ALDI KAMADO

[vk2003]

My second cook ever with the Kamado. Jumped in the deep end, and did a beef brisket. 

Really pleased with the result. Meet was succulent and falling apart. If I’m being critical, it could perhaps have been cooked for a tiny bit longer, but I wasn’t far off the mark! Family have all eaten it without complaint, so I’ll take that as a win😀😀

Edited April 17, 2022 by vk2003
Blasted autocorrect…

[Cruiser52G]

Hi vk2003

 

Looks really nice

 

Where did you get the brisket from

 

Regards,

 

Graham

[Cruiser52G]

Hi Glentini

 

I would go with everything vk2003 says regarding what to get.

I have not got an inkbird, I've got a thermoworks smoke wireless barbecue thermometer.

It comes with a grate and a meat probe. 

Also a thermoworks thermapen instant read thermometer. It's more expensive than some, but it is really accurate.

I have bought some cheap ones in the past, but gave up with them as they took too long to read a temp.

The charcoal basket is definitely worth getting.

I also bought a Von Haus 20L ash vacuum last week as I it was a pain bending down and trying to scrape all the ash out of the vent. 

So far it is really good. It takes around 15-20 seconds to clean out the ash after a cook, and there is no ash floating in the air. 

 

Regards,

 

Graham

[Cruiser52G]

I forgot to say, I get my wood chunks and chips from Smokewood Shack. https://www.smokewoodshack.com/

They are very reasonably priced. They average £7.99 for a 1.5kg bag

The Weber ones are the same price but you only get 0.7kg

The whisky, apple and cherry are really nice

[vk2003]

2 hours ago, Cruiser52G said:

Hi vk2003

 

Looks really nice

 

Where did you get the brisket from

 

Regards,

 

Graham

Tesco’s I’m sad to say. For an inexperienced and first attempt, I didn’t want to spend vast amounts on the meat. It was a small brisket; 1.16 kg (roughly 2Lb). I just used salt pepper garlic rubs, and a beef stock injection. I credit the latter with the succulence of final result! 
 

 

[AdamG]

8 hours ago, Cruiser52G said:

I forgot to say, I get my wood chunks and chips from Smokewood Shack. https://www.smokewoodshack.com/

They are very reasonably priced. They average £7.99 for a 1.5kg bag

The Weber ones are the same price but you only get 0.7kg

The whisky, apple and cherry are really nice

I get my wood chunks,chips and dust from smokewoodshack aswell and its always been really good stuff, so they get a 2nd vote from me👍

[Monkeybumcheeks]

24 minutes ago, AdamG said:

I get my wood chunks,chips and dust from smokewoodshack aswell and its always been really good stuff, so they get a 2nd vote from me👍

I've got a selection box from jacquitreetops arriving from ebay this week, so will let you know how I get on with it 😊

[AdamG]

2 hours ago, Monkeybumcheeks said:

I've got a selection box from jacquitreetops arriving from ebay this week, so will let you know how I get on with it 😊

I have not heard of those before, I will check them out👍.

Upload some pics if you get chance😁🍻

Thanks

[Monkeybumcheeks]

On 4/17/2022 at 10:34 PM, AdamG said:

I have not heard of those before, I will check them out👍.

Upload some pics if you get chance😁🍻

Thanks

So my order arrived a day early 👍🏻 I must say I'm more than happy with the wood I've received.  No complaints here and would definitely buy from her again.

[Monkeybumcheeks]

Here's a link. I should ha e gone for a bigger weight looking at some of the other listings she has. Next time!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304314398770?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=lblVKFY1RG2&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=ZsWjcRx2QV6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[AdamG]

3 hours ago, Monkeybumcheeks said:

Here's a link. I should ha e gone for a bigger weight looking at some of the other listings she has. Next time!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304314398770?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=lblVKFY1RG2&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=ZsWjcRx2QV6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Just had a look at the link and seems like great value. They also look nice and big aswell. Saved them as a seller on ebay ready for next time👍

Thanks again! 🍻

[Dan_K]

Hey all. 

Been lurking here for the last few days since ordering my AK on Sunday

Very impressed that it arrived today and everything seems to be in order as far as I can tell. A couple of pinprick marks in the glaze, where it looks like it's bubbled. I'm assuming that's normal for ceramic of this size.

Just need to get it cured. How long should I expect to give it to cure? Manual says 200g charcoal to 200C max - do I just let that burn out? 

[Dan_K]

6 hours ago, Dan_K said:

Just need to get it cured. How long should I expect to give it to cure? Manual says 200g charcoal to 200C max - do I just let that burn out? 

Cure didn't quite go as I expected. Took about an hour to get to 100C, gradually opening vents. 
I then opened them fully and added in the Inkbird and maxed out at about 130C an hour later, at which point I think the charcoal ran out as heat has been falling since. 

It's been running since about 12:30 and now at 69C, so should that have been enough?

[AdamG]

Hi @Dan_K

Sounds like a few potential things could have gone wrong with your cure.

Taking an hour to get up to 100C is a long time and this would suggest either you closed the vents too soon after lighting (almost snuffing the fire), too many small pieces have blocked airflow or something else has happened.

Did you use lumpwood or briquettes? What did you use to light the charcoal?

Also did you add in the deflector plate as soon as it was lit?

thanks

Adam

Edited April 21, 2022 by AdamG

[Dan_K]

Used a wood wool starter 

Charcoal was Big K red bag. Not had a chance to source anything better - especially as the BBQ came 5 days early!

I suspect that I did close the vents too early. I let the fire lighter burn out, then shut the lid for about 5 minutes with the vents open before closing the vents for 1/2 hour, then opening then a bit more. 
 

Deflector went in when I shut the lid. 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Dan_K

[AdamG]

2 minutes ago, Dan_K said:

Used a wood wool starter 

Charcoal was Big K red bag. Not had a chance to source anything better - especially as the BBQ came 5 days early!

I suspect that I did close the vents too early. I let the fire lighter burn out, then shut the lid for about 5 minutes with the vents open before closing the vents for 1/2 hour, then opening then a bit more. 

I have not used Big K red bag before so I cant say if its that or not (although it should be at the very least useable).

What you could try next time is to hand load any bigger chunks into the firebox until you cover the bottom, then gently pour some more on top (any unused chunks can be used next time). Light your wood wool starter and shut the lid with both vents fully open (while there is still a flame ignore your temperature probe as it will be a false reading at this point).

Once the flame goes out keep an eye on your temperature and wait until its reading 100C (just for the purpose of this cure, it will change depending on desired cooking temp), check you have a nice glow in your charcoal, then load your deflectors, drip trays, cooking grids etc and close down the vents, about 1.5 to 2 fingers gap on the bottom, big hole closed and small holes fully open on top vent. (my brand of kamado is different so the vent settings may differ slightly, but this will give you a starting point for your kamado).

At this point just leave it for an hour or so to see where your temp lands and becomes stable. If its about 160C then you can open about half a fingers width on JUST the bottom and then see where that lands after an hour. You can get a general idea of your vent settings while doing your curing process.

My first time I tried landing on different temps to get rough vent settings for future cooks.

Hopefully this all helps to get you started in the right direction. If someone with an Aldi Kamado see's this then they may be able to give some better advice👍😁

[Dan_K]

Cheers. My main concern at this point is whether I need to run another cure to a higher temp. It feels like I should

[AdamG]

1 minute ago, Dan_K said:

Cheers. My main concern at this point is whether I need to run another cure to a higher temp. It feels like I should

My first time I got the temp to around 120C and left it abit, then raised it to 150C and left it, then 200C and left it. then finally to 250C but this was more of a learning curve for me....then about 10 cooks in with a different brand of lumpwood, it snuffed out due to the excessive dust in the bag blocking the charcoal grate. I had to stir it to loosen the dust, then clean it out and finally start from the very beginning.

I like to make sure there is minimal dust/ash before lighting, make sure the burn is established (glow means go) and the temp raises to at least 70C (lowest reading on my dome thermometer) before loading anything in. Just to eliminate the chance of snuffing it out.😀

[Peewee]

Any suggestions for accessories for the Aldi kamado, and best place to buy. Many thanks

[Smokin Monkey]

Drop a message to Tom from @Bbq life uk

[Bbq life uk]

40 minutes ago, Peewee said:

Any suggestions for accessories for the Aldi kamado, and best place to buy. Many thanks

 This should help you out. Any questions message me on Facebook Instagram of email bbqlifeuk@outlook.com 

[Smokin Monkey]

Thanks Tom 👍

[j-loe]

Hi all, 

Am wondering if anyone uses a chimney to get their Aldi Komado started?

I note the manual says not to drop any fuel inside, which is what I'll be doing when emptying the chimney coal into the Kamado. I've seen some YouTube videos of people using chimneys to start other Komado grills.

I have a chimney already but don't want to damage the new AK so am wondering if anyone else uses one?

Edited April 22, 2022 by j-loe
Typo

[Gigasonix]

1 hour ago, j-loe said:

Hi all, 

Am wondering if anyone uses a chimney to get their Aldi Komado started?

I note the manual says not to drop any fuel inside, which is what I'll be doing when emptying the chimney coal into the Kamado. I've seen some YouTube videos of people using chimneys to start other Komado grills.

I have a chimney already but don't want to damage the new AK so am wondering if anyone else uses one?

The whole kamado is a big chimney starter. One of the great benefits of a kamado is that they are very easy to light with decent charcoal.

Why would you need to use a chimney to start it? Adding very hot coal from cold, especially in cold weather, is likely to increase the chance of cracking the firebowl or even worse, the kamado itseft.

They only time I've ever used a chimney starter with my Kamado is when I was making pizzas and I wanted to top it up when it was already hot with more hot coals to keep the temperature vey high.

[j-loe]

7 hours ago, Gigasonix said:

The whole kamado is a big chimney starter. One of the great benefits of a kamado is that they are very easy to light with decent charcoal.

Why would you need to use a chimney to start it? Adding very hot coal from cold, especially in cold weather, is likely to increase the chance of cracking the firebowl or even worse, the kamado itseft.

They only time I've ever used a chimney starter with my Kamado is when I was making pizzas and I wanted to top it up when it was already hot with more hot coals to keep the temperature vey high.

Got it, thanks. Yes, I was worried about it cracking by adding the hot coals with the chimney.

I've struggled to get it up to temperature and to get the coals properly going hence was wondering if a chimney would help at all. Guess I need a bit more practice!