Smoking Meat -- Tips, Opinions, Recipes

TrailHunter said:
I hear you on the size... but I think the 18" will be perfect for what I need. I just don't do big cooks often at all. And I think a 12-15lb turkey will fit fine for Thanksgiving. My goal is to cook some awesome meats during the year for my family of 4. I really like how the KJ can use minimal fuel and go for 12 hours without being touched and the temps stay solid because of the Ceramic. My Pellet grill was all over the place all the time. And I still want to either build or buy an Offset... so the Offset could handle Big Cooks if needed and fun to tend to on special occasions. The 24" Big Joe looks F'n Huge and $2500 is a lot of dough... I'm going to go check them out in person, then I'll make my decision. The series 3 KJ's have some awesome features and I'm stoked to not have to plug it in and mess with digital gauges that were never correct. Clean the Ash drawer, Add Some charcoal, some wood for flavor, adjust the vents and walk away. I'm excited about that.
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Totally.
Once you get to learn how it runs and where it settles at. It’s such an easy cooker to make awesome food. Good quality lump charcoal makes a big difference. Don’t skimp out on fuel.
 
HighwayTrout said:
Totally.
Once you get to learn how it runs and where it settles at. It’s such an easy cooker to make awesome food. Good quality lump charcoal makes a big difference. Don’t skimp out on fuel.
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Yeah... I've been watching this Dude on YT that has every model KJ and he's real detailed on how to use them. Lump Charcoal and a couple small pcs of wood... and on slow cooks you can even add small sticks into the ash drawer without having to pull everything out... so damn simple.
 
TrailHunter said:
I hear you on the size... but I think the 18" will be perfect for what I need. I just don't do big cooks often at all. And I think a 12-15lb turkey will fit fine for Thanksgiving. My goal is to cook some awesome meats during the year for my family of 4. I really like how the KJ can use minimal fuel and go for 12 hours without being touched and the temps stay solid because of the Ceramic. My Pellet grill was all over the place all the time. And I still want to either build or buy an Offset... so the Offset could handle Big Cooks if needed and fun to tend to on special occasions. The 24" Big Joe looks F'n Huge and $2500 is a lot of dough... I'm going to go check them out in person, then I'll make my decision. The series 3 KJ's have some awesome features and I'm stoked to not have to plug it in and mess with digital gauges that were never correct. Clean the Ash drawer, Add Some charcoal, some wood for flavor, adjust the vents and walk away. I'm excited about that.
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Pay once, cry once…over a 10 year period, it’s not that much. Get the biggest you can afford…
 
TrailHunter said:
The biggest I can afford is the 18”. Let me clarify that.. the biggest I can justify to the wife is the 18”. And unfortunately I’ve spent 15 years convincing her that 6” is really 12”… so I may have to buy the Kamodo Joe Junior. 😂
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You need to show her pics of 12# prime ribs, whole briskets, whole planked salmon etc…explain to her they only fit on the 24”….
 
TrailHunter said:
How long does it take to preheat to the point you are ready to cook? 1 hour?
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Here you go I timed it for you today.

Started charcoal right in the firebox at 9:35a, went inside and seasoned the meat, came out at 9:50a threw on a few logs, 10a pit was at temp. The longest part is the charcoal.

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Cook chamber temp
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temp where firebox meets the cook chamber
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And the pit master taking position meaning things are ready
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Sharkey said:
What cord free meat thermometers are y’all using. I’ve outgrown having just the single, wired probe on my Traeger.
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I use an igrill. Still plugs into a base but connects to your phone via Bluetooth. You have to be fairly close by though. Never been much of an issue for me. You can set temp alarms on it as well.
 
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