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First experiment with tacos from Cochinita Pibil. At its simplest, Yucatan roast pork in a marinade of achiote seeds and orange juice, wrapped in banana leaves. Recipes get way more complex. I can find fresh banana leaves at a Mexican grocer in town. Fresh as in not frozen. Asking my Mexican neighbor, the leaves are very pliant off the tree. My leaves disintegrate on touch. One doesn't expect to wrap a liquid-tight vessel. The leaves do insulate. Following a standard recipe, the pork butt wasn't close to done. I unwrapped it and cranked up the heat for a few hours. The pork is the only Iberico pork raised in California. I had to try it, and it was delicious. It will become a regular thing. Encina Farms

Have you ever gone to a restaurant and wait in anticipation of a great tasting meal to have it fall flat and miss the finish line. Well, that happened yesterday for the first time in a life time, as I was about to protest my dismay at our server my wife interjected ordering me another brewski. We spoke, I let it pass and handled the matter the following day with a bit more diplomacy. I couldn't let that taste linger long though, tonite I made the meal, a Shrimp Mozambique and did give it at least tastefully, but maybe not photographically the attention and justice it deserved with onion, garlic, olive oil, Vino Verde, lemon, Sazon, parsley and a splash of Piri Piri. The shrimp was previously cooked and frozen not a first choice, but it was a pleasure to enjoy reconstituted as it was. SO the conversation with the manager was actually pleasant, I expressed my dissatisfaction and she apologized insisting on sending me gift certificates to make it up. I guess having been lucky up until then, and I'm sure everyone has a story, what do you do...send it back, let it go or like me put it off for the following day.

@ Tekobo, sounds like fantastic time, great food and drink, common interests and the possibility of a new toy to buy, what more could one ask.

Additionally, the design of the firebox is such that ALL of the air passes over the coals, which is not the case in other kamados. So even if the kk wasn’t truly insulated, it simply needs less air volume to maintain a given temperature because all the air entering the grill is fueling the fire. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi, Happy to say that I am a proud owner of a used KK23 which I acquired late last year. However, the grill needed some serious TLC and with me being in college, repairs and cooking were to be delayed. Having finished my degree, I spent the spring getting the KK running again and started doing small test cooks using what I think is called the upper grate (actually sitting down in the firebox). Being used, the KK was missing a couple of important items, namely the main and lower sear grates. I thought about purchasing the grates, but I have another grill I can cook normal things on like burgers and steaks. So, I decided to setup the KK for rotisserie cooking. I purchased the roto kit from Dennis and had my first real cook on Saturday. I have turned three chickens since. Each one better than the last. At least my fan club thinks so 🙂. Thanks, DannyG

It was an absolute blast having Mrs & Mr @tekobo over. We never stopped laughing - of course helped by the frequent sampling of various vintages of home-brew / cider. And great watching Mrs T cook and sampling some different food / cooking styles - definitely recommended to get together with other KK owners - there is so much in common. We'll be meeting up again soon - we have a gig which would really interest you @tony b - it's at our local brewery (The Cerne Abbas Brewery) - it's in the countryside just outside the village next to the fields where the organic Maris Otter is grown before being floor malted.... Was really hoping to convince Mrs T that an apple scratter and press was an essential extra bit of lateral kit for the KK - we'll see. Did get hooked though by her sending the link for the marbled pork - ending up getting that plus a couple of suckling pigs - your turn now @tekobo.

Tyrus either the restaurant is serving poorer food, or you are preparing better food and thereby lifting your expectations. Probably both. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That sounds like a lot of fun Tekobo. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The high insulation and the way the air is driven through the charcoal basket leads to: 1. Predictable temps - this is key. I have cooked everything from low n slow, rotisserie chicken, a whole pig, little tofu skewers to souffle in the KK and I can rely on the temperatures holding to within +/-10C of target temp for the whole of the cook (if I don't fiddle unnecessarily with the vents ). 2. Versatility - if you have the 32 you have a great multi-tool. All the grates that come as standard give you a massive range of things that you can cook at different levels and direct or indirect. 3. Ease of lighting/saving fuel - I cook so much more often on my KKs because I can get them up and running fast and because, when I shut off the vents, the charcoal is snuffed out quickly and available for future use. More cooking = more practice = better food. 4. Lots of fun - I have never owned a BGE and I imagine you can have lots of fun cooking on one of those too. I am just glad that I did not waste time and money on the intermediate step of owning a BGE. Have fun!

My leaf lard arrived yesterday, so I'm eager to try Mad Scientist BBQ's trick on a rack of ribs. Pork Ribs Cooked Like Brisket | Mad Scientist BBQ - YouTube Thinking about firing up the cold smoker to smoke the lard and some more of the beef tallow, too.

I got a big bad 32, and loving it! I've had eggs for about 10 years, Large and Mini max aka Smokey and the Bandit What is the reasoning behind why these cook better? I think I've heard it has less air flow which reduces the amount of moisture lost, but how does it have less air flow? Seems like same design as any other Kamado. Air hole in bottom, air hole in tops. I think it has something to do with how it hold heat better? I'm just not understanding the reasoning. Can someone explain? When I tell people about the grill I want to be better able to explain how it works so well! Thanks.

To average folk explaining evaporation, condensation, convection, conduction, insulation, and air flow isn’t going to stick. What will stick: Just show them the grill and state: “it is the Rolls Royce of Big Green Egg’s”. They’ll remember the shape, the shiny pebbles, and the way the food tastes. If you chose tiles, well you’re on a losing track. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cooked a brisket from a local farm on Saturday, cook went pretty well as I am learning my vent settings and configurations. I started with a full basket of Fogo black bag, and started it in one spot. With my KJ, I leave the lid open for about 10 minutes to make sure I have a good fire going, then close the lid and close down the vents. I did the same thing on the KK, and couldn't believe how quickly the charcoal caught and the fire I had going. I closed and sealed the lid, shut the cap down all the way and then opened it up about 3/4 turn. I opened the bottom left vent about 90 degrees and set the right vent on the pencil sized hole. About 5 minutes later the dome was reading 400, I knew the fire needed to be choked down more. I closed the left bottom vent completely and set the right to the pencil-sized hole. About 30 minutes later I was at 250, so I added some pecan chunks to the fire, when I could smell the pecan, I put the brisket on and the temp was at 265. After 3 hours, I went to check (pic below) and the temp was about 265, a little higher than I wanted but nothing to be concerned about. Opening the lid, my sunglasses fogged up from the moisture, never had that happen before, and I could see condensation on the gasket. The aroma was incredible, I thought I had smelled "good smoke" before when it was thin and blue, but the intensity of the pecan and beef from the kk was a totally different level. A few hours later I went to take a temp reading as I knew it was nearing the stall, and the grill temp was up to 300. I wrapped the brisket, closed the cap down all the way and opened it up about 1/3 turn and set the lower vent to the smallest opening. Two hours later I went to probe and the temp was up to 330, again I wasn't worried as the brisket was wrapped, but I was surprised the temp had continued to increase. I could still smell the pecan, so I thought maybe another chunk had caught fire and thus the temp increase. When I removed the brisket, the grill temp was about 340, so I shut the cap, the lid and the bottom vent. I let the brisket rest about 90 minutes (people were getting hungry), and then sliced it. After smelling the meat all afternoon, people were grabbing slices as quickly as I could cut them. The flat, which I have always used for sandwiches or tacos, was really tasty, not dry at all, I actually put a couple pieces on my plate. The point was melt in your mouth heaven, my hopes of making burnt ends disappeared as quickly as the slices I was cutting. Thankfully I didn't cut it all and I do have some for leftovers. Overall, I was impressed with the way the KK performed, and I'm guessing the top cap is going to be my key to nailing my temperature. The other thing, I had put the lower rack in and put the drip tray on that. I then put a foil pan in the drip tray hoping to collect some of the rendered fat from the brisket. Everything in the pan was burnt, there was not even any juice remaining. What is a better way to set up the pan to collect juices and fat without burning? And thanks for all the posts so far, I doubt my brisket would have turned out as good as it did if I hadn't researched everyone else's cooks first!

I bought that cut at a Farmer's Market. $20 a pound. First try, I barely did it justice (I'm used to whole bone-in pork butts, or the butt+picnic shoulder as one piece), but it was great.

@Tyrus we’ve all been there and it sounds like you handled it properly the next day. Good suggestion by the wife to drink a beer and address later. We’ll done on the home cook. Looks great @Syzygiesyou may be able to find banana leaves at a Thai or Asian market. I live in San Diego and while we have no shortage of Mexican markets here I would go to the Thai markets by house to get fresh banana leaves, it may be worth looking into. Did you purchase a whole pig or how did you end up with that cut?

As I’m in Hanson I’d be curious to know where it was. I went to a restaurant Sunday night, first time out in 18 months. I always get a good meal at Mother Anna’s 👍

If the 32" behaves similarly to my 23", your top vent was too open for the target temp that you were shooting for. On mine, 250F is about 1/8 turn off the seat. The bottom vents don't really control temperature, as long as you're not starving the fire of enough air to keep burning. Agree with @Syzygies - The double drip pan from Dennis would be the way to go if you want to keep the drippings. As long as your guest were enjoying the meat, you did a proper job! We've all had to learn from someone who went before us. That's one of the best things about this Forum - members willingness to share what they know and their "failures" as well.

Nope, it's the "preferred" lard for baking. It's basically melted down caul fat from around the kidneys. Milder flavor and softer texture.

I blame @Basher The Husband and I made good on my promise to go and visit @RokDoklast weekend. We got the full RD and Mrs RD experience in the space of 36 hours: 1. One full evening of cider tasting - loved them all. Just my style, dry. 2. Wood fired oven pizza - yum! RD kept them coming and we ended on a sweet pizza with Nuttella. 3. Got drawn down a rabbithole - if The Husband hadn't restrained me, a really expensive apple mill and hydraulic press combo would be heading our way about now. I still have the links.... 4. Watched RD drumming at a gig - super fun. We got to be roadies and groupies all in one arvo. 5. More cider, wild beer and stout - The Husband declared RD's special black stout stupendous. His elderflower wine was also delicious. 6. Cooked on RD's KK - yay! Fun fun fun. We had marbled port, followed by chicken schawarma and we were just plating up the perfectly cooked steaks when... 7. RD and Mrs RD were called away for medical emergency - the neighbouring pub needed help with someone who had collapsed. Ambulance service was a shambles. I put the food straight back into the KK and dialled temp right back. We finally ate the steaks about two hours late. Tasty nonetheless and good to hear that the patient is now back home. 8. Came away with a new baking stone for my 32 - RD received an extra baking stone that was marked as a "second". He kindly gave it to me because I didn't order one of my own and need one for my big bread cooks. Hurrah. We had a blast. It was lovely to meet RD and Mrs RD. I read back over the rest of this post and laughed again about their trials and tribulations with choosing a sofa. I can confirm that they still have not chosen a new one. I did not test the existing sofa for comfort but I am guessing must be too comfortable to force them to make the change. It was hilarious being introduced to friends as "someone I met on the internet" and we laughed a lot when the RDs told us that the oldest RokDokette was horrified that they were entertaining us. She thought we would be scammers, looking to empty her parents' house out. Tee hee. If you get the chance to visit a KKer you think you might like, my advice is: don't hesitate, do it!

High-quality insulation reduces airflow which creates better barbecue. Charcoal always burns at the maximum volume for the allowed airflow, if you can burn less fuel to maintain your cooking temperature, you will have less airflow, less evaporation, and Bingo.. more retained moisture in your meat. And that's better barbecue. And commonsense would dictate that less airflow gives the vapor that's released from the charcoal more retention time therefore more opportunity to condense on your food. Condensation of course is how the vapor is transferred to the food. So less airflow not only gives you more retained moisture but more smoke flavor. And that's better barbecue.