Rak Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Evening all! I've done about 4-5 cooks on the KK already and thought this might be a good time to make a brief post about my initial thoughts...keeping in mind, I've only been cooking on it for a week and so my observations may be off! Temperature control and stability - I am still learning where the temperature settings are for my new KK, but I'm pretty close. In fact, I'm so confident, that when I want to heat soak my grill, I'm actually setting the vents to approximately where I think they should be (conservatively) and then I'm comfortable stepping away to go grocery shopping or to help a friend out, or to take my girls to Karate class. I have cooked on ceramics for years, but never had the confidence to just set it right lighting the fire and then step away. That the stability part...for the temp control, yesterday I cooked and I had settled at 300F, I wanted to cook at 350F so I gave the top damper another half turn and I was locked in at 350F! No fuss, no muss! I'm already able to increase the temp by very small increments (almost to the degree)....incredible to have that level of control over a fire burning grill. Moisture - I've already talked about this, but my food is so moist! My girls laugh, because yesterday we had sticky chicken thighs and Aashni cut into hers and got 'squirted'! So incredible moist. At first I thought it was just the chicken, but everything I've cooked on here so far is coming out more moist. The build of everything from the KK itself all the way to the grates and all things in-between, make cooking on such an enjoyable experience. The multi levels, different configurations, etc make cooking so versatile. If I can picture it in my mind, its not very difficult to figure out how to cook it perfectly on the grill. Heat retention - I did something I'm not supposed...I cooked chicken thighs yesterday and kept opening up the lid to baste and glaze the thighs...I know, if you are looking you aint cooking! But here is what I learnt....Even though I kept opening it up (at some point it became a game), the temp would return right back to my set temperature within minutes! The heat retention was incredible. I'm also loving the fact that the outside of the KK stays cool. To me, this means I can cook on it and then pretty much close it down and cover it up right away. In the winter, this has proven its worth already!! My previous routine was to cook and then wait approx 3-5 hours for grills to cool down enough for me to cover them. Not just inconvenient but also, literally keeping me up at night! The hinge makes opening and closing the lid so easy that even my wife (who is 5' and petite, and who previously avoided my grills) wants to start learning how to cook on it. She was amazed at how easily she can operate the KK. OK, so thats all I have. Needless to say, I'm loving cooking on the KK. The design and construction are incredibly well thought out and everything is over engineered. I'm glad I got to cook on a good ceramic grills before my KK purchase because I think there are so many small differences, along with some very big ones, that I appreciate. Thanks for letting me ramble! **I did edit this post and add a couple more points! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Evening all! I've done about 4-5 cooks on the KK already and thought this might be a good time to make a brief post about my initial thoughts...keeping in mind, I've only been cooking on it for a week and so my observations may be off! Temperature control and stability - I am still learning where the temperature settings are for my new KK, but I'm pretty close. In fact, I'm so confident, that when I want to heat soak my grill, I'm actually setting the vents to approximately where I think they should be (conservatively) and then I'm comfortable stepping away to go grocery shopping or to help a friend out, or to take my girls to Karate class. I have cooked on ceramics for years, but never had the confidence to just set it right lighting the fire and then step away. That the stability part...for the temp control, yesterday I cooked and I had settled at 300F, I wanted to cook at 350F so I gave the top damper another half turn and I was locked in at 350F! No fuss, no muss! I'm already able to increase the temp by very small increments (almost to the degree)....incredible to have that level of control over a fire burning grill. Moisture - I've already talked about this, but my food is so moist! My girls laugh, because yesterday we had sticky chicken thighs and Aashni cut into hers and got 'squirted'! So incredible moist. At first I thought it was just the chicken, but everything I've cooked on here so far is coming out more moist. The build of everything from the KK itself all the way to the grates and all things in-between, make cooking on such an enjoyable experience. The multi levels, different configurations, etc make cooking so versatile. If I can picture it in my mind, its not very difficult to figure out how to cook it perfectly on the grill. Heat retention - I did something I'm not supposed...I cooked chicken thighs yesterday and kept opening up the lid to baste and glaze the thighs...I know, if you are looking you aint cooking! But here is what I learnt....Even though I kept opening it up (at some point it became a game), the temp would return right back to my set temperature within minutes! The heat retention was incredible. OK, so thats all I have. Needless to say, I'm loving cooking on the KK. The design and construction are incredibly well thought out and everything is over engineered. I'm glad I got to cook on a good ceramic grills before my KK purchase because I think there are so many small differences, along with some very big ones, that I appreciate. Thanks for letting me ramble! Great first thoughts review. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Well said Rak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon B. Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 I'm glad I got to cook on a good ceramic grills before my KK purchase because I think there are so many small differences, along with some very big ones, that I appreciate. Agree 100% !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Rak, that is a perfectly accurate description of how well the KK grill really works. Glad to hear that your wife is getting interested using the KK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rak Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Thanks y'all! Rak, that is a perfectly accurate description of how well the KK grill really works. Glad to hear that your wife is getting interested using the KK. MacKenzie, I can't wait to see her cooking on it. We both really enjoy cooking and to see her interested in would be terrific! She is mostly a baker, so I'm going to be sure to point her to a few of the bakes here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Thanks y'all! MacKenzie, I can't wait to see her cooking on it. We both really enjoy cooking and to see her interested in would be terrific! She is mostly a baker, so I'm going to be sure to point her to a few of the bakes here Still waiting to see the next Aashni cook you promised not long ago. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 You are on a well worn path of happy campers in the KK family! Like hearing that the whole family wants to get involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted January 30, 2016 Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Thank you for posting this on the KamadoGuru forum.. I'm confidant it will help folks who want to improve their game and one step in doing this is improving the quality of their tools.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rak Posted January 30, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2016 Thank you for posting this on the KamadoGuru forum.. I'm confidant it will help folks who want to improve their game and one step in doing this is improving the quality of their tools.. My pleasure Dennis. All things being equal, the KK produces better results....its a fact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
