Wingman505

47 minutes ago, AJR said:

Not sure on arrival yet, still waiting on confirmation as I just ordered it last night.  I loaded it up with 2 bags of coffee char, 6 boxes of Coco char, and some smoke wood.  Also got the split basket, and rib rack.  Hoping I don't regret not getting the double bottom pan.  I figure I'll get a steel for Pizza somewhere, and I don't plan to bake much (yet) so I skipped the stone.

 

Thanks, I had the idea of using plywood overlapping as well (or previously read it somewhere else in the forum).  How easily does it roll on pavers?  My driveway is pavers, so just wondering if it's easier to use plywood the whole way, or not needed for the 30 feet of pavers.

I'm excited for you AJR.    I hired movers to roll my 32" BB "Cronos" from the front of my house to the back.  We needed to go down a grade, and walk it down the full length of the house (loose gravel - dog run), through 2 gates, across a flagstone "bridge" and up a ledge onto the patio.  Get the 8 X 4 sheets of plywood.  I used 3/4" just to be sure with the 918 pound BB.  I think you can easily get away with 1/2" and save a tiny bit of cash.  I would have loved to move Cronos through the house, but he wouldn't fit through doors.  Once Hestia arrives, she's going through the house.  Its a straight shot, we have tile floors, its a concrete slab, so I'm not worried.  Plus, the 23" is roughly 400 pounds lighter, so I'm going to enlist friends instead of hiring movers.  Mr. Grant above is spot on... Don't use the lid or handle for moving.  Id use the wood if the pavers aren't level as it'd be easier to move, and I wouldn't want to put too much pressure on the legs, but I'm neurotic like that

When is it supposed to arrive?  Did you order any charcoal too?

2 hours ago, MacKenzie said:

You are leaving room for this family to grow.  

I love Greek mythology.  Hestia made a lot of sense as she's the goddess of the Hearth, Family, home, architecture, etc.  Cronos is her father and ruled during the Golden Age, so I liked the symbolism (Olive and Gold pebble).  I'm pretty simple.  Titans are big, the BB is big...

I am awaiting the shipment of our 23” Ultimate as I purchased coffee wood charcoal and all are going to ship together.  I think many of us are anxiously awaiting the KK coal.  I’m pretty excited to try it as I’ve never burned it before.   I’ve been thinking about names for our KKs and have decided on Cronos (32” BB) and Hestia (23” Ultimate).  😊

11 hours ago, mguerra said:

Well, my heat deflector that I just bought from the KK store is OTB, or grill shaped, not round. After years of using creative alternate heat deflectors, I am back to using it. The fact it is huge and thick seems a good thing to me. It has a large thermal mass, and radiates heat evenly. A lump fire is always going to have hotter and cooler spots. My guess is that translates straight through a few thousandths of an inch of foil. I want even radiation coming up from below for my roasting and low and slow cooks. Once that big mass comes up to thermal equilibrium, it should provide precisely that. I don't buy the theory that it burns up excessive charcoal coming up to temp. Maybe a little. The proof is in the cook. With that huge paving stone in my KK acting as a radiator/heat deflector, I have PLENTY of charcoal left at the end of a long low and slow. And the cooks don't seem any longer than using any other heat deflector. I have used pizza stones, pizza pans, cast iron griddles, baskets of lava rocks, a stainless round pan, and foil as heat deflectors. Now I have come full circle back to the huge thick grill shaped deflector, it gives me the result I want, and I'm sticking with it.

No one but me. And I'm buying a spare.

You bought a heat deflector, or baking stone?  Two different components with very different composition and function.

Oh gosh, I see another purchase coming...

Dennis has supported me and been extremely patient and thorough while working through my PERCEIVED issues. I've read about KK amazing customer service many, many times.  That instills confidence before and during the purchase.  Its extremely comforting if you need to exercise/experience it AFTER the purchase.  Very thankful to Dennis and the supportive community here on this forum.  Ive searched the forums for answers to maintenance questions, cooking ideas, etc.  This is a great community and excellent resource too.

Looks like Pinhead from “Hellraiser.” 😬😊

Nice smoke ring and bark!  What did you rub them with?

I’ll speak to Dennis. 😊

I took the hinge spring cover off to adjust the spring.  It has settled in and isn’t quite self-opening like when it was brand new.  I noticed these areas lacking grout.  I can see the refractory material in the gaps.  Should I install grout, or is this perfectly fine/normal?

17 minutes ago, ckreef said:

I suspect the top vent was to far open. I rarely go above 2 turns on the top vent. 

 

Think of this like trying to preheat an oven. If you leave the door cracked open it'll preheat but you're loosing so much air out the cracked door it'll take forever. Although that's a sort of extreme example the theory is still the same. 

Trap the heat in the Kamado. Better than trying to heat the backyard. 

 

Never thought of it that way, but makes a ton of sense.  I’m definitely applying this.

Holy cow @tekobo @Pequod, that looks amazing!

5 hours ago, MacKenzie said:

Well we know that didn't happen.  

I feel like I'll be in on the joke the longer I stick around. 

Yeah, I only had the left wheel open.  I had it open half way and had the top vent open way too much.   Got impatient and didn’t wait for the temp to fully stabilize prior turning it up... the. It overshot and I turned it way back.  All of this is against KK good practice of course.  This thing is ridiculous.  I shut the vents down to the 225 mark and it’s dropped about 50 degrees in three hours.

@Christinelynn has two celebrity crushes.  Oddly enough, they both are female.  First and foremost it’s Chrissy Teigen.  The 2nd is Joanna Gaines.  I’ve bought her the “Magnolia Table” cookbooks as well as Chrissy’s “Cravings” cookbooks.  We’re cooking for the neighbors tonight so Christine wanted to bake dinner rolls as part of the meal.  I’m still temperature hunting a little bit, and learning the grill so the dome temp got to ~35 degrees higher than I wanted it to for the bake.  They came out amazing.  Cooked perfectly internally, but the tops were darker than we’d like.  The picture actually makes them look darker than they are, however.  They weren’t bad, just not perfect.

23 minutes ago, ckreef said:

Eeekkk don't do me like that - LOL 

 

For me it's more of a space issue. If I can ever get that solved a slicer would be nice along with a vacuum chamber sealer. 

 

He's reading my mind.  I have a meat slicer, but it's this chincy, slow blade PoS.    I also have a couple of Foodsaver vacuum sealers that have served their purpose well.  I definitely want an upgrade for both.  I just have to convince @Christinelynn because she hates things on her counters, and the mechanical envelope of both units would be even bigger than what we've got now.

Chicken Satay.  Chicken breast marinated in a mixture of coconut milk, cumin, turmeric, garlic, and ginger.

I used to only buy Lumberjack

2 hours ago, Pequod said:

I’ll bite.

1. I don’t know the latest KJ models, but had a KJ Classic before my KK’s (yes plural). Nice grills, but night and day quality difference. Unless something has changed, the KJ is still a glazed ceramic pot at its core. KK’s are made of refractory cement, then encased in a thermal jacket. The insulating characteristics are far superior. Does it matter? Heck yeah. If you like Kamados for the low airflow due to the great insulation, KK’s far surpass the glazed pots in that regard

2. See answer to #1. Because KK’s are so well insulated, once heat soaked they recover extremely quickly from opening the lid. Go ahead and add more, take some off, or just admire the view. The KK recovers...fast.

3. Without a controller I’ve manages around 200F with no problem. With a controller I’ve gone down to 180.  With the cold smoker and no coals...ambient temps.

4. There is a thread here by @tekobo that compares the two. She has both and will be along shortly to fill you in. 

 

I too own a KJ Classic 2 and I just sold a BGE XL  I previously owned and sold a Weber Summit gas grill and a Traeger.  I can't really add much to Pequod's response above as I completely agree with all of it.  I've been cooking on Kamados for years, and nothing compares to the KK.  I received my 32" Big Bad and only needed to cook on it a few times to understand how different it is.  I've cooked 2 packer briskets, whole chickens, steaks, etc.  The KK performed flawlessly, with ease, and produced the best tasting version of each protein Ive ever had.  I ordered my 23" Ultimate just two weeks after receiving my Big Bad and we're currently anxiously awaiting its arrival.  That seems a little crazy, and it probably is, but the results spoke for themselves.  What's truly crazy is my wife, @Christinelynn, sanctioned the second purchase.  She's the family accountant... She does that job far better than I ever would, could, or want to.  If the food produced convinced her to make a second KK purchase, it'd convince anyone.

I guess I did have some to add. 

Fully open the bottom left vent, and fully open the top vent.  Light the charcoal in three places and hold on.

Edit: make sure you don’t have a bunch of smalls and dust blocking airflow.

Water Intrusion?  Have you been inspecting your grout for cracks, breaks, etc.?

10 hours ago, tekobo said:

Here is a whole new rabbit hole for you to go down Charles: buy a decent meat slicer and buy whole cured cuts.  The cured cuts store almost indefinitely if you vacuum pack them each time you finish with them and, sliced fresh, the meat always tastes better.  And you are saving the world from silly waxed paper liners!  Win win.  

Oh man @Christinelynn... This is a good idea!  More meat hoarding for me! 

3 hours ago, Pequod said:

@Tyrus has an offset and a KK. He’s best suited to answer.

My 2 cents: KK brisket is awesome. A stick burning offset in the right hands probably produces an even better one, though. Kamados are extremely versatile, with excellent results across a range of cook styles. But there is often a specialized tool that does even better. Love my KK pizza, but a wood fired oven would be even better. The great advantage of Kamados is that one tool can cover a lot of ground with excellent results, reducing or eliminating the need for multiple cookers.

It doesn't, however, reduce the need for multiple KKs. 

Congratulations!