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Had to spin some more wings .let them marinade in some buffalo sauce then sprinkled with pine apple head. plated with some salad and chips ....... Yum. Looks like Aussie Ora signed in with an alias lol Outback Kamado Bar and Grill

Spun another chook for lunch on Friday, I’m loving the rotisserie! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Heylo Lance, If you are talking about "Grilling" direct heat cooking.. What better grills contribute is ease of getting those results. A skilled cook can "grill" over a charcoal starter and with the same meat get similar results.. The quality of the actual steak you are using has more to do with the results as long as you don't over or under cook them.. Yes KK's 3/8" SS grates will give you superior grate marks on our meat. The egg's lil' wire grates cool off quickly when you throw on your steak. And yes as people said above the choice of three distances to grill from is nice. BUT with Low and Slow the results are DEFINITELY BETTER High quality insulation reduces airflow this creates better barbecue. Charcoal always burns at the maximum volume for the allowed airflow, if you can burn less fuel to maintain your cooking temperature, you will have less airflow, less evaporation and Bingo.. more retained moisture in your meat. Reduced airflow also gives you more smoking Q flavor. Condensation is how the charcoal's organic vapor/smoke is transferred to your meat. Common sense would dictate that more retention time (from the reduced airflow) gives more opportunity for this vapor to condense on your meat and therefore you have more smoke flavor on your Q too.. So more retained moisture and more charcoal/smoke flavor.. I'd say that's better barbecue. And with roasting.. the results are DEFINITELY BETTER too.. Remember when convection ovens came out and chefs were ranting about how meat roasted in these ovens was better. Cooked faster, more uniformly.. the food was juicier and moew tender? Well the KK has 5 times the volume of hot-face that gets heat soaked and radiates heat to uniformly cook your food from all directions.. not just heat from the charcoal traveling past your food out the chimney. This gives you more uniform roasting. Round ceramic grills also have a donut hole dead center over your grate. The KK's chimney is in the rear, 80% of the upper grate has the same distance from the grate to the grill's ceiling.. Great for browning and baking.. Just look at photos of roasted chicken on this forum, always surprises me how much more moist KK chickens are. So grilling.. easier and more user friendly but results not necessarily obviously better but these other cooks will be noticeably Better..

I'm in the person that gave it the name Purple Crack after I tried it - the stuff is addictive!! I put it on a lot of stuff and the purple color can be cool sometimes, like on eggs! or on a chicken!

I often thought if i ever decided to move i would sell my kk and buy a new one so i could have it delivered where the new house was plus it would be new so my 2 cents sell them both and buy new cant talk you out of it if you arent using the 23 much as you have been i guess selling is the best option seems like the 32 is the go to grill now best of luck on semi retiring

Hey Lance. I have a 32, and live about an hour away from you. I’d be happy to let you look it over or try it out.

So...there's a small but finite chance I'll be selling my 23. Why? Now that we're empty nesters and have been living and working in the Type A DC suburbs for 25 years (where traffic and people have only gotten nuttier over time...and much more orange...), we're thinking it's time to "semi"-retire somewhere a bit more calm...probably about 2-3 hours away from here, tucked a bit into the Blue Ridge. Currently working to swing a "remote" work deal with my current employer, but if that doesn't happen I know of other ways to make this work. Planning on making this transition by next spring. We've been taking inventory of what would come with us, what would be sold, and what would be donated. The 32 definitely makes the "move" list, but the 23 may be on the "sell" list. It just doesn't get used nearly as much as the 32, which is the perfect grill for our needs. Love the 23 too, just not as much.

I took delivery of my Kamado in January, but was finally able to place the BBQ this weekend. Now I just need the pool to be finished. I can't wait to fire it up.

Yup. That’s how I wound up with this screen name. Joined a forum and had to choose a name, so looked at my bookshelf and there was Moby Dick. Queequeg? Nah. Starbuck? Sounds too much like bad coffee. Pequod! Ahab’s ship! Adrift in search of a great white whale. Sounds about right.

Have considered that option too. Kind of comes down to the cost of moving vs. the cost of selling and buying new. When I bought my 23, I actually checked with a local household mover to see what they would charge to move it to my back yard due to the slope it had to go down to get there. The quote was ridiculous, well over $1k and it wasn’t even leaving my property. If I can’t move them myself or get it done cheaply, then they both might get sold here and replaced there.

No advice on whether to keep or sell the 23", but I can wholeheartedly endorse retirement!! I'm into my 6th year and have never looked back!!

I'm about to put a rack of ribs on with my Guru already set up and going. Second all the other spot-on advice - bottom vents fully closed, top vent just barely off the gasket (open it just enough to see smoke wisps). I close the Guru port 1/2 way, as I've found if there's much of a breeze (pretty calm here right now) that a fully open fan vent can allow vacuum drag across the top vent to suck in enough air to overshoot a low temp setting. As Robert says, make the fan do all the work! Charles, I used to use a similar car jumpstart 12v rechargeable battery to run my Guru, as it had a "cigarette lighter" port on the side that I could plug the Guru adapter into. Then, I got the cold smoker and needed straight up 120V to run the aquarium pump. Then I ran an extension cord from an outside electrical box under my deck to the corner where the KK is, so I can just plug everything in there now.

Patek Phillipe watches are advertised with the strapline: "You are only looking after it for the next generation" You can take this in any number of directions: 1. Be generous and give it to one of your kids so they don't have to stumble through a lifetime of substandard grills. 2. Be cunning and tell each of your children that they will be getting KK1 or KK2 or yet to be bought KK3 in your will. Keep them keen and looking after you and your KKs in your old age. 3. Be frivolous, sell the KK and buy yourself a watch. The choice is yours.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you’re using the cold smoker with the cyberQ (and I have done this), you’ll want to close down the top vent even more. I also closed the fan damper to 1/2 or less.

Stumbled across this video and thought it was pretty kewl.

One reason to sell here vs. there is that folks in Northern VA have much more disposable income. It would likely fetch a much higher price if sold locally. That said, Northern Virginians aren’t worthy of such a fine grill...

I was right there with him until he put ketchup (and no mustard) on the cheeseburger.

Charles, on my kk, I don’t fool with the fan vent, it stays wide open. The top vent is a turn open to get the fire going, but once you’re close to temp, it’s just a tiny bit open from when you feel the gasket touch. A 1/4 turn can be too much. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I agree! I work and could afford to buy a KK myself but am happy that I got to order and The Husband got to pay. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Might have to find the money myself if I decide to trade up to a 42 though!

Awesome I just flicked her an email .they only had fresh last time I enquired. Cross your fingers tony b. and creef. Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

Oh to be a woman and just order what you like.

I think if you are going to pay that much to start with, the uptick for the 32" is well worth it relative to the additional flexibility. I got the 32" and love it....three separate cooking levels, I think I could do six large briskets or 8 to 9 pork shoulders. Right now I have six baby back ribs on (and need to go check on them) but last time I did nine with no problem. Love, love, love, my KK. Thank you, Dennis and crew!

Yeah, from my research, it's Solus or Ox Grills in the UK if you're going Argentine grill route but the ODK is drastically being de-scoped as a result of spending time in the forum. Hard to justify when the KK is so good and we open out on to rural countryside so the wind does pick up - having a covered cooker has some advantages. If of any interest, this video of making dried bonito is fascinating and I found it some while ago when trying to understand the differences between the different types and finishes. A friend of mine is married to a Japanese chef, admittedly patisserie but she pointed me in the direction of a shaver and educated me on the range of options available. Like Soy, buying really high quality of either really makes a difference in the dish. Care to share any recommendations on Japanese and Italian books/recipes (think I cook more Italian than anything else in fact). 😛

Too bad, so sad you have to part with a prized possession but, on the the other side the destination sounds as if it may make the loss easier to overcome. Looks like the beginnings of down sizing, trading off a few things ain't so bad. When it all plays out the only things you'll miss are the memories...and you'll be makin more. So whats this about,,trying to talk you out of moving or selling the 23, heck you only live once, might as well see as much as you can and enjoy all the toys you can get your hands on. If you have to part with one now and again let it go.Did you know Pequod was the whaling ship that sailed to capture Moby Dick, I'm sure you did. It was a sailing ship that constantly was in motion and changing direction in pursuit of it's goal so, in keeping with that tradition all I can is bon voyage and don't sell cheap.

Nothing better than that new KK smell...except the food that comes off of them!

Thanks, @tony b and everyone else. Super helpful to this noob. Quick update on previous post - I finally figured out how to put a halt to the incessant text messages. Turns out its simply a preference. Why the default is every 5 minutes when the point of this thing is to control a long cook is beyond me, but I've now got things under control - at least in that regard. Felt a bit like an idiot for not figuring that out later (what? read the manual?! who does that?!), but I'll blame it on the 6:00am start time and the lack of caffeine...

It was another gorgeous day here and the outside was calling me, so much to do and so little time. Transplanted my tomatoes into bigger pots and set them up in a tent in the greenhouse to keep them from freezing. There was some yard work to do and then there was that 10 pork belly that I bought yesterday. Needless to say a quick lunch was needed and here it is. A nice salad while the sausages were on the KK. Plated.

Kemi, you are baaad, gurl!

Have tried it on a number of things with good result. It's an acquired taste , like a good Scotch. I've wondered how it would fair on brisket as a substitute for regular pepper doing it Texas style. Haven't pulled the trigger yet on this experiment, has anyone tried?

Thanks guys - I let Darth come up to temp with vents open (rather than letting the fan do its thing) and overshot. I've just closed bottom vents entirely and will let the fan do the work. I've got cap open about a quarter turn, but will also dial that down a bit. Fortunately, this is a fairly simple and forgiving cook! @ckreef - one additional observation from my second use of the CyberQ Cloud - if you set it up to notify you by text of what's going on, and you begin to overshoot the temp, be prepared for an onslaught of text messages. My bad, I suppose, but pretty annoying!

The idea is to make the fan do the work, don’t let it stabilize without the fan running, at least part of the time. Closing the top down to just off the gasket is what works for me. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

If I'm reading all this correctly - bottom vent closed, top vent just barely open (way less than 1/4 turn). Just open enough so it comes off the gasket. Balconysmokin recommends pit viper throttled back to 25%. Give that a go and tell us what happens. Mine should arrive on Tuesday. Can't wait to play with it.

1. You can always sell the 23 after you move if you truly don't end up needing it. 2. Probably more difficult to replace it if you've sold it and then end up regretting it. 3. You are probably already going to be using a moving van; what trouble is one more KK going to cause? 4. You can pack some your accessories in it during the move which don't fit into the 32. 5. There is definitely the pride of having two KKs in your ODK. 6. Since you are moving, it will certainly help with the introduction to your new neighbors. 7. Some might think slightly less of you (probably only a very few people and only slightly less at that, but of course, not me, no, certainly not) if you abandon a perfectly good 23 KK. How do those reasons work for you?

I don't use black pepper anymore (I guess there's still some in the house, somewhere). Almost exclusively purple crack berries. It does bleed a little purple color into your dish so I do have some white pepper corns for things like a cream sauce if I want it to remain bright white.

I have the cyber q cloud and the smoker attachment. They both work great. This cyber q is my second one - the software is heaps better than the older version and to monitor your cook from outside your property is much easier (no more port forwarding). The smoker attachment works fine with cyber q in place. I was worried initially that the fish pumping smoke in may screw with the fan for the cyber q but it works seemlessly together. my only complaint with the cyber q is it is ancient technology that needs an update. You mention a battery above - that’s my main bugbear. It will run off a 12v battery fine; just use a motor cycle battery (or even a car one) or something like that for some reasonable Amp hours. It has annoyed me enough I have decided to make own controller with an esp32 that will run off batteries and as a bonus hook into Apple home kit for the ultimate in lazy cooking; hey Siri, how’s my meat? I hate the need for an extension cord to run the smoker - if should be rechargeable, and shouldn’t be a big ask as the KK is so well insulate the fan hardly runs. A tip for it; when you are warming up, leave the valve on the cyber q open all the way and as you approach temperature close it off to about n25%; you will get to temp quicker and then have more accuracy at temp (and not overshoot)

That sounds way too cool to ignore. Damn! Here is one for the hunter gatherer in you Alex: An Argentinian grill could well be a good complement to your KK(s). The one we used to have came direct from Argentinia and was a rust bucket. These guys in Norfolk make Argentinian grills to drool over: http://www.solusgrills.com. Just saying. In case you want to design your ODK with a future, yet to be discussed, purchase in mind. Thanks for the Japanese book and stockist recommendations. Will investigate both. I hadn't got into the level of quality that sees you shaving your own bonito flakes but I can see that is a new world to explore. How to solve the problem of buying specialist ingredients and not using them up in time? Dedicate a month to one type of cuisine and go all in. Helped me get to know my books, kit and use up the stuff I bought. This year I am, sort of, dedicating the whole year to Japanese and Italian cuisine. Yum.

Lance - I am 4:20 away in Fruit Cove FL. I have one 19.5" and two 23"; be happy to host link to another part of this forum. latest pic is w/ two pebble gills

This is a great pepper.once you try it you Will not go back .. Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

Sounds like you guys like this stuff: so you recommend? If so I’ll try to order some to my Sydney office and pick it up when I am back next.

Whoo hoo looks like we are in luck stay tuned Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

Well I live 4 hours away. I have a 19" table top KK and a 16" table top KK. I'm sure there is someone closer than me that has a freestanding KK. (that would be more in tune to what you want). If push comes to shove I'm sure I could give you a resonable demonstration of a KK in action.

I have numerous devices for remote monitoring. I'm not thrilled with the Meater +. I'll use it for rotisserie cooks other than that I have other options. I've used a Maverick 732 in the past. Two probe, clumsy menu, and crappy probes. Anything from Thermoworks is decent quality. I currently use a Smoke on my KK's. Decent two probe unit. I also have a ThermaQ Blue that I use on my Wood Fired Oven and Primo Oval Jr. Very high quality. Uses K-type probes so there are lots of different probe options. The unit itself and individual probes are not cheap but a high quality setup. Just ordered a CyberQ Cloud. We'll see how that goes once it arrives. Stick with anything from Thermoworks - you can't go wrong.

I really don’t think you should be concerned with a 10°+/- swing! That said, any of the devices you mentioned will work beautifully, pick the one with features you find useful. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

All of the above have worked in the past - especially a compensating expensive gift of the spouse's choosing!

I heard buying expensive jewelry also works as forgiveness tool. Haha

A single rack of St. Louis spares underway using the two zone configuration of my 32. For those asking about the splitter, note that I’m using the 1/4 basket configuration to hold coco char, and this is more than enough for this cook at 275 for 4’ish hours. Leaving the coals exposed gives me the luxury of placing my peach wood chunks exactly where the flame zone is (rather than the usual Kamado wood chunk hit or miss routine).

Grill vs. girl, eh?

We are having a stunning day today, sun, no wind, no bugs, the birds are singing, it's awesome. So what better thing to do than make an awesome cheeseburger on the KK. Made the rolls yesterday, previously ground a chuck roast and also made pickled red onions yesterday. I'm ready. I guess the site is not, I am unable to attach pixs. :(:(:( Here are the red onion rings pickling in salt, sugar, sherry vinegar with a bay leaf and cubano pepper. There is purple crack on this salad. K

Did this turbo..350°, took 2.75 hrs for a 12lb brisket, cooked to 170° internal, wrapped in butcher paper, then went to 202°. I separated the muscles, wrapped the flat in foil and towel. The burnt ends took another two hours to render. I’m convinced about the turbo method.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice cowboy ribeye for dinner last night. Sous vide @ 130F for 2 1/2 hours, then onto the sear grate to finish. Pecan and Post Oak. Did a simple cheese and asparagus tart to go with it. Plated with a nice cold iceberg lettuce salad with bacon, tomatoes and blue cheese, paired with a lovely 2013 SLV Fay cab. And gotta have shrooms on the steak! But what to do with leftover asparagus tart?? Sous vide poached eggs on top for Easter brunch with a heavy dose of purple crack! Happy Bunny Day, ya'll!