johnnymnemonic

@Tony8919 I have owned a large BGE for 14 years. I still use it once in a while and don't intend to ever get rid of it. But my 42" KK is amazing. The only thing I ever question is why I didn't do it sooner. It was because of the money, but it's some of the best money I ever spent. Don't wait several years like I did. Be happy now. KKs exceed expectation. When you unbox your very own it is absolutely unreal and impressive. I can cook food that it almost as good on my BGE - just because I have used it for 14 years. My 1st cook on the KK was better than my cooks with years of experience on the egg. The results are consistently better on the KK and you can see and taste the difference in the food. The first time you use one you will see.

prayers/thoughts for a speedy recovery, Dennis - sorry that I missed this a couple weeks back. Checking this forum has become sparse due to work. Follow that PT plan to a tee!

I re-visited. You get more control with the splitter in, for sure. And having the splitter in is probably the only acceptable way to do it if you're using the lower grate. I get higher / quicker temperature spikes without it. If you like to grill with the lid open, you can leave the lid open longer with the splitter in place. One day perhaps I will make a video on the difference. Easier to show it than to write it. But anyway. I'd consider no basket splitter to be "viable". One reason why maybe I had acceptable results is lighting with a looftlighter. I always light the center of my charcoal and I think that naturally pulled some air through adjacent charcoal in my pile without the basket splitter, so I didn't have so much air "going around" the charcoal. But - now that I have gone back to the splitter, I can see how it's more "ideal". question: is it considered mandatory to put the screws in the basket splitter? Call me the "lazy" 42 griller.

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@DennisLinkletter good point. When I'm smoking I do fill the firebox. When grilling, I haven't had an issue without the splitter, but I will re-visit.

Agree, I think the adventure is as much fun as the destination. “Just cook it” Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am sorry [mention]Poochie [/mention] . You may remember. For a while I had buyers remorse. My original order was for a 32. Dennis had a 42 cancellation and the rest is history. I feel I would have very similar experiences with the 32. I probably would not have been able to do over 100 lbs of raw pork at the same time but otherwise very similar. Also I feel the 32 being smaller might be the better smoker. Although I have done some great things with the 42. Def superior to “the green one”. It is not about “need”. And if you already have a 32 I know how much you love it. Keep loving it. Move the KK and love the KK 32. I still wonder what it would be like if I had the slightly smaller one. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pork tenderloins. Asparagus. Corn in the foil with some butter. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Normal night with my 42 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

1 year 6 months in: Notes: I no longer use the basket splitter. I find for my purposes a pile of charcoal on one side is perfect for grilling. For smoking I fill the whole 42 box. Whatever gets used gets used and I grill with the remainder. Largest cook - I paraphrase the movie “ office space”. - what would you do if you won a million dollars? “12 pork butts at the same time”. I did not win anything but I did do 12 pork butts at the same time and then felt like I had won a million dollars because of how damn good they all were. Advantage of the 42- Extra room. Multi-zone cooking to an extreme. I very often start vegetables indirect before my direct meat cook. I haven’t come close to reaching the full potential of this grill but I so appreciate all the room. It is a kamado but it is so flexible and easy to work with. I thought I would regret going bigger. I haven’t. Use dense lump. The 42 is pretty damn efficient on charcoal for its size. I would say it uses double the charcoal of my large BGE for an average cook but the surface area is something like 6x larger. Well worth it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here I am on a beautiful not-too-hot summer Saturday gearing up for dinner tonight and a shawarma cook tomorrow for several guests. I love my 42 SBB. It is the perfect grill and perfect smoker. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Father’s Day brisket. Brisket was a choice brisket but a good looking choice brisket. Salt and pepper, seasoned night before. 6h at 225 to 160 internal. Wrap in foil and 4.5 hrs more at 225 till point got buttery. Rested for 1 hr then served. No tallow. No fancy holding cooler. Came out pretty good. Maybe I got lucky. I would say not though. It was cooked on my 42” KK. Served with pomegranate bbq glaze (2 cups Pom brand pomegranate juice, 1 cup dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp black pepper, reduced) My wife made this avocado and asparagus potato salad that was awesome. Fresh tomatoes and plain ol steamed broccoli.

Normal everyday type stuff here - some asparagus and some chicken. Chicken prepared with simple spritz of Apple Cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and parsley flakes. Seasoned about 1 hr prior to grilling.

all of these look amazing and fun! thanks for sharing!

Yep I used wide foil all the way across the lower grate. Essentially allowing the fire / smoke to come up front and back - wide foil leaves about a 1-2 inch gap all the way across front and back which is perfect. I had the two big drip pans that came with the kk42 as well as one smaller one wedged in one side that covered most of the lower grate. I can take a picture once my grates are clean of the arrangement - soaking them now. I would say this setup did not catch 100% of the grease but close. The KK is certainly no worse for wear. All of the bbq came out great, too. Just a crapload of work. Started the cook around 10am sat. Was finally done at 4am Sunday. I held done butts in a hot cooler. Had one with an ice water bath going to cool it down quickly as I pulled it and put each butt in vac sealed bags. I pulled 3 butts worth and bagged the 12 -15 bags, allowed the bags to cool in the cold cooler for 30 mins, then cleaned the utensils and repeated the process until done. Hot bbq stayed hot. Pulled Q cooled down fast. Now I have around 50 vac sealed bags ready to roll. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk