Your wife gave you permission? I thought this was for a “friend”? LOL!
Sorry if I sound like a broken record... BUT, I absolutely love my 26.75 kettle. It is soooo versatile! The flavor profile is MUCH cleaner than a kamado, especially at the lower temps. For everyday/weeknight grilling, I light up two chimneys of lump charcoal. When they are ready, I dump both into the middle of the kettle. I then rake the coals out a bit forming a decent sized pile that fills much of the charcoal grate probably about 3” from the walls all the way around. It’s a HOT fire. At that point I place my cooking grate with GrillGrates in place and leave the lid off for a few mins while the fire gets cranking. I then place the lid on and give it about 10 mins to pre-heat. Total startup time is about 20 mins. Almost all of my kettle grilling is done with this setup. When I am done grilling I snuff out the fire and reuse the left over lump charcoal for the next cook. I have tried different ways/methods and the GrillGrates are my absolute favorite because of the more intense ‘grilled’ flavor that is imparted due to cooking (semi) direct over the fire for the entire duration of the cook. Also, as mentioned, the Vortex is a must. It makes for an easy and fantastic chicken wing cooking setup. It’s also a searing beast! Speaking of searing, I do not know of a hotter sear than screaming hot lump charcoal < 1” from the meat. Maybe a Salamander broiler but that’s $$$. As far as cleanup after a messy cook, it doesn’t get much easier than the kettle. I could go on and on, and as much as I LOVE pellet cooking, I also love what the kettle does. Yes, I do use my MAK for grilling and love how it performs... but it in no way can compete with the sheer power of a lump fired kettle