New KK order - any must have accessories?

[Stile88]

Congrats Ed on your purchase awesome color choice i didnt pull the trigger yet myself but will down the line 

Cant wait to see the delivery pictures 

[cschaaf]

Congrats, Ed! When you see those side tables, you are going to wish you ordered one of the cabinets!

[tinyfish]

16 hours ago, cschaaf said:

Congrats, Ed! When you see those side tables, you are going to wish you ordered one of the cabinets!

So true. The teak cabinets are out of this world gorgeous! 

[Aussie Ora]

Hey Ed congrats on your purchase and thanks for creating this post it has covered everything I need to know without posting the same question myself .I've decided to go for .

Double drip pan ( I can see gravy)

Charcoal splitter (reverse sears dual zone)

Grill shaped baking stone ( can load more if needed

Side tables ( they will come in handy for the time being)

8" Rotisserie with the 6" Reducer (love spinning things)

I'm still in two minds about an extra charcoal basket I might grab it

Outback Kamado Bar and Grill ♨

[bosco]

Get the basket that way you don't need to remove the splitter each time.  Or just have as a spare.  

Shipping is st it's cheapest right now with this big order so get everything 

cover??

[Aussie Ora]

Get the basket that way you don't need to remove the splitter each time.  Or just have as a spare.  

Shipping is st it's cheapest right now with this big order so get everything 

cover??

Thanks bosco you are right I'm better off getting everything now I was just tossing it up even though I have not posted much I use my Jr for my baking needs I can do a loaf of bread or a dessert in there quite easily I also use a similar product to the coco she'll we call them robot turds impart no flavour from redheads http://www.redheads.com.au/fire.php even if I don't use the extra basket it will be good to know it's there

Outback Kamado Bar and Grill ♨

[_Ed_]

@Aussie Ora - no worries! not much to do with me, tbh - it's the kindness and expertise of our fellow forum members that make it useful!

 

I'd definitely advocate the cover, though. It's a typical summer here in London (rain, rain, grey, thanks) and the cover is brilliant - water just slides off it. The one accessory I'm not so sure of is the roti basket - I much prefer a 'naked' spit rather than all the metal around the bird. Also, the unscrewing issue is... perplexing, but Dennis already has a new design to take care of that. I understand he's also working on the naked spit model, so it might be worth chatting the whole thing through with him.

[Mtroo]

With 32" charcoal basket splitter/reducer, does that $180 include the basket or is that just the reducer plates?  I don't see a spare basket available for the 32" grill 

 

[CeramicChef]

Chris - id definitely get the second basket.  I use both mine all the time.  It's so very easy pulling one and putting in the other.  I'd also get the cover.  Weather here in OKC is much like what you have in Perth.  My Father always said "Take care of your tools and your tools will take care of you." 

[Syzygies]

I've been doing this a long time. What do I actually use, some or all of the time?

• A second charcoal basket, to save extruded coconut charcoal between low & slow cooks, while I use lump charcoal for high temp cooks. A terra cotta plant saucer for storing the spare basket, to contain ashes. (If one can afford to do so, one could simply use charcoal from KK for everything. We've thought about it, even 500 F chicken tastes better over charcoal from Dennis.)
• A basket splitter, to make more efficient use of good lump charcoal for small cooks. The splitter constrains the airflow to pass through the fire, even for a small fire.
• A cover. It rains here part of the year, and this keeps moisture out.
• Two long neck "weed burner" propane torches, with hose clamps added on the neck so that they balance on the rim of the KK, for lighting fires.
• A paint brush and a soft cloth dust mask for removing ash. A plastic painter's pan to set below the ash door, for collecting the ash as one brushes it out. This lives in the most recent empty charcoal bag converted to ash storage. Obviously, cold ashes only.
• Silicone heat resistant gloves. And other gloves, but these take the most heat. There are many options.
• A 3/8" wrench for scraping grill grates. Get one with the correct round to match the grate. (This is radically better than grill floss or countless other options. Anyone in a reasonable state of mental health will tell you that they're happy with the best solution they've found so far for a problem. Only trust comparisons, when someone has alternated between the two best candidates long enough to break their prejudices.)
• A metal water heater pan, some improvised way to plug the hole (figure this out at the store), and heavy duty scrubbies from the painting aisle  (these blow away anything for the kitchen) for soaking and cleaning grills. (I'll sometimes trust a high heat cook instead, after a good wrench scraping.)
• I happen to have an electric pressure washer, for deck maintenance. After large low & slows (feeding 60 with pulled pork or brisket) it does a wonderful job of cleaning all grates (again, in the water heater pan).
• A paella pan, to use as heat deflector and drip pan. Line with foil for easy cleanup. (An official KK drip pan looks worth it to me; it will likely be my next purchase.)
• Two bath towels, and a cooler, for resting and transporting monumental meats.
• Heavy duty aluminum foil, for lining the plant saucer (easy disposal once the fat cools) and for wrapping monumental meats to rest in a cooler.
• Pink butcher paper, for following Austin Franklin barbecue technique. (The white is no better than aluminum foil; the pink breathes.)
• The official KK pizza stone, for bread or pizza. (I used to use a custom rectangular FibraMent-D baking stone, for two loaves of bread. Dennis got the pizza stone right, and I no longer use anything else.) A Baking Steel, for burgers or Japanese or Spanish griddle technique. The 15" by 1/4" round also fits an indoor oven and can be lifted by anyone. A 16" by 1/2" can be custom ordered, for more thermal punch.
• A Steam Pan, as described in KK as Steam Oven for Bread. A giant cast iron frying pan with the handle sawed off, filled with two spools of stainless steel chain, to go on the lower rack for bread cooks. (A KK single bottom drip pan would work here without rusting. Buy two, or keep moving the chain as needed.) Freeze 350g of ice in ziplock or vacuum seal bags, and slide the ice in to generate (after a delay making it possible to close the lid safely) enough steam to replicate a commercial bread oven. This is detailed in Keller's Bouchon Bakery but not original to them. This is superior to baking bread in a Dutch oven. Keller took much flack for this on other forums, from fools with zero understanding of physics who think that 10g of water from a plant spritzer suffices.
• A Smoke Pot, as described in A Dutch Oven Smoke Pot. Find a one or two quart cast iron Dutch oven, drill three 1/8" holes in the bottom, add smoking wood, and seal the lid on with flour paste. Nestle in with the charcoal, and heat it as much as possible while torch lighting the fuel directly under the pot. For low & slow cooks this controls smoke, avoiding nasty combustion byproducts; above 300 F even smoke from such a pot will taste as nasty as open wood. Try this at your own risk, you may be ordered to never use smoke any other way. I'm planning to test an all metal Kleen Kanteen as an easier alternative; I haven't yet. (One needs to work through an obsession with excessive smoke, if one has had one's heart broken too often on the BBQ trail from restaurants with inadequate smoke. There's a sweet spot where smoke is one more flavor in balance; find it.)
• A DigiQ DX2 BBQ Guru setup, for absolute control of longer cooks. This is indeed optional but very nice; I went years without after my previous unit died of old age. Then I committed to some major cooks for parties where I needed to be sure. A KK is remarkably stable, but if one goes eight hours without checking it can find a new equilibrium as the fire evolves.
• A Solo Stove Campfire, as described in Solo Stove. It provides a nimble way to make small fires away from the KK. For example, I now use mine to preheat my smoke pot. The applications are endless, and it's fun to use.

What have I tried and discarded or given away?

• A rotisserie. Have you tried cleaning one of these!? I have found ways I actively prefer for cooking anything on the KK that one might use a rotisserie to cook. Chicken, direct at 500 F over a nearly spent fire, and tend it a few times. (If you do have an electric pressure washer handy, then cleaning a rotisserie would not be an ordeal. I don't miss mine. It was fussy.)

As a rule, avoid all aspirational purchases in life. There's only so much one needs to do before baby comes home, one can figure out the rest as one goes. Try life without a rotisserie, for example, and see if a BBQ Guru is indicated.

Edited July 28, 2018 by Syzygies
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[CeramicChef]

@Syzygies - Wow!  It doesn't get any more complete than that list.  This post of yours needs to be put in a "Sticky" and posted in the New Member Area.

As for that SMOKE POT idea, it's shear genius!  I made one after reading your post from some time back and it's just shear genius.  Highly recommend everyone do this!  Thanks for posting that idea (again).

[tony b]

Make sure that you order the maximum number of cocochar and/or coffee char boxes that will fit on the pallet. It's the cheapest shipping per box you will ever pay! 

Cover is a great accessory, depending on your climate.

You will need to order a second charcoal basket to go with the basket splitter. Makes things sooooo much easier. Just swap out baskets. No assembly required. 

[Aussie Ora]

That smoker pot is a great idea

Outback Kamado Bar and Grill ♨

[bosco]

I made one last year but haven't had a chance to use it yet.  Maybe a low and slow this week is in order 

[tony b]

Been using my smoker pot for years now. I plan to use it tonight on the whole chicken cook. Works great on longer cooks. And the fun part is, if you use bigger wood chunks, you get a couple of pieces of charcoal at the end. 

[DBQ]

Super helpful thread here, thanks all for your pointers - I've got another follow-up question.  Has anyone here tried used the baking stone as a sort of plancha / flat-top for finishing steaks / burgers / etc. via reverse sear?  I'm migrating over from a grillgrates setup where I basically only use the flat / non-grate side in order to maximize browning / crusting / maillard effect.  I'd imagine based on everything I've read on here so far that you can certainly pull this off and make the stone a double-duty option (baking + searing) but just curious if anyone has actually tried it.   Thanks!

[MacKenzie]

I don't think that would work but what would work is the new steel plate that Dennis is producing. That will sear your steak, your smashed burgers, a Neapolitan pizza, etc. The baking stone, makes great loaded pizza by allowing the  top to cook at the same this the bottom cooks and it works great for baking bread, etc. Personally I love that baking stone, it does a fantastic job on things being baked, that is why it is called the "baking stone". I would not be without it.

 

[MacKenzie]

I love smoking pot, I mean I love my smoking pot. That darn spell and grammar check.

[Stile88]

Lol mac 

[tony b]

@MacKenzie - 

For the time being, stick to your grill grate, until Dennis has the steel plate ready for sale. The stone has some porosity to it and I think that if you put meat on it, it would soak in and be hard to clean, making your pizza stick down the road.