UTVol

Welcome aboard! Go Vols!

I get the heavy duty from Costco

stainless

I agree with Burger Meister and John. I had issues getting ribs to be good and it was time. I thought they would cook faster than they did. When I treated it like a brisket from a time perspective I got amazing results. I wrap mine with some beef broth and leave it wrapped until I pill them off. BM mentioned overcooking and I agree so that is one change I would do and also, I'm with John on resting the meat. I rest mine for about 5 min, like a steak. The thing with beef ribs is that the "moisture" has a high fat % which is why they are so rich. As a result, you don't get the dump of liquid, its embedded in the meat. That is my very unscientific explanation on why the rest (imo) is less relevant. But...it could have been the cow too. In any case, I'd try those adjustments and make sure everything is probe tender

Welcome aboard!

I do the same as Bucky and split my kick ash basket and push the coals to the back and stack them high. I put a banana bread pan in the front to catch drippings.

I have the same KJ you do as I bought my in 2015 and I have a joetisserie, no prob! Best accessory they sell, you'll enjoy it and Merry Christmas!!

We had a guy on here and I can't remember his name. He used to do duck on his KK and would constantly post his cooks. Let me see if I can dig it up as a reference for you guys.

Agree as well. My first brisket cook was strange also. My full box of charcoal went out....has never happened any other time...ever...and its been 5 1/2 yrs and...the brisket was just about done in 7 hrs. Same as yours, Costco but maybe 18lbs trimmed to something less. At the end of the day, briskets are tough to nail but it sounds like you got pretty close.

+1...leave it in longer

Congrats!! You didnt go overboard, its all part of the process That Kamado is pretty clean, get to cooking and looking forward to seeing your cooks!! Swing by the intro section and tell us a bit about yourself. Welcome aboard!!

Headlamp

Im with everyone else and glad you'r considering how to manage in the dark. Go with a headlamp and if you want to hook up a light that's fine but honestly, the headlamp is the best tool for cooking during the coming months. Cheers!!

I've been contemplating this myself. When i do it, I'll be putting mine on the dome as there's less change of BBQ sauce or my grill brush damaging the gasket. If you decide to do it, please update us and let us know how it went, especially with the Joetisserie.

Looks awesome!!