JB.1981

Haha, they were beer cans, never drinking pop whilst grilling - but, point taken. The pork turned out perfectly but it took some adjusting mid-cook so I'm not too concerned with the size of the cut but instead with the correct stacking of heat deflector, pan/spacer, cooking grate. Can you or AdamG show me what you do for slow and low please?

Adam, these are all good points. I am possibly pushing the limits of what this thing is capable size-wise. Did a 3.2kg pork shoulder yesterday and there wasn't a lot of extra room! I haven't checked the dome thermo for accuracy but I trust it is fairly accurate as, aside from the recent charred brisket, the cooks have been turning out great and roughly according to time/kg. I know now for sure that this deflector isn't suitable on its own as fat drips straight onto it and produces these fires. Even without fire, the gap between the 3mm deflector and my cooking surface is pretty tiny (less than 2cm, I'm sure). I'm posting pics of my current setup, as adopted yesterday. This was going great until the drip tray and the parchment wrap conspired to produce a fire. Top gasket is ruined but the pork shoulder came out beautifully as it happened at the end of the cook when the internal temp was already probing 196f (please excuse the mixed metric/imperial refs) I'm desperate to get a reliable slow and low setup that maximises space and minimises this charring issue. Pics below are what I've got at the moment but I'd love to see what others are doing. There is very little on the internet that I can find that is relevant to slow and low on these minis and so far I haven't had much response to similar requests on these forums. Pic 1: ebay 3mm deflector Pic 2: deflector in place Pic 3: grate in place on top of deflector (note small gap) Pic 4: same as 3 but different angle to show small gap. 2 hours into my pork cook yesterday I noted a scorched bottom again (fat side down). so I moved to the solution in pics 5+ Pic 5: beer cans as spacers Pic 6: drip tray/further spacer (teflon cake tin) atop beer cans, atop deflector. cake tin/drip tray was filled with water. this did not evaporate through the cook but at the very end of the cook I did have a fire go out of control - assume the fat here caught alight? Pic 7: grate back in place showing greater gap between heat source and meat Pic 8: same as 7, different angle Pic 9: my old setup. produced consistent results but I was warned against teflon direct on coals. a bit of a balancing act and reduced space with the height of it too Pic 10: a large piece of pork in a small kamado

Had a bit of a grease fire mishap yesterday and the main gasket on the upper half of my Lidl mini kamado (Grill Meister) is misshapen and hanging loose. I'm in need of a replacement but I don't see any online specifically for this model. Should I just be buying the 10ft roll I see on amazon? Anyone applied one of these to a mini and have any advice?

Hello, I have a Lidl mini kamado and a steel 3mm deflector plate from eBay. Previously I was using a diy version but was Teflon so I've moved on. first time out with new deflector I charred the underside of a brisket badly. Turns out I had the plate upside down. Today I'm doing a pork shoulder, deflector installed correctly, and less fuel. 2 hours in there is a noticeable char underneath the pork again. I've since put three crushed beer cans on the deflector, a Teflon cake pan on those (with water in) and the cooking grate and pork directly on top of the drip pan. It seems to be working well but it is a bit of a balancing act. I'd love to see photos of what others are doing as I don't want to destroy anymore £25 briskets!

I'd like to do another brisket soon to make up for the last one but now I'm nervous about scorching the underside. In addition to setting the heat deflector the right way round, are folks using a drip pan on the heat deflector with the cooking grate on top of the drip pan? if so, water or no?

Well this is embarrassing! The one I bought has similar pics on eBay where it is shown both ways up. I take it the higher position would be for setting a pizza stone on top of for more heat? And with it in the correct position for next time, this small gap between the surface of the steel and the cooking surface is sufficient to ensure a better brisket?

Just tried out my new eBay steel heat deflector on a slow and low brisket. It ended up very dry and blackened on the underside. I can only assume I've used the heat deflector upside down!?! The cooking grate sat on top of it with no gap at all. Previously, I had been getting great results with my DIY setup but had comments on here about the dangers of using a Teflon pan on the coals. Hoping the 1" or so gap between heat deflector and grate that would be created by flipping the deflector next time will make for a better slow and low setup?

I have struggled a bit with this too. I tend to load the bowl pretty full and I'm trying to break up larger bits of lumpwood to ensure good volume overall, without having so many small pieces that it clogs airflow. I have some trouble getting into the 'grilling' temp range on the thermo and in any case, when I do get into that range, opening the lid to check on or flip food tends to drop the temp dramatically for some period after. I'm finding this little kamado good fun for low and slow smoking but I think a mini kettle is possible better for typical fare like burgers, sausages, and skewers

so you must have some kind of rack that raises the cooking grate someway above your deflector? do you have any pics of this setup?

I'd be keen to see an answer to this one as well. I've now ordered a 3mm steel deflector from ebay. If I wanted to do pizza, can I cook straight on this deflector, or do I just place a pizza stone straight on top of the deflector? Keen to know how to go about this too for those bigger slow and low cuts where space is at a premium

That one does look good. Would that not just completely eclipse the firebowl though - altering airflow? I posted a new topic to get feedback on a steel one I just spotted on ebay. The ebay reviews mention the Lidl mini in a couple of instances but I'm still not sure which of the three versions to go for. I like the steel as well as it wouldn't break when I (inevitably) drop it!

Based on some good feedback from Chairmaker, pointing out the potential dangers of using my DIY teflon heat deflector, I've turned to ebay and I see this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153972287243 Any thoughts on this, and on which version to go for? I imagine I'll want the version that can stand a bit above the firebowl as it is already pretty limited on space for coals as it is. Just now my DIY version doubles as a water bowl. If I go for this style of heat deflector, should I be spraying with water or apple juice when going slow and low? So far I've had great success with a brisket and a pork shoulder. I don't want to buy this thing and ruin my track record!

Good info, thanks chairmaker! I had assumed it'd be ok for slow and low as I don't hit temps anywhere near that, but on second thought, it must get there or above if it's practically touching the coals, despite what the dome thermometer might say. Any decent Diy alternatives? A bit reluctant to shell out for an eBay one at roughly half the price of the kamado itself!

I picked up a cake tin at the supermarket for £2 and put three bolts through the side. This rests on top of the firebowl and the grate rests on top of this. It seems to be working well so far and it doubles up as a bowl for adding water to. Curious to see what others are using as one drawback is that it raises the cooking surface thus reducing space for bigger cuts. Yesterday I had to move the brisket around a bit to stop the built-in thermometer poking the meat when I shut the lid!

Thought I'd share yesterday's success story. Managed to squeeze a brisket just shy of 2kg into the lidl mini. Rubbed generously in 50/50 mix of fine ground black pepper and some Cornish sea salt from Tesco (large crystals). Got mini going at about 9:00 A.M. 225f (~110c), using 100% Big K lumpwood. Made sure to top up water in my bowl/heat deflector all day. Smoked about 6 ish hours with no need to wrap. Pulled at 196f (91c) then rested in foil/towels/cooler for an hour or so and had good results. Plenty of peppery bark, a nice pink smoke ring, and still tender and juicy inside. Tasted delicious so very pleased overall. I'm having great fun with this mini and it yielded enough for 4 of us to have brisket sandwiches last night with the same amount again as leftovers today.

Adam, That sounds similar to what I'd be planning to build. Yes, I'm just looking for ideas at the moment. There are plenty to look at on a google image search but I'm hoping here I'll get ideas more suited to the UK, to mini kamados, etc. Keen to know from folks who have already built one, what they like, dislike about their setups. Please share pics of your countertop when it's ready, it sounds good!

Due to our fine Scottish weather, I'm considering building an outdoor kitchen with wheels so that I can move my Lidl Mini Kamado and other grilling accoutrements to follow the sun (or dodge the rain, at least). Curious to see what others have built. I'm not sure what all I'd like to include, so far: Hole cut out or stand for kamado? Bottle opener? Flat space for prep (maybe sink in a cutting board)? A small sink to connect to the garden hose - although I'm not sure I'd have much use for this it could look good! Cool box, or small fridge for beer?

Hello Hoogl Thanks for the tip on John Davidson's, I'll maybe head out that way at the weekend and see what they have on offer. I typically use Morrisons or a local butcher (Tillydrone's Lurch Monster). Before all of this COVID nonsense I was down in Glasgow fairly regularly, visiting Grandmother. Are there any decent BBQ joints popping up in Glasgow? Even tiny Aberdeen has a couple of decent food-truck type offerings now so I'm hoping there are some in Glasgow I can try out??

Hello from Aberdeen. Spent ages 7-19 in Houston so I too miss the Austin area BBQ especially!

Hello all; Just joined after picking up a mini kamado at Lidl for £99. here for tips on best low and slow for brisket, pork, ribs, etc. spent half my life in Texas so hoping to reproduce some of the tasty meats I was used to there. looking forward to improving my skills and stuffing my face! cheers, JB

No worries! Just joined the forum yesterday so I could get advice specific to these smaller kamados. I loaded the bowl about 3/4 full with about half and half charcoal briquettes and lump wood charcoal. Put one lighter cube in and sprinkled some lighter cube broken bits at the edges. I lit it and left the lid open until the cube was gone and I saw a few coals with red embers (10 mins max, I'd say). I have a little homemade heat deflector that raises the grilling surface 4-5". I'll put up a pic of this later - it was really cheap to make and seems to work well. I put the shoulder straight on the grate, fat side up, and smoked for about 6 hours, keeping temp on kamado thermometer at about 250f. This needed a bit of tending: I found it helped to occasionally scrape ash out through the bottom vent, using a hooked piece of metal. At the 6 hour mark, internal temp stalled around 160f (a lot of good advice on this stuff from Texans etc. so I use their instructions in Fahrenheit). Then I wrapped in parchment paper and smoked another 2 hours to 200-205f. Rested 30 mins and then pulled it apart. It came out beautifully, very smoky, with a good bit of crackling. Incredibly this little kamado smoked 9 hours with no need of a re-fuel. The bowl was probably still 1/3 full when I finished. In future I'll use all lump wood but I didn't have enough left. The briquettes do seem to last a very long time. That's about it. My brother has an actual BGE XL so I'm feeling a bit smug about my £100 mini's ability to smoke a 4kg/8.3lb piece of pork!

Loving this little toy! Just got one a week ago at Lidl. Yesterday smoked a 4kg pork shoulder over 9 hours and it came out beautifully. Thought the mini may be too small for cuts like this but it did the trick and it was great fun. Got pulled pork for days now.