Ken™️

That’s annoying. Not trying to get you to change your mind on the purchase, particularly as the Meater+ is so much more expensive (one probe is £100, give or take), but the Meater app syncs via cloud as well as Wifi and Bluetooth, there is an Apple Watch version of the app, and you can even highlight favourite cooks (and add notes to them):

A lot of people swear by the Inkbird. For the price, it seems to be the best wired thermoprobe set going. Personally, I bought the Meater+ a few years ago and am very happy with it (the app is particularly good), but I might have given the Inkbird greater consideration if I had my time again.

Would recommend spending £10 on a roll of gasket tape if nothing else…

How did they turn out?? I’ve only done short ribs a handful of times, but I would make a couple of recommendations - firstly, dry brine them for at least 12 hours. Helps break up the fibres and enhances the flavour too. Secondly, and this is purely based on my own experience and expectations, shorties take waaaaaay longer than you think to cook to pull-apart tender. The good news is that they are so fatty/collageny that it’s pretty hard to overcook them.

Very jealous...

Jeepers, you guys have some nice setups... Mine is just tucked away down the side return!

I’d have thought the weight alone is enough to deter theft... nevertheless, you can add it as a specific item to your home insurance. It shouldn’t add much to your premium, if anything at all.

Hi Matty, and welcome to the joy of the Landmann Kentucky. It’s not a particularly good barbecue, in my experience, but perhaps because of that it is a great device to learn on... It is leaky, so you have to learn how to control airflow (and probably invest in some gasket tape). It has a large temperature drop-off in the main chamber, so you have to learn about heat zones. But it is also a jack of all trades, meaning you can learn how to grill, smoke, and low and slow with a single rig. I used to be able to hit 225F pretty consistently about a third of the way into the main chamber when smoking from the offset. The rig does burn through a lot of fuel (like any direct flow offset), but if you make sure the briquettes have enough oxygen, hitting 250 or even 275 in at least a third of the main chamber should be doable. Although I will say that 375 is not on the cards with the charcoal bed in the firebox. You would need to have the charcoal in the main chamber and banked to the end nearest the firebox to hit that sort of temp, and at that point it can become partly radiative (or direct) heat rather than convective. Seal up the gaps, have a play around with some cheaper/more forgiving cuts, and get to know your rig. You’ll be churning out great food in no time. The best Côte de Boeuf, paella, and ribs I’ve ever done in my life were on the Kentucky.

Full disclosure: I own a KJ Classic III, which I managed to secure at cost price (still comfortably into four figures, though). I’ve not used the Aldi version, but at the price they are selling I understand why they sell out so bloody quickly every year. I would say that if you already have a ceramic kamado, think long and hard about what functionality you feel you are lacking before spending money on another one. If temperature regulation is difficult in the Aldi, perhaps look at buying a Tip Top Temp, or upgrading your gaskets. If you don’t have enough cooking surface, look at one of the many grill extenders available. If the ash grate keeps blocking, maybe buy a charcoal basket. In short, you may find that buying a new kamado is an easy way to spend thousands of pounds on something you could fix with change from a hundred quid. But of course, if you just won’t be fulfilled until you own a Big Green Egg, then I sympathise and understand - this can be a dangerously expensive hobby if you are a gear collector! (Although personally I would always go for the KJ over the BGE...)

Ostrás, no fastidies! Yo también! Coruñés por aquí, tu?

My Kentucky has finally gone to the great ash collector in the sky, but it gave me a few years of good cooking. I would definitely recommend investing in some gasket tape (nothing too fancy), as it has a tendency to leak. That said, I used it as a grill as much as I did as an offset smoker, and the leakiness doesn’t really matter for the former. Personal favourite cooks on it were spare ribs, pulled pork, and paella. Yep, you read that right. One of the easiest and best ways to get even distribution of heat across a paella pan is on a barbecue.

I’m looking for a replacement for exactly the bit you are taking about - if you don’t want/need yours, can I buy it off you?

Thank you, they were! A bit of an experiment with two different crutch methods, one wrapped in peach paper, the other in foil (with a little bit of braising liquid). It’ll be foil from now on!

Hello from a small terraced garden in Kew! I’ve been grilling for as long as I can remember (probably about 25 years), but wanted to get into smoking and low-and-slow a few years ago, so bought a cheap offset (Landmann Kentucky). Lockdown has me feeling like I’ve finally outgrown the Landmann after four years, so I’m going to be taking the plunge with a KJ in a couple of months time. I’m quite active on the UK BBQ Reddit forum (as well as some other BBQ-related forums on Reddit) but this is my first time venturing into WSF after being aware of it for years. Be gentle with me! PS herewith some of my favourite cooks on the Landmann since lockdown started.

Hi all, I’ve owned one of these for about four years, after snapping it up in an end-of-summer sale, and have been reasonably happy with it with minimal mods (a £10 roll of gasket tape and that’s about it). It has also been remarkably durable despite me taking minimal care of it... ... ...with one exception. My “part 23” is now absolutely falling apart, and I’m looking to buy a replacement, but want to make sure I’m getting the right bit. Is it the main chamber firebowl? I’m seeing that it’s out of stock in most spare parts stockists, so can anyone suggest an alternative to replace it if I can’t get my hands on one? (I’m not much for manufacturing, but a little bit of modding a different off-the-peg part would be okay if necessary) Thanks all.