CeramicChef

@ckreef - that's just beautiful! Keep us posted. I'm living vicariously through you and Susan in this deal.

+1^ on the cold smoke machine!

@ckreef - I've had more than my fair share of Irish Espresso Coffees and those things are to die for! I used to use Irish Espresso and Irish Coffee to great effect as an eye opener when the kids had early Saturday morning soccer games. A wonderful way to start the day! Kids, Irish coffee, and soccer. Well, 2 outta 3 ain't bad!

Charles - that second part of your post … about getting new KK owners in here … that's just freaking brilliant!

Ryan - you may have been well into your cups last evening, but even then, Friend, you can turn out a beautiful cook! Congrats and kudos on this cook. Very nice indeed! Hey, while I've got your attention, care to share the Santa Maria Rub recipe you're using? Sounds scrumptious!

Susan - young lady, Charles may do most of the cooking at your house, but you're no slouch in the kitchen! Ma'am, you've got chops! Please pardon the pun, I know they're ribs! Thats one very nice rack of ribs. How you can top this one is beyond me. congrats and kudos to you, Susan. Beautifully done! Now you've got me interested in this new KC Masterpiece product. I'm gonna have to go try this. Hope I can half as well as you!

@cschaaf - I liked this cook over at the Guru and I like it even more now. Happy anniversary to you and your Bride! Here's to many more to come!

Shelley - yeah, I've seen the page in the owner's manual, but frankly, you need to figure out the settings for your specific KK. You should want to invest the time to get to know your kamado, how that KK responds to changes in vent settings, how your KK heats up, and how slowly it bleeds heat. I've had 7 different kamados in my kamado life: 2 BGEs, 2 Primo XLs, 1 Akorn, and 2 KKs. They were all idiosyncratic and yet they all bore quite a few similarities with respect to airflow and temperature management. I will tell you that to learn the settings for a range of temps from 200°F to 500°F (in 25° increments) will only take you a weekend day. Just light a single spot in the lump pile. Understand that the lower vent is for gross temperature adjustment within a given temp zone, i.e. 200-300°F. The top vent is used to dial in specific temps, i.e. 225, 350, 475, etc. Dial in 200°F and let your KK dwell at that temp for 30 minutes. make not of your vent settings. Then spin the top vent open a,little more and nail 225°. Note the settings and let your KK dwell for 30 minutes. Open the top vent a bit more and hit 275°. Note the settings and settle for 30 minutes. Notice you haven't touched the ottom vent since its first setting. Now to hit temps ranging from 300-400°, open the ottom vent and close down on the top vent. Note,the vent settings that give you 300° F. Dwell for 30 minutes. As before, open the top vent a bit more and hit 325°F. You get the picture here. You're marching up the temp curve discovering vent settings Afro specific temps and how your KK responds to changes in airflow. At the end of this experiment, you'll have a ripping fire in your KK. You may as well reward your family and you with a nicely seared ribeye or strip steak. The settings you've discovered for your KK will never change. They are a function of your KK. Finally, you started off the journey by starting one small spot in your KK. The fire grew over time. But in everyday cooking, you'll want to jump start anything 300° or better. For temps in the range of 300-400° I'll light 2 spots. For cooks in the 400-500° range I'll light 3 spots in the lump. For 500°+, I light 4 spots. With practice, you'll walk out, light the fire, leave the lid open 5-7 minutes, then close the lid, set the vents for the tep you want, and come back in a few minutes ready to cook. This will become second nature to you and your husband.

@_Ed_ - thank goodness you clarified that comment. That was a visual that was going to haunt me!

@MacKenzie - now that's some kind of beautiful brunch. Very nicely done. You should be a professional food stager and food photographer. Big money in that line of work! Kudos and congrats on this beautiful cook!

I think this is a BIG undertaking that'll eat up time in a big hurry. I'm doing something like this over at The Pit, the AmazingRibs.com forum. Those guys simply don't have a clue about cooking on a kamado and it's a huge commitment. Done right, there would be annotated pics and that takes time as well. Dennis, have you thought of enlisting some help? I think I have a fairly good understanding of the KK design philosophy and I could help out on the FAQs on a semi-occasional basis. You could then edit to your heart's content. Editing is easier, in my opinion, than original writing. Think about it. Some other topics that might warrant consideration are: 1) Basket Splitters - theory and practice. 2) Features & Benefits - square cut threads on the top vent, air flow and controlling air in the KK, the air control manifold/ lower vent 3) Burning In the new KK - seems as if every new user/owner has that question 4) Grate configuration and their use(s) 5) Rotisserie assembly, securing cooks in the rotisserie, and building a rotisserie fire for best results. Im sure there will be a plethora of topics and that can be overwhelming. BUT, the good news is that this will be an evolving section and won't have to be done all at once. How do pygmies eat elephants? One bite at a time!

@DennisLinkletter - Nice, very nice! Those spares should make some kind of wonderful St. Louis cut ribs. Should be a nice reminder of Cali Beech Cookouts. Can you do us favor when you cook them? Cook a regular rack of ribs you get in Indo and give us an idea of the size differential, would ya please? I'm sure we'd all like to understand the abuse you live with daily so we can have the best cookers in the world!

@MacKenzie - WOWZERS! Just an amazingly beautiful color red. I bet that bad boy was some kind of tasty! Congrats and kudos.

@Bruce Pearson - that's one fine looking KK. Congrats again. I'm looking forward to pics of that first cook.

@ckreef - thanks, Buddy. I appreciate the info. I'll break out my measuring tape tomorrow.

@ckreef - great minds do think alike! I've got pizza ready to hit Beauty! here in about 15 minutes. I certainly hope mine turns out even half as nice as those three pizza pies you cooked! Wonderful pies, simply droolicious. Kudos all over ya!

@churchi - over the course of several cooks, I just sweep all the ash to the back of my KKs, especially TheBeast. I can just see me covered in ash if I hit TheBeast with a leaf blower! He'd sit there laughing his top vent off looking at me covered in ash! I'm never in so big a hurry that I've to to supercharge the process.

@Cookie - what I learn from you never ceases to amaze. The toast Rick I've seen, but the potato is entirely new! Thanks. This, I'm going to try this weekend.

This seems like the logical place, so I'm going to jump in here. I don't mean to hijack ckreef's wonderful thread, but .... @DennisLinkletter - does Brad over at Grill Grates have the various grate sizes for the KK main grates? I have an old set that fit my Primo XL and I use them on TheBeast, but I'd like to get some GrillGrates custom cut that fit TheBeast. Now, back to our regularly scheduled admiration of ckreef's crazy good chicken cook! Really nice cook, Charles! Kudos.

@Cookie - excellent poll. I wish we had the capability to give multiple responses. Depending on what I need to get done and the timeframe, I may bump up my butt and brisket cooks to 275 if I'm rushed. Normal temp is 225. If I'm really behind the 8 Ball, then I've done 300°, but I'm not a real fan of cooking at that temp.

@MacKenzie - espresso!? Oh dadgummit. I was thinking you were walking on the wild side with a Guinness! Speaking of which, it's beer thirty here in OKC! Cheers!

@Jeff S - beautiful animals. I wish I had the room for a magnificent animal like Daisy or Diesel.

@MacKenzie - that's one delicious looking cook. Those chicken thighs are perfect. I really love th view off your back porch. Really a bucolic setting. I envy you! Thanks for posting this cook. Kudos!

@Jeff S - Aren't those English Mastiff's? They remind me so very much of a friend's Mastiff ... Angel. She though she was a lap dog! How do you tell 200 pounds of dog NO!? Angel was a wonderful dog. She was as sweet and gentle as they get ... right up to time she decided something wasn't right. Her "I'm Not Happy" bark was one of the most intimidating sounds i've ever heard.

@Jeff S - welcome aboard! We're glad you're here. That 23" Ultimate is really going to change how you look at backyard cuisine. That's one fine looking KK. So ribs to start off, huh? Great! We look forward to seeing pics of those bad boys shortly after you're finished tossing the bones to the dogs. Jeff, you are in for some great meals cooked on that 23"!