Leaderboard

I love Tacos al pastor but have never made them myself. They are a popular street food here in SoCal and Mexico and I finally decided to try my hand at making some. Forgive me as this is a long one. I started out by thawing a Pork Butt I had in the freezer that I had purchased on sale for $.99 a lb. (7.93 lbs.) I unwrapped it and found there was still some ice crystals on it. (which is what I was hoping for to make cutting it easier) I cut it in half and deboned the other half. I proceeded to cut it all up into approximately 3/8” slices. I placed this into a large container, covered it and placed it into the fridge. I now gathered up the ingredients for the al pastor marinade. Here’s the recipe I used. (It’s a combination of several recipes I watched on YouTube) Not shown in the picture are the pineapple juice and the vinegar. 8 lb bone-in pork shoulder (deboned) 4 tablespoons achiote paste (I used 1 – 3.5 oz. brick) 2 guajillo peppers (seeded and re-hydrated) 2 ancho peppers (seeded and re-hydrated) 3 Chipotle peppers + all the adobo sauce from 1 - 7 oz. can 5 garlic cloves ¼ small white or yellow onion 1 oz. Piloncillo (substitute brown sugar if you can find it) 1 tbsp. dried oregano (preferably Mexican) 1 tbsp. cumin 1 tbsp. salt 1 tbsp. pepper 1 tsp. cinnamon (preferably Mexican) 1 tsp, cloves ½ cup pineapple juice ½ cup white vinegar ¼ cup OO ¼ cup of the water from re-hydrating the peppers ¼ cup orange juice ¼ cup lime juice 1 pineapple, skinned and sliced into 1-inch (2 cm) rounds (for the spit/trompo) (Note: I only had some small guajillo chiles so I used 6 of them) Everybody went into the pool for a spin. I poured some marinade into the bottom of a very large bowl and then some pork slices. I repeated this process until all the pork was in the bowl and pour the rest of the marinade over the top. I then stirred it until everything had a nice coating. Now how will I cook this? Tacos al pastor is a dish developed in central Mexico that is based on shawarma spit grilled meat brought by Lebanese immigrants. It is traditionally cooked on a vertical spit known as a trompo. I don’t have such an exotic grill, so I had to improvise. I had found this indoor grill plate at a local thrift store for $2.17 and used it to create a vertical spit. I now peeled and sliced up the pineapple And started my vertical trompo stack adding a slice of pineapple and red onion after every 6 or 7 layers of meat. I place the stack in the center of my weber redhead with coals all around it. I then setup my craving station. Here it is after approximately 30 minutes. After approximately 75 minutes I removed the trompo and craved off the outer charred layer. (The char is an important part of the taste profile) I then placed the trompo back in the redhead to char the outside again. So pretty! I then repeated the process another 3 times. After I had trimmed off the outside 3 times I set up my taco cart errrr bar and started to assemble my street taco plate. Oh Yum! Here it is served up with a Modelo Especial. This was a little on the spicy side but oh so delicious! Thanks for looking.

My spot “ain’t all that,” but I can absolutely guarantee that nobody here is happier with their spot than I am with mine. After 3 years of rolling this thing (and 15 years of rolling various other grills & smokers) in & out of the garage at my previous house, as soon as we looked at this house I said to my wife, “The space at the foot of back stairs in MINE!”

Here is ours

I was on a mission to use up what ever was left in the fridge and what would be more perfect than to bake it all into a Quiche. It allows me to make use of the new cornbread knife and pie server from Allegheny Treenware. So what went into this? Spinach Pepperoni Grilled Ham Red Pepper Green Onion Mozzarella 8-9 Eggs No prep pics, but here's the finished product in the LeCreuset Braiser. It made a great Saturday lunch, even if it didn't involve a Kamado and charcoal. Thanks for checking out the "Whatever is in the Fridge" Quiche! The utensils from Allegheny Treenware worked out perfectly!! Regards, -lunchman

The family wanted Pizza on the kamado for dinner. So for this pie I went to my local Brick Oven Pizza restaurant and purchased the dough from them. Came home and brought the Big Joe up to 600°. I actually picked up a soapstone to sear steaks on it but I figured since I had it I would give Pizza a try. I just loved how it came out. Better than my pizza Stone in my opinion. The crust was nice and crisp and the dough was cooked evenly in perfectly.

This is my little area. Not a lot of space but gets the job done!

This was unexpected, on Saturday a grocery store had Tomahawks in for $16/lbs vs 28 at my local butcher so I thought I would give them a try. I used the Jess Pryles dry brine method (link) and left them uncovered in the fridge for three days flipping and drying once a day before cooking last night when I seasoned them with hardcore carnivores black rub set the egg up for a reverse sear and eventually sliced into pure magic. Easily top 3 ever which was unexpected given their grocery store pedigree

Beef shorties, Chard over an open flame and then braised/smoked in an open pan at 350f until probe tender (2.5 hours) then rested and served with green curry sauce. This was beyond amazing! . .

Keto sigh... eating Keto so here’s tonight’s offering.

400 degrees direct 3 1/2 minutes a side brushed with melted butter, old bay, and garlic salt

I purchased my grill in December and finally got around to using it Sunday afternoon. I have been cooking sous vide and using a cast iron pan lately, but the smoke has been terrible. For or my first time grilling, I decided on baked potatoes, steaks and asparagus. Started the fire with a twisted paper towel wetted with vegetable oil. The fire got hotter than intended, and stayed hotter than intended. I started with the potatoes and let them cook for nearly an hour above the heat deflector. Then I added the raw steaks, and eventually the asparagus that were prepared with some oil and seasoning. I was prepared for disaster but everything came out delicious. I forgot to open up the vents for the sear, but as I said, the grill was hot.

Just saw this on their site! KJ Joe Junior - Pizza-Porta 199.99 The Cutest of the Pizza-Porta KJ models. But don’t let it fool you. Easily cooks at 650F and a load of charcoal lasts over 3 hours. You can now make pizza at the beach, or on a tailgate! Make 10” wood-fired pizzas Door Opening is 11” by 3.75” Recommended stone size is 12” (Big Green Egg makes a MiniMax 12” stone) My opinion is that the stone should come with Pizza Porta for the Price they are asking, but with that said I want one!!

I'm new to kamado cooking and just trying to learn how to cook on it. My first meal was a disaster. But gradually I am beginning to get the hang of it. I do enjoy cooking on a Kamado and am trying to cook some of my favorite meals on it. One of my favorite meals is a homemade falafel wrap. I tried cooking them on the Big Joe tonight and they turned out very well - better than I thought possible. I searched the Internet initially to find a falafel kamado recipe but couldn't find anything, so thought I'd post mine in case anyone likes falafel. A disclaimer here... these are obviously not traditional falafel. It's our recipe twist. Ingredients: 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (rinsed and drained) 1 15-ounce can of black beans (rinsed and drained) 3 large cloves garlic (chopped) 1 Jalapeno 1/2 of a red or yellow onion of medium size 1/2 red bell pepper 2 green onions (chop up about half the greens too) 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp lime juice 2 Tbsp of good clover honey 6 medium mushrooms 1/2 cup whole grain oats 1/4 cup of flour 1/4 cup chopped almonds 1.5 Tbsp curry powder 1/4 tsp cumin 1/4 tsp smoked paprika dash of nutmeg dash of cinnamon dash of soy sauce dash of teriyaki sauce 1/2 bunch of Cilantro cut up in small bits (even the stems) 2 Tbsp tahini 1 pinch each sea salt and black pepper Instructions: Add all of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse/chop, but being careful to not overdue this. You want the ingredients a bit course for better texture. Store the mixture in the refrigerator for about 6 hours to let it marinate flavors. I bake my falafel instead of frying it, and this translates very well to smoking in the kamado. I used Kamado Joe Big Block XL Lump Charcoal and added some aged white oak wood I have. I made the falafel into large balls and placed them into a cast iron skillet (this makes enough that you can freeze the leftovers). I set up the Big Joe with the SloRoller over the firebox and had the grill at the highest level. The smoking temp was kept around 250-degrees for about an hour. I worried about the falafel being too dry if I cooked it this long, but it was perfect - crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside. Anyway, after that first hour I then turned the falafel over and brushed a small amount of the honey on the top, and then let it cook for another 30 minutes. I did make sure I didn't burn them. I wanted it crisp and crunchy on the outside and moist inside - and you gotta watch you don't burn these. If you try this, just keep an eye on it. I warmed some whole grain wraps in the kamado and then put together the wraps. My wife and I like fresh avocado slices in the wraps with some lettuce (tomato if you have it) sprinkled some sunflower seeds over the lettuce too. Top with a line of good ranch dressing and we love "Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Mustard" on them too. These smoked falafel wraps were fantastic. LOL, I wanted to get a photo of the finished assembled wraps but we wolfed them down before I got that accomplished :-) These are the only pics I took. The bottom line is that falafel is amazing smoked.

Oh boy.... OFF. THE. HOOK.

HI guys, I have recently moved to a new house so wanted to share my new setup. It's nice to have a covered porch for rainy days

I think the number one question I get when hosting a fellow Egghead over and they see my array of vent caps is which one I like best and why so I thought I would share my thoughts now that I have all of the above and have been using the (1) original equipment daisy wheel, (2) the Smokeware chimney cap and (3) the new Egg rEGGulator by giving you a review of what I like/dislike most about each of the three options. This is my first product review thread so let me know if you like/dislike these types of posts, hope it helps you find the right cap for your needs. The daisy wheel I’ve purchased two large eggs, a minimax and I was gifted a mini so to say that I have a soft spot in my heart for the daisy wheel is an understatement. I read somewhere that a reviewer should state their basis upfront so I thought I’d lead off with my long standing relationship with the daisy wheel. I think most of the gripes about the daisy wheel are slightly exaggerated once you learn how to position it properly so that it doesn’t slide to a different setting when you open and close the lid but despite how simple this seems now I struggled as new Kamado user to get my temps dialled in and was often frustrated by rocketing temps or snuffing out my fire or any combination in between so it is worth pointing out this limitation. Pro’s - Easy to remove without burning your fingers - Resistant to gumming up after cooking greasy foods Con’s - Can be tricky for new users to not have your settings reset every time you open the grill - Doesn’t complexly snuff the fire great on its own, requires separate ceramic cap - Limiting airflow, you’ll want to remove it completely for Pizza or searing steaks as it limits max temp or slows down the lighting process - Rusts (although very easy to fix and re-season) - Rain can get into the egg (although you’d need the type of rain I wouldn’t want to be outside in for this to happen its possible) ___________________________________________________________ The Smokeware Chimney Cap I’ve now purchased three Smokeware Chimney caps, a grate stacker and two 3” temp dials and have been really impressed with the customer service and quality of product from the Smokeware team. Up until this spring, my home based Eggs (large and minimax) both rocked a Smokeware cap while the daisy wheels and ceramic caps got relegated to storage. Before I built a pergola with rain protection the added shelter of the Smokeware cap was killer when grilling 365 days a year in Canada; add in the fact that Stainless steel is easy to clean, doesn’t rust, doesn’t move positions when opening/closing the egg and looks more modern than the traditional daisy wheel vintage look I found lots to love about the SS cap. That being said there are draw backs, after a few cooks it can become very attached to the egg which makes removing it regularly not practical and while its sufficient at snuffing out the fire it's not comparable to the ceramic cap in terms of efficiency. Not only is the stickiness a deterrent to removing the SS cap, the temp itself can burn through all but the most industrial of gloves. Speaking of stickiness the deterioration of the sliding movement after cooking fatty foods like pork belly, ribs etc. quickly gums up the operation and while its possible to clean its frustrating to be back to all gummed up after a single big cook (my minimax doesn’t get as sticky since I don’t cook as many pork shoulders, ribs etc. in it as my large and it operates like new for months at a time). Pro’s - Rain protection superior to daisy wheel - Stability for settings when opening/closing the dome - Looks good, for a while I preferred the daisy wheel but it grew on me over time - Supports local / small business - Low maintenance (Dishwasher safe, no re-seasoning of cast iron, doesn’t rust) Con’s - For some (not me) the look goes against the OEM Egg feel - Warranty concerns for using non OEM accessories, doesn’t seem strictly enforced but it is in the policy. (I haven’t had an issue) - Quickly becomes sticky and difficult to adjust the dial as it seizes into place (on my large only where I do most of my pork shoulders, ribs, burnt ends etc.) - Doesn’t extinguish the fire as well as the ceramic cap - Limiting airflow, you’ll want to remove it completely for Pizza or searing steaks as it limits max temp or slows down the lighting process a little (better than the daisy wheel) but do it before it gets to hot to touch - Rubber heat protector can still burn fingers, wears out over time and easy to lose if you’re not careful. ___________________________________________________________ The rEGGulator By the way, this reviewing thing only works out if you all don’t point out to my wife that I own multiple solutions to a single problem :) The most recent addition to the Egg family of accessories is the new cap from BGE released a few months back; the rEGGulator fits XXL, XL, Large, Medium size Big Green EGG sizes and I also got the rain cap to play with. I’ve been happy with my SS caps for the past few seasons despite its shortcomings so I doubt that I am the true target market for BGE vs people looking to upgrade their original daisy wheel but nonetheless I have now cooked pork belly burnt ends, pork shoulders, ribs and steaks with the new cap to form my opinion for this review. It might be petty but I like the look of it; but as this isn’t high school, let me share some of the real reasons I really like this cap. The amount of greasy large meats I’ve cooked thus far would have me scrubbing my SS caps trying to unglue them back to normal easy to use operation; the fact I haven’t had to do this yet nor does it seem remotely imminent is a big win for me. I also really like the airflow options, I don’t have the equipment to measure flow rates between the three but this thing allows a lot more air than either the daisy or the SS cap. I also think BGE did a much better job on the rubber finger burn protection for adjusting temps mid cook than the SS cap or original daisy wheel. Adjusting the temperature is definitely more deliberate effort wise than the daisy wheel or a brand new / just cleaned SS cap but it has a mechanical satisfaction to it that I appreciate let alone this is in part how getting no setting misalignment when opening or closing the doom is achieved. I like being able to add and remove the rain cap, I haven’t fully decided if I like the look of it the most with or without it but having the option and the added protection is nice to have. Finally, and again without the equipment to scientifically prove it, outside of the ceramic cap this is hands down the best cap at getting the fire out quickly and keeping the most amount of lump for future cooks. Pro’s - Best of daisy wheel, ceramic cap and Smokeware cap products combined into one…. like a mix tape of your favourite songs but in this case the tape helps make magical smoked food. - Weather protection with the cap - More air = more heat than daisy or SS cap; there’s no need to remove this cap at any point I’ve found so far - Temp control feels very precise, doesn’t move once set - Hands down the best design for fingers to adjust mid cook - Best at shutting down the egg - Time will tell, but the new coating seems like it will hold up to the elements better than the original daisy wheel seasoned cast iron. Con’s - It feels like a premium product and its priced accordingly - Time will tell, but the new coating seems like it will hold up to the elements better than the original daisy wheel seasoned cast iron. - While it fits medium to XXL, my Minimax and Mini can’t use the same cap like a gasket on the SS allows you to do so you’re going to want more than one ___________________________________________________________ Conclusions & Recommendations When I bought my Smokeware Cap the rEGGulator didn’t exist and it was significantly better in almost every way to the daisy wheel. At times I was frustrated seeing new product innovations come out year after year on other Kamado brands while the Egg that you could buy at that point was a lot like the Egg 5 years before that and BGE wasn’t innovating on the accessories either to help get more enjoyment out of the product. Small businesses like Smokeware recognized this gap and helped create some great products I’m proud to have purchased along the way. Perhaps it was competitors, perhaps it was small businesses innovating… in either case competition makes things better for the end user customer and BGE showed up to play with this product. Hands down, in my opinion the rEGGulator is the best mouse trap on the market today and I give it a thumbs up recommendation to anyone looking to upgrade their Egg.

This recipe was inspired from our family vacation, years ago in Barbados where we came to love fresh cooked Mahi Mahi there. They also have a scotch bonnet hot sauce there that is incredible. Some day I'd love to go back there. My preference for cooking pizza is in a cast iron skillet. I do have a KJ pizza stone but prefer pizza on cast iron. I also prefer a thicker Detroit style pizza with a thick buttery crust - almost a bread-like but crunchy, chewy and thick crust. And I love the Detroit thick caramelized cheese with it browned up around the edge of the cast iron. This is perfect for a kamado cook. There are 4 parts to making this Barbados Caribbean Mahi Mahi Pizza - dough/crust, pizza sauce, fish prep/cook and then putting it all together on the grill. I made the crust from scratch but it is fine buying pizza crust, or using your own pizza crust recipe. This just happens to be my favorite. My sequence of putting it all together is: 1. If you're making your own sauce you can do this ahead of time if you prefer, or you can just buy a sauce you like. 2. Pre-cook crust for 10 minutes 3. Cook your fish for 6 minutes (3 minutes per side) 4. Put all of this together and cook your pizza on the grill. It took about 25 minutes of final cooking at ~425 degrees. Pizza Dough Ingredients: I know it is recommended to use special flour and no sugar in pizza dough recipes, but I prefer to use King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour and yes, sugar. I just make sure I watch my crust so I don't burn it. 1.25 cups water 2 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons sugar 3⁄4 teaspoon salt 1 package of yeast 1 tablespoon flour 3.25 cups flour Pizza Crust Instructions: Mix the butter, sugar, and salt into the warm water. Stir in 1 tablespoon flour and the yeast (Can use 1 Tablespoon yeast in place of the packet). Put flour in a large bowl; stir in yeast mix. Stir thoroughly; turn onto a floured board and knead. Knead in as much of the flour as possible to make a satiny dough; if dough is sticky add more flour a tablespoon at a time. Put dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a clean damp towel and let rise til double (about an hour) Punch down; roll it out in a large circle for the skillet and put it into a buttered, cast iron skillet. It will probably not let you cover the entire bottom of the skillet right now, and no worries, just make it as close to the skillet edges as you can. Let it rise a 2nd time for about an hour Now you will be fine pushing the dough to the edges of the skillet as the dough relaxes by now and lets you work it better. The Sauce: The sauce can be any pizza sauce that you prefer. I made mine from scratch on the kamado earlier this week, by slow cooking diced tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, Jalapeno and Poblano peppers, and my favorite seasonings. I put this in a small dutch oven, uncovered, on the kamado and slow cooked it for ~2 to 2.5 hours at 250 or so. I did put the dutch oven lid on during the last half hour of the cook. I had a some oak wood in with the lump charcoal for a bit of smoke. I stirred it a bit every half hour or so. This makes a sauce that is smoky, with some kick due to the peppers, and I leave it a bit course with ingredients rather than food process it to smooth consistency. It is pretty thick due to cooking so long. Light the grill and bring it up to 400-degrees. Instructions for the Mahi Mahi Marinade fish for 45 minutes in fridge. The marinade is: 1/4 cup of lime juice 1/4 cup of olive oil 1 Tbs honey 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper put it in a zip lock bag for 45 minutes Pull them out of the fridge and I used my favorite blackening seasoning on the fillets. I cook the fillets on the grill for 3 minutes on one side, and then flip them and brush them with this lime/honey glaze: 2 Tbs lime 1 Tbs of balsamic vinegar 2 Tbs olive oil Pinch of fresh ground black pepper 1 Tbs honey Cook the fillets at 425 degrees (I had some white oak wood with the KJ lump charcoal) Grill 3 minutes then turn and add the lime-honey glaze the cooked side. Cook for 3 more minutes Pre-cook the pizza crust at 425 degrees for 10 minutes I cook my pizza in an olive oiled cast iron skillet (mine is an 18" skillet) Brush melted butter to coat the precooked pizza crust on both sides & I flip it over so that the most browned side is now up, and I can add my pizza ingredients to that side. Pizza Ingredients: I really do not fuss over the measurements and these are just approximate amounts. Add ~1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, Add ~ 1 cup of aged Parmesan, sliced off the block cheese, (Sargento has a great offering of this that I dearly love) Add ~ 1/2 cup of thin sliced onions. I did marinate my onion slices for about an hour in a mix of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sugar. You don't need to do this. I just like my onions this way. Add your pizza sauce in whatever amount you think is good for you Add/sprinkle in 1-Tablespoon of fennel seeds Add the fish (cut into chunks to whatever size you prefer... I like 3/4 to 1-inch or so chunks of fish. Sprinkle in about a half cup of diced green onions & 1/2 cup of diced Cilantro (stems and all, but diced) Top with 1-cup of Italian cheese and 1/4 cup of blue cheese Season the top of this with your favorite pizza top seasonings or just salt & a bit only of fresh ground black pepper Cooking the Pizza: Place pizza into the Kamado at 400-425 degrees and check after 15 minutes. My pizza was beginning to get a golden brown crust at this point. I cooked it an additional 10 minutes and it was perfect crust and top also. The cheese that was in contact with the cast iron skillet had caramelized into a wonderfully sweet tasting and crunchy treat. If you like Mahi Mahi, and Caribbean cuisine, you may like this pizza. We love it.

Neighbours hosted a backyard bbq where everyone brought a dish, this combo was on the money last time so I thought it’d make the perfect lead off hitter to conserve my black seasoning I didn’t season the shoulders with it, just the burnt ends and in hindsight I wish I had done that for flavour but the tenderness was spot on so nothing a little smoked salt at the end couldn’t fix burnt ends smoked for 4 hours, covered in foil for an hour with coke, brown sugar, butter and honey and then glazed them up uncovered in bbq sauce where I mixed some ghost pepper and sweet baby rays

I think they may not be firm enough and would break apart. I had to laugh... my wife liked them so much she wouldn't let me freeze the leftovers. She wants them refrigerated and have them tomorrow again. I worried she wouldn't let me buy this kamado initially. She wasn't too keen on us spending that much money on a grill. Now she is a bigtime fan. She really likes the food we cook on it.

I am up and running with the Goose. I couldn't be more happier and today have ordered the joetisserie which arrives this coming Monday

I am diving in to the package of meat I got from Porter Road (https://porterroad.com/) recently. This is one of the sexiest Tri Tips I have ever seen. I am gonna use it to try a new technique that I hope will catch on around here. This roast is gonna get butter poached and then soapstone seared to finish. I am starting out by giving it a healthy seasoning with my Man Cave Meals AP Mojo seasoning blend. I wrapped it back up in plastic so it can let that seasoning go to work for about two hours before I move forward. After that I am gonna get my Kamado Joe going at around 200°F. I'll put this roast in a 9x13 dish and cover it with ghee and let it poach until I get the internal temp of the meat to around 125-130°F. I'll pull it out at that point and ramp the temp up in the grill to get the soapstone hot enough to sear finish the meat... I made a large batch of ghee yesterday... lol

It’s awesome to have the counter space

I just used Cedar fence material for this one. It's nice because I have space for keeping my coal dry and out of site, a drawer for a lot of my accessories, and that perfect mini fridge.

Looking at the other setups, I am glad I did not leave room for more. I can see it turns into an addiction.

Just a small piece of follow up. Went with the Big Joe III from the team at Atlanta Grilling Company. Inadvertently, I added an extra set of deflector plates. The guys called me, prior to shipping, to make sure that is what I INTENDED. Clarified I did not, and they reversed the charges. In the scheme of things, not a huge deal... but from my perspective a small kindness that equals tremendous customer service/accountability. They have for sure earned more of my business.

Higher in the dome = crispy on top. This is what works for me. A deflector sitting on top of another deflector. And yank the parchment paper out, after the first couple of minutes, if I want to cook over 560°, cause you know, flame on goes the parchment, but usually don’t because why complicate life.

I don’t think many people would agree that a Neapolitan pizza cooked at 900 and a shop bought pizza cooked at 450 get “the same results”! you're totally right that 450 with shop bought pizza is easier... not really sure what the Kamado brings though? It would be even easier to just do this in an oven with a pizza stone wouldn’t it?

Hi guys, I recently did a traditional Mediterranean dish called "Ofto Kleftiko", literary, "Bandit's Roast". This dish does not take any smoke, since it is cooked in sealed cookwares, but it does need to be done low and slow, hence the kamado would be an excellent choice for it. The traditional recipe calls for a teracotta pot that you seal hermetically to keep the steam inside. I have two old pots given to me by my aunt so that's what I use when I do this. The one pictured below is around 30 years old. My second pot is more than 70 years old!!! It belonged to my grandmother (I use this one for a meat and rice delicacy called tavvas; will post in the future). You may use any pot or vessel you like as long as it can seal everything in. You need about 4-5 lbs of mutton cut into large pieces, around 1lb each. The best part of the mutton for this recipe is the neck and then the shoulder (sorry, I don't know the American lingo for those parts of the mutton). You have to use mutton and not lamb. This is crucial!! You will also need a couple of potatoes. Salt, pepper, and a pinch of cinammon and you are done! That's the whole recipe . Recipe (3-4 persons): 4-5 lbs of mutton Large potatoes cut into quarters Salt and Pepper A pinch of Cinammon Olive oil for lightly coating the potatoes Half a glass of water Bay leaves (optional) Directions: Cut the potatoes into fours by first cutting them in half and then cross sectionally (I hope this makes sense; you basically need big pieces of potatoes). Place the potatoes into a bowl and lightly springle them some olive oil; just enough to lightly coat them. Season with salt and pepper to taste and then add a pinch of cinammon. Don't use a lot of cinammon, it has a strong taste. Take the large pieces of mutton (preferably from the neck of the animal) and just season with salt and pepper. Place everything into your pot. If the pot is tall, like mine in the photo, make sure that the potatoes lie beneath the meat so that they cook in the fat of the mutton. Some people like to throw 1-2 bay leaves in with the meat but I haven't tried it yet. I might in the future Add half a cup of water (so that steam is created; don't use more than half a cup) and then seal the container hermetically. This is important, otherwise moisture will escape the vessel and the food will burn. My aunt has lost the lid to my pot a long time ago so I used some baking sheet and foil to cover the pot. It works just fine. Place the sealed pot into your kamado, which should be at 225 to 275F. The closer to 225F the better. Leave it for a minimum 8 hours. After that you may leave it for as long as you want (within reason) and the food will be fine. I do mine overnight so that means I cook it for about 14-15 hours and it turns out fine. Older folks swear that you need at least 8 hours for this recipe but they do not use a kamado at 225F .They use traditional wood ovens and hell if they know at what temps they cook their foods at . Since I am cooking in a traditional pot and the opening is small I had to dump everything on the tray, hence the "bad" presentation of the finished food. I didn't want to move things around because as you can see the meat has already dropped off the bones. You can serve it with some nice Village Salad (a variation to the Greek Salad) or if you are feeling lazy just some cucumber, tomato, and raw onion. I hope you guys try this recipe. If you like lamb I know you will enjoy this one.

This is the nicest Tri-Tip I have ever had my hands on... it came form Porter Road (https://porterroad.com) over in Nashville, TN... This cooking technique is also one that I plan to play around with a LOT more in the very near future!

I don't have the facility for a good video bit here is my kamado I made from a keg hope you like I also have 2 grates for 2 level cooking and a deflector stone for indirect

Just to add some examples from a recent pizza cook I did. This was done indoors using a black iron pan on my rangetop and then under a broiler but it illustrates the importance of balance. This was a tasty pizza but it was a bit unbalanced - the base heat was a bit too high for the top so I had more charring than I’d like on the base and not quite enough to the top.

350 indirect. Slatherd in whole grain or brown mustard, liberally dusted with a rub of minced garlic, fresh rosemary, thyme, juniper berry, sage, coarse kosher salt and cracked black pepper. A PR cook is one of the easiest you will ever do. Start with good meat. My access to quality meat is limited where I live. The best I have found is to purchase a whole prime 8 bone or boneless rib eye roast from CostCo. On the day you cook, cut the whole PR into the size roast you want to cook and tie up the roast with butchers twine to make it a compact package. For Christmas dinner every year I use a bone in or boneless 4 to 5 bone roast and then cut the rest into individual steaks or small roasts. Apply mustard and rub the roast you want to cook and let it sit out until it comes to room temp. Load up your kamado with a full load of lump, I like to light only one tumble weed starter in the center top of my lump and let my fire develop slowly to 350 over the course of an hour. . I hang a 14" ceramic stone on a spider beneath my main grate. I use a heavy custom 1/2" bar and space grate. I use a ThermoWorks Smoke and set one probe deep into the middle of the roast and the other at grate level, being careful not to let the probe come in contact with the roast. When your kamado is up to heat soaked temp, simply place your PR in the middle of your grate, I add one nice size chunk of pecan tightly wrapped aluminum foil with two small holes poked in it when I put the meat on. Now just connect the probes, and close the lid. Other than listening to music and sipping a beer while you watch the smoke curl up, your cook is pretty much done. I do not sear my PR because I think it unnecessary, the crust you see on my roast forms naturally during the cook at 350 dgs. How long it takes depends on the size of the roast and it's IT when you put it on. In addition the weather is also a factor in how long it will take to get your PR roast to temp. I cook a PR at Christmass and often have snow on the deck and temps in the high 20's and low 30"s, I have not experienced issues with cold but wind is definitely a factor. I try to turn my kamado cart so my bottom vent is shielded from direct wind. I pull my PR when the center IT gets to between 115 - 120 dgs and then let it rest for 1/2 and hour while tented or in a clean cooler with the lid shut. Start checking it when the IT gets up around 100 dg. A five bone roast cooked at 350, in my experience, has a cooking time of 3 to 3 1/2 hours , However, every cook is a bit different and it is not uncommon for your roast to cook a little quicker or most likely take a bit longer. I like to slice mine by hand with a sharp chefs knife. IMG_0239.mov

Honestly, the lil' joe is just there for the sake of the pic. Never cooked on it!!! alternative cook spot...

Looking to the left, then looking to the right.

Well, I did it!! 10 lb brisket which I trimmed up and put on the Kamado at 2 am. This baby went fast reaching an internal temp of 205 by 10 am. Wrapped the brisket in foil, put it in the cooler with towels to keep warm until dinner at 6 and was received with rave reviews. Here are some photos. Next: PORK BUTT!

Ummmmm, nope. Not showing mine after seeing these!!!

Doing my first pork ribs using the KJJ, smoke wood Alder and Mali lump charcoal. Scott

One thing I do know is not all lumps are created equal. Some smoke a lot coming to temperature others barely smoke at all if any. In the few controller tests I have done so far (a couple with RO and one with Marabu) the RO smoked a good bit until it was stable at temperature. I wouldn't want my meat in that smoke which is basically lump that wasn't fully carbonized. The Marabu really didn't smoke. If any of you have been watching my lump comparison thread I have nine more lumps to test at 250* using the controller. I do feel that some controller (or non controller) temperature fluctuations can be attributed to the lump you use. We'll find out over the next couple of months.

Correct, my wife calls it the “350 Dollar Store”. “I am going to the Three Hundred and Fifty Dollar Store. Need anything?”

@Daz search around there are a few people on here who do a double stone setup where the pizza is between the two stones. I want to say keeperovdeflame is one of those people but I could be wrong. I totally agree 450* is way easier but a 60 second pizza is more fun

Yep. Go in for a bag of kitty litter. Walk out with a gazebo. The Costco effect.

Just salt and pepper; true Texas style. With that being said, I bought whole peppercorn and ground it to the size I wanted so it added that extra oomph. Highly recommend!

Well folks a low-n-slow burn at 250* for 18 hours and 44 minutes using RO (regular) in the Primo Oval Jr. Graph and leftover picture in post #4. Can't wait to try out the harder lumps later this summer.

I had some other YouTubers over for the day cooking lunch and dinner. This is only part 1 (Lunch) where we cooked thick cut pork chops two ways (indirect/smoked and sous vide & seared), a version of elotes (grilled corn in a cup), & baked potatoes served with homemade sourdough and home brew. Part two will be dinner where we made Chicago deep dish (and thin crust) pizza with hot wings; some clips are shown at the end of this video but will be featured in part two.

Been using mine for years in my KJ classic. Absolutely love it. With the Spider rack they sell the 15” half -moon ceramic plates can be lowered lower into the firebox if needed. To me I’ll never need the Divide and Conquer rack. The Rig is more versatile by far.

My 2p-worth (not that you asked for it!): that damage to the outside of the Aldi Kamado looks risky. Rain will get in and I’d be worried that with some weathering it would fail. Now the offer from Aldi does seem fairly low risk but I’d be worried that if it did fail, even a full refund might not put you back in the position you are now. What if it died in a couple of years and all the wild goose units are gone? What if the KJs are even more expensive? In the three years since I got my big joe it’s gone up in price over 50%... so even if you get all the cash back you might struggle to get yourself back into Kamado cooking without even more outlay. Read a great quote this morning on a pizza making forum I’ve started lurking on: buy the right quality first time, pay up front and cry once...

I didn't want to continue the LeCreuset conversation in the Borek cook, so have started this topic. One issue I ran into with using the LeCreuset Braiser when I made the Borek was how to cut it without damaging the enamel interior. I simply did not want to use a metal knife so I resorted to using a plastic pot scraper to cut it and a plastic spatula to serve it. Not ideal and there had to be a better way. I took a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond looking for a non-metal knife. Nothing. Sure, I could use a plastic knife that's used at picnics, but that's kinda tacky. The sales clerk at BB&B said a metal knife and spatula was all she used - that might be fine for her pans, but I'm not risking it in my new Braiser. A week or so ago my Google News feed had an article about a company in West Virginia that specializes in Cherry utensils and is featured on one of the Food Network shows. I visited their website and found exactly what I was looking for. A Cornbread knife and a Cake Server filled the need perfectly. I also ordered a set of long handle measuring spoons to go with the order. The company: http://www.alleghenytreenware.com Allegheny Treenware I'll take some pics of the utensils and post them later today, but I have to say the quality is superb! I don't normally post reviews of products I purchase, but I had to write the owners and let them know how impressed I was with the craftsmanship and heirloom quality of their products (especially as a woodworker myself). I received a heartfelt reply thanking me for my kind email. There might be a few bbq related pieces they sell, but most of their products are for kitchen use. Reasonably priced, excellent quality. I haven't made anything in the LeCreuset pan since receiving the knife and server, but they'll be put to good use very soon. Some pictures. Cornbread knife and pie server - Measuring spoons - Forgot I'd bought this. Spatula - Regards, -Dom

Pellet grill and the Egg

Here's some of my area with some of my grills pulled in for a photo I needed a couple weeks ago...

Yea.. it ain't cheap. "Worth it" or value in general on any accessory like this is up to the individual. I have taken a different approach to my 'reviews' on these products for that very reason. I am trying NOT to make recommendations. I am just trying to do a few things: 1. Show the product and it's abilities 2. Say whether or not I like it. When I get approached by people who have products that I don't think I'd like, I decline the offers. This is one reason you don't see me do unfavorable reviews very often, if at all. I am not gonna take a product for demo/review if I don't think it has potential before I get it.