Jon B.

Congratulations Scotte!!! I have only used my deflector stone once. I found that the drip pan that comes with the cooker or a cookie sheet/ pie pan / foil works just as well and holds any drippings better. I never figured out what side went up or down. I spilled ham juice on it and both sides look the same now. I agree that buying the 19 tall was a good move (great suggestion by @Stile88.) I love my 16 but have the 19 TT for larger cooks. There was foam tape on my side table brackets. I tossed them before putting the brackets on. One of my side tables was not level. Found that the foam tape was great to help level that table. FYI Enjoy and have fun!!!!!!! Jon B.

Syracuse predicted to get 6" to 10" of Lake Effect tonight. Our first major snow this season. Cut the grass yesterday (and it needed it). Lawn mower in.....snow blower out

Glad to see you are liking your sauce

Looks great in it's new home!!! Enjoy.

I let go of the handle and the lid flew open...that momentum was enough to send it toppling .

I thought about your rolling cart also Mac...............................................be careful!!!!!

Important note................If anyone would happen get a little rolling cart like the ones I bought, be sure to place the KK so that the lid opens in the long direction of the cart. I had the 16" sitting on the cart the other direction (as pictured below), This weekend, I opened the lid quickly and the cart & cooker started to tip over. I was able to grab the rim of the cooker and keep it from tumbling but it was scary for a few seconds. The cooker did not tip over...it was the cart that tipped with the cooker sitting solidly on the cart. I rotated it 90 degrees and tested it.....no problems. The 19" was sitting in the "proper" direction because of the side shelves. I would not have been able to have stopped that from tipping if it started to go. Below.........This is the wrong way to have the KK on these rolling carts.

Tucker....our family cottage is in Michigan on the St. Claire River, northeast of Detroit. I have a buddy that has a cottage on the river across from Clayton....beautiful country!!! We visit him 2 or 3 times a year...............but only in the summer .

I was just going to send these pictures to @Aussie Ora in a private message but then thought others may be interested in seeing the comparison. Maybe I can tempt Aussie to take one of the remaining 16's off of Dennis's hands . I have owned the Joe Jr. for about 3 years. Like Aussie, I love that little cooker for small and fast cooks. Used it so much that I told myself I would never be without a mini kamado. Thus when Dennis announced discontinuing the 16 size, I had to get one. The Joe Jr. is going to the family cottage. Here is a side by side picture of the two cookers. The Joe has a slide vent with a Daisy wheel. The KK comes with 2 grates. The Joe comes with one grate, a stand to support the upper cooking level and the heat deflector. I use a pie pan as a drip pan and it fits in between the deflector and the cooking grate. Here is a picture of the round Joe grate on top of the upper KK grate. Both grates are hinged to be able to add charcoal or smoking wood. Here is a picture of the charcoal baskets. The Joe Jr. has a Kick Ash Basket in it. Picture of the lowest cooking position. Picture of the upper cooking position. (no picture of the KK with the lower grate on top of the upper grate for the 3 position). Comments: The Joe Jr. is around 65+ lbs. and is more portable, however it was too heavy to use safely on the boat (bought an Acorn Jr. for the boat). At the same temp cook, the KK burns less charcoal than the Joe (and it hardly uses any) even with stabilizing the KK at cooking temp. They both heat up to temp in about the same time.......the Joe a little faster maybe. The KK holds way more charcoal than the Joe for longer cooks. I put a ceramic plate in the bottom of the Joe under the fire basket to protect the bottom of the Joe...appeared to be a weak spot to me. In just two cooks I found that I could control and maintain temps easier on the KK. The major difference is the quality. The Joe is fragile. The KK is a tank. I have been ready for a new gasket on the Joe for about a year. I have been lucky (careful) and have not cracked the Joe firebox....not going to happen on the KK. For me it boiled down to quality and longer life. I really like using this size cooker and wanted to make sure I would always have one. I was told by someone "in the know" that the Joe Jr. sales were not flying out the door, so who knows if it will be available in the future??? The KK will become my "go to" small cooker and the Joe Jr. will live out it's remaining years at the family cottage. Grab a 16" KK TT before they are gone (Aussie)(Ha!!!!!)

That cooker looks brand new!!!! Nice snag Tom!

I know.........No pictures……………………so it never happened Still need to share...................I cooked the best ever tri-tip on the 16 KK last night. It was fantastic. Everything came together. Nice marbled 2.4 lb./1.09 kg. roast, dry brined for 3 hours in the refrigerator, spiced perfectly after rinsing, cooked in the heat soaked 16 KK at 260*F/138*C to 115*F/45*C internal with a kiss of cherry wood smoke, then reversed seared, sliced against the grain……………it was heaven on earth. Previous results were not really good and I was about ready to give up on tri tips…………now the home-girls will be requesting them!!! The pressure will be on to duplicate the results, yikes!!!!!!!! I have not told any of my family members or Redhead Sue about the new KK………they threatened an intervention if I bought another grill Snuck it home Tuesday afternoon and have it hidden in the garage. None of them have come down while I was cooking the last two nights. Figure I better cook them a bunch of really good food before they find out, so I can tell them the new grill made the difference and so they don’t put me into the loony ward!!! At family gatherings, they used to argue between themselves (in fun) about who would get specific items from my Mom’s jewelry collection………now they argue about which grill they want after I croak. I figure getting the 16 KK will help give the vultures more to fight over….HA!!!! The tru-tell thermometer was lost during shipment. I filed a claim yesterday and actually received a phone call from the carrier this morning. The nice lady has all the terminal staff from California to New York running around looking for a 7” x 3” x 3” / 18cm x 8cm x 8cm carton. Told her that the replacement was only about $50 and it might be a heck of a lot cheaper to just buy one them instead of spending all the labor looking for it. Will be interesting to see what happens. It did look something like this..............................

The Joe Jr. is a great little cooker. Going to cook some steaks for company this weekend. Doing low & slow on the 16 KK and then using the Jr. for the reverse sear. Will take a picture of the two cookers side by side and send it to you. The difference is crazy.

Still saving for that bad boy......................need to build an outdoor kitchen at the cottage with a concrete pad first..........don't believe the deck will support the 42. These two beauties will stay in Syracuse............until I retire in about 100 years

Tucker.......I did reattach the crate top to the bottom pallet and put it on a low furniture dolly. Used it last night as my cooking table . Only problem is that it takes up a ton of room in the garage. The crate has 3 KK signs on it. Going to keep one....anyone out there like to have one of the others???

The KK arrived safely at the house and was able to slide the crate off of the trailer. Removed the top of the crate. Set aside the vent cap and crowbar. Removed the protective wrapping. Let's see whats inside....... All the inside contents. Lets move the KK onto the rolling cart. Lets see how every thing fits inside the KK. The charcoal basket. The lower grate. The upper grate. The small lower grate upside down on the main grate. Drip pan on the lower grate. Stone heat shield sitting in charcoal basket handles. My cooking set up for the evening. Drip pan on lower grate, cooking on main grate. All assembled and ready to cook. Mac (19" TT) and Black Betty side by side on the rolling carts. They are stored in the garage and are wheeled out to cook. First cook with some apple wood smoke. Stuffed Wegman's pork tenderloins for dinner, smoked at 275*F for 1 1/2 hours. Pretty darn good. Observations: Same great quality as the 19" KK TT. Makes the Joe Jr. look like a toy (and I really like the Joe Jr.). Surprised at the amount of charcoal the basket holds. Not much space between the main grate and the smaller lower grate when you flip it over and place it on top of the upper grate (MacKenzie uses some metal spacers to raise it higher). Performance was the same as the 19" KK........was able to hold 275* with no issues. The metal drip pan worked fine as a heat shield (not much browning on my tenderloins). Heats quickly and used very little lump. The little rolling carts work great for both the 16" & 19" cookers and how I use & move them. The thermometer from the 19" KK fit & worked fine in the 16. Did a low and slow, but can see how this cooker would be at great searing because of the shorter distances to the grates. This cooker had the Guru vent port, the cold smoker port and the remote thermometer wire plug. I can see already that this is going to become my main cooking machine.......very happy I pulled the trigger and got one before they were gone! Grab one now, if you are on the fence. Sweet little cooker!!! Knew what to expect but was still a kid in a candy shop bringing this home and getting it set up. PS - Can't get rid of these last two pictures???????

Tom.....not an expert but the pork butts are going to have a lot of juices dripping off during the cook. I always try to catch my drippings to keep the cooker clean. Congratulations on the new cooker!!!

The new 16" KK has arrived in Syracuse. Missing one box with the Tel-Tru thermometer but the crate/cooker and coconut charcoal are in good shape. Loaded on the trailer and ready to go home tonight. Have a small wheeled cart ready to load it on and planning a nice cook for tonight to break it in (hoping my thermometer from the 19" TT will fit in the 16" hole). Picked up a couple nice stuffed pork tenderloins from Wegman's to make the inaugural cook easy but tasty. Will take uncrating and cooking photos and post tomorrow. Too much fun!!

Thanks for the replies. The unit I had worked OK but I never felt it was clean enough. I think what I need to do is look at some different models in person and make sure that they come apart nicely for cleaning. My slicing needs are minimal and there is a huge price range over the different models..........decisions........decisions??????? Tony.....in my limited research, I did see they make different cutting blades that have different features & advantages. MacKenzie......yes, a trip to Bass Pro store is in order. We have a couple big ones around here.

About 10 years ago I bought what I thought was a decent meat slicer from Sam's Club. Had a 8" slicing wheel and did a decent job making thin slices for sandwiches. The problem was.....cleaning the unit after using it. The feeder slide stayed on the motor base, major meat scraps built up behind the blade, there cracks a & crevices that held food scraps. It would take 30 minutes, a roll of paper towels and a bottle of cleaner to make the unit safe to store & use again (after slicing for 5 minutes). Because I dreaded cleaning it, I had not used it for 5 years. Last night I dug it out of the cupboard to slice a leftover prime rib roast I didn't want to waste. Took me 20 minutes to clean before using and after slicing the meat...............I tossed the entire P.O.S. in the trash. It is almost impossible to clean it to make it safe to use. Question......are there any better ways/tools/methods to thin slice food without the major clean up/contamination issues??? What do you use??? Might just have to dig out my Hamilton Beach "Hole-In-The-Handle" electric knife

Me too

Smart man to take care of your butcher!!! MacKenzie cooks for her carpenter for the same reason....she calls, he is there!!! Enjoy!!

Hope your butcher likes it or he will be sneaking you 'select' cuts of meat instead of 'prime'

The package cleared customs today (9th) FYI

Below is the tracking info on Aussie package. It just amazes me how a package travels half way around the world from little old Syracuse, NY to the land down under. Syracuse to Chicago to Tokyo to Sidney to Perth......guessing if there is no trouble with customs, Aussie should have his package today or tomorrow. I believe Tony B. said the last package he sent to Aussie went the other direction to Australia, the western route. Interesting, as he is closer to the Chicago hub than Syracuse. Small world we live in. October 7, 2018, 6:43 pm Departed PERTH, AUSTRALIA Your item departed a transfer airport in PERTH, AUSTRALIA on October 7, 2018 at 6:43 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination. October 7, 2018, 12:59 pm Departed SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA October 7, 2018, 8:51 am Departed SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA October 6, 2018, 7:25 pm Departed TOKYO, JAPAN October 5, 2018, 12:25 pm Departed CHICAGO, UNITED STATES October 5, 2018, 6:17 am Arrived CHICAGO, UNITED STATES October 4, 2018, 6:37 pm Processed Through Regional Facility CHICAGO IL INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER October 4, 2018, 6:36 pm Arrived at Regional Facility CHICAGO IL INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER October 4, 2018, 12:49 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Facility CHICAGO IL INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER October 4, 2018 In Transit to Next Facility October 2, 2018, 11:14 pm Departed USPS Regional Facility SYRACUSE NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER October 2, 2018, 10:40 pm Arrived at USPS Regional Facility SYRACUSE NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER October 2, 2018, 5:46 pm Departed Post Office BALDWINSVILLE, NY 13027 October 2, 2018, 9:01 am USPS in possession of item BALDWINSVILLE, NY 13027 Product Information

Very happy they arrived safely!!! Went I shipped some of the same stuff to @5698k , one of the bottles exploded and he had to clean up a mess. Started individually bagging the bottles after that. The Dinosaur BBQ restaurant was started by a couple motorcycle "bikers" and has a cult like following in Syracuse. it has grown to 5 or 6 restaurants in NY and serves decent BBQ food. Was voted one of the top BBQ joints in the US a few years back. I was telling @ckreef the Dinosaur is not my favorite BBQ food in Syracuse. We have a place call Limp Lizard that in my humble opinion serves better BBQ and has better sauce. However, people rave about the Dino sauce and ckreef really likes it too. I hope you enjoy it also! @Aussie Ora yours is on the way also. Will PM you the USPS tracking number. I do, however, expect you to proudly use the Cuse can cooler while sampling your winning sauce.