tony b

Seems like ribs are the cook of the day. Last nice day for the week (we might actually see some snow flakes in the morning!), so a 1/2 rack of baby backs on the main grate, indirect, smoker pot of coffee wood and apple, initially at 250F, but it crept up to about 275F after about 2 1/2 hours. Why, DNK?? Didn't touch a thing and there's almost no wind. Rub was a mix of Eat This BBQ and Lane's Signature, with a dash of purple crack. Plated with my signature potato salad (yeah, it's that good!) and some Taiwanese street corn (oyster sauce, Gochujang, rice vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sesame oil, and cilantro.)

I agree with @jonj. Never been a virtue in my book! LOL!

The KK makes an excellent pizza and breadmaking oven. Adding the rotisserie option opens up lots of other possibilities, as well. Things like shawarma and porchetta. The cold smoker attachment lets you do things like smoking fish, cheese, and nuts, as well as making your own bacon! The KK is a lot more than just a "low & slow BBQ" grill.

As a point of clarification, I did start my pizza cook out with the top vent open about 2 turns. Once the KK, with the pizza stone inside, got to about 300F, then I closed the vent down to where I thought it should be for the 450F target - about 3/4 open. I never pull the bottom vent out anymore. Over time, the rods get loose and you end up having to bend the tubes (never the rods!) to tighten things back up to prevent air inleaks that mess with your shutdowns. If I need extra air inflow, I pull the Guru plug out for "turbo" mode - ha, ha! I probably could have speeded this up some by lighting more charcoal at the beginning. I just did one large spot in the middle. Two medium spots, one on each side, would probably have worked better.

As @jonj said, there's more to it as a retrofit for older KKs. The newer ones have a separate port for the smoker, so you can use the smoke and the Guru (or similar) at the same time. This bracket is an upgrade for the newer smoker port. You can, if you're adventurous enough, install the second port in an older KK. Involves removing some tiles and boring a hole in the side of the KK, installing the new port tube and sealing it back up. And, as previously noted, the bent tube on the cold smoker needs to be replaced with the straight tube. It's all do-able, if you want to put in the effort and $$ for the upgrade.

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.