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Took a break phone conference calls to get a better look... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The true test with smoke is to wave some into your face.. it your eyes burns like hell, it's not going to taste nice.. It's basically wood alcohol fog so of course it burns..

I would be sitting and looking at it all night. 😍😍😍

I'm also a Franklin, wrap your brisket after the stall kinda guy. Primary reason is that the stall is due to evaporative cooling, meaning there is liquid on the surface, meaning that the bark is probably not set yet. After the stall is roughly equivalent to "the bark is set" so wrapping won't damage the bark.

@Troble, wonderful dinner. Glad to hear your herb garden is starting to pay dividends. The gardening sous chefs must be trilled too.

Inaugural cook on the new KK. Happened to be mother in laws birthday and also doing the burn in all day. Never really got it under 500 for the cook but managed to make it all work flat iron steak marinated in Worcester sauce, garlic and Montreal steak seasoning, reverse seared started on half grate finished on lower grate, over coffee char and mesquite wood. Served with homemade chimichuri grilled asparagus dusted with olive oil, garlic powder, salt & pepper slow baked sweet potato served with Labneh. Had to be served separately because even though I slow baked them in the oven for two hours like normal, these bad boy were gargantuan and took a little longer than normal, ended up being dessert to the main course. Served with a Justin cab

Hi All, I kind of jumped on Kirby's welcome post, so I figured I should start my own. I have been lurking for quite awhile and really enjoying the stories and all the pictures of the great cooks. I currently have a Kamado Joe classic that will be 4 years old next month. I am starting to experience the size limitations and was looking at the Big Joe, but if I'm going to spend $2500 on that, I decided I owed it to myself to explore the KK, more money but no broken fireboxes, cracked lids etc. I came here to specifically look at the 23", thinking adding that to my classic would pretty well cover most of my cooks. The more I read and the more pictures I look at, I am thinking I may want to go with the BB 32, which I guess will definitely cover all my cooks. I probably do 70% grilling and 30% low and slow, mostly butts, ribs and briskets, and grilling is chicken, seafood and steaks. My wife and I are empty nesters, but lots of family is nearby and most events end up at our house with me grilling for 6-15 people, which is why I typically go for the large protein cooks. I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but I feel my resistance weakening.

Might be my favorite part of the packaging so far. How many positions does the latch have again [emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Polar Vortex has been shed! It was in the mid-40s today and sunny. Snow is melting like crazy. Yesterday was nice, too, so back to grilling! Chicken legs quarters, one rubbed with Yardbird and the other with Slap Yo' Daddy. Direct, main grate, peach wood. Plated with some nice spicy pasta puttanesca and a side salad with feta cheese. A very nice Clos Pegase chardonnay to go with it.

Those are gorgeous tiles, now I am having second (3rd 4th?) thoughts.

In the past I use to wrap my small chunks in aluminum with good results, and then there were times I didn't think this method was providing enough clean smoke so I simply switched to larger chunks alone. Before my KK reaches saturation I throw a couple of chunks on the top and let them coast up to temp, I make sure the coals are glowing and before the meat is placed on, the smoke is blue. I own an offset and manage a fire for clear smoke, the essentials for clean smoke are, an established hot coal bed, a good air supply/ consistent flowing draft, dry wood and size of wood, any added wood should be well caught in flame before closing the door and if a bit of off smoke is seen it generally fades into a blue or clear again. In a Kamado the volume of air is constricted slowing the process right down. This is why chunks are added in early, prior to putting the meat on. The balance between fire, heat, timing and good smoke is in the method. Blue smoke will eventually come to any piece you place on the coals, the answer lies starting a bit earlier and preparing for it. Use dry dense wood, it provides a longer smoke duration

Thanks pequod. Tony I had a glimpse last night. This is the mother of all rabbit holes. I had no idea! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You have NO idea...

The wood deck under the gazebo is going and I will be extending the stone to that area where it will house the kk

Boneless leg of lamb. Marinated in balsamic vinegar with garlic, cumin & mint. Started on the rotisserie but finished on top grate. Cooked over coco char with mesquite wood served with garlic & olive oil cous cous along with roasted baby potatoes with garlic, thyme, rosemary, red onion and truffle salt homemade Tadziki with fresh dill grown from seed in my herb garden

Nice crispy looking skin on those chicken thighs! TY for all the nice compliments!

Did some bone in chicken thighs last evening in the dark.

@MacKenzie Tony’s always picture perfect. Nice work @tony b

Now I’m ready!

Delicious dinner, Tony. Pork looks perfect.

We’re good with the BB and Ultimate . @Christinelynn would divorce me.

Snuck in one more cook before the snow returns today. Pre-marinated pork loin (local market has been running a BOGO special on them.) This one was roasted garlic and black pepper. I slathered on some Dinosaur BBQ Wango-Tango. direct, 350F, peach wood chunk on the coals. Plated with a nice pasta and side salad.

Peach wood smoked pulled pork, used the Syzygies smoke pot modified method. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Troble, you have one lucky mother in law, beautiful dinner.

Good looking cook on your new KK @Troble. I guess "KK cooking" is something that you can now list on your CV as a "transferable skill".

Wow you ended up going Serious Big Bad! Congrats your grill might end up on the same boat as mine. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just the excitement of it, and the unboxing and burn in experience. Very surreal after waiting so long. I’m in Western Australia and the tracking of the ship and delivery experience were all part of the fun. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Finally got warm enough here (15F) to fire up the KK last night for dinner. First time in a week and a half! Flat iron steak, marinated in shio koji for 2 hours. Gunpowder rub. Lower grate with chunks of post oak and mesquite. Plated with roasted smashed potatoes, with Peruvian green sauce, sautéed mushrooms, and a nice salad of greens/radicchio, orange slices, pomegranate seeds and pistachios with an orange mint vinaigrette.

Lots of us here are smoke-potters. Be sure to get the order of those words correct. Many folks at Amazing Ribs have tried it and like it. There's another kamado forum -- Kamado Guru, I think it's called (haven't been there in years). The site's owner -- can't remember his name -- was encouraged to try it, but Meathead he's not. He did everything precisely wrong -- drilled the holes in the wrong place, etc., and then proceeded to pronounce it useless. It's like those people who review recipes on All Recipes: "I substituted 17 of the ingredients and decided to boil the meat and grill the pasta. This recipe sucks!" Get the holes in the right place (DOWN), make sure it's air tight and won't melt or off-gas noxious fumes. I think Syzygies' method for lighting is to use a weed-burner to preheat and then move it into the charcoal basket, but I'll let him fill you in. Don't ask him about shuffling cards.