Lannoos

Dennis, I'm interested in this product, can you send me samples of each material? Scott

Update: IMG_1443.HEICIMG_1443.HEICEspresso machine has landed and I will say that the Niche Zero is more than adequate to the task. My Lucca M58v2 seems pretty similar to the Profitec Pro 700 (the Lucca M58 v2 is a custom build for Clive Coffee from the Italian Company QuickMill). Both are Dual Boiler, PID controlled machines, the biggest difference I could see was the Profitec Pro 700 uses knobs for Steam and hot water where the M58v2 uses joysticks. So the Nice Zero can grind amazing coffee for pour over and espresso with a well indexed dial that allows you to move from one coffee brewing technique to the other effortlessly, maintaining your precise grinds for each! Nearly zero retention means that after a grind or two, you will find that 20g's in means 20g's +/- .1g out. Can easily grind so fine that NO SHOT will come from the machine! Probably the same with other high end grinders but I was surprised! The Espresso learning curve remains somewhat a work in progress for me, but I will say that it sure beats going to my local 3rd wave coffee shop for anything other than freshly roasted beans. I think I will leave the roasting to the experts for now. Mac, did you ever get that Profitec Pro 700? I'm sure that you could spend a lot more money and not get any better performance as a home barista making a cup or two a day. I think anything more capable will really blur the lines between personal and commercial. I don't need (or want) commercial personally, but the coffee sure is good! https://clivecoffee.com/products/lucca-m58-espresso-machine-by-quick-mill

I have a cyberQ Wifi, but not the cloud version. WIFI controller is running in infrastructure mode, so I get connectivity where ever I am via Cellular data connection back to my router. Pit Viper pushes snuggly into my 23 and 42 KK Guru ports, no adaptor needed.

Great news Dennis. Perseverance wins!

was going to buy Green egg 4 years ago too. Then my wife found the KK online and, well you know what happens next.. Quite interestingly if first heard about the Niche Zero on this forum quite a while ago. I've been curious ever since and after looking at the price/performance ratios implied on commercial burr grinders, it really seemed like a no-brainer. Can't have Stellar coffee without Stellar beans and a stellar grinder! Next will be the espresso Machine. Looking seriously at Clive Coffee in Portland, Oregon. They have a machine that seems to hit all the right notes. Once I get the grinder, I will have one shipped down for an audition. Will keep you posted on my progress. would certainly enjoy reading any comments one might post to help enlighten me on the journey toward a balanced coffee system: https://clivecoffee.com/products/lucca-m58-espresso-machine-by-quick-mill

I ordered my Niche Zero in January and expect that it will be shipping any day now. I told myself if I ordered it, i would forget about it and be pleasantly surprised when, months after it was paid for, it magically arrived at my door. The "completely forgot about that" part of my plan was never realized, but I do so hope it shows up soon so I can satisfy my need to see just how bad the 89 dollar grinder i use today really is!

I'm looking forward to a pallet or two in northern California. Anyone want to work together together to offset the cost? PM me and we'll work out the details.

don't know about the rest of ye, but coco char is unparalleled for low n slow and neutrality. Looking forward to meeting the next transport into Long Beach!

OK, here is the epilogue to this story. Can it be done? Absolutely! After many hours of experimentation and managing challenges during the 4 cooks of 4 Briskets each, I can offer the following advice: 1 - Fill your charcoal basket with double the charcoal you thought you would need. Brisket is not predictable from cook to cook and more meat means more mass. More mass means more time. More time means more charcoal. I came very close to running out during cook 3 and it really messed with my sanity in the middle of Sunday night. Trust that the cook will shut down in an orderly when you close the vents, even if you have 20 extra lbs of fuel in the basket 2- cooking more than 4 brisket would require a very robust rendered fat capture strategy. I used two foil covered heat deflectors of a centered load of charcoal with 2 large HD Foil roasting pans (2 liters of water in each) to catch fat. The briskets were aligned with the pans on the main and grates. This worked very well, but note that after two consecutive cooks, I filled almost 4 750ml wine bottles with the rendered fat. Had I stacked 3 over 3, I'm pretty sure at least 1L of fat would have landed in the firebox below. That would not be good! 3- I cooked the briskets at 240 degrees. I think that preserved the low and slow technique but did help with move me through the stall. i never did wrap a brisket for the cooks and the bark was AWESOME. Rub was Aaron Franklin's secret recipe (1 part coarse ground pepper and 1 part Himalayan salt) 4- I did use my CyberQ wifi to manage temp. That provided some very much needed confidence in the overnight hours except when I ran low on fuel. See item 1 5 - the jiggle at 190 to 200, which was the range I pulled off all meat, was very much what you would see on YouTube. Give'em a push and what them Hula dance. I pulled all meat at once since I knew my slices would be 1/4" and toughness would not be a problem 6 - Rested for 4 hours, then refrigerated overnight, in the morning I sliced it cold, vacuum-sealed and returned to the fridge. 2 hours before service I dropped them in a 140 degree water bath, held them for 2 hours, then plated and served. You would never have known that this brisket was cooked days earlier. Each vacuum-sealed bag had the same Jiggle as the freshly cooked brisket and if you pushed too hard on the bag, you could leave a divot. The moisture content and all else were perfect. we served 95lb's of Brisket to 500 people in less than 2 hours (along with Salmon, Chicken and many other items) and everyone enjoyed the meal. Nobody knew we were cooking Brisket in ice-chests. It took longer to empty the water from those Ice chests than to clean up the mess from Service! In closing I would like to thank all who commented and encouraged me on this forum. I have a new arrow in my quiver and would highly recommend that anyone who wants to have a predictable smoked brisket dinner service for a large group use this outline and add your own knowledge and special touches. You will not be disappointed! A few photos: the room before service with the basic structure for the main courses and desserts laid out: the line up end: unfortunately I did not have time to get any photos of the final product, you'll just have to trust me, it was loved by all! Merry Christmas Forum, I'm going to take a long nap!

Sage advice for sure.

I will update this thread with my experiences on the sous vide re-heat. Here is one of the sliced packages. I've done this on a much smaller scale with good results to date. Going big does pose some challenges that will need to be overcome, but I'm confident this will work out.

OK, So the first cook went off effortlessly on 4 packers, I did a heavy trim to reduce the rendering, as 4 packers un-trimmed could create a lake in my charcoal basket. seasoned and cooled in the fridge. Next was to get the cook set up, so I used about 15 lbs of coco charcoal in the center of the charcoal basket, installed two heat deflectors over the heat source, then two large disposable aluminum roasting pans to catch drippings. I lit the charcoal and installed the main grate, temp probes and DigiQ wifi. heat soaked to 240 degrees then added the meat directly over the roasting pans with good spacing for air flow. things progressed, but very wet and cool all day. and then, the stall..... decided not to wrap as with all the rain, humidity was 100% I feel that the results (about 11 hours later) were acceptable. I am working on a job for a large group, so i have a few more of these cooks to do over the coming days so as I learn more, I will post those findings as well. Here is one of the briskets from this cook prior to wrapping and resting. A 'Huge Thank You' to all who contributed via comment and encouragement to this thread. I'm pretty sure I could cook six briskets at once, but I think 4 is optimal.

I normally trim ~3.5 to 4lbs of fat when prepping a full (USDA PRIME) packer, so I do remove a good deal of the slabbed fat. I still get significant rendering during the cook of a single brisket (another 2-3 lbs of liquified fat). I figure that I'll need to multiply that figure by the number of Briskets cooked simultaneously, so basically 12-18lbs of rendered fat or the equivalent of a whole untrimmed packer brisket. Do you have any experience in partially separating the Point prior to the cook so that more surface area receives direct contact with the smoke?

I have another question regarding rendered fat management. I would imagine that 4-6 briskets will generate about 4-6 times the rendered fat. I have some reasonably large HD Foil roasting pans, but I was wondering if anyone has a more elegant suggestion for capturing the fat before it saturates my cooker! Thoughts?

Tekobo The KK and the venue are about 60 miles apart so I cannot rely on anything other than advanced preparation, although you bring up a good point about the final cook timing, as that meat could be transported in a cooler resting and ready to slice while the earlier couple of cooks can be chilled, sliced, bagged and then heated through gently via sous vide. I have a number of Joule Immersion circulators so capacity should not be an issue, but Fresh off the KK is always the best way to go. I think I will try and wrap my head around the timing to see if that final cook can be accomplished so that it ends about 6 - 8 hours prior to service and with all that meat resting together in a large Yeti, I should have no trouble holding safe temps. Thank you for the suggestion! Scott

OK Layout with adequate space, 275 degrees to overcome stall more quickly. To wrap or not to wrap... very Kanye Mets Shakespeare don’t you think!

Hello frequent forum posters/members. I may be posting this in the wrong place, so please let me know if I have. I wanted to see if I could tease some information out of this esteemed group. Maybe some insight into a potential project I'm being asked to do. A good friend of mine hosts a large holiday party for his customers and tennants each year. He asked me if I could use my new SBB 42 to cook Brisket for this group; one of a number of items he would like to serve at a 'heavy hors d'oeurvres and cocktail' party. There will be ~500 people in attendance and the event is two weeks away. It would seem to me that somewhere between 15 and 20 packer briskets would be needed to provide sandwich makings, (sliced, not shredded). Questions: How many Briskets can reasonably be cooked in one session on the 42 Should I cook at 225 or raise the temp to 250-275 for this amount of meat. I think a lot of moisture will be generated How long should I budget for each session? typically a 17lb Packer took about 20 hours a 225 in my 23" KK Should I wrap them at the stall or just wait it out? would this shorten cooking time? I'm thinking that I could comfortably cook 4 Briskets per session, (2 on top grate and 2 on Upper grate). Was wondering if anyone has tried something like this and if so, does the cook time increase when adding More meat (assume it does) and if so, any factorial approximations? My service plan would be to cool the briskets, then once fully refrigerated, slice and place into Vacuum sealed bags. For service at the party, I will re-heat using Sous Vide process to about 145 degrees, then plate and serve. this is my outline but any and all insight provided is greatly appreciated! I will document the cooks and share notes and Photo's. Thank you for any and all information you can provide. Scott

Process on my 23 took quite a long time (5 or 6 hours as I recall) and I was unprepared. Firebox level and just above were the first areas affected. Didn't notice the venting until I smelled the escaping vapors. It is a distinctly inorganic smell that you cannot miss. once you detect that smell, you need to start looking for vents which have formed between the grout and the stones. you will see some bulging tiles at those areas. Just keep smoothing them down and wiping up the white residue. I believe Dennis published a note about the proper method to manage this process and the expectation was that you should start early enough in the day so that you don't have to stay up all night. It can take a number of hours once you get heat soaked to complete the process. check out Page 17 of the attached KK Manual from years back KomodoKamadoUser'sManual 2-2-12.pdf

Hi there Wahoo, Pretty fun, right? Nothing like 42" of 'to the degree' controlled cooking surface on 3 levels. Seems a shame to let the coals go out! Should be cookin' 24x7x365... If only we could eat that much...

first Brisket on the 42. ran with about 10lbs of coco charcoal and maintained 225 for 18hrs. I'm amazed at what these cookers can do! I took it to a party where it was sliced, very moist, but I failed to get the glory shot. Sorry about that!

PBW. WOW! I'm a believer!

Thank you for all the congratulations and positive comments! I did mention that I would be cooking a pig on the 42 for a wedding reception Luau on Saturday. After recovering from the job I can now share a comments and pictures along with the sequence of my first 4 cooks. I will say that Soy and sugar can make for a very messy cleanup, which I did not enjoy performing. So here goes: Monday: KK retrieved, a very good day! Tuesday: 18 Racks of Baby Backs. No time for pics after I got it started so just 1 below. I shot for the DENNIS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS... mistakenly thinking I could easily cook 18 Racks of Baby Backs simultaneously. I miscalculated and placed the first 9 racks on the lower grate, the additional 9 racks on the Upper Grate (not the main grate). Charcoal basket splitter was at about 20% capacity with Coco Char. I don't recommend this configuration! What I should have done was: Light the coco char in the center of the basket, place a couple of heat deflectors covered with foil with attendant drip pans, then used the main grate and upper grate for the cook. I also would recommend splitting the cook into 2 sessions 4 rack on on grate and 5 on the other. This would improve the airflow and browning/bark on the rib racks. I survived the cook, took almost 8 hours, and I had to add coco char, and rotate the ribs between grates to get the desired results. Lots more work that I wanted to do, and a horrendous amount of cleanup. Wednesday: 40 lbs of Korean Beef Spareribs This was a cook that blew my mind! After I spent a whole work day cooking baby backs, I was afraid I would find myself spending another long night working this ribs through their cooking process. Not so! I received the cross-cut short Ribs (Korean style doesn't separate the individual ribs but rather cross cuts through the bones, my ribs were only 1/4" thick) on Monday and marinated them in traditional Brown Sugar Rub, Soy, garlic, onion, ginger and diced asian pears overnight. I loaded the basket with hardwood lump charcoal and lit in 4 placed across the bottom of the cooker, closed the lid and heat soaked to 325. Took about an hour to get to operating temperature. Then I opened up and started laying on the ribs from left to right. by the time I go the ribs laid out, it was time to flip. So I flipped, then started retrieving. About an hour later, I was done! Great results, but a very crusty set of stainless to deal with, burnt on marinade was a real pain to clean! One note, because the cook went so fast, I had to leave the top open, this allowed tons of airflow to the coals and when I was done and closed the lid, my temp soared to 550 degrees at shut down. This caused the grill to start off-gassing for a short while so I had to babysit the KK for a couple more hours pressing down the tiles as a few started to bubble from beneath. No big deal as the hardwood charcoal was basically consumed during the cook, so I didn't have a long session before cooling took me below the level of gassing off. Thursday: 60 lbs of Teriyaki Chicken thighs Pretty much the same as the Korean ribs. Went quick (less than an hour)! Surface area of the main grate is amazing to work with. Same lengthy cleanup though. Almost 2 hours of scrubbing grates after a full overnight soak. did not get any photos of the chicken cook. Friday: Took the day off, went and got the pig. Not a big pig, just 45 lbs. it was to be more of a center piece than the main course per the client. I had to deliver the pig by 1PM on Saturday and didn't really know what to expect from a heat soak and cook time perspective to on Friday night at about 8pm, I assembled the cook. 16 lbs of coco char in the center of the charcoal basket, no splitter installed, and lit the coals for a low n slow. I then installed supports and 2 center head deflectors covered in foil to keep them clean, placed the two drip pans on top of the deflectors and installed the main grate. I used my digit Wifi to keep the temp at 225 and let her go all night long. I got up a 4:30 AM and prepped the pig with just some salt and pepper in the cavity, a few herbs as well. I foiled the tail and ears to prevent them from over browning and stuff a ball of foil in the pigs mouth to enable placement of garnish after the cook. Put the pig in place on the grate and monitored till internal hindquarter reached 180 degrees, then I cranked up the heat to 325 to finish of the cook! at 1PM I pulled the pig at 192 degrees. That said my 16lbs of coco char burned for 17 hours and still had plenty left! A buddy and I used a couple of pitchforks to lift of the pig and serve at the wedding. Everything went very well and I will remember this week my whole life! What fun cooking with such a great and versatile tool! I was concerned that As Porky Pig would say: "th, th, th, thaat's all Folks.. !!!!

I will say that we drove home across the SF Bay Bridge and up to the foothills. No big reactions that I could see, probably because I was so focused on managing the traffic in front of me. Didn't want to be forced to 'test' the integrity of the bracing. I was confident it would hold up, but didn't relish the thought of slamming on my brakes and hearing a 2x4 break with the resulting 3/4 ton passenger attempting to enter my back seat!

Hello fellow forum members (and specifically KK owners)!, Dennis sent a note recently about a SBB42 in the Bay Area that needed a new home after a photo shoot. Being a KK owner for 3 years (23" Ultimate) and loving every minute I get to spend with something on the grill, I decided a while back that I would need a 32 Bad Boy. Well as owners on the forum know, occasionally opportunity to purchase a lightly used grill arises. I saw Dennis post the 42 SBB from his recent photo shoot and I thought an extra 10 inches could come in handy. Of course reason eventually overtook emotion and I realized you'd have to be slightly insane to go to San Francisco, a city built on steep hills with ridiculously small streets..... Doesn't that SBB actually weigh in at about 3/4 of a ton? Yea, it does. I passed on the offer. Whew, that was a close one... Well, after sleeping on this idea for a few days, and bidding a catering gig for a Luau near my home, I realized that cooking a whole pig seal the deal. I decided to cook a small 30lb pig on my 23 Ultimate and have some friends over for dinner to do a practice run on a whole animal, albeit a small animal. I cooked the pig in two pieces; even a 30lb Pig was too big for the 23. The cook went perfectly; hindquarters on the lower grill and the head and forequarters above via the top grate with longest legs down. It was delicious! Now I realize that if you were paying me to provide a whole pig, you'd want it presented whole, not cut in half with the drippings from the head basting the hindquarters below. Am I right or am I right? As luck would have it, the 42SBB in SF was still available and the photographer was finished with his work, so the SBB was either going back to Carson, CA or some lucky soul was going to SF to pick it up and take it home. I made a call, discussed the situation with both Dennis. He encouraged me to give it more thought stating that 3 guys moved his across his yard and down 3 steps without issue. Mind you he told me that they were not big guys, just smart…! With Dennis assessment and complete confidence that this was replicable in SF I contacted the photographer and we assessed the location. He seemed bullish on our ability to recover the KK successfully and even offered assistance. (He did mention that his wife was eager to have the beast removed from her backyard) Since everyone thought we could do this, I began designing a transport solution using my 5 x 10 Landscape trailer. Equipped with a few 2x4's and hardware, I constructed a bracing system for the SBB using the 2x4 pockets on the side of my trailer, then purchased a 1-ton Strap 'come-a-long' from Home Depot ($27). I figured that if I could keep the KK trapped in timber and I strapped the feet to the wooden floor of my trailer, I could transport the KK and use my ramp and the come-a-long for loading/unloading. Simple, right? Sorry that I didn't get a shots of loading / Unloading, all hands were required on deck! Every once in a while, everything goes right and this happened to be one of those times! Below are some photos of my trailer, the KK in situ at the photographers home, the KK loaded and braced and finally the successfully unloaded beautiful Cobalt Blue Super Bad Boy at my home. The 23 Ultimate seems a little jealous of his larger sibling, but there are plenty of cooks for all! The moral of this tale is that should you ever need to move a KK, it may seem like you need an army, but a little consultation and the help of a few friends and some mechanical advantage, and you too can do this! I will be cooking on this unit all week and will share some photos of those cooks later on. I think my next purchase will be more Coco char as soon as Dennis figures out how to get it stateside!

Will definitely spark Kamado Envy.