JB.1981

Haha, they were beer cans, never drinking pop whilst grilling - but, point taken. The pork turned out perfectly but it took some adjusting mid-cook so I'm not too concerned with the size of the cut but instead with the correct stacking of heat deflector, pan/spacer, cooking grate. Can you or AdamG show me what you do for slow and low please?

Adam, these are all good points. I am possibly pushing the limits of what this thing is capable size-wise. Did a 3.2kg pork shoulder yesterday and there wasn't a lot of extra room! I haven't checked the dome thermo for accuracy but I trust it is fairly accurate as, aside from the recent charred brisket, the cooks have been turning out great and roughly according to time/kg. I know now for sure that this deflector isn't suitable on its own as fat drips straight onto it and produces these fires. Even without fire, the gap between the 3mm deflector and my cooking surface is pretty tiny (less than 2cm, I'm sure). I'm posting pics of my current setup, as adopted yesterday. This was going great until the drip tray and the parchment wrap conspired to produce a fire. Top gasket is ruined but the pork shoulder came out beautifully as it happened at the end of the cook when the internal temp was already probing 196f (please excuse the mixed metric/imperial refs) I'm desperate to get a reliable slow and low setup that maximises space and minimises this charring issue. Pics below are what I've got at the moment but I'd love to see what others are doing. There is very little on the internet that I can find that is relevant to slow and low on these minis and so far I haven't had much response to similar requests on these forums. Pic 1: ebay 3mm deflector Pic 2: deflector in place Pic 3: grate in place on top of deflector (note small gap) Pic 4: same as 3 but different angle to show small gap. 2 hours into my pork cook yesterday I noted a scorched bottom again (fat side down). so I moved to the solution in pics 5+ Pic 5: beer cans as spacers Pic 6: drip tray/further spacer (teflon cake tin) atop beer cans, atop deflector. cake tin/drip tray was filled with water. this did not evaporate through the cook but at the very end of the cook I did have a fire go out of control - assume the fat here caught alight? Pic 7: grate back in place showing greater gap between heat source and meat Pic 8: same as 7, different angle Pic 9: my old setup. produced consistent results but I was warned against teflon direct on coals. a bit of a balancing act and reduced space with the height of it too Pic 10: a large piece of pork in a small kamado

Had a bit of a grease fire mishap yesterday and the main gasket on the upper half of my Lidl mini kamado (Grill Meister) is misshapen and hanging loose. I'm in need of a replacement but I don't see any online specifically for this model. Should I just be buying the 10ft roll I see on amazon? Anyone applied one of these to a mini and have any advice?

Hello, I have a Lidl mini kamado and a steel 3mm deflector plate from eBay. Previously I was using a diy version but was Teflon so I've moved on. first time out with new deflector I charred the underside of a brisket badly. Turns out I had the plate upside down. Today I'm doing a pork shoulder, deflector installed correctly, and less fuel. 2 hours in there is a noticeable char underneath the pork again. I've since put three crushed beer cans on the deflector, a Teflon cake pan on those (with water in) and the cooking grate and pork directly on top of the drip pan. It seems to be working well but it is a bit of a balancing act. I'd love to see photos of what others are doing as I don't want to destroy anymore £25 briskets!

I'd like to do another brisket soon to make up for the last one but now I'm nervous about scorching the underside. In addition to setting the heat deflector the right way round, are folks using a drip pan on the heat deflector with the cooking grate on top of the drip pan? if so, water or no?

Well this is embarrassing! The one I bought has similar pics on eBay where it is shown both ways up. I take it the higher position would be for setting a pizza stone on top of for more heat? And with it in the correct position for next time, this small gap between the surface of the steel and the cooking surface is sufficient to ensure a better brisket?

Just tried out my new eBay steel heat deflector on a slow and low brisket. It ended up very dry and blackened on the underside. I can only assume I've used the heat deflector upside down!?! The cooking grate sat on top of it with no gap at all. Previously, I had been getting great results with my DIY setup but had comments on here about the dangers of using a Teflon pan on the coals. Hoping the 1" or so gap between heat deflector and grate that would be created by flipping the deflector next time will make for a better slow and low setup?

I have struggled a bit with this too. I tend to load the bowl pretty full and I'm trying to break up larger bits of lumpwood to ensure good volume overall, without having so many small pieces that it clogs airflow. I have some trouble getting into the 'grilling' temp range on the thermo and in any case, when I do get into that range, opening the lid to check on or flip food tends to drop the temp dramatically for some period after. I'm finding this little kamado good fun for low and slow smoking but I think a mini kettle is possible better for typical fare like burgers, sausages, and skewers

so you must have some kind of rack that raises the cooking grate someway above your deflector? do you have any pics of this setup?

I'd be keen to see an answer to this one as well. I've now ordered a 3mm steel deflector from ebay. If I wanted to do pizza, can I cook straight on this deflector, or do I just place a pizza stone straight on top of the deflector? Keen to know how to go about this too for those bigger slow and low cuts where space is at a premium

That one does look good. Would that not just completely eclipse the firebowl though - altering airflow? I posted a new topic to get feedback on a steel one I just spotted on ebay. The ebay reviews mention the Lidl mini in a couple of instances but I'm still not sure which of the three versions to go for. I like the steel as well as it wouldn't break when I (inevitably) drop it!

Based on some good feedback from Chairmaker, pointing out the potential dangers of using my DIY teflon heat deflector, I've turned to ebay and I see this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153972287243 Any thoughts on this, and on which version to go for? I imagine I'll want the version that can stand a bit above the firebowl as it is already pretty limited on space for coals as it is. Just now my DIY version doubles as a water bowl. If I go for this style of heat deflector, should I be spraying with water or apple juice when going slow and low? So far I've had great success with a brisket and a pork shoulder. I don't want to buy this thing and ruin my track record!

Good info, thanks chairmaker! I had assumed it'd be ok for slow and low as I don't hit temps anywhere near that, but on second thought, it must get there or above if it's practically touching the coals, despite what the dome thermometer might say. Any decent Diy alternatives? A bit reluctant to shell out for an eBay one at roughly half the price of the kamado itself!

I picked up a cake tin at the supermarket for £2 and put three bolts through the side. This rests on top of the firebowl and the grate rests on top of this. It seems to be working well so far and it doubles up as a bowl for adding water to. Curious to see what others are using as one drawback is that it raises the cooking surface thus reducing space for bigger cuts. Yesterday I had to move the brisket around a bit to stop the built-in thermometer poking the meat when I shut the lid!

Thought I'd share yesterday's success story. Managed to squeeze a brisket just shy of 2kg into the lidl mini. Rubbed generously in 50/50 mix of fine ground black pepper and some Cornish sea salt from Tesco (large crystals). Got mini going at about 9:00 A.M. 225f (~110c), using 100% Big K lumpwood. Made sure to top up water in my bowl/heat deflector all day. Smoked about 6 ish hours with no need to wrap. Pulled at 196f (91c) then rested in foil/towels/cooler for an hour or so and had good results. Plenty of peppery bark, a nice pink smoke ring, and still tender and juicy inside. Tasted delicious so very pleased overall. I'm having great fun with this mini and it yielded enough for 4 of us to have brisket sandwiches last night with the same amount again as leftovers today.