CeramicChef

Wilbur - yet another really nice cook! I love salmon just about any way it gets cooked. You're absolutely right about letting fish cook until it releases. I've had to learn that lesson many times myself. Now I don't feel so bad. Gorgeous money shot! Wilbur, I think you are your own worse critic. I'm giving this cook two thumbs up and major kudos! I've also found that if I lightly coat my salmon with real mayonnaise it helps the whole cooking process. Sounds also strange, but it works quite well. Just coat the salmon, put on a hot grill, and it releases easily. The mayo is adsorbed and the fish comes out simply wonderful.

I got TheBeast, my 32, in the black pebbles for one very good reason. It makes an incredibly powerful statement. Every time folks see it for the first time, they stand there, looking, their mouth open, and then comes the OMG! Then they put their hands on it. Then they step back to get a more complete view. Whether its their first time seeing TheBeast or the tenth, it's always the same reaction. Most of my party guests are adults. Many ask if they can bring their kids by to meet TheBeast. Kids absolutely love these KKs, especially when they get to cook on my 19, Beauty! Kids love joining us on the patio when we just sit, chat, and talk BBQ. They'll sit near Beauty! drink their tea, colas, and every so often they reach out and touch, actually pat, Beauty! Moms and Dads take a lot of pics of their kids next to Beauty! & TheBeast. Not only are KKs works of art and conversation pieces, they are a source of quiet enjoyment for everyone from 8 to 80!

Poochie - I'd eat that chicken every time it hit the plate. And I'd be asking for seconds. That's yard bird done right!

Turkey is a year round treat here at ChezChef. The rid is so very versatile. Roast turkey dinner is so dang good. Then there are leftovers. Need I say more? Then we have sammiches, enchiladas, soup, pot pies, yada, yada, yada. I love turkey and this is one good looking bird!

I'd put those boys of yours on the business end of that bicycle pump! Nothing like a good life lesson. Everything has a price!

+1^ When I first got TheBeast I tried to correlate the RHS holes on the dual dial air control manifold to specific temps, i.e. the smallest diameter hole to 225° say. Dennis got me gently straightened out on that deal in a hurry. I now use them for fine tuning and for the larger diameters cooks all by themselves. The top hat vent makes it so incredibly easy to dial in temps it's not even funny. I am constantly amazed at how well the KKs I have draw air and how Beauty! & TheBeast respond to increased air flow through the lump pile. I've cooked on custom built stick burners, gassers, hybrids, kettles, clay pots, BGEs, Primos, KJs, and nothing in my experience handles air flow so well as the KKs.

kjs - Buddy, you're aces! Thanks for the guide. That thing is wonderful. And your step-by-step is gonna make me a hero! Thanks!

Charles - this doesn't look carppy at all. I prefer to call it rustic! I've done something similar and this looks every bit as tasty! A cold beer, a bit of this thin crust, some good tunes, and you've got a feast! Very nicely done. Smooshed meatball kudos to ya! Now, please pass a slice of that this way.

bosceaux - as Rob said, don't get too balled up over this. If I can figure this out, so can you. It's really no big deal and it's a lot easier than you think. I'm going to give you the same advice you know I've given a 100 times if if given it once. Spend a day with your new KK and get to know the response curve of your KK. A cooler of beer and some great tunes with a comfortable chair helps too! You know the drill. Light a single spot in your lump. Open the dial vent wide open, shut and latch the lid, and open your top hat vent a couple of spins. Watch how temp climbs. KKs are very efficient in their draw through the lump. When you get within about 75° of 225 close your top hat one full spin and close the dial vent to about the first notch. When you're within 50°, close the top hat to about a quarter spin and clamp down on the dial to less than a quarter of that first notch. Again, notice how temps react. Coast slowly to 225. If you overshoot, KKs are harder to bring down than other kamados. It's not fatal, but it take quite a time to cook these things down. When you hit 225°, let your KK dwell there for about 30 minutes. From here, you know the drill. Hit 250, 275, 300, 325, 350, 375, 400, 425, and 450°. I use my top hat exclusively within a specific range, 200-300, to increase temps and I generally don't move the dial below. When I move into a new range, 300-400 or 400-500, I'll open my bottom vent, screw down on the top hot, and go from there. Notice that you haven't used the right hand vent on the air control manifold. You've got plenty of time to mess with that. I generally use it to fine tune temps. I'll also use it exclusively for low-n-slow cook in conjunction with the top hat. Note that none of the holes are designed to correspond exactly with specific temps. bosceaux, there's no magic in controlling temps in a KK. You're quite capable of figuring this out. You really do know what you're doing, you just don't know it! You'll do just fine. All it takes is time spent with your KKs. And how hard is that?

One call does it all! One call convinces you that Dennis is the real deal and you're sold. Then it's just a matter of getting all the 10,000 other little niggling questions answered as you sit on pins and needles waiting the delivery date! And Dennis will patiently answer every question even though he has to have heard every one of them asked for every KK he's sold!

Poochie, I give this cook two thumbs up! Wonderfully done. Kudos!

Syzygies - if you teach like you post, sign me up for any class! That was one great post. It was if you were right here at my table, drinking coffee with me. BUT (and there's always a but!) now I'm dadgummed hungry! That pic and your description have left me with a waterfall in my mouth. Kudos!

+1^

I'm a huge soup fan and I'm LOVIN' this cook! Crackers from scratch! What a great concept! Ma'am, this is some kind of righteous soup cook! Suzy, major league mega kudos to ya!

Im in on this deal!

bosceaux - we tried to tell you earlier, but you just had to #trifecta! All things happen in the time and place they should. I'm just glad you've seen the light and got rid of those hockey tickets! Now you're on board and the world is moving forward. Maybe not as fast as you'd like, but everything unfolds just as it should!

KJS - I'd love to have the details of your cure, smoke, etc. This looks too dadgummed good to not try here at ChezChef. Thanks in advance!

Now that's Canadian Bacon done right!

I'm looking forward to these cooks. Should be interesting and educational!

Ryan - you'll absolutely love the CocoChar. I ordered 80 boxes and I've never regretted having that on hand. CocoChar is THE charcoal for all low-n-slow cooks I do around this place. It's dense, burns hot, and lasts a very long time. CocoChar is exactly why you need that second basket!

It's that "with pecan essence" line that gets me. What the heck does that mean? Pecan wood is easily come by, so I don't see why you'd use some unknown substrate and then have to add pecan essence. Why not just do the deal with pecan wood in the first place?

I've got the BIG Brother to what you're looking at. TheBeast is a KK BB 32" with the flat black only in the pebbles. It's a very handsome KK, a real show stopper at parties. You'll love it! Call Dennis and that 21" is yours!

Nanak - that you even ask this question tells me you are way ahead on the learning curve. There is really, and I mean REALLY good advice above this post. I have a way of cooking on my BB that I developed by trial, error, and good advice found here. Each of us uses basically the same kind of technique for low-n-slow cooks, but each of has our twist. I heat soak for about an hours during the summer and longer in the winter. I, like Syzygies, love the radiant cooks. Rob, 5698K will heat soak his KK overnight because he likes it ready first thing in the morning. Read and try the techniques above. They work. Then figure out which you like, twist it a little to suit your needs, your cooks, and how you like working your BB, and have fun!

Syzygies - beautiful cook. That's one nice pan of paella. Kudos!

Tomahawk - hot links are a type of sausage that has a bit of a spicy kick to it. They are generally seasoned like a regular style American hot dog but with some cayenne pepper and other spices tossed in for good measure. To my palette they are not too spicy, but a few others find them a bit too much. Hopes this helps!