ckreef Posted July 3, 2015 Report Posted July 3, 2015 A week or two cooking on a KK and your husband will be wondering why you didn't get one sooner. Congratulations.
Elaine Posted July 4, 2015 Report Posted July 4, 2015 New and at kindergarten level when it comes to grilling. This is a totally new experience that I'm looking forward to exploring as I love good food and love to entertain good friends and family. Not a big fan of pork butt though I'm sure it's great ! I first have to tacked the unpacking and understand how the grill functions and know this forum will be very helpful in those areas.
bryan Posted July 4, 2015 Author Report Posted July 4, 2015 If you have any experience with wood stoves you have the knowledge you need. It is just a matter of playing with the top and bottom dampers. They are how you lock in your desired temps. There are many heat control suggestions on site. Then there is always us forum buddies. For super trouble = Dennis Welcome looking foreward to your cooks.
tony b Posted July 4, 2015 Report Posted July 4, 2015 Welcome to the obsession! Trust me, after your first couple of cooks, you'll completely understand what I'm saying! The Forum is a wealth of great info, but don't be afraid to ask any and all questions. That's why the Forum exists - to share this great love of Kamado cooking!!! Don't forget to post pics of the grand unveiling and that all important virgin cook! Since you said that you weren't a fan of pork butt, I'd suggest a whole chicken (intact or spatchcocked, either way). You will be simply amazed at how great it comes out. I think they're the single cook that sets ceramic grills, in general, apart from the rest of the BBQ grill community - charcoal or gas. Have fun with your new toy. Don't be intimidated, just takes a bit of practice to get the hang of adjusting the upper and lower dampers to control the temperature. You'll be very surprised to learn how little they need to be open to reach most cooking temperatures. But, the nice thing about BBQing is that precise temperatures aren't critical to outstanding results. So, if you're off by 25F or so, in either direction, no worries. Biggest mistake rookies make is what I call "chasing the temperature," constantly tweaking the vents open and closed trying to hit an exact temperature. A lot of frustration over nothing. Relax, fire that baby up, have an adult beverage, and get ready for a great adventure!
5698k Posted July 4, 2015 Report Posted July 4, 2015 When you light your first fire, fill the basket with coal, do this every time. Light a small amount, like one or two coals, set your bottom vent about 1/2" open, and top vent about two turns, lid closed. As your temp starts to approach desired temp, start closing the top. There are many techniques to do this, you may develop your own, but this is a start. Primarily, newbies often light too much coal to start, and it's difficult to impossible to bring a temp down. Robert
tony b Posted July 4, 2015 Report Posted July 4, 2015 Great advice from Robert, It's super easy to hold temperature in a KK, but really hard to bring it back down, if you overshoot too far.
Elaine Posted July 4, 2015 Report Posted July 4, 2015 Thanx to all of you for your encouragement and helpful hints...... Much appreciated! Elaine
tinyfish Posted July 5, 2015 Report Posted July 5, 2015 Elaine welcome and tasty food will soon come your way. I have only cooked a handful of times on my KK but its far superior to my BGE and Kamado Joe they are good but their not in the same league. There is so much insulation that the dome barely gets warm, you can rest your hands on the dome as long as you like.
tony b Posted July 5, 2015 Report Posted July 5, 2015 Just a word of caution. What Tinyfish says is true - for lower temperature cooks. If you crank the dome temperature up over 400F, the outside of the dome WILL get hot after it heat soaks (>30 minutes). I did tandoori chicken on Friday at a dome temperature of 550F. Trust me, the outside of the dome was damned hot!!
Elaine Posted July 5, 2015 Report Posted July 5, 2015 Wow! Tandoori chicken is a favourite and would be a great treat. Look forward to being able to tackle it one day Tnx for the hint about the dome getting very hot at a high temp.
tony b Posted July 6, 2015 Report Posted July 6, 2015 Nothing particularly tricky about making tandoori chicken, other than it cooks at a higher temp than you'd normally roast chicken at (550F vs 375F), so it cooks faster (20 minutes vs an hour). Good posts in the Chicken section of the Forum. Don't be afraid to jump into the deep end of the pool!
Firemonkey Posted July 15, 2015 Report Posted July 15, 2015 Would like to hear from Firemonkey, mguerra, LarryR, Slu, etc.
