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What a great day. I am so happy that I didn't wait to get everything just right before I started to cook. I love the way the KKs look, I respect and adore the engineering but they are here to provide me with food and I don't want to be scared of them. We lit coals in the 21" and after first stabilising at about 140degrees C I took it up to 160 and put the chicken on. I had hoped to get it hotter but went with it anyway. What did I learn? First: step away from the damper! Leave it alone and let the temperatures settle. Second: put more char in the bowl. The KK's efficiency may be legendary but it can't cook on a grapefruit sized pile of coals. Dad and The Husband bailed out at about 9:30pm and I put their wings, drumsticks and thighs in the indoor oven. I held out until 10:30pm by which time the wings were more like they had been in a long slow sous vide than a BBQ. Very tasty. I have left the rest in to cook in the ambient heat from the remaining few coals. Will "pull"(?) them soon and shut the machine down. The 21 feels like a good size for a greedy family of 2-3. I look forward to trying the 23 tomorrow. The photos reflect a less than perfect cook but I am OK with that. Any advice on corrective actions to take gratefully received. @Grant, I will definitely show you some detail on the 21. I think it is worth a separate post, comparing it to the 23 and generally getting to know it. Come on baby, light my fire: What was left after the rest of the chicken went into the IDK Plated in honour of our Brazilian holiday, with fried rice, beans, farofa and chilli.

My new friends arrived yesterday and I couldn't be happier. This is a short picture story to introduce you to them and give you a feel for the differences between the 23 Ultimate and the new 21 Supreme. First, I have to cede to Dennis and refer you to his photos and announcement here: Here is a picture of the two of them installed at our home in England. They are looking pretty and our "ODK" will get a lick of paint or tiles in the summer to provide a more suitable setting. Here is a shot to show off the 21's manly shoulders And the 23's rounded belly by comparison The main grates don't look too different to each other in terms of surface area But the baking stones do! I've left the heat deflectors in their packaging for the moment because so few of you seem to use them! And here is a comparison between the fire baskets and the drip pans And finally, the view that I am so lucky to have just outside my door I will post any additional differences as I find them. Do ask if there are any photos you would like or things that you want to know about them.

Hello all forum members and guests, I just want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a happy and BBQ cooking new year! May all your resolutions come true

Started baking, got the first round done; 6 dozen 'pin-wheels' (pic attached), 7 dozen Italian wedding cookies, 8 loaves friendship bread.. the pinwheels are a baking powder biscuit dough; cinnamon/sugar & brown sugar - super when heated w/ butter.

That was so funny. I had told them that it should take four people to lift it but they said they were fine. I said I didn't want to break them before they'd finished the job. Their response was that they had back up to fill in if they broke. Anyway, once they had tried a lift, they were sufficiently rattled to use the winch to make sure the 23 was steady in its descent. They then started fussing because they couldn't orient the 21 so the the winch could support them. At that point I had to tell them to man up and put their boy's toys away. They did and it went like a dream. They are going to advertise themselves as expert BBQ movers. To be fair, they were very careful and showed the KKs respect. They wanted to know if I'd seen one before I ordered them. I hadn't. It's hard to explain how Dennis' creations move you even when you have only seen them online.

I feel like a kid at Christmas. I fell asleep at 1am and was awake again at 5am, running through what I will do today. And what a day it will be. I have already been out in the dark to loosen the vent and crack open the KK, thanks for the advice @MacKenzie. I've wandered round the house and located a sink to soak my grills in. Well, I haven't actually located it because it is in the greenhouse outside but I know where they will be going. No whole chickens in my near future @tony b. The capons that arrived yesterday are my Christmas present to my father-in-law who is set on cooking coq au vin. He wanted blood too (apparently it is part of the traditional recipe) but the supplier ignored my whole order completely when I asked last time. I didn't want to jeopardise my access to poultry over the holidays so no blood requested. Thank you all for your good wishes and advice. Today I will be playing with fire. I will fill(!) and light up the 23 and practice with the vents through the day as @Pequod suggested. Given the KK will be hot, I will get on and cook the pig cheek bourguignon that's been on my list all week. And take photos. And do all the other fun things there are to do at this time of year. I think I am getting to like Christmas again. I know some of you are getting KK signs for your Christmas presents. I don't think mine came with any but do say if they are secreted somewhere in/on the case and I have missed them. No matter, the KKs are great as they are. And no, I haven't forgotten about venting in my haste to get on. We have a new year's party planned and I have promised a bbq. Will keep temps within range until after the party and start the new year with a vent. And breathe.

Why am I thinking about this now? LOL After you have closed the vents and the KK has cooled down, indicating the fire is out, loosen the top vent a tad and move the locking handle to the first position. This will relax the pressure on the gaskets and help preserve their longevity. If only I could do that to myself and not just my KKs.

I would love to offer encouragement, but if you listen to Mac, I can’t improve on that. I will endorse the...always fill your charcoal basket advice, there’s no better single thing to be said at this point. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Good start! As for advice: always run with a full basket of lump and just top it off before each cook. Spend some time getting to know the vent settings. Once you’ve got them down they are very repeatable for a given temp...will always be the same.

I would have hung it out to the very end, my motto, never give up. You are so correct fill up that charcoal basket right to the top. Once the cook is done shut the vents and the fire will go out and you'll have some nice lump left for the next cook. It will light easier too although you may have to top it up with lump. One of the great things about the KK is that the grate is a nice distance from the fire so you can do direct cooks without scorching the food. 160 or 170 C should do a great job on the wings. It takes some practice to learn how to control the temp. Key thing is give the KK time to settle before making vent changes, next thing you know you'll be doing it with your eyes shut. Sometimes I even drive into town to do a short errand knowing that the temp will be stable. BTW, I'd like to know how you got all those boxes unpacked sooo quickly.

I am so excited about an up coming event that I thought I have to have a special breakfast. Made some latkens. Here are the mixings before frying- Frying first batch. Breakfast still on the grill. Plated.

Yes Bruce, have a Merry Merry

Ditto - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Very excitied to be back in the US with my Jackson Hole BB32. Happy BBQ’ing to all!

Stay the course! Learn the vents first, then we’ll still respect you even when you cheat and use a controller.

I've made all the rookie mistakes possible today and now know why the guru users say it makes sense to be tech assisted. I also know what I did wrong and am hoping I will get the hang of it soon. I did buy one DigiQ but will hold off installing it while I make sense of the KKs. From getting to a steady 150 C, to turning the damper the wrong way and soaring to 250 C+, to bringing it down slowly by closing down the damper to falling asleep and waking to find the fire had actually gone out. Oh well, back on track. The bourguignon is a forgiving dish and will keep going through the evening and into the night. I don't know if you were all dead sure about the colour(s) you selected for your KKs. I wasn't and wondered if there would be some days when the cobalt blue would be just too cheerful. I have no such doubts now and will leave you with a picture of them from last night, not looking too "shouty". I think they are going to fit right in.

And Merry Christmas from me too!

Thanks Bruce. Merry Christmas to you and your family as well.

The old signs are valuable collector items now!!!!

There’s something that happens to everything and everyone once they enter “the big easy zone!” Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Merry Christmas Tekobo and looking forward to your future cooks.

Great story and photos...thanks for posting!!! They look great in the "nook".......fill the space nicely. Love the look on the guys faces after they tried to lift the KK............"What did you get me into??????"

Congratulations! Beautiful, the blue pebble looks terrific. years of satisfaction await -

Thanks @MacKenzie KK breakfast of warmed up wings and left over beans here!

I have to offer my thoughts on the 3-2-1 thing. I honestly don’t know how this got so popular. It’s a boat load of work, plus the timing is very specific. Particularly with a kk, there’s no worry about moisture in your cooks, so foiling is absolutely not necessary. I’m a huge advocate of simply letting the kk be the star of the show, which will make you the star of the show. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Congrats your kks look stunning first cook looks so delish you had fun all day for sure

Tekobo great first cook looks tasty to me. Looking forward to more wonderful cooks.

Wow! I’m loving your mentality. Let’s admire the beauty and white interior, but more importantly, let’s see how it cooks! Thanks for the pictures, and I can’t wait to see your comparison to the 23.

The more I look at that plated dish the more hungry I get.

Wonderful!

Oh no, looking at your crates it appears that the KOMODO KAMADO has turned into FRAGILE.