Brick Pig

I'm not arguing for or against either model, but just for the sake of clarity, the BJ1 does have the divide & conquer system.

I own a Big Joe 1, and I have looked at the more recent models with the air lift hinge. While I would most definitely prefer the air lift over mine, it is worth nowhere NEAR $1500 to me.

Sorry, I'm just now seeing this. I cut up potatoes into french fry shape, stir them in a big stainless steel bowl with oil, kosher salt, and a bit of black pepper (and any other spice you might want on your "fries"). Put them in a baking dish big enough that they aren't touching, or at least they touch as little as possible, and roast them at 400-425F for around 40 or 45 minutes. Long and short of it is, they're just roasted potatoes cut into french fry shape.

Yeah, same for hot dogs.

I’m about 50/50 regarding ketchup on my fries. And on my burgers, for that matter. Mustard, chili, slaw & onion is what we call a “Carolina burger” where I grew up (in North Carolina). Regionally, mustard is sometimes omitted, or is used in place of slaw rather than in addition to it. Personally, I am not an onion fan, so my Carolina burger doesn’t included them. Plus I live in Jersey now, so I make my own rules.

My wife and I were craving burgers, so of course I decided was going to throw some on for last night's dinner. Then I remembered I had some hot dog buns I needed to use, so I put out some 'dogs. Which, in turn, made me start thinking about making some hot dog chili. And my favorite thing with chili is slaw. And then, what's a burger and dog dinner without fries? Before you know it, I spent nearly the whole afternoon in the kitchen. (Not a complaint; just a statement of fact.) Completely forgot to photograph the chili. The "fries," coated in evoo, kosher salt, and rosemary. Roasted in the Jr. for about 45 minutes at 400F. Forgot to get a pic of them on the fire. Slaw made and meats prepped. Coming off the grill One big messy plate of tastiness.

I came to the kamado from a regular ol' garden variety Weber kettle and a cheapo stick burner, both of which were fairly high-maintenance during any given cook. I'm not sure the problems you're having are the same as the ones I had, but basically, during the first couple months of cooking on the Big Joe, I absolutely could not stop fiddling with it. Mainly, I was ignoring all the advice I was reading here. Eventually I came to my senses and started over from square one: I finally spent a day, or most of one, just burning a load of fuel and learning how to set my temps, and how my grill reacts to different vent settings and adjustments. I can't recommend this step enough. After that day, EVERYthing started to fall into place. Otherwise, as far as feeling stressed/rushed at dinner time, my main strategy (and my advice to others) is to start your grill way sooner than you plan to use it. In a pinch, I can get my Big Joe up to cookable temps in around 45 minutes or so, but when I have the time, I often start it 2 or 3 hours early and just kinda let it idle at ~200F. As it gets closer to cooking time, I just re-set my vents for whatever temp I want and wait for it to stabilize there. But I agree with others: Firing up to grill a steak is no different on the kamado than any other grill. Just get your coals lit and get cookin'.

I've been using the Rutland starters since I first got my Big Joe. They work great and they're always the cheapest brand on Amazon and at Tractor Supply.

I received a replacement firebox for my Big Joe sometime in April 2018 and I still haven't taken it out of the box. I figured I'd wait until the original one fell apart, but at some point the crack stopped getting bigger and it's been stable for probably a year and a half or more now. I just keep on cooking....

Another vote for crumpled aluminum foil.

Huh. Very interesting. I'll have to try to remember to pay more attention next time we're visiting.

I grew up in an all beef has to be well done household/family. Never had a medium rare piece of beef --no joke-- until halfway through my sophomore year in college, when I went to Christmas dinner with my girlfriend's (now my wife) family, where her Uncle made an absolutely perfect medium rare prime rib. I couldn't believe my taste buds. And I remember on my way home, thinking about all the steaks I'd eaten in my life that could have been so much better than they were. @CentralTexBBQ I grew up in NC. There's a fairly big diversity of cooking from place to place in the state, but I don't recall "rare" bacon as being specifically a thing there, unless maybe it's in a particular region. I know it isn't among my family, nor at any of the restaurants we frequent when I'm home visiting.

That is a seriously nice rig. I was shopping/not shopping online for exactly that model trailer just last week. My wife and I have a (pipe)dream of retiring to a full-time RV. I don't expect we will truly ever do it, but I love seeing that y'all took the plunge.

This is a great idea, thanks! The only problem I've had with the clips I bought is that the wired probe sometimes hangs too low in the dome, as you say. Excellent solution.

I admire the ingenuity behind this, but I agree with others that it's probably not something I'd buy. I don't find cleaning the grates to be difficult or time-consuming. I do the aforementioned foil ball method using tongs when the grill is hot, and it only takes a minute or two at the outside; probably more along the lines of 30 or 40 seconds. Alternatively, I will occasionally --VERY occasionally-- soak them in soapy water for a couple hours and then spray them off with the hose. Either way, it's just not such a big job that I'd spend money to get out of doing it.