aiden

My new 21" has been working hard since I got her last week. We have family in town all week, and I wanted to show off. So I have menu of burgers, brisket, steaks, pork tenderloin, etc, that I will be posting in here because they're so close together. If you guys think I should post them all separate, please tell me so. Burgers Nothing fancy, just 4 pounds of 90/10 grassfed ground chuck with some salt, pepper, and worsterchier, thoroughly mixed together and formed into 9 patties. I got the grill up to temp easily, since I wasn't worried about overshooting a particular temperature. They turned out just great. But I'll work harder on searing some good grill marks next time. Brisket I've never made brisket, but I've enjoyed plenty in my lifetime of Texas BBQ. I never had the confidence in the BGE or myself to really do one justice. But I figured I would just go all in and get 'er done. This was a 12.5 lb brisket, and I used a beef rub from Amazing Ribs - http://amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/big_bad_beef_rub.html. I was going to inject it with beef bullion, but could NOT find my injector anywhere. And since we were on a schedule, I just had to press on without and hope for the best. I started the charcoal at 8 am, shooting for a dinner-time meal. But I learned over the next few hours that the Coco charcoal is a different animal to light than lump. Now I had placed several pieces of lump in the bottom as Dennis instructed me to, to limit air gaps and seal things up a bit. But I was concerned about overshooting, and I made the mistake of dialing in my intake and damper settings before getting the coals really going. That really set me back, because for the next 2 hours I wrestled with the grill trying to get to 225 F and get the heat soak completed. At this point I was really not encouraged about the outcome of this cook, but there really was no turning back. Meat temp: 43 F Grill temp: 150 F Cook time: Start Because we had plans for the day, I set things up as best I could with the coals finally showing signs of life 3 hours after I started. I threw the mesquite wood chunks on the coals, set the lower grate wrapped in foil as a drip pan / deflector (Dennis prescribed), put the brisket on the main grate, set the damper and inlet on the positions Dennis had ballparked for me, and we went to town to have lunch and shop. When we came back 5 hours later, things weren't looking too great for hitting a dinner approach: Meat temp: 135 F Grill temp: 185 F Cook time: 5.5 hrs Realizing that a good portion of the cook was much lower and way too slow, I upped the grill temp to 250 F and held it there for the rest of the cook. That helped speed things along a bit, but not too fast. The brisket looked right, though the bark was only about halfway formed. I had already decided to not foil the brisket, because I want to know how much moisture the KK will retain on its own. I also like a good crisp bark, and foiling doesn't do your bark any favors. Now, Dennis had told me to push through the stall by bumping to 300 F until the temp started rising again, then shut everything down and pull the meat at 190 F internal. But I never really hit a stall with this cook. I don't know if it was the really slow start, or what, but the meat continued to steadily increase throughout the cook. Knowing that dinner was out the door, we jumped to Plan B and had hotdogs and smores over the firepit while waiting on this thing to complete. But patience is a virtue... Meat temp: 190 F Grill temp: 250 F Cook time: 11.25 hrs Goregous. I am so thrilled with the way this looks I can hardly stand it. I noticed the amount of shrinkage between the original and the finished product, a good 3 - 4 inches in total width. But the bark looks amazing. I reached in to grab the meat and, well, let's just say that 99% of it came out without issue. There was a slight remainder that wanted to stick to the grates, but I peeled that off and sampled it. It's just juicy and delicious. I've got it all resting in a cooler now, and I can't wait to slice it and serve it tomorrow. I know it will likely need a little help warming up, but I'm hoping that it's close enough to coming off the grill that it still eats well. I'll post final serving pics tomorrow, but I did learn quite a bit from this first try that I will take into account next time for sure. Stay tuned, as I'll update this post during this marathon.

Having just purchased a 21" over the 23", I can tell you I rationalized it by comparing to my BGE Large. The 21" has more surface, more capacity because of the extra levels, and is only marginally smaller than the 23". But I also knew that I will eventually be buying the 32" (or larger) to handle my massive cooks. I'm cooking a 12 lb brisket today, and when that's all done I'll post some pics of that cook plus my 1/2 lb burger cook from last night (9 patties). That should help a bit with scale.

Love the zucchinis. I usually do my corn in the husk directly on the coals, but I may wind up doing it on the lower sear grate instead. More importantly, how did everything taste?

Thanks guys, I'm glad to be part of this family and look forward to contributing to the community.

Tinyfish - It is quite an experience when that crate shows up and you realize just how much labor you have ahead of you! Now that she's fully put together and all the debris is cleared away, I almost don't want to get her dirty. But she has some work to do to pay for herself. MacKenzie - I hope those customs people don't take too long playing with your grill. I look forward to seeing you make one of these posts soon. Tony - I definitely will be taking some pictures, though I fully consider myself an amatuer, especially compared to some of you. I'm sure I'm going to put the wrong meat at the wrong level (BGE only has one grate level), or not let her heat soak enough before starting a cook, or some other rookie mistake. But that's part of the adventure.

Just in time for a back-to-back weeklong family visits, my new 21" Supreme arrived on Tuesday. I've owned a BGE Large for almost 5 years, and am very familiar with the capabilities of ceramic kamado grills versus the traditional charcoal grills on which I was raised in Texas. I have been wanting a KK for quite some time, and was able to build up enough "grilling equity" to convince the CFO it was time for an upgrade. Special delivery from Indonesia. Because of my remote location, I had to meet the delivery truck in town and have it loaded onto a flatbed trailer. I also had to borrow a pallet jack and enlist the help of my neighbor and my son to help get it unloaded. Even though the 21" is technically smaller than the 23", because of the hi-cap design of the dome the height of the 21" actually taller than the 23" and wouldn't fit fully assembled. So Dennis ships them in separate crates for assembly on site. At first this concerned me, because removing the dome on the BGE requires quite a bit of work when trying to reseat and tighten the rings. But the KK is simplicity itself, just a hinge pin and a spring. Taking a little off the top. Uncrating is a snap once you remove those 8 bolts. Very simple and strong design. It took 4 of us to lift the grill off the crate using the blue ropes around the feet. I opted to do this instead of ripping up the braces at the bottom because I will reuse this crate any time we have to relocate the grill. It's just too well built to throw away if you have space to store it. Assembled and open for business. The teak grill grabbers are amazing, and the multilevel grate design is inspired. This is such a thoughtfully designed grill in every detail. The engineering and attention to detail are unsurpassed. A Bentley versus a Civic. As much as my BGE has been loved and used, I think she's going to be relegated to doing appetizers and side cooks from now on. You might notice an orange ring on the BGE where the seal should be. That's a homemade seal I made from automotive gasket silicone after the felt seal let go a few years ago. I refused to replace it with the same wimpy material. The KK by comparison features a massive rubber seal that is incredibly robust and thick. I don't really have anything else to say here, because the picture speaks volumes. A work of art. The Terra Blue tiles are absolutely beautiful, and unique. I was concerned the grill might wind up being the Big Blue Egg, but I am absolutely thrilled with this tile choice. I honestly can't believe this is a tool for creating food, simply because of the high quality fittings, the tight seams, the precision hardware, the exacting tile alignment, and the incredibly perfect seal between the top and bottom. Upcoming plans. After I give her the 525F burn-in to get rid of any remaining synthetic flavors, I have the following cooks planned for the coming weeks: Burgers Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin Ribs Brisket Steaks Chicken Pizza (never done this before) ABT (Atomic Buffalo Turd) Jalapeno Poppers (bacon wrapped jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese) For those who have a hard time cooking their jalapenos without making a big mess (falling over, etc), I found some excellent racks from http://www.jalapenojeaven.com/products/jalapeno-grill-racks/ . I bought two of the 10 pepper Quarter Grills, because the rounded shape allows me to move them to the edges. I've ordered a peel for the pizza and am excited to give that a try. Based on the posts I've seen so far I think it will become quite a favorite. I'm also really looking forward to Thanksgiving, as I have cooked the turkey on the BGE for the past 3 years. I expect the KK to take things up a notch or two. Oh, and yes, I still have to name her. Some of you guys took the best names, and I'm OCD enough that I can't bring myself to use one of them. It just wouldn't be unique enough. So I'm going to have to research a bit. All in all I have to say this is one of the best investments I've made, even before my first cook, because I know this grill will outlive me and my children will be able to continue the tradition. Thanks to all of you who have continued to support KK over the years, and thank you Dennis for having the passion to create something truly world class in market crowded with mediocrity.

Lol, sorry! I think he can make more. I have been using a BGE for the past 5 years, so I've been in the lump / ceramic camp for a while now. But I'm looking forward to experiencing the benefits of refractory cooking in a truly sealed vessel. I'll post my impressions and pics later today, because I don't want to take away from the OP.

I just took delivery of my non-gas 21" model, and being a charcoal griller all my life, I don't think I'll miss having the gas option. But because of guys like you pushing and helping Dennis to continue to innovate, everyone benefits from having the options THEY want in a grill like this. I fully expect I will be ordering another, larger capacity KK at some point, and by then I imagine the gas option will be available across the line. At which point I may have matured enough as a griller (grown outside my comfort zone) to appreciate the added flexibility you're after. So thanks to all of you innovators out there who are taking the time to improve an already outstanding product.

Hey everyone! I'm currently waiting for delivery of my new 21" model, and was curious about what kind of flooring you have put this on? I know most people put these outside on a wood deck, which seems ideal, but in my instance I'm putting this on an outcropping from my concrete driveway. I don't want to needlessly scrape up the wheels on the rough surface, so I was curious what you thought I might want to put as an alternate surface instead. Plywood is an obvious choice, but it's so ugly. And anything untreated isn't going to last long in the weather. Any ideas? Interestingly enough, I have a BGE, and I never once have given a thought to wheeling that thing around on the concrete. I guess your priorities change a little when you're spending this much money.