ndg_2000

You may have difficulty doing a whole chicken because you don't have a heat deflector with it. You can improvise one with anything that will withstand the heat just to stop the radiated heat from the coals

Hi 

I can't see any issues with the setup you have there as long as the plate allows air flow around it up into the top of the kamado it will work

Hi

The enamel should be tough enough for cooking low and slow in the kamado. And up to normal oven cooking temperature. The only thing I would be concerned about is airflow. You have to have good airflow around the pot to maintain the cooking temperature you want. So I would make sure that you have space around the pot for the air to go round it to the top vent.

Nigel

P.s the enamel will have some discoloration from any smoke from the fire it can be scrubbed off with a wire wool pan scrubber and plenty of elbow grease 

47 minutes ago, Justin said:

 Would love to see your keg conversion in action although as homebrewer would fill it up with beer.

 

I will show it in action after I spend a little time sorting out some of the issues I have with it at the moment. The keg was non viable for use as a keg as a forklift had pierced the top; my friend was going to use it as a mashtun but gave it to me when I explained what use I was going to put it to.

That makes sense..... I bought what seemed to me to be the Swiss army knife of BBQ cooking I don't have the largest garden and wanted most of my cooking to be done by one device but I couldn't get rid of the Kamado I made from a keg as I had invested quite a few hours in making it.

17 minutes ago, ExclusiveBBQ said:

Welcome to the forum.

That's a great setup you have there. I had a look at the Kamado last time I was in Costco and it's clearly a high-quality product. I hear great things about them but the lack of cooking space is a turn off for me (as well as the price). They're on the shopping list for when I get a bit more money...  

Looking forward to seeing your cooks.

Aw really too small???? I have had it a year now and don't have any problems cooking anything on it. Unless you are coming from an offset or possibly a UDS I can't really think of a home BBQ cooker that this doesn't beat on Price per inch on cooking space.

Not had a Webber kettle but the brother in law has one and swears by it.

At £539 the Pitt boss(now Louisiana) kamado has a lot of cooking area and cooks everything from low and slow to searing hot for Pizza and everything in between I could not fault it. And if you compare the Costco price to some of the other kamados out there of a similar size the price is very competitive.

To be totally honest if you do buy a Louisiana Grill you may need to add some extra felt gasket material to the upper rotating damper and to the sliding door at the bottom to ensure it goes out when closed down but after that it's one of the most versatile cookers I've ever used.

5 minutes ago, Simon said:

Hi and welcome to the group Nige. How do you find your Pit Boss Kamado?

Hi Simon It's great I have cooked everything from "pork butt" or shoulder to us in the UK to burgers and sausage on it and have not had a problem with it. I have done some minor modifications to it and also managed to fit a cheap rotisserie to it with help form a friend with a lathe ( to turn down a spitt so I don't damage the ceramic). Do you have a kamado?

Its perlite cement faced off with bog standard fire cement. 

Some better photos of the inside

Hi 

A couple of years ago when  I really wanted to get a kamado after my gas BBQ rusted out but couldn't justify the cost as all I could find in the UK at the time was BGE or kamado Joe both were out of my price range so I decided to make one. 

Photos below

If you want to know how I made it let me know 

Hi

Stumbled on this site after looking into the Kamados from Lidl.

I have a Pitt boss 24 inch kamado and also a small Kamado i made from a keg (it needs a bit of tlc before I can use it again) 

Been smoking meat  for a couple of years now and haven't looked back 

Nige

Hi

don't know if allowed (admins please remove i'm breaking site rules) but i have learned a LOT about cooking on a Kamado from this site and would recommend anyone new to kamado cooking to have a look. 

http://www.kamadoguru.com

Nigel

Definitely not my experience with this charcoal  normally good size lumps and long burn times on this charcoal its my go to charcoal for my kamados and if anyone asks me for advice on charcoal this is where i send them 

That heat deflector is a good size for that kamado it has plenty of room for air flow up the sides. The only down side is if you have a piece of meat that hangs over the edges you will have to tinfoil the ends to stop it from burning

HI 

My Biggest tip for a new Kamado user is to learn how to control the temperature in the kamado. straight grilling is not so much of an issue but if you want to do low and slow learn how open the vents need to be to control the air flow through the kamado as this then will regulate the temp. the temperature within the kamado  will change if you have a heat deflector in or not as this will change the air flow through the kamado.

Take your time getting your kamado up to temperature its easy to raise the temps but bloody difficult to get them to drop unless you have a few hours to wait. Also if you are doing low and slow light the kamado at least an hour before you are going to put the meat on so you can slowly get the temp up to where you want it then  hold it there before putting the meat on. when you put the meat on  the temp will initially drop (due to the cold meat and a lot of cold air entering) then go over your target temp (you have jut let in a large amount of air the hungry charcoal will burn through) but will come back down to your target as long as you don't touch the vents.

also don't chase the temps if the kamado settles at 275F and you wanted 225F (sorry ive been on an american site for a good while now) leave it temps are not the B all and end all you can cook equally well if a little over 

hope this helps someone who has just got their new Kamado

Nigel

hi i have a kamado and am a member of another american kamado site some of the advice in have read there  

if you don't have a heat deflector a small circular metal oven pan filled with children's play sand will double as a heat deflector then to make a rack to put it on use an unpainted metal coat hanger and make a triangle with it and bend it over the edges of the fire bowl.