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.

[jonj]

Very nice setup!

[EggheadRalph]

On 10/23/2025 at 7:42 AM, Tyrus said:

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. 

Thanks @Tyrus I appreciate that. I thought of cool names to name it, but nothing stuck. I remember reading a forum article here years ago about how a guy named his KK "Puff" for the dragon, and that's always stuck with me. However, all of the dragon names seem like too much and unrelatable so instead, I've decided to refer to it as "The Forge." I think that's pretty badass/medieval sounding as well, and very fitting for me as I have 3 different flamethrowers and tend to cook with 900°+ high temperatures on my other grills. Now I just gotta get a sign that says "The Forge" to place above it.  Thank you very much for the inspiration! Love it!!

One question. If I want to speed up the process to get to 225°, and I leave all of the vents open, at what temperature should I start closing the vents off to be safe? 140°? Last time I overshot it, I was around 160°-180° or so (I wasn't paying too much attention) before I closed it off to 1/4 turn + 3rd hole open at the bottom and I landed at 250°. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who does this expedited airflow process to get to starting temps, and I know that these KKs heat soak like no other. Thanks in advance.

[tony b]

If I'm trying to get going a bit quicker than usual, I'll open up the top more until I'm about 100F below target. Then set the vent for the target. 

Like you experienced, if you get too close to your target before you close down, you will likely overshoot a bit. No worries. As we've said +/- 50F is nothing to fret about. 

Happy cooking! 

[EggheadRalph]

100° below target! Perfect. Thank you very much @tony b. I really appreciate it. Perfect starting point for me. 

I just ordered another temperature probe for my Fireboard so I'll be able to really gauge temps at main grate and lower grate areas as I've read they can really differ. I may have to get some ribeyes now for this weekend.   

[C6Bill]

Please don't overthink it, you start putting probes in different places you will drive yourself crazy. And by doing so you will stop enjoying the cooking and the outcome. We have seen that happen before. 

[wrandyr]

I enjoy overthinking! (Plus I can't help doing it.)

[Tyrus]

I have a 23 Ralph like Toney has so it might be different considering the acreage difference.  Sometime I'm in a hurry so I open the vents up quite a bit and get the coals rockin, then I shut the vents to my general running temp of 250 and let it heat soak and settle in. I'm thinking it's around 200, works for me if I don't get distracted. After a few times you'll just know where the runway is and you'll be cruising. Nice backyard outpost, enjoy your new toy.