Chrisah1

People have very mixed opinions about it. I think it is too easy to introduce user errror. And the ambient temp is very limited by probe placement and people don't understand that.

Grill is always different to dome unless it's been calibrated to have an offset. I personally look at grill temp closest to the heat source and between the meat to keep it from going too high. Honestly you should look at both temps. Many people enjoy hotter and faster ribs which would be dome 225 as grill will be higher.

That is a great point! Depends on what you're cooking. I can easily believe on the more expensive and weightier cuts a failed cook could easily add up. You can try and practice on an empty grill without food to start I guess (bearing mind fuel costs). Fireboard with blower fan looks to be the newest option. £250 for unit and probes and £65 for the blower. BBQ guru dynaq and ultraq full kits are £400 and £470. The older bbq boss controller doesn't seem to be stocked. No idea if kamado Joe Ikammand will fit.

The BBQ guru and flame boss options all have universal adapters. If I could afford one I would get the BBQ guru ultraq with WiFi. Apparently inkbird have one on Amazon but I couldn't see any availability.

Yes, you can't use any of those sorts of pit probes at 350/375 for an extended period even if they claim it will be ok as that is the upper limit. Dome thermometers are easy to change. You can even get digital dome thermometers too. You can also calibrate them in ice water and boiling water. Pit temp will generally be higher than dome temp.

For crispy chicken skin you need high heat to render and crisp the fats in the skin, but you also need to seperate the skin off the meat to create an air gap. This will stop the flesh from boiling mositure into the skin. The skin should still remain on. YouTube is your friend. Also of course you need an oil and salt based marinade. I'm sure you should re apply marinade mid cook but I don't. The beer itself does not impart any real flavour. It's about keeping the inside moist and keeping the chicken upright to ensure good even indirect cooking on all sides. Your friends are heat, salt, fat. Your enemy is mositure boiling off the meat. You don't want the skin to steam!

I have to ask my butchers to do it specifically to order. You can in some places select nice looking cuts as well. One (bad) butcher complained it was too high a percentage for him to sell due to "health and safety" but I pointed out that the lamb mince next to his hand was 20%.... Ultinately you have to go around and ask for special treatment. One trick I use is to use (beef) tallow to keep it fatty whilst cooking. However, ideally you would cook the mince with no added oil or fat and it would just render out nicely on its own. Maybe mix lamb and beef for something interesting?

No, not me. Someone else got it. My post was more about the joy of getting the best bang per pound of accessories. Hopefully the person who got the appliance direct one will update us on the fit. For deflector you can get the stone from appliance direct as well which you knowneopl fit. Third party steel and stone deflectors you just have to look at the specs. There are no guarantees and nothing beats measuring your unit to double check.

Yes, that's exactly correct. Pizza Romana should be lower around 300c max 350c for that crispier drier base that is more solid. pizza napoletana is higher at 450c. I don't see why a kamado, like the Aldi one, with good quality dry charcoal, air around charcoal, can't get to 600c for a pyrolitic clean. Even the Weber summit insulated kettle can hit past 650c. Aldi is pretty thick 3cm ceramic. Your only enemy is moisture (in the clay and charcoal) and rapid temp changes.

Yes, but remember the most basic Masterbuilt, kamado Joe, and monolith units all start at £750+ without any ash basket or divide and conquer - so to them you would also be adding plancha, D&c and ash basket. And their compatible accessories are costly too. WiFi temp sensors and kamado fan controllers add up even more - but again you have to buy them with any unit. Kamado cooking is expensive unless you go with the basics. Cheap plancha, cheap proq basket and the divide and conquer 18" from appliance direct

XDP are a UK courier. That's better than getting a Chinese sea freight courier with the package straight from Fujian.

The outer glaze looking cracked is fine. That's how most glaze can go - even glazed lavastone. I am not sure about the inner cracks. They are not ideal. It would be wise to send the photos to La Hacienda and Aldi to query and confirm. Uktinately if you keep it dry and also don't change temperatures abruptly it should be ok. Hopefully you won't subject it to extreme temps and frost in general.

Good to know...until Aldi / La Hacienda change dimensions again. Looks beautiful. Enjoy cooking.

That's amazing. Thanks for sharing. Best priced basket on the market. Fingers crossed it doesn't warp!

Reviews are highly variable for reliability - some people rave, some complain. Often people complain about variance and ambient temps. Of you do use it, run the app on an old phone that's connected to WiFi - you can then access the meater+ over WiFi. So keep the Bluetooth box and old WiFi phone right next to the kamado. Whatever pit probe I use, I always take separate additional readings with a thermapen to get a better picture of what's going on inside the meat.

Definitely too big. Page 24 and page 25 someone has kindly provided measurements. The outer bowl inner diameter is 45cm I think from those photos. People have confirmed the 20" ynni one made by topq fits well (43.8cm diam)

ProQ have straight edge basket but no internal divider so you will need to make one. Seems to be the best bang for buck. Ranger should fit. If you want to do a service get both that and the frontier and see which fits and return the one that is either too big or too small! £16 to £20 price play shipping. Otherwise standard baskets should work like kick ash medium. The ynni 20" has a divider and should fit. Only one left on Amazon at £65. I give not fitment guarantees. I would personally get a carbon steel or cast iron plancha and cast iron grid. Proq have a good looking plancha too. Proq seem to be reasonably priced. Rotisserie - if you must - just get a Chinese OEM 20" one. I would bother if they had kebab attachments. For whole chicken I prefer spatchcock. In my opinion the essential accessories are D&C and charcoal basket. Less essential is cast iron grid and carbon steel plancha. Third is Cypriot kebab spinner.

Yes, the topq 18" unit top diameter is 38.2cm and middle ring is 34.5cm so would sit within the fire bowl on the new one potentially, but fit the old one. The 18" unit from appliancedirect seems bigger at 41.5cm overall so would not have the same issue. (If specs can be trusted). Appliance direct seems to be best bang for buck albeit plus the stone. The rotisserie units are pricey here due to shipping. Alibaba do have them for single MOQ. Maybe Ali express? Just measure your unit - fire bowl bottom diameter, fire bowl ID at top and OD top, main body ID and main body OD. The most recent have been 35cm/41cm for the top of the firebowl and 45/51cm for the main body.

No charcoal basket is included. It is good as it keeps coal off the ceramic and improves airflow all around. It will help with more even and controlled heating, and potentially (unproven) reduce heat disparity on the ceramic which could cause thermal stress. The better baskets allow you to partition fuel as well for more indirect control. With the AK ultimately it is all trial and error for parts until you get one and measure it all over. That's why it's cheaper. You have done well to get a divider that is in stock and much cheaper than the ynni 20" one at £130 - even if it is a little small. The fun of the AK is getting the most for the least ££££. Monolith, KJ and BGE, Masterbuilt are just too pricey.

It will likely fit, but may seem a little small. Boss say the 18" kamado is 45cm main cooking area diameter. They then say cooking grid is 38cm diameter and it looks snug in the photos. I have identified this as a modified auplex 18" which means the overall ceramic body is 45.7cm OD and 38.3cm grid. They state the d&C grid is 41.5cm diameter. The AK fire bowl is 35cm ID, 41cm OD and overall ID is approx 45cm OD 51cm. If 41.5cm dimension is correct for the d&C it will be fine and you will have some space around it (1.75cm all around). The unit you have has a broad support to fit on top of the fire bowl. Try it and see if it works! Also check to make sure the AK ceramic deflector fits as the system you got does not come with a stone. Compare the Aldi stone with the appliance direct one. Most used to get an 18" divide and conquer for the older AKs. Now people can fit 20" ones. Charcoal basket I would recommend 29.5cm to 32cm at the top. 34cm may be too tight.

Depends what cooking you do. If you are long and slow and want to check the curve for pit temp and stalls then you need one with reliable logging. My Bluetooth inkbird loses the graph, but people have reported that same issue for the WiFi too...... If your cooks are shorter and aiming for a temp, followed by rest, then the BT cheapest unit is fine. The only way to not lose the graph on BT is to leave phone on, screen on and app running to minimise chance of disconnect. The best options that may not (albeit not guaranteed) lose the logs are probably the BBQ guru units, which can also control the oven temp - or maybe meater! I don't have first hand experience with either and they are pricey. Maybe thermoworks WiFi as they were the ones who came up with thermapen which is amazing. Not sure if available in UK. If you find one that persistently keeps the graph, let us know!!!

Did you buy a YNNI / Topq 20" rotisserie? Would be good to know what unit to avoid.

I actually got one at 10am! No wait no issue. However I cancelled it to free up the stock. I will probably go with a more standard size 21" with grid approx 18-18.4"/46.7cm. once you factor in the divide and conquer at £130 it's a total of £500....so will wait to stretch to approx £650 all in for a regular size unit.

For temps the major options are inkbird off Amazon. I have the six probe and whilst great when Bluetooth drops off you lose the curve. So get a WiFi model. Thermopro and thermoworks spring to mind. Amazon is full of options in general. Meater Block I have not used but reviews are very variable. Some swear by it others think it's rubbish. Again I would go with the WiFi block unless you have an old phone to link Bluetooth on the meater+ to your WiFi as a gateway. Expensive. You can get a fan with probes from bbqguru which may help you maintain temps as well. But can get expensive. WiFi options always pricey. You can get good cheap radio and Bluetooth. I only have used inkbird and I would pay extra for WiFi next time (approx £100)

Ynni or kamado.co.uk sell the topq units. They come in 20" model size with a top diameter of 29.5cm. Or a 21" one with top diameter 35cm. You need to measure your clay fire basket to assess which will fit. 29.5 should fit but I can't guarantee. Let us know the size! You should check lower and upper diameter for fit and height before buying. There are also ranger and frontier ash baskets from proq with straight sides. Kamado Joe and monolith and most places sell baskets you just have to check dimensions from your kamado. Make sure that even if it fits it has good airflow around sides of basket. You can search Amazon and other places. I don't know the precise dimensions of the kamado Joe basket. If you find a basket but they don't list dimensions you can often find the OEM on Alibaba to check.