Just getting started

[John A]

Hey to my new KK friends ! A little bit about myself. Ive been cooking on a Bubba Keg kamado style cooker for about 5 yrs and have fallen in love with that style of cooking. I've really enjoyed my Keg and although it does a lot of things well ( for the price ) it has a hard time with low and slow. I started looking at different types of grills and saw the KK early on in my search and just kind of smerked and thought ... Yeah Right !! Being a 26 yr machinist I have always appreciated good workmanship but it seemed a bit much. I started to look at pellet smokers and was ready to pull the trigger on either a yoder or mak 2 but the more I looked into it I just couldn't stop thinking about how much I've enjoyed my kamado even with all its shortcomings. So I started looking at the bge but noticed that in all the pics I'd seen and at the store they just weren't built very well. I was about to give it up and saw a video comparing the bge to the KK. It was like a light bulb went off . It was like looking at a diamond beside a clam LOL. After a bit of  subliminal messaging and honey do lists the boss  finally relented and let me order one. She even helped me pick the color. Long story short my 23 in autumn gold flake will be here sometime next week. I CANT WAIT!! Will post pics. 

 

[bosco]

Welcome to the KK forum an congratulations on your Komodo Kamado.  

To say that you will notice some changes from the keg to the KK is an understatement!  You can't compare a KK to any other kamado and your diamond to clam analogy is spot on!  KK is the most over engineered kamado in the industry.  You will be so very pleased!

If you want to increase your smoke profile, look into a 2 quart dutch oven and we will teach you how to make a smoking pot with it.  My KK plus the smoking pot has produced some of the best brisket that I have ever tasted to date!  

Read up and stick around.  

 

[John A]

That sounds great !! I'll do that. I'm looking forward to learning everything I can from you guys. 

[bosco]

What accessories did you end up getting with your setup ?

[John A]

I didn't get much. Just the side tables 4 boxes of char and the grate grabbers. Kind of wish I would have gotten the  rotisserie. Do you have any suggestions ?

[bosco]

Oh I have suggestions alright!!

So moving on, if it is not too late I would definitely add the following items to your order, or place another order as soon as possible:

1. baking stone - quite possibly the greatest accessory that I have ever purchased.  This thing is a beast and helps make some of the best pizza and bread that I have ever had. 

2. Double bottom drip pan - I am done with the deflector stone now.  I either use foil on the lower grate for low and slow or the drip pan.  With a KK, you really don't need a deflector anymore, but having something like the double bottom drip adds a a heat shield, juice collector, and I sometimes add wine, or water with lemon etc to help marinate food while it cooks.

3. I think for me, I would Get the roti basket and the straight rod when it comes out.   They both have a place and you will be happy with both. Lets face it, built in rotisserie is an awesome built in feature that every ceramic owner has been waiting for.   And it comes standard with a KK.

 

Edited September 15, 2016 by bosco

[bosco]

other options are a splitter basket for 2 zone cooking.  Many love it.  I have it but honestly have yet to use it.  When you get the splitter basket, it was recommended to get a second charcoal basket so its always set up and ready to go.

if you are into cold smoking the cold smoke generator 

 

last but not least, order as much lump as you can on initial order as it is the cheapest that you can get it.  You basically save on shipping.  

 

[John A]

The drip pan and pizza stone sound like something that would come in handy. I'm pretty sure that its too late to add to my order now though. Thx for the great suggestions. I'm sure I'll get some more goodies after the shock of this order wears off. 

[bosco]

lol... 

I can honestly say to you that the moment that these babies arrive, the sticker shock disappears.  You my friend are about to be hit with the best looking BBQ in the industry. 

Bling BBQ

[MacKenzie]

John A, wow that was a  close call, you nearly missed out on the best grill purchase you will ever make.   You and your wife must be pretty excited and just wait until you do some cooking on that 23 inch. The food flavour  will move to the next level.  The baking stone is not just another pizza stone. It is especially formulated so the the top of the pizza cooks and the bottom cooks not burns. It does a wonderful job on bread too.  I hope you have your camera and battery all ready for those compulsory delivery shots. Rob will explain that I'm sure.

[Aussie Ora]

Great news John you are going to love it like bosco said get the baking stone the double bottom drip pan is awesome I am lucky enough to have the straight rod that fits the rotisserie I love it the basket is awesome just throw a chook in no worries about trying up legs and wings. The basket splitter is really good not only can you use it for small cooks but it's great for the rotisserie you can leave an alfoil pan on it to catch the drippings really useful for a pork roast you don't want that much oil dripping on burning lump

Outback Kamado Bar and Grill

[MadMedik]

Glad you wife bought in....she will love it as much.  It is art in the back yard.  Friends look, pause, and say "what is that"....then jaw drops in amazement.  Fun to share with friend.  Even non BBQ enthusiasts will appreciate the beauty of the grill.

For the smoke pot...I was just looking it up today.  Here is a link from our site.  Check it out.  Also search "smoke pot" or "Dutch oven smoke pot".

http://komodokamadoforum.com/topic/6732-syzygies-smoking-pot/#comment-75269

 

Extras: you got. The KK and  side tables.  That is all you need.   Now what do you WANT?   So many choices.

Pizza stone is great if you like to make pizzas or see your self doing.  You can wait though  if no desire.

Deflector Stone is  a must.....at least using a deflecting mechanism.  The stone works great, but many will foil the low grill not used for cooking.  Some use drip pans and this can help

Using Drip Pans:. I always foil the pans before using.  The next day, when KK is cool, the foil comes out and brings out 90% of what is in pan.  Easier for clean up

Rotisserie is great to use, but not essential up front if limited budget . I have made some great chickens, Cornish game hens, prime rib roast on rotisserie and not to mention  leg of lamb.  Get one when you can.

extra basket for coals or the basket splitter.  Again, nice to have but essential at the beginning.

consider how you are going to light the coals.   Research it.  Buy it now before you get the grill.   There are many options.     There are small cube like lighter blocks....put 1 or 2 in, light them, and it will go.  There are the HUGE weed burners attached to propane tank....overkill but fun...that is what I used.  There are smaller hand held torches,  Loofta ??? Heat guns.... Lot of options....just don't user lighter fluid.

well you have lit the KEG you have that experience....forgot about that.

you are set

good luck

send pics, figure out 'name' for it !!!!

 

[Bruce Pearson]

congratulations John; What you ordered will get you started and then you can add on as time goes by. I f you live in the San Fran. Bay area I have CoCo char and Coffee char if you need any. Please take plenty of pictures when it arrives. We like pictures lol. You are going to love this thing wait till you see it, pictures don't do it justice. welcome to the forum you and your wife.

[John A]

1 hour ago, MadMedik said:

Glad you wife bought in....she will love it as much.  It is art in the back yard.  Friends look, pause, and say "what is that"....then jaw drops in amazement.  Fun to share with friend.  Even non BBQ enthusiasts will appreciate the beauty of the grill.

For the smoke pot...I was just looking it up today.  Here is a link from our site.  Check it out.  Also search "smoke pot" or "Dutch oven smoke pot".

http://komodokamadoforum.com/topic/6732-syzygies-smoking-pot/#comment-75269

 

Extras: you got. The KK and  side tables.  That is all you need.   Now what do you WANT?   So many choices.

Pizza stone is great if you like to make pizzas or see your self doing.  You can wait though  if no desire.

Deflector Stone is  a must.....at least using a deflecting mechanism.  The stone works great, but many will foil the low grill not used for cooking.  Some use drip pans and this can help

Using Drip Pans:. I always foil the pans before using.  The next day, when KK is cool, the foil comes out and brings out 90% of what is in pan.  Easier for clean up

Rotisserie is great to use, but not essential up front if limited budget . I have made some great chickens, Cornish game hens, prime rib roast on rotisserie and not to mention  leg of lamb.  Get one when you can.

extra basket for coals or the basket splitter.  Again, nice to have but essential at the beginning.

consider how you are going to light the coals.   Research it.  Buy it now before you get the grill.   There are many options.     There are small cube like lighter blocks....put 1 or 2 in, light them, and it will go.  There are the HUGE weed burners attached to propane tank....overkill but fun...that is what I used.  There are smaller hand held torches,  Loofta ??? Heat guns.... Lot of options....just don't user lighter fluid.

well you have lit the KEG you have that experience....forgot about that.

you are set

good luck

send pics, figure out 'name' for it !!!!

 

Thanks for all the great ideas guys ! I really appreciated all the help. It's nice to know I have you guys to help me become a better cook. Goodness knows I love trying lol. When using the Dutch oven is it just laid directly on the coals and does it work as a deflector ? Also the double bottom drip pan. What makes it better that the drip pan that comes with it.  Sorry for all the questions but I have a feeling you guys don't mind ha ha.  

[bosco]

The Dutch oven smoke pot is just a smoke producer not a deflector.  

The double bottom steel drip pan is as large as the deflector stone with two layers of steel with a gap between them.  Acts as an excellent diffuser.  

Or you can use the stone that comes with the KK for diffuser.  But the easiest is to leave lower grate in and lay a piece of foil down.  The main grate to firebox is further apart then any other Kamado.  It really make ceramic deflectors a thing of the past.

The dutch oven smoke pot produces an incredible smoke profile and clean wood burn 

[tony b]

6 hours ago, John A said:

Thanks for all the great ideas guys ! I really appreciated all the help. It's nice to know I have you guys to help me become a better cook. Goodness knows I love trying lol. When using the Dutch oven is it just laid directly on the coals and does it work as a deflector ? Also the double bottom drip pan. What makes it better that the drip pan that comes with it.  Sorry for all the questions but I have a feeling you guys don't mind ha ha.  

The smoker pot sits right on top of the charcoal. The holes are actually in the bottom, so the smoke is directed into the fire to burn off the volatiles and produces a nice clean smoke.

The double drip pan is basically for catching the drippings from the cook to do something with (gravy, season veggies, etc.) The double layer keeps the drippings from burning. The single drip pan that comes with the KK is fine as a heat deflector/drip pan, when you don't care about the drippings, as they will burn. Some folks like to foil it, to make it easier to clean up or you can just put aluminum foil on the lower grate to serve as the heat deflector. Whatever floats your boat.

[Bruce Pearson]

 I don't know about you guys but I think the drip pan that comes with the KK is a work of art all that nice Jewling on it.  I'm going to use mine for a salad bowl, I also bought the double bottom pan. The KK 32 comes with two sets of deflector tonss if I'm not mistaken.  So many extras come with it I don't know  what  to do with them all lol.

[Steve M]

I can't add too much here. I think I bought all of the accessories and will probably use everything. One of the things you should load up on is the charcoal in the beginning just because the shipping on it is so much if you order it later. I LOVE the coffee charcoal flavor profile and the coco char is great for long cooks. It is the one thing you will wish you had bought more of later regardless how much you order in the beginning. I bought 800 lbs with mine, have gone through about 40 lbs and I wake up at night in a cold sweat worrying that I am running out .

After that, I do enjoy the rotisserie a lot. The engineering and integration into the kk is really cool and it does an incredible job on everything. I also like the basket divider for convenience when I want to create an indirect zone. If you are into baking on the kamados, definitely get the pizza stone. If you're not into baking, you will be.

I'm excited for you and can't wait until you get your grill. I loved the pictures of the autumn gold flake and if it had been available without the wait when I ordered mine, I would have ordered it (shhhhh, don't let my kk know).

[Pequod]

I think I ordered everything but the rib rack and Sunbrella cover with mine. Deferred on the cover because I can roll mine under cover and out of the elements for now. Also, I'm expecting a second KK and possibly a teak cabinet at some point, so am waiting on that decision to figure out what I want in a cover. 

Will be ordering a boatload more charcoal with the next one. 

[bosco]

Actually I forgot about the cover.  If you live in a colder climate, the cover is a must.  You want to protect the jacket of the KK from all off the elements.