So after much hemming and hawing I bought a Kamado Joe Classic. I have cooked with one quite a few at various in-laws homes and finally decided to bite the bullet after many years of grill-lessness.

So far I have just cooked steaks and chicken with surprisingly good results. This maybe a very open ended question (and yes I have reviewed the BBQ thread) but beyond the usual steaks, chicken and such what really cooks well on the Kamado? Any suggestions or recipes recommendations?

A penny for your thoughts.

Probably similar to a BGE as the concept is the same. Take a pack of thick sliced bacon and put on the grill and smoke at 225 for 2 hours with your choice of wood for the smoke. Turn once after one hour. Try not to eat the entire pack by yourself.

KJ has an online recipe book. Look no further: https://www.kamadojoe.com/blogs/recipes

I used to go to their Father's day BBQ special in Atlanta. Cooked with their chefs and ate some amazing food.

Right now my favorite is roasting olives in a spicy olive oil with cloves of garlic and sometimes jalapeno slices or even minced jalapeno. Throw on a little rosemary or tyme. Bam!

Oh, and their charcoal is worth the price.

Rib roast, dry rubbed, indirect cook, slow, with smoking wood chips of your choice. It’s amazing.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Rib roast, dry rubbed, indirect cook, slow, with smoking wood chips of your choice. It’s amazing.

what he says!

All day cook of pork butt into pulled pork bbq, beef brisket, whatever you like. Get a Thermoworks Smoke to monitor temps inside the dome and the food; it’s much more precise than the dial thermometer mounted to the dome.

Pulled pork is amazing too.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
Pulled pork is amazing too.

Yep. Using Boston butt with a little cherry wood for smoke. Brine with salt water and a little apple cider vinegar for 3-4 days while slow cooking at 225 degrees on indirect heat until internal temperature reaches 195 degrees. Remove and let it rest covered for at least 2 hours.

brisket, pork butts, ribs

I've had my BGE for 11 years now and love it. Several years ago got the cast iron grates, terrific upgrade.

In last two years I've gotten a cast iron griddle and skillet and use both a lot. The ability to sear entire surface area/crust on steaks and such was a big upgrade, as is being able to sauté veg, etc. on the grill. Wish someone had recommended this day one.

Beef ribs, the whole plate, not from the chuck. A three bone plate will weigh about 6-7 pounds. Closest thing to ribeye that there is IMO. A real butcher will get you the cut you want.

Pizza!!!

And bread.

It's the reason I've kept my BGE. I will have an oven should the power go out.

Pizza, get it cranking hot and have a stone ready for the pie....

Baked potato, broccoli, corn on the cob.

Whoa! Thanks fellas! I guess I may have to put off my diet for a bit longer but these ideas are fantastic.

Thanks Shaql...I was wondering about charcoal and if one brand of lump charcoal was better than another. Much appreciated.

I found a recipe for cooking portabella mushroom caps indirectly and it looks amazing. Will report back.

Keep up the recipes coming if you are so inclined!

I bought a bunch of the KJ Big lump years back when a local Home Depot found a pallet and clearances it out. Good stuff.

I order direct from Fogo which is my preferred.

Royal oak is ok they make BGE lump.

Cowboy sparks a bunch.

Jealous devil is pretty good.

Rockwood is good (my second choice)

For everyday burger type cooks B&B works well and basically every academy sports and Walmart carry’s it

Part of the fun is finding a flavor you prefer. Each lump brand imparts some. Fogo and Rockwood are the most neutral I’ve found

Cedar plank salmon.

Pork butt.
Steaks.
Adobo skinless/boneless chicken theighs. Put 4-6 in a gallon Ziploc bag with a can Chipotle chilis in Adobe sauce. Let marinate 4 or so hours. Take out of bag and place on a plate. Dust with your favorite rub. I cook mine higher heat turning every 4 minutes until slightly seared. They are really good.

When you get a Joetisserrie you can make chicken schwarma.

You've been using it as a grill so now it's time to learn how to use it as a smoker. It takes time to figure out vent opening vs temperature and how long lump will last. Fattier meats are more forgiving (i.e. more margin of error) and lean meats are the least forgiving. Therefore, I recommend starting with one of these three:

Pork butt

St. Louis ribs. These are trimmed down spare ribs that after trimming look like baby back ribs. However, they are fattier so much easier to produce quality food while still learning your smoker.

Unsmoked sausage. This is the first thing I did on my BGE when I got it over a decade ago. It's fatty so it's forgiving and gets finished much faster than two previous options.

quote:

Originally posted by Rucker:
Cedar plank salmon.

Since the OP has a KJ which can grill or smoke, I suggest buying some alder wood and smoking it instead. I'd definitely learn how to use the smoker as described in my previous post, but this should be achievable 2nd month.