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Re: Poll - Main and lower handle position/placement I think Rick's suggestion for raising the height of the handles on the main grill might be the ticket. Also, slant the handles inward on the secondary grill. Like Syzgies, I have become adept at using the roti tools for lifting the hot grills.

Re: lighting the grill Just short of miraculous! Next time you do this, bake off a few pizzas at those high temps!

Re: lighting the grill Did you take a pic of the clean KK?

Re: Whole Beef Tenderloin It's a silicone plug with a small slit in it and comes with the KK; I'll shoot a photo later today.

Re: Rib Roast pic

Re: Los Angeles Port Closure - Union greed does it again... So a government agency, namely, The Los Angeles Port Authority, imposes a fine upon customers which has the practical effect of pressuring the companies like APL to settle with the union. That's disgraceful.

Re: Whole Beef Tenderloin Damn Doc, I hope you don't use all those probes at once; it would be way too much to monitor! Have you ever had a guru or stoker alert at the office? On a serious note, it would be nice to have a high quality unit with two probes. I don't use a stoker or guru since I monitor the KK visually. My AW 129 has worked superbly, but I do have to change the probe annually.

Re: Whole Beef Tenderloin Does the new Oregon Scientific fit through the silicone probe hole? They redesigned the probe; I believe it now uncouples from the cord. Just wondering if it fits. My AW 129 has been very consistent, about 3 degrees variance from the Thermapen. Loquitur, those filets look magnificent!!

Re: Rib Roast pic Perfect!

Re: lighting the grill That thick crust may someday be of anthropological import!

Re: Los Angeles Port Closure - Union greed does it again... Why is APL imposing a penalty on its customers irrespective of the labor dispute?

Re: kk tool accessories I've been using them to lift the hot grates. (That's what I thought they were for, mia culpa) Once you know the balance point on each grate, it's easy. I have welder gloves, but they are too bulky to grab the grate handles.

Re: Best vacuum packer? (FoodSaver alternatives?) I've had pretty good luck with the Westson Pro 2300. I purchased it on Ebay, but here is an Amazon link. Next step up would be a chamber sealer. http://www.amazon.com/Weston-65-0201-Pr ... B001GP81R2

Re: Thanksgiving 2011 Doc, my turkey has poor eyesight. What should I do? 12 or 20 gauge?

Re: First Burn of KK Extruded Coconut Charcoal When I shook the basket after the high temp. burn, some fines sloughed off the rods, but it was not significant. I'll be a bit more empirical next time. I'll sift the fines, and weigh them. The burnt rods were definitely more fragile than ones burned at low temperature.

Re: First Burn of KK Extruded Coconut Charcoal Here's what was left of the ECC after the all-night cool-down.

Re: First Burn of KK Extruded Coconut Charcoal I did another cook with the ECC last night. This time I wanted to see how it faired at high temperature. It was amazing! I used the residual ECC from the first cook which is shown in the original post. To this I poured a chimney full of lighted Kingsford Competition. I then added three rods of the ECC broken into three pieces each. The KK hit 550 in about 45 minutes. I was watching to see if the unit would climb above that mark without further augmentation. It was stable at 550 for about 15 minutes, then wham, the temperature started climbing. And climb it did! It quickly climbed to 725 degrees, and I then backed it to 700 degrees. It remained at 700 while I baked three pizzas. It took 4 minutes to cook the pies, and the recovery period between pies was less than 5 minutes. There was sufficient residual heat in the KK to have cooked all night. The pies were baked on the pizza stone in the dome, and I used the heat deflector on the main grill below the dome grill.

Re: Thanksgiving 2011 I used Tyler Florence's recipe for split-roasted turkey last year. It was the most moist and flavorful bird I have ever cooked or tasted. It also has the advantage of a relative short cook time. This year I'll try it in the KK. http://www.housebeautiful.com/kitchens/ ... key-recipe

Re: First Burn of KK Extruded Coconut Charcoal If I keep up the research, I'll begin to look like my avatar!

Re: First Burn of KK Extruded Coconut Charcoal Here are the after shots of the charcoal, shaken and unshaken respectively.

Yesterday I did a test using the new ECC. Using a 7 3/4 pound bone-in pork butt, I brought the KK up 310 degrees. It took about 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach 310 degrees dome temperature. The pork butt was seasoned only with "Special Sh..t." After 5 1/2 hours, at an internal temperature which ranged from 185 -193, I pulled the roast. When I started this at 1230 hours, the weather was sunny and mildly warm. When I pulled the roast, it was raining! The aromas coming from the KK during the afternoon were wonderful!. The roast turned out perfectly and was very moist. Now, the charcoal is ultra stable, and burns very evenly. It has almost no smoke profile, just a slight sweetness to it. I used 5 sticks, breaking them into thirds. It is a very efficient fuel. After five hours of roasting, an hour or so of heat sinking, and the extinguishing period, about 40% of the fuel remained and is quite reusable. I think Dennis has hit a home run with this charcoal. That being said, the size of the rods are a bit large, and I think most folks will find it necessary to break them into smaller pieces. I tried using a very sharp kindling hatchet, but found that breaking them, as Dennis suggested elsewhere on this forum, was easier, quicker, and cleaner. I can only surmise that if one fully loaded the basket with full 8" rods, the KK would burn for several days! To light the charcoal, I placed about 6 Kingsford Competition briquettes in a chimney lighter, then two pieces of the ECC over them. The charcoal in the chimney ignited rapidly, and was then poured into the well in the KK. I'm sure Whiz will conduct a much more empirical review once he gets that screen door repaired!. My next test will be high heat to see how it does with pizza. Congratulations Dennis!

Re: BBQGuru New Product Amen to that!

Re: Cooking despite curing I recommend using the heat deflector, and heat sinking the baking stone well in advance. 650 - 750 is your baking range, but only after your break in period.

Re: Getting Close!! I'm impressed. Cattle with registered semen!!

Re: Hall's Hill I would produce coffee charcoal for the flavor of the smoke, subtle but poignant. Burning characteristics are important as well, namely, fuel stability and capacity for high temperatures. All of these features were attributes of the Halls Hill charcoal. This is why I lament the loss of availability. I'm sure Dennis will design a fine product. Speaking of which, Dennis how brittle will the charcoal be and will this pose a problem in terms of shipping?