tekobo

You're too kind. We completely highjacked your thread @Scott.W. Sorry! I hope you do end up with a KK. As others have said, a chat with Dennis will help with exploring what is best for you.

My question to @Pequod was really about wanting to understand the definition of "true" two zone cooking. In practice, that is pretty irrelevant and I think I have learned something useful from this thread - thanks @Scott.W for starting it off Dennis' illustration showed the difference between indirect and direct cooking. Pequod's description of how he uses his 23" reflected mine i.e. cook on indirect side on the main grate and then switch down to the lower or sear grate for the direct cook. He also talked about increasing the temp when he came to do the sear. I generally just keep the same med-high temp through out. Now I think I am going to try something different. Use the lower grate throughout. Cook on indirect side at medium temp and then crank up the heat and move the meat to the direct side. No hassle and, for the level of accuracy/finesse that I need, I think it should work.

What amazes me is that people fall for those scams. Greed gets the better of them I guess...

Welcome @Scott.W. I was a complete novice at kamodo cooking when my KKs arrived last December. I was able to set them to work within hours of arrival. They are super easy to use and they just get easier over time. So nothing at all to worry about if you are already accustomed to this style of cooking. As for size, anything smaller than a 21" has limitations. I have found having two KKs is the best solution for me. It means you can cook at different temps and different modes at the same time. And many people end up with two or even more once they get into KKs. In my case it was a no brainer because they had to be shipped to the UK with all the attendant customs clearance costs so doing it once made the most sense. I got a 21" and a 23" in the end. @Pequod is a strong advocate of the 32" and I am guessing he is right in that you will be hard pushed to find something you couldn't fit onto a 32". However, I am not sure about this "true two zone grilling" thing. @Pequod, what does that mean? I have my 23" set up for two zone grilling and it works for most things for me, including cooking whole fish.

Gosh, I am soooo jealous @MacKenzie! The konro grill looks great as does the food. Was it a different way of cooking? How would you say that it complements/contrasts with KK cooking?

That'll be great Dennis. Might that mean that you will also be able to ship to the UK and other countries or just the USA?

Thanks @Pequod, I can feel something pushing me towards the smoker. Not bad if it is the only thing I missed off my original order but now want. Oh yeah, and a 22" table top and/or a 42", just for the hell of it. Waiting for that lottery win. The goat that comes with the 42" will come in handy. Lovely looking brisket @sfdrew28. How much did it weigh? I think it was you who was puzzled by how fast my briskets cook. I assume it is must be because my briskets are smaller but I don't know by how much. I have loved my good brisket cooks but I suspect that those of you who can buy larger (and grain fed?) briskets get a different taste experience.

All this talk is pushing me to the "buy a hot/cold smoker space". Good job! Keen to see how @sfdrew28's brisket cook goes. Also interested in the difference between this and the smoke pot. For a start, it would seem that the Dennis smoker will keep going for longer. But is there a better/different flavour with the smoke pot?

I love it. Nigerians are, unfortunately, known for internet scams and drug running. I was worried that a "consignment" of suya spice from Lagos, sent on by a Nigerian in the UK would attract unwelcome attention. But no, the suya spice has made it past sniffer dogs in Canada, USA and now Australia. What fun. Our reputation can't be all bad. I hope you enjoy both versions @Aussie Ora.

Naaa. Mummy is still in Lagos, Nigeria. I told her about the cook on the phone. The Husband, on the other hand, is here and found the large one I gave him chewy but loved the smaller one that followed.

I wouldn't want to be in the area when they took those ropes off! I can imagine him getting angrier and angrier as he lay out there in the sun....

P.S. The oysters were strange in a good way. Their briny taste alongside the mayo and hot dog worked well.

I agree. We did drink some red wine but I really want to get to a cocktail and dog combo that he would have liked. Onwards and upwards...

The great thing is that once you finally get your KK, all memories of these trials fade. Life-after-KK-arrival is really that good.

This was my first Bourdain tribute meal. Hot dogs. Bun slathered in garlic mayonnaise, dog wrapped in proscuitto, topped with deep fried oysters and a squeeze of black garlic vinny (courtesy of Le Pigeon). I have a vague memory of Bourdain discovering and loving oysters in France in his teens. This was a good but not great tribute. Will continue to work on it. Lack of dedicated alcoholic beverage made this inauthentic. Stlll so sad that he is dead.

We are having the best summer ever here. I learned about square foot gardening from @MacKenzie just before I took over a new plot at our allotment. It has been great. The best bit is succession planting so you have just the amount you want rather than a massive glut. The only problem is that the summer squashes didn't get the memo. We have a LOT of squash at the moment. Here is a grill full of home grown produce: \ The revelation of the evening was the peas in their purple pods on the top left. Pick them up and chew/suck the peas out of the pods like edamame peas. Delicious! Kept the veg warm while I cooked the marinaded octopus. My mother had never heard of people eating octopus. She asked if I was really talking about the things with eight legs. I was. And here they are plated. Had another. And another.

That looks lovely @tony b. Will give that a try.

Cool. I don't have an instant pot but my vac packer comes to the rescue. Chicken carcasses get squeezed down to very little in a vac pack bag. We store them in the freezer until we have a good number. The all day simmering method isn't such a big deal when you are making a lot of stock in one go. Horses for courses...

This is really funny. I have not used a Maggi cube in years. We got told at some point that they were full of MSG and so abandoned them. You may be on to something though. I have not managed to get my stews to taste like back home since I stopped using back home spices. I hope you find the missing taste. I will share what I know when my Mum arrives with the ingredients and I try making some myself.

Hurrah! The Husband and I, having often spent hours trailing round a new city trying to find some special item and then finally finding it just a few minutes from where we started, have a theory. It is: "Everything you could ever want is usually within 5 miles of where you are." You just have to look. Not always true of course but it works very well as a good starting assumption.

I had already accused @Aussie Ora of making up weird combinations elsewhere and didn't want to be rude and comment on his use of wing sauce on pig but hey, we must bow to the magic of Aussie O.

Belated Happy Bastille Day @Pequod. Your cook looks really good. Question for you. Your daughter loved the Milk Street version. Did she love these more "authentic" versions or does she prefer the modified recipe from Milk Street? I plan to try it myself sometime.

Tee hee I love the idea of Nigerian suya crossing the ocean from the USA to Oz. I would like to say that you are not allowed to try one of your mad combos, like pineapple rub over suya. But.... I know that you will come up with something that tastes fab that I'd never have thought of so experiment away....

@RobCordeau, I know that sinking feeling when you forget to trust the voice inside your head and then find out it was right all along. The good news is that there is always another brisket and the hope that the next one will be the best ever. (As @_Ed_ is going to find when he gets a taste of mine.) I don't use a controller and cook brisket very low. I start with a half turn of the top vent to get the fire going but settle at less than an 1/8th of a turn of the top vent and one of the smaller holes on the LH vent giving me about 115C. Works well and doesn't burn through very much lump at all. Good luck with your next try!

I am so glad you are not too far away from me @_Ed_. Once I have got my brisket cooking down pat I think I can get one in a cooler and on the train to stalk you in London to prove how good UK brisket can be. I am currently leaning towards Dexter beef being the best for this and that has just the best fat ever. More experimenting to do first.