BigLazy23

Half awake when I read that pork chop. Thanks for starting my day with a laugh.

Great looking meat Jeffshoaf (... I'll leave it at that).

Normstar - Thanks, was concerned about putting the grill up against the fence but give our limited options we don't have too many options. Regarding moving, any tips are much appreciated. Pics will definitely come!

Loquitur - Corner lot with lots of fence and not a lot of land is spot on (being excited about receiving the KK I taped it out today to see how it will fit on the patio). Looking forward to adding the KK and have much to learn about cooking from yourself and others on the forum.

So how does everyone store their wood? Received the shipment of Fruita Wood today. Talked to the boss and burying tubs in the backyard is out of the question.

Thanks all, appreciate the suggestions.  Just placed an order with Fruita Wood for apple, cherry, peach, and pecan.  Based on feedback I was planning to buy some red oak as well but have Ozark Oak and Rockwood at home so will plan to try the Fruita Woods noted before expanding the selection.

You guys are brilliant, wish I had thought of that before placing my order.  Will start putting together my next shopping list...

TopHat, noticed from an earlier post you are from the Northern Virginia area.  Do you happen to be back in the area?  Reason I ask is if you are still in the Virginia area and haven't seen a KK yet happy to have you over to see my 23" when received.

It sounds like for the amount of cooking that you do at any one time, that the 23" is plenty big enough for you. But, I'm curious, what draws you to the KK (or any ceramic cooker) if almost all of your cooking is direct high temp grilling? While it does a very good job of that, that's not what it's famous for - low and slow smoking (actual barbequing) is what makes the KK stand out in the crowd (plus, how well built and beautiful it is, too!)

 

I recently added the basket splitter and second charcoal basket to my arsenal of toys for my 23" KK. It just gives you more flexibility in cooking arrangements and isn't a necessity - imo. I don't know the date on those YouTube vids from Larry you were watching, but they are probably before the basket splitter was available as an accessory. Larry's vids are great info for how to cook on the KK, but be careful about extrapolating some of your conclusions based on them.

 

Dennis, as well as the Forum members, are ready to answer just about any question you might have about the KK. So don't be shy or embarrassed; fire away!

tony b,

Not to hijack TopHat's thread, but what are you doing with a second charcoal basket?  I need to know what I am missing out on so that I can want it too.

Looking to place an order for smoking woods.  I know it is subjective, but what is everyone's go to woods for various meats?  My wife isn't a big seafood fan (I love her anyway), so we do a lot of poultry and beef.  Peach and hickory seem like can't miss woods, but what else?  I've seen bourbon barrel chunks discussed a lot but haven't seen a lot of feedback.

Appreciate all the feedback and suggestions, great stuff.  May purchase a Guru or something similar in the future (I seem to have been bit by the bug that makes one purchase more and more gadgets/toys for the grill) but am excited first to get to know the cooker and learn to control it manually (so I say until I start to trade off sleep for maintaining temperatures).

Test - posting a photo of my KKs new home when received. Will need to do some shuffling as we don't have a large patio; the KK is going to replace the location of the Weber.

Had some trouble uploading photos as the uploader says there is a 500KB maximum.  Was able to play with the image to get it under 500KB but hope to find a workaround so that I don't have to do that for every picture.  Saw some similar threads on this topic (particularly the one about posting pictures through Tapatalk) that I will go through in more detail so I'm ready when the cooker arrivers.

One thing I have been undecided about is the purchase of a temperature controller (BBQ guru, stoker, etc.).  Given I have come from Weber cookers and electric smokers I have not done a lot of overnight cooks.  However, there seems to be something romanctic about completing low and slow cooks without a temperature controller, particurlarly using a ceramic cooker.  How many people use a controller versus don't for longer cooks).... Appreciate the feedback.

Kind regards,

BigLazy23

Thanks all, appreciate the support and I am sure I will have plenty of questions.  I have cooked for a number of years on Weber cookers and electric smokers so I am excited to learn all there is to know about ceramic cookers.  I haven't received my KK yet so I can't post pictures... and am still trying to figure out how to post pictures.. so tomorrow I will devote to posting pictures of my KKs new home (hoping my attempt at attaching a picture works and I accomplish this today....).

Agree with steelerguy. One may think twice regarding a purchase and the award based on what they think of as "cost", but a whole different ball game if you are looking for "value"!

Stopping in to say hi and introduce myself. Finalized payment last week and am excited to be joining the Komodo family soon (surprisingly my wife seems almost as excited as I am which makes it even sweeter). Of course pictures once the cooker is received and get our first cook going (have not decided yet what it will be). I'm sure I will have some questions and hope to also share what I learn with others.

BigLazy23