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First cook turned out excellent Looking forward to getting a handle of these beast. So far so good! IMG_4286.mov

Based on @Troble saying that this marinade works for other meats, I tried this out with chicken thighs yesterday. Delicious! Two modifications: I agree with @Troble about the cloves. I ground them up with the other spices but still found that the flavour dominated. I would halve the quantity of cloves next time. The second modification was that I did not use my expensive balsamic vinegar in the marinade. I used this stuff - Saba - instead. All in all, it tasted great.

I am going to post details of this cook elsewhere but, in the meantime, here is a photo of yesterday's cook. First time using the double drip pan under my new vertical spike. Indirect on the 32. Lots of stickiness from the balsamic element of the marinade. The double drip tray cleaned up very well. The Husband did the washing and it just took a half hour soak in ordinary dishwashing liquid and hot water and a bit of elbow grease with a curly kate to get it nice and clean again. No biggie.

Farmer's sausage for dinner, tasty and easy especially when the sides are already done.

@tekoboalso plan to get everyone drunk so they hopefully won’t notice if I screw it up

@ Troble, we owe you soooooo much for everything you do. THANK YOU. 🥂 @ Tekobo, ohhhhhhh, that plate looks wonderful, if only it was at my table. 🥂

Way off topic here but, reminded me of an old joke. What did the captain of the Exxon Valdez say to his first mate? Damn it! I said a rum and coke on the rocks! NOT run the boat on the rocks!!

Plenty of shots of meat coming out of KK's that look like purple lipstick smoke rings.. Look at Tony's post recently.. And this ColmenaBBQ on Insta.

The shipping companies won't let me ship any charcoal from Indonesia because they consider it semi hazardous cargo. At some point a bean counter decided that if ships were over X full they didn't want to take semi hazardous cargo. All ships are full and they won't take any.. That being said, I'm working with a company in another country that can still ship on one line.. Keep your fingers crossed.

G2K, thanks Dennis. I will have to keep playing around with it. Of course the smoke ring is pretty much just aesthetic. And my brisket was amazing regardless. My wife even said she loved it and she isn’t a brisket fan, so KK for the win!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, I made my pilgrimage to KC, and thanks for all the great input. Unfortunately I only had time for 1 bbq joint. Chose Arthur Bryant's. Oh man was it good! And inexpensive, for a bbq joint I think. Had burnt end sammich, and potato casserole. It was excellent, and the ambiance, history, and photos on the wall of famous guests, made it well worth it. I've always made my own bbq sauce, but their sweet heat sauce was off the hook. Brought a bottle home, and fixin to order a case. If you order direct from them, you can get 12 bottles, mix and match of their three sauces for 69 bucks. No shipping. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Had nightmare after nightmare getting this thing but the 32 is in the backyard! Thanks for all the help and advice, first cook is tonight!

We've been buried since last June.. Please excuse my not spending much time here. Sai wanted some Pastrami so I grabbed two brined brisket pieces from the freezer. I have a German butcher here who sells pastrami and I've talked him into selling me uncooked ones.. uncooked piggy bellies for bacon and shoulders for ham too. I soaked them in fresh water a half hour to reduce saltiness.. hit with pepper again.. Some coffee smoke at 235º no wrap because I fell asleep.. pulled at 205º the thin flat with little fat was typically a bit drier than it would have been wrapped but the thicker piece as you can see is heavenly.. I love when meat gets this oyster shell look.. Yes it tastes as good as it looks..

@Forrest - I just did a chuck roast (similar to cooking brisket, just smaller) and had a nice smoke ring. I'd suggest a stronger smoking wood for brisket - I use a combo of post oak and mesquite in the smoker pot. If you have any of Dennis' coffee wood chunks, toss one of those in the mix, too. Upfront confession - these pics are from a previous chuck roast cook. I had a dinner guest for this last one and didn't want to mess around with "food porn."

In the US, seek out the heritage breeds of pork, like red wattle, mule foot, black Swabian, Mangalitza. Similar to Waygu beef, these breeds have a much higher fat content than "the other white meat" that we bred our pigs to becoming back in the 80s to compete with "healthier" chicken in the supermarkets. BTW - "real" pork is red meat, not whitish pink!

Lockdown has brought some great food discoveries. Posh restaurants ship you cook at home kits. I have only tried the one called Aktar at Home. He is a Michelin star chef and his curry box is a thing of wonder - great taste, volume and value. I tried his Argentinian meat box. It was fun not to have to prep for a BBQ and our favourite thing was the morcilla. I disappeared down a rabbit hole, trying to find more and came across this company: https://www.bascofinefoods.com This haul arrived a couple of weeks ago: They are bits of an Iberico pig that I had never heard of/used. Albanico, Pluma, Secreto. The only one I knew anything about were the baby back ribs. And sooo fatty. I looked up the Albanico online and found this cook: https://bbq-heroes.com/recipe/pork/amazing-iberico-abanico-sandwich/ We tried it out. I cooked half of the albanico, first indirect and then smokily and satisfyingly on the lower grate. Asparagus cooked while the pork was resting. Sorry, no pix of the sandwich but here is the piggy sliced up. It was freakin’ delicious. A missive from @tony b made me think “suya!” for the remaining half of the Albanico. I took the easy route and cooked it indoors last night. No char or smoke but The Husband still declared it the best suya meat ever. That intramuscular fat just gave it such a great mouth feel and taste. Marbled pork rocks.

These let you hang your right side table in the vertical storage position with the rotisserie bracket installed.

10 year egg user.. Cooking some beef ribs tonight, for panther hockey game. Need to get this guy to 225, for sure am a bit confused about how to do this! I have basket splitter set up for 1/4 size. There are really small beef ribs, always shocked how fast they cook. They are the small ones from Snake River Farms. Then I have the "middle grate" on, and I have the drip pan on the side away from the coals. I plan to put he ribs on the right side of the girl so they will be away from the direct heat. I'm coming from an EGG, I've heard Dennis say don't need place setter, and this drip pan will do the trick? Do I wrap the drip pan in foil? Any advice greatly appreciated!

Nailed it!

Beef marinade recipe courtesy of Padma Lakshi. I used a 6lb Lamb Shoulder or boneless leg of lamb for the cut. Cooked at 425-400, sliced 3x & basted with leftover marinade after each slicing. Beef Shawarma Lamb cooked on the Komodo Kamado with the Trompo King attachment. Marinade courtesy of Padma Lakshmi 1/2 cup Lemon juice 1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar 2 tsp Garlic powder 2 tsp Salt 1 tsp Cumin 1 tsp Cardamom 1 tsp Oregano 1 tsp Cinnamon 1 tsp Allspice 1 tsp Nutmeg 1 tsp Ground cloves (go easy on the cloves, I didn't have ground cloves and used whole cloves and it was a bit too much) 1 tsp Black pepper 1 tsp Cayenne 1 tsp Ginger 1 tsp Z’atar (this was my addition to Padma's recipe) Served with Beet/tahini yogurt sauce 2 medium sized beets wrapped in tin foil and roasted at 450 for 45 minutes 1/4 tsp salt 1/3 cup full fat yogurt 1.5 tsp Tahini top with fresh cut dill 1 clove garlic Homemade Tadziki 1 cup Greek whole milk yogurt 1 English cucumber 2 cloves garlic 1 teaspoon lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill Kosher salt & fresh cracked black pepper to taste Mediterranean salad 1 diced red onion 2 cans garbanzo beans 1 1/2 cups of fresh mint 1 red bell pepper 1 yellow bell pepper 1 orange bell pepper 2 large cucumbers (peeled and chopped) 1/2 cup crumbled feta For the Dressing 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 cloves of garlic (minced) 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper Roasted garlic & olive oil pearled cous cous boxed and served with fresh herbs (parsley, thyme etc)

@MacKenzieyou are too much. I’m just happy to make a small contribution to this community that has given me so much

Great news you got to enjoy sone KC BBQ. Looks like you enjoyed it. I remember eating there once for lunch and remember the sauce being stellar as well. Thanks for the tip on the order

Yeah, I noticed that. Great observation you have about the efficient cook!! That’s why I asked. I’ll try the celery seed on my cook. And may try burying 3-4 pieces of wood chunks in the lump for my pork butts instead of my smoke pot. Sure it was awesome!

The place Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The food. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You're on the right path on your setup for indirect. Yes, you do NOT need a "plate setter" aka - heat deflector in a KK. Wasted charcoal to heat up more material. I'd only wrap the drip pan in foil if you want to keep it looking pristine. Mine looks like crap after all these years, but I don't really care. I don't have a 32" (mine's a 23"), so I can't help with the exact vent settings to get you to 225F, but it's likely going to be very closed down - just off the seat. On mine, it's when I just barely see smoke coming out the top vent. Bottom vent doesn't matter much, just as long as it's open to keep the fire going - 1/4 open on the left dial or one of the medium holes on the right dial. Good luck & post pics of your cook!

The only trouble is, they probably only deliver in the UK. That said, I am curious about whether you get these cuts of meat in Mexican supermarkets in the US. That albanico tasted like the best rib meat, just without the bones. I think these cuts will be ideal for juicy porky tacos. To be continued…

That sounds like a good plan @Troble. The combination of good meat, a KK and your experience should make it really difficult to screw up. Enjoy!

Seems it was steak night for many of us. I cooked a large ribeye last night. Duck fat and Montreal seasoning, cooked direct at excessively high temp. Plated with baked potato and broccoli with a 2007 Jericho Canyon Cabernet. Nothing exotic, just steak night. Very tasty. By the way, I wasn't kidding when I said "large ribeye"; the plated version is only 1/2 the steak.

Coffee and beef are good pals, coffee just adds a subtle earthiness that rounds everything out. Yes, used my 475ml smoke pot stuffed full with hickory chips. The brisket had a very very subtle smokiness, I would have preferred more. I may have to use the KK hot/cold smoker in addition to a smoke pot for brisket. Also I got no smoke ring even though the meat went in cold and the lid stayed closed for the first 14 hours of the cook. Might need to add celery seed for a smoke ring in a KK, it just cooks so efficiently I don’t think I’m getting the charcoal fire burning vigorously enough to cause the chemical nitrate reaction. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looking good! I’m very impressed at my briskets in the KK. A traditionally not forgiving meat to smoke has been exceptional consistently. Looks like we ate similarly today. No wrap, just lump, a smoke pot, the FireBoard for temp only (no fan) and patience. Foil for mess prevention only, no wrap, 15 hrs at 225-240. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've described my first Trompo King tandoori chicken cook here. I love indirect on vertical spikes, however one manages that configuration. I had been using my Solo Stove for quick grilling a lot of the time, because it works so well with so little effort, but now I can see the KK staying hot all summer as I work through every tandoori recipe I can find. Planning my next tandoori cook (I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barby for you), I noticed Ranjit Rai's recommendation to use a piece of potato as a skewer spacer. That's a better way to lift tandoori cooks up the skewer a bit. One less grate to clean, and this would work with any of the skewer alternatives in this thread.

I hadn’t cooked pork ribs in ages, the weather is just starting to cool off here so thought I’d chuck a couple of racks in the 32. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My Trompo King arrived, and I'm looking forward to a first cook, three Tandoori chicken legs. I'm happy to have ordered their Four Spike System, and nice that it comes apart in pairs. I'll usually use it as shown. Also nice that it comes with two center spikes. The longer spike is too tall for the main grill on my 23" KK, but would work on the lower grate. The spikes are shipped taped to the tray, and the adhesive comes off easily with isopropyl alcohol. I'm considering returning their TK Grate, shown in my first picture. Most aftermarket grates are likely to work better, such as the closer mesh, wider grate shown in my second picture. Their grate was clearly sourced as one could also do separately. Had they designed the grate specifically for the Trompo King, it's highly unlikely that they would have been dumb enough to specify an odd number of grates, making it impossible to center. For general use their grate is not wide enough, or closely spaced enough, to do its job. [The moderators have configured our forum to mark any post as edited after revision, with no five minute grease period for catching spelling errers. I've come to accept their looking out for us, we shouldn't spend all our time an the forum, so I'm not fixing this post wonce I submit it, not matter how much work it might stand to benefit from revizing.]

Thanks for sharing all the recipes! On the "to cook" list, which keeps growing thanks to you!

Because it is impossible to predict how much meat you’ll have or how much people will eat, and hopefully you planned for leftovers from this cook which means that undoubtedly you’ll have lots of extra pitas. So what does one do? in the morning you make scrambled eggs with truffle salt, black pepper, fresh rosemary from the garden & Parmesan cheese. You lightly toasted/warm the pitas and you put some applewood smoked bacon, scrambled eggs & avocado in the pita and you have yourself a delicious breakfast pita

I saw this cook first on the other thread and was disappointed the recipes were just hinted. Then I found you hadn't let us down at all; just making sure we read all the threads. Very nice cook, Troble.

Outstanding Troble. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quick dinner last night. Suya pepper pork cutlets, direct, lower grate at 350F. Plated with some curry rice and roasted chickpeas & cherry tomatoes with a dollop of Bomba (Calabrian chiles, eggplant, green olives and artichokes.) Indian garlic naan on the side. Washed down with one of my favorite beers - Hopslam from Bells. Unfortunately, it only comes out once/year and sells quickly.