remi

Looks great! There are a few of us Aussies on here, welcome- it's a great forum.

Finally mobile enough after breaking my leg to venture into the backyard… have spent the last 3 days tidying the front yard and backyard. Our house no longer looks abandoned! Unsurprisingly am completely shattered with exhaustion- but did manage to fire up the KK for a nice mixed grill tonight… corn, vege basket with potato, sweet potato, broccoli and asparagus, beef sausages, chicken satay skewers, marinated lamb ‘lollipops’ and a couple of eye fillet steaks. A big hit with the family after a long hiatus!

Good choice of KK! Same as mine. Just used the clip to secure the thermometer- easy peasy, no issues after 3yrs!

Just curious- am I missing something here? Is the concern about rain mainly relevant in places which also snow/ freeze- in which case the KK would be subjected to freeze/ thaw cycles in any cracks that develop? Perhaps I've been lucky, but 3yrs in, the exterior of my KK looks pristine and is crack free. My KK sits completely uncovered on our patio, just outside the kitchen window. All the better as I can appreciate its beauty. Any dust etc gets nicely washed off when it rains. Much better than looking at a cover (every cover I ever had on my previous BBQ's ended up covered in spider webs/ bird poo and other unpleasantness). Yes- my side tables need refinishing every year because they are exposed to the weather, but the same is true of all outdoor teak furniture. Now- being in Melbourne, our rainfall is modest, and it never freezes- so obviously I am lucky in that regard. But logically, my tiled and grouted KK offers the same water protection as my tiled and grouted bathroom. I would also be worried that a cover would impede ventilation to some degree and increase the risk of mould developing during the hot and humid summer months.

Can chime in to answer a few of your questions: - vent settings are the same no matter how much charcoal is in there: the volume of charcoal burning at any moment depends only on airflow, which is what your vent settings do - I use alfoil on the bottom grate (just wrapped on), and usually also have the drip tray on top of that, with my low and slow meat on the main grate - Once the KK is up to temp, there should be no dramatic change in the temps unless you are frequently opening and closing the lid. As they say- if you're looking, you're not cooking - You don't need to worry about whether the coals are burning in one spot. It is a low and slow indirect cook, the coals can burn wherever they like - For most low and slow applications, it is only the top vent that matters- for a low and slow the bottom vent is barely cracked to the width of a pencil, 225 is top vent just off the seat, 250 or so perhaps another 1/8th turn (or less), 1/4 turn or just past that and you will be closer to 290-300... this is a rough guide, take an afternoon to play around slowly- make the change, observe and don't fiddle such that you can build confidence of where your temps are - Don't obsess about the difference between dome and grate temp- on a 10hr low and slow cook these will equalise soon enough Hope that all makes sense?

I can second the recommendations already given. For a long and slow cook, it is completely fine to use a full basket. Then you use foil +/- a drip pan on the lower grate to set up your indirect zone. Obviously make sure you are using dry and good quality charcoal- but I have used at least 5 different brands of lump, and this method works just the same with all of the brands I have tried. With a full basket, light one small area of charcoal (grapefruit sized as Dennis says) and walk away. I usually have my vents wide open, and as soon as I see the dome temp shift above 100F, I set my vents to my desired temperature. Set and forget.... never mess with or check anything ever again. Always at temp for a low and slow within 60min. Like most frequent users, I have a good sense of where 225/250/275/300/350/400F are on my top-hat in terms of degrees of turn. In more than 3yrs of very frequent use, I have only had the fire die once. On a very windy night the charcoal seemed to burn from where I lit out to the left-hand edge, and burnt down all the charcoal in that area, seemingly with no way to get back to the rest of the bed. Truly bizarre, and a one-off. If you're still not sure- set up a call with Dennis, he will set you right. This should be a non-issue... in fact, the absolute ease of temp management is what sets the KK apart. Like many here, I've never used a controller/ fan/ bellows- and don't see any need to.

All these meals you are all cooking look so amazing... I'm out of action for 1-2 months at least as I broke my leg almost 2 weeks ago, and as the only KK user/ cook in our house I'm going to have to live vicariously through you guys until October or so. So keep the great photos coming!

Was gifted a Pepper Cannon for my last birthday by my family- it rocks! These also look like a good option.

Time for a bit of a ‘mixed grill’ tonight. Corn, yellow squash, small red capsicums, large mushrooms, country suasage links, smash burgers, chicken satay skewers, lamb kofta skewers and a couple of scotch fillet steaks. Nice mix for us and the kids- ended up using most the the 32BB lower grate real estate. Great success as always…

Done!

It’s been a busy month or so with visitors- and we have my father in law staying for a few days this time. For tonight, it was a tandoori marinated lamb leg, cooked indirect at 400F until medium rare. Served with lemon wedges, coriander, habenaro mango hot sauce, fragrant raita, salad, rice and roti. Everyone happy as per usual with a KK dinner!

Yep- Movida and the sister restaurants are all great.. the dining scene in Melbourne is outstandingly good. I am very very lucky!

Very true- whereas in Australia, being an immigration nation, most people cook all sorts of cuisine in their weekly routine... and no one gets too precious about anything food related, which is great.

I usually cook paella inside, but when I’ve got some time it is so much nicer on the KK. It was a beautiful autumn evening here, and kids were sorted- so it was the perfect time to cook tonight’s paella on the KK with some post oak for smoke. Originally paella was cooked on a pan over fire, so it feels right. Simple one tonight with chorizo, chicken, Roma tomatoes and green beans/ flavoured with saffron, paprika, stock and rosemary from our garden. Spicy pimenton in the adult one. I also love cooking the whole thing outside as you set up your ‘mise en place’ and then just relax. I’m smokey as all hell though, so need a shower. Nevertheless it was so so good- worth the extra effort.

Looks lovely- but can I ask a question? I've never understood how a griddle is any different to a large flat frying pan?