trudeto Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 OK all, i feel a bit like a voyeur as I have been visiting the forum for several months now without you all knowing it!! When Dennis offered his Gen II with free shipping, that pushed me over the edge, and i just took delivery on an Ultimate Dark Terra Blue with Dark Charcoal grout. It is pouring down rain here in Southern Md, and has been for the last 2 days, but i finally lit it off this afternoon. I was doing a dress rehearsal for my first cook. I was able to get the temps stabilized around 225-250 deg, and decided to go ahead and try my 1st butt. I started it about 1130PM, and now temps have been all over the place!! Waiting to see where it stabilizes, so I can go to bed. BTW, i know the requirement for pic's!! Will get some out once it quits raining, and I can get my KK to its new home. The garage ain't it!! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Nice color choice, just like my Godzilla. Welcome to the family fella! This thing takes the rain pretty good, don't be shy with "lady godiva" let her out for all to see rain or (snow) shine! Remember that dome on top only has to be open (for me) a quarter turn, adjust from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Welcome welcome. Bon Q! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 little adjustments and wait. I was able to get the temps stabilized around 225-250 deg, and decided to go ahead and try my 1st butt. I started it about 1130PM, and now temps have been all over the place!! Waiting to see where it stabilizes, so I can go to bed. Tom Welcome to the forum Tom.. Remember that the temperature will climb after the walls come to temperature and start giving off heat. (get heat soaked) At this point you need restrict the volume of air/oxygen to reduce the amount of charcoal burning. Best to baffle airflow from the top as you want to keep the high humidity and heat in. Also remember that when you open the dome (to add your meat) after you have stabilized temps, the rush of oxygen will cause your temps to climb (charcoal to burn faster). Don't immediately change your settings.. It will go back to where it was and remember to make little adjustments and wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trudeto Posted December 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Well, all seems to be going pretty well now. I finally went to bed at 130, i had managed to get the temps down, but when i went out around 530, temps were almost 300. i tweaked the lower draft door closed a tiny bit (the dome has been open the whole time about 1/3 turn). its now 10, and temps have been at about 220 for a while. Smells great!! Dennis, the KK made the transit just fine, a small spot, about 2x2 in abraded on the inside where one of the grills rubbed the inside of the K, I don't think its anything. I do have one part that i have no idea what it is. it looks like a handle, all stainless, about 10 in long, with a threaded stud sticking out one end. What's that for? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer John Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Welcome Tom First off welcome to the greatest cooker and forum there is. I am from the eastern shore but one of my calls happens to be Pax River! As far as the long "thing "goes that is part of what Dennis supplies in case you want ot order a rotisserie. The studs screw on to the roti and then they go in the holes on you KK. Some of us use a Guru or Stoker to automate the cooking but boy you sure don't need it. My first purchase was a wireless Maverick so I could monitor the temp of the KK and the meat from the warmth of my bed! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/searc ... ss=default Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcoliver Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Its to hold/release the "holders" on the rotiserie should you opt to get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saucier Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Howdy Welcome Tom, you are fixin to have a LOT of fun with this cooker... Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trudeto Posted January 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 Thanks all for the responses! The first attempt was a great success!!! had pulled pork tonight, along with a few sides. nobody ate anything but the pork!! John, next time you make it to Pax River, give me a call. I am 10 minutes from the base! By the way, which Maverick did you get. I had a remote thermometer I picked up a few months ago from Lowes, but it hasn't worked right since the day I got it. Intermittent at best!! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer John Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 The one I got a few years ago is .... http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-RediChek ... 191&sr=1-4 It works okay as long as you are not to far away! You can set the high and low temps so if the grill gets away from you it will beep you. There are probably better ones out there but I found it works well for the price and peace of mind. Happy New Year, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted January 1, 2008 Report Share Posted January 1, 2008 If you want to really get fancy you can always go for a Stoker or BBQ Guru, some like the "bottom up" approach of learning without one as opposed to the "top down" method of starting automated and then stripping off the toys but needing a thermometer is as good an excuse I've heard for getting one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trudeto Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Great, thanks. I was talking to my brother last night and he also recommended the Maverick, the same one, I think. I am debating getting a BBQ guru, but having spent my budget and then some on my KK, I am fighting a 'perception' issue with my wife!!! She's been supportive so far, but I think I will wait a few months and then get a guru!!! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 you'll get the whole "fire management" thing down by then. by that time, you wont need a guru, you'll be one! just a little patience and know-how on setting up your fire and controllling drafts, and you'll be all good! what kind of charcoal are you using? how are you lighting your fire and arranging your fuel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 you'll get the whole "fire management" thing down by then. by that time' date=' you wont need a guru, you'll be one! ...[/quote']Use the Force, Luke! Use the Force! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkline01 Posted January 2, 2008 Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Welcome aboard!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trudeto Posted January 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 I am using lump charcoal, (Quik Joe or something like that. forget the name, but was the only stuff available locally). I didn't do anything special when i loaded the coal basket, i just filled it about 1/3 full, and i started it with the gas ring for KK. From somewhere else in the forum, i did about a 2 m inute burn with the gas ring, then shut it down. i cracked the top about 1/4 turn, and the lower vent just cracked. I stabilized the fire at 220-250 for 4 hrs before i reloaded the basket to the top along with several pieces of hicory and oak interspersed, then loaded a butt. Since the temps had been stable for several hours right where i wanted it, i didn't touch anything, and closed it up again. TEmps dropped to below 200 about 30 min later, so i opened the vents a bit. Temps rose to 300, I closed them down some more and temp dropped again. ultimately when i went to bed after 1 1/2 hrs of adjusting (3-4 adjustments) the temps were closer to 250. I got up about 5 hrs later and discovered temps at 300. Ultimately results were pretty darn tasty, just a little overdone! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 Ah! We have clues! You had stable temp. Then you opened the lid, added cold lump, and added a hunk of cold (relatively) meat. Temp dropped. Yup. It'll do that. Experience (you know - what OTHER people have determined) says that one should leave the settings alone and let it re-stabilize. You had the dampers all set for the right temp, just you changed the dynamic when you added cold. Had you left it alone, it would work itself back up to the right temp in a little while. Over the several hours of cooking time that a butt takes, the little while at a bit lower temp isn't really a problem. Consider, when you open your oven door to put something in, the temp drops. You don't kick it up to 500 for a couple minutes to let the temp catch up. The oven will get back to temp on its own if you leave it be. You trust that the setting you have will allow it to get up to and maintain the temp again. That said, it's tempting to chase the cooker's temp all over the dial, isn't it? Not that I know this from experience, of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trudeto Posted January 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 Of course, you certainly haven't chased temps all over the place....... Now, my rationale for not putting a full load of charcoal in when i started was cause i wanted to try my hand at temp management without putting in smoking wood. so i waited till i had stable temps, then put smoking wood in with additional lump. is that what you do, or do you always put smoking wood with your lump whenever you load it, so its always there?? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer John Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 Everybody probably does it with slight variations but I start with a full load of lump. Fire it up (I use a flame thrower - Jiarby can attest to how fast you can start a KK with it), stabilize and heat soak for a while. Okay open up the lid, add the smoke wood, thats why the grill has hinges, add the butt, close the lid a be patient. Temp will drop and rise back up over a period of time. The longer you heat soak the KK the less the bounce back in temps. I sure did like Sanny's example of the oven because that is really what you are dealing with. Good Luck John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
