Joe Anshien
TVWBB Honor Circle
Send Picture to company to see what happens.
New The Huntsman Kettle Kamado Grill from Spider coming.
- Thread starter Joe Anshien
- Start date
Bruno
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Not mine. They sent this guy a couple bowls. Both had issues.
Bruno
TVWBB Hall of Fame
that’s the only issue I’ve seen so far. same guy had both of those. They look nice otherwise.
I’ve seen some recent really nice cooks on the Huntsman.
I have a Venom on order FWIW.
All products have some amount of issues. Especially in new production, using contract manufacturing. So far everything with mine seems to be as it should be. The real difference is in how the company addresses any issues with customers.
My biggest concern right now is what type of charcoal I should buy. I didn't realize there were so many types to choose from! Lump or briquet? Old standby Kingsford, or something else?
My biggest concern right now is what type of charcoal I should buy. I didn't realize there were so many types to choose from! Lump or briquet? Old standby Kingsford, or something else?
Garvin R
TVWBB Super Fan
Jealous Devil lump or briquettes can't go wrong!
Bruno
TVWBB Hall of Fame
I switched pretty much to JD only. Both briquettes and lump, I just feel like it’s cleaner tasting.
Todd K Wisc
TVWBB Super Fan
I was a B&B orange bag briquette guy for LAS, but the newest bags are much dirtier, not formed as nice, and not as clean. I have been using JD briquettes recently and found them to be cleaner burning.
Todd K Wisc
TVWBB Super Fan
I like Kingsford Professional for grilling and hot and fast. I also use that for starting my LAS cooks as they heat up so fast.
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Huntsman Pre-Cook Seasoning Run
I finally got my Huntsman seasoned and did the one-hour seasoning "cook" recommended by Spider. They include a seasoning kit with an applicator that looks like a giant version of what you would use to put on shoe polish and a jar of stuff that looks a lot like lard to me. Goes on gooey and easy enough. Although I continue to have problems with my 2.4 WiFi and couldn't get that to work just yet (I wish the Venom used 5.0), I was able to readily fire her up:
I looked over the inside of my grill. While I didn't see the more serious damage that was shown in the photos previously posted, I did see a few small spots around the fuel door that I tried to remedy. My take on this is that they had to ship these with this door intact, and, from shipping from China and then shipping across the US, the door and body inevitably will scrape against each other taking off the powder coating along the edges. I will be extra vigilant about keeping this seasoned, but I think the issue is solved now that my grill is in place. I also think that you will have to be realistic that this grill isn't made of porcelain or ceramic. Even well-seasoned, this kind of grill - like offsets made similarly - is going to take on a rougher look over time. A little surface rust isn't going to do one in.
Regarding the height of the grill: Yes, it would be nice for me at 6-1 and for others taller than me, for it to stand a little higher. It is similar to a regular (not a MasterTouch) kettle. I don't see it as being way too short - unlike the classic old PK grills that today look like they were designed for children.
The fuel door is such a cool feature and one of the big attractions to me of this grill. Inherent in its design, it does sit low. You have to squat down to open it and see what's going on. Since this is something you might do a just a few times during a very long cook, I am personally fine with it. You keep a lot of real estate that you give up with baskets or Slow-N-Sears and their related trap doors on regular kettle grill grates.
I hope to try out with some ribs on Thursday. I will post pics of the cook and results and my honest opinion of how it went.
I finally got my Huntsman seasoned and did the one-hour seasoning "cook" recommended by Spider. They include a seasoning kit with an applicator that looks like a giant version of what you would use to put on shoe polish and a jar of stuff that looks a lot like lard to me. Goes on gooey and easy enough. Although I continue to have problems with my 2.4 WiFi and couldn't get that to work just yet (I wish the Venom used 5.0), I was able to readily fire her up:
I looked over the inside of my grill. While I didn't see the more serious damage that was shown in the photos previously posted, I did see a few small spots around the fuel door that I tried to remedy. My take on this is that they had to ship these with this door intact, and, from shipping from China and then shipping across the US, the door and body inevitably will scrape against each other taking off the powder coating along the edges. I will be extra vigilant about keeping this seasoned, but I think the issue is solved now that my grill is in place. I also think that you will have to be realistic that this grill isn't made of porcelain or ceramic. Even well-seasoned, this kind of grill - like offsets made similarly - is going to take on a rougher look over time. A little surface rust isn't going to do one in.
Regarding the height of the grill: Yes, it would be nice for me at 6-1 and for others taller than me, for it to stand a little higher. It is similar to a regular (not a MasterTouch) kettle. I don't see it as being way too short - unlike the classic old PK grills that today look like they were designed for children.
The fuel door is such a cool feature and one of the big attractions to me of this grill. Inherent in its design, it does sit low. You have to squat down to open it and see what's going on. Since this is something you might do a just a few times during a very long cook, I am personally fine with it. You keep a lot of real estate that you give up with baskets or Slow-N-Sears and their related trap doors on regular kettle grill grates.
I hope to try out with some ribs on Thursday. I will post pics of the cook and results and my honest opinion of how it went.
It will be interesting to see how these all age..... I'm betting that there will most likely be issues with rust, but that will be a matter of if the users are reseasoning appropriately and often enough. Some 'patina' like on an offset should be expected at some point and should be viewed as badges of honor --- hopefully there won't be any issues with legs and attachment points..... the weak links.
Bruno
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Good looking grill! Looking forward to seeing how the Venom works.
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I told my wife that some of you guys know me too well.
Ribs going on tomorrow using the Venom and a ceramic diffuser. Stay tuned…
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
As Promised: First Cook on the Huntsman - Baby Back Ribs
I put my Huntsman through its paces yesterday with a 5 1/2 - 6 hour bbq of 3 racks of baby backs. This is definitely the max you can do on the main grate and was made possible because I drafted the Skyflame ceramic defuser with charcoal ring that I had. It is designed for regular kettles and is a very nice aid. However, the get the real benefit of the Huntsman, I did pre-order their diffuser which covers more surface area and allows you access and add fuel through the door. I also used two low drip pans that just fit below the grates. Spiders' diffuser should allow much more room. Even so, the Huntsman had no trouble keeping things at 225 with the one fill of the charcoal ring.
I was very happy that the Huntsman was pretty easy to adapt to. I know there are better cooks here than me, but these were some of the best baby backs I have made getting pretty close to the very tender but not just falling apart stage. The two racks on the left were done with Kinders Hickory Brown Sugar rub and City BBQ Sweet Sauce. The one on the right was done with Fire & Smoke Society Cherry Cola rub and Three Pigs "Touch of Cherry" sauce. They were both sweet, but the cherry flavored ribs edged out the more conventional ones as everyone's favorite.
With a thermostatic controlled electric fan and digital readout, this is another grill my wife teases me about as not being "real" bbq. Nowadays, barbecue has become filled with gadgets. Here's a plug for one that, while too pricey, is still a great idea. Since I do ribs a fair amount and have broken more than one rack using tongs, I decided the "RibLift" was more than just a novelty and worth the price. Look for it on eBay.
Pretty simple, but it works great!
I put my Huntsman through its paces yesterday with a 5 1/2 - 6 hour bbq of 3 racks of baby backs. This is definitely the max you can do on the main grate and was made possible because I drafted the Skyflame ceramic defuser with charcoal ring that I had. It is designed for regular kettles and is a very nice aid. However, the get the real benefit of the Huntsman, I did pre-order their diffuser which covers more surface area and allows you access and add fuel through the door. I also used two low drip pans that just fit below the grates. Spiders' diffuser should allow much more room. Even so, the Huntsman had no trouble keeping things at 225 with the one fill of the charcoal ring.
I was very happy that the Huntsman was pretty easy to adapt to. I know there are better cooks here than me, but these were some of the best baby backs I have made getting pretty close to the very tender but not just falling apart stage. The two racks on the left were done with Kinders Hickory Brown Sugar rub and City BBQ Sweet Sauce. The one on the right was done with Fire & Smoke Society Cherry Cola rub and Three Pigs "Touch of Cherry" sauce. They were both sweet, but the cherry flavored ribs edged out the more conventional ones as everyone's favorite.
With a thermostatic controlled electric fan and digital readout, this is another grill my wife teases me about as not being "real" bbq. Nowadays, barbecue has become filled with gadgets. Here's a plug for one that, while too pricey, is still a great idea. Since I do ribs a fair amount and have broken more than one rack using tongs, I decided the "RibLift" was more than just a novelty and worth the price. Look for it on eBay.
Pretty simple, but it works great!
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Dave in KC
TVWBB Guru
Great looking ribs, Jon.