Firemonkey

You renegade

Cruz, are you sure you cant fit all four on the main grill? I have cooked 2 at a time on my #5 K, which only has an 18" grill diameter. I think I could have fit 3 with no problem. Just stand thenm on end, and you may not need an upper grill this time.

What a great post, and wonderful narrative, Sanny. It is a clear reminder that there is more to Memorial Day than beer and BBQ. I am sure to think of your story, and all of the men who have helped ensure we remain the greatest nation on the planet - while I drink my beer and cook my BBQ

1/2 c rooster sauce = Sriracha (with the big rooster on the bottle) or is that shorthand for worcestershire?

Primo, when you say the middle got dry, are you sure that it wasn't just tougher? Maybe the outside had more time to render the connective tissues to juice? The Naked whiz has good reviews of both the stoker and the guru on his site. you should start there for some comparison. With money no object, you may like the wireless guru, which lets you adjust and monitor your cooker from your chair. The stoker supports monitoring and controlling of several grills at once, so if you want that feature, you need a stoker. There are still a great majority of ceramic users who do not use either (myself included). Your KK will easily hold any temperature you set it for, once you get used to how to set the top and draft door. Just make sure you have plenty of lump in there so you dont run out. You can always reuse the leftover. I do have a few Maverick Readyset thermometers, and they do just fine. I got the single probe remote model at BJs wholesale for about $12. That was cheaper than a replacement probe so I picked up a couple. It doesnt control the temperature, but it does allow me to monitor the meat temp from inside, and it has an alarm you can set for a target temp. I may someday get a guru or stoker, but more as a toy than a necessity. If you ask porkchop, he will likely tell you that you have to learn manual temp control as a rite of passage first!

HA! I think I will adopt that rationale as well... All this time I thought I was puffy from eating too much of the pork itself, rather than the salt!

Go ahead and enjoy it...We will be sure to properly ogle over all of our fancy new features that we had to wait for BTW, you better hurry with the paint job, or the color police will forever refer to your original color They still flame me for having a pink K and it has always been tan

Jim- I think that is the first time I have heard to put the meat on when you start the grill, rather than when you have it stablized. Can you explain the technique?

You could just buy me a ticket, and I could bring all of these goodies down to you

I havent heard a word about its status

Sanny, where have you been the past month?? The Gen2 has a rear gas burner opening. That is another draft door where you can insert the burner if you want to use gas. It comes with a solid stainless door, the gas burner of course is attached to a different door that you insert.

Are you slacking, Mr Whiz? That link is not found

Absolutely get a bag of everything you have locally and make an informed decision. I have used Wicked Good, both in the WW and the now unavailable competition blends. I have also used the Kamado lump (not extruded). Did I see much difference between the three - no. Was there some difference between those and mesquite - yes. Just not enough to justify the cost and difficulty getting it locally for me. The most notable difference was more in the density of the coal than flavors. Mesquite burns hot and fast, that is a fact. However, you are using an insulated ceramic cooker, which also controls the fire by limiting the air allowed in. You can absolutely get 18-20 hours on a load of mesquite, and probably have some left over for next time. My #5 (smaller than a KK) mexiK can easily do an overnight cook on a load of mesquite. Since you KK will hold considerably more, you will have no problem. Just load it up with as much as you can the first time. Extra is no problem since you can shut it down and use the leftovers next time.

Woodie - Here in Central FL, a group of us buy the mesquite b y the pallet because we can get it cheap ($12 after tax for 40#). It is Lazzari brand (www.lazzari.com), which may be the same as what you were quoted. I use it for everything, grilling, searing, roast, low, etc. I havent noticed any sort of strong flavor at all. As with any lump, the flavor imparted depends on how carbonized the batch happens to be. As the previous poster mentioned, sparking is possible with mesquite, and some bags sparked, and others have not. The sparking is not an issue when in the cooker, but can make a chimney starter a bit interesting. Try the mesquite, and see what you think. You can add any smoke wood you want, just as with any other lump.

Yea I want to install Mac OS 10.4 on it but I don't think the IT department will let me do that. Thats why they are the professionals.

More than the coal itself! Do some homework. Being in the South Pacific, you may be able to find the coconut stuff fairly cheap (extruded or not). Maybe you should prod Dennis a bit to get his charcoal operation ramped up.

we are currently paying US$299 for a 1000 pound pallet. Are you asking because you are trying to find a good local deal, or because you want to make a deal?

I touched base with the guy who took 10 bags a week or so ago. He will be ready when we are. I still have about 100# - What do you have left? Do you remember who you shared a bag with in case they liked it? We can probably put a deal together with a weeks notice. Its always in the warehouse, and we have our players in order. Just let me know. If anyone else is interested in Lazarri mesquite lump for $12/bag (40#) in the central Florida area, let us know.

I have used lump in a kettle grill many times. Now, if you were stuck using one of those permanently installed grills at the park, that dont have a lid....

Steve, good to hear that you got good mileage out of your K. Since you were a dealer, maybe you could tell me who I should contact about a replacement, refund or even repair materials under my "lifetime warranty" or "10 year tilework warranty". The manufacturer has been wholy unresponsive. I agree, Richard had a good idea as an original concept. Unfortunately, he does not have the integrity to match.

You got a few little scratchy spots where the sparks landed? So now you have a dedicated cooking sweater! Go ahead and add nylon shorts to the list...little sparks result in lots of pen-tipped size burn holes. at least they are melted around the edges so they cant snag Speaking of charcoal, Sanny. I see you have your fingers crossed on getting some mold-free extruded coco from RJ. Good idea to get your order in now for the 2009 season

I hace a 40# bag of them in my garage. Mine are Royal Oak, "100% hardwood briquettes" They are food-serve pack, so they are in a brown bag with Red/Black labeling. As for my unscientific monkey-review, They give off some white smoke when first lit. I suspect that they are bound with starch and the smoke is the starch burning off. They are fairly clean burning, and dont impart much wood or smoke taste at all. I dont think I have used them alone for anything except maybe burgers, but I have mixed in some of them with my regular lump several times. They burn fine, are capable of higher temps, and handle being shut down and the leftovers re-used. Their ash seems to be heavier and more dense than the lighter flaky powder of my Lazarri lump I would say they this particular brand is fine for consistent, easy to measure fuel. My cost on a 40# bag is about $14, where our group purchase of mesquite lump finished at $12 for the same weight (more volume - not as dense).

Steve, i dont know if ot was intentional, but your post when read between the lines says" "I have a K, BGE, and KK. I have to get rid of one, and this one is the biggest POS, so it has to go. Oh and by the way, dont worry about all of those falling tiles" I love it

You still have a chance...Your boat ride will be much shorter! We will also have a delay in customs, and a 3000 mile truck ride before we see a grill

Yep...They are traveling in a Posse' with one or two others. That way they can throw their weight around in case they come across any Mexi-Ks en route. Oops...What amI thinking....I keep forgetting that K is is the deposit taking business, not the production or service business