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Karolina Komodo

First Cook on Gator!

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Even when calibrated, you will see an offset in the temperatures between the Guru probe (grate level) and TruTel (dome). It's generally about 20F on an indirect cook. 

Looks like you got everything else figured out on the probe port, fan port, etc. Never would have thought to hang the Guru on the side table bolt. 

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First, thanks to you all for your help getting through my first cook.  This forum is awesome.  

The chopped Q was a hit..flavorful, moist, good texture.  Had a few "best I've had" comments.  

As others have suspected, and given the cook took 14hrs, the correct cook temp must have been close to the guru temp of 220.  I did go up to 235-240 after 12 hrs as I was stuck on the stall in the 170s for a long time and needed to get moving.  

Here are some pics, took one butt off the kk before remembering a pic, I was trying to limit time open as one needed 45 min longer than the other.  

Thanks again for the help!

Eric

 

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44 minutes ago, Karolina Komodo said:

Smoke box worked great, looks like it ended up on its side from underlying charcoal burning down.  Top stayed on, maybe the flour paste was worth doing.

If your top isn't snug tight, I highly recommend the flour/water paste seal. While a tad messy to do, works like a charm.

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Yes, I did the same once I was up to temp, thanks.  That reminds me, I notice a bit of smoke escape from the top of the bottom vent control framing.  The pic attached shows it more pronounced after I left the top open once cook was done and got hot and smokey.  Is this normal?  Can I do anything to seal better?  Thanks.

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With the Guru fan running and the top vent clamped down almost closed on a 225F cook, you tend to pressurize the inside of the KK, which can force smoke out around the edges and out your probe port. Since air is leaving and not entering, it doesn't affect your cooking temps at all. 

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I have posted this before, the heat and no room to allow the air to escape is the culprit.  When you close that dome sometimes you may even see that lower damper plate shake as the KK builds pressure upon closing.  

Simple fix is, push all four corners of the lower damper plate and it will seal it up.  You may have some debris behind there now which you may have to wipe down to make a better seal.

 

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Tony and Bosco, that certainly makes sense as it was minimally noticeable before I shut everything down and had the top vent only a few inches from closed during the cook.  I will clear any debris and push the corners as you recommended.

I was able to get to the rest of the clean up today and was impressed how much coco char was left.  Also, I was surprised how much of the wood was left in the smoke pot, I will attach the photo in the next post from my phone.  The meat was had a great smoke flavor so no complaints there.  I was at 225 or so for 14 hrs and that much left...is this what you all have experienced?  As you can see I really packed it in with chips surrounding a few chunks.  

I want to thank you all again for the help on my first cook and the props on how it turned out.  A few of my buddies who were her to see Gator in action are already putting a KK on their wish list.

Eric

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