LK BBQ

Did you have the pizza stone or heat deflector in? That significantly slows the air flow. Try heat soaking the KK without those in place and see what temperature you can get to. I have a 19" and there doesn't seem to be enough airflow around a 14" stone to reach very high temperatures. If I pre-soak to 600, then put in the stone and give it time, I can roughly get there. It won't stay there if I'm cooking 5+ pizzas, opening and closing the lid, though. I was thinking that adding a temperature controller fan and leaving it blowing might help. Interested in any advice!

Just wondering - would the blower from a temperature controller running at full speed provide enough airflow to accelerate the lighting of the lump?

I go even lighter on the Pork Loin -I remove it at 136 on a slow cook. Leaves it pink, very juicy, and very tender. The internal temperature rises a bit higher but not too much because of the lower heat. I sear first so I don't go over.

This is so tempting, as I have a 19" right now. A pallet jack and trailer rental way... I love Autumn gold too, though EVERYONE knows that the pebble tiles are best. Just kidding.

I don't have a shop vac. I tape a paper bag over the vent door and sweep it in with a brush. I rarely do a good job with the taping, so I do get ash leaking out the sides as I do it. I don't clean it that often - I let it pile up until it gets high enough to start interfering with air flow.

Instead of a Cherry Picker, you could use a crane and swing it in the window like a wrecking ball. Sorry, I know that wasn't productive.

This is interesting. I always thought that the bad smoke was from different compounds in the wood having different smoke points - therefore black smoke before good smoke. I vaguely remember doing wood distillation in the past to separate the different compounds. Does anyone know if the different colored smoke is because of equilibrium issues or the different compounds? I will try the direct on the coals searing strategy one of these days!

I have a 19" but can only answer a few questions: 1. I have lifted it a handful of times using the handles, and they work. They can definitely support the weight of the grill. That said, they are thin and having that much pressure on a small surface area where it touches your hands - I wouldn't do that for a lift up stairs. You are bound to have trouble. It will be heavy and hard to control with such small handles. It is also hard to hold it with two hands. As others have mentioned, even the 19" is heavy. I have taken off the dome before and the racks. Even still, the main body is a non-trivial lift for 2 people. Maybe you could do it 1 step at a time, resting it on the steps along the way. I wouldn't guess that 2 people could carry it up the stairs in one continuous lift unless they are powerlifters. If you bring it up stairs, make sure wherever you put it is structurally rated for the weight. The KK with a few people standing around it is a lot of weight for certain structures. 4. I have removed the fire ring before, and it is NOT recommended. I removed it because I was not using charcoal in the beginning - so I didn't need a charcoal basket or fire ring at all. I was using electricity. That said, I have switched back to charcoal and put the ring back in. I hadn't fired it yet when I took it out the first time. It still works fine, but It has crumbled a bit in some of the corners and I don't think removing it and reinserting helped. 5. I've had my teak tables for years and they still look good. I haven't used any oil on it yet. I'm not saying you shouldn't. The key is to keep them out of the sun and weather day after day. I cover my KK now, and leave them folded under the cover. Before I bought the cover, I took them off each time and kept them indoors. Therefore, no need for teak oil after all this time. Good luck with the move!

I would add that a wood log fired Santa Maria grill clearly should produce much more wood smoke than a KK with the typical amount of wood chunks. If you lit the same amount of wood fuel in a KK (which Dennis clearly states you SHOULD NOT DO), I'd imagine there would be plenty of smoke for the equivalent size and shape of meat. Also note that Amazingribs.com has said in the past that the amount of smoke that binds to the meat is affected by the temperature and moisture of the surface of what you are cooking. I think they recommended putting your meat in the freezer for a few minutes before you cook so that more smoke will bind to the outermost layer of your meat.

Here is the advice I think others would give. Wait until the grill is heat soaked. Then stick in the wood chunks. Wait a few minutes for the black smoke to pass and begin to turn lighter color. Ideally thin blue smoke. Then put your food on. Cold/moist food will capture the smoke better. I don't know what kind of wood you were using, but hickory, mesquite, or oak will have a stronger flavor. You want to use a reasonable size chunk - don't bother with stuff smaller than a golf ball.

That is right. This article gives some information. I've seen numbers that are less conservative than this, but I didn't find them in a quick search. http://www.foodprotect.org/issues/packets/2012packet/attachments/iii_018__all.pdf

I just put a few wood chunks hear the heating element and it generated plenty of smoke. There was probably no charcoal impact to the taste.

I have tried it, although there is a wrinkle. I built an electric heating element with a PID temperature controller. It essentially turned the KK into an electric grill/smoker. The controller gave me the ability to control the temperature with industrial accuracy - it would hold rock steady to a single tenth of a degree - not that cooking ever needs to be that precise. In any case, I used it to cook a variety of food, and it works really well to "air sous-vide" your food. A couple of caveats. I typically would use temperatures like 180 degrees, 200, or 225. I wasn't as patient as you for overnight cooks. I have no idea if that would have dried things out. Roast chicken was amazingly moist and delicate. Really worth a try. I couldn't get crispy skin, though, as it would have taken a long time for the KK to get heat soaked at a very high temperature. I also cooked steaks, roasts, pork butts, and more. All fantastic. I really liked having this level control for certain cooks, but I mostly use the normal charcoal methods now (even without a fan controller). Most of the time I'm just trying to get food served on time. I also have a bit of paranoia about cooking in plastic bags. The air sous-vide gave me some comfort on that front. With electricity, I didn't even need to open any vents at all - so the moisture retention was top notch. As I documented in another thread long ago, the electric experiment was really a way for me to justify having a KK in a condo that didn't allow flammables. I am now KK cooking with charcoal in a house. I still think about pulling out the electric element from time to time, though! One other thing. Anova, the maker of the portable sous-vide circulators, now has a countertop steam oven that can do pretty much the same thing with either dry or wet heat. This method also can be done without plastic bags and produces a nice result (I am told). Steam ovens are amazing for heating up leftovers. I use the Cuisinart version, and we never use the microwave anymore. Good luck!

Interesting idea, Dono. How did you cut these? I might do the same...

If you really want 1CM, you might consider getting two thinner pizza steels instead. Here's my logic. If you follow Tony Gemignani's Pizza Bible, it is a good idea to have two. One to cook the pizza on, and one to transfer the pizza to for a few seconds to crisp the crust just a bit more. You can put one on the upper rack and one on the main grate. This works very well. If you decide you really need the thermal mass of a thicker steel, you can just layer the two together. Two thin steels are much easier to carry separately than one thick one - you'd be surprised how heavy they are.