# The Kamado Joe II



## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 26, 2018)

Just ordered the Kamado Joe classic.

Kamado Joe Classic II 18" Review







   Anyone with any experience on these units?
From what I've read they are very impressive in their versatility,from being able to bake bread,sear at 750 degrees and long slow and low smokes with a remarkable efficiency when it comes to fuel.


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## depotoo (Dec 26, 2018)

Lots of people love them and lots of forums on them-
kamado joe forum at DuckDuckGo


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 26, 2018)

depotoo said:


> Lots of people love them and lots of forums on them-
> kamado joe forum at DuckDuckGo



  LOL...already a member and I haven't even gotten the cooker.
If it'll do what it claims I see me getting rid of three cooking units.
   My stick burner,my pellet smoker and my electric that I want to get rid of anyway. The thing makes chicken to rival rubber.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 26, 2018)

I was thinking about the Big Joe but at $1800 I'm a little leary.
If the thing produces as advertised and I sell all of my current cookers I'll upgrade.


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## depotoo (Dec 26, 2018)

Now, there is one I do know that is awesome according to several guys I know, and that is the Traeger.

Traeger Grills
Look up this guy, he volunteered with our relief group this year and did lots of cooking on his Traegar that was out of this world, after rescues.  A couple of other guys got rid of their kamado after seeing and tasting the food he prepared with it.
Jamie Hough-“The Chef Redneck” (@thechefredneck) • Instagram photos and videos


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 27, 2018)

depotoo said:


> Now, there is one I do know that is awesome according to several guys I know, and that is the Traeger.
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> Traeger Grills
> Look up this guy, he volunteered with our relief group this year and did lots of cooking on his Traegar that was out of this world, after rescues.  A couple of other guys got rid of their kamado after seeing and tasting the food he prepared with it.
> Jamie Hough-“The Chef Redneck” (@thechefredneck) • Instagram photos and videos



  All ready have this guy. Widely known as the best pellet smoker out there.




A little pricey at $2700.00 Bucks but the thing is amazing.
  A true set it and forget it cooker.

    Added this so I can be warned if anything goes wrong while I sleep through those long brisket cooks.


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## depotoo (Dec 27, 2018)

It seems to me the 18” cooking area would be a big downfall with the Kamado Joe Classic II, if you like to cook a lot.  For the way I cook, I know it would be.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 27, 2018)

depotoo said:


> It seems to me the 18” cooking area would be a big downfall with the Kamado Joe Classic II, if you like to cook a lot.  For the way I cook, I know it would be.



     You can fit a brisket and thats the largest thing I ever cook.
You can also purchase a second rack that doubles the cook space.
   Mainly cook for the wife and I and a buddy or two so it should be fine.
    I couldnt tell you the last time I cooked for a crowd.

   And if by chance I have to in the future I have the Mac pellet smoker and the Pitts and Spitts.





  Ya can damn near cook a whole cow on the thing.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 27, 2018)

Mainly bought it for the versatility and to be able to cook on charcoal again.  I miss the taste that charcoal imparts on a hunk of meat but most charcoal grills are to limited on cook times and they're one dimensional. Then there's the clean up using a regular charcoal grill.
  This things a breeze to clean. Just pull out the tray and dump it,when it gets a little nasty inside you crank it up to 700 for fifteen minutes,let it cool,and all the gunks brushes right off in to the ash pan.

    Another cool thing about it is you load the thing up full with the lump charcoal and when you finish your cook you snuff out the fire,shake the Kick Ash basket which shakes loose the ash from the outside of the lump charcoal and you just fire it back up next time.

   Guys have said they can go through 3 and 4 cooks and never add charcoal.


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## depotoo (Dec 27, 2018)

In that case, yes it sounds like it would work for you, and that clean up is a great plus.

When we use our smoker, we usually cook up enough for the whole family or friends coming over.  I do like doing a couple of chickens or, just a cowboy steak from time to time.





HereWeGoAgain said:


> Mainly bought it for the versatility and to be able to cook on charcoal again.  I miss the taste that charcoal imparts on a hunk of meat but most charcoal grills are to limited on cook times and they're one dimensional. Then there's the clean up using a regular charcoal grill.
> This things a breeze to clean. Just pull out the tray and dump it,when it gets a little nasty inside you crank it up to 700 for fifteen minutes,let it cool,and all the gunks brushes right off in to the ash pan.
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> Another cool thing about it is you load the thing up full with the lump charcoal and when you finish your cook you snuff out the fire,shake the Kick Ash basket which shakes loose the ash from the outside of the lump charcoal and you just fire it back up next time.
> ...


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 27, 2018)

Used to cook for a bunch of people in my younger years.
Thats why I originally bought the Pitts and Spitts. You can easily smoke four briskets and a half dozen chickens.
  Now days it's to big a pain in the ass to fire that big mofo up for a chicken and a rack of ribs.


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## Larsky (Dec 30, 2018)

Don't leave it out at night.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Larsky said:


> Don't leave it out at night.



   Why?


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## Larsky (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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Thieves pop up at the strangest times.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Larsky said:


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   I have well over $12,000 in smokers and grills in my backyard.
They're free to give it their best shot at removing them. None of em weigh less than 200 lbs and most weigh upwards of a 1000 and up to 2500 lbs.
   Of course they'd have to do this in absolute silence since the dogs go nuts when a squirrel so much as shits on the patio.           All I can say? Good luck.


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## Larsky (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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Look at you, all Stephen Raichlen.

Paper, foil, or naked Brisket?

Never tried the paper.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Larsky said:


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   Pink Butcher paper all the way.
It breathes and doesnt fuck up your bark.
 I've been BBQing for over 30 years and 4 of those where in competition.

.....oh,as far as seasoning for that brisket? Salt and pepper as any Texen would tell you.


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## Larsky (Dec 30, 2018)

Those 55 gal drum smokers are cool. As for seasoning,  my rib eyes are salt only. Brisket, I toy with the dry rubs. I'll have to try the minimalist Texan approach.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Larsky said:


> Those 55 gal drum smokers are cool. As for seasoning,  my rib eyes are salt only. Brisket, I toy with the dry rubs. I'll have to try the minimalist Texan approach.



   Ditch the drum pit. They dont hold heat as they're too thin.
A 15 lb brisket will take at a minimum 15 hours. I've had some take over 24 hours. BBQ isnt done until it's done,or it jiggles like jello and the temp probe goes in like it's hot butter,time has nothing to do with it.
    The internal temp needs to reach at least 195. But again,the temp means nothing as all briskets are different.
  It's all about feel.
The best indicator is how easy the temp probe penetrates. It should go in with pretty much zero resistance.


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## Larsky (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


> Larsky said:
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I'm Beleiver in the pull test with Brisket. Got an old brinkman smoker, which limits weight. 
The drum looks good for hooking ribs.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Larsky said:


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   I agree the pull test is a good way to find out if ya got it right...unfortunately you have to pull the brisket,unwrap it and cut it to find out if you got it right.
    At that point if you fucked up it's too late to put it back on the pit.
     The best way is to test the jiggle and the probe test.


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

Why don't you people make yer own like I do fer meself and customers?


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Moonglow said:


> Why don't you people make yer own like I do fer meself and customers?



  Make your own what?


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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I poke, if she be giving in easy it's raw.


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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Smoker or a brick oven those have been getting popular. I have to build one in April. Not the poster April the month...


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Moonglow said:


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   Ya dont know how to tell temp?


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Moonglow said:


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  LoL....you couldnt make a comp pit if your life depended on it.


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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I built a smokehouse for my meat to hang in....I've built masonry and metal smokers, bar-q's pits for around twenty five years...Around here we used to pit roast a whole pige, minus the guts of course. But that is not so popular no more..neither is the keg of beer we had to go with it...


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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Not internally I usually time mine...I like mine well done but not crunchy. Of course you know they have hand held temp scanners, you point and click and see the temp..


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Moonglow said:


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     Lets see your design.
  A smoke house is easy. Show me a pit you designed that burns efficiently and evenly.


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

In the 1970's we had a water smoker that was bullet shaped...Made the inside a pink and the outside black..


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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I have to walk outside in the dark, rain and take a picture, really?


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Moonglow said:


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   Dude you're full of shit!!!!
If you cant tell the internal temp of the meat you know nothing.
    I have this to say......if ya want crappy BBQ that is likely to make ya sick?
   Listen to bare ass Bart.


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

The best is hand dug, then use corn shucks to cover the wretched victim until tender..


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Moonglow said:


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   Nah...I can wait till morning.


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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I've worked in restaurants and we used timers for ribs, prime rib if you have been cooking like I have since you were a teen and you are now 57 you learn through time, just like the old timers did it..


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## Flash (Dec 30, 2018)

I don't have a KJ but I do have an XL Big Green Egg.

The komodo ceramic smokers are great. 

The best BBQ comes from an open pit but very few people know how to do it right.  It is also a lot of trouble.

The next best is the offset firebox smokers if you burn wood in it.  However, it takes a lot of tending to keep it going.  Most people don't have the time to do it right.

Third comes the komodo type smokers like the KJ and the BGE.  They do great with minimal tending. To me the perfect trade off between flavor and effort.

The easiest to use are the pellet smokers but you never get the dept of smoke flavor.

Electric smokers are even more easy but not real BBQ.

Kettle grills can work as a smoker and actually do a good job if you know what you are doing.

I have a good Weber Genesis gas grill but hardly ever use it.  Maybe for hot dogs or maybe  to put a quick char on ribs after they have been smoked. 

I use my four burner Camp Chef griddle much more than I use the gas grill.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Moonglow said:


> In the 1970's we had a water smoker that was bullet shaped...Made the inside a pink and the outside black..



    WOW!!!!
Holy Gee you just explained smoked chicken from the last thousand years!!!!
  Or maybe the smoke ring on beef from the same time frame!!!!

   Dude....just STFU about what you know nothing about.


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## Moonglow (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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ChefAlarm | ThermoWorks they use time also...It's nothing new...


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Moonglow said:


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   In an oven......
I've been BBQing for 33 years,4 of those in competition,take your dish washing experience elsewhere.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Moonglow said:


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    LOL....
I have well over a thousand bucks of thermoworks stuff.
   Try again.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Flash said:


> I don't have a KJ but I do have an XL Big Green Egg.
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   The only BBQ comes from offset smokers.
Franklin's BBQ is known as the best BBQ in the U.S.
   Franklin's BBQ.....

Aaron Franklin Built the Best BBQ Joint In America By Giving a Damn


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## Larsky (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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I got a New Braunfels unit. No box. Good for offset slow and low.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Larsky said:


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  They make a good smoker.
What model did ya get?


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## Flash (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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I have eaten at Franklin's.  It is good BBQ.  Most restaurant BBQ is not all that great but Franklin has managed to keep it good.  I ate there when the wait was about 45 minutes.  I would not wait four hours like many people have to do nowadays.

The best restaurant BBQ I have ever eaten was a little place off I-75 near Tifton Georgia but it burned down over 30 years ago.

I can do home BBQ as good or better than 95% of the BBQ places in the US.  Most good seasoned backyard pit masters can.


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## Larsky (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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Not sure. Basic, about 32x15, no box. The temp control is great, like the porcelainized grills. 

Lots of ribs and chickens.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Flash said:


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   LOL...I've been BBQing for over thirty years several of those years in competition.
   Including the Houston LiveStock show and Rodeo,the biggest comp in the U.S.
   I find it hard to believe you're better than those competitors.


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## Flash (Dec 30, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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I have been BBQing since the 1950s when my Dad taught me.  He taught me how to do open pit.  Did some regional competition back in the 1990s but never had the time to do it like it needs to be done.  Had to make a living for my family.  I can do backyard BBQ better than most restaurants.  

You can't sell competition BBQ.  You would go broke if you did.  You don't make competition BBQ in your backyard.  Your family has different requirements than a competition judge.

There is a big difference between a competitor and somebody trying to make a living selling BBQ.   The problem is that most BBQ restaurants cut corners to make a profit.  For every good BBQ restaurant like Franklin there are several hundred mediocre restaurants like Sonny's.

Anyway I am not the food police.  Nor am I in competition with anybody.  I turn out as good BBQ on my BGE as it needs to be and as good or better than most I can buy anywhere, with a few exceptions.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Flash said:


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   Bullshit.
There's no way you turn out better BBQ on a Green Egg than the pitmasters across Texas or any other state that uses offset stick burners.
    I dont care if they're from fucken New Jersey they'd still kick your ass.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Dec 30, 2018)

Dude....stop being a clown.


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## Flash (Dec 31, 2018)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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You have a hard time with reading comprehension, don't you?

If you read what I wrote earlier you will see that I acknowledged that an offset firebox smoker will put out a better product than a komodo type smoker.  I use a BGE because I can put out pretty damn good BBQ without having to spend all day long tending to a firebox.  90+% of the flavor for 10% of the effort.  I used an offset firebox smoker for almost 30 years, by the way.

There is a difference between restaurant BBQ and competition and backyard BBQ.  It has to do with having to do mass amounts and having it ready for a customer.  Also trying to make a profit.  Most pitmasters that run a BBQ restaurant don't cook the same quality for their customers that they would cook for themselves or what they would do in a competition.

I have eaten at hundreds of BBQ joints in many different places across the country over the decades and while some has been good a lot of it of it is mediocre.  Some of it has actually been bad even though when you walk into the restaurant you see competition awards displayed.   There have been a few exceptions.  Franklin is one of the exceptions.  He has figured out how to put a quality product on the table at his restaurant. 

There are only a relatively small number of really good competition BBQ pitmasters.  Many of the individuals and teams that go to competitions don't turn out as good product as that they tell you that they do.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Jan 4, 2019)

The Kamado Joe finally made it here!!
Paid the driver $50 bucks to hang around and help me get it in the backyard and on the stand.
    Assembly was very simple.
Unfortunately the charcoal I ordered with it didnt make it.
      After a quick run to Academy for some lump oak I fired it up for a test burn.
      All I can say is Holy Shit!!  This thing holds temps better than my GE Profile oven!!!

   Filled it up with half a load and fired it up. Let it get to 325 and choked off the vents to the recommended points and the thing settled at 400 and stayed there!!
     It held that temp for four hours with no adjustments,I've never had a natural fuel burning pit hold temps like this!!  Absolutely incredible!!!

     Hadn't planned on cooking anything for the test burn but the wife said....why not throw on some of our home ground hamburger and make a couple of burgers.

     They were fantastic! We're at hour six and the vents are wide open trying to burn off the test run and the pit is still at 400 degrees.

   All I can say is if you like to grill or smoke in the backyard?
Get one!!!


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## Marion Morrison (Jan 4, 2019)

All I know is low and slow. Learned a couple tricks from a couple friends, one's gone now. I'm listening in here too, hehe.


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## HereWeGoAgain (Jan 4, 2019)

Marion Morrison said:


> All I know is low and slow. Learned a couple tricks from a couple friends, one's gone now. I'm listening in here too, hehe.



    I hear ya.
 I've always been a proponent of low and slow,in fact I spent my whole BBQ life doing just that with great results.
   Then came Harry Soo,yeah his name sounds like a good joke but this guy knows his shit and made me rethink things.
      High temps early for bark formation followed by low temps for collagen break down.
     This is his basic process.  And I have to say it turns out some bad ass brisket.


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## Marion Morrison (Jan 5, 2019)

HereWeGoAgain said:


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Ha! Sounds like my aunt's method for cooking a bird. Hers was always juicy, back in the day before injections.


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## Larsky (Jan 10, 2019)

Just saw this on Stephen Raichlen's show, had to check the price. Holy crap.
Freestanding Smoker Cabinet


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## HereWeGoAgain (Jan 10, 2019)

Larsky said:


> Just saw this on Stephen Raichlen's show, had to check the price. Holy crap.
> Freestanding Smoker Cabinet



  Holy Shit!!!
Thats about what I have invested in all my cookers combined!!
   I thought the $2700 I spent on the Mak 2 Star was up there but thats fucking insane!!!
  My Fire Magic gas grill was a 1/3 of that!!!
Hell,my whole fucking outdoor kitchen including the Fire Magic gas grill,the large single burner for crawfish,the sink and refrigerator was only a couple thousand more!

  Who the Hell are they selling these things to?


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## Larsky (Jan 10, 2019)

"Add to cart". ROFL


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## HereWeGoAgain (Jan 10, 2019)

Larsky said:


> "Add to cart". ROFL



  Well let me get to clicken!
After I rob the bank down the street.


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