coolpapabill Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 Doing a brisket on Sunday on my KK 23" Ultimate . I've never used a controller and planning on using my DigiQ DX3 . Fo those of you who use a controller what is process from starting fire , heat sink , when to start/turn on DigiQ , etc... Will be cooking at 250 degrees. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted January 25, 2020 Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 I pretty much just start it after lighting the coals. Plug it in and let it do the rest. You’ll close down the top vent more than for an uncontrolled cook. You want the fan to do the work. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted January 25, 2020 Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 What Pequod said - close the top damper almost fully closed - just barely off the seat. Also, if it's a windy day, close down the damper on the fan outlet of the Guru, so you don't get too much airflow when the fan isn't running. I pretty much always have mine at least half closed. One thing about a controller - once the temperature goes above the setpoint, the controller can't bring it back down! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glx Posted January 25, 2020 Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 Funny this coming up today because I am still waiting on my first brisket to come out of my 21" using the digiq dx2 (13 hours and counting). Next time will give a try to a hot and fast approach. I have done many a brisket on the green egg with the controller but this time I struggled a little because (in my opinion) the difference in thermal mass between KK and the egg. I have always just lit the grill plugged the controller and walked away until it settled. Not this time. Because it was cold last night (27 F) the controller fan lit an infernal fire on my pit trying to get all that thermal mass of the KK and heat deflector to 245F which resulted on the KK reaching the temp and than severly overshooting (315 F). It took about 2.5 hrs to tame the beast and be able to put the brisket in. About 11.5 hours into the cook I started running out of charcoal (had to refill) and I believe this was a result of the large amount of charcoal that got burned in the first few hours of fighting to drop the temp. Next time I think I will get the KK, grates and deflector to the correct temp and than plug the controller for temperature maintenance. I am also curious if any of you guys that have had your KK for awhile can elaborate if my ramblings above make sense or whether I might have made some other mistake. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alohapiggy Posted January 25, 2020 Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 Make sure the damper on your fan isn’t wide open. I just bought a cyber Q and I’ve noticed you have to dial the damper on the fan more than half closed. I also own a 21 KK. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 @glx - You mentioned "heat deflector" - are you using the heavy ceramic one that came with your KK? If so, don't! It's part of what's driving your initial heat-up time to excess for no good reason. Even Dennis doesn't advocate using it. Just put the drip pan or even just some aluminum foil on the lower grate; works as effectively as a heat deflector (you're mainly trying to block the direct infrared heat from the coals) and doesn't take much to heat up along with the rest of the KK. Also good advice from Alohapiggy, especially in windy conditions. I have a 23" with a DigiQ-II and never open the fan damper more than 1/2, will drop it down to 1/4 open if it's really windy. Let us know how the brisket comes out. Pictures, please (we're into food porn here on this site!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 I have used a controller once in the two years plus that I have owned my KKs. All the fuss of fiddling with wires and fans just doesn't seem necessary when the KK behaves so reliably once you work out your top damper settings for different temps. Technique is the same as many people describe elsewhere on the forum. For a low and slow light in one spot, open up top damper and bottom vent until you are about 50 degrees off your target temp. Wind back top vent to just off the seat for low and slow. Have fun with the toys but it may well be easier not to use them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glx Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Yes tony b I am using the heat deflector that Dennis sent. I will give it a try next time just with the drip pan. As for the setting on the guru, I learned a long time ago that for low temp cooks should not open the damper more than a 1/4. Tekobo, I only use the guru on overnight cooks because it lets me sleep easy with no concerns about what's happening with the grill. Any other cooks that occur during day hours, I set the top and bottom vents and just glance at the grill thermometer every couple of hours or so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
