Aldi Kamado Oven

[Gone a bit AMG]

Funny how quickly one can go off someone!

But thanks again I’m really looking forward firing mine back up.

[Big Rig]

oddman said:

Big Rig said:

Well I ordered one, being delivered on Wednesday next week.

What essentials do I need to buy? I’d like to try cooking pizza and maybe a rotisserie or beer can chicken.

Make sure you have decent charcoal and some chunks of smoking wood. Online is probably best. Big Green Egg are reliable but a bit pricy but a good place to start. Safety first - Be aware that when you are cooking the chamber will be slightly anaerobic, generating CO and you need to carefully 'burp' the barbecue before opening the lid. If you open quickly you might get a blowback where the CO burns off in the rush of oxygen and you'll lose your arm hair eyelashes and eyebrows. Decent gloves and good tools - wire brush and tongs.

Buy a barbecue book - Ray Lampre's Slow Fire is pretty comprehensive. American recipes use a lot of dried garlic, celery and onion powder. I find if you get the basic salt sugar and black pepper right(to make the smoke stick to the meat, the rest is up to you I always have a bit of paprika and chilli powder but I leave the garlic and other wet ingredients for the sauce/basting stage.

You need a temperature probe for the barbecue- ideally dual probe for the meat and the barbecue with wireless so you can monitor is remotely

I'd suggest doing a chicken wing recipe. £2.60 a kilo at Morrisons so you'll waste more in charcoal than meat if you mess it up (unlikely). Once you've got over the faff of lighting, adding smoking wood, setting up the shelves and waiting for the temperature to slowly come up whilst you progressively close the vents, you'll be a minimum of 2 hours in on your first go at it. I can't emphasise how important it is to let it come up to temperature slowly.

My method is - fill the barbecue with good quality charcoal. Biggest chunks in first to create ari space. Use a couple of paraffin free barbecue lighters lid open bottom vent open. Leave about 10 minutes until lghters are burnt out but charcoal only just lit in to small patches. Put in smoking wood and asseble shelves as instructed by recipe. A big water pan beneath the meat shelf helps with temperature regulation, moisture and catches a lot of drips. Put the temperature probe closest to the hinge side so it's out the way. Close the lid and the vents to half. Wait. Wait. Wait - when it gets to 180 degrees F close the vents to a quarter. Then it's a bit of finesse - watch the temp - if it is rising by more than a few degree every five minutes close the vents further. If it stalls then open them up a bit but watch like a hawk. It is very difficult to cool it down if it gets away from you. I shoot for about 230 degrees and this takes best part of two hours. I tend to put meat in before it hit target temperature becuase opening the barbecue will draw more air and cause a mini surge of heat.

In this time you can be prepping the meat.

Great thing about chicken wings is the recipe is simple and they only take a couple of hours to smoke. Once they're smoked, you can slather with a sauce or sauces of your preference, convert the barbecue to grilling and get a bit of char on them (will take a minute or so at 500F.

Wings done this way are amazing - smokey and moist with some char and crunch. Just some coleslaw and french bread is a decent accompaniment. Wings are so easy you can throw them on when doing a bigger cook.

You can do thighs and drumsticks exactly the same way with a three hour smoke. I've always found beercan chicken a bit of a disappointment - the breast meat seems to dry before thighs are cooked

Beginning with wings you get to use the barbecue both ways in a time of possibly less than five hours.

Next up try ribs - essentially the same method but longer. US barbecue aficionados talk about the 3:2:1 method ie 3 hours in smoke 2 hours in foil and then 1 hour baking. I think you can get away with 1 hour in foil (with some apple juice) then slather and grill for a few minutes.

Once you are confident with the smoking process then a shoulder pork for pulled pork - very cheap - is a good way to really get into it. You can even do the beans in the barbecue with the pork. Be prepeared for the 'stall' at around 170F when the connective tissue in the pork is melting. I've had even small shoulders stall for four hours. Factoring ten hours from lighting to taking the meat out would be 'quick' in my experience. I often do slow cooks overnight. Even if the barbecue burns out overnight, the lion's share of the cooking is done and you can finish in a low oven.

I'm pretty decent at pizzas but I've never got the hang of it in the kamodo I burn the bottom before the top is done. I had a piece of 10mm steel sheet to fit our oven and use this for crispy case.

Thank you so much for that reply!

[oddman]

Big Rig said:

Thank you so much for that reply!

You're welcome - let us know how you get on

[pacenotes]

Feck it,

Ordered it, Can't go wrong at that price.

Are there any local charcoal places in the Midlands? Or does anyone know a place that would deliver?

[Mr.Grooler]

I normally order the big bags of “restaurant grade” charcoal from Big K online; if you have space to store a few big bags at a time then paying for postage seems more reasonable. And it seems decent charcoal with nice big lumps too. You always end up with smaller bits near the bottom of the bag but I tip all those into another bag and use them on the “normal” bbq.

[Big Rig]

Do you guys leave your Kamodos outside all year round with the cover on?

[number2]

Big Rig said:

Do you guys leave your Kamodos outside all year round with the cover on?

KJ owner here, and yes, no problem.

[hotchy]

Big Rig said:

Do you guys leave your Kamodos outside all year round with the cover on?

First year I kept it in the shed.

This year its been out all winter. Its perfectly fine, used the other day. The covers faded in the sun/rain etc though and is a nice grey and not a shiney black anymore.

[dapprman]

Last couple of years I've moved mine inside, partly as I found in spring last year a number of snails had taken refuge under the cover. Also the stand for the Aldi one is powder coated stainless steel, so in theory should not rust, but ...

[Big Rig]

Have used it twice now, absolutely over the moon with it… however, the ceramic firebox has cracked so have just emailed customer services asking for a replacement.

[dapprman]

Big Rig said:

Have used it twice now, absolutely over the moon with it… however, the ceramic firebox has cracked so have just emailed customer services asking for a replacement.

Check out the Facebook Group - a few on there had the same problem and just used cement paste and carried on, leaving the replacement as an unused spare.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/407489356750953/

[Philplop]

Big Rig said:

Do you guys leave your Kamodos outside all year round with the cover on?

Mine’s been outside for five years now, think I used the cover for the first winter but haven’t bothered since then. Still looks fine to me.

[number2]

The main issue with not using a waterproof cover is that the porcelain absorbs water. When you next use it, it'll take a little while to dry out before it can get to and hold temp as energy will be going into evaporating the water.

A friend has a BGE which is uncovered, hence the above statement.

Not a deal breaker.

[oddman]

dapprman said:

Big Rig said:

Have used it twice now, absolutely over the moon with it… however, the ceramic firebox has cracked so have just emailed customer services asking for a replacement.

Check out the Facebook Group - a few on there had the same problem and just used cement paste and carried on, leaving the replacement as an unused spare.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/407489356750953/

It's not the end of the world if internal components crack.

As long as they can hold the charcoal and maintain an air gap between the shell and the firebox you'll be OK

When I clean mine it's like a jigsaw puzzle to get back together

[hotchy]

dapprman said:

Big Rig said:

Have used it twice now, absolutely over the moon with it… however, the ceramic firebox has cracked so have just emailed customer services asking for a replacement.

Check out the Facebook Group - a few on there had the same problem and just used cement paste and carried on, leaving the replacement as an unused spare.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/407489356750953/

You get a replacement easy. My second ones going strong and I'm hitting my 100th bbq with it. I only know that because iv nearly used 100 wax woody things to light it since the new box. Fire cement does hold the old one together fine though.

[Big Rig]

Any recommendations of which fire cement to order or are they all pretty much of a muchness?

Also, anyone done this upgrade to their egg yet?


https://youtu.be/RPyR_gs3Pi8

Edited by Big Rig on Thursday 20th April 12:32

[illmonkey]

Some heavy discount on the The Big LANDMANN Kamado - Large.

£630 (with the code HELLOLANDMANN10) from £1400 (also retails at this price else where)

https://landmann.co.uk/products/the-big-landmann-c...

I'm half tempted myself, but buying a house I need every penny!

[Gone a bit AMG]

oddman said:

Gone a bit AMG said:

What a generous and considered post. Mines been sat under it’s cover all winter and I’m going to get it out this weekend clean it up and then follow that chicken wing recipe and method to the letter. Lump wood charcoal being ordered!

Thanks for taking the time to write all that.

As you can tell I'm a bit of an enthusiast but there is a bit of a learning curve and it would be a shame if people's kamados became expensive garden ornaments. Mine wasn't so much a recipe as advice about what's needed for starting out and the general method. Do a bit of googling to find a decent rub/recipe for wings.

hotchy said:

The only unfortunate thing he's not mentioned about the chicken wings is you can't fit enough on it. You'll be wanting a kamado Joe XL soon enough just for more wings lol

Too true a kilo of wings spaced out will take up most of the grill. Could be an excuse to get one of the mini kamados

ETA - another piece of advice which people might find really gross. Collect up all the bones from chewed wings, thighs and drumsticks. You can make a smoky chicken stock which, once reduced to a jelly, makes an awesome base for future barbecue sauces.

Edited by oddman on Thursday 2nd March 12:40

Oddman, finally followed your chicken method to the letter but forgot pics! Any tips on pork belly slices?

[oddman]

Gone a bit AMG said:

Oddman, finally followed your chicken method to the letter but forgot pics! Any tips on pork belly slices?

Hope they turned out OK

I tend to use pork shoulder rather than belly. Belly would work but would need to be a thick piece and kept whole.

I have broadly two methods one for pulled pork, one for char sui. I don't measure so quantities vague I'm afraid

Remove the skin of the shoulder - you can make this into crackling if you want to be really filthy.

I use a rub which combines salt, soft dark brown sugar and coarse black pepper.. Roughly about 4:2:1 ratio by volume

For the pulled pork I add some crushed fennel seeds smoked paprika, thyme, oregano, and chilli to the rub. For the char sui I add chinese five spice and chilli.

The pulled pork I leave the shoulder whole. If its a bit messy I'll tie it to make an even joint. The char sui I slice the shoulder into 2 inch thick 'steaks' and then apply the rub.

Barbecue temperature is 230F. Apple oak or cherry wood all go well with pork. I tend to add a variety of sizes of chips and chunks so some burn quickly and some keep producing smoke for the duration. I have a tray with water on the shelf thing below the meat. This increase the humidity and probably acts as a bit of a temperature stabiliser. Catches drips too.

Make sure you have a thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. Both ways, the cooking will stall at about 170F. The advantage with the char sui is you can take it off then maybe 'only' 3 or 4 hours in. It's cooked but it holds together when you slice it. This keeps pretty well and you can freeze it too.

The second part of cooking the char sui is grilling it. So I remove the heat deflector and open up the vents to get the charcoal roaring and barbecue temp 400F plus (TBH I take the temperature probe out tha this stage). I paint each 'steak' with a marinade/dip comprising of lime juice, dark brown sugar gochujang paste and soy and then give it a minute or two on each side to get a bit of char. Then slice thinly. There's tons of things you can do with it - top an asian style salad; make a peking duck style wrap; add to a stir fry - especially fried rice; my favourite is as the meat element of a bibimbap. If you have some left over you can use it to make dumplings.

The pulled pork will probably take at least 6 hours and probably longer to get through the 'stall'. Don't be tempted to open the lid - it just messes with balance of the barbecue and lets the smoke and heat out. When it gets to 180F it will probably look black all over - don't panic. Wrap it carefully in foil and add some apple juice (those little cartons with the straw are good for this) sealing the foil around the temperature probe. It will probably take another hour or two to get to 200F. By this time all the collagen will have melted and the meat will be pullable. Take it out and let it rest in the foil for half an hour. At this point you can use your hands or a pair of those claw things to pull the meat into shreds, making sure that the 'bark' on the outside gets thoroughly mixed in. I like to add in some barbecue sauce at this point but others serve as is.

Classic sides for pulled pork are a white bap, coleslaw, and home made baked beans (I have a very battered Le Creuset for teh beans that goes in the barbecue alongside the meat). Sauces can be to taste - French's mustard, sriracha, hot sauces etc. Pulled pork makes an interesting burger topping and a welcome addition to a chilli con carne. Even throwing the remains of the meat with the leftover beans and sauce gives you a pretty good stew.

Don't be tempted to hurry things along by letting the barbecue get hotter 250F isn't a disaster but at 300F- you'll just dry it out. If the stall is taking a long time you can transfer to a low oven in foil to finish it off (the foil stops the smoke getting to the meat so the barbecue has done its job at this stage so it's not a failure to use the oven)

Main message is start early or do it overnight. They're both great dishes but they're not really social type barbecues. The Americans sitting around drinking beer thing is because for classic barbecue they have a separate firebox which requires attention and fuelling and may be 100% wood fired.

[Gone a bit AMG]

Thanks for the advice. I will give it a go.