bosco

this looks great!!  cool idea

Congrats 

Project smoke is a TV series featuring Steven Raichlen.  He asked Dennis to use the KK as the exclusive Kamado for the series.  This is going to blow up sales for KK. 

Terra blue is very nice looking grill.  There are so many options its hard to pick the one.  I was told to pick the one that first jumped out at me.  That's what I did. 

 

 

Awesome.  I love hearing how people come across KK.  One thing to consider not to force your hand is that I would personally buy sooner rather than later.  

The he reason being is once the project smoke series is released, you will find yourself on a wait list as sales are projected to increase.  

I have had conversation with Dennis recently and he said sales are already increasing and the show has not even aired yet. 

Perhaps selling the egg will afford the extra few bucks that you need   Spring time is BBQ sellers market   

What tile pattern are you considering?

 

 

 

 

awesome decision!  What got you into the KK in the first place?  I got dragged in after always hearing glowing reviews on an other forum

When I do higher heat cooks I really don't notice all that much difference.  What I have learned is why there is dual vent with the 32.  If I open one side usually the left bent I only burn lump on one side.  

 

When end I open both it burns evenly. I really think they burn at the same rate for grilling temps as I am not worried about heat soaking 

The hardest thing when deciding a size is that it is difficult to put it into perspective on the size by looking at photos.  

Here is a picture of me with my KK's.  Try to move past the handsome guy in the middle.  I have taken that picture for a perspective shot on size.  I am 5'10" on a good day and 190lbs.  Im not a big guy but hope that helps with adding some sizing dimension to the grill.  

Now as for fuel consumption... 

I really do not notice a huge difference in fuel to be honest.  The 32" seems to take more charcoal because the basket is double the size of the 23" but that does not seem to be the case.  

But low and slow it burns so slow that the lump seems to last forever in both.  I use so little lump due to the fact that so little air flow is required to keep temp.

The KK is more efficient on fuel that it can not even be compared to another Kamado.

What I did notice from switching to the KK from the KJ was that the 23" used lump like my 18" classic and the 32" uses far less fuel than my 24" big joe.  So with that said, I really do not think that you need to worry about fuel consumption with the KK.  It is so efficient because so much insulation is used, air being forced through the basket, and minimal air flow required that it will be non issue for your decision making.

 

Trust me, go with your gut... the 32" is your baby!

thanks guys.  This one was a winner and I can't wait to do it again.  The spice was there but in all honesty, after removing the seeds it was a doable spice

 

Hello and welcome to the forum.  I upgraded from the red brand and I have to say the quality in the upgrade is second to none.  You will never worry about cracks again, or cooking in the rain and most importantly you will be amazed by the moisture retention compared to the ceramic, the heat retention and overall build quality of the KK.  The design of the KK just makes for a better overall cook from that of the ceramic.  I have produced my best meals to date after switching to the KK.

Now with respect to the 23 and 32 decision....  I can help a bit as I own both.

The 23" is a fantastic grill.  It can handle most of what you can throw at it and I use it quite a bit more than the 32" however, I am still a strong believer in going with the largest one that you can afford.  The 32 is not ridiculously big, and when you stand in front of it you will see that 32" is awesome.

What the 32" will give you over the 23" besides bragging rights lol, it's the ultimate griller's kamado.  I will assume because you own a BGE you are more a griller with an interest in smoking, or else you would likely own a stick burner.  The 32" is a grillers dream.  It gives you great real estate for cooking multiple items at once without having to worry about moving stuff around to make it fit.  It holds temps just as well as the 23" and is very reasonable on fuel consumption.  It takes about 15 min to hit 325 to 350 and for a grill that size, that is really good.  I really appreciate being able to smoke multiple racks of ribs, or larger cuts of meat without worrying about the meat edges getting burnt.  Again this is all doable with a 23" but the 32" just makes it easier.

Last night I cooked 8 butterflied cut chicken breasts, 2 sweet potatoes, 8 slices of bacon and a ton of asparagus on the 23".  I had to move things around during the cook as things were cooking to make room.  Had I just used the 32" that would have been done without moving one thing.

The question comes down to what you can afford and what your plans are.  If this will be your only grill and you can afford it... then buy the 32" and don't look back.  I guarantee you that once you start cooking on the KK, the BGE will be for sale or given to a friend.  The 23" will do everything that you require and more, but at this point I think you really should take a strong look at the 32"

I hope that helps a bit

I have a feeling your Italian meal is going to be killer!

lol!! welcome aboard!!

be careful here... shark infested waters lol!!!

I thought the same thing when I came here as an owner of 3 KJs lol.... 

Awesome hope you love it!! I see a KJ in your photo.... Are you looking to jump into a KK??

I was feeling a bit creative and wanted some chicken tonight.  So........  I came up with this.

 

Butterflied some chicken breast, and coated them with Lanes BBQ Signature, sweet Heat and SPF 53 and let them rest in the fridge for a few hours.  

 

Cooked at 375 direct on the Komodo Kamado 23" 

 

Once chicken was flipped, I added a thick layer of BBQ sauce, turkey bacon, sautéed mushrooms, fresh slices of scotch bonnet peppers and topped it with fresh old cheddar.  

 

To say this was spicy was an understatement!!!!!

Two ingredients that have been on my mind and I had to give it a go.  I have been craving beef ribs and trying them in a chianti sauce.  Then the pasta challenge came up and I began thinking what to do.  I planned on trying this dish with side ribs, but the butcher convinced me to use brisket point.  The brisket was 3 lbs after being trimmed.  

 

 

I hit it with kosher salt and cracked pepper after wiping the meat down.  This was a really nice looking piece of meat

 

 

I then cut the meat into 4 pieces and prepared a 7qt dutch oven to sear them.  I seared them on the stove, as the Komodo Kamado was heated to 350 for this cook

 

 

I diced up some onion, garlic, celery and carrot for the base for this dish

 

 

Once my dutch oven was nice and hot, I tossed in the brisket pieces and seared them for about 5 min. Next I removed them from the dutch oven for stage two of this cook.

 

 

 

Then I added some more oil, onion and garlic, then the celery and carrot and mixed it all up

 

 

I added some beef stock, Chianti, can tomato, tomato paste and mixed it all up and placed the brisket back into the dutch oven.  Brought it out to the grill and cooked for 2 hours with lid on and two with lid off for some nice white Oak wood flavour.  

 

 

Traditional beef ragu calls for pappardelle 

 

 

After being on the BBQ for almost 6 hours, I brought the dutch oven in and shredded the beef.  

 

I cooked the pasta and then mixed it all together in one large pot and added some Italian parsley

 

 

Prepared some fresh baked garlic bread to go with the dish

 

 

 

 

plated the food up and gobbled it down.  This was one of the richest beef profiles that I have ever had.  The hint of oak wood smoke on the dish brought this to the next level.  I am very pleased with the way this meal turned out

 

 

Why does my safari mobile browser keep going red theme instead of the traditional shades of gray ??

It goes red for a few clicks and then stops   

I too hate the enter feature as I am use to pressing enter twice   

Site wouldn't load this morning but I am assuming you are tweaking on your end during this time?

 

This forum enhancement has really annoyed me. Today my mobile browser page was red for a few hours.  The topics load slower, I have crashed my browser waiting for posts to go through.  I am not impressed with this upgrade to this current setup. 

 

Sorry churchii I know you have worked hard on this but I think people are getting annoyed and not posting much these days 

I have developed a baking bug....  I picked up a ton of books this weekend to learn.  I did my first cook in the oven but plan on using the KK for future cooks.

 

I have decided to start the Josey Baker Bread Book and will do each recipe in the book.  Each loaf builds on the previous loaf that you did until you are comfortable with everything.  

 

Anyways, this is a simple bake so the books says.  I am learning slowly so I hope to get better as I go...

 

Mixed my batch according to the book, I mixed it by hand but fell a bit short on water.  With the advice of Rak, I added a few tablespoons and then covered and placed on the counter for 3 hours.  Then into the fridge it went overnight.  Today I took it out and rolled it and placed in a loaf pan that I picked up yesterday.  The book recommended Chicago Metallics and luckily enough they were on sale and I had a 20% off coupon at bed bath and beyond.  

 

Here is a picture of the dough this morning.  It was a bit sticky and almost stringy coming off the bowl, however, many articles that I have read since that scary moment suggest that is a good sign as it is a sign of the gluten doing its thing.

 

 

after I folded the bread and placed it into the loaf pan

 

 

covered in foil and let sit on the counter for 4 hours 

 

 

Into the oven it went at 475 degrees.  I baked 20 min with foil tent then 20 min without foil.  The book says pull when it is the darkness that you prefer.

 

Here is the end result.  I think it turned out really well.  Super crunchy crust with a soft tender middle.  Very impressed with my first loaf, but recognize that I probably have a ton of room for improvement.  But it is a start and I am excited to see where this goes.

 

 

 

 

awesome move!!!  that is a serious gas bbq!!

it won't let me correct it either for you for some reason.

 

Great setup and I love the colour.... I hear harvest pebble cooks the best..

I was on that Raks moving day.  4 strong friends is an understatement....

The issue with raks delivery was user error.  We had two guys standing up on the deck (approx. 2' off the ground).  We had two guys standing on the ground.

When we put the 2x4s in on each side, the two guys on the deck lifted a the same time as the two guys on the ground.  This caused the angle at the front to be too high and hence causing the kk to come crashing into my chest.  We regrouped and the two guys standing on ground lifted up first and the guys up top only lifted a bit so that the 2x4s were level.  

Another alternative is to take the lid off.  I can't help with that but know that ckreef has done that in the past.  Just be careful placing it down as the tiles around the bottom that have a slight over hang will be holding all the weight of the lid and could likely damage.  Personally have some food and beers ready and get 4 to 6 of your closest friends to help you lift and move using the blue ropes and two 2x4s.  Its heavy.... but the 2x4s and the extra hands will help lift where it needs to go.

 

 

looks good.  I am going to try and do a few birds this weekend if the weather cooperates

I keep crashing, or the site is glitchy when it loads.

 

May just take some getting use to

im not a huge fan of this forum update to be honest.  It is buggy

no it doesn't.  

I am in law enforcement and there was a series on TV called Third Watch.  A character on the show was Officer Boscerelli and they called him bosco.  I had joined a salt water aquarium forum around that time and I went with bosco... the rest is history

I will be honest, this meal was very good, however, I only made it for a monthly challenge that I participate in.  I do not normally cook meals like that. In fact I had a small slice the first night and a small slice for lunch the following day.  My brother in law was visiting and crushed the rest.  

Fatty's make me very nervous lol and so does a lot of traditional BBQ.  I just had this conversation with Rak the other day.  I think the thing that attracted me to a Kamado over a smoker is that I prefer grilling as my main method of cooking.  A Kamado lets me do everything, it is the swiss army knife of cookers!