GrillnBrew

Did the pallet jack roll across those plastic sheets fairly easily? From the front yard to the back yard is a decent hill (thus the walkout basement), and the pallet jack did roll easily. One son was "driving" and my other son and myself were holding the crate to make sure it didn't run away down the hill. Had three others leapfrogging the plastic, so it was a very smooth operation. I rented the sheets and pallet jack from Sunbelt Rentals, they rent heavy equipment as well as basic yard stuff, not sure if they are national or not, but I'm sure there will be something similar near you guys. The pallet jack and the three sheets cost me $30 for the weekend. The labor cost me two pork butts and several beers, definitely a bargain!

Instead of the plywood, I rented these plastic sheets that contractors use to drive equipment across yards, diamond textured on one side and smoother on the other. Did the job and I didn't have to worry about cracking or splitting. When I got mine last year, plywood was going for more than a couple of prime briskets, so I rented these three sheets for about $10. The other photo shows the size of the pallet jack in relation to the crate. Good luck!

Probably talking about the spare gasket for the top vent, hopefully you won't need that for a while. Other than attaching the side tables and rotisserie (if you got them), there really is no other assembly, just placement of the charcoal basket and grates. Everything you really need to know can be found on this forum, just search for it and you will see somebody has already had the same issue or question. The unpacking threads are really helpful for seeing all the pieces and and people here explaining where they go and how to use them.

I'm in High Point. I do have the spit, which I have used several times, and just received the cold smoker for Christmas, still have not had a chance to try it out.

If you're in the Piedmont of NC, you're welcome to come by and kick the tires on my BB 32 and evaluate the space and admire the tiles. Plus it might be the only non-blue grill that Dennis sold in the last year based on all the pictures of new grills on the forum!

I also came from a ceramic cooker, a KJ classic, and was trying to decide whether to go with a 23 or 32. I heard the same rationale, and went with the 32 and have not regretted it one bit. If you get the basket splitter, you can adjust the size of the basket for whatever you're cooking, and the multiple cooking grids can create endless setups that will handle most any of your cooking needs. I also second the rotisserie, I have never had better pork loin, leg of lamb, chicken or turkey than what I've produced using the rotisserie. The KJ does still see some action as it's on the deck right outside the kitchen, it's pretty much relegated to hot dogs, brats and fish, the really quick cooks.

Just remove the four screws holding the wood under the feet and that piece will slide right out leaving the grill resting on the one block under the body. Then just tilt and roll down the ramp.

Everything looks delicious, but I keep going back to that Octopus...

Looks right at home!

When I first saw my 32, I thought it was huge and I probably made a mistake by not going with a 21 or 23 like I had originally planned. I knew it would handle the larger cooks like a champ, but most of my cooks are for 2 or 3 people. I spun one chicken on Friday using the basket splitter for the first time, and couldn't believe how simple it was. I had 1/4 of the basket filled with charcoal and put the chicken on the rotisserie right above it, and it turned out great. What surprised me was how little charcoal it did use, less than what I would have used had I spun the chicken on my Kamado Joe. Yesterday I did a low and slow smoke on a tri-tip, followed by a reverse sear and didn't have to change the setup at all (replaced spit with racks), as the lit charcoal was on the far right of the basket and the meat was on the rack on the left. Then I seared it on the lower grate and it turned out perfect. To me, the bottom line is that the grill is huge, but it can be adjusted to fit whatever you are cooking, so I don't think there is such a thing as "too big" with a KK.

Lookin' good! I haven't done my burn in yet, was going to do it Monday, but I saw where it was taking people 10-12 hours, so figured I would wait until I could start early and commit a whole day to it. Keeping it low and slow until then.

@Syzygies Which model impulse sealer do you have, or is there one you would recommend?

Congratulations on the retirement! I thought I was being bold cooking a brisket for one of my first cooks, but you took it to a whole different level with that pig! Great looking cook and I like the idea of the sundae. One of the BBQ food trucks near me does a BBQ sundae with pulled pork on the bottom, then slaw, baked beans and repeats so there are two layers. They top with a hush puppy and some cracklin' and it's served in a plastic mason jar. Yours looks delicious and probably a lot easier to eat in a bowl!

I think it may take a few more cooks to get the "feel" of the top cap down. I tighten it all the way down, then loosen until there is very little resistance from the gasket and make my adjustments from that point. I'll be doing my burn in either Sunday or Monday, and I will play with the low temps before I really start to heat it up. You are right, the proof is in the taste, and like the beer I brew, I am my own worst critic as I know the little things that didn't go quite right and I am looking for those things when I taste it. I had a couple of slices of the flat for lunch today and it was still really good, it did not crumble at all like I have had the brisket cooked on my KJ do.

I used the drip pan which comes with the grill, basically it's SS round serving tray. The double bottom drip pan is on my wish list.

I would say about 10 lb after trimming, and it was on the grill 9 hours plus and hour rest.

Cooked a brisket from a local farm on Saturday, cook went pretty well as I am learning my vent settings and configurations. I started with a full basket of Fogo black bag, and started it in one spot. With my KJ, I leave the lid open for about 10 minutes to make sure I have a good fire going, then close the lid and close down the vents. I did the same thing on the KK, and couldn't believe how quickly the charcoal caught and the fire I had going. I closed and sealed the lid, shut the cap down all the way and then opened it up about 3/4 turn. I opened the bottom left vent about 90 degrees and set the right vent on the pencil sized hole. About 5 minutes later the dome was reading 400, I knew the fire needed to be choked down more. I closed the left bottom vent completely and set the right to the pencil-sized hole. About 30 minutes later I was at 250, so I added some pecan chunks to the fire, when I could smell the pecan, I put the brisket on and the temp was at 265. After 3 hours, I went to check (pic below) and the temp was about 265, a little higher than I wanted but nothing to be concerned about. Opening the lid, my sunglasses fogged up from the moisture, never had that happen before, and I could see condensation on the gasket. The aroma was incredible, I thought I had smelled "good smoke" before when it was thin and blue, but the intensity of the pecan and beef from the kk was a totally different level. A few hours later I went to take a temp reading as I knew it was nearing the stall, and the grill temp was up to 300. I wrapped the brisket, closed the cap down all the way and opened it up about 1/3 turn and set the lower vent to the smallest opening. Two hours later I went to probe and the temp was up to 330, again I wasn't worried as the brisket was wrapped, but I was surprised the temp had continued to increase. I could still smell the pecan, so I thought maybe another chunk had caught fire and thus the temp increase. When I removed the brisket, the grill temp was about 340, so I shut the cap, the lid and the bottom vent. I let the brisket rest about 90 minutes (people were getting hungry), and then sliced it. After smelling the meat all afternoon, people were grabbing slices as quickly as I could cut them. The flat, which I have always used for sandwiches or tacos, was really tasty, not dry at all, I actually put a couple pieces on my plate. The point was melt in your mouth heaven, my hopes of making burnt ends disappeared as quickly as the slices I was cutting. Thankfully I didn't cut it all and I do have some for leftovers. Overall, I was impressed with the way the KK performed, and I'm guessing the top cap is going to be my key to nailing my temperature. The other thing, I had put the lower rack in and put the drip tray on that. I then put a foil pan in the drip tray hoping to collect some of the rendered fat from the brisket. Everything in the pan was burnt, there was not even any juice remaining. What is a better way to set up the pan to collect juices and fat without burning? And thanks for all the posts so far, I doubt my brisket would have turned out as good as it did if I hadn't researched everyone else's cooks first!

What a party! Happy Birthday!

I ordered one during the Kickstarter, was a bit much for my KJ, but the KK had no problem with it!

Lions fan, just as bad!

And please ignore the Packers cover on my gas grill, my oldest son is a Packers fan (genetic anomaly) and he got it for me as a gag gift, but I was forced to use it when the original cover on my grill finally disintegrated.

Picked up a pallet jack and three sheets of dura pad on Friday knowing my two boys would be here this weekend for Father's Day. Saturday, I had my wife, both my sons, my cousin and his wife and daughter, who is getting ready to graduate as a physical therapist, something that might come in handy after this move. We had one handling the pallet jack, 2-3 on the crate, and 3 leapfrogging the pads. We took our time, and everything went really smoothly, lots of stop and go on the hill, but no hiccups at all. We did get it under the deck before I realized I needed to take the crate off, but was able to slide it back out, remove the crate and then back under the deck. I've seen questions about removing the wood holding the wheels, we used a drill to take out the four screws in each block which left the grill sitting on the center piece of wood. I slid the ramp to the front, we tilted the grill off the wood block and rolled her onto the patio below the deck. Probably took 30 minutes total and that was being very cautious the entire time. Way easier than I anticipated. The first cook was a trial by fire, my father in law had requested pork loin for Father's Day dinner (later I found out he wanted pork tenderloin, but it got lost somewhere in translation), so I slapped the charcoal basket in there, fired up the grill, skewered the whole pork loin on the spit and let her rip. I played with vents and got it settled in around 350, wanted it higher but didn't want the temp to run away from me before I do the venting. The pork loin was good, I had left some fat on hoping to get some crackle, but that never happened, and I never got the color that I've seen on other rotisserie cooks. Also, the charcoal seemed to burn from the center to the left, so one side of the pork loin had nice color and the other, not so much, but that may have been from the rushed lighting job I did on the charcoal. I'm also thinking that since I'm a lot further from the fire than on my Kamado Joe, I need a little more heat. I also had the spit come out of the left side a couple times and start crawling across the inside wall of the KK, funny thing is that it just kept spinning. I would have spent more time setting it up or making adjustments, but it was already getting late and the in-laws were getting hangry. Sunday I made the adjustment to the rotisserie spit so it sits firmly in the seat, and also attached the two side tables. Going to do some quick dinner cooks this week, and then going for the brisket on Saturday, and hopefully the burn in on Sunday. I will take pics of my next cooks.

Nice grill, and glad you could get the coco char.

No bobcat but they do have the pallet jack. They also have something called dura deck that is used to protect delicate ground from heavy equipment, so I'm getting 3 pieces of that instead of plywood. 4x8 sheets rent for $10, so cheaper than plywood and more durable. Should have her fired up tomorrow!

Thanks. I'm going by an equipment rental company today for the pallet jack, will ask about the bobcat rental too, maybe they would be willing to move it for me. Hoping to cook our Fathers Day meal on it this weekend. Everything but the firebox is out of the grill, and that was quite the workout hauling all those grates around the house to the backyard.