Back ribs on the menu tonight here too.
Smoked low and slow in the Kamado.

On 02/09/2018 at 4:21 PM, frankn said:

Baby-back pork ribs for lunch with Mrs. 

 

Tonights grub... satay chicken and lamb leg gyros (quick and easy style)

How often do you guys do a pyrotechnic clean of your Kamadao? Ie. over 600f for an hour or more with all accessories in? I had a fair bit of mould growing in mine when I opened it up last week after a few weeks of no use.

 

I tried this on Saturday but didn't clean out the small bits of used charcoal before hand so I don't think enough air was getting thru the fire grate. I got it to just over 500F and the bottom half, heat deflectors and grill were cleaned beautifully, but the dome and dual height rack didn't "burn" clean. But all mould is long gone!

 

I wanted to do this as everything I was cooking was starting to taste vaguely the same. Admittedly the rubs I use aren't that dissimilar, so perhaps it was the rubs & smoke overpowering the actual different meats natural flavour???

 

I need some more charcoal and have noticed a local butcher selling Mallee Root lump charcoal. Anybody have experience with it? The last batch I got from Bunnings was all logs and no smaller pieces, hence why I haven't been cleaning out the Kamado between cooks.

 

Also thinking of buying a "Joetissorie" as my wife wants me to try a Greek style lamb "on the spit" and I don't really want another BBQ

Never had a problem with mould. Would have thought it needed moisture to grow. I just close the vents and put it away with cover on it. Maybe its getting rain in through top vent?

Me, probably only a couple of times  and mainly for cosmetic purposes only. What I do do however is flip the ceramic deflector plates upside down between each cook so that the side that coped any drippings from the last cook is burnt off and cleaned.

 

Never had any mould issues either (and I keep both vents shut when not in use) so im thinking yours is somehow wicking in moisture after a cook as normally the time between removing the food from the grill and the fire being snuffed out would be sufficient to dry out any remaining food residue.

 

Mallee root is good and burns HOT. Ideally charcoal should be inert and impart no specific flavour (thats what wood chunks are for) but a lot of the time the stuff we buy still has some remaining wood residue residing inside which can impart flavour. Also not sure why you dont like the "logs" as to me they are the gold in the bag as they will burn for a much longer period of time than small pieces which are imo better suited to spit type BBQ's.

 

I too was looking at the JOEtisserie but was difficult to obtain at the time so never bothered, Dunno how different a chook would taste using one though compared to the "beer can" method I normally use but for lamb gyros I reckcon it would be pretty amazing.

 

Finally if the foods tasting similar you probably right in that you perhaps over smoking or using too much seasoning.Try using just salt & pepper on beef and leave those commercial rubs for babybacks or pork shoulder,

I've seen you tube videos regarding mould in Kamados and I've had it when ever leaving it for more than 2 weeks without a cook. But I do leave the residue coals in there as I'm lazy.

 

Perhaps the newer metal mesh type of gasket is the issue??? The last cook I did was a reverse sear rib eye so the temp was way up over 450F before shutting down the fire so all residue should have well and truly been dried out. My Joe Classic is out in the weather full time but has a cover that is put on once cool to the touch, and all vents are shut.

 

Oh, the charcoal logs are great, but I find almost impossible to light without some small coals or using 5-6 fire-lighters. The entire box of Charcoal I got from Bunnings was logs and on the weekend for the first time I had the fire go out on me after I thought it was well and truly lit and closed the lid and went out for an hour hoping it would be 600+ F by the time I got back. I had to try splitting a few charcoal logs with a small axe ?. It didn't end well with splinters going everywhere and me hunting around the lawn for chunks I could use... I'm about to buy a metal bucket I put used coals into so I can clean the fire pit, shake the dust off the residual coals and re-use some pieces as a base to get the fire going.

22 hours ago, blybo said:

I need some more charcoal and have noticed a local butcher selling Mallee Root lump charcoal. Anybody have experience with it?

I've had good success with both of Gaganis's charcoal---mallee and red gum. Both were a mix of large lumps and small.

16 minutes ago, blybo said:

I've seen you tube videos regarding mould in Kamados and I've had it when ever leaving it for more than 2 weeks without a cook. But I do leave the residue coals in there as I'm lazy.

 

Perhaps the newer metal mesh type of gasket is the issue??? The last cook I did was a reverse sear rib eye so the temp was way up over 450F before shutting down the fire so all residue should have well and truly been dried out. My Joe Classic is out in the weather full time but has a cover that is put on once cool to the touch, and all vents are shut.

 

Oh, the charcoal logs are great, but I find almost impossible to light without some small coals or using 5-6 fire-lighters. The entire box of Charcoal I got from Bunnings was logs and on the weekend for the first time I had the fire go out on me after I thought it was well and truly lit and closed the lid and went out for an hour hoping it would be 600+ F by the time I got back. I had to try splitting a few charcoal logs with a small axe ?. It didn't end well with splinters going everywhere and me hunting around the lawn for chunks I could use... I'm about to buy a metal bucket I put used coals into so I can clean the fire pit, shake the dust off the residual coals and re-use some pieces as a base to get the fire going.

 

Ok got ya, know exactly what you mean by trying to fire up one of the logs but what I tend to do at the beginning of a cook is to firstly remove any remaining unburnt charcoal (yeah im also a lazy bastard) and set aside. I then put in a the fresh charcoal and any wood chunks if required (this is important as too many people just throw them on top where they'll just burn instead of smoulder). I then top up with the old unused charcoal creating a dome in the centre which is then lit.

 

The mould issue could very well be caused by your new style mesh number as I know my old felt one leaks like a sieve creating great airflow ?

 

I personally wouldn't put a cover on it as that will just make it sweat and imo covers do more harm than good. Mines been out in the elements since day1 and am yet to see any issues arise from this.

I've just read a little more on mould in Kamados and looks like I'm doing 2 things wrong;

1. leaving coals in after a cook
2. Having all vents shut

   4 minutes ago, Tubularbells said:

   The mould issue could very well be caused by your new style mesh number as I know my old felt one leaks like a sieve creating great airflow ?

    

   I personally wouldn't put a cover on it as that will just make it sweat and imo covers do more harm than good. Mines been out in the elements since day1 and am yet to see any issues arise from this.

   Perhaps the new gasket and top vent are too efficient so need to crack the vents open a touch to let air circulate  and reduce humidity. In this case I would need the cover as it still does have vent hole in it near the top so probably designed so you can keep vents open to aid air circulation.

Edited September 12, 20187 yr by blybo

1 minute ago, blybo said:

I've just read a little more on mould in Kamados and looks like I'm doing 2 things wrong;

1. leaving coals in after a cook
2. Having all vents shut

   Perhaps the new gasket and top vent are too efficient so need to crack the vents open a touch to let air circulate  and reduce humidity

Give it a whirl. Only potential issue is creating a cosy hidey home for your backyard critters ?

1 minute ago, blybo said:

I've just read a little more on mould in Kamados and looks like I'm doing 2 things wrong;

1. leaving coals in after a cook
2. Having all vents shut

   Perhaps the new gasket and top vent are too efficient so need to crack the vents open a touch to let air circulate  and reduce humidity

I leave the coals in, but on reading the new manual, it does say to crack open both the lid and the top vent.

Just now, GregWormald said:

I leave the coals in, but on reading the new manual, it does say to crack open both the lid and the top vent.

@blybo  RTFM ?

Well yes, it does look like Mallee root gets hot... also seems easier to light than my Bunnings logs. This was the heat generated by my pyrolytic cleaning attempt #2. Still didn't clean the inside of the lid but happy I've killed off any remnant mould or flavour residue. 

 

My wife got out some super market minute pork steaks for dinner tonight... trying to decide if I can be bothered getting the Kamado going when the Weber Q seems the obvious choice... just not as fun to use.

 

 

Go the Q I reckon. That little gasser still has a place within my BBQ arsenal and it the perfect choice for a quick, no fuss cook that will still be tasty.

31 minutes ago, Tubularbells said:

Go the Q I reckon. That little gasser still has a place within my BBQ arsenal and it the perfect choice for a quick, no fuss cook that will still be tasty.

Yeah I know ?

minute pork steaks  - use a griddle pan or frying pan if cooking for two, otherwise the babyQ.   

Million dollar sausages.
3 hrs smoked low and slow.

Got this for my birthday. Does a BBQ style clock subliminally mean its always time to eat? 

18 hours ago, glenm64 said:

Million dollar sausages.
3 hrs smoked low and slow.

Wow, too rich for my blood! ?

 

Look yum though.

6 minutes ago, Tubularbells said:

Got this for my birthday. Does a BBQ style clock subliminally mean its always time to eat? 

 

 

Lol, love it!  It means you'll always have the taste of thyme.

13 minutes ago, Kaynin said:

 

 

Lol, love it!  It means you'll always have the taste of thyme.

Well played sir....

Soon to be BBQ in Stereonet colours,

 

 

Soon to be BBQ in Stereonet colours,
 
 

You getting a Yoder?

2 hours ago, Zammo said:

 

You getting a Yoder?

 

 

Appears that way...

 

Cooked on one a few years ago when I attended a BBQ course and absolutely loved it!