Tips for a Kamado University freshman (just graduated from Kettle High)

-- Is a heat deflector a must for low 'n' slow? (my experience tells me even if I can smoke slow without it, I should buck up and get it to maximize capacity on the grate above)

Required? probably not...but I would recommend it

-- Low & slow Kamado cooks -- water pan or no? ( The only thing making me think twice is the potential for a spill, which I've learned could lead to crack in the porous ceramic firebox)

IMO, kamados are already low airflow, high humidity environments on low and slow - water unnecessary. i sometimes put a foil pan underneath to catch drippings, set on top of the diffusers

-- Low and slow Kamado cooks -- wood chips/chunks or no? (Again experience tells me "of course" but my research on kamados also indicates that wood ash could promote airflow issues on a long smoke)

I use chips dispersed modestly and evenly throughout the charcoal basin. With chunks, I feel like there's more smoldering in such a low-airflow environment, which produces results I don't care for. Also, the way that the fire burns so slowly in a kamado, it could be hours before the burning charcoal hits another chunk. With chips, I get a clean and complete burn with a better smoke profile, and it's more constant and predictable.

I have an Egg I use a deflector, do not use a water pan Ceramics are pretty good with keeping moisture and maintaining tem and I get chunks of wood from my hardware A lot will use a Guru to maintain pit temp and monitor food temp You can also after you play around with it set and forget Congrats You will love this
I use lump When building your fire put large pieces of lump in the bottom then smaller pieces to cover the gaps and vent holes to promote airflow then smaller pieces when you work up to the top Monitor your temps in the beginning as you don't want to overshoot it as ceramic grills come back down in temp slowly Check the naked Whiz ceramic cooking

1. I would use a heat deflector of some sort. I like to have a barrier between the meat and lit coals. Even in the largest kamados the food is still relatively close to the heat source. I have seen people just use foil. I have ceramic D Plates with my Primo and like them. An aftermarket pizza stone would do just fine here.

2. There is no need for a water pan in a kamado style cooker at all.

3. I don't like using large wood chunks. Small chunks around 2" x 2" seem to work best. I only put 4 or 5 in the cooker for a long cook. Less is better. I imagine you could use chips if you like. I prefer small chunks though. No issues with ash from wood chunks.

Tips:

1. Do not use charcoal lighter fluid. Frontier brand tumbleweeds are my favorite way to start a fire. You can also buy the starter cubes on amazon. The primo and BGE brands are unnecessarily expensive so search out the off brand. Just as good

2. when setting temperature, start gradually reducing airflow on our intake when you are about 50 degrees from our desired temperature. That leads to more stable temps

3. when running high temps, be very careful when opening the lid. Don't just throw the lid open unless you enjoy burning yourself. Open the lid slightly (about an inch) to allow some air in the pit for a 5-10 seconds, then slowly open. A good pair of welders gloves are handy to have. A kamado can get as hot as the backdoor to hell.

4. I have found that the perfect temp for your basic 1.5" grocery store steak is 550 degrees, about 4.5 minutes per side (twist at 2.15 for crosshatch) for perfect medium rare.

^^^ good advise on burping the grill- open dome slightly if high heat I have lost a lot of arm hair as the flames will shoot out like a back draft

Royal Oak, Chefs Select- better brand of RO. I like Whicked good- pricy but really good Don't get Cowboy Naked Whiz grades the various charcoal

Welcome J, and congrats on the new Kamado!

I'll echo the sentiments of the previous replies:

Use a deflector for low n slow

No need for a water pan

I've used both wood chips and chunks, Like others I find the chips to be better. Most times I don't even bother.

One thing with a Kamado that's easy to get caught up in is chasing temps by playing around constantly with the vents. After you become used to the controls you'll get the hang of it and learn where they need to be set for various cooks.

The other bit of advice is fill the firebox with lump. It's airflow, not quantity that determines temps.

As far as lighting, I tend to place some FireStarters in the lump at 2, 6 and 10 o'clock and one in the center (I cut them in half and find that works well). Let it go for at least a half hour, perhaps 45 minutes and you should be good to go.Your biggest enemy when lighting is leftover ash. Clean it out as often as possible.

I've also used a chimney starter but find it's too much of a hassle with the Kamados unless I have one of the other grills available to place it in.

As an fyi, there's another forum some of us are also in, dedicated to Kamados - Kamado Guru. Lots of good info there and some pinned posts on starting with a Kamado for new owners.

Have fun with the new toy and happy grilling!

-Dom

If I am doing low and slow I use 1 starter cube in the middle- feel I have better control of the Temp that way
If cooking steak or chicken regular grilling I use a cube on each side and it works well I don't really have an area for a chimney so I don't use one but do fine without it

Welcome!

Deflector

No water pan

Lump coal (try to keep bigger pieces on the bottom of the firebox.)

Wood chunks

Mapp torch to light (one or two spots for a low and slow, a few more hot and fast.)

There’s a little bit of a learning curve with a ceramic. Start with pork butts and chicken at first, then build up to ribs and brisket.

Finally, keep your kettle. I love my Primo, but not enough to retire from Kettle cooks.

JMM said:

Yo thanks, Chingador. I was wondering how soon to start cutting the vents before target. (about 50 degrees, and step it down rather than choke it quick for consistency).

My buddy (previous owner) warned me about the porous ceramic, the backdraft at high temps, and even passed a pair of welder gloves along with the free kamado. Helluva good guy, eh? I'd always used chimneys - never lighter fluid -- with my old weber kettle.

On this topic, which is better for igniting the lump in a kamado for low and slow:
--A. ignite the lump in a kamado with a starter cube at the peak of the pile?
or
--B. ignite a partial chimney of lump, let it get going for a while (all white), and dump that onto the pile?

It could be preference -- maybe I'm over thinking this. A above seems like it would take longer but reduce the chance of overshooting the target, but B would get the pile smoldering evenly more quickly...

Anyway, thanks again for all that great information earlier!

Click to expand...

Option a for sure. I don't know about the peak. I bury a tumbleweed in the middle with a few coals on top of it and go from there

JMM said:

Thx Arclite. Man... I didn't get rid of my kettle, but a south Philly back area can't accommodate both that and my new kamado. My old, trusty kettle now resides at my parents' place in the wilds of Jersey, and I'll be firing it up whenever the opportunity arises.

Click to expand...

Totally understandable. I'm also an urban dweller...

it's the one thing stopping me from getting a stick burner. :icon_smile_tongue:

Just use Lump charcoal Only.No water,diffuser for low and slow.Watch the vents and catch the temp on the way up.Wayyyy easier to heat it up more than the drop the temp.If you are gonna do pizza,,Use a diffiusser plate and something to create a gap between the diffuser plate and a secondary pizza cooking surface(pizza stone) etc.Other words,use two diffuser plates.You can also buy an extra grate and elevate it above the original grate with spacers to cook "raised direct",excellent for chicken.

Get a CGS spider and a 16” stone or two half stones for a deflector. Much better than the Pit Boss plate setter style.

They also sell a 16” DRIP pan. No need for water but it is nice to keep the grease off the stone and keep it from burning and flavoring your food. Just put a thin spacer between the stone and pan (I often just roll up foil scraps, 1/8-1/4” will do) and that fat won’t smoke at all below 350 and not much until you get into the 400’s.

Kamado Guru has a Pit Boss sub forum with tips on minor mods to make it seal better etc. and it is the best place on the web for Pit Boss specific Kamado questions.

If you couldn't tell, you've found the right place.

Glad you joined up.

If you haven't browsed over to the Roadmap to the Q-Talk forum, I highly suggest it. That thing's got more topics, ideas, great info, and rabbit holes than will keep you busy for a month of pleasure reading!

Enjoy the new piece of kit. Post a few photos when you can. We all enjoy ogling the Pr0n.

Kind regards and thin blue.