Boater

And with a different set of herbs (allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, olives, along with the onion, garlic and tomato), it turns into a moussaka. Both great dishes, and really adaptable to lots of flavor preferences and meat choices (or no meat). But yeah, smoke sponges. Like the term. I have done this with starting the eggplant on a hot grill, before adding everything into the casserole for final baking in the oven. Eggplant takes a bit longer to cook than some of the other ingredients (or maybe I just like it that way), and you can get a bit of control over the amount of smoke flavor. But I've also overshot the smoke flavor like that, so YMMV.

Is that another concrete slab the Joe is sitting on? Looks great.

A recent "Smoking Dad BBQ" YouTube video - he used both the deflectors and SloRoller on his Joe to reduce the efficiency - so could use a hotter fire for the cook. Seems you both are onto something. Certainly would reduce the chance of killing the fire.... Sorry if this is already discussed elsewhere - I've been watching way too many videos (obviously).

At least for the BJ1 models currently for sale at Home Depot in the US, they not only have the (2-tier) divide and conquer (3-tier is only on the BJ3 and Classic 3), they also have the newer version of the firebox. And though they don't have the newest version of the air assist hinge they do have a spring assist - which is some help. Just happened to know this as I was making a similar decision on which version of the Classic to get, ended up ordering the v1. Still waiting on it to come in, and buyer's remorse already hitting. Not so much because of the gasket, hinge, or vent cap differences, but because I had to pay for a cart that will not be a long-term part of the setup, which I could have avoided by getting a stand-alone v2. Long story, short point. Everyone's different, hard to say what will work best for someone who is not you (or even for someone who is you

So if I'm reading this right, you had to have a more-or-less dedicated device to get the signal onto your home network. Hoping to not do that. Without the wifi connection, just Bluetooth, what kind of effective range were you getting? And if it disconnects, how difficult is it to reconnect? Just keeping an eye on a few options for the future....

Well, they need to talk to folk who are selling uncured bacon as bacon (example: Open Nature Bacon at Albertsons - https://www.albertsons.com/shop/product-details.960048487.html). Some folk are sensitive to nitrites or nitrates, and having uncured bacon is a great alternative. Just have to treat it appropriately, like any other uncured meat, for food safety concerns. I've used this product, and I don't find a difference in taste from cured bacon - it's good. But sounds like I'll be trying some home-made versions in the near future

Good point. I was looking at a generic kamado cover, about half the price of the KJ one. The one I have for my gas grill has lasted well. As for the drip pan / deflector point, I am planning to foil wrap the deflector plates at least in the beginning, to keep them a bit neater (and my life a bit simpler). But if I get into larger pork roasts, I may need to get beyond that for those cooks (rather prepare up front rather than trying to remedy during the cook). And thanks as well for the other advice on kamados as well. As you and others have said here and other places, my plan it to first get familiar with managing the grill with as few monitoring add-ons as possible, and seeing where my needs/wants go from there. @len440, the rationale for the electric starter as it was the same price as a chimney, and a buddy of mine has been using them in his kamado for years, replacing about every 5 years. Seems like it would be less than using fire starters (the third alternative) for that period. But again, no personal experience with that. Before his suggestion, was going the chimney route. Pretty "fired up" about getting back to charcoal grilling. And maybe getting a bit too much into the accessories because of that. But really appreciate all the tips and pointers from everyone.

So, been reading a bunch of posts, watching a few videos, browsing some other websites. As I said in my intro post, I've been looking at the KJ Classic, primarily due to the moderate size and the number of options available for it. So I've settled on the KJC1 - available from a couple of the big box hardware stores for $750 with the basic wheeled cart. I could not find the unit without the cart - I don't have an issue with making a built-in frame for the grill and storage for accessories, which is what I'd do if I could save the price of the cart. But since these seem only to come with the cart, I've got other ways I can store charcoal and accessories for the moment (until the cabinet gets built in a year or so). While the KJCII is nice (and the KJCIII is even nicer), I have checked out the KJC1 in person, and: 1) don't have an issue with the hinge, 2)At some point I might upgrade the upper vent, but not yet, and 3) the new gasket material is nice, but not worth the leap to the next version of the grill just for that. Along with the grill, was planning to get the KJ charcoal basket and the rotisserie (Joetisserie), primarily because the rotisserie is on sale at AGC, and Thanksgiving isn't that far off. I have an inexpensive remote thermometer (single), for the moment, as well as a couple meat thermometers, but figure that a temperature control system might be another future add-on. Likewise, the slo-roller is something for a Christmas future. For the moment, trying to keep it pretty straightforward (other than the rotisserie of course). Grill gloves, etc. I'll probably pick up at the local hardware store. Planning on the KJ electric charcoal igniter. Already have the basic grill tools, nothing fancy or unique. The main thing I like about the KJ is the number of options available to expand the utility of the grill. But the argument could be made that I'm missing out on something in a different system. For instance, I was also strongly considering the Primo Oval 300, but the price difference just made it hard to get past the KJ. So, what am I missing in terms of the grill selection, or with the accessories? Appreciate any thoughts on how I could improve the initial set-up.

Well, BBQGuys has a showroom in Baton Rouge that has a Blaze. So as you're passing through Baton Rouge on your way to AZ, you might check that out. Not that I'd recommend going that way, unless you have some other purpose to do so. Between the traffic in Baton Rouge and Houston, I-10 can be a brute. But you need to schedule an appointment to get into their showroom.

I tried looking for this tool, and it seems to no longer be available either at Amazon or a couple of the larger BBQ on-line retailers that I searched. Thoughts as to a good alternative? Thanks

Thanks @len440. That was a link I had not yet found, and is a great read. Made me wish I had a Paypal account to make a donation to John Seltzer's efforts. Guess I'm old fashioned

Hi, I was introduced to the kamado concept some years back, when a family member got a BGE. He was doing quite a bit of cooking on it, and it all came out great. Now, this is not unexpected, as I've never had anything he cooked that was not great. But the variety of foods that could be done in the grill was what stuck with me. For a long time, I had a series of charcoal grills, usually the standard Weber kettle. The main problem I had with them was that they continued to disappear - someone would borrow it..... So the Kamado has the added advantage of being much harder to loan for the weekend. I also like the ability to use as a smoker, as I was looking at a stand-alone smoker, and that would be one less appliance to clutter the place up. Currently using an inexpensive gas grill, and just not satisfied with it. Even simple dishes need pretty constant monitoring, and no way am I going to do something requiring a long cook time in it. So, limiting. That said, I like the ability of a gas grill to be up to speed quickly, when needed. Currently eyeing something like the KJ Classic, mainly because there's not a whole lot else needed to get started, but there are options (the rotisserie might be the one I'm most interested in). While on occasion I've done 3 meats and 3 veggies at once, typically I'm doing simpler meals for two. Once in a while (once this whole pandemic is over, hopefully soon) I do have up to 10 folk for a cook, but it's not like everything has to be done on the kamado. The use as a smoker is something I'll have to learn more about, as the last smoker I had was a barrel decades ago. Kind of expecting some differences. Have been browsing and searching some of the forums, appreciate the sharing and expertise out there. It's already helped me with the process of considering my possible purchase.