Our new Kamado grill arrived on Thursday, but as I was away I was only able to unpack it today. Putting it together wasn't a simple task, but after a while I had the sturdy frame up waiting for the 100 kg "egg". A thing I couldn't do by myself. Luckily our son was coming over so I had him helping me lift it in place.
After finishing the installation of all the accessories it was time to fire up the thing. I had read a lot of interactions and they almost always mentioned you can't use too little coal. So I tried to put in as little as I thought could be sufficient, barely covering the bottom of the coal basket. Throwing couple of ignition sticks I closed the lid and started waiting.
At first it didn't look good the ignition sticks were almost out but the coals hadn't yet catch up fire properly. I was already thinking of throwing in a couple more but after a moment I saw that the coals were also starting to catch fire. Another short while of waiting and I had another moment of doubt as it didn't seem the coal was enough and the temperature wasn't getting up. I decided to wait another moment and indeed, it didn't take long after that when the temperature meter started pointing to the grilling section.
Throwing in the bacon I got the affirmation that the heat was enough. Didn't take long until it was nice and crispy, and slightly smoke flavoured. Perfect. Hamburger patties didn't take too long either and the cheese also melted nicely on top of them thanks to the heat coming from all directions. For the buns it was almost too hot as they were starting to get charred quite fast. I should definitely use the raised level for them to get them a bit higher away from the embers.
First impression: works well as a basic grill. Needs a bit getting used to, but even at the first try the end result was good. Can't wait to experiment more on the other possibilities it offers.