Dennis

Finally happy with my ribs. 275F 4.5hrs unwrapped for cook, probe tender, glazed and wrapped when done to rest in warmer. Juicy, tender but a bit of a tug.

First full packer brisket on the kk overnight. 13h low and slow smoke @ 210F then 250F for last 3 hrs. Rendered tallow wrapped when done 205 degrees. Rested in warming oven for 7hrs @140F. Results; very tender, juicy, great bark and burnt ends. As Matt Littman would say from Meat Church “I ain’t mad at that”….

New first for me on the KK - handmade Bagels! Finally got to use the stone most use for baking Pizza. Bagels went on at 425F for 23 minutes on top grate. With the stone in it took some time to get to temp. Likely due to all the hardware and stone. They did come out very good 👍 will definitely do it again.

Thanks @Troble@tony b I too often do long low and slow cooks. And I always clean the bottom ask out before each cook. Per DL suggestion I now only lite one section and let it go. Current thinking is, as long as I can get and hold the temps I want it really doesn’t matter. Whats on the menus for Memorial Day? Did some Hanger Steak today and it was melt in your mouth tender.

18 hr low and slow boston butt - best ever! Flavor hack - add additional rub AFTER you pull it. Puts flavor in every bite….

Dino Beef Ribs - @300F 5hrs. Super bark, tender and very moist. Small rack and next time may try at a lower temp.

Halo 4B is amazing you will love it. It’s a lot more than just a smash burger and breakfast maker. We just last night used it to blacken some swordfish steaks and wife said the best she ever had. Enjoy 😉

@jeffshoaf @Tyrus thanks guys for all the great info. Your cooks look amazing. We are building and my wife strongly suggested we wait until our new home is completed. She’s right the rental we are temporally living in has enough stuff to cook on. KK, 4B Halo, Fontana Pizza Oven. Isn’t is amazing how the cooking bug bites and we can’t get enough. Keep sharing and keep smoking!

Hey @DennisLinkletterDennis L - again thanks for the intel - now back from beautiful Cleveland, I do have a couple of questions as we wrap up this topic. Actually, I haven't had any issues starting the KK or dialing in a temp. I will however, only start the charcoal in the middle (1 orange size) moving forward per you suggestion. I don't use the lower grate for cooking low and slow only for searing either with the splitter or without. Agree, not interested in ramping up the temp to 600f - that was just a test and I was lucky I didn't have to chase the temp down since the KK was not yet heat soaked. One area for clarity is when we cook with the splitter in a 2 zone set up, I believe many others including myself may be doing this incorrectly. Scenario, right handed so cold side of splitter on my right. I have put the foil on the middle grate on the cold side and upper grate for the protein but ALSO on the cold side. I believe you wrote somewhere the best set up to eliminate uneven indirect cooks is to always cook on the coal or hot side separated by foil deflector in a 2 zone set up. Is this correct? Lately, I have not used the splitter and just cook indirect center grate top and deflector center middle. Seems to give me a better crispy outside or bark on beef. lastly, as far as having fun... I LOVE cooking in the KK any chance I can get.

Thanks @jeffshoaf for the intel and pic’s! Do you use a cover to keep rain out? Looks like it’s under some structure. You mention it’s your favorite to cook with. Is your KK primarily reserved for the long and slow smokes?

@Tyrus First let me thank you for your insightful reply. Even more your very enjoyable way of writing ✍️. Yes, I too buy up and over any budget set for most of my purchases as well. Research leads to more knowledge and well, you know the results, we justify the buy it once and get what you want. Or what we think we want. The KK was easy as a 20 year BGE smoker, it was clear how the superior build and engineering was going to up the game. However, the new bug for open wood flame grilling has bit and there is a lot of confusion in the due diligence process. Do we want a brasserio or is it complicating the cook and does it have drawbacks with regard to higher heat on the back wall to dial in? Fire management of the embers, not going to want to shovel hot embers out over my deck to distribute. And of course how do we plan to use it? Steaks primarily, roti chicken, ribs all seem like the sweet spot for this style of cook. How did you use yours? Sunterra also seems like a good product and plan to review Hooray as well. It is under a covered lanai so SS is a possibility. Thanks again and have a great weekend.

@Tyrus Bringing up an old post to find out how you are enjoying the Santa Maria? Which model did you purchase? Would you have changed anything. I am very interested in adding one to my outdoor kitchen set up. Seems like a fun cook for steak and ribs? TIA Dennis

My turn to apologize for a delayed reply to your very thoughtful post. I am away on business travel and have a couple of questions and will post later this week. Thank you @Dennis L.

Thank you @Cheesehead_Griller perhaps by letting the KK ramp up to 600F accomplished the same as your technique with charcoal chimney? Next time I will light from the center only and see how it goes. My concern is the same as you stated on long slow cooks. Next test...

Thank you @remi to your point this is what made my experience odd to me as I did light in 3 spots across the whole basket. And after reading the commentary, that maybe unnecessary. Perhaps to Dennis L point it won't make any difference as long as it does not go out completely during a long overnight low and slow cook. The draft was open on the top enough to hit target temp and control easily. I'm not a newbie to this style of cooking and very comfortable with draft control. To that end I intentionally used both left and right lower vent adjustments for that reason, thinking maybe I am having a draft issue, cracking one side. On the last cook I lit the basket the same way and let the ramp go to 600F which happened very quickly then shut down to target settings. Luckily the KK was not heat soaked yet and allowed for a fairly quick drop to my target temp, no chasing involved. Now what's interesting, when I looked at the basket this time following the cook albeit only 4 hrs. the basket burned evenly across. BTW I was using the KK Smoker so it was very obvious the top was open appropriately allowing for the smoke to exhaust out the top vent. Hey these KK's are beasts and I am only trying to dial in their idiosyncrasies'. I know it will happen and with the input from those on this forum with over a decade of experience.