Kalamazoo Shokunin Kamado KSHOK430, Use And Care Manual

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Lighting the Fire
Once the fire grates have been configured for your cook, flip up your cooking grates and load the charcoal
in the desired position. We recommend loading meaningfully more charcoal than you are likely to consume
during the cook. This leads to the most efficient and effective burning of the charcoal. When you close the
control vents and lid at the conclusion of cooking, the fire will die, and excess charcoal will be leftover for use
in the next cook.
Starting with firestarters (such as paraffin cubes):
1.
For smoking, roasting or other indirect cooking, place a
single firestarter on top of the center of your charcoal.
Make sure the charcoal under and around it are smaller
pieces, but do not “bury” your firestarter. For grilling
and searing, place three firestarters arranged in a
triangle and evenly spaced on your charcoal load.
2. Use a lighter or chef’s torch to light the firestarter(s).
Keep the cooking grates up and the lid open while the
fire develops.
3. Once you can see the charcoal around the firestarter(s)
beginning to glow, make sure all four air vents are fully
open, then close the cooking grates and the grill lid.
Monitor the temperature closely while the grill is heating
up. See next section on controlling the temperature.
Starting with a plumber’s torch:
We like to skip the firestarters and simply use a propane or MAP gas plumber’s torch. Follow the steps
above to load the charcoal, but point the active torch at the charcoal for 60 seconds to start the fire
without the use of a paraffin cube or firestarter. Light a single location for smoking or roasting. Repeat at
three locations for grilling and searing.
Starting with a chimney starter (method suitable for grilling or searing, but less ideal for barbecue):
1. First, load the grill in the desired configuration with a generous amount of charcoal.
2. Load a chimney starter with more charcoal, add crumpled paper underneath and start the fire.
3. Once the charcoal fire is going strong, pour the charcoal out of the chimney starter on top of the charcoal
in the grill.
4.
Close the lid and immediately restrict the openings on all four vents to keep the temperature under
control.