tekobo

That looks awesome @cruzmisl

I bought two of these and had them shipped to me in the UK and shipped one on to @RokDok. Total cost less than one Trompo King. I liked the look of @tony b's cook in his double drip pan and I thought this would be perfect for that application. Looks robust but I have not used it yet.

I am now even more excited by your new acquisition. The thought of helping a young man promote his new business is great. That, and getting a bespoke job done that will delight you for a long time is what it is all about. I look forward to seeing your build pics. The main reason I did not go for a split grill was because I wanted the uninterrupted grilling real estate. I think this will work really well alongside your 23. Hurrah!

@Basher, pretty much as soon as I posted the above message I realised that I was forgetting to say that moving the coals around under the grills does allow you to vary the temperature for different parts of your grill, thus negating the need to have independently rising halves. I also went along to the OxGrills website and was reminded of their GridIron grid bed option. It was too expensive when I first bought my grill but may be cheaper now that they seem to be marketing it more generally on their site. If I end up buying one it will be your fault.

Oooh. I am glad I asked. Those all sound like great additions. I start my fire separately but the rack to allow circulation under the fire sounds like a good option. Nothing to add. You have already selected the upgrade that I think is absolutely essential - the V grates with fat collector tray. They are great. The fat that collects makes you realise how much would have dripped onto your fire, tainting your food with the smell. Ah, what just occurred to me is the option to split your grill and have two halves that can be raised and lowered independently. That option would allow you to cook stuff at different temps at the same time. I don't have that and sometimes think it would be useful.

Thanks @Troble. I've taken a look and I know and like a fair few of the songs. Makes me think you would like "Apricots" by Bicep. I suspect the time difference will mean that I can't quite dance along at the right time but will fit in a pre-dance.

Looking gorgeous @cruzmisl! Do we get to see the finished product?

Hey @Basher. That sounds like a very happy birthday in prospect. What variations are you going to have?

you can say that again! Congratulations. Beautiful looking KK, even though you did go for pebbles. You will come around.

A previous macho boss used to ask - who is more committed to your breakfast, the chicken who lays an egg or the pig who died to give you bacon? All I can say to you @Troble is: you are now committed! Looking forward to your cook. Might even listen along to your playlist on the day if you were to share it.

I keep my starter in the fridge and usually refresh it just once before making up my dough. This weekend it was about three weeks since the last time I refreshed the starter and so I decided to refresh it three times before making up the dough. What a difference! My leaven usually floats but it was soooo beautifully light this time. Danced round the kitchen at the sight of this: Yesterday I made the coriander and carraway loaf from Tartine No 3. Tonight I made a seeded loaf. Squashed onto the baking stone from my 23, sitting in my 32. Looking forward to having a lot more room when I pick up @RokDok's extra baking stone for the 32 which he has kindly said that I can have. Cooling. Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.

Welcome to the UK Chapter @Jimbo78. That looks like a mighty fine KK in a lovely ODK. Would be good to see more of your ODK and your pizza oven. Your KK will fit right in.

I have been stuck on soaking in normal dishwasher liquid and cleaning with a Kurly Kate since I got my KKs. The PBW that I have found here in the UK is expensive and doesn't seem to have the magic effect that guys on the forum report, even when I use double the quantity recommended. That said, I will give it a go again soon. Things that have worked - sticking rotisserie sharp bits in the dishwasher and soaking and washing the rest in the sink. Things I am yet to try - @Syzygies' power washer trip, @tony b's PBW - again, buying a paddling pool to soak my 32 bits in if it turns out PBW does work and finding out if my friend's dad will let me put my grates in his pub's industrial grate cleaner.

Awesome. Way to go! Looking forward to seeing the pix.

I agree with what everyone has said. The 23 is really good and can do a lot and the only thing that is better than the 23 (and is realistic for most people) is the 32. On balance, having owned a 16, 21, 23 and 32 I would agree with @Pequod that if I only had to have one I would go with the 32 every day of the week. That said, the half grate in the 23 is a great innovation. @Basher, you could try using the basket splitter as your default and only using the whole basket when you really need it. I think that this is a great solution for all sorts of situations, even when using the rotisserie. When I was thinking about how to cook my suckling pig, Dennis said that the lengthwise basket split helps to avoid flare ups if you if you have the "down" side of your rotation above the cold side and the "up" side above the coals. I have not tried this but I plan to do so in my 23, noting that there is no lengthwise basket splitter with the 32.

Makes sense. You have a lot more space out there.

I started to investigate those contraptions that people strap their animals to so that they can flip them. Not sure that they are needed, on reflection. If you heat soak the KK, and maybe turn the heat up at the end, the inside of the KK hood might give you all the heat you need to get the skin crispy without risking turning a nice, tender cooked animal. The pits where they get turned don't generally have a hood. Something worth experimenting with as part of your prep? Every friend who had some of the pig has waxed lyrical about how good it was. Now I just want to do it again, but even better this time. Who called this The Obsession?

That doesn't happen in the US? The Husband and I sometimes visit cemeteries on our travels and the concept of a burial vault or a family plot seems quite common. We stopped that weird habit a few years ago and concentrate on botanical gardens instead. @BARDSLJR is there an interesting story behind your cemetery photos?

Hi @Troble. I was going to sympathise and then say that you didn't necessarily give the guy's recipe a chance, given you changed out some of the key ingredients. Then I decided that wasn't the point. I think it's really about how much you want to mess with the pig and what flavours your guests like. For my part, I stuck to salt and pepper and oil initially and when it came to basting it was a mix of salt, pepper, oregano, oil and chicken fat. The strong flavours came with the accompaniments. The idea was for the meat the sing. That said, I know that the BBQ tradition in the US includes a lot of rubs and mops and that is what people are used to. Up to you. Good that you did a trial run and now know what you definitely don't like. How are you planning to cook the pig? On the rotisserie or grate? The Husband and I did a post mortem on our piggy cook. Based on our sample size of one we agreed that spinning the pig puts a lot of stress on the carcass. The Husband liked the basting effect of the spin but was happy to concede that it might not be the way we cook our next pig. I talked about jointing the pig and having more control over the cooking of the individual parts. He wasn't keen. His view was that the fun is in cooking a pig whole and gathering lots of friends round to eat it. So we have settled on using the grate for our next pig cook. Not sure if there is enough space on the 32 main grate for a spatchcocked 9.8kg pig but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Chinese pot sticker dumplings with crispy chilli oil and black vinegar. Yum.

When I tried the white corn masa harina from Masienda I thought it was OK. Today I tried their blue corn masa harina and I am super pleased with it. The tortilla came out strong and supple and tasty. I was extra happy because tonight’s dinner turned into a Nigerian-Mexican mash up. We have been ordering online from restaurants who are now shipping meals nationwide for you to experience their food and help them keep going through lockdown. A friend of mine had raved about this Nigerian place in North London, Chuku’s, and so I ordered some of their Nigerian “tapas”. I didn’t realise I had to order wraps to go with a couple of dishes on the menu and so held them over until tonight when I had time to make some tortilla. Wow. So Mexican’s weep when they taste a great corn tortilla? That’s nothing on this Nigerian weeping at tasting authentic Yoruba flavours in a Mexican blue corn tortilla with home made pickled onions. #Mash UP!

That’s funny but it is also too easy. My retort would be to tell y’all to let @Troble have some fun. MSG is his equivalent of a quick fumble behind the bike sheds before taking his girl home to ask her father’s hand in marriage.

Ha! The cheeks on this little piggy were sooo tiny. As for the brains? Don't weird me out. I love eating giant land snails from Africa because I had them when I was growing up but can't cope with brains or sweetbreads or squirrels for that matter. I am planning a post on @Syzygies' and my hero, Mr Fergus Henderson, but I have to admit that there are some bridges I have not managed to cross yet. If only! All that preparation and I couldn't work out that I needed to clamp the piggy more tightly as it cooked? Really??? I did have some butcher's twine but it wouldn't go in the eye of the needle. I am not sure that was necessarily the solution. I had to pull the flaps of the chest tight and I think there is a direct conflict between cooking your piggy until it is nice and soft and trying to tie it tight under pressure. I'd be interested to find out what others have done or what competition bbq folk do if they indeed try to stuff their piggies. Tee hee. You are silly. I didn't need Mark to tell me that this was a joke. Hey Troble, we are super grateful to you here too. Do you know how many families and friends have been made happy with chicken shawarma and tacos al pastor across the world? Awesome job. Looking at the photos from the cookbook that you posted I am thinking about how to cook a pig flat on a KK. That would be the ultimate crispy skin experience I think. It reminded me of pig that I saw in a kitchen in Sao Paolo and I just went back to find the photo (aren't searches amazing these days? less than a minute to find all photos from Brazil and show me the ones from Sao Paolo). I always wondered how good that pig would have tasted when it was ready to eat. Have fun with your cook and we look forward to following your journey.

I love random acts of kindness. Yes please and thank you! The book appeared to be out of stock when I looked this morning. I ended up buying something else that was on my wish list. No idea if it is any good but it has intrigued me for a while: The Art of Escapism Cooking: A Survival Story, with Intensely Good Flavors by Amazon Learn more: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0062802372/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_1V94M2JHDEAQZZ9GY9DR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 @BARDSLJR, excuse me gate crashing your lamb thread. I will slip away quietly now....

Sneaky smart @Braai-Q. I know you are on a mission to get me to buy enough cookbooks to make up for “helping” you make the decision to keep two KKs (and move up to a 32?). You recommended this book to me a few months ago and I managed to resist temptation. Then you come on here and get the @Syzygies endorsement. That means you get the double win of bending forum members to your will and, maybe, just maybe getting me to shell out for yet another book.