you for your involvement on the forum.

Yes, chicken wire was something that was passed on to Komodos from the original construction. My workers had always built them that way and common sense dictates it could be helpful...

The big difference is that I have two layers.. I'm out to build the best and so I put a chicken wire basket into both layers.. Twice the strength? I too have seen it in the old Kamados but I don't remember seeing it in Komodos.. I'll have to do come checking/looking..

Maybe it's only visible thru portland

Fiber reinforced concrete is more popular these days (greatly increases shear strength and resistance to cracking). One simply adds this material to the concrete mixture. Perhaps you could work with Harbison Walker to get it to work in a KK as well? Not that I'm against chicken wire but but when you're building the ultimate cooker...

I'm located at the last stop on Metro North (NYC commuter railroad) whch is ~70 miles driving distance from Midtown Manhattan and work for the same small 3-letter technology company as the Naked Whiz.

Grill/Cooker bio/history

• 
  

Sam's club Member's Mark Grill (2001-2003, sold)
Char-Broil Electric Water Smoker (2003, Deceased in a Car Accident in the Garage - foul play may have been involved).
Kamado #7 Cobalt Blue Mosaic with Side Tables and Propane option (November, 2003 - July 2005, sold)
Weber 22-1/2" Bar-B-Kettle
Weber 22-1/2" One-Touch Kettle
I bought the Weber Kettles' in May as a stopgap while waiting for my OTB Supreme. $25 for both + 2 bags of Kingsford (blech!) + 2 bottles of lighter fluid (2xBlech!) and 1 bag of hickory chips... absolutely could not pass this deal up. don't you just love craigslist?
OTB Supreme Cobalt Blue in Transit (ETA June 2005, I originally intended to replace the Sacramento K with a Mexi K when I stumbled onto the KomodoKamado via eBay, no contest... I had to have the OTB 22)

Favorite Charcoal

Humphrey Lump
Not that I've tried all that many but I've yet to come across better coals. High temps are not a problem and the burntime is great. At $10 for a 20# bag I've little motivation to experiment.

Favorite Grilled Dish

• 
  Spicy Korean Pork... absolute swine nirvana!
  

Original requires Korean red pepper paste
Modifed

Favorite Barbecue Dish

• 
  Brisket! - I'm still learning this one though (my ribs and butt I'm pretty much satisfied with)
  

Favorite Barbecue Joint

• 
  Rudy's "Country Store" - just something right about barbecue at a gas station
  

Why not just use the gas option????????

Gasp!!! How could I possibly mutilate by backyard artwork with an eyesore of a tank attached via a hose!

Re: Ok, flash............

One of those is in my plumbing tool kit and I have used it to light coals before. It works but you have to stand there with it for a minute or two. I like it better than the chimney starter (hate the flying ashes even 1 sheet of newspaper produces).

Ideally... it should be a compact unit without a hose with a timer dial that keeps the torch on a few minutes after ignition.

Of course some of us are less patient (scroll down 1/2 way)...

http://www.doeblitz.net/ghg/

Hey Dennis... How's that Volcano doing? You're not in any danger are you?

Re: Wow, what a marketing scam....I think.

Weber engineers do it again. Take what is for all intents and purposes a $50 round barbie, add a gizzy that's takes a propane bottle to light the charcoal (off that little rectangular tabletop barbie) add a little more metal and a rubbermaid bucket and viola! a $300 thing to sell.

I know you're a smart guy, you're buying a Komodo Kamado, but the Weber thing is almost a scam. If you think about it, it's just a $300 lighting chimney with a burner to start instead of paper.

Just another guys thoughts.............

Yes I agree the pricing for this (and just about ALL Weber products) is ridiculous expensive. But the "gizzy" as far as I can tell is a Weber exclusive. I can't believe that no one else has it... Soooo simple! The Weber Engineers have indeed built a better mousetrap so they can charge what the market will bear (with some convincing from their marketing).

I'm willing to pay the high $$$ for convenience especially if it's simple enough so that my wife is WILLING (she's certainly capable of using a chimney starter) to use it. I'm not committed in any way to purchasing the Weber at the moment and I have an open mind... so suggest an alternate that'll work for my wife, my parents, guests... anyone who doesn't want to futz with a chimney starter.

I had a MexKamado #7 but now have a OTB Supreme on order (actually in transit... hope to see it soon!). I don't even have the cooker yet but I am actually thinking that I need another grill/cooker.

With the Supreme doing a low and slow for dinner, I still need something I can fire up quickly to do burgers/dogs for the kids for lunch and side dishes/other for dinner. Many folks over at MexKamado had several cookers, this is an option save for the fact that my wife never went near my Kamado (too complicated, go figure...) and I won't go propane so I'm thinking something like the Weber performer (it's a charcoal grill with a propane cartridge for lighting the coals only... brilliant!). If I can get several cooks out of 1 load of coals like the K's this might be a happy compromise.

It looks like the R&D team's got a hefty load for 06. But I have asked Dennis via eMail for a similar lighting feature (as the performer)... essentially a wide flame tip blowtorch with a timed shutoff and a piezoelectric starter that goes in place of the bottom draft door or in the guru port. Hint... Dennis... Hint...

I am in the Hudson Valley (Dutchess County) and I have a Supreme OTB in transit. Dennis tells me I sould have it shortly so you're welcome to come up and take a look (~2hrs travel if the traffic is good).

I wouldn't mind getting in pending pricing. I've been using Humphrey Natural Lump:

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpdatabase/lumpbag39.htm

It's great stuff and at for $11 for a 20# bag I haven't had much motivation to look for another brand/source. I did get some of the extruded lump with my mK. ... it too was great stuff but it was pricey and a hassle to purchase.

Well that does it then...

We have to do whatever we can to drive the volume up sky high so Dennis can purchase his laset cut s/s components and other materials for next to nothing. All we have to do is to convince ~1/2 dozen family/friende/acquintences/complete strangers to purchase a komodokamado. Simple, no?

What camera do you have? Photography is my other hobby...

Maybe I can help...

First... Lighting. There is simply no substitute for good lighting. Those 2 photos look like they were taken in a cave. Put the food under a 100W lamp and you'll see a dramatic improvement.

Second... it looks the focus was off. A lot of cameras have trouble focusing close unless you have it in macro mode. Look at the specs/instructions for your camera and you'll see a minimum focus distance.

Third... and this really falls under lighting, it looks like there was some camera shake (slower shutter speed to get the correct exposure in a dark room). A tripod and timer shutter release is best but if you don't have a tripod, a beanbag, book... anything you can set the camera on while it's framing the food will do.

That said... for a number of reasons, food photography is one of the most difficult specialties under photography. The camera helps but even with a give-away-for-free cell phone camera one can take good pictures if the lighting is good. A couple of work lanterns from the garage will do until you can upgrade.

OK OK so sauce is secondary to rub which is secondary to meat. But I happen to like it with my butt/ribs/brisket.

I've tried and made plenty but haven't found a good recipe yet for a tangy and hot, vinegar based sauce. I make the carolina pickle juice based sauces for my pulled pork but I don't find it thick enough for other me. I would like the "consistency/thickness" to be like ranch salad dressing. Any suggestions here?

Looks good but it'll likely be expensive...

I'd forego the fancier features and would really rather have these instead:

battery pack power option

A lot of folks that have the Guru run theirs off an automobile battery jumper battery packs. A Ni-cd (more rugged than NiMH) cordless drill battery pack should be enough power for several cooks.

weather tight

I've done many low and slow cooks during thunderstorms. This may be as simple as a water resistant enclosure for the control unit and a blower assembly with an inlet design that prevents water egress into the cooker/coals.

Internet monitering? Assume that's for when one wants to load up the cooker, go to work and monitor/control from the office... That's obsession!

Pork that's good for the heart!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/healt ... ref=slogin

Reminds me of Woody Allen's sleeper where "everyone is smoking because it's one of the healthiest things you can do"

Do you have a tiled shower? How often did you seal the grout there?

Grout sealing is for stain prevention (less of an issue with darker grout) and for additional protection against moisture. I do find that with a good tile job moisture intrusion is less of an issue in wet areas like a shower.

If one intends to leave the cooker out uncovered as most folks do, in the driving rain/snow/sleet through temperature extremes, it's probably not a bad idea to give the tile additional protection against the elements. A few minutes with a foam roller 1x/year should do. That said, I've never sealed my Kamado #7 in 3 years and the only grout /tile defects were factory original

Porkchop...

That is one stuffed cooker... Most I've done is 2~3 racks of ribs and a butt. I've always wondered about the time math when cooking more than 1 cut of meat though... The general rule of thumb I allow for pork butt and brisket is ~1-1/2 hr/lb. So for a 8lb pork butt I allow 12hours meanig if I want Dinnr at 6PM, the meat goes in at 6AM (meaning I have to get up at ~4:30AM, take the meat out, get the cooker going, get the temp stabilized...). Presumably, if I have 2 8lb cuts it's no difference. But what happens when one packs the cooker like you've done. Same difference? I'm asking since seem to recall that you worked at a Q joint earlier in your life.