CeramicChef Very good write and procedure. I know i learned how to manage temps on my kamado purely by trial and error and starting here would have certainly made getting basic, necessary experience with my cooker go much faster. IN addition to that it is very educational to start your cooker this way. Well done.
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CeramicChef ​
Breadhead
​Another great write up. I copy and pasted these posts to my phone so I can always have them when I am doing a cook. I can't thank you fellas enough for putting this together. Although I have been a Kamado cooker for 4 years now, y'all have helped me to improve my K-game more in the last month, than I have in the past 48.
Thanks again Gents!Comment
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Good move Spinaker ... There's lots of advantages to having that basket I think. It's really a knock off of the basket in the Komodo Kamado's I think. Have you tried both Amazon & the Kick Ash Basket's websites? I bought mine from the maker. With freight it was a little cheaper.
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SoonerBQuer - Thanks for those kind words. Trial and Error is a harsh teacher. Sorry you had to go through all that. as for starting the kamado, I'm glad you found that instructive. There's much more to come.Comment
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I had 8 year of Kamado cooking to tailor my craft, so i enjoy the learning experience
. I used a homemade barrel grill, for the previous 10 years, so the Grill Dome was a nice addition and welcome change.
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8 years... You have more experience than me. I just stumbled through it learning little nuggets of wisdom here and there. If I would have had a website with the info that CeramicChef is posting my learning curve would have been greatly reduced.Last edited by Breadhead; June 13, 2016, 10:53 AM. -
SoonerBQuer - wow … 8 years! Jump on in and give us your considerable expertise. We look forward to it!
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I couldn't agree more. This sort of knowledge would have given so much of a better head start. Still helpful to be honest.Comment
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SoonerBQuer - I got very lucky in that my Kamado Mentor passed on to me everything he knew about kamado cooking. It was like try to sip water from a firehouse. The man forgot more than I ever knew.
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Thanks Breadhead I have done a few of those all night cooks on my Traegers and slept very well in the process but I just want more smoke flavor than the Traeger can deliver, that is the reason I got the Lang and it does deliver that in spades but the tending the fire sometimes get tiresome and if you do a long cook like a pork butt you are going to loose some sleep.Last edited by vandy; June 13, 2016, 12:18 PM.Comment
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If..... I didn't value my beauty sleep so much I would buy a KBQ today! However my bed ALWAYS wins that argument.😡
Us Kamado smokers can put on enough smoke it will be so bitter you can't eat it. There will be a thread soon about how to achieve that in any Kamado cooker by CeramicChef .Last edited by Breadhead; June 13, 2016, 11:57 AM.
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CeramicChef thanks for this post. Running through the start of this really showed me that my brand new Broil King Keg 5000 leaks like an absolute sieve. It was getting maddening trying to figure out the bipolar behaviour of my cooker.Comment
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dajoker - I hope this helped. That Keg of yours is an impressive cooker; good luck with it. What kinds of problems were you having?
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CeramicChef When I tried to start my run, I set the top and bottom to 1. That's barely cracked on both. I shut it down when the temp climbed over 300F. I lit another fire and tried the bottom fully closed and the top barely cracked. Again I shut it down when it reached 300F. This time I threw a hand full of wood chips in before I shut it down and watched the smoke billow out of the built in ash container. An examination of the ash box showed a bit of a design flaw. I threw a stainless steel washer in to prop up the ash container to get a good seal and the unit became very controllable. Just waiting for the weather to improve to do a full run.Comment
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dajoker - throwing in those wood chips is the smartest thing you could have done. It showed you where your leaks were. Seal up those leaks and you should be good to go! Remember to always couple air flow control with both vents, not just one.
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CeramicChef I tried this procedure on my WSCG and have found it much easier to control temperatures as I can now "dial" them in with vent settings. I am no longer chasing the temps up and then back down (well maybe a little, but it's in +/- 15 degree range, not +/- 100).
Thanks for for your great advice!Comment
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dajoker
***I didn't realize this was an old post, when I wrote it. So maybe you already have the information I listed. But others might find it helpful too.
I know where your coming from. I got my Keg three years ago and was having similar issues when I got mine. But once you get these issues solved, you will love the Keg for its performance, mobility and durability. It might not seem like it now, but you will. I have also included a section for you on certain things that I think are essential to making your experience more enjoyable or at least make the learning curve a little straighter.
When you start with the Keg. Fill the bowl up with lump just as you would with a Green Egg or any ceramic. (don't listen to BKK's directions here) Light a small fire in one spot of the Keg. I use a torch that works great. I have the vents all the way open while lighting. Then let it run for about 10 mins, lid open and the bottom vent all the way open. Then close the lid and damp it down to 3 on the top and half way open on the bottom. Then I add my heat CERAMIC diffuser and the grate. Wait another 10 mins. Once the dial is reading about 200 F start to choke it back to slow it down. I leave the top vent at about 1.5 and the bottom vent at about 1/2 inch. I like to let it heat soak for about 30 mins. Then I take the grate out, then the diffuser and I place the smoking wood into the bowl. I use a single piece of oak or cherry. The small log is about the size of a beer can. I put it right over where the small fire is located so it will start to smoke right away. It will also burn HOT right out of the gate. It wont smolder and then light. This is all the smoke you need. Meat soaks up the most smoke during the first two hours of the cook. This lighting procedure should help you. I did a 9+ hour cook this past weekend with out touching the dampers the whole cook. I put the food on, and close the lid.The only time I opened it was to check the meat temp every 2 hours. She runs smooth as can be, right at 250 F. Follow the directions through out this thread as well as my suggestions and you will have it down in no time. However, the next thing we need to address is accessories to really step up the game.
I know what your thinking, didn't I just spend a bunch of money on a cooker? Why do I have to buy more crap? The answer is, you just have too. Your rig will run okay the way it is, but getting a few accessories will help address some of your issues and make cooking much more enjoyable, which is what we are after.
One thing to remember, the BKK is the same size as the Large Green Egg. Green Egg makes much better accessories than does Broil King. (Something Broil King really needs to address!!!)
First, I would suggest you get a new gasket. The stock "oven" gasket does not do a good enough job in sealing the Keg, in my opinion. So it must be replaced. Just get a pair of pliers and remove it from both the lid and base of the Keg. That is what I have done and it makes a huge difference. There are a lot of good options out there for gaskets. I used Lava Lock. Get the same one that is recommended for the Large Green Egg. It comes with directions and only takes 24 hours to set and it. Link is below.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Second, I would highly recommend a Ceramic heat diffuser. The heat diffuser that Broil King sells is a huge joke. Laughable, in fact when you see other options. Don't buy it. It doesn't work well and it does little to help level out temps. All it really does is turn the Keg into a steam bath. The water pan is not the way you want to go in a Kamado. There is already plenty of moisture saved in the chamber once the Keg is sealed up. The Big Green Egg version Ceramic diffuser is what I use. I picked it up on Craig's list for $40, but brand new, they are over $100. You can buy a knock off on Amazon for about $80. A friend of mine is using this for his Keg and it work great. This will really help to level out your temps. A dense thermal mass in between the fire and the food is exactly what you need. You do not get this with the "diffuser kit" that Broil King sells you. This has been the biggest game changer for me. Link is below
https://www.amazon.com/LavaLock®-Bra...heat+deflector
Third, The Kick Ash Basket. The basket allows you to really pile up the lump in the cooker, which allows you to do those 12 + hour cooks when you need to and not have to worry about adding more fuel. It also allows for much better air flow to the charcoal. When your done just take the basket out, shake it to get the ash off, put it back in the cooker and your good to go again. To use it in the Keg, simply remove the cast iron trivet at the bottom of the bowl and replace it with the basket. (Keep the trivet, its a cool table piece for hot dishes) Once you do this, you will be getting much better airflow to your fuel, and you wont have to worry as much about ash plugging the holes on the trivet or the fire bowl holes themselves. Link is below.
There are a lot of accessories out there for Kamados. These are the options that I feel have made the biggest difference in the performance of my BKK. I am positive that if you make the investment in these accessories, your cooking experience and results will be much better than what you have been experiencing. Remember, BBQ takes time to get right. Your not going to be cranking out unbelievable brisket and ribs your first weekend. Each cooker has its own little quirks, and those need to be ironed out. This list I have given you above, should help that ironing process. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am a happy Keg owner and I would like to see the community grow. If I can be of any help, I am certainly willing. This is a great thread for information concerning Kamados, and CeramicChef and Breadhead are our resident PHDs when it comes to Kamado cooking in general. They are great guys and have always found them to be great resources. I hope this helps! Good Luck!!Last edited by Spinaker; August 29, 2016, 01:16 PM.Comment
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I had a lesson in humility this morning.
I am smoking a few butts for a family friend today. His wife just had a baby so I am gonna help out with dinner. I got everything set up last night. Ash basket shook out, ash try cleaned, grates oiled etc. Everything was all ready to go in the morning. I had the butt seasoned and salted, so All I had to do was fire up the keg, put the meat on the Keg and then go back to bed. Well......it didn't go that way.
I got up this morning and then I realized that I didn't have my torch to light my fire. Ceramic Chef tells us to light a SMALL hot fire on one side of your lump pile......tough to do with out a torch.
I made a little hole in the lump pile for some lit coals to be dumped. So I grabbed my chimney and gave it ago. I got a small bit of coals going and put hem in the loaded Ash basket once they were red hot. Everything appeared to be going okay. But I dumped in too many coals and the fire got away from me. AND FAST!!!! So the Keg was up too about 375 F before I knew it. Usually I can dial the KEG in with in a 10 degrees, if not, I get it right on the money. Man, this was frustrating. And we all know that its like stopping a freight train when Kamados start to roll!!
I waited for about 45 mins to get the temp down but I was really pressed for time so I had to settle with the butt going on at 330 F. The final running temp was about 325 F. I just could not get the temp to drop.
I felt like I had gone back to square one. This was one of the more frustrating cooks that I have had in a long time.
I think I was just getting complacent. Sloppy set up, sloppy start. Unprepared. Next time will be better.
*Not all was lost, I ended up getting a new torch!!!Comment
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Anyone heard from CeramicChef lately?Comment
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