• dream_weasel@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      7 days ago

      Kamado Joe Big Joe III. $2600 I think when I got it a few years ago. Fortunately, it comes with basically everything you might want.

      A kamado was on my wish list for 2 years before I sold my gas grill and pulled the trigger. So far no regrets, it has turned out some really great meals in every kind of weather.

      It’s a real heavy bastard though.

      • OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml
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        7 days ago

        Very very heavy. I always considered then over priced and not worth it. The good plus is they hold temp like a champ! The thermal mass being what it is and all. Do you think these types of grills have advantages over say a stainless gas, or charcoal, or any other fuel type? I honestly fail to see why their so expensive. Any ideas now that you have owned them? What’s the consensus from your view.

          • OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml
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            6 days ago

            I guess I’m shallow minded. I never thought if what use it could really have. The room it is capable of holding. Item types, quantities. Neat.

              • OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml
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                7 hours ago

                Geez that’s insane. That’s food for a few people for days maybe. You have so much more room to do activities too. Kabobs or veggies. Throw some corn or something to fill in a little more space. Maximize potential. I love pork shoulder. Brisket too. Looks good. Almost as if you marinated the shoulder.

                • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.worksOP
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                  6 hours ago

                  Overnight dry brine in the fridge with the rub on it. Both of these need to rest so when I pull them off I will jump temp and put vegetables on. Maybe squash today idk. Then when those are done I’ll cut the chuck roast, sauce the pieces, and put them back in for burnt ends.

                  When all is done I’ll yoink out the stuff inside and open the vents to burn off the extra food if there is any stuck and I’ll be ready for next week!

                  • OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml
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                    4 hours ago

                    Damn, that’s a pretty good idea I never thought of cutting up the meat and then browning the ends.

                    I’ve marinated meat and due to allergies I don’t use much dry spices due to cross contamination. The more I’ve seen and thought about the whole slow cooking large cuts of meat the more appealing it is. I want so bad to get a small smoker but I just haven’t found one yet. Funny enough I cooked a Chuck roast yesterday. Pressure cooker though with carrots and green beans. Black berries for fruit.

                    Keep it up! I dig the meals and ideas I gain from seeing what all you put in it. I am more amateur chef than anything so any and all ideas help me learn versatility.

        • dream_weasel@sh.itjust.worksOP
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          6 days ago

          You can do pretty great cooking with charcoal and just a Weber kettle. I keep one of those as my back up that I got as a gift my first year in college… 20 years ago lol. But I think the answer is lump charcoal and not briquettes for taste, so that makes heat management for an 8 or 10 hour cook a very hands on experience.

          So I see three big upsides of a ceramic grill, and I could have saved several hundred and got one size smaller without much loss, but I DO like to cook for a crowd.

          First, like you said, this thing is a MONSTER at keeping temperature. I would not be afraid to leave it overnight with a brisket in it. There’s a YouTube channel called Smoking Dad BBQ where he did a 50 hour burn at 250F without touching vents or adding charcoal. It’s crazy. Of course, this one will hold almost a whole bag.

          Second, there’s enough space in it that you can make the fire inefficient if you need to. Why would you want to do that? Well a problem with other charcoal grills is you lose the ability to do low temp smoking in a high quality way. A cold fire burns dirtier. So by putting a lot of “stuff” like heat deflectors and slow roller and whatever between the food and the fire, you can use a hot bed of coals (clean smoke) and still get temperatures as low as about 170F. I make my own jerky and smoke my own jalapenos to make my own chili powder.

          Third, it is truly all season. I can do 800F+ even when it’s 0F outside. I could never get my other grills to do that so I was left to wearing over the chimney starter and no pizza.

          The last thing that really pushed me over the edge has nothing to do with food prep and everything to do with longevity. This guy is a giant piece of ceramic with great customer support (I’ve had 2 minor issues and Kamado Joe has sent replacements free) and basically no moving parts that can fail besides the hinge and the bolt on the control tower. I plan to use this thing for decades to come. I have extra gaskets and stuff like that in case they ever fail. No gas grill I’ve had has lasted longer than about 5 years.

          If I had unlimited money, I’d also have an offset smoker, but this one grill does pretty much every style of cooking already. I guess that really makes about 5 things… But yeah I like it.

          • OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml
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            6 days ago

            So that really makes sense longevity. Of all the thoughts I didn’t consider that lol. I do see even 2k stainless grills they do eventually rust, break down, fall apart at all the joints eventually. So the fact this behemoth is simple I can see it going the long haul, pair that with the insulation and yeah cooking/grilling all year round is a good advantage. Your foods looks dialed in! So while to me its wildly expensive for a grill. I do see the points you mention and how they factor into the cost average over time. Plus I have a better understanding of why one would need a 2.5k or 3k egg grill. Interesting…

            Is there a cleaner method besides charcoal? I love smoked meat but don’t own a smoker. I have an autoimmune condition so I’m very ingredient sensitive which is what worries me about the charring and cleanliness of the heat source. The only smoked meats I usually consume are hickory smoked bacon in small amounts.