tony b

The basics are the same regardless of grill size (I have a 23"). First, always fill up the basket to the top (or even up to the handles), that way you never have to worry about running out of fuel on any cook. Temperature on a KK is all about airflow, which is almost totally determined by the top hat/vent position. You only need to open the bottom vent enough to supply air so your fire doesn't go out. Once you have your coals lit and well established, the bottom vent doesn't have to be open very much to sustain your fire for a low & slow. You'll need to open it a bit more at higher temps. For a low & slow cook like you are asking about, you don't need to start a lot of charcoal. Hit the charcoal with your propane wand in a single spot and light an area about the size of a tennis ball. Use a blower of some sort (old hairdryer, leaf blower, or specialty device - I have a FiAir.) to really get the coals glowing strong. I tend to light the coals near the back of the basket, but I'm not sure that it really makes that much difference, as once the burn continues, it's generally in a fairly random pattern. Good quality charcoal is a must, as well. Some of the cheaper brands, such as Cowboy, are made from scrap lumber and burn up very quickly. Most of us here on the Forum use high quality lump charcoal, such as Fogo, Rockwood or similar. Royal Oak lump - not the briquettes, will do in a pinch. Dennis' extruded coconut charcoal is probably the best out there, burns very hot, lasts a very long time, but can be a pain to light. Don't fret exact temps. One of the best pieces of advice we can give folks new to this style of cooker is - Don't chase the temperature! You can drive yourself crazy trying to make subtle adjustments in top vent position to hit an exact temperature, when it really doesn't matter that much at all. Plus/Minus 50F will not make any difference the quality of your cook. Some folks here (me, included) like to open the vents more than what's needed for their target temperature to help speed up the heating of the grill & grates at the start of a cook. Then, set the vent to the position for your target temperature as you get close (within 50F), because once you heat soak a KK, with all its thermal mass, you won't be able to bring the temperature back down easily if you overshoot it. But, if you do, live with it and just rock on - especially with an adult beverage, and everything will work out just fine.

I bought the smoker attachment mainly for doing cold smoking - no fire in the grill. Also, the Syzygies smoker pot will generate smoke for a very long time and it's a cleaner smoke than just chunks on the coals and you don't have to replenish it during a long low & slow cook. That's not to say that I don't just toss a few on top myself, but generally only on short cooks (less than an hour). YMMV

I think Aldi's is a weird store - with the mashup of being a grocery store and a hardware store? I agree, I'd much rather trade this new Aldi's for the old Fresh Market any day! They carried both my Dukes mayo and Michaels of Brooklyn pasta sauces. And had by far, the best quality seafood in this area. But, without a regional distribution center, they just couldn't make a go of it out here.

You all crack me up! Had a lovely Cioppino at a local restaurant the other night - one of my favorite seafood dishes. Plan to make a smoked salmon (not my homemade smoked salmon unfortunately) dish with puff pastry tomorrow night for dinner. Just another protein in my repertoire!

I'm thinking that I need to take my top vent off and clean some "stuff" out of the chimney area, as my top vent settings are drifting off of my "standards" - taking more vent opening to hit the same temps. Mind you, this is after a couple of years since I last did it when I did my last spring change-out. For others, what I'm referring to here is that if you have your KK on a deck, which can flex as you walk on it, the top vent can jiggle a little from the vibration/flex of walking around the deck near the KK and cause your temps to drift off of what you want. So, the simplest fix for that is to put a spring on the threaded rod on the top vent to provide a bit of resistance/friction so it doesn't drift. If your KK is sitting on a solid surface, like a patio, this isn't an issue. This is one of the very few "maintenance" issues that you have with a KK.

Now we all know why it's nicknamed "Hot'Lanta!" btw - I went to college at Tech, so I'm a bit familiar with the town.

Oh, and you don't have to worry about the tiles falling off and having to re-grout them back on or having to recoat the inside of your grill with some new "magic" coating to keep it from cracking (inside joke for previous POSK owners)!

Yes, Sous Vide is a magical tool. Perfect for a re-heat like this. Given the size, I'd plan on at least 2-3 hours to reheat a piece of meat this big. At very low temps, like you were targeting, the smoker pot has to sit pretty much right on top of the lit coals to work effectively. And yes, one of the downsides is that burn patterns in lump charcoal are pretty random - impossible to predict which direction in the basket it will burn, so centralize your initial light and place the smoker pot directly over it - then hope for the best.

With them being packaged Down Under, they might be a bit fresher than being shipped from over here. Aldi's are blowing up world wide! Even Cedar Rapids has 3 and the oldest ones both got a face-lift last year. The newest one just opened in the old Fresh Market - given my druthers, I'd rather have the Fresh Market!

Will be curious to see how you like the Cornell chook!

Let us know what you think? I tend to shy away from the big company commercial rubs, like McCormick, as they tend to have more salt and sugar in them that "craft" versions and I wonder what quality of spices they are using, as well. A good way for them to use up the bits and pieces of the herbs and spices they sell individually, especially if they are getting a bit older. Easy to hide them in a spice blend.

If you don't abuse them, they will last several years. Leaving the lid up with the grill that hot will degrade them rapidly. Also, it helps, once you're certain the fire is out, to release the latch to the 1st position so you don't leave the gaskets in full compression all the time between cooks.

Nicely done! Have you cooked on a kamado style grill before?

Nice looking rib dinner, MacKenzie! I'll have to try that potato trick with the air fryer.

Thanks Bruce, I try to drink good, too! LOL!! I'm a true Epicurean at heart - "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry, for Tomorrow We Shall All Die!"

Welcome to the Obsession! You're going to love your "find!" Would love to see pics of your cooks.

@Jeff S - nice steak cook. But, I did notice in the one pic that you ran your temperature probe wire over the lip - you don't need to do that on a KK, as Dennis has put wire ports in the side (2 in your case - one on each side) to run the wired through so they don't get crushed by the lid. Look for the little rubber plug on the side just below the lip (you have side tables, so you might have to look underneath it.) The rubber plug has a slit cut into it to go around the wire(s) and you plug it back in the grill. If your temperature probe plug end is too large to fit through the hole in the KK and your temperature probe is slightly curved, you can bend it to straighten it out so it will thread through the hole. Just apply even gently pressure as you straighten it, and it will work just fine.

Dinner is served! I only sauced the upper 2/3 of the rack. Grilled indirect @ 275F, with the smoker pot loaded with hickory, peach and apple chunks.

I think you might have some future sales, Dennis - maybe not 42s, but some of the other models a bit lower in price point. BGE folks seem to be suitably impressed (as they should be!)

Gorgeous ribs! I have a rack of St. Louis pork ribs on right now. Great minds - I have also made potato salad and my ear of corn will go on the grill in about an hour! Happy 4th of July everyone!!

I've never had a FB account and don't intend to start one either!

I'd have been fretting that small wire cable giving way! But, as long as it worked out with a happy ending - that's great!

My "go to" for pork. Seeing as you're new here, we'll cut you some slack - this time - for no pics of the cook. The bottom vent doesn't dictate the temperature as much as the top vent. Next time you're shooting for 250F range, just bump the top vent off its seat, just until you see smoke coming out. It doesn't take hardly any airflow to do a low & slow in a KK, once you have the fire going.

Good plan! I wrap mine in foil, with the pink butcher paper still on, then towel and into the cooler to rest. No worries about losing bark and you won't soak the towel in all that yumminess. Can't wait to see pics of the final result.

Welcome to the Obsession! WOW is all I can say - that thing is just massive!! You are going to be so impressed by this grill over your old Primo, you'll wonder why you didn't upgrade after the 1st hinge repair. Can't wait to see pics of those first cooks!