Paswesley

@Mguerra: Yeah, like Cook_Shack said, and it allows me to get my pie up close to the top of the dome to get reflective browning and convection. That is, if I understand your question. I cook pizzas up in the dome, too. I get nice browning this way. When I cooked the six butts a few weeks back, I had three on the sear grill in this configuration, with the other three butts on the main grill, like the potatoes are in the photo. Paswesley

Hi, Forum family. Yesterday evening, and into today, I attempted my first brisket on the KK. I have done brisket on other types of cookers, but never on a KK, so I was really curious how it would turn out. I needn't have been concerned. I have been looking for ca supply of local food grade hickory, and I found it yesterday. Unfortunately, the arborist said he will not be cutting and splitting the tree until early September. However, all was not lost. I mentioned that I was looking for food grade smoking wood, and he brightemed right up. He sold me about a hundred pounds 1/8th cord of seasoned cherry wood. I jumped on it. So, this brisket is smoked with cherry. I cut pieces into about 4 x 3 inch chunks, and threw some in with the lump. I got Mable stablized at about 220. Then, I put the brisket on about 11:15 PM. I made sure she was good and steady and went to bed around 2:00. When I got up at 10:00, the Trutemp looked like this, and the brisket looked like this. I took the brisket off at around 1:30 at 188 degrees, as measured by my trusty Maverick probe. It looked like this. Since Mable looked so pitiful with nothing else left to do, I threw some white potatoes and sweet potatoes into a roaster pan, and added a deep dish (SaraLee) apple pie on the upper grill, close to the dome, so it could get some good heat sink action for browning the crust. Here is what they looked like. I foil-wrapped the brisket, toweled it and put it in the cooler, of course. The pie is out, and the potatoes are finishing up. We are going to add collards to the brisket and potatoes, and finish it off with apple pie a la mode. I haven't quite figured out how to whip up french vanilla ice cream in my Mable, but I'm working on it! I only hope the family enjoys eating it as much as I enjoyed kooking it!

Utter embarassment Hi, guys. I have an embarrassing confession to make: I don't know how to post pictures. Could anyone briefly describe how to do it? Thanks

I can only look and long. I could never justify paying for the world's first $10,000.00 kamado. With the craftsmanship, cost of materials and sundry, it could cost $15,000.00. Yet, were I a wealthy man, as some of you are, I would "jump in it (sic)," to quote the micro-giraffe kissing Russian on the commercial who is such a lover of opulence. "Opulence. I has it (sic)." Dennis, maybe you could have a one year waiting list for this cooker, like a top Ferrari. I wonder if, subjectivity aside, foods would taste any differently when cooked in a hammered copper KK? Probably taste better...

Hi, Forum Family: I have to brag on Dennis' product, and thank God that I have one! Mable earned her first merit badge today: Advanced Severe Thunderstorm Kooking. We have had severe weather all day, from 4:30 AM when the first storm rumbled through, until now. It's raining cats and dogs right now. We seldom get tornados in Maryland, but there were several tornados today. Thank God, we were spared. During a lull, I cranked Mable up to 375, and once the heat sink was full, I popped a meat loaf in. After re-stabilizing on 375 (about 5 min.), she sat dead on for the next three hours (it was a ten pound meat loaf.), including a severe thunderstorm that came up about 1.5 hours into the cook. I ran out and retrieved the Maverick remote just in time, and then consigned Mable to the elements. I did not touch the drafts. I simply turned and ran through the downpour like a chased cur and left her to her fate. She never blinked. That cold rain pelted down, then slacked a bit, slacked, pelted, slacked, etc, and through it all, Mable did not deviate a single degree from 375. Try that with a gas grill. Well done, Mabel. I can't wait to cook chili and beans while she earns her Howling Nor'easter badge come February. BTW, the meatloaf was superb. Happy Kooking! Paswesley

Welcome to the family. We are an eclectic bunch, united by a common love for great outdoor cooking on the best ceramic cooker available. I have only had my Gen II KK for a few weeks, but I am in love. You know, its kind of strange that I love outdoor cooking in all it's forms, because we never cooked out when I grew up. I remember always wishing that we would, because my grandparents would cook out sometimes, and I LOVED that smoky taste! After I graduated undergrad, I think I bought a 22 " Weber kettle with my first paycheck, and I have been cooking out ever since. Man, once I start talking, I'm like a runaway freight train! To return to the point, welcome to the KK family. (I believe you will wind up getting one! )

Thanks, Cook_Shack. Does anyone know where I can obtain a small dual voltage hair dryer, one that works on 120 volts AC and 12 volts DC? Thanks

Guys, thanks for the input. I guess I will keep the blow dryer after all. There are foreseeable circumstances when I would want to quickly get up to temp for a grill or a roast. I hope that Dennis weighs in, if this is a method that he regularly uses.

Thanks, Firemonkey. Even your orangutan avatar looks like he is kicking back and chilling out. Maxing the relaxing is very important. Due to the vivid imagery of your description of flying ash, I do believe the return counter at Marshall's will soon be receiving the return of one bargain hair dryer. Reason: Buyer remorse!

Hello, forum family. Someone mentioned somewhere that a cheap blow dryer may be used as an aid to accelerate the process of getting the KK up to cooking temp. I know that most of you big spenders have BBQ Guru or Stokker systems, but maybe you used this method before you got your draft aids. Until I get something more elaborate, i will be using this little hair dryer I picked up for $12.99. After lighting with my propane torch, should I blow the air down onto the charcoal basket from above? Or, assuming there are no ashes present, should I blow the air into the lower draft door? This does not appear to be practical in L&S cooking, because you don't want to overshoot your target temp. I suppose where the blow dryer's airflow is applied would depend on how hot the stabilized target temp is going to be. Ideas/suggestions? Thanks, Anton

T-Rex: Is that a Chinook (or other subspecie of) Salmon, or a Lake Trout? If you weren't three thousand miles away, I would bake a pan of cornbread and head your way for dinner. That fish looks so delectable that you could serve it with sarsaparilla if you wanted to.

Welcome to the club, Gary. Happy Kooking!

Although a new member of the family, I want to join the others in welcoming you. Among the many grills I've owned over the last thirty years, there have been a few Weber kettles and a Weber gas grill. You will soon discover that no other cooker has quite prepared you for the flavor and succulence that the KK imparts to everything that it cooks. Enjoy the culinary journey. You are going to ruin yourself for going out, though. Everything will taste better at home.

These are a bit pricey for a temporary solution, but they look pretty good. I may buy one of these for a permanent solution, unless I see a better value in a stainless cart. http://www.blueevolution.com/C-utility- ... x?catid=57 If the link will not automatically load, simply paste it into your browser.

Thanks. Paswesley

Forum Family: Just checking to see if my charcoal use is about average. I am burning the Made in America version of Royal Oak. Yesterday was typical, so I will use it for an example. I loaded about 14 lbs. of lump into the basket. It was full, but not above the fire ring. I ran it up to 390, then backed it down to 325. This took about an hour. Then, I cooked various things at that temp and shut it down after eight hours at 325. To recap, one hour to stabilize at 325, then eight hours kooking at 325, and cool down. When I checked the coal basket this morning, I had about two to three pounds of unburned and partially burned lump left. Does this sound about right for charcoal consumption, using Royal Oak? Thanks.

KK Family: I felt rotten today, I have an upper repiratory infection, so to cheer myself up- I got to Kookin'! I put a fresh 11.5 pound turkey and a 9 pound fresh picnic on the main grill and settled in at 326 for a spell. For dinner, I added a nice milk gravy to the giblets that I had slow stewed on the stove along with a nice side salad, and, well, I nearly swallowed my tongue it was so good. Despite the fact that I did not wrap the wings in foil, they remained so tender and juicy that my wife told me to stop grinning when I bit into one. The pork was an improvement on the first attempts a week back. Spectacular! As we were tidying up, I noticed a couple Beauregard sweet potatoes sitting accusingly in the basket that we keep dry veggies in. When I mentioned to my wife that the potatoes might have been added to the meal, she said, "It's still hot. What's stopping you." I sprayed a coating of canola oil on those puppies and set them in the KK. Two hours later, I was grinning like a fool again. Now, "I am southern born and southern bred, and when I die, I'll be southern dead." I know a good tasting sweet 'tater when I taste one. Mable ought to be ashamed for how she made those potatoes taste. When I cook them in a conventional oven, the juices run out and burn in the bottom of the pan. In the KK, all of the juice somehow stayed in the skin, and when I bit into it, it was like someone had poured a little pool of rich sweet syrup over the potato in the skin. I am not ashamed to admit that I ate the skin and licked my fingers. Has anyone ever tried to cook a sweet potato pie in the KK? I mean, if the bare potato comes out like that, the pie ought to be "slap yo' momma good!"

Thanks.

Don't feed 'em hot oatmeal! I was looking for a wire shelving unit like you have depicted, and I found a possible match at Sams and at BJs. Does the water heater pan fit within the perimeter of the shlf, or do they extend past the perimeter? The shelves that I saw have a raised edge that is about two inches high. The grills would not fit inside. It should not matter if about 4 inches of the water pan overlap the shelving, so long as there is no raised edge. Unless you tell me of some wire shelving that is 25 inches deep, I will go ahead and buy one that has 18" deep shelving without a raised edge.

What kind of coon hounds are they? Blueticks? I had a bluetick crossed with shepherd mutt growing up as a kid. Great dog, and he lived to be 17 years old! Not bad for a 50-60 pound dog. When I was eight years old, my mom gave me a big pan of oatmeal that she had cooked for Ringo, that had all kinds of good scraps from our dinner in it. (Back then, in 1964, that's what poor people fed their dogs, along with whatever else they could scrounge up.) Well, I was in a hurry to get back in and see Bonanza. So, I set the food in front of him and wheeled around to zip back into the house. Well, I realized about the time I had taken a step or two that it was too hot- but Ringo was real possessive about his food. He would not let me take it away. So he howled and cried and bayed and sputtered all the while he was eating that hot oatmeal! It taught me a lesson, about what a hungry dog will do to ease his hunger, and about what a young kid ought to do to be responsible toward his animal. Needless to say, I never told my parents. They would have whupped me good!

Thanks, Dennis. I appreciate the tip on which grill to use, too. Paswesley

I have the pizza stone that Dennis makes, and I look forward to using it. It will handle pizzas up to 15" in size. My wife asked me a question that I can't answer, so I turn to you. We often go to Costco and Sams. Their pizzas are 18". Does anyone know whether an 18" or 19" pizza stone can be used in the KK? I have measured, and they would fit. Does anyone know of any reason why pizza stones of this size could do harm to the Kooker? If they are safe for the Kooker, would Dennis consider making an XL refractory pizza stone? I'd buy it. Thanks, Paswesley

Thanks!

Hi, Forum Family: I tried my first steaks yesterday. They were not a particularly good cut. They were mock tenderloins that were cut for me by the great guys at Safeway. They were actually two inch thick cuts of the tenderest part of the sirloin. I have found that, of all the retail supermarket meats available in this area, Safeway is by far the better of them. The meat is guranteed tender, even the so called tough cuts, and the guys in the meat department will bend themselves into a pretzel to accommodate you. We have yet to get a piece of meat that was not tender. Anyway, back to the steaks. Rather than to risk a strip or a ribeye, I thought I would cut my teeth on the sirloins. I made so many mistakes! First, I had it set up for indirect cooking, heat deflector and all. NOT! I quickly took out the heat deflector and set them on the main grill. NOT! I finally put them on the lower grill, , and was in the money. Even after all of those greenhorn goofs, the steaks cooked up great. The only problem I had was gauging when they were done. I have a Maverick, but I am a purist when it comes to my steaks, I eyeball them. I have discovered that the KK imparts a reddish hue to the meat, and it was about dusk when I cooked them, so I overcooked them a bit. We eat them med-rare, but they were med-rare to medium. My daughter's fiance said they reminded him of meat that you "...get at those fancy restaurants where they come to the table and cook the steaks in front of you." I thought that was a pretty good compliment, especially since, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE HECK I WAS DOING!!! I can't believe how the KK pulls your bacon out of the fire, so to speak, and makes you look good when other (lesser) cookers would drop you on your head. Thanks, again, Dennis, for making one whale of a good Kooker. My wife is now teasing me by saying that she was the one that convinced me to buy it! Yeah, right!

MGuerra: I like the looks of your set up. I need something like this to tide me over until I can opt for a more permanent, "aesthetic" solution, also! I wonder if the water pans that you are using are plastic, and, if so, do they allow for placing a hot (350-500 degree) grill on them. I have been placing my grill on the open mouth of an empty 5 gallon sheet rock putty pail. Obviously, the asesthetics of that arrangement are -7 on a ten point scale! But--- it works. Let me know about whether those hot water heater pans can take some heat, and I will improve my current setup. Thanks, Paswesley