Wider Charcoal Basket insert (for grilling only)

[inacoma]

I'm not sure if this has been suggested yet, but it would be cool to have a nice wide Charcoal basket that would fit between the lower grate and the top lip of the firebox. Actually, if it could sit on the Firefox that might be ideal, and cheap to mfg (not much engineering). If we wanted to get fancy with the engineering, one could make the basket adjustable while the coals were still HOT!

This could allow quick/hot grilling (not smoking, not super hot searing) on the entire surface of either of the two upper grills. Right now, due to the basket being centered, you don't get great temp distribution when filling the grill up with brats, hot dogs, burgers, skirt steak. Again, I can't emphasize that this is for GRILLING (and with the lid open).

You COULD fill the entire bottom bowl up with charcoal up to the firebox upper lip, but that's a lot of charcoal that is wasted (even after shutting down all the dampers post cook). With open lid cooking, this tends to get that firebox pretty damn hot!

...just a thought. It's simple enough that if I get some time I might go grab some steel and break out the ol' plasma cutter.

kumar

[inacoma]

Maybe there's already a work around

Was looking through the posts and found this:

http://www.komodokamado.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2354

I haven't received my sear grill yet (Dennis is kindly sending me one ...but it looks like if you flip the sear grill, then it provides a new platform for charcoal (again, for grilling and utilizing more hot space on the mid or upper grill)

Kumar

[inacoma]

Possible solution

Went to Lowes and bought a Weber 22.5" Charcoal Grate. It fits on top of the charcoal basket handles pretty nicely. I loaded the new grate up with lump and had a nice big flat (and even) grilling area...I'm still looking forward to the upper/sear grill that Dennis is sending me, but this works as a decent solution (for around 10 bucks at Lowes) in the mean time

[cruzmisl]

I don't get it. Are you putting the coals on top of the Weber grate and then your food on the standard upper grate?

[inacoma]

Yes, putting the coals on the weber "coal" grate and using the factory lower grate for quick grilling. This brings the food closer to the coals and I get a wider grilling platform (even heat) due to the spread of charcoal the new grate allows for. When grill I tend to grill a lot of things...and I want flame under all of it. with the stock firebox, there's a lot of flame concentration in the center and not much at the edges.

I'm doing sausage and veggies right now, it's working great. Did a bunch of skirt steak the other day, also worked very nicely.

[primeats]

I just over fill the charcoal baskets up to the top of the handles and I'm grilling at over 500 degrees in less than 20 minutes. A whole grate full of ribeyes(on my Facebook site) .

[primeats]

I just over fill the charcoal baskets up to the top of the handles and I'm grilling at over 500 degrees in less than 20 minutes. A whole grate full of ribeyes http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=9 ... 1490303216 This was after flipping them after 3 minutes. Crappy droid camera at night! Very hungry crowd after the St. Paddy's Day parade in Chicago, they were gone almost before I could sit down! That fire would have gotten to over 700 very quickly, but with ribeyes it could have been a problem, my judgement after all day may have been compromised! Oh well I fell off the wagon for a day...or two. Back to Lenten promises again.

[DennisLinkletter]

Please keep your charcoal inside the firebox

Please keep your charcoal inside the firebox.. The firebox is designed for the extreme high temps that charcoal gives off.. If you want to put something inside the basket that's fine but please keep it all inside the firebox.

[DennisLinkletter]

Please keep your charcoal inside the firebox

Please keep your charcoal inside the firebox.. The firebox is designed for the extreme high temps that charcoal gives off..

Put your charcoal inside the basket and grill on that webber gill.. That should be plenty hot..

[primeats]

You get more than enough heat for searing with a full basket, even mine when overflowing was well within the fire ring,thingy. (It's Sunday, brain is really slow for some reason...coffee,coffee!)

[inacoma]

...I replied individually to the other posts.

[inacoma]

I just over fill the charcoal baskets up to the top of the handles and I'm grilling at over 500 degrees in less than 20 minutes. A whole grate full of ribeyes(on my Facebook site) .

I don't want to be that hot

[inacoma]

I just over fill the charcoal baskets up to the top of the handles and I'm grilling at over 500 degrees in less than 20 minutes. A whole grate full of ribeyes http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=9 ... 1490303216 This was after flipping them after 3 minutes. Crappy droid camera at night! Very hungry crowd after the St. Paddy's Day parade in Chicago' date=' they were gone almost before I could sit down! That fire would have gotten to over 700 very quickly, but with ribeyes it could have been a problem, my judgement after all day may have been compromised! Oh well I fell off the wagon for a day...or two. Back to Lenten promises again.[/quote']

You'll notice that the grill marks are awesome in the middle section of your grilled steaks...but the outer steaks do not have the same appearance (I'm sure they tasted good). I know I can move the steaks around the gril, but then you start to get mish-mash grill pattern on the steak (yes, appearance is something sometimes

kumar

[inacoma]

Re: Please keep your charcoal inside the firebox

Please keep your charcoal inside the firebox.. The firebox is designed for the extreme high temps that charcoal gives off.. If you want to put something inside the basket that's fine but please keep it all inside the firebox.

I don't plan on going super high temperature. the dome temperature never gets past 300 (tested it closed, even though the cooks will be open lid)...this is with all the dampers opened. I also keep one layer of coals on the weber grate and I don't let it touch the sides of the cooker.

PS...you'll notice I deleted one of my posts...I decided to quote posts and reply

Kumar

[primeats]

Good eye, poor lighting! the two nearer steaks were cut thinner(not by me...I'll have a talk with my butcher later-supposed to be 1 1/4" . Most were only 1" those two maybe 3/4". creative grilling on my part. Every grill has it's own hot/cooler spots, mine is toward the rear. When you look at the surface of the fire I would guess the temp at the source is much higher than the dome temp.There is a discussion either here or at the NakedWhiz's site on charcoal temps at the cooking surface. When in doubt, follow the manufacturers warranted instructions. When I was done, the outside of the cooker was actually cold to the touch,even at the firebox level. I just closed her up tight and this morning, about 3/4 of the firebox is full of unburned lump.

[jdbower]

Re: Please keep your charcoal inside the firebox

I don't plan on going super high temperature. the dome temperature never gets past 300

The dome temperature isn't what worries me, it's the temperature of the charcoal itself. When my dome temperature is at 300 I know the pit temperature is much, much higher. Since the firebox is designed to absorb and deal with all that heat I'm not concerned, but the internal walls of the cooker itself aren't. I would be far too nervous about the temperature at the exposed walls than the temperature at the dome.

[cruzmisl]

Honestly I've NEVER used the sear grill and find the heat at the upper grill is quite even (in temps)There are are hotter areas and the "hot spots" will move around depending on how the charcoal is burning.

Having said that I see no reason to pull the coal higher into the cooker.

If I need high heat for steaks I will light a single layer of lump on the bottom of my basket. Once they're red hot I'll pile on more coals and pull the damper door out about an inch. This really allows a lot of airflow and temps will climb rapidly. If I used that technique with sear grill my steaks would look like meteors and be raw on the inside.

In summary, if the coals are lit evenly the heat at the grill will be even. Surely there will be hot spots but no grill is perfectly even.

[inacoma]

Honestly I've NEVER used the sear grill and find the heat at the upper grill is quite even (in temps)There are are hotter areas and the "hot spots" will move around depending on how the charcoal is burning.

Having said that I see no reason to pull the coal higher into the cooker.

If I need high heat for steaks I will light a single layer of lump on the bottom of my basket. Once they're red hot I'll pile on more coals and pull the damper door out about an inch. This really allows a lot of airflow and temps will climb rapidly. If I used that technique with sear grill my steaks would look like meteors and be raw on the inside.

In summary, if the coals are lit evenly the heat at the grill will be even. Surely there will be hot spots but no grill is perfectly even.

Point taken I will experiment some more without my grate...don't want to upset the MFG!!!

Kumar

[DennisLinkletter]

never been called the manufacturer!

Point taken I will experiment some more without my grate...don't want to upset the MFG!!!

Kumar

Yeowch.. never been called the manufacturer! The walls are just 3/4" of dense refractory hot face compared to more than 21/2" firebox which can expand and contract freely up to 1,500º in the charcoal.. The done temp is a far cry from the actual heat down in the raging charcoal.

[JeffB]

I have to sympathize with the issue inacoma is trying to solve. The KK is a low-n-slow machine out of the box but grilling has presented me with some issues. I would love to use the main grill because it has the most capacity and the most even heat, but I have never been able to get a sear mark on that grill. So I typically use the lower grill for things like steaks and chicken breasts. However, even with a raging fire I have problems getting sear marks on food on the outer edges of the lower grill. To me it makes sense because the firebox pushes the fire a couple inches in from the sides. So, you ultimately have to move food around and juggle which one has been over high heat and which hasn't which is a pain. Ideally, I would have two grills, one set up for sear and the other low heat but that is just wishful thinking on my part.

Are there techniques that people use to get sears marks on the main grill? When doing grilling with the lower grill I normally load up the basket with charcoal up to nearly the lip of the firebox. Then I light the coals in 6-8 different places using a propane weed burner and pull out the damper doors an inch or so. I usually give the fire 15-30 minutes to really get going and heat up the grill surface. I guess I could do the same thing with the main grill and just give the fire longer to heat things up but I would rather not waste fuel if I don't have to. My favorite part of the KK is the fact that you can shut it down and still have tons of fuel left for the next cook.