tony b

The pizza stone surface should be the smoother of the two. They are actually made out of different materials. The deflector is the same material as the KK walls. The pizza stone is a different formulation that Dennis came up with just for the pizza stones.

I'd rather have what's inside it! 😄

Simple porkchop cook last night. Cajun seasoning. Direct. Main Grate. 325F. Peach wood chunks. Side dish of pasta, cuke/tomato salad, crusty bread and a nice fruity Rose.

With this graph scale, it's a bit hard to see, but based upon slope changes, it looks like you hit a bit of a stall around 3 hours in and was just coming out of it at hour 5. Notice that the slope was just beginning to uptick when you pulled it to wrap it. Good timing, if you ask me.

@Troble - gorgeous birds! Glad that the air fryer worked out well for you. They look tasty! @oakland - nicely done on that brisket! The Meater is a nice toy to have. @Aussie Ora - you're the rib master!

The pizza stone (if you ordered one, not standard equipment) has a very smooth surface and is shaped like the grates. The "deflector stone" is not polished and round. Like MacKenzie said, makes a nice stepping stone in a garden or a base for a bird bath. No one, not even Dennis, uses it for cooking. The only reason he keeps making them as part of the "standard equipment" is that converts from other kamado grills are used to having them with their old grills.

All these gorgeous pizza cooks, I'm inspired to going for it tonight. Last night was repeat of a recent favorite: Peri-Peri chicken thighs. Direct, 325F initially, bumped up to 375F to crisp up the skin, peach wood chunks. Plated with roasted garlic couscous, carrot salad, and a nice peanut sauce. My fav summertime wine - Vinho Verde (Broadbent).

Just going by what he wrote in his book. When you've cooked as many briskets as he has, you can fly by the seat of your pants (gauging by color). Plus, he's talking about all the variables - type of smokers (all of his are off-set stick burners), green vs aged wood (He doesn't use charcoal), etc. So, just experiment and see what techniques work best for you is the main point. What I wrote works for me. YMMV

Welcome back, Bruce! 1. Every grill is a bit different, so there's no "universal" damper settings. Looks like you're going to have to set up the cooler of adult beverages and spend an afternoon re-learning your grill! But, your initial guess at 225F is pretty off - at least on mine (23"). It's like a 1/8 turn (just barely off the seat) on the top. Bottom vent opening isn't critical, as long as it's open enough for the airflow needed to support the temperature you're shooting for. One and Half turns on mine would get me somewhere around 550F or higher. 2. The Maguire polish is only for esthetics, not for any required maintenance on your KK. Patching the grout is the only thing you need to do. 3. I open my top vent a couple of turns during initial startup to make sure the coals are going OK. Once dome temperature gets within 50F of my target, I close it back down to where I think it should be. Normally, I only light one spot of charcoal for a low & slow cook, but if you want to speed things up a little, and don't mind burning up a bit more charcoal, you can always light a couple of spots. Have fun re-learning your grill. Post pics of those amazing cooks that are coming!

@Scott.W - to be clear here, when we say "deflector" we're NOT talking about the big ceramic one that came with your KK. It would take bloody forever to heat up both that deflector and the pizza stone. Waste a lot of charcoal in the process, too! Some folks (Syz & MacKenzie) with the double bottom drip pan have used that on the main grate to success with the pizza stone on the upper grate. I have yet to try it myself, but I'm inspired to it - maybe tonight??

I would be very happy with that, too!

While I don't plan to be making any sour dough starter in the near future (baking is just not my thing!), I do use the flour paste on my smoker pot to seal up the lid. Beginning to get worried about the flour shortage in the stores. I only have maybe a half pound of AP left. Ain't going to spend the $$ on King Arthur to make flour paste with! Need the cheap stuff (I think this last 2# bag ran me less than $1 on sale - doubt that I'll see that again anytime soon!)

Did something a little different for dinner last night - alder wood planked salmon. Dizzy Pig Raging River, white onion and tomato (dusted with lemon myrtle). Direct, main grate, 325F. Grape vine pieces for smoke. Plated with roasted broccoli and scallions, with a nice chermoula sauce. Hasselback dinner rolls with garlic and green onion tops. Wine is a nice Chardonnay/Viognier blend.

I've scored Prime grade full packers at CostCo before. I didn't look the last time I was in there, as I was just shopping for the Prime ribeyes.

That gravy did look amazing! I was drooling looking at the pictures!

OK, NOW I'm hungry!

Nice, MacKenzie, but I'll stick to SV poached eggs. This toy is a bit out of my budget, especially for as often as I'd probably use it (see the 2 pressure cookers in my cabinet!) LOL

Another Friday night steak dinner in lockdown! A nice Denver steak from the local butcher. Seasoned with Gunpowder and Dizzy Pig Raising the Steaks. Started out on the half grate (direct), then dropped down to the lower grate for the final sear. Mesquite chunks. Plated with air fryer potato wedges (sprayed with duck fat) and creamed spinach with mushrooms. Chimichurri sauce on the steak. Wine is a TJ's Malbec. My dog, Kipper, waiting, not so patiently, for me to take the pictures and give him a treat!

If you haven't tried the Franklin method for brisket, I highly recommend it. The key is once you clear the stall, around 165 - 170F, wrap the brisket in pink butcher paper for the rest of the cook (IT = 203F), then wrap everything (yes, leave the brisket in the paper) in foil, a towel and toss into a cooler for at hour or so. Then unwrap and enjoy a nice, juicy brisket. I won't shuck out the bucks for Wagyu, but I will pay for Prime grade. The only deviation, is if you want to make burnt ends, separate the point from the flat before you put it in the foil; then wrap the flat per the above. The cube up the point, season (wet or dry or both), put into an open foil pan and put back on the KK for about another hour. Meat Candy!

They're wee tiny holes (3/32") and only 3 of them. Buy the cheapest 2 Qt CI Dutch oven that you can find. I paid $36 (including shipping) for mine and I've had it now for 7 years. Pretty good investment, if you ask me.

I would be concerned, too, with that much raw wood, that you'd get a fair amount of creosote and other off-flavors. But, your experience didn't indicate that. Maybe you had enough charcoal going to burn off the volatiles?? I was an early convert to Syz's smoker pot.

Sounds like a Dennis question. My 1st thought was "why aren't those seams welded?"

I'm down with the Stone mustard. Try their chipotle one, not super hot, but a nice smoky flavor.

You only need to do the break-in if you want to do high temperature cooks (over 350F). If you want to get your feet wet doing standard low & slows first, not a problem - you can do as many of those as you want before doing the break-in. The break-in isn't hard, just very time consuming, so plan accordingly. It's considered a "rite of passage" here because of how folks sweat doing it. The description of how to do it is in the Owners' Manual and there are a number of threads here on the Forum talking about it, too.