A little late here on the response, sorry everyone.
Great to meet Dennis in person, and also Chuck from this forum (So Cal Cooker). I learned a bunch of contest cook strategies at this Chris Lilly class.
One thing I found real interesting is that Chris prefers cookers that have low airflow through them. He's an equipment fanatic who owns a whole mess of cookers in his backyard, and has seen lots of designs from many manufacturers. Less airflow means less moisture carried out the exhaust, and that ultimately means a juicier BBQ.
As you all know, that's one of the best features of the KK design. Chris liked that aspect of the KK very much, and I believe Dennis is going to give Chris the chance to test drive one for himself.
I'll post a few photos from the Chris Lilly class. A few times a year, Chris gives brief "intro to real BBQ" talks for the general public. I feel very lucky because he almost never gives this sort of in-depth class where he shares his competition cooking methods with other BBQ contest cooks. I'll post some photos here, and link to some others on my Flickr archive: http://flickr.com/photos/professorsalt/ ... 107280910/
When I get around to writing a blurb on my blog, I'll put up a link to that too. For now, enjoy the photos.
Dennis and Chris chat over my Black Dragon
Chris Lilly's pulled pork butt
Chris selects the best pieces for the turn in box
The demo of a pulled pork turn in box (for KCBS sanctioned contests)
Brisket was started on a different cooker, but finished on my KK. Chris is using my giant spatula in this photo (I'm never washing that spatula again....)