My Kamado journey (P.S. I love my wife)

  • Well I've been trying to get around to writing this post for three days now (which in itself is a key part of the story... and will no doubt continue to be...I'll come back to this later)

    After many months of procrastinating about buying a Kamado, which type, brand, size etc etc my wife had clearly had enough and went to BBQ galore and ordered me one of these for Christmas (and even talked the guy into giving her the Boxing Day sale price - I love my wife)

    The only problem was they were out of stock and wouldn't have any (new model) until February...until she got a call on Xmas eve saying there was one available (due to a cancelled order)...thank you Santa!!!

    So on Friday this beauty above got delivered but thanks to having two kids under 2 yes it didn't even make it out of the box on Friday then had to wait until late Saturday for a mate to come over and help me lift it out and put it together. Thank god it came 90% assembled otherwise I still be putting it together come next Xmas

    So finally got around to having a playing with it today. Also got a Looftlighter (my new fave toy) which is a great way to get things rolling. Got to play with temps and control, was pretty good, climbed quicker than expected but think that was due to looft (good lesson for next time) but once got that sorted was able to hold at few different spots (only for hour at a time.

    Then couldn't miss the chance to cook something so reverse seared a steak to give the divide and conquer thing a run

    Whilst wasn't a huge success (over cooked - still getting used to the extreme temps when searing) it was such good fun!!

    I'm immediately addicted to the whole thing, already thinking and planning about what's next

    Look forward to sharing the journey with everyone and no doubt asking a thousand questions to you all on here. Already have plenty to ask but will save for another time. Look forward to learning and learning and cooking...and drinking

    P.s. I love my wife

  • Wow, I didn't get the q and I also love your wife.... ;)

    She has given you something great, better cook something great for her :bbq:

    Good score, enjoy.



    Traeger - Weber Family Q - Ziggy Twin Burner - Charcoal Grill - Akorn Kamado - Hark Tri Fire - Jumbuck Pizza Oven - Go Anywhere - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Hibachi Grill - Anova Sous Vide x 2

  • Great story,good to see a picture of a clean cooker! I remember when mine was nice and new hahahahha Your wife will be stoked with your bbq offerings in no time. The Joe will be able to handle so many different dishes. Enjoy the ride :thumbup:

  • Great looking BBQ KC. Looking forward to seeing all the cooks coming off of that.

    In the 6 months or so since i joined the wives/partners are responsible for so many new toys and members on here they almost deserve their own thread.


    Almost. :evil:

  • If your wife ever leaves you, can you please let me know. :D;)

    I'd be careful not letting it get too hot for the first for a few burns by keeping it under 200-250c to let it settle in. I'm not sure if they still recommend that but it used to be 20 hours and it doesn't hurt to stick with that process, just in case.

    With the charcoal and looft method, just light a small section on top of the pile in the middle and shut the lid. Open all vents and keep an eye on it as the temp starts to increase. The fire will burn downwards lighting more charcoal as it goes and rather than flames, you want red hot glowing chunks. Once it gets to around 100c it will start to quicken up so if your target is 200c for example, start closing the top vent down a bit and have the bottom about half open when it hits 150. It will slow down and gradually get to 200. At that point I have the bottom still half way, the top vent in the closed position closed and the top vent wheel about half opeen. It will sit on that temp for hours if you have enough charcoal in the pit, which should be at least 3/4 full anyway. It takes a little time to learn how your kamado handles the temperature but once you have it mastered, you'll be amazed how you can hold it on anyu temp you want. The trick is to take it up slowly as they are almost impossible to get back down if you let it run away to over 300.

    Keep an eye of the small bits of charcoal which collect at the bottom after a couple of cooks. They can block the air holes in the grate so i just sweep them to the sides by hand (with gloves) before lighting. They will burn away but others form as you top up with larger bits so it's an ongoing process.

    Hope you enjoy the new toy, it's a ripper and welcome to the kamado club. :cheers:

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Ripper thanks Gumb - already answered some questions I had - hadn't heard about the keep it under 200 for 20 hours thing (oooops) but will keep in mind, i think the next few cooks (weekend cant come quick enough...im officially back at work today...booooooooooooo) will be low and slow (ribs, pork shoulder etc) so shouldn't be a problem.

    The looft is great - i immediately worked out what i did wrong, mixing two different methods; had read all about how to start it up, but that was using firelighters, so when i lit with looft i didn't shut lid straight away so climber too quick - but still managed to keep it to 200-220 once closed and under control, for about an hour and half, so wasn't too bad. I'm working on the little by little adjustments to get to learn temp control, will no doubt take a while, but im looking forward to the learning as much as the cooking.

    Good tip about the charcoal at the bottom, i do remember reading that previously, problem is ive read soooooo much, especially on this forum its hard to remember it all - buts thats what makes it so good. My wife thinks ive become a BBQ nerd, but im claiming that as a compliment (as we should)

    Kamado Joe Classic II - Hark Gas Smoker - Coolabah 6 Burner - Beefeater Bugg

  • Congrats, my wife did the same. Must be something in the air....

    Did you put the bolts in to hold the legs together? They are easily missed.

    You'll also find yourself eyeing out everything in the pantry/fridge/freezer to se if it can be cooked on the Kamado.

  • You'll also find yourself eyeing out everything in the pantry/fridge/freezer to se if it can be cooked on the Kamado.

    and hardly ever using the kitchen oven anymore

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Hey all

    Well i got around to trying out first low and slow on KJ on saturday. Was moderately successful - well the food was fantastic so i guess quite successful.

    Had a 4.5kg Pork Shoulder, and coincidentally saw other post on saturday about Costco pork butt, so was thinking would need 12-15 hours. Got done in 10, not sure why or how, but end result was juicy, tender, and most flavoursome one we have cooked so far, so cant really complain. I do have a few observations and thus questions (im happy to keep positing these in this thread, but if more appropriate elsewhere, someone please let me know).

    - took a bit of tinkering to get temp right at the start. Once again using the Looft it gets to temp so quick, so with a low temp goal had to really manage it carefully, without closing it off too quick that dies out. Got there in the end. Managed to sit at 130c for 6-7 hours no problems. Really showed me how little you need the vents open to reach and maintain a low temp - really just matchstick width, if not less (i remember @Urban Griller talking about match stick idea at Yaks Perth last year)

    - Was first time ive ever injected a pork shoulder (Anything for that matter) - simple apple juice, garlic, bbq sauce mix - not sure how much impact that had on the end result but seemed to work well. I've never been quite sold on the injecting thing but wanted to give it a go. Dont think I'd inject everything/anything but large shoulders it might be suited.

    - I wrapped at 7 hour mark, had stalled long enough at around 74c). Photo below is just before wrapping). I wrapped in kraft paper (instead of foil) for first time (with a pork shoulder). Wasn't sure as meant i didn't add juice or anything, but seemed to work out fine. Wonder if it helped bark hold? just a thought

    - Do people use a water pan in kamado (on deflectors)? I didn't (to be honest i didn't even think about it, but not sure whether it would have) but not sure whether i should in future.

    - not sure why ( i have a theory) but once i took it out and wrapped, the temp on the KJ wouldn't stop climbing. Not huge increases, but steadily went from 30 to 150/155c over the next 3 hours, not matter what i tried. The wrapping definitely kicked the shoulder past the stall and internal temp climbed to 90 much sooner than i expected - probably cause of higher KJ temp. I have a feeling that in the process of taking it out to wrap and put back it that the extra airflow (albeit briefly) may have sparked the fire a tad more/too much, and wasn't able to slow it after that.

    - it reached 96 a tad before 10 hours, left it another half hour then took it out, wrapped in towels in esky - for about hour and a half before pulling. Apologies for no photo of pulling and finished product, i got caught putting kid to sleep and night was getting away from us (with family over) so wife and sister went ahead and started without me...side note: I've warned them both that i will notify the BBQ police should this occur again.

    So despite the shorter time than expected and the temp issues later in the cook, i nor anyone else could fault the end result. Easily best we've cooked - the flavour of charcoal and smoke combined is unbeatable and unable to be replicated (IMHO)

    - Shut down question: is it simply closing off vents and letting it burn out, or slowly reducing temp then close off. Given it was a low temp already, it wasnt a problem, question is more for higher temp cooking, just conscious of not shutting down/cooling too quick and damaging unit somehow (which ive read)

    - Was amazed but not surprised how little charcoal was used. Topped it up completely and probably too much (struggled to get deflectors on lowest spot) And probably only burnt a qtr of it.

    Finally - how good is the smell of kamado/egg etc. Both the food itself, the cooking process, but the unit itself, even a day later - the wife keeps talking about how good it smells when cooking (compared to old gaser, and gas smoker). Love it

    The addiction continues to grow!!!

    Kamado Joe Classic II - Hark Gas Smoker - Coolabah 6 Burner - Beefeater Bugg

  • Managed to sit at 130c for 6-7 hours no problems.

    That's great, looks like you are getting to master it already.

    - Do people use a water pan in kamado (on deflectors)? I didn't (to be honest i didn't even think about it, but not sure whether it would have) but not sure whether i should in future.

    Not necessary, the ceramic kamados hold moisture like no other so a water pan isn't required.

    hut down question: is it simply closing off vents and letting it burn out, or slowly reducing temp then close off.

    It's a good idea to do it gradually, particularly if it's been at medium to high temperatures. I close the bottom vent completely and leave the wheel open slightly on the top for 15-20 minutes, then shut it down fully. Although, many times I've just shut it down from the time I take out the meat and never had any problems so don't stress if you need to do that for any reason. But in general, gradual is best.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Thanks Gumb, appreciate the ongoing tips. Im really enjoying playing around with it

    Looking forward to trying an overnight cook eventually but want to ensure ive got a good handle on temp management first, with a variety of meats etc.

    Kamado Joe Classic II - Hark Gas Smoker - Coolabah 6 Burner - Beefeater Bugg

  • Welcome to the family !!!

    I fell in love instantly. When I got mine I did exactly what you did. Ripped straight into some steak and sausages then a pork roast. As long as you have your temp under control it’s pretty hard to do get a bad cook.
    One of my biggest take away lessons so far. Cook to temp not time !!
    For your cuts if meat the fattier the cut the longer the cook at a lower temp.

    Can’t wait to read more of your journey.

    Jason.

    Kamado Joe Classic - what a beast

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