Kentish Man

Thanks - I agree on the powder coating - I'll order the smokeware one and let you know how I go.

The daisy wheel on my 2020 AK has reached the end of it's useful life. It's got a bit corroded around the pin it pivots on and now doesn't sit flush, meaning I don't get the airflow control that I want. Could anyone recommend a replacement? Was thinking maybe the smokeware option for KJ (https://www.bbqandsmoke.co.uk/collections/smokeware/products/smokeware-vented-chimney-cap-for-kamado-joe) or a KJ Kontrol Tower (https://www.bbqs2u.co.uk/kamado-joe-accessories/943-kamado-joe-kontrol-tower-top-vent-kj-kt.html). Guess it might make sense to redo the gaskets at the same time. Are their any recommendations for the tape I should get for that? Cheers in advance.

My firebox cracked (2020 edition) about 6 months in and I contacted La Hacienda - they were excellent and sent out a new one immediately. This is my long winded way of saying I would go to La Hacienda in the first instance as it's them that can remedy the issue.

Nice one - thank you. I'll exercise some caution if searing or cooking pizza at high temperatures, but at the moment the Kamado is on wheels anyway, so if cooking anything using very hot temps I can move it even further away from the fence

We've had a fair bit of building work done on our house since the start of March, but the end is in sight and I'm looking forward to being able to set up my new barbecuing area on the patio. Long term, the plan is to put in some kind of outdoor kitchen area, but for now, the kamado and weber spirit will be freestanding. The patio is square, boxed in on two sides by the walls of the house, and the neighbour's fence and our lawn on the other two sides. Really, the best place for the barbecues is down the side that's bordered by our neighbours fence. How far away from the fence do I need to keep them though? I see a few barbecue shacks made of wood housing similar grills, what is the normal approach taken to fire proofing the wood, if anything?

My approach with a kamado is always to be cautious getting the temp up, because it's much harder to cool it down than heat it up!

I never really look at the temperature reading on the dome thermometer, just rely on the inkbird reading from the grill. That's the most important one, isn't it, given that's where the meat is sitting? Also, I back my inkbird to give a more reliable reading than the cheap dome thermometer.

Personally, I think cooking spatchcock over direct heat will give you the result you're after. I've done whole birds on mine and it's good, but as you say, it's not dramatically different to oven cooked. Give spatchcock a go, (dead easy to do yourself with a decent pair of scissors, in case you've not done it before), get the temp at the grill up to about 180 / 200 ish, then stick the bird on bone side down. My approach is then to leave it until the meat is about 5 degrees below the temperature I'm after, then flip it over and cook skin side down until it's done to get the crispy skin. I cook more or less every sunday roast chicken we have this way now, it is superb.

Are you measuring temp at the grill? That's the critical one I measure for direct cooking, and indirect come to think about it! I've got an inkbird (forget which model, 4XS I think?), but I actually prefer the thermopro (TP20) that it replaced.

This looks good! Only comments I'd add is there's no need to use the chimney starter, just put a lighter wooly (or whatever you use) on top and let it heat up steadily. For a low and slow, I think using the chimney starter, even with only a little charcoal, runs the risk of lighting too much charcoal up and overshooting the temp you want. I don't actually ever use a chimney starter, I just don't find it necessary. The Kamado basically operates like one anyway so there isn't any significant time saving, it's not like lighting briquettes for a different type BBQ. Again, no right and wrong, just my experience on the AK.

I bought an Aldi Kamado last year and I still love it, use it at least once a week all year round. Once you've had a spatchcocked chicken cooked on a kamado you'll never go back to oven cooked. Where is the best place to pick up accessories? I'm thinking about steel grill plates for this summer. Any other recommended accessories?

Thank you - I've been giving this recipe a go and I've been getting very tasty results. Might start experimenting a bit with the sauce once I've got the base mastered, getting the thickness right seems to be the key to me, and I'm not quite there yet everytime.

Good service - replacement arrived yesterday

Nice one - thank you. I presume the parchment paper doesn't stop the base getting a nice brown crisp to it? I had read that the Caputo Blue 00 flour needs to be cooked on a stone at 700 degrees plus, again, I presume that's not your experience? I think their website says that the red flour should be used if cooking at 500 - 700. I love making my own bases, it's not something I'd done before, but now I've tried it, I can't imagine ever going back. Do you have a special recipe that you use?

I did a couple of pizzas at the weekend using my new pizza stone. Didn't take the temp too high (c. 400f), and the pizzas took about 15 mins ish to cook, I possibly had the base too thick, but the results were great. Today, I tried to go for a more neapolitan style pizza. I cranked the temp up higher (c.650f), went for thin bases and minimal toppings. The top of the pizzas and the toppings were perfect after 90 seconds ish, but the bottom of the pizzas were burnt. I think it was the flour that was burning. I found that I was needing to put a reasonable amount on the pizza peel in order to be able to slide the pizza off on to the stone. What am I doing wrong? Is it the type of flour I'm using (strong white bread flour)? Or is there a different method for getting the pizza off the peel that solves the issue. Or did I take the temp too high? Feedback would be gratefully received because but for the burning on the very bottom, the pizzas were absolutely excellent. I can't imagine buying a pizza in the supermarket ever again to be frank.

Update - contacted them this morning and a replacement is being sent 👍

Thanks - looks good! My kamado is under shelter so the elements are less of a concern. The better temperature control is interesting, keep us up to date with how it goes

Please excuse my ignorance, what is the advantage of this over the stock daisy wheel?

Great - thank you. I'll do that

I've got a crack in my firebox. It runs down below the gap in the top section of the firebox. The crack goes all the way through, top to bottom of that part. Obviously it doesn't impact the operation of the kamado, is it worth contacting Aldi and seeing what they say? As a fall back, is it possible to buy a new firebox anywhere?

I did a brisket today, ended up with a similar result to you. Mine seemed good when I took it off the grill, at which point it had a good flop to it, but it seemed harder when I came to carve it around 2 hours later. Where did you buy your brisket from, and was it just the flat? Looks it from the photo. That's what mine was, and I suspect that was part of the problem. Possibly a bit too small a cut of beef (about 2kg) and not enough fat on it. For me it's a bit of a catch 22 situation; I don't want to spend a lot on a brisket until im confident in my cooking method, but on the other hand, using a brisket that would normally be rolled and roasted (whether from a butcher or otherwise) with most of the fat trimmed off is unlikely to be give a great result and leave me thinking there's something wrong with my method when it might just be the meat.... Hopefully some experts will come along soon and point us in the right direction!

Where did you buy the brisket from? I'm keen to give one a go, but don't want to break the bank when there's every chance I'll ruin it....

My personal view is that it isn't necessary, and others seem to agree. I'm still new to mine though, have you been having problems with yours?

I bought a load from riversidegardencentre.co.uk a couple of weeks ago. Worked out as £56 for 39kg delivered Anything under £1.50 per KG seems like a good deal at the moment. I doubt you’ll find better than £30 for 2 x 12kg

Yours is a very different colour on the inside to mine! I must need to use it more!