My BB32" is days away. Starting to panic!

[Wilsonj]

On 1/16/2021 at 10:42 AM, Braai-Q said:

Firstly, welcome. Secondly, excellent choice. 

Take a week to read the forum and you'll be excited, overwhelmed, hungry, very hungry, raring to go. 

Don't look at the food thread if you're hungry is my first piece of advice. 

In terms of mandatories, what do you like to cook? Probably the easiest point of departure to give you some pointers. 

The Fireboard 2 is great. You won't need the fan as the temperature control is so good, but that's personal taste. The 32KK has so much fine control on it. 

I regularly fire up the KK to do small cooks, it's very economical and you'll find that you invent other cooks to go alongside. I did some sausages the other weekend, then threw on some aubergines and potatoes which I baked and then froze - can't beat the taste. Hardly used any charcoal and startup time to stable temperature is probably less than 30 mins. 

I have a 19KK to go with my 32KK so I can do different cooks at different temps or for small cooks, I tend to use the 19KK. 

Thank you!

Haha, I love looking at others cooks. Hopefully with time I can replicate some of them.

I bought the drive, as it was easier to do with shipping to Australia. However i've already noticed how solid the temp is on the BB. 

Would love a 19 for small cooks. I'm sure it starts up really quick. Maybe one day. Have to convince the missus on this one first....

[Wilsonj]

So did our first cook on the weekend.

2 x rib eyes reverse seared.

Cook went fine, however I over smoked them. I put one lump of pecan on, but decided to put another one 30 min later. Not knowing how much it would add to the flavour, it was too much. 

I think it was slightly over cooked too. A little more on the medium side. But I learnt things.

 

A couple questions though.

1. When would you call the top vent is open ? 4 turns? eg after that it makes no difference ? 

2. When heating up for searing I found that if I left the lid on the first position ( not closed hard) the temp sky rocketed really fast. I assume due to more air escaping. Is this ok ? Does it damage the seal?

3. What is the first position for ? Simply when not in use, to keep pressure off the seal ?

 

Thanks again.

Cheers

Jamie

[tony b]

2 minutes ago, Wilsonj said:

So did our first cook on the weekend.

2 x rib eyes reverse seared.

Cook went fine, however I over smoked them. I put one lump of pecan on, but decided to put another one 30 min later. Not knowing how much it would add to the flavour, it was too much. 

I think it was slightly over cooked too. A little more on the medium side. But I learnt things.

 

A couple questions though.

1. When would you call the top vent is open ? 4 turns? eg after that it makes no difference ? 

2. When heating up for searing I found that if I left the lid on the first position ( not closed hard) the temp sky rocketed really fast. I assume due to more air escaping. Is this ok ? Does it damage the seal?

3. What is the first position for ? Simply when not in use, to keep pressure off the seal ?

 

Thanks again.

Cheers

Jamie

1) If you mean "fully open" then 3 or 4 turns is pretty much it. As you said, after that, not much change. For perspective, most cooks are done in less that 1/2 turn open position.

2) NO, don't do that unless you want to be replacing gaskets frequently. I'm sure that the hair on the back of Dennis' neck went up when you did that - LOL! 

3) Yes, you only leave the lid in Position 1 in between cooks, after the fire is out, again for gasket longevity. 

[Tyrus]

1 hour ago, Wilsonj said:

What are your thoughts on the spiral brushes

Have one, and the only reason I haven't employed it is, because you have to stop when your food comes off to clean the grates with a warm or hot water tub and that seems break a common transition of moving food to the table. It's ok, break the habit. Or do what I do. I'll brush off the grates later upon reheating them for the next cook, with a brush it all falls away and then I use a paper towel to clean, yah simple. The other is still a possibility. Choices

[tony b]

2 hours ago, Wilsonj said:

Thank you!

I'll need to get a stainless wire brush. Or check to see if the one I already has is or not. Its a bit dirty, so I can't tell! 

What are your thoughts on the spiral brushes that don't have those nasty wires that come out ? I stepped on a couple of these, and they aren't fun. 

NOT a big fan of wire bristle brushes! 

CDC warns of injuries from inadvertently swallowing grill-cleaning brush bristles - CBS News

Stick with the open end 3/8" box wrench or the Grill Floss (my vote).

[Wilsonj]

4 hours ago, tony b said:

1) If you mean "fully open" then 3 or 4 turns is pretty much it. As you said, after that, not much change. For perspective, most cooks are done in less that 1/2 turn open position.

2) NO, don't do that unless you want to be replacing gaskets frequently. I'm sure that the hair on the back of Dennis' neck went up when you did that - LOL! 

3) Yes, you only leave the lid in Position 1 in between cooks, after the fire is out, again for gasket longevity. 

Thanks Tony b.

I only ran it a short time with the lid in position 2 and it wasn't super hot. But I was wondering if that hot air running over the seal would damage it. Won't do it again.

Thanks for clarificaiton.

Cheers

Jamie

[Wilsonj]

2 hours ago, tony b said:

NOT a big fan of wire bristle brushes! 

CDC warns of injuries from inadvertently swallowing grill-cleaning brush bristles - CBS News

Stick with the open end 3/8" box wrench or the Grill Floss (my vote).

Had to look up what grill floss was! Will order one I think. Thanks for the tip.

[Wilsonj]

So far I have only been using half of the firebox. 

Typically when would I need to use the whole box ?

 

Cheers

Jamie

[Basher]

All times Wilson, and close everything down at the end the cook to snuff the fire.
Left over coals are good for the next cook


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[Braai-Q]

On 1/17/2021 at 9:38 PM, Wilsonj said:

Thank you!

Haha, I love looking at others cooks. Hopefully with time I can replicate some of them.

I bought the drive, as it was easier to do with shipping to Australia. However i've already noticed how solid the temp is on the BB. 

Yep, the stability and control has always been one of the most impressive aspects of it for me. 

On 1/17/2021 at 9:38 PM, Wilsonj said:

Would love a 19 for small cooks. I'm sure it starts up really quick. Maybe one day. Have to convince the missus on this one first....

I would limit your exposure to this forum as an act of self preservation. I only wandered in here with a quick question and ended up buying a 32KK. *

 

 

*There may be exaggeration for cheap comic effect.

[tony b]

14 hours ago, Wilsonj said:

So far I have only been using half of the firebox. 

Typically when would I need to use the whole box ?

 

Cheers

Jamie

It would likely be a longer cook (8+ hours) where you'd need the extra fuel, like a pork butt or a full brisket. 

[Basher]

Also high temp pizza cooks use more charcoal that my slow cooks. Easily 3/4 of a full basket.


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