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Interesting @scott123, I’ve often done the confit method so would like to give this dry process a go. I’ve got a combustion inc thermometer, am thinking if I can find a reliable enough way of inserting it into a wing I can recreate this process. Might be stretching it a bit with the size of a chicken wing but will give it a go next time. For those unfamiliar with the CPT, it gives a really accurate of view of internal, surface and ambient temps using eight different sensors in a single probe.

So many variables at play here. will try and give some thoughts on my experience so far. I’ve had a kamado joe big joe for years now. They are truly great bits of kit. Versatile, very well made and can turn out brilliant food. Buy a fan controller like a ThermoWorks billows or a fireboard and you can keep smoking temperatures for 12+ hours with ease. I’ve recently joined @rotuts pellet grill club, bought a Yoder 640s on eBay a month or so ago. They are amazing cookers and have a few big pluses over charcoal options - the ease of use, consistency and capacity are impossible to match with a kamado. I recently did a summer party for forty people and it was a doddle - two whole pork butts, a packer brisket and a plate of beef ribs, all at the same time with no drama. The Yoder has the ability to do direct heat cooking but don’t let anyone tell you it’s as good as charcoal. If this type of cooking is more important to you, and you only have space for one device I’d have to go with a kamado. But if you’re more about smoking and want to turn out bigger quantities a pellet grill would be perfect. Either way, buy the biggest and best you can possibly get - a Yoder is more expensive than a traeger but is 100% worth the difference. I’d happily get a used 640 over a brand new traeger, you’ll never be replacing it. As to your question about adding pellets to a charcoal cooker, you can, but I’m not sure you would. Chunks of actual wood are the way to go here, you want different flavour, you add different wood. Ultimately, there isn’t a single right answer to this question- Tell us a bit more about what you want to use it for and I’m sure we can help you spend some money!

Looking forward to seeing these! Was the wrapped vs unwrapped an experiment? Genuinely shocked at how cheap you can get meat over that side of the pond!

What a great day - everyone loves the Yoder! By far the best food I’ve turned out at this event. The pork butts were really good - made me realise how little difference the rub actually makes though, they were practically identical despite having very different ribs pre-cooking. Brisket was okay - great flavour but had dried up a little on the bottom. I’d done it on the bottom rack so I think it was a little close to the deflector plate. Not sure how to deal with this in future if doing a fully loaded cook? The absolute star of the show though were the beef ribs. They were also done on the bottom rack but the bones protected the meat perfectly. These were a bit of a last minute addition and had the simplest of rubs (just salt and pepper), but they were astonishingly good. Juicy, subtly smoky and so so tasty. The Yoder was the real star though, being able to cook this much food with such ease is amazing. I’m so glad it’s previous owner decided he needed space for that pizza oven!

Got a decent sleep and all looking good this morning. pulled the ribs at around 530-6 as they were fully done. Wrapped in butcher paper and relaxing in a 140 oven while everything else finishes up. pork butt 1 and brisket also finished now after a couple of hours wrapped so they’re resting too Just the final butt to do now, he’s still unwrapped as the bark needs a bit more work. Probably another hour or two I think. What’s really interesting to me is how much difference there is between 200 and 225. I kind of knew there wasn’t a linear relationship of time to temp but the difference is stark - my brisket cooks at 200 have taken 20+ hours (including ramping the temp towards the end), this one was done in just over 12. Pork butt 1: beef ribs:

so we have two whole butts, a plate of beef ribs (top middle of first pic) and a whole brisket (top left, first pic). Second pic is the brisket and third is the ribs. The Yoder is set to 225, started at 7pm with a plan to wrap each piece when it gets to 175. So far (four hours in) the ribs seem to be flying so they might end up not being wrapped (ie I don’t want to get up at 3am!). When each gets to final done point (200-205) they’ll be pulled off and snuggled in a blanket to rest. Once the last piece is done I’ll drop the Yoder to 150 and they can all rest in there till we’re ready to eat. Big gamble here as I’ve never tried it exactly like this before but we’ll see. Only two issues I foresee: 1 - something is fully done while I’m asleep and 2 - something takes forever and I keep people waiting. Will report back what happens! The beef will be wrapped in butcher paper, the pork will go into a foil tray with a bit of liquid. Christmas Eve has nothing on this! 😂

The “raw” meat pics were last night, everything got a dry rub and overnight uncovered in the fridge. scale is a little difficult on pictures but this is a LOT of meat! Let’s see how it goes 😊

Here we go then! just loaded up the Yoder, weather forecast is getting worse - this is going to be fun!

So… big weekend coming up. We’ve got about 35 people coming for our annual “summer” bbq. Quotation marks as the weather forecast is pretty abysmal - rain, maybe some lightning, plenty of wind… never mind, we’ll have fun. The house might suffer a bit more than normal but it’s all cleanable! On the menu we have, two whole pork butts (11lb each), a plate of beef ribs (about 7lb) and a whole grain-fed brisket (11-12lb). The Yoder is going to earn its keep here! They’re all going on overnight and will get wrapped as each hits the right point then pulled to rest once they get done. When they’re all done the Yoder will go down to 150 and they’ll rest until we’re ready to eat - hopefully just before I’ve had one too many cocktails. Wish me luck!

This looks gorgeous!

Yep could be disastrous mixing those units up here! It’s ok though, I’ve got a fancy pants Miele oven that will happily hold anything from 50°C upwards (122F) so should be good to go with minimal fuss. I note the Yoder will go to 150 too but not sure how stable it is at those temps? Guess if the meat is wrapped there’s little point in wasting pellets over 18h if my oven will do the job.

Interesting idea! those briskets look delicious. My oven can hold 150 really solidly so I’m guessing resting in that would be the same… might give this a try.

I bought one of these a month or two ago and have been really pleased with it. Hard clear ice, proper cube shapes and it can really churn it out when you get in a rhythm with it. It’s a little fiddly to clean but the drain at the back definitely helps a lot. Would definitely buy again - with the hot weather we’ve had lately it’s saved us a fortune in store bought ice already.

Thanks @rotuts, I’ll have a dig into those videos. I got the brisket from an online butcher that specialises in American bbq cuts, their brisket actually comes from a Spanish producer who does lovely grain fed meat. I’d have had no chance doing this with British beef!

For a first stab that was some really good brisket 😋 Will definitely go a little hotter next time, I tried to do 200F all the way on this and it took an age! 22 hours in the pit at the end! But it was a lovely piece of meat. And a great smoke flavour, just the right level for me. We have a big party coming up in a couple of weeks, can’t wait to Yoder everything for it!

I get it from a butcher who specialises in American style cuts. This was meant to be a point end half but I think it’s a flat. It’s a lot thinner and more uniform than the point half that I had last time off him. Weighs about 9lb its from a Spanish producer that does amazing grain fed beef. So much better than British brisket which is useless as it’s got so little marbling

The brisket has just gone on - cos you’ve got to jump in with both feet when you get a new toy, right??

Pellets, I can get traeger and pit boss fairly easily though they aren’t as cheap as they could/should be - about £22 per 20lb bag. But I’ll search harder and see if I can find in bulk somewhere. I’ve got a ThermoWorks signals/billows setup for my kamado. I really like it but the fireboard in the Yoder seems better in a couple of important ways: - custom multi step programs (no way to do this at all with the billows) - better graphing - an Apple Watch app that actually works! for now I’ll manage just great with two channels and the pit that the built in fireboard can do. But if I end up needing more I’d be tempted to get a second FB unit I’ve been that impressed with it

So a day of cleaning and cooking has been in order I soaked the grills in horrible caustic oven cleaner overnight, it did a great job on them. Need to find something similar that’s suitable for grill grates now - I suspect the aluminium would have been eaten by the cleaner. Im so pleased with this purchase - it’s in really good condition, just a bit of cleaning and light touching up needed. First cook was smoked burgers (nice and simple!). I’m LOVING the fireboard - it’s such a great bit of kit. Being able to set custom programs with multiple steps that run for a set time or to a target temp is a game changer. Can’t wait for my first proper low and slow cook on this thing! Grills before: and after: my combustion inc wireless thermometer is even able to get its signal out!

Quick update, I’ve just got back from an 8.5 hour round trip but am now the proud owner of a Yoder 640S Competition! managed to hire a van with a tail lift and roped in eldest son for some muscle. We blocked a road in the tiny quaint village where we collected it from and spent far too long trying to properly lash the thing down, but eventually we did it and were on our way. my first time driving a van that big, it was good fun on the way down but back up I was more than a little nervous that we’d open up the back and find the new arrival in pieces… thankfully nothing of the sort, it was all exactly as we’d left it, just a couple of stray pellets from one of the bags the previous owner threw in. it comes with pretty much every accessory - grill grates, half depth top shelf, an extra set of stainless steel grill bars, the stainless steel shelves and the grease trap. So once I’ve got it cleaned up I should be good to go thanks again @rotuts for putting my down this particular rabbit hole, it’s going to be fun! will share some pics once I get tomorrow’s on call out of the way - have a nice couple of days off after that to get scrubbing/smoking

This part is interesting, Paul. I’ve often been left a bit put off by the flavour of food where I’ve used baking soda to help browning so wonder if this would help. What acid have you used? Just something like a bit of wine vinegar?

I just asked ChatGPT for you, info may be slightly out of date but could be a decent starter: Certainly! Here's a consolidated list of fridge freezer models that generally fit within the dimensions you provided (174cm high x 86cm width x 80cm deep): 1. Samsung RF24FSEDBSR 2. LG GSX961NSVZ 3. Bosch KGN86AI3P 4. Whirlpool WQ9B1L 5. Haier HTF-610DM7 6. Hisense RS694N4TF2 7. Siemens KG39NXB35 8. AEG RCB53324VW 9. Liebherr CNel 4313 Remember to verify the dimensions and specifications of each model with the manufacturer or retailer to ensure they align with your specific requirements.

Oh I certainly will - can’t wait for this to arrive 😊 And really this is what it’s all about!

Well, @rotuts, you’ve got a lot to answer for… I’ve just won an eBay auction for a year old Yoder 640 competition! These things NEVER come up over here but someone needs to make space for a pizza oven so is selling his. They are only about two hours away from me so I reckon this is my best chance of ever owning one of these beauties! Brand new I was looking at over £4,500 which was way out of my league unfortunately. I’ve managed to pick this one up for just under £1600 so am delighted 😁 Only downside is that it’s the more sedate grey colourway but mrs roid is pleased with that so it seems a fair compromise Just the small matter of finding a suitable vehicle to hire to bring it home now…

Oh yes! We had a great time - flew into New York, stayed there a few days then drove down to cape may. Such a lovely place