tony b

As noted, there is a trick or two with using the Guru to keep air inflow sneaks from messing with your temperatures, especially on a windy day. Once your temps get above the target setting on the Guru, it's pretty well dead in the water at that point. That said, the best way to maintain control is let the Guru do all the work. The Pit Viper fan is more than adequate for the task. First, just barely bump the top vent off the seat - just until you see a bit of smoke emerge. If you start to see smoke escaping from the temperature probe hole (or anywhere else besides the top vent for that matter), bump the top vent a tad more until the side leak stops. The Guru has slightly pressurized the inside of the KK and the air needs to find somewhere to go - path of least resistance and all that. Second, there's a damper on the output side of the fan, choke that down to less than half open. This will minimize the air inflow during periods when the fan isn't running and prevent the temps from drifting up on you. This approach has worked well for me. YMMV

I just guess that we've never gotten around to putting them here. They are mostly scattered throughout the General Cooking thread. One of my favorite SE Asian dished to do on the KK is Satay. Who doesn't love "meat on a stick?" LOL! Just about every culture has their version of it. Yakitori cooks are also very popular here. A number of KK owners also own Konro's. As far as Asian foods in general - I've done Tandoori chicken a lot: as well as Korean Bulgogi ribs, Peking Duck, and Char Siu ribs. If Hawaiian counts - Kalua Pork Roasts. Yes, this Forum is pretty much BBQ-centric, but a lot of "world cuisines" are represented, too. African (Tekobo turned us all onto Nigerian Suya Pepper, which is one of my newfound favorites), Moroccan (yes, I've put my tagine on the KK), Middle Eastern, Caribbean (Cuban & Jamaican), South American (the Peruvian green sauce is my newest obsession!). If there's a specific dish/recipe that you're looking for, just ask away and I'm sure that someone on here will respond with their take on it.

Definitely get the Sunbrella cover for it. Good insurance policy. As far as customer service goes - you won't find better anywhere, by any company, than from Dennis. He's the "textbook example" of superlative customer service. You can contact him practically 24/7 (we don't think he actually sleeps! LOL!) and he's always there with answers to questions, helps solve problems and makes things "right." There's no "up sell" when talking to him about buying. He'll work with you to make sure that what you get is exactly what you want/need - size, tile style & color, accessories. Simply put - he's f-ing amazing!

https://bbqguru.com/ I bought my DigiQ-II for the old POSK and I've been using it ever since. I have replaced a couple of temperature probes, but no worse than any other temperature monitor. They hold up pretty well. I've have nothing but good things to say about mine. Like I said, I use it on all my longer cooks (over 4 hours). The KK has a port built in for the fan unit - so it's a "plug & play" application. When you buy whatever controller unit model you like, the fan is a separate purchase and you just get the one for the KK. There are other manufacturers of controllers/fans, but the Guru was pretty much the original (as far as I know) and Dennis has always worked with them to make them it super easy to adapt one to the KK.

It took me 3 1/2 hours to heat soak the pizza stone to 450F. Combo of large and medium chunks of charcoal. Top vent was 3/4 turn and bottom left vent was full open.

You must have had one of the early (Sacramento) POSKs to last that long? I had one of the 1st made in Indonesia (still much better than the later Mexi ones) and mine lasted a little over 8 before it began to have serious cracks and tile shedding. Back on topic - I ALWAYS use the Guru on a brisket cook. It just makes things easier and more reliable.

I'm doing pizza for dinner tonight. I just lit the KK and when it got going well (over 200F) I put in the pizza stone on the upper grate. I'll take note of the time it takes to reach 475F on the pizza stone (I have an IR thermometer).

+1 to all of the above. Good advice all around - especially not keeping the lid open that long with it that hot - bad for the gaskets. Dennis will have a heart attack if he sees someone firing up their KK to those temps!

It's just a nice thick cut pork chop. I prefer the "t-bone" ones with a bit of tenderloin. Typically run about 1 1/2" thick.

To quote a previous POTUS - "I feel your pain!" We've all been there, son! Just when we think that we've got this whole thing figured out, we get a curve ball like this one to put us back in our place. Seems like you recovered nicely though - a mark of a true BBQ'er! I'm pretty sure that your brisket will be awesome and the family will be happily fed. At the end of the day, that's all that counts!

Thinking that today might be the last day of Indian Summer, decided to celebrate with a nice steak dinner. Prime grade rib-eye cap, with garlic pepper rub internally, and Gunpowder on the outside. Direct, on the lower grate, with a chunk of bourbon barrel stave. (Note: I deconstructed it by taking off the original butcher's twine, seasoning it, and then putting it back together with a combo of skewers and twine.) Plated with a HUGE 2x baked potato and sautéed mushrooms. Was gifted some lovely raspberries from friends who have bushes in their backyard, so onto a nice arugula salad with Roquefort cheese. I had taken some of the raspberries and made a nice vinegar with them, which went onto the salad, too. Plated!

Great minds, eh? Another dry rub in my pantry that I forgot about since I haven't actually used it yet. Oakridge BBQ's Jah Love. I've just sampled it. It's got a serious habanero kick.

Best stuff is actually a paste. I have a couple of "go to's" - Walkerswood (https://smile.amazon.com/Walkerswood-Traditional-Jamaican-Seasoning-Ounce/dp/B07D9YDQNT) JCS Boston Bay (https://www.amazon.com/Jamaican-Boston-Seasoning-Bundle-Bottles/dp/B0181C74DE) Dizzy Pig makes a dry rub that's not too bad either. https://www.amazon.com/Dizzy-Pig-Jamaican-Firewalk-Spice/dp/B005PIPGBU Just so happens, Mon, that I did some jerk chicken for dinner last night! Marinated for 3 days. I like to mix the paste with dark rum to thin it out for an extra kick. BUT, the real key is to smoke it with pimento wood - traditional style, straight up Rasta, Mon! I used the smoker pot with pimento wood chips, leaves and allspice berries. I started them out at 325F, indirect - seeing as they were boneless breasts, but finished them off direct to get a bit more color. Plated with herbed rice (parsley, cilantro, scallions, basil and thyme) and drunken black beans (no pigeon peas around here). I put a splash of rum in the beans, along with epazote and scallions. Hush puppies just seem to go "wid it." Unfortunately, no Red Stripes!

@Boom Boom - you left out Provel cheese on pizza. Another St. Louis-ism. Being in "pig country" up here in IA, we regularly have pork steaks at our supermarkets, too. A nice change of pace, but I still prefer a good ole Iowa Chop.

We're in the middle of Indian Summer here. Taking advantage as much as I can. Did some tile cleaning and touched up the grout in spots on the KK to get it ready for winter. Last night was a Cajun spiced pork chop, direct, main grate, over hickory and apple chunks. Paired with a wild rice medley and Mexican street corn (local stuff is gone, so had to settle for frozen. 😢 )

I hear yah! I'm not shy at all when it comes to using garlic. No vampire worries here! LOL!!! Those spiny lobsters remind me of the Caribbean. Try a Jamaican jerk style. I know it sounds crazy, but it works! btw - I spotted that Pliny in the background. I suspect it was put there for my benefit - ha, ha!

Sounds like some tasty beers on the way! Regarding your big stout, you can always do a parti-gyle for the 2nd runnings and get a nice brown ale or Scottish out of it. I don't generally do big ABV beers, but I just finished a Wheat Wine that I brewed for our beer club's competition. It came in at 12.2% ABV. It's BIG!

Very good! You're well on your way with your new KK. Happy Burn-in!

Congratulations and Welcome to the Obsession. You are definitely in for a huge (literally) surprised when that BB 42 arrives. Can't wait to see the pics! Just curious - what made you order the gas burner insert? That's very uncommon - in fact, Dennis stopped making the back door for it some time ago and made a retrofit bolted door for the rest of us to seal it up so we didn't have air leaks.

Speaking of steaks, did a nice bacon-wrapped sirloin last night, direct, lower grate, mesquite and post oak chunks. As an homage, I called this dinner "No Flies On Me Steak Night!" 😄 Duck Fat air-fried Yukon Golds (with Peruvian green sauce - the new "crack" in my house!), chimichurri for the steak, sautéed mushrooms and a nice side salad.

Looking forward to those uncrating pics (not as bad as you think - depending on where you have to move it to for its final home?)

Looking sweet in its new home! Glad the ramp worked out well for you. Now, we just need to see pics of that virgin cook! btw - I found the Rockwood was very "sparky" too. Otherwise, it's a good lump charcoal.

Check the plated photo - there's a dollop of green sauce by the spuds for dipping! Yes, it was very good with them.

I eat that! I've never cooked one that thick before. I can image that it would be more difficult trying to manage it. I'd have bailed and done it sous vide, then finished it on the lower grate to sear it.

Too funny! As you can see in this pic of the chicken, the exposed end of the probe was pretty gunked up. Here's the MEATER graph. Initially low, as I put the probe in early inside the kitchen and it sat for a bit before I put it on the KK - that's the 1st spike. It sort of cruised up and then something happened and I saw the rapid increase to the 2nd spike. The drop right after was me opening the grill to check on what was going on, since it was behaving so squirrely. Temps rebounded after I closed it back up. That's when it really went wonky for the rest of the cook. Again, seeing how gunked up the tip of the probe was lead me to believe that's what caused the end of the cook to behave so crazy. Meanwhile, the dome thermometer was ready steady right where I set the vents!