New Big Bad in California

[EggheadRalph]

After 6 years of wanting a KK, I finally pulled the trigger. Sold the Yoder ys640 pellet grill and my Louisiana Grill kamado for this upgrade. Just did my first cook tonight: baby back ribs. Overshot 225⁰ and was chasing temps afterwards...gotta better learn the top vent positioning, but am excited to learn. Cheers!

[5698k]

Congrats on your new grill! You’ve certainly made a great decision.

Temp control is a little bit of a learning curve but easily mastered with a little practice. My first question is how much coal are you lighting?


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[C6Bill]

Congrats !!!! 225 is only about a 1/4 turn of the top vent with the bottom vent only being open enough to get your little finger in there. Dennis has some good videos on that, i'll see if i can find the links

This will get you a good temp for ribs

 

And this one is everything you need to know about the 32

 

 

 

[Cheesehead_Griller]

38 minutes ago, C6Bill said:

Congrats !!!! 225 is only about a 1/4 turn of the top vent with the bottom vent only being open enough to get your little finger in there. Dennis has some good videos on that, i'll see if i can find the links

T

 

This! The top vent open 1/4 on my Big Bad is also about 225-250 and 1/2 is about 300 with the bottom vent open enough to fit a finger in it. 

[tony b]

Welcome to The Obsession! 

Best way to learn temp control. Fill up the basket with coals, Light a small spot, Open the top vent 1/4 turn and bottom vent just barely open (pinkie). Sit back with a cooler of your favorite adult beverage and watch the temp. Once stabalized, make a note of it, bump the top vent another 1/4 turn and have another beverage. Again, once stabalized, take notes, bump the top vent again and maybe open the bottom a bit more. Keep doing this until the dome reaches maybe 450F, as almost all your cooks will be below that temperature (except the burn-in and doing pizzas). The vent position/temperature correlation is very repeatable, assuming you have enough charcoal in the basket. 

Secondly, DON"T CHASE THE TEMPERATURE! If the KK is heat soaked, you're not going to be able to lower the temperature easily if you overshoot your target. Also, it's BBQ, not rocket science. Plus/Minus 50F off your target is nothing. Just roll with it. You won't notice any difference in the results, only the cooking time might be slightly affected. 

Good Luck, Post Pictures of that all-important virgin cook! 

[Paul]

On 10/21/2025 at 9:03 AM, tony b said:

Also, it's BBQ, not rocket science. Plus/Minus 50F off your target is nothing. Just roll with it.

Couldn't agree more.

[Tyrus]

You know there's somethin to be said about a black KK in pebble finish, not only does it have that mysterious look but it has a medieval touch like a black knight in armor, congrats and happy trails cooking. 250 is the temp I like for ribs, saves me on the cooking time a bit. If you overshot and then put the ribs on it's a little more workable seeing the temp drop 50 degrees from the addition of the meat, then you could make a trim adjustment without too much worry. The great thing is......once your locked in your there to stay and that's a comforting thought. All those ribs and living in wine country, it musta been a beautiful day.

[EggheadRalph]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I've practically read every forum article and watched every KK YT video out there by this point (I've been following this forum for years even without a KK). I did exactly what you all suggested and cooked it at 1/4 turn + 3rd hole open at the bottom (lit half the basket splitter). I suspect maybe I should have been at 1/5th turn instead of 1/4 turn and that's the learning curve that I'm going to have to figure out. I think I also had the vents open until about 160-180° or so (I wasn't paying too much attention) before I closed it off to 1/4 turn as I was trying to promote more airflow after lighting the lump. Perhaps I should have just started off at 1/4 turn to begin with (but alas, patience is a virtue...)?

The ribs in the end weren't bad, but I know with a little practice, I'll make them perfect.

[EggheadRalph]

Some more pics of the setup. After years of neglecting the Yoder smoker and not treating it the way I probably should have, I built this gazebo just for the Komodo kamado. My space is tight here (8'x8'), so between these three workhorses, I should have all my needs covered.

Additionally, I modified the Napoleon propane grill as well, so I removed one burner and replaced it with an infrared burner that gets over 1000⁰F in 30 seconds. Between that and the Ooni pizza oven, I will never have the need to cook with hot temperatures in this Komodo kamado, and that will preserve the longevity of this beautiful masterpiece.