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Just finished dinner, brisket turned out great! Best one I’ve made yet, and I’m really happy with it, but I already know an adjustment or two that’ll make it better. Family said it was by far the best and they love having the KK around producing all this goodness. Ole Heavy ran 13 hours solid at 225 indirect on CoCo coal. Fun day!

Picanha Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

I have been waiting for the perfect weather to photograph our new set up. I was too busy enjoying myself to take photos when the weather was good so here is the slightly wet version of our world. These two walls now have an electric shutter between them. They will also get a coat of paint later this summer. Roy's tiling makes us smile everytime we look into our little chimney space. The KKs looking good in their new outdoor setting. I've been meaning to show this to you for ages. The table top between our two KKs is a collaboration between an old shop fitter and his boat fitter mate. Boat fitter made this bridge to go between the KKs. The rest of the garden has grown too. And, the garden configuration is still evolving. We moved the KKs to this new position a week or so ago. It is great. I can walk down the stairs from the kitchen and straight up to the KKs now. It is amazing what a difference that simple change has made to the ease of cooking on the KKs. The journey continues. The KKs are now looking so prominent and so pretty that they have attracted friendly buyers and one or both of them will be going to a new home in the coming months.

I cooked at 350F out internal 125F amazing

Grilled scallops 🤗 Cooked with a touch of hickory smoke. these are called “colossal scallops”...picture may not do justice to their size!

I like the way you think!!

If I were independently wealthy, my setup would look something like this.

I’ve been improving on trimming the brisket, that’s my biggest area I’m learning. My last brisket I trimmed too much and it came out a little dry. This one was way better and more moist, but I didn’t trim quite enough fat off top so it didn’t render and darken as much as I would like. I would trim more off top next run for sure. This cook I went with butcher paper too and really like it. I would wrap it a bit earlier next time though. I was trying to let it darker and get more bark this cook before wrapping but the fat layer was just too thick. I’d wrap earlier next time to speed cook up and bit. Thats the two immediate adjustments I would make. Everything on the KK side was rock solid, made it a much more relaxing cook because temp stayed right where I wanted all day. Previous brisket runs have been more high maintenance so the KK will spoil me quickly.

The standing joke round here has been that you get a live goat when you buy a 42" KK. That trope was started courtesy of a video that Dennis(?) posted of a live goat jumping out of a 42. I was supposed to be saving for a 42. Until now. Lockdown has turned us all into shoppers and when I casually mentioned that I might be in the market to sell my KKs, two local friends showed an interest. One of them has committed to buying my 21 but will be waiting until her kitchen re-model is done so that means I won't be KK-less if I manage to sell the 23. So. What shall I buy? I have room for one 42, two 32's or a 32 and pretty much every other size of grill that is not a 42. I am keen to find out what your dream set up is or would be if you had the chance to start over, having had the pleasure of a KK or two in your life. Answers on a post card or, more conveniently, in this thread please.

Thanks all. We always say that no one ever regrets buying a KK and that is true for me. However, i am like @AJR and I want every size in every colour. Not all at the same time but available to me when I need each, for the perfect cook. The next best thing is to swap them out over time, having learned what I need the most. So far The Husband has vetoed the comes with a goat kk. Too big. He is right. Like Mac, my dream set up was a 32 and a 22 TT. We started to investigate the size of the 22TT and realised it was really about the same as 23, just without the convenience of legs and wheels to help with moving its great weight around. Given we are not looking to build it in, it seems a little silly to get the 22TT even though I have hankered after one for a while and 22 is my lucky number. Current options are to get a 32 and keep my current 23. Or to ring the changes with colours and buy a new 32 and 23. A new option is coming to the fore and I would appreciate views from anyone who owns one: the 19TT L'il Isla. Thinking this KK, on the metal trolley that Dennis supplies, could be a good everyday option alongside the 32. Smaller grates to clean and a cute, wheel about option. Lousy idea? We also have the large Argentinian BBQ for grilling so a smaller KK could work well. Ooooh. The best bit is I getting the rush of excitement that KK decisions bring. Wooo. Hooo.

Funny you should ask. A few weeks ago @Braai-Q sent me this link to Heston Blumenthal's range of bbqs https://www.everdurebyheston.co.uk/products. He was asking about the Cube and how it compared to the traditional Japanese konro that I have. It all looks very cool but I am afraid I never even got around to watching the videos on the site. I am a bit of a traditionalist and I like my reassuringly heavy konro. All the big chefs here seem to use them and during lockdown I have been watching one chef cook on his extra wide version. I was surprised that he was using it a bit like a camping stove. He did grill steaks and things like that but he also made up sauces and slow cooked stews. It's extra width means that you could also cook longer loaded skewers. Yes, I would say my KK of konros would either be the Extra Large or Medium Wide here: https://www.korin.com/grillware/konros-basket-grills-nets-and-bases

Interesting side note....the first Yukon I received was dented in the side wall at the base of the unit. The dent was under a Styrofoam collar. The styrofoam was perfect. The box was perfect. We figured the damage had to happen before the unit was packaged. Maybe the units were too big and heavy for the employees packaging them????? They did send a prepaid shipping label and replaced the dented Yukon, no questions asked. I used the Bonfire last week on the water. Just used the Yukon last night. That domed fire grate is a royal pain. Decided it is getting cut out and replaced with something flat. The Bonfire performance is so much nicer!!!!

That’s a logical reason for not continuing the 30” ckreef. Why the BS about discontinuing because of dents in the 30” that won’t be in the 27”? It’s like the American health minister stating that masks don’t stop covid from spreading, then 5 weeks later saying they do and he knew it, he just didn’t want to create panic buying when he knew there was a shortage of masks. What’s wrong with the truth? The Perpetual lies only diminish trust and more and more it’s becoming acceptable. That’s my ranting over for now.[emoji2959] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

To be honest, I've been perfectly happy with my 23" and never considered a 2nd KK. Back in the day when I had the POSK, I did get the small Grill Dome, thinking I'd waste less charcoal cooking smaller meals on it than the bigger one. Since I've owned the KK, which is about the same size as the old one, I never use the baby Grill Dome. Also, at the time that I bought my 23", it was the biggest one that Dennis made. All things considered, I'd probably stick with my single 23," but I do appreciate the versatility of the 32".

Wow, I'm hooked on skewers. These skewers are great. Anything a Weber kettle can do better than a Solo Stove fire pit, a KK can do far better than a Weber. This kind of grilling is the thrill and the taste of roadside grilling in Thailand or Morocco. I could never quite recreate this flavor profile on a Weber or a KK. I believe that there's a big advantage to the taller-than-wide orientation in a Solo Stove fire pit, that would be lost with their new grill. Whatever goes over what's left of these embers is surrounded and bathed by the rising spotlight of hot air and radiant heat, a convection oven effect.

I’ve found that the key to a great bark is to apply a generous rub and then spray it every 30-60 minutes after 5-6 hours with the lid shut initially. I spray the sh*t out of my briskets

I bought mine and posted recently. 32" BB and 23" Ultimate. It works for our family, and every family is different, of course. I just don't need the room of the 42" and anything smaller than the 23" can't handle the quantity of protein I want to use on it.

I haven't taken the Aaron Franklin master class but his book is solid. It is worth it just for the BBQ sauce recipes. Franklin Barbecue

My dream setup if I was doing it at ground level would be a 32 and the 22TT with the tall dome. I would definitely want one to be on the smaller side even though I know I can divide up the 32. Two is a must but not the same size.

Sorry, thought I was posting to this topic earlier. Brisket is coming along well and Ole Heavy has been stuck on 225 all day, so nice to have that stability. I was going to wrap in butcher paper but decided to leave it as is for now because the internal temp is tracking well for dinner tonight. Few more hours to go!

At last! My konro grill arrived on Friday. It took me by surprise as I'd been sent some tracking data for UPS that didn't work and, by the time I got around to checking it out with the seller, the DHL man was at my door with an enormous, heavy box. Why was it so big? Well that is @Syzygies's fault. He was the one who turned me on to binchotan charcoal. Long before my KK arrived I figured I couldn't afford the real deal and so I bought these binchotan briquettes for a fraction of the price. I never used them in the KK because they seemed like such a precious resource and I instead waited until I could buy a konro grill so I could use them in small amounts. When I came to order the grill from the US it turned out that both the grill and the binchotan were so much cheaper in the US that it was worth ordering both, even with the additional UK duty and tax. Hence my super heavy delivery yesterday. Here are the beauties. Binchotan is notoriously difficult to light. I didn't have a chimney so I lit a fire in my KK21 and put the binchotan in there to get hot. Here are are the hot coals in my pristine konro grill My prawn stuffed chicken wings started to sizzle pretty much immediately. Yum!! I stood out in the cold, turning and basting every couple of minutes. I have to do something about my ODK arrangements. Nothing like @MacKenzie's custom set up!! Best of all, the KK came in very handy at the end of the cook. I was able to put the left over binchotan in the KK23, shut the lid and preserve these pieces for my next cook. I think binchotan actually works out to be very economical given it doesn't burn away very fast, is super hot and can be re-used. All good. Slightly wonky plated shot but very tasty nonetheless.

I use apple juice, just like I do with a pork butt

Sprinkled a chicken breast with lots of spices, chili, garlic, pepper, salt, fennel, cumin, dry mustard, paprika and basil. Coated with finely freshly ground corn and then wrapped in parchment paper. Hit it with the rolling pin, driving the corn and spices into the chicken as well as tenderizing and flattening the chicken. A little ghee and oilive oil in the Vermicular, heater to 475F added the chicken, left untouched for 4 mins., turned the heat down to 300F, flipped the chicken and let it cook covered for 4 more mins. The chicken was very moist and tender. I will be doing this again. The Swiss chard is fresh from the garden.

I’m a huge fan of the 32. That and anything else are a potent combo. 32/23 is hard to beat.

Getting used to it, finding that the fire does not need to be large at all to create a good temp. lighting is kinda simple, build a small log cabin of kindling with newspaper in it. love the modular grates, 3/8" round, v shaped argentine, and flat top. it takes care of large volume cooks and the flat top is beautiful for scallops. we reduced to two KK's, finding the 19.5" handles many day-to day, while the 23" handles large smoking tasks.

Ah, just looked back and it looks great! You got the bark I'm looking for, nice one!

My wife got me the MasterClass for Christmas last year. It was good. I ended up getting the yearly login cause it’s not too much more vs. a single class and I watched couple of cooking series and a gardening one so I liked it. I cooked brisket last week if you scroll back a couple pages you’ll see some pics 😀

That picanha looks amazing, Aussie.

I let it rest 1 hour in a cooler wrapped in a towel. I've watched a bunch of Aaron Franklin videos online so I'm understanding better what the goal of the trimming is BUT, the only way to learn is hands on trial and error and it only takes you about 12 hours or so to figure out you made a misstep LOL. It's part of the fun though. If a brisket was easy anyone would do it so I like the challenge. It still turned out great but it didn't have the bark on top I'm after. That's really neat you took that class, I see ads for it online all the time. Can't wait to see one of your brisket pics on the forum!

I’ve got to stop looking at this thread while I’m away from home.

Updated now that I am back to 2 kk and a santa Maria grill

Grilled some chicken breasts rubbed with Chicken Sh*t indirect and finished direct with oak wood. Used that for my strawberry summer salad w/Parmesan & candied walnuts. Also used the chicken to make the kids grilled chicken, black beans, yellow corn and quinoa this evening I busted out my side burner to make my favorite Peruvian dish in my cast iron wok.....Lomo Saltado. It consists of sautéed meat (usually sirloin ) in soy sauce, set on fire with pisco and sautéed I a mixture of red wine vinegar, aji amarillo, cumin, salt, pepper, tomatoes, red onions, Garlic, soy sauce, chicken stock, cilantro and French fries. Served with white rice. It’s all about the “jugito” if you don’t end up licking the sauce off the plate you did something wrong. I literally installed this power burner in my island specifically so I could cook this dish and use it as a gateway for my kids Peruvian cuisine/heritage....

I can relate Syz. I still have a couple of boxes left of the original RJ cocochar. It was good stuff - even Naked Whiz liked it. I also have Dennis' first attempts at it, too. Pretty good, but he wasn't happy with it (is he ever??) I just keep stacking the newer stuff on top of the old boxes and never seem to get down to them? Unlike you, I NEVER had anyone coming round to repurchase my stash!

Oh that was me. Just came, haven't tried it yet. Looks similar to KK extruded, but I'm expecting a different flavor profile, probably more pronounced. And I build a door-sized shelf into the back of my rear shed just to hold Dennis charcoal, including KK extruded. I have every generation including the first draft that pleased me more than Dennis, and various generations of Sacramento POSK extruded. I'm a hoarder. Cannabis dealers took great care of me in college, because they would come by during a drought. "Oh, you still have that!?" Well, not after they left. So I won't need to spend $$ on actual binchotan, as much as I miss Japan and admire the stuff.