WoodieB

I live in Salt Lake. I'd like to get a group together for a pallet share. I'd be down for 10 boxes or so. We could include western Wyoming (Evanston area), southern Idaho, anywhere in the area. I'd be willing to help receive, distribute. Woodie B.

winner Sounds like a winner, I like it!

From last year. Man, I'm looking forward to spring. Still lot's of snow here in the Wasatch

This was a water lily that was in my water feature last summer. The quote is an anonymous one that was in the pages of one of my paragliding magazines recently. I thought it was pretty cool, so I put them together. Hope you enjoy it, WB

Hey All, Been a while since I've been active on the forum, but have kept up and checked in from time to time. Good to see all the regulars still around. Lot's of snow here in the Beehive state this year, skiing has been off the hook. Here's a few shots of some of the backcountry days I've had this year. My new DigiQ ll should be here in a day or so. Will put up some cooking pics soon.

Wow, those are nice! I really like the second one, maybe Fire & Earth? My terra blue KK is beautiful, but when the time comes to upgrade to a new GenII ultimate, that would be the one! Hi Dennis, sent you an email about some rainwashed teak flooring. Don't know if you've had time to check it out. I'm doing a complete remodel, including case, base & doors, so I may have check out the possibility of doing it all in teak! Cheers, Woodie B.

OK, Let's try this again. First time I ended up putting it in as a reply to inacoma. My beautiful Terra Blue KK. Universally praised as a work of art by all who behold it. First in some nice Taupe Johnnyboy jammies, then....naked. PM me if you want to stop by. And it cooks as good as it looks.

mmmm, how bout covering the upper grill of a KK with bacon strips & cooking the same way? A little hickory on the coals for some extra smoke flavor. I may have to do a pound or so that way then crumble or shred and freeze for flavoring.

Hi Sumrtym, Good questions, no doubt. I can't address the ones about the materials. I have have had my KK for a month or so now, and haven't thought too much about alumina, etc. With all the additives in the charcoal briquettes that most people use with conventional grills, ignition aids, etc., I really don't see that as too much of an issue . I suppose there could be some compounds that vaporize from the firebox, but the food is resting on stainless steel grills. You can look at the ongoing debate re aluminum cookware & Alzheimers and find potential adverse health risks in almost anything if you want. For that matter, the very act of eating food grilled over charcoal 3-4 times a week carries enough health implications of it's own. As far as the charcoal basket goes, it is incredibly efficient. I have done 24 hour cooks with one load of lump. Sure, after the cook, there are a few small pieces on the bottom of the grill, but not very much at all. The top damper works really well, with just a spin you can close it all the way down. The large coarse threads make very small turns of the damper affect airflow considerably, and the small stainless tabs make fine adjustments easy. This is my first ceramic cooker, so I can't compare it to any others. What I can say is that the KK is a beautifully designed and manufactured piece of cooking equipment. Woodie B.

Ok, I get labradoodle, but spoodle? Springer spaniel/poodle? And I'm assuming the lab mix must be with a standard poodle. A lab/toy poodle mix conjures up images I'd rather not contemplate

I dunno, seems like the heat being radiated by the dome of a well heat-soaked KK would make a rotis kind of redundant. If I'm going to add a gadget, it'll be a Guru first. But I'm going to do a few more low & slow cooks to see if they all go as well as the first one. I really don't mind going to bed late & getting up early. When I'm on my two week hitch at work, my sleep schedule is extremely erratic. For instance, I got to bed at about 5:00 this morning, and am up at 8:00 because we're moving the rig today. Sometime this afternoon I'll get a couple hour nap. In between is a lot of fresh ground, fresh brewed STRONG coffee.

Well, right now we're running almost 2-1 with 7 votes in for the Guru or similar. But like Porkchop & Curly, I really enjoy the "analog" nature of cruising by the KK, checking the temp, maybe making a minute adjustment, then getting another beer. Right now I think I'll stay with manual control, but who knows, some day another gadget might be fun. Keep em' coming!

Nice looking ribs and nice looking KK, Paul. Did the smell go away?

Just curious. Although I had great success with the first overnight cook on my KK without using a temp control device like the BBQGuru, Stoker, et al, their popularity with the many "seasoned" cooks on this forum makes me wonder if I'm missing out by not having one. So I'd like a show of hands and opinions. How many people use them, and why. Have you had a bad experience doing a low & slow on a KK without one? Fire go out, temp overshoot? Let's hear it. Thanks, Woodie

Can't say that I noticed any unusual smell on my first cook. Come to think of it, I fired it up for a bit just to see how it worked, without cooking on it the first time. But didn't notice any plastic smell that I can recall. Maybe the cosmetic coating applied to the inside, manufacturing oils, etc. I bet it goes away before the first cook is done.

Mmm, that looks good. You could add some Kaffir lime leaves, galangal, and lemongrass and really make it Indonesian.

And pardon me if this is not quite on topic, but I recently did a 24 1/2 hour low & slow on my KK with no Guru or Stoker. I cleaned it out completely, stacked big pieces on bottom, medium filling in, smaller on top. Nothing too anal, but a little more careful than just dumping them in. I put a few chunks of hickory on, and lit the lump in 3 places with a Mapp torch, about 1 minute at each spot. When the temp hit about 200 I closed the top vent down to 1/4 turn open, bottom damper door closed, dial open about 1/8". This setting stayed around 220-230 the whole time. There were one or two occasions when I had to make a minor adjustment, but I went to bed, slept all night, temp at 220 in the morning. The 14.5 lb. of butt hit 190 after 24.5 hours and rivaled anything I've had from the big pits where I grew up in KY. So....... Don't know if I was lucky or if this is just a testament to the quality of the KK, but for now, I don't see any need to get a Stoker or Guru. And I really dig the "analog" nature of checking the temp, making a minor adjustment, drink another homebrew..........Next time may be different, but for now, I'm going full manual control. I did do a much smaller, 8-9 hour low & slow to get the hang of it first. Hot, I'd try one without electronic aid first to see how you like it before you make the leap. But that's just my $.02

I think I'll have to adopt your method, Curly. Just dump & go. I got my "big on bottom, small on top" info somewhere, I think the BGE site. For my steak sears, I used the smaller stuff. I think it just proves what you said, it doesn't much matter, just "set it and forget it". Oh no, you don't think that someday there will be a "Popeil Pocket Kamado & smokeless ashtray" do you? I can see the infomercials now. "Not $2999.99, not $2499.99, not even $1999.99, just 24 easy payments of $61.46!!!!!! (Shipping and handling not included, $2500 extra)

Tru dat, I'm trying to figure out a use for the lumpsaver ring, as I always fire up a full load as well. My lump basket looks like the pic Firemonkey posted, with the exception that I have hickory lumps instead of cherry. Love that hickory flavor, I grew up in KY and that's the local wood of choice for Q.

I've been using a Mapp torch from Home Despot. For $29.99, I got one that has a 3' hose extension, and a clip that will let the bottle hang from the handle of the KK. It works like a charm. About 3 minutes and I'm good to go.

We are really close Fetzer, I made a typo on the 350 cook. I meant tosay top damper open 1/2 turn, bottom draft door closed, dial open all the way. Looks like we are really close on settings, even with different lump. I agree, with most of those settings, my KK would be off the dial of the thermometer.

Paul, My experience with my KK is quite different. I think it would depend quite a bit on what kind of lump, how big a load, and how much you lit. But here's what I arrived at. For a low & slow: 1) Load the basket with lump (mesquite in my case) up to the top of the firebox. (about 6 lb., big pieces on bottom, smaller on top) 2) Light in 3 places in a triangular pattern with a mapp torch (1 min each spot) 3) Top damper unscrewed to about an two inch gap, bottom draft door pulled out 2-3 inches. 4) Within 5-7 min, Tel-Tru therm. temp nearing 200 deg. Close top damper till it stops, open 1/4 turn. Close bottom draft door completely, open fine air control so that the widest part of the "wedge" shaped gap is about 1/8". 5) This stabilized the temp at 220-230 deg, for over 24 hours with only very minor adjustments required. For a high temp steak sear. 1) Load basket with smaller lump, down to chips & even some dust on top. 2) Light in several places with the mapp torch. 3) With top damper unscrewed to a 1-1/2" gap and draft door pulled out a few inches, my KK went from dead cold to 750-800 deg. F in 17 minutes. I was amazed. For 350-500 deg cook, start closing dampers 50 deg or so short of desired temp. I found I could maintain 350 with the top damper open 1/2 turn, bottom draft door closed, fine air adjustment open completely. YMMV according to type, amount of lump, and how much you light initially. Hope this helps, Woodie B.

Yeah, Welcome Chile, great recipes I was really stunned at the efficiency of my KK. I put a load of lump mesquite in, maybe 6 lb. or so. Let it preheat an hour or so and stablilize at 220-230, put on 14.5 lb. of butt, cooked it 24 1/2 hours at that temp, and there was still a few pieces left. Absolutely awesome. One nice thing too is that long slow cooks are best with mostly big chunks, but you can use the smaller pieces for those 750 deg. steak sears. I don't think I'd ever had a truly seared steak until I got my KK to 750-800, let the 3/8" sear grill get nice & hot, then hit those puppies at 90 sec a side over the "foundry", shut'er down & moved them to the side for a couple of minutes. Outstanding!

Hi Primo, Welcome to the KK World. Nice color. Let me tell you, you are going to love the KK. As for sourcing lump, I don't know if you have firewood suppliers there or not. I was at a loss to find lump locally, then found that one of the local wood suppliers carries mesquite lump from Mexico. It's in pretty much a generic sack, paper lined with plastic, and just sez lump mesquite charcoal from Mexico, no brand. But it's $15 for a 40 lb. bag, and I've now done a 24 1/2 hour cook with one load of it. Of course I live in the snowy mtns. & people buy a lot of firewood. Not sure if you have any places like that where you live. Check the yellow pages and start making some phone calls. Also check places like Wild Oats whole food stores & equivalent. I guarantee you can find lump WAY cheaper than ordering from Wicked Good. As for roasting duck, I would suggest starting out with the same time & temps you would use in a regular oven. You'll find that you can control the temp of your KK just as closely as you can a home oven with very little problem. Peruse the many informative posts in the forum from all the knowledgeable folks for the details of cooking on the KK. Woodie B.