Tongmaster

https://www.kamadoguru.com/topic/11485-grape-vine-wood/ AO, some information here. It's good wood to use for smoking, just very mild

What adm says. Big K Dura all the way for serious UK BBQ users

In my kamado, no more than 2 fist size chunks per cook usually. It's personal preference but as the discussions on smoke on this forum often point up - in kamados, less is more.

So @Snoozeboy did you give the vine wood a try? How did you like it?

https://theonlinegrill.com/kamado-joe-classic-vs-classic-ii/

This is a great idea, will have to try that. Not sure how happy the X rack would be after a while though

Good news that the CPL sizes seem to be improved based on your sifting, I bought a 3 pack once and there were a lot of tiny bits. Only use Big K Dura 15kg bags now and am happy with them, no smoke flavour from them really, and very little smoke when lighting is my experience. According to their website it's 100% white quebracho. I'm fortunate to be able to get them from a local restaurant supply company at a good price.

This is just how I cook that cut with good results each time, except I don't rest the meat that long. Also on bigger pieces I don't bother to remove it from the kamado, just wrap it in foil for a short period while opening the vents, and then remove the foil once it's hot, for a nice sear all over the outside.

Opening the dome and putting food in always results in the temperature dropping a bit and it doesn't always recover fast, usually not as fast as your cook time of 7-8 mins, so you're not doing anything wrong, it's quite normal and if the pizza was cooked ok at 500 degrees F I wouldn't worry about it at all. Having more charcoal and pre heating it for a bit longer may mean it doesn't drop so much

Very interesting, thanks. I've been using the Big K Dura restaurant charcoal for the last few years and it's also excellent. It's 100% natural White Quebracho according to their website.

Very interesting discussion, the theory of reverse sear is good and the visual effects are great but I do feel that demand for this visual effect or for the crust are driven by steakhouse type cooking rather than true flavour and involve heats that are too nuclear. Try telling an Argentine griller for example that either way is the right way. Until you have had meat grilled in Arg style/SA Braai way over a bed of medium hardwood coals to a perfect medium rare you've missed out.

Yes I've been smoking with vine cuttings for a while, very nice smoke flavour, not too overpowering. Goes well with a lot of meats, especially pork tenderloin, and chicken. Nice with beef too. Don't use the thin 'cane' type cuttings from the vine as those burn very hot and fast, ideally if you can get trunk and branch and cut into chunks that's best. And obviously only use ones from vines that have been torn up, a vine may look 'dead' during winter but is just dormant!

The other threads on here about the meater+ probe indicate the same issues as yours... Also the heat from the outside of the joint travels down the probe and gives you an incorrect internal reading. They are best for the occasional rotisserie cook, along with a few checks with an instant read to verify what's actually going on.

As mentioned the topside is not the most premium or expensive cut so some connective tissue is expected, but can be nice if you ask your butcher for a piece from the round, the best part of the topside, and you cook it right. Good advice from @K_sqrd, Definitely take it off at 52 Deg C, 54 C max if you don't like it too rare, then cover with foil and rest for 15-20 mins. Works well to cook this joint low and slow for 2 hours at 110 degrees C until joint is about 47C internal, then tent with foil and ramp Kamado up to 250 C and remove foil to give a nice crisp bark, I've done this a few times with this cut and had good results. Happy cooking.

But I'm lucky to be able to buy the marinade. As you say, home made is also nice. Definitely refrigerate the marinaded bird overnight. The ingredients on the Nandos bottle: Water, Distilled Vinegar, Onion Puree (12%), Garlic Puree (8%), Tomato Paste (7%), Sunflower Seed Oil, Lemon Puree (5%), Sugar, Spices (African Bird's Eye Chilli, Paprika), Salt, Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein (Soya), Colour (Caramel), Stabilisers (Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol Alginate), Thickener (Modified Tapioca Starch), Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid), Rosemary Extract