Family_cook

I'm surprised after a cook that there is enough moisture in a Kamado for mold to form, but there must be.

I found this really interesting especially the vinegar sugar wash and then drying the skin. I'm hoping I can find a way to hang a duck inside the Kamado. I'll have to feed the hanger from below but should be doable.

I must agree with you because I went back and looked at recent cooks and they all faced legs to the back except when I did two beer cans.

Gotta say I really like high position direct. As long as you control the temp the smoke from the drippings adds flavor. re - always up. One reason is that the skin will stick to the grate and tear off. If you dry the skin overnight in the fridge it will come out very light and crispy. If you pull it right out of the brine and throw it on the grill I find the skin is heavy and chewy.

As I stated above, the Weber lump you found is all wood lump charcoal and perfect for your purposes. Spending more will not provide a substantial difference. The Weber lump is made in Europe, hence the better price. I suspect KJ lump would be imported and more expensive. The flavor will come from the wood chunks you add to the mix. I look forward to hearing about your first cook.

I love that it's still a steak. Just amped up. The char is great, but the evenness is amazing.

That Weber lumps looks perfect.

This is amazing. Great sauce and gravy. I can't wait to try this. 5 stars.

Interesting photo. Which burger was better? My eyes tell me the griddle burgers on the right.

That is the best turkey spatchcock and trimming technique I have seen. His technique for exposing the meat under the skin seems aggressive but no apparent downside and all upside. I will replicate.

I did one 3 weeks ago and it came out great. Brined it to John Setzler's recipe. Thinking of doing it intact in two weeks. I cut the wings off and placed them to the outside of the heat deflector and they cooked fast. Had them for lunch. https://www.google.com/search?q=john+setzler+spatchcock+turkey&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS714US714&oq=john+setzler&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0j69i59j0j69i60j69i61.6133j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Try it. I would put it in the oven at 120c for 3-4 hours then raise to 175c for 2 more to dry it out. Don't ever wash it. Wrap in foil when you use it and keep it dry or it will crack. The size is dependent on how much space you have for air to flow around the deflector. Maybe 2cm.

Congrats on your new adventure and welcome. You don't need anything fancy for a heat deflector. I often just wrap aluminum foil around this light sheet pan. I don't find any real difference in it and my heavier pizza stone. For pizza, yes it would not work but as a heat deflector - no issue. While briquettes might work, you will want to find a source for lump. I will poke around Italian websites and see what I can find. 2 min later -- A quick search and I found some:) https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Cheaper-price-hardwood-BBQ-Charcoal-Briquette_60649274348.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.13.1ac04780Thi4RZ https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/charcoal-importers-from-italy.html

i use this 4-5 mornings a week and have been for a couple months. I use a filter and haven't had to clean it out yet but I just moved it for this picture and it is getting heavy:). I only vac cold ash. It is the fastest easiest way to manage a Kamado. Shake the ash basket, lift the grate and vac everything out. Less than 1 minute, no mess and back to re-lighting.

Grill grate probe has more variables than dome thermometer. What did the dome read. I don't bother with a grate probe. It is affected initially by the cold food and then as the food temp goes up it is affected again. Is a grate temp of 200 with a 20 pound 50 deg slab of meat next to it the same as 200 deg with the meat at 150 deg. I argue that more heat is being generated with the cold meat than at the same temp with warmer meat. The meat will also affect the dome temp but to a lesser degree.