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32 Big Bad Setup

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I'm sure it exists, but I'm currently unable to search the forum effectively.  I keep getting error messages telling me I have to wait some random number of seconds before I can conduct another search.  Or if a search goes through, I then can't jump deep into a thread, etc.

I'm looking for pictures of the various ways to configure the 32, where the heat deflectors all go, setup for various multi-zone cooking etc. etc.  I think I have it all figured out, but I'd like to check my work and intuition.

Can anyone point me directly to a thread?

Thanks!

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Forgive me, I'm a newby and just got my 32" KK uncrated and unpacked yesterday. The unit comes with what appears to be a smaller, rounded set of heat deflectors...(see picture). So I kind of get where the larger squared off heat deflectors go over the fuel basket: how does one use these? Where do they go?

Thanks, Jim (Denver)

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No worries about asking questions, as that's the primary purpose of this Forum - to share knowledge and cooking experiences. Ask away! 

Most of us don't use the big ceramic heat deflectors at all anymore. It really slows down heating up the grill, for not a lot of noticeable benefits. We use either a drip pan or just some aluminum foil on the lower grate to do indirect cooking. If you're so inclined to use yours, they normally sit on the handles of the charcoal basket - at least the single one in the 23" grill does (not sure about the 32" being 2 pieces like that?) You can also put it on the lower grate as well. 

BTW - seeing pictures of you new KK are typically the "price" we charge for such advice! 

Edited by tony b
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Well thank you very much- so here's a picture of my metallic bronze 32" as I was still finishing the setup. I hadn't added the teak side tables or the dome unit at this point. Speaking of the teak side tables, this little wire contraption came as part of the side table setup and I have no idea what it is...help?

Jim

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Your KK looks beautiful, love that tile colour. Just wait until you cook on it, the taste is going to move to the next level. :smt060 I don't have that bracket but I think it might be for hanging  tools, some one with a 32 and that bracket will chime in and then we will know for sure what it is. :) 

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The little wire assembly came as part of the teak sidetable setup....so far, though, I haven't figured out what it's for or where it goes.

BTW, I'd like to say: this is not my first Kamado smoker. It IS my first Kamado-Komodo: the other one I owned for 12 years in Salt Lake and was made by and purchased from one of the early generation of Kamado smoker manufacturers, a family-owned business that will go otherwise unnamed. I had their #7: big but not as big as my 32", and not nearly the cooking capacity of the 32". But what I would like to say is that the build quality of the Kamado-Komodo is head and shoulders above anything else I've seen: really, think of this as hospital-grade or military-grade manufacture. I am SUPER impressed. When I was unpacking, the darn grill grate must weigh 15-20 pounds each. WOW. And the customer service from Dennis and company could not be better. I can't wait to start using my 32" next weekend (it is snowing and going down to teens-twenties here in Denver for most of the week starting today (Saturday). Am weighing the virtues of pulled pork (shoulder) versus my go-to staple, babyback ribs. ( Does everyone else use the 2/1/1 formula for babybacks?

Jim

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18 hours ago, BARDSLJR said:

BTW, I'd like to say: this is not my first Kamado smoker. It IS my first Kamado-Komodo: the other one I owned for 12 years in Salt Lake and was made by and purchased from one of the early generation of Kamado smoker manufacturers, a family-owned business that will go otherwise unnamed. I had their #7: big but not as big as my 32", and not nearly the cooking capacity of the 32".

I can't wait to start using my 32" next weekend (it is snowing and going down to teens-twenties here in Denver for most of the week starting today (Saturday). Am weighing the virtues of pulled pork (shoulder) versus my go-to staple, babyback ribs. ( Does everyone else use the 2/1/1 formula for babybacks?

Jim

So, you owned a POSK, too. Several of us here were previous owners. I had a #7, too. You have definitely UPGRADED! Welcome!

Jump right in. I'd be cooking on mine tonight if it were in the twenties here (the windchill is Minus 20F today!) I cold smoked some pork chops for 5 1/2 hours on Friday with temps in the mid-20s. I don't know how you're going to hold back for a week now that you've unpacked it and see what a beauty it is??

Not a big fan of 2-1-1 ribs, personally. I don't like to wrap them at all and I'm a dry vs wet guy, as well. But, do what you do. You'll love the results. And, again, Pictures! We want to see this beauty in action.

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I am not sure what POSK is....the "K" being "Kamado", I guess, but the rest...?

The 2/1/1 method works perfectly for me doing babybacks. I try to get the dry rub on them the night before or at least enough hours before that it sinks into the meat. As an aside, when I first got the recipe off one of the internet barbecue forums, it was 2/2/1. I tried it twice and my ribs were coming out about the texture of toothpaste. I wrote back in to the folks I had gotten the method from: "What am I doing wrong?"....the reply came back: "Aw, man, that is the recipe for ST LOUIS style ribs....for babybacks , it's 2/1/1!" It's worked for me ever since, keeping the temp between 225 and 250, and keeping a pan of water in the smoker to keep the humidity up.

BTW, the old Kamado smoker was not going to make the move to Denver from Salt Lake- after ten years out in the weather without a cover it had begun to spit off tiles and the top hat was cracked- so when I got to Denver I bought a 72" Lang hybrid reverse-flow stick burner. After 18 months I decided the amount of supervision required for the stick-burner (which otherwise worked great) was just too much and it was time to go back to a Kamado-style smoker.(Doing an eight or fourteen hour smoke for pulled pork or brisket was just a ridiculous investment of time and effort) I took a bath on selling the Lang (which, BTW, was really well made) and then when I considered all the other options, the only one that made sense, despite the expense, was the Kamado-Komodo. No regrets at all- the build quality is amazing and Dennis seems to have made several engineering improvements over the early generation models of other brands. Really can't wait to use it.

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POSK = Piece of Sh!t Kamado. I'm shocked yours lasted as long as it did. Notorious for shedding tiles and cracking, especially the later ones made in Mexico. Mine was one of the first made in Indonesia, so it held up longer than most. 

If that rib technique works for you, go for it. But, you won't need a water pan on a KK. That's one of the things that sets it apart from other kamado style smoker/grills, it's moisture retention. I promise you, it will make the juiciest whole chicken you've ever cooked without any effort at all - no brining, no water pan, and PLEASE, no "beer cans." 

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I must have gotten one of the ones made in Indonesia. I know after I bought mine, about a year later, they opened up manufacturing in Mexico, and mine had shipped from Davis (Ca.), and I had always just assumed it was made there.

Yes, I know the beer-can chicken thing is an absolute myth. "Meathead- the Art and Science of Grilling and Barbecue" has been my bible for a while now. He does a great job of de-mystifying and de-mythologizing a lot of cooking superstitions.

Am very interested to learn how this Kamado-Komodo works differently from my old one. It will be warm enough this weekend (for me, not for the smoker) to fire it up. I just have to decide what to cook.

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4 hours ago, BARDSLJR said:

Oops...that's "Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling"....HIGHLY recommended.

 

Great book. I'm a regular over in "The Pit" at Amazing Ribs as well. Yeah, it costs money, but that just helps keep the riff-raff away. Worth the small fee, in my opinion.

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