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Just to follow-up - signed the PO for the kitchen this week. Despite my wife's budget which was exceeded before adding the KK, she approved! Had a chat w/Dennis to order terra blue but filtering out as many of the tiles with heavy brown edges as possible. Lead buried - we went w/the 21". We could have built a much cooler kitchen setup with bar top, built in KK, etc., but that meant interfering with the view from our home into our backyard/pool area. We spent too much on that area to limit our view to only when we're actually using the pool. At the end of the day we put a small counter w/an EVO and some storage on 1 side of the patio, a small counter w/storage and fridge on the other under our TV. It left room in the middle for our furniture where we already installed speakers, fan, flush in ceiling electric heaters, etc. A kitchen that accommodated the built-in 22 simply ate up to much space. Bonus w/the 21 as others and my wife said - I can roll the KK out by the pool when I want. It'll mean getting some plywood strips cut to sit on top of the synthetic turf b/w concrete deck pads when rolling, but having it mobile will be a bonus long term. If I can span the deck pads w/out knocking it over or breaking my foot Gotta protect this view! Not the natural beauty so many of you have but this is what's available in suburbia in north texas!

You can see why this KK's new parents liked the colour so much. This little KK had to be manoeuvred down a narrow corridor and the door had to be taken off its hinges but I think the most difficult part of its journey is over and it will soon be installed in its new home.

Ha. No. Knots are not my department. Yes, I was sad to say goodbye but others are loving them already. Mac, photo from the first adoptive parent:

At the time of writing yesterday I was still in possession of my two KKs. I gave them a final wash down this morning, a hug in my head and sent them on their way. They are being dropped off at two different locations and I will get to see them on Friday and Saturday as we have been invited to BBQs at their new homes. Lots of pictures to show loading and securing.

Yes. In a funny way, I am living the excitement of their "unboxing" by posting on here. Here is the 21 after it made its way through the kitchen and out into its new garden home. Pretty as a picture. And here is a video that I made of the 21 being guided up the ramp with the aid of a winch. IMG_7906.MOV What a pretty sight.

Hi Paul. I tend to use my smoke pot for long low and slow cooks. I wonder if the fact that the top hat is only open a very small amount for really low temp cooks makes it difficult to keep the hot/cold smoker going. Do you close off the bottom vent when you are using the hot/cold smoker? If you do it might mean that the air flow has to come through the smoker, making it more likely to keep it alight. Completely amateur diagnostics on my part but worth a try.

That is very helpful, thanks. Yes, I was using prime brisket. I also have a tray of water in the smoker right over the heat source, both to keep the humidity up and to act as a shield between the fire and the cooking area. Perhaps a spritz or two during the cook before I wrap it might be in order, too. I use lump hardwood charcoal for my heat source and 3x3" wood chunks for the smoke. This last one was hickory and cherry. I prefer oak for brisket, fruitwoods for any pork.

Honestly I’ve consistently had issues with having briskets done on time. I watched a YouTube video put on by the Meatchurch folks called weekday brisket. The basic idea is to start the brisket the night before and let it run at 190F overnight and then turn up the temperature to your 225-250 in the morning and let it finish. I’m a big fan of SV but prefer the FTC technique. Also, I find that my KK retains heat for hours after my cook so if your concerned with the brisket cooling down to much in the FTC I just put it back in the KK for an hour or two to have it at a serving temperature. I just did this technique on a 8lb shoulder and was very happy with the results. Now I just need to figure out how to keep the cold smoker going all night! Mine never stays lit and I’m using quality pellets etc etc. Cheers!

With only three hours to serving time, you would have been fine with the foil, towel, cooler method. I’ve held briskets for over five hours this way, the brisket still being quite warm at that point. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

So, the big challenge with brisket is always the timing. Think about it- your standard brisket, depending on the size, is going to take 10 to 14 hours to cook properly. AND you're supposed to then put it, wrapped, in an Igloo cooler to rest for about 4 hours before serving. So, working backwards from 7PM....place in Igloo cooler at 3PM? About 12 hours (split the difference) before that is 3AM. Naw, I am not getting up at 3AM to start my brisket. I stayed up as late as I felt I could, 12AM, had the KK all stablized at about 250. I had previously trimmed (photo 1), rubbed with salt and pepper (2). This prime brisket started out at 16.7 pounds and I probably trimmed more than 2 pounds of fat off of it. So I estimated a 12-13 cook time, planning on boosting the temp to 300* when I got to the wrap stage. I got up and checked the brisket about 7 AM and it was at about 150-160 degrees (point and flat cooking at different rates) and the bark was forming nicely. I went back to catch a little more sleep.....Photo 3 is the brisket at about 9:30, bark formed nicely, time to wrap (photo 5) at a perfect 300* (photo 4). I went out for my morning walk (wilting in the Denver heat, it is going to be 97* today (36 for you centigrade types) and checked back in on my brisket: 196 and 205- just about perfect. But dinner is till projected for 7/7:30 or so.....brisket will be perfect serving temperature around 4PM...hmmmm. Can't put it in the oven to rewarm, it will dry out....So here's my solution: later this afternoon, when it has cooled to room temperature, I am going to vacuum-pack it and stick it in a sous vides bath set to 140, which should get it back to nearly optimal serving temperature without drying it out or affecting the tenderness of the meat. Stay tuned on that one, folks, I will report back later. Note to self: next time, cut wrapping paper about 6" longer to ensure a tighter fit. Not 100% happy with my wrap.

Are we going to meet these new owners and their cooks on this forum? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Neat video, they sure were being very careful, it must have eased your experience. Pretty as a picture for sure, the new owners must be all smiles. Sure fits in with the little blue flowers and the blue green foliage.

There will be lots of celebrating in the UK this weekend.

It is sitting in there just like it has been there all along. I hope they have a bang on cook for you on the weekend.

Now, now. I believe one gets placed upon the owners' list when the order is placed, not upon delivery. So, since you placed the order during your unsupervised time, you have become an owner again. Not my rules. Just the facts.

As experience goes the flat is the first to cross the finish line. Depending on the the R/H outside it's one thing to consider, cooking in a desert and cooking in a tropical rain forest will give you different results. Coal having very little H2O content vs wood offers little contribution in the pit for added moisture while cooking. The KK is a unique tool for holding and recirculating the moisture. I remember you mentioned a few hot days with low humidity and a long cook, a spray or a added can of water in the pit on these days could help. If the flat is done and the point has some distance to go...I'd remove the piece and separate the two, cook the point further and wrap the flat and put her to bed. You could inject the flat also beforehand to balance the two in hopes of a common outcome or if you live close by John Elway's house you could stop by, cause he likes brisket too. You could try a prime, they have more fat content and retain in the flat moisture better. The brisket is a finicky beast, some continue to chase it while others catch the beast on there first cast. Wish u the best

Even if you don't own any at the moment you're still an owner at heart - and it won't be long now

with a vengeance no doubt.

I ditto 5698 sentiments, the cooler is king. You can ball park a brisket for time unfortunately at times they pop out sooner or take a little longer. Obviously that is why you leave the buffer time for the cooler, a little extra ...."don't worry about it". Nice brisket Bardsljr

So the problem was, I finished the brisket at 12:30, serving time eta was around 7, and optimum serving temp was 140. Hence the experiment with the soups vide, which I think worked pretty well.

I’m fine, just dealing with some life. I haven’t been cooking for a while, but I hope to remedy that situation very soon. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Sorry to post off topic but I had to say - good to see you again @5698k. How have you been? Where have you been?

I was left unsupervised last week, for about an hour before The Husband woke up, and I placed my order for three KKs. No goat. I will be getting a 32, 23 and a 16TT. It took me two days to tell The Husband. A friend asked if we would be replacing the two KKs with one large one and I casually said "no, three". The Husband rolled his eyes but is, happily, OK with my folly. I am soooo excited. When I was first choosing my current KKs @ckreef went on about needing more than one cooker so that you could get all the elements of your meal ready at the same time. At the time, as someone who didn't bbq very often, I thought that was ridiculous. Now that most of our entertaining is in the garden I really appreciate the value of being able to cook everything outdoors and now fire both KKs up much more often. The 16 is going to be great for sides, some low and slow and also for using in the depths of winter when I just want a quick cook. Yay. Only trouble is that it took another week to confirm colour so I will probably be lucky if my new KKs get to me here in the UK before November. I shall enjoy the anticipation.

Oh. completely agree. I did not know what the effect of keeping the meat heated, even in a vacuum pack, might be for an additional two hours or so. Happily, it did not seem to do anything much, as far as I could tell, except maintain the temperature. The bark was nicely intact. The flat was a little dryer than I would have preferred, but pretty tender (it could have been better); the point was nicely cooked through and moist. Flavor overall was quite good, just the right combination of pepper, salt, and smoke. My guests were giving it a "10"- on a Franklin scale (brisket I have had at Franklin's and LA Barbecue, the best I've ever had)- I'd give it an 8.5. I'd rather serve it right off the smoker after a proper rest than warming it like this, but the sous vide proved an effective method for solving the problem I had.

AWESOME!!! A Master Class in mechanical machine design!

The final version of the brisket, and second, vacuum packed.