tony b

LIkely true, but I was answering @Dennis's request for feedback/input.

The primary reason many (most?) of us don't use the heat deflector stone(s) is that they just add to the heat-up time (and more charcoal burning) for not a very good reason. You're mainly just trying to shield the food from the direct infrared heat of the fire for indirect cooking, so just a simple sheet of AL foil will do that, and it catches the drips, so you won't have to mess up that SS pan.

It's not called a "rats nest" for nothing! 😆

Salmon takes up smoke so easily, I'm not surprised that yours came out well with only a couple of hours of smoke. It's all in the prep to build up the pellicle for the smoke to attach to.

While I don't have a Billows fan, I can wholeheartedly support the idea of the damper on the fan. The BBQ Guru fans come with a damper built in, which is what I have. It is crucial that you choke down the fan outlet, especially on windy days where you can have "vacuum drag" across the top damper which will pull excess air into the fire when the fan isn't running, causing your temps to spike above your controller setpoint, rendering it useless. All choking down on the fan exhaust does is make the fan run a bit more - no worries.

Nice looking brisket! Dennis has recommended putting the wood pellets for the cold smoker into the microwave for a bit to help dry them out. I'm guess your idea of putting the wood chunks on the main grate is doing something similar. Good tip, I might give this a try for cooks where I'm not planning on using the smoker pot. You might investigate the Dutch oven smoker pot and see if it's something that you might want to try. Lots of threads here about how to build one, with props to @Syzygies who pioneered the idea. I use mine on almost every cook that goes beyond a couple of hours.

Welcome to the Obsession, Dennis! You'll soon find out why I call it that. A big upgrade from the BGE (pun intended). Your prior experience will translate very well to the KK, you'll just have to adapt to the bigger size and learn your vent settings. You'll be off and running like a pro in no time.

Yep. Plus, don't forget that you can use the upper grate as your sear grate if you really want to put a hard crust on your steaks. Just turn it upside down and it sits right on top of the charcoal basket handles - mere inches away from the fire.

@Troble killer bark on that brisket! @remi I believe that, too. Great use of leftovers. I'm going to make a pot of beef stew for dinner tonight using a chunk of smoked brisket that I found recently hiding in my chest freezer.

Most of us just use a sheet of aluminum foil on the lower grate when we want to do indirect cooks on the KK. As @tekobo said, almost no one here (save a few diehards) use the supplied heat deflector stone (not to be confused with the pizza stone - different material) - not even Dennis uses it. A simple aluminum pan works, too, if you want to catch the drippings or get the double-walled pan from Dennis if you think you'd like to roast veggies using the drippings. I have no issues doing reverse searing on my 23". The basket splitter creates enough separation between the "hot" side and "cool" side. The only issue is cooking area. If you want to do a lot of steaks (more than 4 ribeyes/NY strips) at once, you might run out of real estate (assuming you're using the basket splitter). You can do a lot of steaks if you don't use the basket splitter and just use the main and lower grates - roast the steaks on the main at lower temps, pull the main grate out when they're almost done to final temp to rest, crank up the grill temps and used the lower grate to reverse sear. That's my opinion. I've never owned one but have cooked on them at other folk's places. Plus, one of my biggest gripes about BGE is that this is considered an "essential" accessory, but you have to buy it separately - price gouging IMHO. Dennis doesn't do that - every accessory is a true add-on, nothing essential for doing basic cooking on a KK!

I have a 23" with a spare charcoal basket with the splitters installed. I just swap back and forth between it and the full basket as I need. One of the benefits of the 23" is that the charcoal basket is round, so you can do front/back or side-to-side splits very simply by rotating the basket, to suit your cook. There are "work arounds" on the 32" to get front/back splits with the dividers, but it's a little more involved than on the 23". The front/back split is nice for doing rotisserie cooks. Let's the meat rotate in/out of the hot zone, sort of a self-basting thing.

I've recommended to others here that the easiest way to clean the roti baskets/spits/forks, etc. is to soak them in Powdered Brewers Wash (PBW). You can find it at homebrewing supply stores (and Amazon, of course). A warm water soak for a couple of hours and everything just wipes off with a sponge/paper towel.

Very nice. Love lamb. Love tandoori. 1 + 1 = Yummy!

Holler at me if you make it to Iowa!

That crab looks awesome!

How did all y'all celebrate Mardi Gras? Cajun-blackened pork wings on the KK. Plated with Dirty Rice made with duck confit and "hairy coats" (that's cajun for green beans, y'all!) with a shallot creole sauce. And, of course, Hurricanes! Served in the appropriate Pat O'Brien's glass, circa 1977! Bon Temps, y'all!

Welcome to the Obsession, @MsTwiggy! All good advice from those above. Not much that I can add. I primarily use Jealous Devil as my go-to lump these days. I have a local shop that carries it, so I don't have to deal with shipping costs, like with Kamado Joe (Amazon) and Fogo. Both are good lumps. If you want to check on any major lump charcoal, I highly recommend going to naked whiz's website. He tests various brands for quality. He's well respected. The Lump Charcoal Database -- Naked Whiz Charcoal Ceramic Cooking He thought that Blues Hog was a good charcoal, btw. His only major complaint was that there was too high a percentage of "small" pieces in the bag that he tested (66%), which is quite high. If your bag was similar, then that could have been a source of why your cook didn't last longer, as obviously small pieces burn up faster. Review of Blues Hog Premium Lump Charcoal -- Naked Whiz Ceramic Charcoal Cooking As far as I know, there's absolutely no harm in overloading the charcoal basket. Good luck with the brisket and post pics! One of our key "rules" on this Forum - No pictures, it didn't happen!

Super Bowl Sunday (Yaaa Chiefs!) means wings! Dry Rubbed going on the KK. Done! Sauced (classic Buffalo) and plated with fries (sriracha ketchup) and veggie plate (horseradish ranch), with a Southern delicacy - Chiggers in the Grass (celery stuffed with pimento cheese and pimento stuffed olive garnish). Not to be confused with Ants on a Log! Ha, ha! Andy Reid rocking the stache! LOL

I'd eat that!

WOW!

That's our @Poochie!

I hear yah! We broke a record here yesterday from all the way back to 1911! It was 55F! I was outside without a jacket! We'll see if the "rodent" is correct and we'll get an early spring??

No such luck here. Windchill is Minus 25F and the actual temperature is going to stay below zero for the next 3 days! 🥶

My only experience with eating Chinese food in Europe was in Germany back in the early 90s. Gawd, it was awful - seriously bland. Far worse than anything I've ever had here in the States, even at the cheapo all-u-can-eat buffets! The only reason that we tried it was that they had a beer sign in the window for a local beer that we wanted to try. At least the beer was tasty!