tekobo

@Basher is right. A 32 will make your life so much easier when you are entertaining for more people. If you are just cooking for your wife and you then I expect the basket splitter will allow you to save on charcoal use for small cooks. I agree that low and slow is great, particularly for big groups because you don't have to keep tending the food on the grill. With a 23 I found I could not fit a whole brisket on the grate and wished I had a bigger KK. Such problems are fixable though if you do go for a 23 - just split the flat and point on the brisket and away you go! P.S. I forgot to talk about cooking on charcoal. I used to have to wait for my husband to light the fire on our old barbecue so that I could use it. With the KK, lighting is so easy and efficient that I do it myself and it has really opened up my outdoor cooking options. I guess you can wait until your wife gets comfortable with the KK and then sell your gasser?

Ahh. I have an interesting clay device for clamping a spatchcock chicken between that could do a similar job. Or a pizza stone??? Or steel. Stuff to try.

P.S. Naan slapped onto the walls of a KK. That's a challenge I'm going to take on, particularly while my KKs are new and shiny. And no @Braai-Q, I saw what you did there with that link and I am not going to buy a tandoor no matter how beautiful.

I'll second the Pitt Cue Co book recommendation. Go wandering further afield for some fun. Francis Mallman, the Argentinian chef is charming and inventive while Charred and Scruffed by Adam Perry Lang brings some new tricks to the table. I have not got into my Lennox Hastie book yet but I am hoping that will open the door to some new places. We went to the restaurant he used to work in in Spain, Etxebarri, quite a few years ago and were blown away by how delicate smoke made everything, including boiled eggs, taste better.

Looks great @Braai-Q. Freezer is bursting at the seams at the mo but just as soon as I can make some space I will be getting some goat to try this out. That said... I do have some mutton. Hmmm.

Hey, patience is keeping me sane. Having gone through the waiting for KK to land excitement/stress before I know that it will be super exciting when they arrive and that I will forget this waiting phase once they are here. All good.

Oooh. Exciting!!! Unfortunately my KKs are still stuck in Indonesia. Apparently there was no room on the ship last week and they are now due to leave next week. Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue...

Hi @Sir Bill. My limited Google search tells me kamados were originally designed for cooking rice in China and were then adopted by the Japanese. I have done some Japanese grilling on my KKs and this book is a great reference https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/205426/the-japanese-grill-by-tadashi-ono-and-harris-salat/. I have not done any Indian dishes on my KK and am loving the options that @Braai-Q described. Naan in a KK? Now that sounds great.

That sounds great @Boom Boom. That is an unusual cut. I recently had my butcher cut me something called a "collar steak". I think it might be similar/the same thing. Will certainly like to try them St Louis style if so. I usually keep the collar whole and turn it into bacon - a delicious and tasty alternative to lean back bacon or streaky belly.

yeah. I recognise that scenario.

Worth checking with Dennis to find out if you need to do one. If you do, it is only required in advance of very hot cooks and so would not affect an inaugural low and slow brisket cook. The manual and information elsewhere on this forum will help guide you through the burn in. Experience of the mad, bad things that can happy with delivery dates means that I would avoid trying to time anything to exactly line up with the arrival of your KKs. If you are able to cure the bellies and vac pack all or a couple so that you have some lee way with the delivery date, it should help to avoid generating unnecessary stress.

Recipe please! When James was first starting out I bought goat from him. He turned up in my kitchen and slapped a whole goat carcass on my kitchen work top for what felt like no money at all. I gave him some of my 55 day aged pork from Huntsham Farm for him to take home and he loved it. I really like feeding meat to meat suppliers because they know what has gone into producing the quality that they are tasting. No chance that he will be delivering meat personally these days but his website offers good options for those of us who are not near a West Indian community: https://cabrito.co.uk/about/. I see his website promotes kid goat. I asked for nanny goat because I wanted that maturer flavour for making Nigerian goat stew. Now that I have a dry ager I might see what that does for tenderising the meat. Yes, recipe. Please. Silly. Especially ironic for this black Nigerian 52 year old is communing with white Africans/Brits who lived in Africa and watching a video posted by an Australian on a forum established by an American living in Indonesia. A long way from anti-apartheid rallies in the 80s and all the better for it. I still want to cry whenever I think of the day I watched Nelson Mandela walk out of prison on my landlady's telly in Brixton. Human nature means that that pure moment of joy has not translated into long term happiness in South Africa but we all have a long way to go in our different countries.

Good tactic. I don't think the "Honey I shrunk the KK" argument will hold much water when your 32 Big Bad KK arrives. Although...if it ever comes to "it's me or the KK", you would be able to sleep in a 42. Great choice on colour and it sounds like you are a tile man in any case. I thought the same about metallic bronze tiles reflecting the garden but I am sure black will look lovely too!

Yay! See you at the docks in Southampton. I hope your 42 big brother KK will make friends with mine on the way over.

Wouldn't that be fun? An England KK road trip. Some funky cow waiting for you here!

Thanks for the context @Braai-Q. I too hate A1 for having such a lovely lunch, properly soaked in butter, while I had to shove reheated rice down quickly in between Teams meetings today. I buy your rationale. When cooking big I sometimes hit the limits, literally, with my 23 and I am looking forward to my 32 being more than adequate for my needs. I expect the 16 will be perfect for making my very own lunchtime steak sandwich. So glad to have been of assistance!

Yay! Welcome. Looking forward to seeing the goat. My KKs are due to be "stuffed" in Indonesia today too so our KKs might be starting their journey to the UK together. Which port is yours coming into?

Was going to call you a cissy for reverting to your IDK until I read this. Interested to know how often you fire up both your KKs. Do you find you favour one over the other?

Been meaning to ask @RokDok: what colour and tile/pebble combo did you go for???

I have one of these brackets and I can vouch for the ease of use. A really cool improvement.

Whoa! Don't spoil the best day of the year by being scared of stuff. The manual that Dennis sends in advance is really helpful for preparing for uncrating and when you get to it you will be amazed by how much has been thought of in advance. Just take your time and enjoy it. With respect to the burn in, check with Dennis. You may not have to do it at all on a new model. Welcome!

You have passed our initiation @RokDok. Influencing other KK forum members to do or buy things that they otherwise would not have is a key requirement. I have added a pizza stone for my 23 to my order.

I like this kind of interesting. The unpredictability of it all and the high expectations that everyone has of steak means it is a high stakes game. It feels sooo good when you get it right.

Excellent. Great that you discovered that and thanks for sharing.