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Sooo. I was up super early and watched and waited for the ship to move on my online picture. At about 0715 I headed out because I thought the ship would have to get underway soon to make its 0800 berth at Southampton. I watched a beautiful sun rise out of medium thick fog but my ship didn't come by. In fact, 6 hours later it is still out at sea, where it has been for the last few days with its ETA still showing at 0800 this morning. Looking at the Southampton Docks list of arrivals, that record shows the MOL Treasure coming in at 2245 today. I won't be hanging around the sea front that late but I am hopeful that this means my KKs will make it to dry land today and over to me next week. Fingers crossed!

Have you escalated to the harbour master and explained the personal impact this has on you?

Tri tip Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

Left over gravlax in pasta with garden spinach, dill, cherry toms, and some capers. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

How Kewl i ordered a new front tyre online finally rocked up was un wrapping it and heard something rattling around .yum lollies. Awesome love it the last thing you would expect. Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

To be fair, if three KK's were dropped down your chimney courtesy of Santa, you'd be waking up in the middle of the night, not on Xmas morning! 😀

'Fraid so Basher - it'll be travelling light and cheap most of the time interspersed with the occasional bit of luxury - somehow it's always not me that organises that bit.

Ooh - I did feel your frustration - I checked where the boat was first thing this morning and saw that it had moved even further from Southampton and was hiding behind the Isle of Wight. Must have been like waking up on Xmas morning all excited. - only to be told that actually it's still Xmas Eve. The fruits are forbidden at the moment but that will only make them sweeter.

Looks awesome mate Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

Sorry @tekobo I haven't taken any more pix. I've been busy breaking down boxes, moving, cleaning, etc. I did manage to get the KKs moved yesterday. AND in one piece...each.

I have had such a fun day. Well, I lie. Most of the day was spent negotiating a contract but that was bookended by fun experiences. It was nice to be by the sea first thing this morning. No ship sighting but I did get to see the fenced off part of Southsea Common, made so to protect migrating Brent Geese. How they know to stop off and rest in the fenced area I don't know but I spotted a few geese nestled into the grass on my way past. We had just finished dinner with wine this evening when I saw that my ship was on the move. I hopped on my bike and rode up to the sea front. What a contrast with this morning. Aside from the lights on ships and the harbour lights, the whole area was pitch black. The Husband coached me about what to look out for - white lights at either end of the vessel and a steady green light in the middle. Nothing to see here. I think the ship had gone past by the time I got there. Looking online I see it is making its way into Southampton dock now. What an adventure! I had hoped to be able to share photographs with you but I can only share my excitement at a)getting out of the house to see sights that I often miss and b) getting an understanding of what it takes to get our stuff delivered. I was fed up with waiting for my ship to dock. Imagine what it is like to work on a container ship, hanging around for days going nowhere and then finally being admitted to port. Will wait to hear about the path through customs and onto a truck and over to me. What fun, fun, fun. Yes, @alimac23 it is a great feeling. Dan the Man who helped to offload my first two KKs bust his Achilles heel about two months ago. He will be back with his crew to help get these three unloaded. He says he wouldn't miss it for the world. Neither would I.

Dropped some wings in the marinade during lunch. Plan to pat dry then smoke for dinner. I'll finish with a hard sear and basting w/the extra batch of sauce I made. Ran out of Worcestershires about a little over 1/8th cup for the baste batch, so I topped it off to 1/4 cupt w/Crystal Hot Sauce.

Lighting the KK quickly is all about technique and fuel used. If your using say BGE large chunk charcoal to get up to temp quickly, no way. Great for low and slows but for grilling, too much mass. You want small chunks of coal for a very fast burn as Dennis suggested. Secondly, a torch and some type of forced air is essential to light quickly. I use a Bison lighter and it's worth every cent. Ultimately, as other have suggested, gas is easier but you still have to wait for the grates to heat soak. Before I even start dinner the first thing I do it light the cooker. I'm NEVER coming home and dropping a slab of meat on the grill in five minutes even if the grill was ready. There's other stuff to prepare first before the meat goes on. NOTHING can beat coal or this cooker!! FWIW I used to own a very high end gas grill. Sold it to my brother in law who didn't know better lol Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

Fingers crossed tekobo, that your new KK’s make it to you next week! It sounds like it was a worthwhile endeavour, getting out to see that beautiful sun rise, regardless of the ship being there or not. Can’t wait to see the arrival pics, I’m getting butterflies in my stomach for you!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Rough Guide! For Mrs RD, surely not? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Stage One : An extra Xmas present for Mrs RD.

Super exciting. If all goes to plan, my ship will come in tomorrow. It has spent the last few days pootling around in the sea, waiting for a berth at port. This is the plot for the last 24 hours: Here is its path into port at Southampton: And if I get up early enough to catch it at the right point in its journey, the point on the map named "Southsea" is about ten minutes's walk from my house and I can watch to see my ship go by. Exciting.

Rib fillet Steaks tonight that my son wanted to buy and cook. Here’s how they turned out. Pretty good. This with a truffle butter. With the left over heat we wanted some school holiday snacks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey there @Paul. Still super keen to see more of your house. I hope you managed to build in some things that you've always wanted and that you are enjoying the ease of being back in a place of your own.

Burnt ends turned out to be about the best ever.

Yup I couldn't resist. The newly released PKGO. PK's latest addition, a table top version for camping or tailgating. Can be used as a single unit with a lid or used as two open top hibachi grills. Dual top and bottom vents. Even comes with a probe port in the back of the lid. Should make a great addition to the Travel Trailer. Had to try it out with a few quick burgers for lunch. "Hi my name is Charles ........ I have a problem ........."

That's a nifty looking unit . Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

I had the same idea for the wrench. It would be crazy easy to make a handle on a lathe. Thanks for the responses.

I met Jiarby in person at a POSK cooking competition in Sacramento. His chili and my gumbo tied for some silly non-prize. I was most impressed by his Rambo-style charcoal lighting technique. We're not talking weed burner, this flame thrower wouldn't have been out of place in the US-Vietnam war. And Glenn's a big guy, it all made a picture. We stayed in touch. Great guy.

I hope you are able to see it go by and get a pix. Fingers crossed for daylight and sunshine.

@tekobo, have only just caught up with this news - I didn't think that your KKs were going to be here so soon !! Super super super exciting. Can't wait for some pics !

There's a name that we haven't heard in a very long time! Guess that makes me an "old-timer" here - LOL! You've probably seen my previous posts, but Powdered Brewers Wash (PBW) is the shizz for cleaning the rotisserie baskets, forks, rods, etc. I just soak them in a 5 gal bucket of warm water and PBW for a few hours or overnight. (I will confess that the basket is too long for the bucket, so you have an extra step to flip it over and soak the other end.) Simply wipe off with a sponge, no elbow grease involved. Easy, peasy!

Some are rounded. Some aren't. It's not just one brand. I bought a vintage Stanley wrench off eBay, with the idea of embedding it into a hardwood handle. Didn't cost much at all. You don't need new, and vintage is cool. An advantage of eBay is there's usually a picture. Confirm that the wrench is rounded before purchase. I also own a Grill Floss. For what it's worth, I loved the Grill Floss. Any reasonably well-adjusted soul should be happy with good life choices. I nevertheless prefer the wrench. One can apply more force from closer in. For really getting anything clean, such as KK grates after a low & slow (or misuse of my molcajete mortar, or the grates from our indoor gas range), nothing beats minimizing the setup time to using an electric pressure washer. Yeah, a little pricier than a box wrench, but ... We bought our pressure washer for cleaning our ipe deck before annual oiling. I use it whenever I can. It makes me feel like Jiarby starting a fire (there's an obscure reference for old-timers). I gave away my rotisserie because I hated cleaning it. With the pressure washer, I'd consider one again. Get a water heater drip pan to hold the grate you're cleaning. No need to plug the hole, this is just to protect one's yard from the pressure washer. The woodworking project is still pending (as are so many!).

@tekobo that is an excellent idea. You can fly from Tijuana to just about any place in Mexico, Central & South America. In fact many smart travelers in Souther CA fly internationally out of Tijuana because it is so much cheaper than flying out of LAX. They actually have a parking garage/escalator that takes you straight from San Diego to the Tijuana international gate, perhaps a sojourn down to Tulum, over to the Caribbean then back home to the UK? Lots of possibilities there. From TJ to Carribean there a lot of possibilities and it’s relatively cheap (or at least was). When you start planning I’d love to help. The best thing to do in CA is drive the CA 1 from SF to Santa Barbara. I’m sure there’s direct London to SF, drive down the coast to San Diego, head to Valle de Guadalupe, down to Tulum, over to the Caribbean, then back to UK. Geez! You got my travel bug juices flowing again!

Tonight was a "hybrid" cook. Indian Butter Chicken. Marinated chicken thighs went onto the KK, direct, main grate, 325F with cherry wood chunks. Marinade of yogurt, garlic, ginger, garam marsala, cumin, cayenne, sweet paprika and honey. Pulled early (145F IT) and put into the sauce (coconut milk, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, garam marsala, half-n-half and butter) to finish. Plated with basmati with coriander and cumin seeds and a side of steamed green beans (lemon myrtle and bouquet garni in the steaming water).

Local supermarket has been stocking Angus Reserve flat iron steaks lately. I'm getting into them. One last night on the sear grate, bourbon barrel chunk, rubbed with SuckleBusters Texas Pecan. Plated up with roasted spuds, sauteed shrooms, chimichurri and a side salad. Topped it off with a nice Merlot. A nice Saturday night meal.

You could always just get a Grill Floss. Love mine, had it for years. Yeah, a little pricier than a box wrench, but ... https://smile.amazon.com/GrillFloss-Ultimate-Grill-Cleaning-Tool/dp/B000PAV28E

It’s done, in the cooler, wrapped in lots of towels, in foil with some broth. Temp was 199-210 depending on where I probed. Butter soft almost everywhere. 7 hours from start to finish, no wrap, never stalled at all. Bark looks great, hope it survives the foil. I’ll update when I cut into it in...five hours.

@Basher yesterday’s breakfast was for the parents. Today’s breakfast is for the kids may I present homemade Mickey Mouse pancakes from scratch served with crushed bananas, sliced blueberries and chocolate chips inside....pancake batter also contains hints of vanilla extract

Early morning for me. 18lb beast of a brisket. Think it may have had the thickest fat-cap ever on a cow. Trimmed it last night, put it on just before 5am. Trimmed a lot of the fat between the flat and point so they are almost separated. Cooking it at about 275-300, hoping for a finish time sometime around 3 so I can rest it, so cooking it a bit higher temp than usual. Photos are just over two hours in, and it’s already darkening nicely.

Bone in leg of lamb on the spit over mesquite wood. Marinated in olive oil, garlic, mint, rosemary, cumin, Peruvian salt & black pepper served with pearled olive oil & garlic cous cous with lemon zest & thyme as well as cast iron Yukon gold potatoes with salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary & olive oil. finished with homemade Tadziki sauce

Thanks @Troble. I genuinely haven't thought much about my first cook. Having had KKs before, it doesn't feel like a "first" cook either. I think bread followed by pizzas on the 32 is going to be the first big test of whether I made the right choice in moving up a size. Being able to get three loaves on at once with steam will be great and I can a) crank it up a little for the pizzas and b) use that cook as a test of Dennis' factory burn in. All good.

A bowl of leftover Sweet and Sour Gochujang Chicken.

Post-Thanksgiving burn-out Pork Chop dinner. A nice, thick Iowa chop, direct, main grate, apple wood chunks, 350F. Rub was a chipotle based one. First time using it. Not bad. Sides of melting potatoes and steamed broccoli.

The lamb noisette was sensational. The fat on the outside rendered beautifully. I rolled it around the lower rack for 7 minutes with the dome reading 150c. (300f) I’d call that medium. Inside was very tender. Here it’s plated. The mint chips are very subtle. Worth trying. I’ll leave the shoulder wrapped with a little stock for another hour. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We got notification today that our sofa is with the "transporters" and should be with us, at the very latest, by Dec 10. It will be super weird (and stressful) if the KKs and sofa decide to arrive on the same day! In the meantime I will drink to a vaccine to get us out of this mess. See you on the other side.

HalfSmoke: I'm pretty sure this came from the Virtual Weber Bullet in the beginning. Larry R posted it here and he brought a lot of stuff to us from over there. That site is an excellent resource for all KKers, so everyone go check it out, if you are unaware: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/index.html