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FORBES: 10 Best BBQ Grills & Smokers: Ultimate Buyer's Guide Click here to read "Raichlen, who has been cooking kamado for years, just found a new favorite, the Komodo Kamado, which he calls, “Far and away the best ceramic cooker I’ve used. It’s made with ceramic developed for NASA. It will hold temperature to within a couple degrees and run for 3 days [Yes, days!] on one load of charcoal. Clad with mosaic tiles, it too is a thing of beauty.”

We are making progress on our flooring. We were fortunate to get a real "old world/old school" fellow named Ivan to install it. The tongue & groove construction is especially tight and requires a lot of work to get it right. The hand-hewn construction means that slight variations in pieces require attention to detail and keeping a straight line. Because we are installing the flooring "across the horizontal" of our pool house, it means that there is a wide optic into the floor line. All this makes careful workmanship valuable. Walking on this floor barefoot feels so good.

I vote for me... Lol Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

It wasnt carried in my area either so needless to saw i was poed lol

I gotcha! Of course, my vote goes to you, unless it goes to Susan!

Well that really sucks. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

TY CC but ..... Next month is pizza challenge. With all the pizza cooks on Guru lately I don't really expect to win but I do need to be at the top of my game to give them a run for their money. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Simple cook of grilled chicken thighs cooked direct on the main grate. The last few minutes of cooking I topped the thighs with sautéed mushrooms and onions and topped with cheese. I cooked a few minutes until the cheese melted. I roasted some cauliflower too.

CK, you are making me hungry for pizza but that's not on my menu:(

I thought that was very thought full of CC to post the link, now if I could just him to play the program on the PBS station that I get, I'd know he has the real power.:)

Ken got me to try FOGO and I like it. It does crackle and pop a bit, but not really bad. I put the BA (that's big ass) pieces on the bottom and fill in with the medium and smalls to help get it started with the torch. I have struggled with high temp cooks with it because of the large size pieces, as Wilbur noted. So, if I'm doing one of those, I tend to shy away from the BA pieces and stick to the medium and smalls. I'm trying another brand, Kebroak, as it got good ratings on Amazon. So far, I'm like it a lot, as it has a more even distribution of piece sizes (not many BA pieces) and a tad cheaper. http://smile.amazon.com/Kebroak-KHWC40LB-40-Pound-Hardwood-Charcoal My previous favorite was Weekend Warrior by Wicked Good Charcoal, but the local dealer here couldn't get it anymore. Something about a bad fire at their factory. Need to check back with him again, as that was many months ago. If folks don't know about the Naked Whiz's charcoal database, you should check it out. You'll be surprised to find out how much charcoal out there is just re-branded Royal Oak. http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

You can cook anything 350° or under without any issue. For that matter, you can cook during the burn in, all venting is external. The reason some don't do this is because the attention should be on the grill, not whatever you're cooking. When you get closer to that time, read the instructions, post on the forum, or call Dennis. It's not a big deal, everybody has to do it. Rob

Hello Shuley welcome and congratulations, I am a newbie also, in fact my KK 32 is going to be delivered sometime next week, I have been on pins and needles for the past 2 weeks. I bet I have been to the website and forum over a hundred looking at pictures and reading all I could. I was on the fence but decided to "go for it" my excuse is its my birthday present to myself lol. I decided to add all the extras I could. Just about everything except the propane burner. I am now looking to having Dennis build me a teak cabinet we have discussed it over the phone. I really like this forum and will post pictures as I uncrate my Komodo. Looking forward to your pics and post in the future. I know you guys said the burn was duck soup, but when I read that the tiles may come lose that scared me. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Quick question should I do the burn in before cooking anything? Have a great weekend all.

I’ve gone through several bags of Royal Oak, and haven’t found many issues with it. I’ve found maybe three rocks over the course of one year’s worth of cooking, and the presence of those rocks didn’t negatively impact my cooks. I’m working my way through my second bag of Fogo charcoal. This stuff is entirely different. The pieces are huge (the website states 80% of the bag are pieces over 4 inches, and I believe it), and I get considerably less ash production compared to Royal Oak. The one downside is that the pieces are so big that lighting a fire for a hot and fast cook is more difficult. I think that the smaller pieces in Royal Oak do provide an advantage for hot and fast cooks, as there’s more surface area to burn, which helps the fire build faster and provide more heat. The Fogo website lists both a Super Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal in brown bags, which is what I’ve been trying out, and a Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal in red and green bags, which I haven’t tried yet. The Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal is described as having a mix of smaller pieces of charcoal (70% of medium sized pieces of 2 to 3 inches, 30% 1 1/3 to 2 inches). Here’s a picture from their website that shows the difference. I’m going to get a couple of bags of smaller-sized Fogo and try it out for fast cooks to see how that behaves. By the way, if you look at the Fogo charcoal website, you’ll see that the Premium Hardwood Lump Charcoal comes in a red bag and a green bag. I emailed them, and they said there’s no difference between the two besides the color of the bags. Having said all that, it’s hard to beat Royal Oak for $7.88 a bag. I wish I had had time yesterday to stop by my local Home Depot to grab some.

Congratulations and welcome to Komodo-Kamado-ville Shuley! Another 23" here. Many of us went through the 'hand wringing' decision as you described before fully committing to make a KK purchase. As everyone has stated (more or less :D): Soon you will wonder how you did without your KK! It is capable of any type of cooking process you want it to do; limited only by your imagination. Soon your friends and relatives will think you're getting paid to sell Komodo-Kamados...haha! You'll be bragging like a salesman! Hope you also had Dennis include some CocoChar and CoffeeChar as, essentially, it gets a free hitch-hike on your 23's pallet. Curious: What part of the world do you reside?

Charles, that sucks! Here is the PBS link to the videos of the show. You can watch them at your leisure! http://www.pbs.org/show/steven-raichlens-project-smoke/episodes/

Congratulations! You're going to be super happy with your new grill. If anyone could have messed up the burn in process, it would be me. I let Smaug get way too hot, and there was a bubble I didn't notice until months later. I poked a hole in the grout with a pin, some liquid vented out, and over time that area settled down. The process is really foolproof.

Great exposure, congrats Dennis. The KK aesthetics speak for themselves, but when people ask me about their performance, my exact words..."They will run for 3 days on one basket of charcoal. I actually have found warm coals (accidentally with my bare hands) in the ash pit 5 days after forgetting to shut down after a low and slow."

I can see that I'm in good company “Far and away the best ceramic cooker I’ve used. It’s made with ceramic developed for NASA. It will hold temperature to within a couple degrees and run for 3 days [Yes, days!] on one load of charcoal. Clad with mosaic tiles, it too is a thing of beauty.” EXACTLY, my feelings.

@Stile88 - except for the few occassions I use the KK Coconut Char, I am strictly a FOGO guy. It has wonderful size distribution (about 75% XL and L, 25% M, and 5% Small and fines), very little detectable odor, it burns clean and hot, it is dense yet lights easily with my MAPP torch, and produces very little ash. I love the stuff enough to have ordered a 36 bag pallet. You can get FOGO at amazon or through the FOGO website.

It appears that you had to get the kk over the thresh hold at your house....how did you do that without the weight breaking it? I am wondering if going through my house would be easier than around my very narrow side of the house.

You know something... I have tried some very high end brands of lump over the years and some crummy stuff. I just burned off a bag of Argentinian hardwood that's suppose to be the best and I hated it. Getting KK lump in Canada is very expensive so not really an option. I still really want to try the fogo lump that CC uses eventually. But I must say the RO red from the US is awesome. I really love it. I am a huge fan and have been burning it for the past few years. Yes you get the odd rock but it burns great, gets to temp fast and smells awesome with all that said mewantkj from the guru alerted me to the sale and I was flying into Buffalo from Vegas today. I stopped in and picked up 20 bags. I now have 40 bags stocked in the garage. Ken I will give your lump a go soon. I just need to find a way to get it to my PO box cheap

I took it to mean, leave it in the grill. I know the temp might go up a little but you must keep the chicken temp of 145F for 8 mins it must not go lower. It is like sous vide, you must maintain that temp for at least the time stated.

I am making a chicken tonight using this process. I like to follow instructions the first time. I guess I will find out the hard way.

So what kind of lump do you go with CC???

I too do not look at kamado cooking as a hobby any more than cooking on/in a stove/oven is a hobby. Right now it's all new and exciting to you and that may wear off some over time. Even if the new factor wears off you're still going to go back to cooking on a kamado every time you want a grilled or smoked meal. So much nicer to use a quality kamado for those times. . With that said, a lot of us are fairly addicted to kamado cooking and could probably throw our oven away if we had too and never really miss it. A KK will take that cake baking to a whole new level. Mrs skreef has done a triple layer carrot cake on the KK that was to die for and I'm not a big carrot cake fan. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk