AdamG

2 minutes ago, Dutchy said:

Done Toad In The Hole in Cast Iron, Toad In The Hole

have you ever done frog in the bog?🤔

a birthday cake would be great!

it would be out of my depth🤯

So what is everyone planning for their next cook?

i might do some burgers, spuds and corn cobs on friday since I finish at 2:30...although Im sure my wife will have other ideas and what jobs I can do instead😯

The only mistake I can see is...not giving me the leftovers heh heh😋 

Looks fantastic! I may have to try it myself in the future, good job👍

Welcome to the forum john

haha yes, beef butties all week for everyone!

I want to try beef brisket one day....but I dont want to end up with shoe leather🤔 

The temp controllers are a great bit of kit, opens up the option for overnight cooks which I love doing 🙂

Yeah I have a temp controller, I just used applewood for smoking but the smoke was really subtle. Will use more next time to bring more smokey flavour to it. Apart from that i was quite pleased with the result😀.

Pictures dont look as good as your lamb though👍😋

Stick this in the same thread, not really worth its own post😗

both are great kamado's and it was almost the flip of a coin for me lol. Its good to have all info on everything since they are not cheap.It took me quite a lot of time going through pro's and cons and hopefully this will save you time:)

You will have to let me know when you have bought one.

thanks

  Adam

Since there is a lockdown, I decided to take some pics of the firebox and cooking grid before giving the kamado a good clean. Should give you a good idea of how they compare

The short answer is the Monolith pro series is the equivelant of the classic 2 and the regular Monolith's are equal to the classic 1's.

The long answer🙃

Pro Series has a 'Smart Grid System' (very similar to the 'Divide and Conquer'). It comes with 2 half deflectors, 2 half drip trays and 2 half stainless steel cooking grids. It has 4 cooking levels but you can only use the bottom level with one other level at the same time. (divide and conquer can use any 2 levels at the same time). It does come with a grid lifter included so you can lift out the cooking grids, drip trays, heat deflectors and frame with one hand. (i usually set my cooking grid up outside the grill and just lift it all in at once).

I use the woodchip system just for smoking things that cook fast but it wont fit chunks through it. I would say its more novelty and  a 'nice to have', some people may find it gimmicky, you would not miss having it if you get the kamado joe. It does come with a 'feeder' so you can load chips directly onto the coal with all cooking grids in and your lid shut. I would'nt consider it an essential though.

The top vent is the classic daisy wheel design (similar to KJ classic 1's). These designs can swing open or shut when you open the lid due to gravity...but there is a simple trick that eliminates this problem:) They are cast iron so be aware that they can rust in the rain (the KJ classic 2's have the ones that dont rust), just have to use a cover of some sort.

The shelves are in great condition but I always take them off when not in use and store them inside.

The firebox is a split design just like the KJ classic 2 & 3's so there is minimal chance of cracking due to the heat from the charcoal (the regular Monolith and KJ classic 1's had an all in one design and had a high chance of cracking, although I think they were covered by warranty?).

Both have their pro's and cons and I feel I would have been happy with a classic 2 just as much as the Monolith classic pro. Even though its a hard choice, I dont think there is a wrong choice. It was the stainless banding for me since my grill is stored outside with a cover and It saved me buying a charcoal basket down the line ( the basket has a divider aswell, so you can fill just one side if you want to do both direct and indirect).

I would definitely go and have a look at them in a shop first and see what you think of the quality of both makes.

Did a pork shoulder overnight for todays dinner and it turned out pretty good, I think im ready to attempt a beef brisket.

looks good! love the smoke ring😀

Welcome to the board Dean👍

yeah I will do:) just waiting for probe tender now, post some more pics of your Lamb once its done aswell:) I have not got round to doing one in the kamado yet, so will be good to see yours😁

welcome!

the lamb is looking great! and dont forget to send leftovers😁

im just waiting to take my pork shoulder out of my kamado😀

Looks good!😀

Welcome to the forum and enjoy your breakfast😉

welcome to the site😁

Welcome😀

I thought I would put some info about the Monolith kamado just in case anyone else with the same questions stumbles on this topic aswell...

I went with the monolith pro classic in the end. It was a very close call between the 2 since both have their strengths over each other. Something which is easily missunderstood though is you get a lifetime warranty on the monolith pro series (older ones only get 10 years though).

When I seen them both in person, side by side I was more impressed with the monolith's external quality. Internal was the same.

For me it came down to either:

air lift lid,

better top vent,

better gasket.

or:

stainless banding and hinges,

stainless charcoal basket,

woodchip feed system,

wooden (better?) handle/side shelves.

prices were within £100 of each other so i ignored that since it was a hard decision anyway lol.

Just go with the one that you lean towards because there is no wrong choice. I think it really comes down to the optional extras rather than the kamado itself and this applies to all brands.

If you have any questions or want some pics to help decide then just message me, info on the Monolith is a little short and it may seem the risky choice due to much less info online.

thanks

    adam

thanks Icefever👍

I bought a Monolith Kamado in July last year and can give you some advice on that if it becomes a possible contender.

I had my mind set for 3 years on a kamado joe classic 2, and then it was between the classic 2 and the classic 3 (big difference in price though!).

I became aware of the Monolith classic pro series a month before buying and I ended up getting that! It was an extremely close decision though, a day earlier or later I might have gone with the kamado joe classic 2.

But yeah, any questions just fire away👍

that is the cast iron grate that usually goes under the charcoal (to stop charcoal falling into the ash pan and blocking airflow), the charcoal in this cook is held in a basket. That was an experimental idea to see if I could emulate a gas hob for cooking rice and it worked quite well😀

Thanks Tabs,

I am still in the 'testing different lumpwoods' stage so I think i might give em a try.

My last bag was ebc lumpwood which was full of huge chunks with hardly any dust/bits which was great. Only thing was it seemed to produce quite alot of ash and not last as long as others I have tried. So I still want to test other ones before settling down🙂