Thoughts on a Primo XL Oval

[Spinaker]

YES!!!!!!!! And you got the big table!!!!

[jpietrantone]

jfmorris very interesting! By deconstructing, I'm guessing you "quartered" the turkey? I hadn't thought of that but it makes a ton of sense.

[jfmorris]

jpietrantone last year I did a rotisserie turkey on the Weber kettle and it was top notch. The year before that I deconstructed two turkeys, and smoked them at 350. The year before that I spatchcocked two turkeys. I think if you have the room and are not averse to doing some butchering, the deconstructed turkey was the best, as each piece was cooked to the perfect temperature.

[jpietrantone]

jfmorris I love that idea! Unfortunately, my mother in law was diagnosed with alpha gal, so she can't have beef, pork, lamb (any hoofed meat). So, I believe it will be the standard turkey. Just don't know if I will fry it or smoke it hot and fast.

[jfmorris]

jpietrantone I think brisket would make a great alternative for Thanksgiving! I'm seriously considering it anyway...

[jpietrantone]

jfmorris yes, you are correct. Adding fuel shouldn't be much of a problem other than removing the cooking grate. That is awesome on the brisket! I have 2 briskets in the freezer and need to cook at least one before getting our half cow from the processor in early December.

[jfmorris]

Are you pushing the ceramic diffuser against the back wall of the kamado, or is that just an illusion from the angle the pictures were shot? I would think you would want to center the diffuser, so that heat comes up all around, with the food in the center of the grate over the diffuser.

[jfmorris]

jpietrantone I literally fill the bottom of the kamado with lump and light a starter cube in one spot for doing long brisket cooks, and have yet to run out of fuel - and the last brisket was 21 pounds! I think you'll be good for just about any cook without refueling. Even if you had to, with that split plate-setter (diffuser) on the Primo, I imagine you could lift it out with some heat proof gloves and refuel from just one side.

[jpietrantone]

jfmorris thank you sir! Yes, I have a dry run with B&B lump now. That is awesome fuel efficiency! I was a little concerned about adding more fuel but that's not likely to ever be a problem.

[jfmorris]

jpietrantone Great buy! I'm late to the game, but would have urged you to get it. I love my SNS Deluxe Kamado. I've only used my Weber Performer a few times this year - to use the rotisserie and the vortex. The rest of the time I've been using the kamado. I've found that once you learn the "kamado way" and learn the vent settings to get the temps you want, that it is rock solid, and I've not even bought an adapter to use my fan controller on it - and I'm 10 months into kamado ownership!

I've found that the best readily available lump charcoal here in North Alabama is B&B lump, available at Academy sporting goods stores. Lowe's also carries it, but its actually cheaper at Academy. I am sure you have one up there in Tennessee somewhere nearby. At $12.99 for a 20 pound bag, its a good deal. I've found the kamado will run for 18+ hours on about 10 pounds of lump, and still have a little left to burn when I shut it down. For many cooks, I run it, shut the vents, then relight the same charcoal for the next cook, after stirring it to get the ash to drop below the cast iron grate. After a few cooks, I'll remove the cast iron grate in the bottom and scoop out the ash that has built up down there.

[STEbbq]

It is a learning curve so don’t expect to be perfect !

[jpietrantone]

STEbbq thanks! So yeah, I'm an idiot. Got too scared about runaway temps and not using some common sense. I added more coal and left the dome open and all vents for 5 minutes. Just closed the dome but left the vents the same. Thanks for getting me back on track.

[STEbbq]

I would run with a full load of lump (ideally) for sure. Your vents look like a good starting point for maybe 250 or so but the start-up process is critical for getting there. I did one firestarter for five minutes with everything full open (including lid) and then start tapering back at around 175 or so if 250 is the goal

[jpietrantone]

efincoop thanks for the suggestion. I should have been more specific. I was asking if some of the komado users could help with if I had too much coal/not enough and on the vent settings.

[efincoop]

I'm fan of Jealous Devil. If you can't find it locally, you can get it on Amazon. I buy the regular (not the XL) sized pieces. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...e?ie=UTF8&th=1