Kamado v smoker v dont bother

Lerxst said:
I think it's fair to say that most people in the states would call that 'Grilling'

BBQ to many just means something cooked at a lower temp and longer
(Some folks split BBQ and Smoking into separate categories but to the average person BBQ covers both)

More confusing is that if you're grilling hot dogs & burgers for a bunch of folks is often called a 'cookout' but some people will also call it a BBQ. It's kinda a contextual thing to know what's intended. Prb regional preferences too.
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Yeah I read and watch a lot of US bbq stuff and know the differences but to 99% of people here a bbq is grilling / a cookout and is pretty much burgers, sausages and chicken cooked hot and high.

Ive a bit of DIYing to do but I'm planning on having a big family bbq in the summer with pork / brisket in the smoker, burgers, dogs and veg on the weber, chicken and veg in the tandoor and a pizza station on the Ooni.

Will be great.
 
335clone said:
The wife thought I was crazy, but she is a quick convert. Next week; general chicken.
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Not at all...commercial wok burners are like minimum 100K BTU jet burners which is waaaay hotter than most home kitchen stoves can generate (18K is usually on the upper end of most home gas ranges)
 
Lerxst said:
Not at all...commercial wok burners are like minimum 100K BTU jet burners which is waaaay hotter than most home kitchen stoves can generate (18K is usually on the upper end of most home gas ranges)
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Exactly. There was a 100k burner for $80, or 200K for $99. Of v=course I went for the big one, because I have seen the burners they use at the local Chinese place. Only problem I faced was dialing in a low enough heat to not immediately scorch everything. Once we got it going, I raised the temp and everything cooked perfect without turning the veggies into mush.
 
jbj said:
but to 99% of people here a bbq is grilling
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Same in the States. Yes, we have a strong barbecue/smoking culture but, unless outside of the (growing) aficionado crowd (and all of Texas), much of the U.S. still use "BBQ" and "grill" interchangeably. That's changing as cable TV and internet make BBQ hip, but "smoking" has become the phrase to keep people from getting confused.

All that said, this thread kinda went off on tangents...are you looking toe smoke things like North Carolina pulled pork, Texas brisket, smoked queso, etc.? Do they sell the Weber Smokey Mountain over there? It's a pretty reliable smoker with a more affordable entry price compared to the ceramic Green Egg/Kamados.

Anyone remember JJ Pistols? I think he worked as a pitmaster in Austin or San Antonio at one time.
 
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Wyatt said:
Same in the States. Yes, we have a strong barbecue/smoking culture but, unless outside of the (growing) aficionado crowd (and all of Texas), much of the U.S. still use "BBQ" and "grill" interchangeably. That's changing as cable TV and internet make BBQ hip, but "smoking" has become the phrase to keep people from getting confused.

All that said, this thread kinda went off on tangents...are you looking toe smoke things like North Carolina pulled pork, Texas brisket, smoked queso, etc.? Do they sell the Weber Smokey Mountain over there? It's a pretty reliable smoker with a more affordable entry price compared to the ceramic Green Egg/Kamados.

Anyone remember JJ Pistols? I think he worked as a pitmaster in Austin or San Antonio at one time.
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Yeah that have the weber smokers but price wise, the gas one was similar, probably cheaper actually and for my first dip into it I like the idea of set and forget with gas, I dunno how much of it is for dramatic effect but I've watched dudes on YT and Netflix get up at 4am to top up coal in their smoker, I'm not getting up that early even if the house is on fire so this will hopefully work for me.
 
jbj said:
Yeah that have the weber smokers but price wise, the gas one was similar, probably cheaper actually and for my first dip into it I like the idea of set and forget with gas, I dunno how much of it is for dramatic effect but I've watched dudes on YT and Netflix get up at 4am to top up coal in their smoker, I'm not getting up that early even if the house is on fire so this will hopefully work for me.
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Not an exaggeration. I'm up at 6 to light the fire, meat usually goes in by 8, and may not come back off again 12-14 more hours. If you want to serve "day of", then you're up most of the night keeping an eye on everything.
 
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I'm up between 4-5am anyways so poping out at 3am to load the hopper with pellets and hit the power button on the smoker is not that big a deal if I want brisket same day. I'll toss the brisket on by 3:30am at the latest & head back to bed. I can monitor it via WiFi for the rest of the cook. I'll check the hopper at some point but at low temps I don't really have to refill. Edit: I do usually keep a bowl of cider vinegar in the smoker to maintain humidity so I'll check that a few times and top it off.
 
Last two posts are 100% true. I almost never try to do day of because I am lazy. I'd rather do an overnight, catch a nap and then serve dinner.
 
In AZ we wrap meat in foil and place it on the sidewalk and it's done 15 minutes later....who needs a Komodo *spits*
 
DdBob said:
In AZ we wrap meat in foil and place it on the sidewalk and it's done 15 minutes later....who needs a Komodo *spits*
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You're supposed to cook it low and slow. You "need" the Komodo for the shade it provides.
 
First cook last night, thick cut rump steaks, baked potatoes and a kind of beef stir fry. Lovely and I can see the potential of this thing. Need to order a divide and conquer set up that will fit.

Out at the football this afternoon so left Mrs jbj in charge of prepping - got chicken, pork loin steaks, couple of other things so will see what she comes up with.
 
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The building I live in (22 flats, mostly two-bedroom) doesn't allow charcoal or gas so there's been no smoking, grilling, or other odorous meat preparation since we moved in '22. I've been thinking about getting an electric smoker since that is allowed. Anybody have any experience with one of those?
 
I love this thing!

Still got to get the hang of lighting it first time and need to measure up for a divide and conquer set up but it's brilliant.

absolutely nailed steaks, char sui and chicken shawarma with no effort the past couple of nights.
 
Since whenever ago I last posted in this thread, I've replaced my GMG w/ a new Traeger that was on sale for a price I couldn't pass up.
Gifted my thoroughly abused GMG to a friend after I went through it and made a final repair to the igniter wiring.

The Traeger is kinda a bit janky compared to the GMG. Everything about it is far lower quality and their customer support is a complete disappointment. The grill set itself on fire with the first longer cook that I did (which was the second actual use). At some point later in the cook, the fire went out in the firebox but the grill kept continously feeding pellets. Eventually it re-ignited and set off a mountain of pellets that spilled out of the firebox into the bottom of the grill. I wasn't babysitting it 'cause nothing like that ever happened w/ the GMG. CS claimed that wasn't possible but the burnt pellets say otherwise.

I've used it a bunch since, always keeping an eye on it, but it hasn't happened again. Kamado is still pretty darn awesome and so much more stright forward.
 
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