MacKenzie Posted February 17 Report Share Posted February 17 (edited) The lid is not left open as such, it just isn't closed up tight. There are two positions for the lock, one to keep lid tight for cooking and the other to take the pressure of the gasket when the KK is resting. Edited February 17 by MacKenzie 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted February 17 Report Share Posted February 17 Here are some photos to show the position of the lid. The two catches for handle. Lid Tight Position- Lid Relaxed Position- Hope that helps. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsTwiggy Posted February 17 Author Report Share Posted February 17 @CaptMorg82 yeah buddy!! I just got my first box of cocochar today from amazon. I will try it and then hit you up to go in on a charcoal order if I can’t be without it! Thanks so much for suggesting it! @jeffshoaf sounds like you have some really fun cookers. Would love to see a pic of your live fire set up 🤗🔥🔥. It sounds like I need to try lighting from the top. I appreciate the suggestion. I dont have a fan controller so I will do this first and see how far i get. @David Chang ha!! If only I could get my hands on that enchanted charcoal of yours 😎😉!! What an incredible run!! I have noticed the basket in the TT’s to be bigger relative to grate size than the 23 which has a round basket. I have 1.8 cf volume. Good to know you also light from the bottom. Although we seem to be in the minority. @wrandyr i just got my box of cocochar and it IS wrapped in plastic 😁. The box is half the size of the 20# bags of lump I have been using so its very dense. At a burn rate of 0.5#/hr this will get me 20 hours for sure combined with lighting from the top. I may get a looflighter! I also have a few bags of the char logs and will try those and compare. I’ve begun to weigh how much charcoal i use and how long it goes - will report back once i have data compiled. @tekobo very good to hear that the moisture isn’t affecting your stored charcoal. Do you love the coffee lump? I am going to experiment with lighting and possibly close the lid earlier. It’s possible i am overshooting and its affecting my burn time. @jonj thanks for linking your cook!! I will try this lighting method with keeping the lid closed and lighting from the top! No fan controller yet for me. @MacKenzie thanks for the update and extra detail about the lid. So nice to include the photos, they make it very clear. Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and the additional specificity on lighting!!! ☺️😀🔥🔥🔥 I have a chicken to roti tonight and will do the brisket next weekend. I will post pics!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsTwiggy Posted February 18 Author Report Share Posted February 18 Here is my roti cook! Dennis suggested a loaf pan fits on the basket splitter deck! I have two cast iron loaf pans by Lodge that worked beautifully for this. Roasted brussel sprouts and cubed taters. Bird was dry brined and seasoned with Herbs de Provence blend. I used Blues Hog lump and preheated for 90 minutes as I had some grocery shopping to do before I was ready to put the bird on. Used a combustion wireless thermometer and was super pleased with how the signal was not blocked by the Kamado. It utterly fails in my metal cookers and so this a real triumph! Lit from the top this time by dumping hot coals from a chimney and I am pretty sure i got longer burn time than previous cook with this same charcoal. There is nothing like the Komodo roti!! I think I prefer the spit to the basket based on ease of cleanup alone. i am getting closer to those long burn times with everyone's help. Thanks again to the wonderful people here for your timely suggestions 🔥🔥🔥 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 18 Report Share Posted February 18 8 hours ago, MsTwiggy said: I think I prefer the spit to the basket based on ease of cleanup alone. I've recommended to others here that the easiest way to clean the roti baskets/spits/forks, etc. is to soak them in Powdered Brewers Wash (PBW). You can find it at homebrewing supply stores (and Amazon, of course). A warm water soak for a couple of hours and everything just wipes off with a sponge/paper towel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffshoaf Posted February 18 Report Share Posted February 18 @MsTwiggy I've posted several pics in the Non-KK Cooks thread - here are a few: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 On 2/17/2024 at 5:29 PM, MsTwiggy said: @tekobo very good to hear that the moisture isn’t affecting your stored charcoal. Do you love the coffee lump? I am going to experiment with lighting and possibly close the lid earlier. It’s possible i am overshooting and its affecting my burn time. Your cooks are looking great @MsTwiggy so you are certainly doing a lot of things right! I wouldn't sweat the charcoal issue, you will find your sweet spot over time. I close my lid straight away after lighting and remember dire warnings of messing up my gasket (or burning my hands) when I first joined the forum and was told not to leave the lid up with a fire going. We don't have access to Dennis' coffee lump or cocochar in the UK. I buy a commercial brand of cocoshell briquettes that has worked very well for me over the years. I smile when you US folk talk about pallet shares. I was once so desperate to try Dennis' fuel that I pestered him until he told me it made no sense unless I wanted to buy a whole container load. That would have been one hell of a "pallet" share! I have learned to be happy with what we have here and may one day find my way to into a US KK owner's house to see how the other half live. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted February 19 Report Share Posted February 19 4 hours ago, tekobo said: I wouldn't sweat the charcoal issue, you will find your sweet spot over time. I close my lid straight away after lighting and remember dire warnings of messing up my gasket (or burning my hands) when I first joined the forum and was told not to leave the lid up with a fire going. Totally agree with Tekobo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesehead_Griller Posted February 21 Report Share Posted February 21 I have the best results by using a charcoal chimney to start my lump. I fill the basket 2/3 and top it off with the hot coals from the chimney. Note, I also struggled with finding the right lump. I tried the XL size and I think that was my trouble. I switched to Fogo in the black bag and have never looked back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C6Bill Posted February 22 Report Share Posted February 22 I tried that Blues Hog lump once, and only once lol I had a similar experience, horrible run time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsTwiggy Posted February 26 Author Report Share Posted February 26 Well I have learned a lot here thank you so much for sharing with me. Here are some pics of a brisket cook i did this weekend. I used B&B char logs and got a 27 hour burn time. So all of my concerns about being able to pull off a long cook are gone. The density of the charcoal is significant because a full basket of the char logs weighed 16 pounds while a full basket of the Blues Hog weighed not quite 6 pounds. This was easily my best brisket ever, it was only a choice cut and it was phenomenal. I separated the point and flat because going into it I was worried about cook time. Throughout the cook I measured the temp on the main grate and the riser grate and once the Kamado came back to 225 after I put the brisket on they were within 2 degrees of each other for the next 9 hours. However, as the kamado was climbing back to temp there was a big gradient between the upper and main grate. The main grate was at 180 and the upper grate was at 120. Probably because the flat was absorbing most of the heat coming up from the pit. When the grate temps finally converged at 225 (took 90 minutes) both the point and flat were at the exact same temperature 103F. Neat!!! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted February 26 Report Share Posted February 26 @MsTwiggy looks fantastic. well done 👌 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsTwiggy Posted February 26 Author Report Share Posted February 26 @Cheesehead_Griller super thanks for the tip on black bag FOGO. I prefer to cook with lump and can get this. I also like to start in a chimney. If i drop lit coals on my basket I can just shut the lid. Pro tip is while the kamado is heat sinking i place my hardwood lumps on the grate and then right before i put my meat on i drop them on the coals. I find they burn cleaner this way. Big thank you to @tekobo and @MacKenzie for the encouragement with the charcoal!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted February 26 Report Share Posted February 26 Fantastic cook and taste.👍👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 26 Report Share Posted February 26 Nice looking brisket! Dennis has recommended putting the wood pellets for the cold smoker into the microwave for a bit to help dry them out. I'm guess your idea of putting the wood chunks on the main grate is doing something similar. Good tip, I might give this a try for cooks where I'm not planning on using the smoker pot. You might investigate the Dutch oven smoker pot and see if it's something that you might want to try. Lots of threads here about how to build one, with props to @Syzygies who pioneered the idea. I use mine on almost every cook that goes beyond a couple of hours. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted March 7 Report Share Posted March 7 On 2/16/2024 at 8:21 AM, tekobo said: Welcome @MsTwiggy. Great name. Wish I had thought of using MsPiggy when I first came on the forum! I live in UK near the sea and it can be pretty damp here. I buy pallet loads of charcoal and cocoshell briquettes and have kept both for years without any issues. The charcoal is in an open cellar with water dripping in (I catch it in a trug so it never hits the paper bags that the charcoal is in) and the briquettes are in boxes in a wooden shed. I have no issues with lighting either and no worries about damp lump. I have exactly the opposite lighting technique to you. I light the fuel at the top, making a small well in the middle to either receive isopropyl alchohol soaked lump or a wax lighter, and I close the lid. I keep both the top vent and the left bottom vent fully open during the initial lighting process but I never bother with the small holes on the right except when trying to maintain a low and slow temp. I am not sure about keeping the lid open for 15 minutes while lighting. My expectation is that the chimney effect created by having the lid shut is actually more efficient for lighting the lump and for building up the heat in your KK. It is worth experimenting with different methods to see what works best for different situations. Soooo much fun cooking over fire. Welcome again. P.S. Good to have reached out to @Pequod. I miss him! Hello! Just saw myself tagged over at AmazingRibs, but not sure if there was a question. You're in good hands here. These are the real pros. I'm a hack. 😏 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted March 11 Report Share Posted March 11 On 3/7/2024 at 7:25 PM, Pequod said: I'm a hack. 😏 Ha! Liar, liar, pants on fire @Pequod. I learned a lot from you and am missing your bread and pizza game. What have you been cooking? Please share! I am in Italy at the moment. Made great wholewheat spaghetti yesterday but my focaccia dough failed overnight. Thinking it must be temperature related (too cold). Not sure I can justify a bread proofer here so will see if the warming bowl in my mixer will help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 On 3/11/2024 at 2:15 AM, tekobo said: Ha! Liar, liar, pants on fire @Pequod. I learned a lot from you and am missing your bread and pizza game. What have you been cooking? Please share! I am in Italy at the moment. Made great wholewheat spaghetti yesterday but my focaccia dough failed overnight. Thinking it must be temperature related (too cold). Not sure I can justify a bread proofer here so will see if the warming bowl in my mixer will help. You need a bread proofer. Or you're a hack. 😏 You mill your own flour, right? RIGHT??? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C6Bill Posted March 14 Report Share Posted March 14 My oven has a bread proof setting, works great 😊 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheesehead_Griller Posted March 15 Report Share Posted March 15 Could you please post some pics of the grill itself and with some food on it? It would be nice to get a size perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
