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I finally did it. I ordered my dream grill/ smoker. Like most, I have been lurking for years. I started saving my pennies via a round up app, and finally pulled the trigger. I pulled it a little early, but with corona more time with family on the patio has become even more important. The accessories I ordered are rotisserie motor ( big one) spit not the cradle ( anyone think I made a bad decision please tell me why so I can start saving my pennies again) cold smoker drip pan and cover (thanks Diego brew n q) A bunch of coffee char pizza Stone This is one of the biggest purchases I have ever made. I am scared crapless of un-crating and the burn in! Like Chris Lilly said choose a color your kids will want because it will be there’s someday. I am so excited! I have gained a ton of knowledge from reading your posts and any advice or favorite recipes are always welcome. ( even home brewing recipes, as I have found a lot of home brewers here). I ordered Big Blue at the beginning of August and am awaiting the call to find out when she will be delivered. I will make sure to post pictures, and hope I can become part of this super friendly board. Please feel free to give me any advice! I am an open book who wants to learn as much as possible!

It's not always like that, some days we rough it with caviar. It depends how big your steak sandwich is. From someone who had to break off from a conversation with me with words to the effect of 'My cow has arrived', I don't see you messing about with the minnow too often! As always. I'm glad to see your corrupting influence is being plied to @RokDok together with some sterling dying seconds of an order completion by @jonjon the rib rack. This forum might be free but it costs a lot being part of the community. 😁

Speaking of steaks, did a nice bacon-wrapped sirloin last night, direct, lower grate, mesquite and post oak chunks. As an homage, I called this dinner "No Flies On Me Steak Night!" 😄 Duck Fat air-fried Yukon Golds (with Peruvian green sauce - the new "crack" in my house!), chimichurri for the steak, sautéed mushrooms and a nice side salad.

Like most people here i have lurked for a while not as long as some as i was without a grill having sold my gasser and thinking i could live with a pellet smoker and WFO. (schoolboy error). My friend has been telling me about his JO and how great it is for many years i looked at that and the BGE then i saw the KK site and started looking, So from no grill to a order in 3 weeks. I know no willpower, but it sure looks nice (Kids picked the colour i wanted Blue) So the UK members continue to grow ! My list of good is as follows:- 42" Matt black pebble (pebble is the best and you get the better taste of food from it apparently) Cold smoker, Grate grabs, Sunbrella cover, Side tables, Roti cradle and h/duty motor, Baking stone, Gas burner. Teak workstation with pull out drawers. How i got all this past my wife i still don't know. Apparently getting to the docks in Surabaya today I am really looking forward to it. Lastly what a great forum to have lurked on with nice people it suits Dennis down to the ground who has been very busy but always had time for me. Kind Regards Sovs

Whoa! Don't spoil the best day of the year by being scared of stuff. The manual that Dennis sends in advance is really helpful for preparing for uncrating and when you get to it you will be amazed by how much has been thought of in advance. Just take your time and enjoy it. With respect to the burn in, check with Dennis. You may not have to do it at all on a new model. Welcome!

Good tactic. I don't think the "Honey I shrunk the KK" argument will hold much water when your 32 Big Bad KK arrives. Although...if it ever comes to "it's me or the KK", you would be able to sleep in a 42. Great choice on colour and it sounds like you are a tile man in any case. I thought the same about metallic bronze tiles reflecting the garden but I am sure black will look lovely too!

As I said about 2 minutes ago to @tekobo the forum is free but it's expensive to be a part of the community! 😀 At the risk of trying to further inflate your spend, if the tiniest bit of you stirs at the sight of that rib rack that @jonjhas so cruelly placed in your path like forbidden fruit at the checkout counter, I'd add it in. I bought the 19KK and then was a bit reluctant to go crazy given I'd never seen a KK in the flesh. I didn't order the stand for my 19 and had designs of putting it in a custom outdoor kitchen. The kitchen never happened and the KK ended up being just off ground level. I was put off the idea of ordering due to the cost (due to weight) and the field day customs would have with duty charges. I laughed it off for ages. Anyway, when I ordered the 32, I ordered the stand for the 19KK reasoning that it would give me flexibility moving the outdoor kitchen about. After six years. It was both a revelation and moment of recognising my stupidity for not having done it sooner. I think the tables are a great shout and will be genuinely useful. Glad to have been of assistance. In all seriousness, the tables are incredibly helpful. Something Dennis mentioned to me is that he is producing a new design with a steel trace around the lid to save tiles from being broken off if you accidentally shut it on tongs. I'm not sure if you'll get that in yours or the current design. I can't say I've ever had that problem but might be something to clarify on aesthetics or to be mindful of in use. You could put it to a group vote on the forum. This forum has a depth of knowledge that I bet ranges from martindale count to maillard reaction and everything in between. 🤘 I'm looking forward to the photograph of you in the bronze silk jacket, embracing the new KK like a long lost relative. There will be no judgement, just appreciation. What beers you thinking and what's your first cook going to be?

@MacKenzie - I'm not sure there is much more I can be tempted with - in four weeks I've gone from a £500 Buffalo Kamado to a 23" KK , then a 32" "bare unit" KK , now lots of extra gizmos - but you never know.... @jonj- that really does look delicious, but .... I think I need to show Mrs RD that I have been considered and actually quite frugal- the fact I didn't get the rib rack proves this. Just pointing out that we've actually saved loads of money by not buying the 42" is a kite that would be dangerous for me to fly. @tekobo - We asked for the metallic bronze which would have been a great choice. Mrs RD thought that it would reflect the flowers in the garden, the lawn , sunset etc. Having the mirage of more flowers in the garden would also have helped heal the wound I inflicted on Mrs RD by nicking a square yard of her flower bed to build my WFO. Also I have a metallic bronze silk jacket that I had made by accident when we were in Vietnam. It would have given me possibly the only occasion that I could wear it without attracting attention. Alas, the tile factory is closed because of Covid and the Bronze Metallic are no longer available, so we are going for Matt Black Square Tiles, and we are actually very happy with this. It will match the black leather dining chairs in the sun room which opens onto the patio where the KK will be, and also the patio table/chairs which are black. Have also gone for the stainless steel tables (that was you @Braai-Q), which will match the guttering and drainpipes. If only we could be so decisive about sofa fabrics. So, I am going to brew a couple of very serious beers so that we can toast the arrival of the KK - I guess after Xmas now. They will be both Big and Bad - I took delivery of 65kg of ingredients yesterday. Best RD

Congrats sovsrok on such a quick decision to invest. I attended a wake this afternoon for an 87 year old gentleman and it reminded me life is full of short stories of great times. With all these KK’s heading to England I’m thinking we are due a return trip to visit some good friends. Enjoy your delivery and cooks, I’m looking forward to seeing your photos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's funny, I really felt the need for a steak sandwich for lunch yesterday - stay with me on this story, it does answer your question. I was going past our local 'artisan' bakery who do excellent french sticks. They import T55 from France as the baker used to work in Paris and won't make them with anything else. Calling yourself an 'artisan baker' does mean you have to commit to standards. So I grabbed some French sticks, figured out what steak I had in the freezer and set about making a steak baguette for lunch with fried onions. I only had a 350g sirloin to hand (first world problem) - everything else was multipacked frozen. This was already a fanciful endeavour for a weekday lunch and thawing a multi pack of steaks was up there with hunting my lunch for the level of effort it involved. I set about defrosting the steak in a hot water bath and thought about how I was going to cook it. Char-grilled flavour was what the meat deserved so I fired up the KK - the 19 stepped up because anything short of a side of a cow looks lost in the 32. By the time that the meat was defrosted, the KK had a lovely bed of coals and the onions were chopped and the pan was at temperature. Medium rare steak (sliced) in preference to hammering it out was the order of the day. I fried the onions in Lescure unsalted butter (we're keeping it French) until they were caramelised and had just the smallest amount of bite. The French sticks were still warm (they'd just come out the oven at the bakery) so they were slathered in further butter. Sliced the meat, trimmed the fat and liberally accompanied with onion. Finished with a couple of twists of pink Himalayan salt. So about 45 minutes from idea to plate. I think my wife upset her colleagues by arriving late for her conference call while trying to finish her lunch and she was asked what she was having. So she showed them. I think they hated her for the rest of the call. 😅 For a quick grill, I find myself using the 19 but I did a Moussaka the other day and used the 32 for the sheer amount of grill area. Salting and cooking aubergines is a pain using the IDK but on the KK, it feels so much easier. Particularly when you atomise the olive oil versus pasting it on. It reduces oil in the dish (and yes, I know I just spent two paragraphs talking about cooking in butter). But I tend to bulk cook and freeze what I don't need for convenience. I've done a few low and slow cooks recently and have just used the 19 but I don't think I'd ever do pizza on it even though it can handle it easily and I have a 19 stone. If we ever get to entertain again, we'd certainly use both at the same time. I don't see the 19 as an inferior KK because it's smaller, it's just a different tool which comes into its own at different times. I'm glad I kept it. Good forum wisdom and peer pressure right there!

Congratulations @sovsroc, Wow 42 " ! What a start ! I'm surprised @tekobo hasn't mentioned it yet , but there is probably time to sneak a 16" in there too :-). My port is Southampton as well , but no news yet of any shipment yet. Looking forward to the updates. Best RD

BTW Just got the email with the owners manual never had a cooker like this before. But my WFO is refractury concrete so i might have a small head start with its use altho my WFO now has some cracks inside. Here's hoping i can get some some food like you guys off this grill. Some of the pictures ..............

I'm really glad to hear that there is a manual that comes with this. I'm sure that most everything is straight forward but I do want to know about the "burn in". My neighbor and my wife and kids keep asking what the first thing is that I'm going to make on it. I get quite a few compliments on my brisket so I think that will be the first cook. I am not going expect perfection on the first cook. I'm looking at it as more of a breaking in and seasoning of the grill cook than anything else. I also can't wait to use the cold smoker on some big prawnsand the other thing I'm looking forward to is getting more smoke into my bacon. I would love to know exactly when my smoker is going to arrive because I would be curing 4 pork bellies the week before it arrives and have those ready to go as soon as it gets here.

We ordered a 32 bb in Terra Blue originally but the more we thought about it we decided that we liked the look of the blue pebble instead. I called up Dennis and asked if it was too late to change my tile preference. I told him if it was already tiled we would take it but he wouldn't hear of it. He said that he would have no problem selling the Terra Blue one and that he would get me the dark blue pebble. Great service. As for Accessories we ordered the splitter, pizza stone, cold smoker, grate handles and a cover. We went ahead and got the wide cover in case we want to add side tables to it. After looking at some of Dennis's cabinets though we might just go that route. It would be a lovely Birthday gift from my wife. (I wish she was on this forum).

@tony b”the new crack” in your house. I take that as the ultimate compliment great looking meals as always

Congrats on the purchase! I was scared to uncrate it too. Just make sure you take the day off or give yourself a 1/2 day to in rate it. Do a burn in etc. take your time if you have questions post here there’s always someone to help I got the spit and cradle. I got the cradle first, spit later. I haven’t used the cradle since I got the spit (yet). I think getting the spit first is the right move

Wouldn't that be fun? An England KK road trip. Some funky cow waiting for you here!

USUAggie, welcome. No wonder you are excited and just until delivery day if you think you are excited now. Pixs. pixs,pixs, we all want to be part of your delivery day.

Thank you Tekobo Goat i haven't eaten since i lived in Africa It must eat a lot of stuff on the way over by boat. We laughed when we saw the "stuffed" e-mail. Southampton. Fingers crossed before Christmas.

I have one of these brackets and I can vouch for the ease of use. A really cool improvement.

Just to clarify it is the 32 big bad terra blue. Sorry if I made that confusing. As I understand it, the half rack is standard in the 32. I am so excited! I am way excited to cook proteins and veggies at the same time.

Check the plated photo - there's a dollop of green sauce by the spuds for dipping! Yes, it was very good with them.

Here is the new and MUCH Improved Cold Smoker Bracket.. These can be used of course with existing cold smokers.. They will be an inexpensive upgrade. Quick, easy.. no tools!

It's a HUGE improvement over the bolts... Very pleased with this one.

Yay! See you at the docks in Southampton. I hope your 42 big brother KK will make friends with mine on the way over.

Looking forward to those uncrating pics (not as bad as you think - depending on where you have to move it to for its final home?)

BoomBoom, just as tekobo said, just take your time and enjoy all the excitement. It's going to be an exciting and fun day.

Yay! Welcome. Looking forward to seeing the goat. My KKs are due to be "stuffed" in Indonesia today too so our KKs might be starting their journey to the UK together. Which port is yours coming into?

It was great fun following her across the pacific, to LA, then to Miami, then finally to Southwest Florida. My concern was getting her onto the lanai to her final resting spot. Thanks to the great advice here and help from a few friends, the ¾ in plywood ramp worked like a charm. Uncrating was easy, I supported the 4x8 ft ramp with 3 2x6's (may have been overkill but better safe than sorry) and the ramp included in the crate let her glide easily to my ramp. We needed to go up 4 steps for a total of 20 inches. With the 8 foot ramp, that gave us an incline of about 12 degrees and that was very do-able. She now sits on my lanai while I play with temp control. Found a local dealer that has Rockwood charcoal (quite sparky) and I'm getting the hang of temp control. It's quite different than the Primo XL oval I'm used to. I'm still trying to figure out exactly where on the lanai will be her final perch and I definitely need a prep table and storage for accessories, grates, etc. Here are some photos of the process. @StevenS, thanks so much for your help. Though the photos don't show it, we did remove the lid when pushing it up the ramp. Reattaching the lid (primarily inserting the hinge pin) was the toughest part of the whole project.

Aggie congrats on making the decision to invest. WoW, straight to the 42"! The anticipation begins and I feel very excited for you. The only extra I'd add is the split grill. It will allow you to work a higher warming rack while having clear access to grilling at higher temperatures down low. Looking forward to your photos

Tyrus, I did a reverse sear, so yes, that is exactly what I did. Whilst I do love me a good Manhattan, they always hurt me the next day... The missus is a Maker's manhattan lady.

I'm not sure about the 3-2-1 bit but here is my margarita recipe. 2 oz Tres Generacións Anejo 1 oz Cointreau 1 oz Grand Marnier juice of 1 Persian lime (if traditional size - if one of those large, mutant limes, 1/2). Generally, about 1 - 1 1/2 oz. All into a cocktail shaker with 8-10 oz cracked ice. Shake for a minimum of 30 seconds to blunt the alcohol. Pour into a salt-rimmed glass. Drink. Smile. Repeat.

Are you quite sure???

RD, stay tuned, from time to time we'll be tempting you with more must have items. It's a fun thing that we like to do.

My go-to is: 1/3 fresh squeezed lime juice 1/3 simple syrup ~1/3 Tequila with a top it off of Grand Mariner Imperial pint glass (20oz if memory serves) I like to use a sliced lime to rim an imperial-pint glass for the salt, then fill the glass up with ice and put the it in the freezer. If you do this right when you start squeezing the limes, the glasses will be nicely frosted by the time it's ready to mix....And it helps keep the salt adhere to the glass. Then add the lime juice and simple syrup (to about 2/3's full). The rest can be tailored depending on how strong you and your guests like it. It goes down pretty easy... And it can catch up with you just as easy!

Smoked rainbow trout pressed with dill, capers and tiger prawns. And seeded sourdough. My wife hates sorting through fish bones, so this was a good way to sort this out. Followed by eye fillet steaks. And roasted lemons. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Stewart welcome! I loved reading your history and criteria. I took a similar decision making process and ended up with a 32 KK that I love. I use mine probably 3x/week at least and I usually cook enough for leftovers the next day i was looking at a grill, a wood fired pizza oven and a stick burner and it’s too much space and costs more than a 32 KK. I love my rotisserie and pizza stone so I would definitely pick those up when you do order. I also installed an Ipe deck so I can already see why you appreciate good materials that last well maintained