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I know there aren't a lot of posts here about Dennis' teak flooring. I thought I would post some pics of the flooring that he supplied me for our new pool house. This stuff is incredibly gorgeous, and Dennis's pricing is very fair. The flooring arrives in crates that are well suited to protect it for the voyage. Hard to describe just how beautiful this stuff is, or how good the deep grain feels.

Howdy KKers! I lost my password and have been absent here. BUT, I have not been idle. Here's a quick little cook from Sunday evening. Nothing big here, just did a reverse sear on a Tri-Tip over FOGO. I marinated it in my FoodSaver marinater. If you don't have one, you should really check it out. You can get one for under $20 at Amazon. I highly recommend it. Here are a couple of pics at the beginning and end of the cook. I just wasn't too ambitious, but all y'all get the idea. Beginning: Ending: So there you have it. I took the Tri-Tip to 120F on the grates, cranked up the volume to about 475F. TheBeast took about 10 minutes to go from 200F to 475F. I pulled at 128F, tented on the carving board for something like 7-10 minutes and then carved and served. Just your typical reverse sear. Thanks for looking.

I am trying to get as much info as I can about the differences between the 22 and the 23 kk. Dennis has been very helpful in responding to all of my emails and sending me pictures， so I am grateful for that. However， I would like some input from those who made the choice between these two grills? What was the deciding factor for you (for many I realize that the 22 wasn't an option yet)? With a difference of less than 200 I am really struggling to figure out what would make a person go one way or the other. I can think of a few instances where having the extra horizontal inch may make a difference. Additionally， if you have the 23， I'm wondering about the limits of the upper rack? Does the 22 really provide much of an advantage up top? The only thing I could think of is if you were attempting a turkey on the top rack and wanted the veggies on the main rack. Would this be possible on the main/lower rack of the 23? My husband thinks that since this is the newer of the two models， there is the possibility that it is improved，since there was a chance to change anything that wasn't “perfect” about the 23. I can definitely see that being a possibility， but I want to be sure. The one thing that may be a disadvantage to the 22 is that since so few people have it， if I am ever looking for tips related to a specific problem， or cook there would be fewer people to confer with. I am just wanting more perspective because I really want to make the right choice. I know for some people throwing around this much money is no big deal， but for us it definitely is. I also have more general kk questions that I will probably post as well. I do want to say there is probably not a “best choice” kamado (I am certain they are both awesome and light years ahead of my akorn)， but there is probably a best choice for my particular needs and family. Thank you in advance for any input.

And don't forget that with a Tri Tip, hanger, skirt, and flat iron steak you MUST cut/slice across the grain.. I've been served mis-sliced Tri Tip so many times and it becomes a jaw killer.. If after cooking you can't see the grain run a flashlight across the meat to create shadows and remember that the Tri Tip's grain changes at the bend.. I usually cut it in two there (@the bend) first and then slice the two pieces separately.

I briefly considered the 32 just so I could have the option to try a small suckling pig. As my husband says.... That would be one expensive pig!!!! I can't imagine doing it more than once， Plus with the logistics of actually transporting and cooking a pig I just can't actually see myself doing it more than once. But it sounds like it would be fun!

@Shuley - I have both the 19" TT (aka Beauty!) and the 32" BB (aka TheBeast). Moving Beauty is entirely manageable by one person. TheBeast, well that's another matter entirely. TheBeast is just a pork butt shy of 1,0000 pounds! You aren't going to moving a 32" by yourself. I've cooked only a few times on the 23" and it might be too much to move by yourself. Understand that each KK has great castors underneath and once you overcome the inertia of a few hundred pounds of concrete and stainless keeping it moving isn't much of a problem. Stopping all that moving mass could be probleNowmatic for a lady. Having a guy move a KK isn't much of a problem. I'm 6'1" and about 200#s and I have no real problems moving Beauty! at all. When I do move TheBeast, overcoming inertia is the biggest challenge. I've only moved TheBeast once since I got him. WE get hail storms and really sever weather that moves through here on a regular basis from March through November. All I do is keep the covers in place during those times. Moving my KKs isn't high on my list of priorities. I, like you, live in a hot place during the summer months, Oklahoma City with day time highs routinely between 95 - 105. I always keep my KKs covered when not in use. Now, let's talk how often do I cook on my kamados. Shuley, I cook most evenings on my kamados. Its gotten to the point that the only evenings I don't cook on my KKs is when I'm out for dinner. You know how I always welcome new member with "Welcome to Komodo Kamado and welcome to The Obsession!" There is a reason for The Obsession part ... I"m obsessed with trying something new, innovative, and trying to out do myself. I, and my guests, absolutely love the food from Beauty! and TheBeast. The best and most versatile cookers I have sit on my patio. I've got some kind of high dollar oven sitting in my kitchen and about the only reason I turn it on is for keeping things warm. MY KKs are at once roasters, smokers, braisers, smokers, low-n-slow, and grills. No other single thing I have is that versatile. It never gets old and I've been cooking on kamados over 20 years spanning 3 decades. And it just keeps getting better. I wish you well on your journey to owning a KK no matter which size you and your family chose!

Shuley, it is not that hard to wheel the KK, the hard part is to get it started and from there it is easy. I keep mine in an outdoor kitchen and especially in the winter I need to move it out a little to cook. I'm moving it to keep the dome hat from hitting the winter shades that are over the windows. Once I discovered the vast improvement in taste there was no way I was going to be using the kitchen stove to do my meats, poultry, etc. I know it's a little more work to light the KK than to turn the knob on the kitchen stove but the improvement in flavour is well worth it. I live where we get lots of snow and lots of freezing temperatures in the winter but I still use the KK all winter long. The KK is another appliance in my cooking arsenal, one that has made a huge flavour improvement, definitely not a fad. If great tasting food is your goal you won't be disappointed with the KK.

for me I was a griller more than a smoker but I liked the idea of being able to do it all. The Kamado is the Swiss Army knife of BBQ. More so, the KK is the Ferrari of the Kamado world. Ypu probably turn out great meals on your current model, however, you will find the quality will be twice as good with a KK. The cooker actually plays an important role in the food quality. Mug you live in a colder climate area Dennis recommends a cover to protect the grout jacket. Plus it is nice to keep clean and out of the elements. Dennis makes a great heavy weighted cover out of sunbrella material that lasts. Mad for loving it, it is super easy with the wheels. You are going to get a bunch of spare tiles and they are easy to replace if needed. I don't think you will have any issues with cracks. Just do it you won't regret this purchase. In fact you will likely cook more now

CC, I wonder where you have been. We need your input. Funny thing, I did a Tri tip on Sunday too. I also did a Reverse Sear. I was trying Steve Rachiln's way of doing it. Let the Tri Tip cook to 110* at a cooking temp of 225. Pulled the Tri Tip and covered and let it rest for 10 minutes. Can letit sit up to 30 minutes. The idea is because it has been rest for a period of time the juices would/should go back into the meat. So right after doing a Reverse Sear, just slice the meat. I can say that idea didn't work for me. Either I did something wrong or Steve Rachlin doesn't know what he is talking about. I did let the Tri tip get up to 132 during the Reverse Sear. I turned the meat every 2 minutes. I was trying to do it Santa Maria-style. My Tri Tip was very good and it wasn't tough. I think cooking it medium rare to medium the Tri Tip comes out just right and I do like my meat Medium Rare to Rare.

I think where the KK 22” has an advantage is if you do low and slow with large quantities on a frequent basis. Such as, when you make pulled pork, you do 8-12 butts at a time, or 4 briskets, requiring you to use the main and upper grates for these cooks on a regular basis. For me, the only time I’ve made a lot of low and slow is with ribs. Any more than three racks of ribs, and I’m using the upper grate. With ribs, however, under-the-lid capacity isn’t really needed, since the ribs are so flat. With the number of people that we typically have over for food, making 1-2 pork butts or a single whole packer brisket is enough for us. Have you asked Dennis in what ways the KK 22” would be a better pick than a KK 23”? He will have the best insight of all of us.

Welcome Back CC very nice cook looks real yummy

Welcome to the site Shuley i dont have a kk yet but if i was making a choice between 22 and 23 i would go with the 23 its so close in price and the 23 is the flagship of kk but the bigger bottom and the higher cap is a nice feature of the 22 just my 2 cents

Welcome, Shuley! Not sure if you have seen this post yet http://komodokamadoforum.com/topic/6530-huh-21-hi-cap-now-a-22-hi-cap/?page=1 but it's worth a look. I cook a turkey breast for Thanksgiving and I use Meathead's method. Put some water/broth in a pan, load it up with veggies and the turkey cavity parts, and put it on the lower grate. Haven't done it yet in my KK, but I'm sure I'll try it at some point. Yeah, yeah, kamados don't need a water pan... but it's not in there for the moisture, it's there to collect the juices for a broth/gravy. Used that method on my gasser for a few years and my KJ last year. In the KJ, I put the deflector in low, topped with copper elbows, then the pan on top of those - that kept the bottom of the pan from directly contacting the deflector and getting too hot. There was barely enough room. I'm thinking it would be tight on the KK and I'd have to use the KJ deflectors to even have a chance. Lots of ways to accomplish similar things. I think that's right - I think I remember Dennis saying if you added the lower rack to the 22", the prices were almost even. "Ho with the 23"?? What did you call me?!?!?

The way I would look at this question would be, why do you want the turkey on the upper rack and the veggies on the main rack? If the idea is to get the drippings from the turkey to run over the veggies as they both cook, I would put the veggies in a roasting pan and the turkey on a rack in the roasting pan, much like what I did with this prime rib cook. If you’re looking to grill the veggies directly, and the turkey more slowly, I would cook the turkey on the main grate first indirect, and when the turkey is done, take it out, remove the deflectors, open the vents to get the temperature up, and grill the veggies. Finally, depending on the size of your turkey, you probably will be able to get both the turkey and veggies on the main rack together on a KK 23”. I haven’t tried to cook a turkey in Smaug, but here’s a picture of a 21 pound (!) brisket. As you can see, there’s plenty of room on the main rack for veggies or other sides.

As if all those options weren't enough, here's another... Get the basket splitter, which can be used to have lump only on one side of the basket. When you use that, you have 2-zone cooking, and direct/indirect zones in your KK! Use the indirect side to keep a steak warm while you're cooking another more-done for a friend, or use the 2 zones to reverse sear steaks. Also a great place to melt cheese over a burger. Enjoy

I use the grates that I need for each cook. If I’m not using them, they’re not in the grill. Ideally, I’ll heat soak for low and slow cooks. In my hands, that means letting the grill sit at my target temperature for about an hour. This isn’t time wasted, as what I usually do for cooks is light the grill, set the vents for the temperature I want, then do food prep. By the time I’m done with food prep, I’m at least pretty close to being done with the heat soaking time. Having said that, I did a rib cook recently where I didn’t have time to heat soak, and the ribs still turned out fantastic. I did light the grill first, and then prepped the ribs, but it was only 30 minutes or so of heat soaking. You can hang the unused grates off the hooks on the side of a KK grill. I built a storage unit out of 2x construction lumber and 1x pine boards from Home Depot.

I am new to the KK, just got mine a week and a half ago. I tried the tinfoil heat deflector method on the bottom grate and it worked like a charm and easy clean up. this was Dennis's recommendation and i will be using it from now on.

I was really taken with yesterday's drumsticks and put another batch on today. Here are 8 ready for the grill after the Frank's Hot Sauce overnight marinade. On the grill. A friend dropped by just as I was done with my garden work and he gave me a big bag of fiddle heads that he has just picked. Those drumsticks are like little sacks filled with moisture. Plated. These are just sooooooooooo moist.

Main reason that I buy most of my bbq cuts at CostCo is that they aren't "enhanced." My local butcher's stuff is excellent, but a tad pricey, so I tend to reserve buying from him for special cooks. And I see absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to use the best grade of meat that you can get your hands on?? I buy prime brisket when the price is right at CostCo. Don't think that makes me a "hipster" at all - because I patently refuse to wear white socks with sandals - LOL!! Have read Mixon's book and he's always been totally unapologetic about being a douche bag, even before the TV exposure, but when you got the hardware to back it up. For the rest of us, there's Steven Raichlen and Chris Lilly (and countless other "nice people" in the BBQ world, like on this Forum!)

Ya mean this big bad cabinet? Turned out great!