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I have neglected to post over the past few weeks as my boys are keeping me terribly busy with rep hockey tryouts. My one son made AA last night as he refuses to play AAA anymore and the younger guy has tryouts starting Monday (Im the trainer/manager so not worried about this one shhhh). Anyways, Ed..... That KK you ordered looks wonderful. The tile colour is rich and looks beautiful. I have always lusted over Tony's and this one is now on my fav list as well. I was the first to get the new stainless side tables so I have convinced myself that Dennis did it just for me LOL. I am going to walk you through my BBQ journey a bit here.... Coles notes: started with a WSM (hated it) realized quickly that I am a griller with the odd time I enjoy smoking foods. Didn't need a dedicated smoker purchased a Weber Kettle 22.5" One Touch Gold as my wife refused to let me buy a Kamado due to price. Cooked on this for a year and absolutely loved it. Fell in love with BBQ Began researching and wanted the BGE more than life itself. Then stumbled onto the www.kamadoguru.com and learned a ton and ended up with a KJ Big Joe Loved it, couldn't believe the food quality. Moisture, ease of use, temp control (especially during winter) set it and forget it for the most part. Bought a second, then a third. All matching black OCD a bit as some know and didnt want mixed up cookers Then KJ changed their colour discontinuing black so I bought all three sizes in red and gave the black ones away to my best friend. One of the greatest things I have ever done. He is so happy and uses them daily Most here know that I was a die hard KJ brand guy. I had many debates and arguments with anyone that tried to tell me that KJ was inferior. All this time, replacing 5 cracked fire boxes, gaskets needed to be changed. Continual band and lid adjustments, rusted out grates, rusting sections on the nest..... I didn't care because the warranty is truly amazing and they take care of their customers. I continually heard the likes of 5698k, CC, Wilburpan go on and on about how great the KK was. In fact I got mad and always went at them telling them that they were full of it. Then ckreef joined in..... followed by Tinyfish. I still thought these people were crazy for spending the money and the kk couldn't be worth the extra. Turning point: Wilburpan wrote a post about the KK being like an expensive chefs knife. A standard knife will do the job, but a high end knife will do it better so to speak. So this raised the debate about the cooker vs. the cook. I thought this guy was sniffing glue on weekends (later learned just huffing the chemicals from the high heat burn in lol). Then I started thinking about it..... When I upgraded from a kettle to a KJ, I was blown away by the food difference. I was suddenly created way better quality food and that was a result of cooking on a better Kamado. Then, 5698k (Robert) started messaging me, telling me to join the dark side. I began looking at the kk site once and a while, then more often, eventually every single day multiple times. I fell in love with the design which initially I thought they were strange looking. But the more I looked at them, the more I realized their quality. I joined the KK forum at this time and began reading every post that I could. I searched everywhere for a complaint or negative report with respect to the kk.... I couldn't find one. How is this possible? Everyone said call Dennis, Call Dennis.... who is this oracle that everyone speaks with. So I said what the heck and gave him a shout. This man is the nicest man I have ever spoken with. His no pressure sales was unbelievable. He was a pleasure to speak with and I was so impressed with his knowledge and more importantly his passion for his product. Ordered harvest gold pebble, which by the way produces the best food. I think I may be the longest shipping experience in the KK history. We missed every port, broken boats, delayed shipments, custom inspections.... the list goes on. I still hadn't set my eyes or hands on a KK up to this point. So I really didn't know what to expect. Fast forward to December 2015. I get a call that my grills had arrived and were ready for delivery. I drove out to the warehouse to arrange and pay for delivery. They let me into the warehouse to check out the products before shipping. I saw the famous KK crates the second I walked into the warehouse. I could see small parts of the kk through the wood slats. I can honestly say that I was blown away with them the moment I laid eyes on them. They were way bigger than I had expected and the 32" was huge from what I am use to with the KJ. I got them home and set them up, and I was so impressed with the way that they looked. My wife immediately said sell the gasser, and its time to rethink 5 kamado's my buddy next door is now holding onto a trio of KJs. Once I started cooking on the KK, I realized that Wilburpan wasn't totally crazy. Suddenly my cooks are producing the best cooks that I have ever done. Nothing changed with respect to my cooking or prep, so why suddenly does everything taste better?? It was the subtle differences that tipped the scale in favour of the kk. I can honestly say now that after owning a KK, I do not believe that there is anything better out there. I can't for the life of me burn food or screw meals up. The temp control is better than anything that I have ever used. The temp stability is wonderful, and the minimal air flow creates an amazing moisture zone in the KK. Giving away the KJs was bitter sweet as I was a die hard. But once you get going on the KK you will honestly never ever use the BGE again. I am happy to hear that it is going to a good home or else it would have made a gorgeous planter for you. Not such a coles note post after all, but your journey is so similar to mine and I know how the ending of this story will be. Get ready for the 32" next because it will happen... sooner than you think too! Congrats on the purchase Ed

The 19" KK grills are a bit on the small size for a primary grill for those who want the ability to do a wide range of cuts and cooks. Even a large rack of ribs need to be cut down to fit.. forget a packer but brisket. That being said the 23" Ultimate could be a bit more than some couples need. So I set out to make a 21" that would be half way between the two. I got overly excited while adding features I liked.. first one was the wide firebox and basket that was inspired from the 19" Table Top.. this gives very uniform lower grate searing. I made this happen by using the proportionally too large rolling base from the 23. Then I remembered how the 17" front to back on the 19" made some cooks challenging so I made it the same 21" depth as the 23". Last was I wanted a Hi-Cap lid.. As you all know it now weights more than the 23 and costs just a tad more to build.. it's only one fat sausage smaller on one side on the main grate. It's redundant to market both sizes, so I've used all the metal work and lid and made a 22" Hi-Cap Table top with a HUGE lower that has the same distance from firebox to main as the standing.. This give me a large table top substitute for those who have larger built in table tops and want to upgrade to a KK. This brings me back to what I really need.. a standing 21" Hi-Cap with hopefully with a price point of $3500 -3600. I think it's a real manageable number for many. So the grills once sold as 21" are now being marketed as the 22. This figure fairly represents the grill as if you measure it from left rear to front right like a monitor it is a full 22.5" as shown in this image.

Here is the post from Kamado Guru to mark my 10,000 Posts milestone. ..................... I've finally become an old man on Kamado Guru - LOL. 10,000 Posts ago I bought an Akorn and joined this forum. I had been previously grilling with RO on a cheapie grill using, dare I say it..... Lighter fluid. I was clueless about kamado cooking. I did a lot of reading, asking questions and getting really good advice and guidance from the Guru members. Over the past few years with lots of encouragement and some serious inspiration I am now the kamado cook that I am. The most important thing I learned - Don't be scared to try new things, if you can think it up and imagine it in your minds eye then you can cook it. It might not be perfect on the first attempt, just tweak it and try again until you get it right. . TY Guru members for all that you have done for me. . I wanted to do a special cook to mark this occasion but I just couldn't decide, so why not cook a little bit of everything. . Surf and Turf Sampler . Surf: Fire Cracker Shrimp with Fire Cracker dipping sauce. Stuffed Scallops. Lobster Bites with a lemon herb sauce. . Turf: Dry aged, Key West marinated, ribeye bites. Grilled Peach and Rosemary, pork Tenderloin Medallions. . Served with: Creole seasoned sizzle corn. Grilled rice patties with a saffron sauce. . The main ingredients . . Rubs, marinades, and sauces to make this all come together. . . I didn't take a lot of pictures as there was a lot going on. I'll post what I have and let the pictures speak for themselves. . . . . . . . Thanks everyone for putt up with me. Here's to another 10,000. .

You'd better, if you know what's good for you. Otherwise, I be feeding the first bites of anything that I didn't cook myself to the dog first! Exactly, Tony.:) Of coarse we all knew you couldn't do this by yourself.

You'd better, if you know what's good for you. Otherwise, I be feeding the first bites of anything that I didn't cook myself to the dog first!

I am thrilled that I happened to luck into the original 21 inch, thanks to Dennis. The timing was perfect.

bosceaux! Wow, what a journey. It wasn't just Wilbur, or 5698k, or myself you thought totally daft! Welcome to the Dark and Daft side! Buddy, you've hit the nail squarely on the head. It's not that the KK is so significantly better at any single thing than the BGE, KJ, or Primo, it's that it's measurably better on any of a thousand dimensions. I've always said that the differences between every KK and any other kamado starts with airflow and ends with the best kamado-cooked food on the planet. The KKs make me a much better cook out of the box than I've ever been. Your post is a tour-de-force in the telling of the Journey to KK. I'd tell you to post it to the Guru, but I'm afraid it'd raise a sh*t storm of the first magnitude, especially amongst the Akorn crew. They think we're all off the charts crazy anyway and all your post would do is convince them of their preconceived notions. Great post, bosceaux. Kudos, kudos, kudos, kudos! (I threw in that 4th kudos to make up for the exchange rate! :lol:) Sorry about that, I just couldn't help myself.

Charles, congrats and kudos to the Nth Degree! Very well done my Friend.

I had meatloaf too Friday but I had to cook mine in the oven. Your meatloaf looks so much better.

What an awesome feast.

MacKenzie is right Tony. I called One Grill and they walked me through it. Very very simple, no soldering. It only took a few minutes.

I truly believe that I was a mouse in a previous life, given my love for cheese!