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First pig for us. 41lbs ( no idea what that is in kilos) for a group of 20 people. Wasn’t sure if it was going to fit on my 32BB but Patsy Swine (that’s what we named her)fit very comfortably. She first got a nice bath. She was playing coy and not showing her girlie bits, then on to the smoker for a nice warm smoky sauna. Some of those gathered couldn’t look Patsy in the eye so we had to cover her eyes with her own skin. Please don’t think Silence of The Lambs of me though. Overall she was a success although she might have needed to go about 10 or 15 degrees more but it was getting late and the hordes were getting hungry. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Today I reverse seared a nice cowboy ribeye. The temp control is so easy of the KK. Nice and steady at 250 until I got my internal temp of 114, it carried over to 117 while I was getting the KK up to 500 for searing. Thrilled with the results 😁

As promised - smoked pork shoulder (wife accidentally got the pork blade cut (picnic cut?) vs traditional butt, though worked well) cooked at 235 for 10.5 hours then increased to 275+ for final 30 mins to get those last few degrees. 5.75lb shoulder. Included about 4-5 small chunks of apple and hickory. Made two basic sauces from Meathead (SC Mustard Gold and East Carolina Vinegar sauce), both paired very well! Wife made the coleslaw

Tonight- brioche burgers with brisket burnt ends, BBQ sauce, home made dill pickle, bit of salad. Heaven.

After a few delays traveling cross-country our 32” was at long last unloaded at the final shipping terminal in Massachusetts on June 7 or 8, and I scheduled delivery for Friday the 11th. The expected delivery time was between noon and 2PM but the driver called at about 10:45AM to tell us he was 30 minutes away. Fortunately, we were finishing our errands and were home in 10 minutes. The driver was great. The crate was unloaded. Others have commented about not appreciating the size until it is right in front of you. I showed him where it needed to go around back. Two 4x8 pieces of plywood were already in place over the crushed stones on the side of the house. He agreed to help and away we went leapfrogging the plywood until we reached the patio. Perhaps, a half hour total. He tried to turn down the tip, but we insisted he take it. He was worth every penny. I did not have any burly helpers, and did not want to wait to assemble a team, so I proceeded to uncrate on my own. Really impressed with how well everything was packed and secured! After unbolting the sides of the crate from the base it was obvious that I could not lift it up and over the KK on my own. I took off the slats from the front of the crate which allowed me to tilt the rest backwards and drag it away. Not ideal doing this alone, but doable nonetheless - even by someone who is not an exemplar of muscularity, lol. After pondering a while, I decided to take the supplied crowbar and remove the pieces of wood in front of the front wheels. Wasn’t sure that was correct but didn’t see any other way of rolling the grill off the platform. I imploded the center support box - I found that quite enjoyable. My wife came to give me a hand. We rocked it a bit, pushed, and it rolled off the wheel supports (not sure what else to call these). We must have turned the KK so the rear wheels got around the front supports as we moved it towards the ramp but I don’t recall exactly. Down the ramp and onto the patio for unwrapping. Opening the lid and removing each item was embarrassingly exciting. Even after all I read on these forums, I was not ready for the heft of the grill grates and the other pieces. I’m still not sure why there are four heat deflectors. Here are some of the photos, not sure why several imported rotated. Sorry, 😣.

Best Happy Father's Day cake ever!

Did a “quick” smoke last night - couple dozen party wings from Costco. Smoked at 225-250 for 1.5 hours then cranked up a bit and grilled them over the coals/fire for another 10 mins. Then tossed in simple Buffalo sauce (half butter half hot sauce). Currently have a pork shoulder smoking (apple and hickory wood chunks) so maybe some more pics to share tomorrow haha. Happy Father’s Day to all!

Wings, steak, pig and burnt end burgers. Yes! Great cooking all and I am now desperate for my lunch.

Nicely done Boom boom. No fuss, no muss. Rather than silence of the lambs, I was thinking that first photo reminded me more of the rabbit boiler in fatal attraction! And Bill, straight into caveman cooking. Well done. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you Tony. She is sweet looking, but a terror! Not at all afraid of Dante, our 85 pound 12 y/o golden doodle (one of the ‘boys’ in my photo), or our other daughter’s 75 pound boxer. OTOH, I think having her in our household has been good for Dante. Last August, we lost Kugel, our chocolate Lab, two months shy of his 14th birthday and Dante was really out of sorts for months and months. He’s been better lately, but still much more clingy with my wife and me than ever before. Frankly, we all still miss Kugel and toast him every evening. To those of you who are not dog people, sorry for the digression.

The ribs were quite good. I was in the 225-240 F° range for about 5 hours. The sides went on top, using the bottom grate inverted. (Did I explain that correctly?) When the ribs were ready, I took them off and removed the main grate. I opened the bottom vent and spun the cap open. I put the vegetables on the middle grate, and several minutes latter the shrimp/scallops. It took longer to get up to temp than I expected. I wonder if I should have put the food on the bottom grate right over the fire instead. All in all, not a bad first cook. It doesn’t matter much with these photos, but can someone explain why many of my photos are importing with a 90° rotation?

Lovely grill and very sweet looking pooch!

Well- had my first attempt at proper bbq today; and it was not exactly straightforward! Decided a brisket would be the way to go to properly christen my new 32" BB. Picked one up yesterday- on the small side at 2.7kg (6lb), and more point than flat. The wife convinced me not to go straight to an overnight session the first time before I knew what I was doing (wise woman), and given the smaller cut I planned on a hot/fast brisket instead at around 150c (300F). Very cold here this morning, and my first attempt at lighting a small piece of charcoal resulted in me coming to find the fire out completely 20min later- and I had only 40min until I needed to leave for work for a few hours... Got a bit more aggressive with the weed burner, still only lighting a small tennis ball size piece. Got the racks in, foil pouch with mesquite pellets, had covered the brisket with Meat Church Holy Cow. Set my top to where I had thought 300F roughly was based on my burn it- and left the wife in charge for a couple of hours. She checked on it diligently and sent photos of the dome temps, but within 30min it was clear that it needed to be throttled back majorly- as a result it was quite a hot/fast brisket; although it was at 300F to start with, much of the rest of time was spent at 350-400F. The smoke in the first hour was EPIC; lucky no neighbours called the fire department. I had only opened up 1/4 turn after just touching the gasket; but as mentioned previously I still have a full 1/4 turn of feeling gasket before I get to properly closed- so in reality I was probably 1/2 open or perhaps even a touch more. Live and learn. Total cooking time was 6.5hrs, wrapped at 170F/ 75C at around the 3.5hr mark. Rested 3hrs in cooler before slicing. Given the pace I had resigned myself to a tough overdone brisket. Couldn't have been more wrong- it was sooooo good. Tender, melt in the mouth, super smoky. Best bbq I've ever done that's for sure, and that in the context of largely stuffing it up! Served Project Smoke taco style for tonight given that I had the ingredients at home already. Perhaps brioche burgers tomorrow with burnt ends and a nice bbq sauce. Thanks for all the tips and advice. It's a great forum.

Hey Folks - Since receiving my KK six months ago, I have been using my 10+ year old MAPP torch to light. Has been working well until it died. Before I replace, I wanted to check and see if the MAPP + Blower method was still the best approach to firing it up or is there something else that you would recommend?

I did have some help with positioning the grill. Our eight-month-old grand-puppy, Tova Rose the Rottsky, living up to her Husky half. Grendel meeting his patio mate, and surveying his new domain. I wonder if he is the first of his kind in Little Rhody. BTW, before anyone gets upset rest assured she was really not pulling the KK.

I'm loving my current method. I keep a jar of left over part burned fuel (coconut briquettes or charcoal) soaked in isopropyl alchohol. When I need to light the KK I drop a few of my pre-soaked lumps into my pile of coals, light with my MAPP torch and walk away. With top and bottom wound right open, the fire is established really quickly and reliably. Depending on the cook I either wind everything close to closed for a low and slow or leave longer to build up for a high temp cook. If I am in a real hurry I use my mini leaf blower but I generally don't need to rush and I love the fact that I can leave the KK to get going while I am doing other things.

I use a weed burner, with a hose clamp on the neck so I can rest it against the KK lip, wedged under a charcoal basket handle, and walk away. My first weed burner "died" when the igniter failed. Perhaps a repair one could manage, but instead I bought a second one. You only need one to light, the rest can light off the first one. Now I can wedge two weed burners on opposite sides, come back a bit later to move them... Once fire is started where you want, the blower takes over. The Milwaukee cordless blower, feeble for serious work, is perfect for fires.

Fantastic method for me AASsh. So quick and easy. RD

Looks like a great meal!!! Enjoy your KK and nice work getting uncrated and set up.

Fine style!!

Nicely done with the uncrating. The heavy heat deflectors make excellent pavers - you won't ever use them inside the KK for a cook. No one does, not even Dennis! For indirect cooks, just use the drip pan or a sheet of AL foil.

INDEED!

Great looking wings @Snake Plissken !!!!!!!

Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads out there!! Happy grilling.

Tiles!!

Looks great Remi. Points for commitment to the first cook and points for the remote monitoring. I'm getting shades of this with the smokey shot:

Wow. Happy Fathers' Day to all the dad's.

Great color choice flashdaddy! Grendel arrived last Friday but I haven’t had time to describe the arrival. I’ll be posting the details soon. I was also coming from a BGE - a large 12-year-old that I sold about 2 weeks ago.

I've watched your videos. They are awesome. I was thinking of doing the same until you filled the void. I think serious kamado users who are not certain about swallowing the price of the KK would really benefit from understanding the step up in technology that the KK provides besides just the patio candy look.

That is everyone's reaction. I may have to cover the KK when my buddy comes over or he may not want to take the BGE. 😲

That poor BGE looks so pathetic next to that massive 32" KK!