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The coffee lump charcoal from Dennis is amazing. As soon as I got it home I made a small test fire for grilling a steak. If one thrills to fire, this charcoal is irresistible. One will look for excuses to play with it. I ordered a Broil King KA5565 Charcoal Caddie Basket to cradle a smaller, higher fire, and it came today. In my 23" KK it rests on the charcoal basket, with its rim about 3" below the lower grill grate. It has a capacity of about two quarts. Shown, I filled it with less than two pounds of coffee lump, about $2.50 USD at the scale we ordered. The KK is so well insulated, this will easily maintain roasting temperatures for several hours. I'm looking forward to quick fires to prepare single ingredients, such as grilled eggplants or peppers, or to grill a single piece of meat. With this charcoal basket, my KK will be my grill of choice for any scale. And coffee lump will be my fuel of choice.

I'm pleased to hear that you also love the coffee wood lump. I knew it would be a home run after my first chicken cook with it. We pack the boxes my hand selecting only the largest and medium pieces which have the most volatiles/vapor/flavor. I like the cast iron basket but know that it would perform better for searing if you could seal off around the area around it. Air takes the path of least resistance and will go around the basket to some degree.. This sealing off is what makes a KK outperform all other charcoal grills.. every bit of air that leaves the chimney is forced thru the charcoal. Even MacGyver-ing some tin foil in there will do the trick.. Maybe I'll make up a cnc cut sheet of SS for it to sit in if there is enough interest.

Progress report. It is 3am. I haven't looked inside. The smoke is still incredibly strong. The wood scattered and buried is hitting st all different times. My 32" KK is holding strong at 250. The moisture that is coming from the bottom dials has created a fair size puddle. I'll try and take a pic in the daylight. 5 hours steady temp things are looking good. Back to bed

Got my owners manual woohoo Outback Kamado Bar and Grill♨

In between bouts of rain and sunshine, and with a bunch of decent sport on the tv, today was jerk chicken day. Marinaded overnight in Kenji's jerk chicken marinade recipe, then cooked high in the dome on a bed of bay leaves and allspice berries at 200C until more or less done, then charred on the main grate to get the skin crisp. Handful of bay leaves and allspice berries thrown on the fire every 15 mins to get the right smoke profile for jerk. Served with rice & peas and corn on the cob. 2 photos: most of the way through smoke to show the bed of leaves, and the finished tray of chicken.

Today was my day off, and I took advantage of it. I got in my bathing suit and went out and vacuumed out both the KKs and loaded them up for weekend cooks. Then I did a wipe down on the out side with the zapp 505 and then a light spray wax to make it shiny again. Went for a swim for a bit then lit the 23". I sat out on the porch with a nice cool breeze waiting for the temp to get up. It was so relaxing, enjoying the smell of the lump and I remembered why I love this hobby as much as I do. We made spatchcock chicken and beef ribblets and invited the neighbours over for dinner. Around 7:30, I loaded the 32" up with lump and some peach and white oak chunks. Got it up to 250 for now and threw on a 10 lb butt and an 8 lb brisket point. I am cooking for my cousin who is throwing a surprise party for her husband who just happens to think that I am the greatest cook in the world lol. Threw the meat on at 10pm and will let it coast all night. I hope everything finishes on time and will likely bump the temp up in the morning early. I just want it to get a nice hit of smoke right now. No pics unfortunately, but I will take some in the morning when I finally take a peak to see where I am at. The backyard smells so wonderful with the peach and oak combo Today was a very nice day of relaxation and enjoyment with my KKs

finished everything up right on time and I am very pleased with the overall turn out of these two cuts. These were for my cousin who is having a surprise BBQ for her husband. He is a huge fan of BBQ so I hope that I did it right. We should soon see if he approved. From the samples that I took, I think they were about perfect and the butt

Don't sweat it, mate. Do as Ken suggested and turbo finish those ribs. They'll be great, since they've gotten all the smoke that they're going to absorb by now anyway, so you're not sacrificing any flavor by wrapping them.

Rock on, baby! So jealous of that pool right now. Heat index here today is 103F. Thought I was gonna melt walking the dogs. Ain't leaving the house until time to fire up the KK for dinner.

Syz, the basket splitter is the sniz! (Couldn't help myself, )

I could get a prototype cut at a metal shop in my area. On one hand, I'm not a diehard fan of the hardest sear possible, finishing sous vide meat. A longer, slower finish imparts a different, gentler kiss of the fire. And 3" away I worry I'll get plenty of heat no matter what I do. On the other hand, suppose one wants to briefly use the KK as a 400 F oven? Sealing the airflow around this cast iron basket would consume the fuel more quickly and efficiently. One bonus, picking up charcoal from Bruce Pearson, was seeing his new 32" KK. I admired how the charcoal basket splitter worked, sealing off airflow away from the part basket. I can see how a splitter could be handy for my 23" KK.

7am and these are probing at 170-175 in spots. I'll monitor until 10 but don't think that I need to up the temp all that much as they have already likely progressed through the stall. I may wrap them if needed but looks like the KK has produced some awesome results. As soon as I poked them they started juicing up... A sign of amazing moisture retention. Here is a picture after 9 hours at a rock solid 250 degrees. This temp has been unwavering all night

@_Ed_ - Take MacKenzie's advice and set everything up cold and run it for about 15 minutes with some weight (at least a couple of pounds) in the basket. I used a 3# sack of onions. You'll know right away if things are going to go south on you. Depending on what issues you may have (hopefully none!), the fixes can be as simple as swapping the shafts on the rotisserie basket so they don't unscrew. Yes, there's a Left/Right to the threads. If the motor shaft unscrews, you might have to put some blue LockTite on the threads to get them to hold. Last alternative, is to reverse the spin on your motor. I posted the instructions on how to do that in the Maintenance thread of the Forum. Good Luck. Let us know how it worked out.