AdamG

This is a common problem with the daisy wheel design on all brands (mine does it) and the reason why Kamado Joe and Monolith now use a different design. There is a work around though. Imagine looking directly down onto the top of your kamado and you will see the 2 screws/pivot points on your top vent. Once your vent is set, make sure these line up in a straight line from the front (handle) to the back (lid hinge). You will have to lift/remove the top vent then turn clockwise/anti-clockwise to the desired position and then place it back on. It takes more effort to explain than it is to actually do lol. It should only take about 5-10 seconds to make the adjustment. Hopefully you understand what I'm rambling on about haha👍😁

Glad it helped you, recovering the temp is a bit of a pain. I like to try and peek by looking through the exhaust vent or only opening a few inches to keep the hot air trapped in as much as possible. Im not sure if different brands of charcoal can recover faster or not though, thats still experimental for me. Even though the charcoal basket is not a necessity (in my opinion), it is a great quality of life addition👍 Emptying/cleaning is easier and I have also read that it can prevent firebowl cracking? One tip about replacing the felt...make sure the old glue/adhesive is 100% removed otherwise the new one keeps peeling off. I left a tiny little bit on and it kept lifting off. Its a bit like celotape were the first attempt is the stickiest and it loses its stickyness with each attempt after that. Luckily the length was long enough to have some spare. Its a pretty simple task otherwise but getting the old adhesive off is the worst/boring part🍻

Now that you mention it, I think Asda is where I purchased it originally. If I remember rightly I just bought unplanned, it when I was getting other things lol. I ended up using it for about 3 years on my old grill, should still have it somewhere. Glad you got one sorted in the end. Send some pics when you do some😋

That...actually looks like the same one I originally had lol😲 I did find this one... https://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/18.211.58/outdoor-chef-18.211.58--barbecue-accessory?refsource=apadwords&mkwid=sgsUveiWE_dm&pcrid=581297292928&product=18.211.58&pgrid=138412873092&ptaid=pla-914068272927&channel=googlesearch&gclid=CjwKCAjwkMeUBhBuEiwA4hpqEFFyG6cygBSgW_rnJ_Aghp0eoqHye3F9B5QYbBjou6UBxuoDu97DzxoC_zoQAvD_BwE What you think of this?

Looks good, but would you prefer a reversible one for a griddle side? I will have a look aswell and you can have a choice from a few if you want?

Cast iron. If smash burgers is your main goal for now then cast iron is your best bet. They store more energy than stainless steel and this is what helps acheive that outer sear/crust that smash burgers are known for. While you can get the same effect with stainless steel, you will need to make them hotter to counter the temperature drop from putting cold food onto it (due to not storing as much energy), although its more difficult to sustain the surface temperature. As a side note chicken cooks brilliantly on the cast iron griddle/ridged side...those deep golden grill marks look so good and they seem to go more tender even though they cook pretty quickly. I find crispy bacon is amazing on them aswell, my favourite way to cook it😋 This post turned out longer than expected, hope it helps and sorry if you know all of this already haha🍻

I added more to my 1st post sorry, You can also find the full moon versions for a little more, however I think these tend to sit on top of the regular grids? Another cheaper alternative if you dont mind it sitting on the regular grids is the square ones. A bit cheaper than half moons and work just the same. I started out with one for my 1st 3 or so years and then I eventually got half moon plancha's👍

What budget do you have in mind? Most of the ones I have seen are around the £40-£50 for each half.

Not heard of pink peppercorns before. I once did some steak with lots of green peppercorns (ran out of black) and we ended up with numb tongues haha. What was your brine recipe?

Looks really good pittmab👍 Is that star anise and black peppercorns in the brine? I need to try smoking turkey and chicken (I normally just let the drippings do the smoke flavour), always been hesitant in case I over smoke them. 🍻

How did your brisket turn out Smokey_Tim?

Welcome to the forum! 1st thing I bought when I moved into my house 10 years ago was a grill😁 I started out on a 'el cheapo' offset smoker and that worked well enough for low and slow (providing the outside temperature was higher than 13C haha). Your grill certainly looks like a much better grill than I had so I would assume it works a treat👍 I agree with pittmab suggesting the minion method 🍻

Homemade pizza on the kamado topped with cheddar, mozzerella, bacon, chorizo and chilli peppers

These look great! Proper burgers 😁Dont forget to do me one next time though! haha😋🍻

Looks great pittmab!👍😁 I think I meed to add more details to my cooks in future like you have. Pics are fine by the way😋🍻

Thanks Simon👍

Also to add to the last comment....I have read about some people who had a "lucky" crack in their firebox that didnt affect the performance...but still claimed one off the warranty so they have a spare just in case 😁😁

Its to do with the firebox expanding due to heat from the coals, this can cause the firebox to crack. It could happen at any time, on any brand (on first use or 10 years down the line). This is the reason kamado joe and monolith (possibly other brands?) went with a segment style firebox. They believe the segment style eliminates this problem by allowing the seperate parts to expand independantly to each other.

The wife normally aint a fan of chicken kebabs...she enjoyed them aswell, since she went back and had another😂

Had some chicken kebabs today that were absolutely delicious and will be doing them on a regular basis! A big thanks to @Monkeybumcheeks for recommending these belters!👍👍😁

Nice! 👍😋

Looks super juicy and delicious!😋👍

Chicken looks delicious! What have you put in the rice?

Smash burgers turn out great on them!😋

Mine are the classic size (same as kamado joe classic) which tends to be the most popular size (or at least used to be) 👍