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Mesquite smoked grilled king salmon with homemade pesto drizzle, quinoa w/onions, carrots and celery accompanied by sashimi of ahi over soy sauce with a drop of siracha. Last photo is girls plate believe it or not it’s been a favorite of both of them since they were 1. Prior to all the construction I cooked the salmon & quinoa at least 2x/wk got 1 lb of the tuna today straight from the boat $9.99/lb. I’ll be eating this sane plate over a few days as an appetizer

Catching up after a couple of cooks. First up, a nice roadkill chicken - pre-marinated lemon/rosemary from Trader Joes. Cooked direct on the upper grate, with apple wood chunks, @ 350F. Plated with red potatoes roasted in duck fat, with sautéed asparagus with a "mock" hollandaise (I had some leftover aioli that I add some melted butter and lemon juice to - a fair approximation). Last night it was bacon-wrapped pork tenderloins. Cooked direct on the main grate, with Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust, @ 325F, with peach and hickory chunks. Plated with roasted red cabbage, with a bacon & parmesan gremolata, and a nice whole grain mustard pan sauce.

I received so many emails from people wanting to order a 16" before they were discontinued, I changed my mind and put them back on the new website. I will just carry fewer of them then before.

@cstew32 - Dennis doesn't recommend doing super high heat "cleanings" on the KK. As he puts it, this thing is not a kiln. As part of my shutdown process after each cook, after I make sure that the fire is out by closing the top & bottom vents (dome temps dropped at least 50 - 100F), I open it back up and clean the grate with my grill floss (a 3/8" open-ended box wrench works, too), then bump the top vent open a tad (you don't want the KK to cool down with the top vent tightly closed or it will seize up on you and be a major PITA to open for your next cook), and then close the lid to the 1st position only (don't store the KK with the gasket fully compressed - it shortens it life), and finally put the cover on it.

Nice Yogi you got there, MacKenzie! Just don't leave your picque-a-nique baskets out! 😄

I will say that I cooked my first brisket ever on my BB32 KK and my son in law declared it the best brisket he had ever had, including some in Texas.

Tekobo, is coming to help me with the carving but I need some serious help with some recipes. Here is what we are looking at doing- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time to fire up the KK. Nearly there. The KK is just around the corner. Oh oh here comes MacKenzie. I'm outta here!

We call it Ahi. But it is yellowfin tuna. It’s abundant here especially in the summer. The salmon was wild CA King salmon also only available in summer but my local shop gets Mt. Cook New Zealand salmon regularly. I never ate fish till maybe 6 years ago but this plate and combo was a staple in my life especially as my wife and I try consciously to introduce good Omega 3s into in little daughters meals. Believe it or not but my girls love salmon from age 1. They crushed their plates last night

Troble, everything looks sooooo good that it almost makes me want to eat fish.

He can plug but he can’t hide...

If you are in the business, stick burners are the norm, you are there working them and attending to them for hours on end day after day and you learn all the necessary nuanced skills. The taste can't be beat. If you are at the house, go with a KK. The taste is 95%, and the skill set is WAY easier to achieve given you aren't cooking briskets all day every day. If you care to become excellent at it , you will. And your guests will NEVER say, "Oh this is shit compared to a stick burner."!!! No, you will get max kudos.

Thank you, Awesome answer and clarity. This will for sure help when I tell the wife... The colors are so nice, she will love that aspect.

@Lance Found a few more................

Another tip - pellets seem to work better than wood chips, at least for me. Struggled to keep the chips lit. It also helps to light a small chunk of charcoal and drop that in the tube to help keep things going. I fill the main tube to just above the smoke tube with pellets, drop in the lit charcoal, then fill up the main tube with more pellets.

Welcome to the Obsession! You're going to be much happier with your KK than the KJ. Nice cubby hole for it, too! As MacKenzie astutely noted, leave enough room on the right side for the rotisserie motor/cold smoker/guru fan.

How long was shipping ?....Im assuming the unit is in route. Work is coming along in the mean time figure a beautiful piece like the KK deserves some Timber-frame type ascents, and decorative joinery ....

@Lance Here is a picture of a half steam pan in the 16" KK Table Top...................

Troble that looks superb. That ahi looks like yellow fin tuna. Never heard of ahi, however if you ever get a chance to chase yellowfin, it’s a fun fish to catch. If you can get your hands on that quality fresh fish, try this gravlax recipe. The cold smoking is optional, no cooking required. Trust me, it’s a summer winner. https://komodokamadoforum.com/topic/10069-cold-smoked-gravlax-salmon/?tab=comments#comment-121741 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here are a few:

This adventure actually started last Christmas when I bought 2 packs of Prosciutto but only used one. Later in January I figured the unused pack was getting old and I'd have to throw it out. Then I looked at the expiration date, 7/10/20 - What? I guess unopened prosciutto in the refrigerator lasts almost forever. With that realization I figured I would save it for something special. Then came February, March, April, and now it's May. What could be more special than a COVID-19 Challenge. Enough of the background, let's get cooking. Friday night I started a small Boston Butt that finished Saturday. Made a fresh slaw and some squash strips. Added bbq sauce to some pulled pork then rolled that and a little slaw in prosciutto. Cooked the squash on my Primo Oval Jr and the prosciutto wraps on my 19" Komodo Kamado. When the wraps were almost done I drizzled a little bbq sauce on them. Dinner was served with muffin top cornbread and a salted carmel brownie. Note: what's wrong with the prosciutto manufacturers? It costs enough you would think they could make that separator paper a little wider to save their customers some aggravation when trying to separate the prosciutto. Maybe I'm buying cheap prosciutto or maybe there's a trick to separating the prosciutto I don't know about.

Psychedelic first picture Tekebo. I'd be wondering if in the UK they'd be sponsoring chilli contests. Looks tasty...been awhile.

Hi all, this is Tekobo's husband. We moved some coats at the weekend and revealed this forgotten masterpiece which may appeal to those who enjoyed the fridge magnets

The stick burner is a finicky tool and without a doubt requires patience and focus to put out a great product All Dennis mentioned related to pro's and con's are absolutely spot on, even down to the choo choo train. The secret to an offset is keeping the balance going, clean smoke and a temperature window is your goal and priority. Knowing when too add wood and how much, is your wood DRY, and the wood flavor profile for the specific meat your cooking are all objectives. There are variables such as wind, rain and outside temps that will affect your cook's outcome and even the placement of where you put your meat within the cooker is a concern. Once you become accustomed to the routine of fire maintenance the learning curve diminishes and you begin to put out a great product with a superior smoke profile. It's like riding a bike...a little shaky in the beginning but, it smooths out and confidence is acquired each and every time you use it. The KK removes the burden, simplifies the process and eliminates the weather and puts out a great tasting product with little effort. If that sounds good well....it is. How can you beat that? The challenge of the offset once overcome is also a great tool however, it can take up half the yard..lol. It's obvious on a small cook my 23 is easy and more convienent and quicker to set up but if I'm cooking 40lbs of meat or I have the whole day an as option I'm going to feed that fire on the offset because it's enjoyable now. I would say and finally to answer your question, I prefer at least for brisket the taste coming off of the offset , your not going to beat it...I've cooked on both, and consider myself lucky to have both...enough said, good luck. Thanks Dennis for the Roto rod...without out doubt this one is perfection.

(with my ears plugged) I'm not listening - na, na, na, na LOL

All this stone work gets sealed today This means that tomorrow, [emoji1623] [emoji1623] I can roll the KK out to her final resting place. Centred under the roof. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A stick burner Pros: Probably the cleanest smoke flavor profiles in BBQ. Produces vapor without any of the wood's unburned gas vapor. Very clean flavor because they burn wood with a flame which consumes the nasty gas which is bitter and acrid. Great Bark. Cons: Burning wood with a flame requires lots of airflow which can be very drying over a long cook. Needs skills to balance heat and babysitting when the ambient temps change.. not much sleep involved. They are pretty much limited to low and slow cooking.. no grilling, roasting or baking. Wife thinks they look like a choo choo train.. Komodo Kamado Pros: It's all about the airflow.. Copious amounts of insulation simply holding the heat in. Charcoal always burns at the maximum volume for the allowed airflow. If you can burn less fuel to maintain your cooking temperature, you have less airflow, less evaporation, and and of course more retained moisture in your meat, and that's the holy grail of BBQ. And the reduced airflow creates longer/more retention time for the charcoal vapor/smoke.. the longer the vapor is in contact the more condensation takes place creating more Q flavor. Basically set and forget temperature wise. You will get plenty of sleep and complete novices can get great results. They excel in low and slow, roasting and baking. You can also grill on multiple levels and create 2 zone cooking. Wife thinks they look great.. Cons: You can't just toss big chunks of wood into your grill while your meat is in there.. the lack of oxygen will create a thick nasty grey bitter acrid smoke.. This can be resolved using foil pouches, cast iron pots or external smoke generators. Heavy, not available in your local retails stores..

Freezing cold here with snow overnight and rain and wicked winds, time for comfort food. Chicken drumsticks, baked potato and a salad coming...... Drumsticks on the KK. Plated As usual the chicken was moist as can be.

I thought it was discontinued from the line up, but now it's for sale again. Can someone please show me the inside of their bambino or maybe food being cooked on it. It's only 2"inches shorter in diameter than the large bge. I would love to see the inside. Thanks.

Hi all, Had a few questions that I suspect this group could help me with. I looked at the KK maybe 5 years ago, but living in an apartment and the price, there was no way. I ended up buying a primo junior which has served me and the bellies of many very well. I was planning on just buying the Primo XL and giving my brother in law my junior, but then I started looking at the KJ 3 and the KJ pro and of course it brought be back to thinking about this beauty. So I just have a couple of questions and of course all opinions are welcome (its a forum). 1. Given the rapid updates of the kamado Joe Big 3 and Big pro, how much more BBQ quality am I getting vs style at this point? Specs are hard to red through and compare so if there is a big value difference, I am all ears. 2. I tend to run a brisket then hours later layer on racks of ribs and finish by upping the heat and grilling. on my primo I need to Get it open and closed quick but since its smaller its not hard to add stuff quickly. Is the KK easy to add stuff halfway and also do I need to worry about temp changes really fast once open? 3. What is the lowest temp I can cook with consistency and not worry about the flame going out. 4. 21" vs. 23" - it seems the main difference is in the main cooking area but not sure if there is something else. My average cook is 1 whole packer brisket, 3-5 racks or ribs and then odds and ends near the end. Thoughts on 21" vs 23". If I ever cooked two briskets at once, that would be nice but litterally may happen once every two years or my wife would kill me Thanks again

I’ll let others answer these questions in more detail Chiking. I have the 23 and have no regrets with the size, however, have definitely pushed it to edges with salmon and roti cooks. 21 would have been too small. The two big differences you will find on a KK is firstly the thermal mass is easily twice the KJ. ( I am not a scientist so don’t take this statistic literally [emoji23]) KJ to KK is like comparing a kettle to a KJ with the thermal mass. Nothing wrong with any of these cookers, as they step up in cost, they step up in quality. More mass, then less airflow required to hold your temp. Less airflow means better wet bulb temperature and less meat dehydration. And more efficient cooks with with less charcoal. When you open the lid, temps will drop for no more than a few minutes, then it bangs back to the previously set temp. Not more and not less. I’m no expert with briskets and ribs, but others here seem to have mastered them. One more thing, there is no comparison to the aesthetic beauty. They are ornaments in your garden. I’m sure you have already worked this out with the photos. In real life, they look even better. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I used to own the Primo brand and loved it a lot but then I bought the first KK. It was night and day ahead in quality of the build and the taste of the food that was cooked. It moved to the next level and the service from Dennis is above and beyond anything you would have known in the past. You can call him now and speak with him. There will be NO pressure to buy and he will NEVER try to up sell you. I would suggest anything you can do on your current cook you will be able to do it easier and better on the KK. Not only that it will last and last and last. The only danger is that once you buy one KK you might very well want to buy a second.

Nice job with the timber Matty. Very handy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

New owner of a used Ultimate 23. How do I reach high temps? I have filled the basket with lump charcoal, but still only get 200 to 300 degrees. Thanks!

The timber dress up is beautiful. I bet those humming birds love that yard.

You bearly missed him 😃

Your going to enjoy sitting out there and kicking back. Glad your nearing the end and buttoning up the smalls now...can you remember the dirt pile

Thanks Tyrus. Forgot to apologise for the pink hue on the first photo. Guess who has just recently bought a pink phone case? The chilli was very tasty in any case.

Fully open the bottom left vent, and fully open the top vent. Light the charcoal in three places and hold on. Edit: make sure you don’t have a bunch of smalls and dust blocking airflow.

Oh man @Christinelynn... This is a good idea! More meat hoarding for me!

This thread of yours just keeps on giving @Christinelynn. All the entries made me laugh. Looking forward to a "retrospective" in which you tell us everything @Wingman505 unwittingly accedes to over the coming months.

you know you want to...

I cooked some chilli overnight using a recipe that @Braai-Q kindly gave me. Here it is in the KK last night Here it is for breakfast today Here it is for lunch today Luckily I just got a call from a Spanish friend saying he is bring round a long promised paella care package for our supper. It will have been cooked on a BGE but I can forgive a paella bearing Spaniard pretty much anything. More chilli tomorrow. Thanks @Braai-Q aka my African Brother from Another Mother.

Have you ever done a breakfast pizza? That could be fun. I do breakfast burritos quite often and I make frittatas that I’m hoping to get on my KK soon, but at some point I may venture into breakfast pizzas....eggs, bacon, cheese.....possibly left over brisket with eggs.....you got me thinking now!

Bought my 23 OTB 10 years ago. Still cooking with all the original equipment. Unit 610, Levi Blue, cranking out great food for friends and family. Kook on fellow KK'ers Steve

Who has the oldest Komodo Kamado? I think Dennis L. has the oldest KK

I tap all the doors and check the the plugs each and every time to make sure they are all tucked in, flat against the housing and always double clik the latch. When I first received my KK the front door would always slide out just a bit upon closing the lid. I had to tweak the door a little so that I would have a little friction along those rods within the tubes to stop this. This worked fine and the door remained tight however, posting a method not quite understood by others can come ill received. I also found the back door or gas unit door sliding out on occasion but a little push always helps it out. This area is subject to ash falling onto it and generally this aids in keeping a tight fit within the sliding mechanism since I've had it. Dirt is good. Yes, the top vent is the controller, when doing a low and slow a movement of 1/2 inch either way can offset temps 10 degrees. It takes a while to prepare the fire, generally an hour or 45 mins before placing the meat on before heat soaked, take it slow, check the boxes and it'll soon come. Accept the fact that when placing on the grates or meat your temps will always drop 50-75 degrees. Unlike other kamado's the balance here is the refractory, the patience to ease it into that zone temp you want without over shooting. The KK does all the work, you simply turn the dial.

Tony lucky I'm here to enlighten you .adding sauce to the butt after a few hours actually helps achieve a fantastic .bark which is tasty . You can still add sauce after shredding .this way you get the best of both worlds Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

Haven't had one for quite some time so while I was at the store this one called me over. Salt and pepper for the finish and it was just the flat.