The Texas BBQ Forum

After complaining about winter Q-ing....We JUST returned from Aldi with a sort of flowerpot from Char-Grill (I THINK?). It was on sale for about a hunnert-thirty.

We thought the thing would weigh 45 pounds. Gee, thanks, Amazon. Nope.. . one and a quarter. Professor Bunky is still wrestling the box into the garage. I pleaded injury so I'm posting this.

Pics to come. Captain, I'm frightened. Help.....

Sending Red Green to put some Casters on it for you - - - - don't get too upset if the casters are steering wheels from some old Studebakers, just as long as they roll and don't bog down in the snow too bad. - - - - looking forward to pics

I got it into the garage. The next step is unpacking and assembling. It's a Char-Broil Kamander - a dual steel wall, Kamado-style cooker. We just couldn't resist the half-price deal. I expect to test it out well before any snow flies here.

Super Score Now were expecting Kamander pics and a report on it's performance

Since I haven't used a Kamado before, I'll need all the advice I can get. For example, do I need to season the Kamander before using it? We were thinking of trying it out with some cut-up chicken.

You shouldnt need to, but i did with my kamado just to get used to adjusting temps.

Importantly, unless you want to go hot quickly, bring the temps up slowly. It's easy to go up but really hard to come back down.

Thanks for the tips, TX.

I hope to get it assembled tomorrow. Then I'll try a test burn to "calibrate" it.

Congrats on that Char Broil.

You have the brother/sister of what I have been using for the past 3 years while smoking/grilling/baking on/in it...
I have the Char Griller which is very similar.

As for seasoning that, its a definite Yes.
That being double wall steel and Porcelain coated it Needs to be hit with a spray oil like Pam and then a good " burn in ".

Hit the inside top cover and then get ur coals/lump hot. I highly suggest that you use Lump, most of these cookers use Lump.
Open ur top vent about 1/2 way and the bottom about 1/4 way.
Actually, ur bottom vent is now on the side since they redesigned it.

Those settings should get you to about 350 or so but if you remember anything I say, REMEMBER these 3 things...

Get urself a 15$ Tel Tru gauge, they are from upstate Ny. They are 10 times more accurate than that stock temp probe, they are JUNK and do Not trust it.


Secondly, invest in a waterproof cover of some sort. If you don't, water WILL find a way into the ash bowl.

Lastly, get ur temps up SLOWLY.
Make tiny adjustments, like 1/8" inch movements and give it 15 minutes or so to level off before going higher.
If you Overshoot ur temps on this cooker, you will definitely have to work to get them down. As a side note, that cooker will go from 250 to 700 + degrees in a blink of an eye if ur not watching it.

I'm going to suggest something here.
Take an afternoon and just dedicate it to learning ur temps. You can do some excellent 225 smokes and then make the absolute best pizza uve ever had on a pizza stone at 600 degrees, it just takes Practice. If you buy a pizza stone, spend the extra few bucks and get the Char Broil one. Its also a deflector for low and slow cooks.

If you have any questions, feel free to let me know. I pretty much know the ins and outs of these.

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When (not If) I replace my ECB, I will certainly consider these beauties

Thanks for all the tips, WV. For now, I plan to use my wireless thermometer which gives me a fairly accurate measure of temp at the cooking grill.

Would wiping the surfaces with cooking oil be as good as using Pam (since I don't have any of the spray)?

As soon as I decide I'm keeping it, I'll get a good cover for it. For the time being, I'll store it in a protected space (shed or garage).

Once it's assembled, I'll "calibrate" it. I guess i can just start some lump in a chimney & then dump it into the coal basket?

Professor Bunky wrote:Thanks for all the tips, WV. For now, I plan to use my wireless thermometer which gives me a fairly accurate measure of temp at the cooking grill.

Would wiping the surfaces with cooking oil be as good as using Pam (since I don't have any of the spray)?

As soon as I decide I'm keeping it, I'll get a good cover for it. For the time being, I'll store it in a protected space (shed or garage).

Once it's assembled, I'll "calibrate" it. I guess i can just start some lump in a chimney & then dump it into the coal basket?

Sounds like a good plan and ur welcome.
I don't see why you couldn't use that oil, I would. You only need a light coating.
As for the lump, you could use the chimney for sure. I have a chimney as well but only use it if it has recently rained out or when we have snow on the ground.
In not a big fan of the embers from a full chimney.
Ur best bet is a weed burner if that's good on ur end. On the other hand, I've found these Tumbleweed looking charcoal starters that work great. I just put 3 or 4 around the lump and light them.
They burn for a while and keep a small confined fire as well and that's perfect for your low temp cooks. I bought them from Ace, made by Frontier, called Tumbleweeds and cost about 7 $ a box.
As for the lump, Royal Oak " red bag " has never let me down.
Just feel the bags and pick the one with the best sized chunks. Some bags may have smaller pieces and u don't want that for the obvious reasons. A fire in the ash bowl is no good ya know.
Lastly, once you snuff ur fire out, remember that the next cook you can just shake the ash off of any unused lump and relight it :):)



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Thanks again for all the tips.

Professor Bunky wrote:Thanks again for all the tips.

Np PB.
If I can only help you with ONE thing, im happy.
I learned the hard way, mine came very very close to getting heaved from the second story deck when I first got mine until I realized that I had to completely re think what I've known before getting a Kamado style cooker.
You have to be open minded, and above everything else, Patient and you adjust to It, not the other way lol.

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No such thing as letting 2 feet of snow and a 50 mph blizzard get in the way of my cooking. The first thing I shovel out is my cookers.

This was a 9 hour pork butt cook in 25 degrees of blowing snow. I will admit to using a wifi controller to control and monitor the cook inside in the warmth.

Kamados rock in the cold once they heat up.





Welcome to year round cooking, Kenshin!

Thanks, Piney...I'm cracking up 'cause that looks exactly like our yard.