DJM

My KK is in the furthest corner away from the house with plenty of airflow on all sides. Unless it’s a very calm day, I don’t have many issues with smoke buildup as there is usually a cross breeze to carry it away. If it does start to build up, my ceiling fan takes care of it pretty quickly as long as it’s not in reverse mode.

Cold smoked some salmon today. Cured it in brown sugar/salt mixture for 4 hours before hand then cold smoked for 2.5 hours. Lit the KK, let it slowly come up to smoking temp of 250 over the next hour, and then cooked for one more hour to internal temp of 140. Served with a sweet maple soy sauce, smoked cauliflower and a side salad. I’ve only cooked fish a few times on account that my family typically doesn’t care for seafood (not a big fan of fishy flavor). We wanted to try something different. By far the best salmon I’ve ever had, but still not my favorite thing to eat by a long shot. I’d rather have shrimp, grouper, or tilapia, but still it was pretty good.

Tony your dogs are adorable. Our first cavalier (Winston) died at 7 years as well from heart problems. This is our current dog Hunter and boy is his name fitting. He barks at chases everything and goes completely nuts when he sees animals (or shadows) on TV. His fur on his head is longer than most other cavaliers so the kids sometimes give him a spike (think unicorn or as my kids call him a poochicorn).

Mac, luckily it’s a small dog. He’s a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the ultimate lap dog. Most damage he’ll do is jump on my lap and lick my shirt. At first it’s kind of funny watching him go to town, then quickly realize my shirt is wet.

Ha! It does have a certain ring to it. Maybe have some subproduct lines for different flavors. Something like Essence of Pork.

Ever notice how amazingly delicious your clothes smell after cooking on your KK? At first I thought it was just me, but lately I’ve noticed my kids and wife tell me I smell good after cooking. Even the dog follows me around after dinner like a piece of meat. Didn’t have the same experience on my gas grill or water smoker (smelled more like a chimney). This could be the next big Kickstarter idea. Who wants in? We’ll need a catchy name.

Each cut of food, how it was prepared, fat/water content, size, etc. all create differences as to how long food needs to smoke. Whether food continues to absorb smoke after a certain time or internal temp is an age old debate not worth wasting time discussing. My experience is quite the contrary. The point I was making is that it's very simple to keep the KK smoking for as long as needed without having to open the lid or check on it without fussing with a smokepot, smoker box, or foil pouches. If the Que taste good and bellies happily full, don't change what you're doing.

I’ve used smoker boxes and foil pouches, I suppose similar to the pot just smaller, but never noticed a significant difference. Might be a bit less smoke flavor, but wasn’t worth the fuss considering I typically prefer more smoke. That can be controlled by how much wood is used. As Aussie said, for longer smokes, I mix the smoke wood throughout the charcoal basket. Light it in one spot, bring it up to temp, and put a few more chunks on top of the lit spot. As the fire burns down, it catches new pieces of wood and keeps going. I’ve kept mine smoking for 20 hours straight, and still had smoke wood left over for my next cook. Curious to see how the brisket comes out using the CS compared to without. Haven’t used mine yet to cook.

Another vote for Rockwood. They now ship direct if you can’t find it locally. You can also order online through Ace Hardware and pick up in store. Shipping to store is quick. I placed my recent order late Friday night and the store had it Monday. In a pinch I’ll use Royal Oak.

Based on past experience and several failed attempts, there could be a couple things at play. After the stone is fully heat soaked, I usually find that at 500-550, the pizza needs a good 8-12 minutes to finish. If the top is cooking too fast and the crust too slow, adjust the vents to turn the heat down. For the food science nerds like me, dough recipe also plays a big part in the perfect pizza. Because it’s ground more finely than normal bread flours, “00” flour tends to absorb more water. With a higher water content, I’ve found that it usually needs a higher temp (650-700) and shorter bake time. Some “00” pizzeria flours are formulated to be baked at over 700 degrees. This type of flour tends to result in tough and chewy dough at lower temps/longer bake times instead of tender and crispy. Now if your dough recipe contains sugar, it will quickly burn at the higher temps. Hope this helps.

That crust looks perfect!

Spoke with Dennis today and he came up with a simple solution. Turn the basket on its side, place the upper ring on a hard surface (the ground works great) and hit the area that doesn't fit with a rubber mallet. Did this a few times in several areas and it fits just fine now. Thanks everyone for the feedback!

Perhaps a dumb question, but how did you get the charcoal basket to fit with the basket splitter going left to right? With my 23", the basket doesn't fit that way into the firebox. The basket is 1/2" wider in that direction so doesn't completely seat itself down on the ledge. If that makes sense.

Great way to start. Nicely done!