RobCordeau

Did you ever end up painting your 23"?

The price to put in a gas line and get a side burner is as much as a new 21" KK. I'd rather have another KK.

Yeah, I thought about that option too. Not a bad idea.

Hi guys, I am in the process doing an outdoor kitchen and something I thought I'd use would be a side burner for sauces/boiling stuffwhatever/etc while I was outside. I was always thinking of gas side burner, but with the addition of solar, I started looking at outdoor rated induction tops (just dual, not a standard indoor kitchen size). I'd love to hear any opinions / experiences people have. It isn't a necessity, but a nice-to-have. If I had a gas grill, this wouldn't be a question because I'd be running gas, but since I have switched over to KK, I haven't used a gas grill outside for years.

Me too. In San Diego.

If I could do it over again, I'd go 32. I have a big 6 burner Weber gas grill and I use it once a year now. The 32 BB has a lot of versatility.

LOL, very true, very true. My blood has "thinned out", as they say.

I bought a 21 thinking that “this will be all that I’ll need.” I was mistaken. I wish I would have gone larger. Not that I haven’t been able to do what I need on the 21, but the extra room would have been nice in many situations. I didn’t realize how much I’d actually use it over almost anything else. It’s my “go to” for almost anything cooking related anymore, except when it is too cold outside. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I second that. 32 would have been the better choice for me, but that is based on what I cook. Regarding the char, the farther you put the steak away from the fire (upper grates), the less char/more "bake" you'll get, with most of the sizes. Plus, a piece of foil on the lower grate will keep the direct heat from the steak and bake it. If you haven't read about "reverse sear" yet, I suggest you check it out. Basically you bake it first, then lower the steak close to the fire to get a char, if desired.

I love my KK, but I do have one regret - I wish I would have listened to my gut (and Dennis) and gone bigger with the 32. Other than that, I have no regrets.

Hi all - So, I have been trying to figure out when would you want to use the top, upper most grate over the main grate? Is it just to give you more real estate, or is there an actual rationality for using the top grate?

I have a Flame Boss 300 with the battery and a Pit Viper fan. I have the high-temp platinum probes and they work quite well. What I liked about the Flame Boss is that it can operate the Pit Viper fan at variable speeds based on the feedback it sees with the temp probes - software based PID controller.

@DennisLinkletter I miss that coco char... Any updates on finding a shipper?

Regarding the beef - I usually prefer the grass fed and have a local butcher that sources really good meat usually. Here in the states, grass-fed is more expensive - even more than Prime (but less than wagyu). The brisket I got this time around was from Whole Foods, and I did look at it and thought to myself "Hey, self, this isn't a good idea. I don't see much fat." But, I let the guy convince me that it'll be fine and told myself to shut the hell up. I knew better, but I did it anyway, and I'm mad at myself for it. Regarding the baskets of lump - well I don't think I had my top closed that much. It was likely open about a full turn. Now, the Flame Boss does the fan a bit differently and uses some feedback loop to pulse the fan at different "speeds", instead of how the BBQ Guru does it. Maybe my vent was open too high, or I don't know. It was the first time doing low-and-slow with Rockwood char instead of KJ char. And the first time around I was able to use less than a whole basket and didn't use the fan. I'm rather dumbfounded by it. Now, the Rockwood char pieces were all rather small - like 2 - 3 (5-7.5cm) inches long at best, with maybe 1 or 2 pieces being larger. And I have noticed that I burn through that char even on "normal" cooks. That could be an issue, but if so, I'd be an outlier because so many people have had good experiences with that brand. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hi all, I don't have any pictures to share, but I wanted just write up my most recent cooking attempt for a larger crowd. Any comments are always welcome. To start - this is only the second time I have attempted to make a brisket. First time turned out very good, to my surprise - moist, tender, tasty, everything you'd want. Did a sort of low-and-slow, but added the "Texas crutch" at the stall. So, I did the same thing this time around, only I used a larger brisket and perhaps a poorly chosen cut. I went for all grass-fed this time around, versus grass-fed/grain-finished. Also this time around, I decided to try out my Pit Viper fan attached to my Flame Boss. This time around though, even though I thought I kept the temp profile around the same as before, the brisket turned out dry and some might say that when cut, the pieces could be used as an alternative to brake pads. I blew through two baskets full of charcoal (Rockwood), and I think it is because of running the fan. Even though I had the top closed except for maybe half a turn, the temp was always around 275. While the brisket was resting, I rotisserie cooked two chickens that turned out excellent - crispy skin, awesome golden/dark brown color, juicy. Total hit. So, I guess I learned the hard way that the KK really doesn't need a fan to keep a stable temp running the fan, at least with the Flame Boss, obliterates fuel don't use all grass-fed, low-fat beef brisket if you want something flavorful and tender dry brisket can be substituted for brake pads on light vehicles -Rob