egmiii Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 I've had my 21" for a couple of weeks and managed to get a few cooks in. I started with some St. Louis cut ribs. I filled the basket with Royal Oak and used the refractory deflector with a disposable aluminum drip pan. Cooked for 6 hours at 225 (put them on at 185 since I couldn't wait). Temperature control was great. The wind was gusting on and off, so it needed a bit of adjustment throughout the day. Great smoke ring, texture, and flavor. Some of the best I've ever made. Next was a boneless pork butt. Brown sugar and a light coating of Pork Barrel BBQ rub, which I wouldn't use again. Too much heat, too little sweet for my taste. I'll make my own next time. I started it a little late, 10am. I kept it around 235 grate temp, but eventually pulled it at 172 when the grill ran out of charcoal 10 hours later. Ended up finishing it wrapped in the oven for a couple hours. Came out great. Only weakness was the rub. I used what I thought was a full basket of Royal Oak and 4 large chunks of cherry wood. The RO was basically small pieces and the cherry chunks were a little wet, so I think that contributed to the problem. Next time I'll weigh the charcoal to get a better idea of how much I put in. Live and learn. After 4 hours: After 8 hours: Pulled at 13 hours (wicked smoke ring): 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Yes those are some fine cooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 I've found that Royal Oak burns fast compared to many other lump charcoals. I like it for short cooks, but for longer ones, like butts, look for something in the next higher quality bracket - Weekend Warrior, Fogo, Humphreys, Hasty Bake, Fire King, Ozark Oak, based upon my experience. Consult Naked Whiz's database. Let's not forget Dennis' CocoChar, which is the BEST charcoal out there for longer cooks like brisket and butts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egmiii Posted October 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Good to know that it's faster burning. I've read reviews on NakedWhiz, but it's been a while so I don't remember the particulars. I actually have a few boxes of CocoChar and the new Coffee wood lump that I'll be using shortly. I wanted to do my first cooks with a familiar product to see how the cooker influences the final product. The biggest difference I've noticed is the amount of smoke I can drive into the meat. You can really close up the top vent and lock in the smoke, along with the moisture early on, yet the fire holds steady at 225-235. Cool stuff. Where do you buy Fogo? It seems to only be available online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Yeah, got mine from Amazon. With Prime, it keeps the price point reasonable. Also got my Hasty Bake there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Nice cooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poochie Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Hey egmiii, I use Royal Oak all the time...short cooks and longer ones. I've never run out of charcoal during a cook and I have the 21" too. It's better to put the charcoal in a plastic tub so you can see what sizes they gave you. Put some larger pieces on the bottom of your charcoal basket and smaller on top. If you have crumbs (fines), put them on the extreme edges of your pile of coal. I usually light it right in the middle of the pile with a starter cube for low and slow...torch for hotter cooks. All in all, your ribs and pork butt look great to me. I'll bet the butt was still good even though you had to finish it in the oven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 egmiii, those are two beautiful cooks. Things do look very tasty. I am surprised that you ran out of lump at the temp and time. I wonder if there were not a lot of air spaces in the basket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Very nice job! I noticed you cut your rack of ribs in two. Can you lay a full rack flat on your KK 21� Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egmiii Posted October 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 I decided to use a disposable aluminum catering pan to catch the drippings for my first cook. Cutting it in half kept it completely over the pan. I can fit the entire rack uncut if I use the grill shaped drip pan. I'm waiting on the new lower rack before I use it. Keeping it off the refractory heat deflector should reduce burning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egmiii Posted October 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Hey egmiii, I use Royal Oak all the time...short cooks and longer ones. I've never run out of charcoal during a cook and I have the 21" too. It's better to put the charcoal in a plastic tub so you can see what sizes they gave you. Put some larger pieces on the bottom of your charcoal basket and smaller on top. If you have crumbs (fines), put them on the extreme edges of your pile of coal. I usually light it right in the middle of the pile with a starter cube for low and slow...torch for hotter cooks. All in all, your ribs and pork butt look great to me. I'll bet the butt was still good even though you had to finish it in the oven. Despite the oven finish, it was still fantastic. From my understanding, it doesn't matter how you provide the heat in the last few hours. All of the smoke that's going to be absorbed is done below ~160. I stacked the charcoal with larger on the bottom and smaller on top. Took forever. I had boxes setup all week to separate the charcoal, but never got around to it. Next time I'll make that a priority as it will help me get thing going a lot earlier in the day. I use a heat gun to light the coals. Takes less than 2 minutes. Here is a shot of the charcoal for the rib cook. Still all nice and clean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjs Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 Real nice first cook. Congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poochie Posted October 28, 2015 Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 That looks like the same heat gun I have. I use it every once in a while and it works like a champ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egmiii Posted October 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2015 From what I've read, most people use either wax blocks or a torch. I've tried both, and they work well, but the heat gun is just so easy/fast/cheap in my opinion. Others might not have an outlet 5 feet away, which could explain the alternative methods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Very nice job! I noticed you cut your rack of ribs in two. Can you lay a full rack flat on your KK 21� The 21" Supreme is exactly the same depth as the 23" Ultimate.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poochie Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 "The 21" Supreme is exactly the same depth as the 23" Ultimate.." ​This, I didn't know. But I'm glad to hear it. I've never had trouble putting whole racks of baby backs or spareribs on my 21". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 I learn something new every single day!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
