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Thank you all for your thoughts and feedback. I spoke to Dennis yesterday and he was great answering questions. Next up, I showed photos to my wife who thought it was pretty and she picked the color that would match our backyard theme. I was off to the races and ordered the 23" last night. A brisket and a pizza will happen real fast! have a great day. This forum has tons of good info so excited to learn more.

Looking forward to the end Tyrus. You prompted me to look back through the post at the early photos. The yard was terrible. Spent time in my mates forge today making knobs and handles for the cabinet doors. That’s 2 inch thick bars melting to get beaten into door knobs. That forge is running at 2000c( 3650F)- hot enough to put some crackle on your pork belly. I was looking for Bruce Pearson from the KK home page to help out but couldn’t get him on the plane with COVID hanging around. [emoji23] https://komodokamado.com/?utm_campaign=1601409787&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=318122920271&utm_term=komodo%20kamado&adgroupid=66121904292&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjaWZsN2y6QIVmh0rCh0VMw6IEAAYASAAEgL6I_D_BwE And this photo will be pretty close to the final resting place. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Chicken Satay. Chicken breast marinated in a mixture of coconut milk, cumin, turmeric, garlic, and ginger.

Five day old sprouted rye and seeded loaf. Looking and tasting great. Here it is when it was first baked. I gave away the loaf that was sitting in the space in the middle. The Husband wouldn't let me give away any more, it is that good. Straight out of the beeswax paper Breakfast Pssst @ckreef, @Wingman505. See that meat slicer in the background in the first shot? You know you want one.

Trust The Husband to turn up and pull down the tone of my serious meat thread. I will now get things back on topic if you don't mind. We broke into the second dairy cow fat encrusted steak after about 90 days. Not for the faint hearted. The smell was just fine but I had to scrape off some discolouration. I never normally bother to reverse or forward sear because I like my steak blue and am happy to crust up the outside at high heat and eat. The Husband prefers rare so I thought I would try out reverse searing. It had been so long since I last did it that I forgot to use the basket splitter. The meat came out a bit more cooked than I intended but we both liked it. Had the texture of ham and the taste of blue cheese. Definitely a "do again".

Nothing comes close to a chamber vacuum sealer. Though were I doing it again I'd get an oil pump model, despite the higher routine maintenance and the increased weight. We keep ours in a middle shed, renovated to more "room" than "garage" status. The one issue is that these things don't work well cold; the chamber doesn't reach as full a vacuum. When I bought my first argon tank for preserving wine, the guy at AirGas politely called me an idiot seven times for not going to double the size tank. The costs were all the same. I kept explaining that it wasn't the money, I wanted to stay married. Then the tank ended up outside, near the chamber machine. When the tank ran out after a few years, I upgraded to the larger size.

Does that make MacKenzie - Goldilocks?? 🤣

Stop it Jon[emoji23], you know it’s not true. Congrats on the decision to invest Chiking. Did you come back from the races and change your mind to a 42”? [emoji470] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The lighter version of the Terra Blue tiles.

Great news! Let us know what you think once you see the KK in person. Also if you have any questions the fine folks on this forum will be happy to help!

Porridge Mac, that bear is looking for porridge. But I haven’t seen you post any porridge photos! [emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He's reading my mind. I have a meat slicer, but it's this chincy, slow blade PoS. I also have a couple of Foodsaver vacuum sealers that have served their purpose well. I definitely want an upgrade for both. I just have to convince @Christinelynn because she hates things on her counters, and the mechanical envelope of both units would be even bigger than what we've got now.

Not much too add since everyone has weighed in with all the tech and helpful suggestions however, one item that stood out to me was the fire box in the KK. Dennis designed the fire box in two pieces allowing the refractory to expand under high heat, this design gave you the ability go beyond the norm and achieve higher temps without suffering damage. KJ has developed a 4 or 5 part box now based upon this same idea, recognizing singular formed pots fail and crack. The latched handle KJ has employed on their newer model looks awfully familiar too. Seems to me someone is borrowing the improvements and if you look closely you'll find they don't don't approach anywhere near the quality the KK offers. Imitation is the the sincerest form of flattery or larceny.

Forged in fire..a great show. "It will kill." That's alot of stock sitting there Basher, great idea...keep it rustic. A fine spot for your KK, front and center, sir, yes sir. Hope you find Bruce I'm sure he isn't hiding.

@Lance There are 2 cooking grates. The lower one can be used, upside down - handles down, on top of the upper grate. MacKenzie has some metal spacer bars, she uses to raise up and provide better support to the lower grate when used like that. After she told me about her bars, I also made some, but rarely use them. The upper grate is far enough from the fire for my cooking and I use the drip pan as a heat shield on the lower grate a lot. I also have a 19" TT that I use for larger cooks.........but the 16" TT is my "go to" cooker for 90% of my meals. Heats up quickly, uses very little charcoal, same excellent temp control. Love that cooker!!!!!!

I used to only buy Lumberjack

I could be wrong but with the exception of the egg lid, I was measuring my egg against the 16TT on the website. Egg is 18", but the inside width of the fire ring is 16" leaving 2" overhang over the fire ring. The width and depth is not far off either. Didn't realize the 16TT was that big. Egg weighs almost 170lb. Versus 216lb. Question: Has anyone went from a large egg to a 16TT. Please explain your experience or anything that I said that might be wrong. I still want the 32 but might start with the 16 if it's just a tad smaller than the egg. Thanks for any responses and for reading.

GoldyMac and the one near LOL!! I hope, rather I know that porridge is juuussst right!

You did it and you will not regret this purchase. Any idea as to when you will take delivery? BTW, we all want to see lots of the arrival pixs.

Eeekkk don't do me like that - LOL For me it's more of a space issue. If I can ever get that solved a slicer would be nice along with a vacuum chamber sealer.

@ChiKing Welcome! I started out cooking with the Primo Jr. and XL. Still have them at the family cottage. Also own a KJ Jr. That being said.....I bought a 19" Table Top KK and was so impressed with the quality and performance, I bought a second one - 16" TT. In my experience, the quality of the KJ and the Primo is the same. KJ has some nice features and accessories but the oval shape of the Primo was more important to me. (Thus saving for the 42" KK) There is, however, no comparison in the quality of the KK compared to the KJ's or Primo's. The KK's are built for a lifetime of cooking. As you know....you can cook well on a Primo but the KK is one amazing cooker. I have had them side by side and never thought of using the Primo's instead of the KK's. Have fun with your decision!!!!

Hey you can’t blame the bear he’s probably looking for one of Macs great breakfasts! Mac,Is it raining out or is your deck shiny like that all the time?

Looks awesome. But my sister from another mister, where's the invite for the taste test? 😄 I realised that I had quite a few different chillies going out of date in the larder. It prompted a grand reorganisation of the larder and the kitchen looked like a bomb hit it during the process - my wife walked into the kitchen, uttered something that ended with sh*t and disappeared as quickly as she arrived. So, I didn't want to waste the chili and within 2h of dinner, thought I'd make the chili, pressure cook and then leave the rest to slow cook. I was really surprised at the depth of flavour that 20m of pressure cooking provided. It didn't have that unctuous richness that you get from a chili cooked low and slow forever but the flavour was excellent and belied the time it took to cook.

I too own a KJ Classic 2 and I just sold a BGE XL I previously owned and sold a Weber Summit gas grill and a Traeger. I can't really add much to Pequod's response above as I completely agree with all of it. I've been cooking on Kamados for years, and nothing compares to the KK. I received my 32" Big Bad and only needed to cook on it a few times to understand how different it is. I've cooked 2 packer briskets, whole chickens, steaks, etc. The KK performed flawlessly, with ease, and produced the best tasting version of each protein Ive ever had. I ordered my 23" Ultimate just two weeks after receiving my Big Bad and we're currently anxiously awaiting its arrival. That seems a little crazy, and it probably is, but the results spoke for themselves. What's truly crazy is my wife, @Christinelynn, sanctioned the second purchase. She's the family accountant... She does that job far better than I ever would, could, or want to. If the food produced convinced her to make a second KK purchase, it'd convince anyone. I guess I did have some to add.

+1 for pellets. Just buy high end pellets not the cheap crap.

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.

No regrets..... so the wait begins............don't that suck.

Someone mention porridge... Just happened to make this in my Zojirushi. I set the timer to have it ready for breakfast. The first time I did it and opened up the rice cooker I thought, "Oh my goodness, I've ruined it!" Next move was to stir it up, and that is when the magic happened. Added some date slices and called it fantastic. It has B&B cinnamon in it and a little maple syrup. It amazing, I thought I was going to be forcing this down but not so. You know those little red candy hearts we all eat at Valentine's, well that is what my cereal tastes like. LOL

Great news on the purchase and Welcome to the Obsession! You and the Mrs will be blown away once you see it in person! We look forward to the pictures when it arrives. Then, you'll be even more impressed once you cook on it. If you have any more questions, like "must have" accessories, etc., feel free to ask. We've all been there. As Alohapig said, get as many boxes of cocochar and/or coffee wood lump, as will fit on the pallet. Cheapest that you will ever pay for it and both are excellent charcoals.

Look at how yellow that fat is, like butter!

I like the Lumberjack ones the best that I've tried so far.

Good choice! The terra tiles are really sharp looking (plus tile KK's cook better than pebbles)

...and the color is?

Bruce, that is rain and we are having a miserable spring, cold, wet and windy. We have a break from the rain right now with some sunshine but the wind feels like it's out of the North.

Welcome to the forum. 1. I'm not sure if you've seen a KK in the flesh but the quality and finish speaks for itself. No hyperbole. It doesn't require adornment or constant updates to stimulate sales and any improvements Dennis makes to the design are considered and well executed. Same so for accessories. Dennis has often talked about his cost plus build approach and coupled with the absence of intermediaries means you get better value and quality to an item built to a price point with margin built through a distribution network. I'm very dismissive of KJ products based on their build quality. Opening and comparing the lid mechanism on a KK versus a KJ is the best explanation of why I feel this way IMHO. The other selling point I found with the KK is the direct relationship with Dennis - either in sales or support. It gave me a lot of confidence spending this much on a KK sight unseen which was the scenario with my first one. 2. Really easy. The lid opening mechanism is beautifully weighted and eases up versus lurching back on the spring release so it's easy to slip items in without impacting temperatures. That said, even if you had the lid completely open, temperatures will return to what they were prior to being opened very quickly. The heat retention on a heat soaked KK is superb. There is probably a thread on thermal mass and heat retention of the insulation material somewhere on this forum!!!! 3. I regularly do 100 degree cooks for 18-20 hours (briskets typically). Would not see why you wouldn't be able to hold it a bit lower, 85-100 range. 4. I'm either side of the sizes that you're looking at (have a 19TT and a 32) so can't comment specifically on the models as an owner but went through the same consideration process. I was initially limited on space when I lived in central London - I could not get a wider grill through my door without hiring a crane and taking it over the roof. The joy of Victorian houses. I didn't even open that conversation with my wife as that would have really pushed the limits of her understanding. The 19 was great but a little small for some cuts and for grilling, there isn't sufficient surface area for anything but smallish cooks. You end up having to batch cook for guests and it can be less than ideal. If you want to grill or think you might want to grill, I'd go for the extra surface area. Also consider that you'll grow into the KK and find new things to do with it such will be your enthusiasm, no doubt fuelled and inspired by this forum. Hope these comments are of some help.

This is super hard for me to comment on because I love both my 23 and 21 and I would happily buy every other size of grill in Dennis' arsenal if I had the space and the money. The only sure fire advice I can give you is: get a KK, you won't regret it. Then you need to balance heart, head and money. Some would say get one KK (to start with ) and get the biggest you can afford. Others would say get two because cooking at different temps and over different time frames is even more useful. Here's some stuff to help with the head part of the equation: Welcome and good luck!

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.

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.

You two make a great pair

Make sure it's lump charcoal to start. Use the bigger medium to large pieces to get feel. Pull out the door about an inch at the bottom and monitor but never walk away from the KK in this position for long. Check it down as it responds and Say 3 Our Fathers and one Hail Mary...that should do it.

Welcome, Sharky! Hang around some more, you'll find it's nice in here - at a safe distance, ha, ha!

Welcome to the Obsession! You have already fallen in love with your KK, but just wait until you cook on it!

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!

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

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

Welcome to the Forum, JCBBQ. You're going to love the KK. My first kamado (from a different maker - won't go there!) was a cobalt blue. Still have a fondness for that color, but my KK is a Dark Autumn Nebula.

Hey! Who let you out of the Pit? 🤔🖖

I have no problem with the people being Faux vegans. What I have a problem with is when they’re preachy about it AND hypocrites.

Dig deeper, that article will be written by scientists who are paid by the international beef association, Teys Cargill, or some other related group. Pretty solid evidence suggesting too much red meat is not good for you. But doesn’t it taste good? I took about 10kg of red meat to my mothers 70th birthday. She lives in a tree hugging community in Northern New South Wales. The community with lots of vegans who boo hoo meat eaters....... that 10kg was scoffed in the first 10 minutes. I’ve never seen so many meat eating vegans before. When asked, they mumbled something about iron deficiencies Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk