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Woo hoo! Our Mexican neighbour helped with making the tortillas. I think her expectations were low and this Al Pastor recipe far, far exceeded her and her husband's expectations. Hurrah for @Troble. I made fish tacos to start, followed by Al Pastor and then finished with pineapple and ginger sorbet. I was touched by the fact that she has not been able to get to Mexico for a while (looking after sick old dog) and so was super happy to have the taste of Mexico brought to her. And her husband loved rolling the meat in the fat that accumulated in the bottom of the pan.

Now that I’m getting settled and have succumbed into my obsession, here’s a some picks of my cooks. I’m cooking 3-4 times a week and everything has blown me and everyone else away with the outcome. Thanks everyone for your encouragement, advise, and support! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Following up on my curiousity deal to David Chang I made approx 5lbs of Boerewors with a 50/50 blend of pork and beef. The ingredients were a bit different from a conventional sausage, this one had some unusual additions as worstershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, cloves, corriander & nutmeg, to name a few giving the sausage a unique tangy flavor, but in a good way with a desire to keep reaching for another slice. I did toss in some red pepper, half a Jalepeno and parsley all for color, and almost tossed some in red pepper flakes, had the jar in my hand, but figured straying to far from an original recipe might not be a good thing, besides the wife complains if it's too hot. The meat was prepared on my offset running 200-225 for 2 1/2 hrs to 160 internal using cherry and oak. I know the traditional way is over an open fire, however this method always turns out a nice product and for a few hours I get to feed and work a fire, now that's entertainment.

Finally a chance to smoke Beef Plate Ribs. These are insanely rich and flavorful. Did these @ 275 for about 7 hrs. Kept smoke generator going most of the cook with Hickory chunks and coffe chunks .

A breakfeast sausage that just might be a keeper. So on a 1lb basis it'll be, 1lb ground pork, 1.5 tsp crushed sage, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp salt, 2tsp brown sugar, 3/4 tsp blk pepper, 1/4tsp red pepper flakes, 1/4tsp nutmeg, 1/4 cayenne or Tabasco as I substituted 6-7 good squirts for a 5.5 pork butt. Additionally you can add corriander 1/4tsp, 3 tsp maple syrup, 1/2tsp paprika. Fresh ingredients optional were 1/2 diced red pepper, chives and parsley. Fashion into balls, place on a sheet of cut wax paper with one on top and press with a plate to flatten. Two per vacum seal bag and freeze. Now I did cook these in a fry pan, however the KK or any charcoal grill will also do. Keep in mind the sage and thyme were dry, next time I'll use fresh and let the mix stand overnight in the frig, I anticipate an even better result.

Well, please wish me luck. Tomorrow is the day. I am at our place in Italy and I have promised to serve our Mexican neighbour and her Italian husband home made tacos. That involved making the fresh masa at home in England earlier in the week, vacuum packing it and transporting it in the car. I bought some pork shoulder from the market this morning and marinaded it in the bright red marinade for al pastor. I also bought a pineapple and have scoped out some fish to buy tomorrow so we can have some fish tacos for starters. A brave (or foolish) move, trying to cook someone else's native food and telling them that you do it well! I will report back after the event. In the meantime here is a couple of photos of the work in progress.

I was so busy i forgot to take pics while cooking but .....

Brisket for a nice spring day with kids being home Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

boerewors pap chakalaka

Sorry for the delay, hope this helps. And you would want to leave some extra room just for wiggling it in place.

@Tyrus this is my first time making south african food. someone gifted me boerewors, which is that coiled sausage. pap is a white corn polenta made into a creamed texture, the rice substitute over there. chakalaka is like a mix veg stew sauce.

Hey all, through an accident- I was stuck on the phone with Directv's so-called "technical assistance" group during the "wrapped" hour and ...mirable dictu- they actually turned out BETTER. So here's the story: Here is how I do it. It is a variation on the classic 2 hours in the open, 1 hour wrapped, 1 hour to finish recipe. *(This is for bablybacks. For St. Louis style ribs, it is 3/2/1.) I start the ribs out by bringing them to room temperature and sprinkling a heavy dusting of Dizzy Pig's* ( https://dizzypigbbq.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoppgD8X3mtmkuOC3NaN79iW5Y4Ntwk2r-eGpBscy4HDy2ZRqFkA) Dizzy Dust on the ribs, and spritz them down with a little water spray to help the rub sink into the meat. I put them in the smoker at 225 for 2 hours. For the wrap, I use aluminum foil, place a couple of bats of butter in each foil package, with brown sugar and again a heavy spiritizing of water or apple juice. They go meat side down in the foil- I find this helps them stay more moist and tender. Then back in the smoker for 1 1/2 hours. Then unwrapped, and finished in the smoker for 30-45 minutes. We prefer to serve our barbecue sauce on the side. BTW, I know there are as many barbecue sauce recipes out there as there televangelists in Texas, but I included mine and some side notes for your reading pleasure. I usually use applewood for smoking pork, sometimes mixed fruitwood, and post oak or hickory or a combination for beef. Since I increased the wrapped time from 60 to 90 minutes, and decreased the finishing time, my ribs are coming out much more juicy, and tender, but still very much done. Of course, I am here in Denver, at 5600 Ft, and our altitude, our humidity, etc, can make a difference.

Those are the fatest ribs I've ever seen!! Must have been the cut right next to the shoulder?!

Never left my hand Jonj, when I swigged my beer or visiting the restroom.

Jonj, unbelieveable, my 23 is like Toney's, dark as hell down there. It's unreadable now, I'd would need a hieroglyphic translator to read it.

It was a good intro into cooking on a ceramic grill at the time. I chose it because of the tiles and color options, as opposed to a BGE (boring!), the only other choice at the time. It was a good grill until it started to fall apart, as almost all of them did, due to poor material selections. Hence, the oft-used moniker, POSK (Piece of Sh!t Kamado). Plus, the owner (RJ) was more of a con-man than grill manufacturer - would take people's money for grills and accessories then not deliver, plus wouldn't stand behind them once they started falling apart. And if you complained too much on their forum, you would get banned. It actually became a badge of honor to get banned there. Someone started a separate website for folks to bitch about the company and to post pics of their grills cracking and shedding tiles in large sections. Dennis actually moved into their old manufacturing plant in Indonesia (RJ had skipped town by then and went to Mexico) and hired many of the laid-off workers. He upgraded the materials and improved the design immensely. Many of us older POSK owners became KK owners.

I hope @Tyrus, as a proper Braai-Master, you at least kept the tongs in your possession at all times! 😛

Not a problem, I found a recipe on YT by a S.African gent. I looked over a few and one common addition seems to be Corriander. Going to do it today, I'd post the results however I'm having a bit of a problem with my photo storage. Seems when I add them in the pictures go where they want, have you ever tried looking through a thousand photos of mostly cooking pics....it ain't fun. Nope, not that one, Nope, not that one, etc, etc

Yes, as @jonj said, the South African is @Braai-Q. I am pretty certain he shared his boerewors sausage recipe with me but I just can't lay my hands on it at this moment. Hopefully all this tagging will wake him up and he will find his way over to help you! Great looking cooks all. Can't wait for our summer to kick in.

@Tyrus KK-DY5123 But, I "cheated" - it's on the original invoice when I bought it in 2012!

https://komodokamado.com/collections/23-ultimate-spare-parts/products/23-ultimate-new-one-piece-main-gasket This one. My 23 is 13 years old and this one works fine. I’m pretty sure the physical design of the lid/body seal hasn’t changed, and this is the newest design. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Is that what is referred to as signature bread? Dinner for two,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,dozen, looking good.

Fruita Wood is back live and taking orders https://fruitawoodchunks.com

@Braai-Q

One of my favourite meals to cook on the KK is paella. Especially since moving to our new house, which has an induction cooktop. Steel paella pans are never perfectly flat, so induction cooking is a pain. And then there is the mess. Cooking a paella outdoors, over fire, is one of life’s great pleasures. And that’s all traditional paella was- a rice dish cooked over fire in a pan. Having spent some time in Valencia, I’m well versed in traditional paella- and often make a traditional inspired dish with chicken, green beans and sliced Roma tomatoes. At other times- I go maximalist. Tonight, with my parents visiting from interstate, was maximalist. Chorizo, chicken thighs, baby calamari, prawns and mussels with Roma tomato, saffron, spicy smoked and sweet pimenton, fresh rosemary from the garden and green beans on top. My friends always complain that I say that each iteration of a dish was the best ever. They have a point. Nevertheless this was the best paella ever- smoky, spicy, redolent of the aromas of fresh seafood and herbs, the bitter crunch of the soccsrat from the bottom of the pan. Sharpened up with a healthy squeeze of fresh lemon over the top. Heaven.

Work the edge of a knife to clear and widen the area so you can get optimum penetration for a good seal. Nice a nd slow, don't be a Ninja.

I'm happy to report that my KK has been rehomed - it's served me well and I'm sure it's ready for another few decades of use!

@tekobo Our resident expert on multiples lol

The 32, 38, and 42" are the same grill with different center sections. The outside sections of the grates are the same on the 38 and 42; only the center section changes.

I feel that a 38 would give just enough to fit a small pig/lamb/goat on the spit but also reduced heat soak / charcoal usage for smaller cooks vs a 42. The effort to setup and or relocate (I’ve moved multiple continents with my 32”) would also be a bit less I would think.

If you haven't yet seen it, here is video from Dennis comparing the main grate sizes among his KKs: Toward the end of video, you can see the 38" compared to the 42" and he removes the ends and center section of the 38". It doesn't precisely address your question, but may help.

If I know if is going to be a lot of dripping like for pork butts i put something like a stainless serving tray or a cookie sheet under the foil, just to be safe, you don't want to accidentally dump a bunch of drippings into your KK.

The 38” is still relatively new as far as there’s not been much posted about it. All KK’s are excellent, so there’s no reason to be concerned about any issues. The lids of all KK’s are spring assist, so no difference in felt lifting weight. I also understand that there’s not a lot of weight difference between the 38” and the 42”. My usual thought would be go as big as you care to, not that the 38” isn’t big. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For unusual parts, please get in touch with [email protected] If parts are consumables or can be lost or broken, we stock them. However, many parts are rarely requested, and so they need to be special ordered.

I don't think we have made up the double drip for the 38 and 42 because of concerns about their weight, especially when full of oil.. Let me try to track down my notes. Heat Deflectors While I made them, I haven't personally used a heat deflector in my grills for more than 15 years because they increase airflow. In the world of glazed ceramic pots, big green egg, Kamado Joe, etc., having a plate with thermal mass inside your grill will give additional stability during ambient temperature changes. Because my grill is so well insulated, capturing this heat is unnecessary. I preheat the grill empty and then put a piece of aluminum foil on the lower grate for the area I want indirect, put my drip pan on top of that and use them to create indirect airflow. This will give you better performance/less airflow. From Sygies on my forum: Being one of "those people," I'd like to explain that there's science behind it. All you are trying to accomplish is to block the direct infrared radiation from the hot glowing coals - hence, indirect cooking. A "tissue-thin" foil accomplishes that easily, not because of its mass, but because it's shiny. Just like a mirror reflects visible light, the foil is reflecting the infrared radiation back down and not absorbing it. So, it's not consuming much energy itself (this is where the low mass comes into play), and significantly impacting the overall heat up of the grill. The side benefit is that it also prevents drips from entering the fire. Most of the cooking in the KK is due to convective heat transfer from the hot air flow around the meat. There is some secondary cooking from the radiative heat transfer from the walls/dome, which a heavy slab of similar material underneath the cooking grate will contribute to. But, radiative heat transfer drops off dramatically with distance. (Hence, it is most effective on the upper grate where the food is close to the dome surface.) So, placing the deflector on top of the charcoal basket handles, while allowing the deflector to be closer to the heat source for faster heat up, isn't contributing much if you're cooking on the main grate. Placing the deflector on the lower grate will result in a closer proximity to the food and some increase in effectiveness, but being further away from the heat source, will take longer to heat up - about the same rate as the walls/dome. The small incremental mass of the deflector stone is stealing BTUs of energy from the rest of the grill during heat-up, with little payback in overall cooking efficiency. Unlike the walls/dome, which are contributing to holding the heat inside the KK once at thermal equilibrium, the deflector, being wholly inside the grill isn't helping with that. So, the bottom line is: What does the heavy deflector bring to the table that makes it better than the "tissue-thin" piece of AL foil? https://komodokamadoforum.com/topic/10026-heat-deflectors-in-the-kk/?tab=comments#comment-121321

https://komodokamado.com/collections/23-ultimate-spare-parts/products/nut-bolt-roller-bearing-for-latch

Just a little more info, mine originally came with the single gasket. The next evolution was the additional gasket on the horizontal of the lip. Finally, the one piece version of the two gaskets, which is what i have now. Previous to all this, i believe the gasket was a fiber material. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Intriguing, the S. African by Tekebo would surely know more about this cuisine...his name begins with a B as I try to recall, it'll come to me after I hit send. The sausage at a glance looks like a mix of pork and beef, I'll find a recipe and make a batch. Call it a challenge of curiousity.

The grouting process is a one step application, the make-up of the grout itself has the character of a seal within itself and that is why it is sold alone. Using a syringe for the application never entered my mind when I was manuvering through the venting, I simply applied it to the area and worked the grout into the affected area with a bare finger. The grout has a soft enough texture, it's workable, but unfortunately doesn't have a long life span in the tube...it will harden after a peroid of time, but not within the time frame of use. I've used the grout when the KK was cold for small spots on perodic visual inspection time and again, however my KK up to this point has always been undercover by roof and fabric so it's not a frequent experience. I would think Dennis's grout techs would be applying the tiles to a cold KK beforehand, from there I believe they're cleaned and then cured in a kiln. So yah, I believe cold is ok, and don't apply any sealer, it's unecessary and could be detrimental.

one of the last cool evenings to do cold smoking.. maldon salt cultured french butter salmon

Well, I dodged the proverbial bullet—at least the 32% one for 90 days. I will still get hit with a 10% at the end of this month, which still hurts, but I won't be losing money and need to reevaluate everything. ARGH.

The grout is hard and gets flexible when heated... I never suggest removing existing grout and recommend filling tears/cracks from the bottom up. Best to clean up before it dries.

This is the other stay I’ve been cooking which you’ve all seen 100x pork tenderloin with air fryer potatoes tossed it duck fat and dusted with Parmesan cheese once removed too lazy to even cook a veg!

Doug from the Naked Whiz and a very early supporter of Komodo Kamado, does the best BBQ product reviews online. I always suggest starting there. https://nakedwhiz.com/productreviews/ultraq/ultraq-1.htm#features

I have the ThermoWorks system so bought the RFX / Gateway when released. I used two probes on a turkey last month. Excellent connectivity and accurate readings (compared to a manual probe). The screen is a little different than the Signals screen I usually use but once I used it a bit, it was fine. I was satisfied with the system enough to order two more probes (4 total) during the initial period. I like that I can use them with my other ThermoWorks devices at the same time. The probes have a IP69K water resistance rating so I would assume dishwasher use would be okay, but I haven't specifically checked (I just hand wash my probes). The only negative I have found so far is each probe counts as one "device" in the ThermoWorks app, which has a free use limit of 6 at a time (the app's device limit is unlimited with a paid subscription). However, removing and adding back devices from the app is very easy. I do have two Meater units (the original and a 2nd generation); I never use them.

I upgrades from a Meater+ to the Meater Block several years ago and have been reasonably happy with it; my only complaints is that the ambient (pit) temperature measurement is generally low and the wooden case, while definitely attractive, isn't really very tough. I knocked the block off a table onto concrete while prepping for a grilling session and cracked the wooden battery cover in half and now have to tape it together and onto the body of the block. The software has some handy features but the predictive stuff is a bit gimmicky. I'll probably switch over to the new Thermoworks version at some point; I'm a bit fan of their products but them probably be a bit of time to get bugs and issues worked out. Their probes don't include an ambient sensor; they say their testing shows the food acts as a heat sink and prevents accurate ambient temperature measurements. Instead, their base units include a wired probe to monitor the ambient temperature; that doesn't really help with open fire rotisserie cooks but I found that the meater ambient and old style dual mechanical thermometers don't really work for that either - get both measure the ambient way too low (I assume due to the time when pointed away from the fire). I'd really like one of these that displays the temperature on the base station as well as in their apps (like Thermoworks Signals wired thermometer) even if i have to set up the alerts, etc. In the app.

I have used the Meater brand for almost 2 years and love the Block!! Will be upgrading to the newest Pro very soon as I’m thoroughly sold on the brand. The app is also awesome! And although not strictly unique to Meater (Pro), any probe I can throw in the dishwasher is a huge plus. I really like Thermapens and looked at the new RFX. I’m not convinced and will be sticking with Meater.

i used to eat this every other day when i was working in lower Manhattan. sold out quick so i always made sure i got to the soup kitchen on time.. adapted from this yt recipe, but i used pork meat and added a ton of chili flakes in the meatballs. italian style foods are always better spicy for some reason. the broth is homemade. i don't like broth from a box. oh and when making the meatballs, they are supposed to be mini, so piping them through a disposable pastry bag is the way to go. you don't want to roll these by hand. it would take forever...