tony b

Give the sear grate a go next time and see if you like the results better. Just be careful to turn the steak over frequently (every 30 seconds), so you don't over cook it, until you get the char that you're looking for.

Marmaduke on the loose!

Welcome to the Obsession! You're in for a great experience cooking on your new KK. Best advice on learning how to cook on your KK - fill up the basket with charcoal, light it in one small spot near the middle, set up a chair and a cooler of adult beverages of choice. Set the top vent just barely off the seat (just enough to see smoke exit) and open the bottom vent about a 1/4 on the left dial. Let the KK come up to temperature and get steady while enjoying that adult beverage, make a note of the top vent position and the dome temperature. Next bump open the top vent a little more, like 1/8 of a turn. Let the KK temperature rise to its new steady spot - take note again. Keep doing this process until you get the dome up to about 350F. At about 275F, you might need to bump the bottom vent open a tad more. Making notes along the way. The vent setting are very repeatable. The vast majority of your cooks are going to be less than 350F, which is why I stopped there. You will need to do the burn-in before going up much higher in temperature as well. Save that for another day. Once you hit that 350F mark, toss on something to cook - burgers, sausages, chicken pieces, whatever you're used to grilling on the Weber. Then sit back and enjoy the difference in the quality of the food coming off your new KK. Use the Forum to look for cooking techniques for different proteins and such. Ask questions, it's a friendly bunch here, with lots of experience.

Here, let me show you to the entrance! LOL! Moroccan Cookware | Treasures of Morocco Bulgarian clay pots | Etsy

2nd much of what @cruzmisl had to say. If I'm cooking a thinner steak (less that 1.5" thick), I use the lower grate. I will only use the sear grate if it's a thicker cut; otherwise you risk overcooking it or, at a minimum, ending up with that gray band of meat just below the crust. The other key - turn the steak often when searing on the sear grate, which will help minimize the overcooking. I typically turn every 30 secs, and rotate 90 degrees after the second flip to get a nice cross-hatch pattern. Choice of rubs was spot-on advice, too. Too much sugar in the blend will burn and get bitter. So will black pepper. If you want to amp up the flavor, put some compound butter (butter mixed with herbs and spices) on the steak while it's resting after searing or make a nice chimichurri sauce to serve on the side.

I bring my own when I can.

Alas, poor Winston, I ate him well. (all apologies to the Bard!)

Welcome to the Obsession! Hang on, as you're in for a wild ride! Don't waste all that charcoal on your burn-in - cook something while doing it. It's safe. The solvent smell is on the outside of the grill and won't reach the food.

Yep. I have Moroccan ceramic tagines and Bulgarian claypots for making stews and soups in.

I made a holder for the grill temp probe out of a wine cork (have plenty of those lying around - LOL!) I just cut a chunk out of each side, leaving a center strip the width of the gap between the grate rods and just deep enough to hold itself in place. If you make this strip too long, it will likely snap off on you as cork isn't very strong. On the other end of the cork, I just tap in a small nail. I clip the grill probe's alligator clip to the nail. You can buy similar devices premade. But, mine works, and probably cost me $0.02 for the nail. YMMV BBQ Probe Tree - Probe Organizer (bbqguru.com) Why, you may ask? If you clip the probe directly to the grate, you're going to get a falsely high reading from heat conduction from the grate. What you really want to be measuring is the ambient (air) temperature, which is what the actual cooking temperature is. I usually place the cork a couple of inches away from the meat, so the meat temperature doesn't overly influence the grill temperature reading. But, you don't want to get too far away, as you want to be monitoring the air temperature that the meat is seeing; especially if you are cooking indirect, you don't want the grill probe to be exposed to direct heat from the charcoal basket.

No worries. If you wrap it in foil, then inside a bath towel, and into a good insulated cooler, you can hold it for at least 4 hours (if not more). I've had similar experience with them (and butts) finishing faster than anticipated. I guess it has to do with the actual piece of meat being cooked. Each one is somewhat unique. I always plan to finish early and stash it in the cooler. I'm like you - no "middle of the night" cooks for this kid!

Down.

I just used mine the other night to cook some nice curry rice. I don't have the bigger stew pot style, just the small rice cooker version. AmazonSmile: Kotobuki 190-803 Earthenware 1.5 Cup uncooked resulting in 4 Cup cooked Rice Cooker, Matte Black: Earthenware Pot: Kitchen & Dining

Can't wait to see the pics of the grand unveiling! Welcome to the Obsession!

That's a LOT of food in one cook - well done!

Here's hoping everyone there gets well quickly. Stay safe, ya'll!

Update - checked the Ace Hardware website and I can get some of the B&B charcoal delivered to my local Ace store, but not the logs - which, of course, is the thing that I wanted to try! Murphy's law strikes again! I can get the Oak, Mesquite and Hickory, along with Texas XL. But, I have a unopened bags of Fogo and Jealous Devil in my garage right now, so I'm holding off on this one for a while.

I hear yah - 215 miles for me! @ckreef - I get it, but that's the typical markup for Amazon. "Free Delivery" for Prime isn't "free!" I just figured that if it was as good as Fogo or Jealous Devil, it was worth the price? I might try the Ace Hardware route, as there's a store about 1/2 mile from me.

That grill made me think that's what it would look like if a KJ and a Weber kettle had a bastard child! LOL! I'd love to eat that in their restaurant, but waaay too much work to make it myself, doing it their way. BUT, if you put that pork belly in the rotisserie basket, so you didn't have to do the meat hook doesie-doe halfway through, maybe? I did like the way they served it on the little hibachi so you used the rendering fat to cook the veggies and shrimp in!!

I'll try and remember it next visit to Napa.

It's available via Amazon. Decent price - 40# bag for $55. AmazonSmile : B&B Charcoal Hardwood Lump 40 LB Bag : Garden & Outdoor Oak version - 20# bag for $36. AmazonSmile : B&B Charcoal Oak Lump Charcoal, Flavor Oak, 20 lbs. : Outdoor Grilling Charcoal : Garden & Outdoor Hickory version - 20# bag for $35. AmazonSmile: B&B Charcoal Organic Hickory Lump Charcoal 20 lb. - Case of: 1: Home Improvement Mesquite version - 20# bag for $35 (from THG Store). AmazonSmile : B&B Charcoal Mesquite Lump Charcoal : Outdoor Grilling Charcoal : Garden & Outdoor Couldn't find the logs?

My theory is that adult beverages were involved.

Lovely. I rarely splurge on a big cowboy ribeye, but they are wonderful.

Lovely, Robert. Seriously dark roux!