RobCordeau Posted March 29, 2018 Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 Hi, I'm newish to the forum (been lurking for quite some time) and have been going back and forth on which KK would work for what I'm looking for. I was thinking about the 32 and was pretty close to deciding on it, but some other outside forces squashed that. So I was thinking about the 19, then I talked to Dennis about the 19 and he shooed me away to the 21. From what I have been reading, there are not many 21 owners (maybe 2 that are active on here?), but hopefully some will chime in with thoughts. I don't do a lot of smoking or low and slow (never had much equipment to do that), but we are in to pizza and ribs and lots of grilling. The 21 doesn't seem that much smaller than the 23, and it seems the hi-cap lid is pretty useful. The price point of the 21 is also appealing. It likely wouldn't be the only grilling device in the yard, so there is that. *shrug* I don't know. Just looking for advice/thoughts Thanks, Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pearson Posted March 29, 2018 Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 I would say go as big as your budget will allow you. Who knows you may get into smoking and low and slow once you get your KK. I haven’t cooked any pizza on my BB32 but lots of people have made pizzas on all the different sizes. Once you have. KK you probably won’t use any other cookers. Welcome to the forum 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted March 29, 2018 Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 I have the 22 inch tall cap. It was out for a short time before Dennis settled on the 21 inch tall cap. It is a very nice grill and I also have a small one the 16.5 tall cap which I mostly use in the winter as it is very easy for me to pull out. Which ever one you buy I am sure you will love the taste of the food you cook on it. With the 21 it will match up with a bigger one if you decided later on that you would like a second one. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted March 29, 2018 Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 Having waited five years to pull the trigger, I now realise that the biggest tragedy is the amount of my life that I spent not owning a KK. So my advice is that you need to rectify that deficit, and soon. Given all KKs are built to amazing standards, it is just a question of money, size and your needs. I think the 21" would do pretty much everything that I need if it was the only KK that I had. The three layers give you so much more capacity than you get with any other single layer cooker and I use my 21" in preference over the 23" for low and slow. I can't say that I have noticed any difference in fuel usage or in time to heat up between the two but I have not paid much attention to that. The only issue is your pizza requirement. I suspect a 32" would be better if you want to do two at a time but I can't see that the 23" gives you much advantage over the 21" unless you are into giant single pizzas. Happy to take measurements if that would help/if they are not on Dennis' site. In the meantime, here is a photo of the pizza stones with the 21" on the left. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobCordeau Posted March 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 Thanks, everyone, for the replies. @tekobo, I was looking at all of the pictures you took of your 23 and 21. It looks to me like you could move the 23’s top grate and pizza stone in to the 21 without issue. Is that true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted March 29, 2018 Report Share Posted March 29, 2018 8 minutes ago, RobCordeau said: It looks to me like you could move the 23’s top grate and pizza stone in to the 21 without issue. Is that true? You are probably right. It is dark and cold here at the moment so I will wait until the morning to test that out. Will report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted March 30, 2018 Report Share Posted March 30, 2018 As I fell asleep last night I thought, surely Dennis wouldn't have bothered to design a different pizza stone arrangement for the 21" if the 23" one would fit? Well, this morning we have swapped cold and dark for cold and wet but I braved the elements for this experiment anyway. No, the 23" upper grate does not fit in the 21", mainly because of the handles on the main grate as you can see in the photo below. I guess the question to ask @DennisLinkletter is whether it is possible to make the pizza stone in the 21" bigger to better fill the area of the upper grate? Knowing the cleaning comments will come up, here are my answers: Sorry @MacKenzie, haven't got around to Kurly Kate'ing my grate, I am a disgrace to the sisterhood. @All, I tried out @Syzygies' trick for keeping the interior clean by ramping up the temp at the end of a particularly messy cook to burn off the residue. It appears to have worked so still nice and white(ish). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amusedtodeath Posted March 30, 2018 Report Share Posted March 30, 2018 Hi Rob, I'm one of the happy new owners of the 21" kk. Like all the other owners of all the various sizes, I absolutely love my new cooker. It is every bit as awesome as I expected it to be after 13 years of dreaming of owning one. As regards your questions about high temp cooks like steaks and pizza, I'm sorry I can't testify yet, because I've only had mine about a week, and I just now spent the last couple days doing the preparation burn-in and grouting so I could do those. I've got a couple waygu filet mignon in the fridge that will be my inaugural high temp cook, and I will be doing a pizza soon... As for concerns over the size of the stone, you might consider that there is no law that you have to use that stone. I have a 16 inch round stone that I used on my previous inferior cooker, and I am certain that if I wished to do so, I could raise it above the main grate using any number of methods, i.e adjustable rig, and there is more than enough room to allow that. I would suggest no reason for concern over whether or not there is enough room to cook a proper pie. I chose the 21" because the price point passed my wife's approval, and because I felt the size was perfect for the two of us. It's also plenty big for me to cook four to six or even eight slabs of ribs when I have my buddies over for our twice monthly card game. I should have made those guys contribute to the cost of the cooker because man, have they got it made now... So, while I fully agree with others that if budget is no issue, then it's worth considering going as large as you can, I would also say that unless you need to cook for more than 10-12 people, the 21" is sufficient for all your needs. I really was impressed how roomy it was when I got it - I was actually a little surprised when I first opened the dome. Dennis is an absolute pleasure to deal with - he is friendly, informative, a great conversationalist, and in every conceivable way probably the best man you will ever have professional dealings with. He and the Komodo Kamado have my full and unreserved endorsement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonj Posted March 30, 2018 Report Share Posted March 30, 2018 tekobo, regarding the cleanliness of your grill, my first (and current) thought was how clean the grates are. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobCordeau Posted March 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2018 Thanks for the replies everyone! @tekobo, thank you for braving the cold and wet to indulge my curiosity. From the side by side pictures you sent, I was certain the 23 upper grate and stone would fit - bummer that it doesn't. If it wasn't for the main grate handles, it looks like the whole thing would fit. But yes, I agree with you that the stone could fit the 21's upper grate more like the 23's does. @amusedtooth - I am kind of in the same boat regarding wife's approval. If I had my way, I would have the 32 and be done with it all. But, 'tis not the case. It is just the three of us at the house (wife, 7 year old daughter, and myself). Now and again we have people over for dinner and have parties - most times 4-6 adults and 4-6 kids. And more often in the summer time, like most everyone else, so it isn't like an every weekend, all year long thing. I have talked with Dennis a few times and yeah, he is great to deal with and talk to. Funny dude. Regarding the pizza stone, yeah I know I don't have to use the KK pizza stone, but... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amusedtodeath Posted March 30, 2018 Report Share Posted March 30, 2018 (edited) The chance of a bad decision here is literally zero. You'll be happy with any choice you make. You'll have, as Tom Rush says, "No Regrets". If you think this is hard, just wait till you try and pick the color! Edited March 30, 2018 by amusedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted March 30, 2018 Report Share Posted March 30, 2018 My 2 cents. after having used one of the old 19.5" models (the pebble one in my pics) for years now, I think you'll easily handle your max crowd with the new 21" model. I can fit a lot of protein on the 19.5 and am sure you'll do even better with the larger, taller 21". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amusedtodeath Posted March 30, 2018 Report Share Posted March 30, 2018 46 minutes ago, Tucker said: My 2 cents. after having used one of the old 19.5" models (the pebble one in my pics) for years now, I think you'll easily handle your max crowd with the new 21" model. I can fit a lot of protein on the 19.5 and am sure you'll do even better with the larger, taller 21". I prefer to cook my ribs flat, that's four short slabs of baby backs (tails cut off), and imagine a full rack of ribs standing up vertically, then another full rack beneath that on the second level, with a drip pan or heat deflector on the lower grate...ya think that that would cover your needs...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amusedtodeath Posted March 31, 2018 Report Share Posted March 31, 2018 On 3/29/2018 at 3:31 PM, MacKenzie said: Which ever one you buy I am sure you will love the taste of the food you cook on it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted April 1, 2018 Report Share Posted April 1, 2018 Awesome ribs. and you thought I was exaggerating. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
