LargeRedJoe

A fellow stopped by a recent Costco road show and asked me if he could work metal in a Kamado! Apparently he makes antique replica weapons and kitchen implements. I told him to find a used grill on Craigslist before buying a new one.

A. Nice avatar. The club is having a good run this season. B. The top will get gunked up. Just run a periodic high-heat cleaning burn - or make more pizza! That should help. Plan B is to take it off and soak in some dish detergent and water for a few hours, then rinse and dry. C. If the entire cap is turning then it could use more gasket material. File a warranty claim and say you think you need more material for the top.

That's an amazing Kamado. Funny he didn't show the logo of the cooler - Yeti or Rtic. Maybe he didn't get a freebie! :)-

Before I installed my KJ into a table I considered replacing the side tables with tiles or granite slabs so I would have a heat-safe surface. It would take a little extra work to drill into the hard surface and install screws, but seemed like it was worth the effort. Or use construction adhesive to mount the hard surface to strips of wood or plywood which would then hold the screws.

Assuming the original slats split with normal wear and tear, you might try filing a warranty claim. I know the KJ warranty is silent about the tables, but that damage seems odd for only three years. Worse they can say is "no." In any event, that's a nice solution to the problem.

We love pan pizzas, sometimes called Nonna's Pizza or Grandma's Pizza. This fellow shows you what to do - and not do.

What is your target temp inside the oven/kamado? Or are you using a purpose-built pizza oven? (I should remember this from your other posts but...age. )

Ha. Of course. Although, to me, that seems like a rather extreme sentiment for just a boilerplate capsule used for testing the parachutes. But...whatever.... :D

It's interesting that the temperature variance is relatively narrow - 869 F on the high end but only 804 F on the lower end. So in a classic pizza oven I'm guessing they are aiming for a temp of 840-ish. But that also assumes a specific hydration which the chef does not mention (although I'm guessing it's 50 to 60%, a range which I'm pulling from the Ken Forkish book Elements of Pizza and his research on the pizzerias of Naples). Most dough I've made is 70% hydration - this allows for a longer cook in a cooler oven or kamado.

Well that might refer to Max Faget, the lead engineer on the Mercury Capsule. But i I don’t think so.

Looks like a Kikuya Hibachi Pot Kamado, circa 1965. From what I've read, they are OK for low and slow cooking but not so much anything over 350.

Looking good! I prefer to salt the meat separate from the flavoring rub (such as paprika, garlic powder, etc. ) That way I control the amount of salt going onto the food. And I like to salt the meat the night before and leave the meat in the fridge uncovered so a pellicle can form (this helps with smoke adhesion). The flavoring rub can go on shortly before the cook begins, or the night before; it's your choice.

Soak the casings for a couple of hours or even overnight and be sure to rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse some more. Also some people say to add a splash of vinegar to the soaking water. Here's a long discussion about this on Smoking Meats forums. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/how-to-handle-natural-casings.159729/

Yep that’s it. They seem to be shipping now with the screws already placed in the holes. Just back them out, insert the leg, and retighten.

One man’s opinion: Most of the low and slow “rules” came out of the drafty, stick-burning, offset smoker style of cooking (think:Aaron Franklin). In those grills you need a water pan because the air is hot and dry. And you need a lower temp because that hot dry air will suck all the moisture out of the meat if cooked too hot. Kamado cookers work on a different principle; the sealed cooker maintains a very humid environment. I too cook at 300 F in the dome and the food is very good.