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Tried my first Porchetta this week. I went with a non-traditional recipe that used the pork belly, but omitted the loin. It was awesome! I will definitely do it again. The skin on the outside crisped up nicely and the meat was luxuriously tender. Super easy!

Tippy: Do not use the heat deflector with the pizza stone...no need. In fact, if you use the heat deflector sitting on the middle grate for example, it will disrupt the air flow creating a pocket of cooler air between the stones; thereby complicating temperature regulation on the baking stone, especially an issue at the higher temps required for Neapolitan dough (based upon my experiments). Temperature will depend on the type of dough and style/thickness of the pizza. I am mostly exclusively making Neapolitan style pies that really require 750-800 degrees F. Whereas a dough containing oil and sugar will be much happier < 500. To get the maximum radiant effect, for mimicing a true pizza oven, I place the stone atop the highest level on the sear grate positioned atop the highest/largest grate. You will need to raise the OE thermometer otherwise it will touch the pie in this position (wood clothespin or foil does the trick). Dennis' new shaped baking stone is the best stone I've used...30-years and counting.

I finally got around ordering my rotisserie motor from One Grill a company that specializes in rotisserie equipment and it came in today! I've been looking forward to this day since Beauty! arrived with the rotisserie basket for TheBeast. Here are a few pics of the rotisserie motor and one of the basket. Front view: Notice that this specific motor indicated that it can spin 50 pounds of meet at once! This is no light-weight motor. Of course, nothing about TheBeast is light-weight! Here is a side panel that details a one-year warranty: I would have preferred a larger warranty, but the Customer Service rep assured me that if I take care of the motor, i.e. keep it out of the elements and remove it when not in use (no problem either way) that the motor was almost indestructible. He said you can't believe the number of people who leave their units attached to the cooker, rain, snow, sleet, hail or shine, and then wonder why the motor breaks. I'd believe it! Here is a picture of the other side panel. This company wants you to spin meat, even going do far as to suggest a first cook! Here is the back panel that details some features. Note that while the motor is indeed water resistant, it is not water proof! Here is a front view of the motor itself. Here is a view of the motor from the side that will face TheBeast. Note the slides on each side. And finally, here is a picture of the rotisserie itself! This thing is a beast itself. It's about 26" long and is 10" in diameter. At first glance, you go "WTF?" Then you begin thinking like a KK Owner and Dennis Linkletter. The whole basket and it's "Frankensteinian Claws" are actually designed from its inception to securely hold every cook, no matter how large (a big turkey is very doable) and no matter what shape (I'm thinking of spinning a butt and a brisket. You also notice that there is no central spit to hold the cook. That's because forcing a spit through a cook limits what you can cook and it more importantly lets precious juices find a way out of the cook. That means that the cook could conceivably be less juicy than it need be. Finally, everything is held in place by hex nuts. Nothing is going to fall out of this basket! Finally, here is a view looking at the basket end-on. Those 3 points allow you to adjust the center-point of your basket. At least that is what I's assuming. (Please CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG all you spinning KKers!) That is important because if you have a large cook in the basket, it's center of mass may not coincide with a single spot that normally comes with a rotisserie or most certainly a spit. You can actually adjust the point that connects to the kamado and the motor drive unit to more properly center the cook. Properly centered cooks mean that there is less stress on the motor and thus the motor last longer! In essence, it takes less torque to spin the cook. Okay, that's it for now. I'm thinking of spinning a chicken tomorrow. I'll make sure I take plenty of pics and post it in the appropriate thread. Thanks for taking a look at the KK Rotisserie system. Oh, hey! Anyone know of a thread where it shows where all the springs and doodads are shown as assembled? Thanks in advance!

Poached eggs for the first time in the SV bath. Only way to describe it - PERFECTION!!! 142F for 50 minutes, in the shell. Yes, leave them in the shell. I was initially concerned about being able to get them out after the cook without breaking the yokes. NO PROBLEM. Light tap on the counter, just like you'd crack a raw one, and they slide out of the shell easily and in one piece. Now, for the best part (sorry, no pics), but the eggs were for one of my favorite pasta dishes - cacio e pepe, with a poached egg. Think carbonara without the panchetta. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cacio-e-pepe-365162 I tweaked it a little by using a blend of olive oils - Stonehouse basil, Trader Joe's Sicilian and White Truffle oils, with a pinch of garlic powder instead of the butter. The poached egg just takes it over the top! Simple, but elegant and will put you into a full-on foodgasm!

A chicken sausage patty on top of homemade English Muffins- Plated. All I need now is and

Some beef short ribs done at 137 F for 48 hours but first some grilled veggies- Time to sear the ribs - Plated. Cut rib view- The meat was nice and tender.

Howdy KKers! Well, the Ladies, soon to be granddaughters come over last night and wanted me to cook some Mac-N-Cheese to go with the feta and spinach stuffed chicken breasts I told them I was cooking. I said let's go the the store and get the fixin's for the MNC. So we dash to the store, I'm buying cheese like a madman, and we head to checkout. They ask me about the MNC. I don't get it. Then it dawns on me that they have never had scratch MNC and that the only thing they know if from a blue box! LOL!! So I say "Trust Me" and I get The Look! Evidently it runs in the family ... I get the same look from their grandmother, SWMBOI! Here is a pic of the ingredients right before the cook ... mies en plas. Again, The Look. What, Am I speaking a foreign language here? So I have to teach them how to make a roux, the basis for just about every sauce and all they can say is "This better be good!" They are skeptical especially when I added rosemary, thyme, cayenne, Dijon mustard, and nutmeg to the roux! Here is a pic of the MNC just on the grill. "ON THE GRILL?" they asked even more skeptically! Yes my dears, on the grill. And another. As I mentioned, we had chicken breast stuffed with sautéed spinach and garlic, and feta cheese. The Ladies have never heard of feta! I slit the breasts, put in the stuffing mixture, sealed with toothpicks, did a quick egg wash and then rolled in breadcrumbs seasoned with a package of spicy Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. Simple, easy, and delicious! Here's a pic of the breasts on the grill next to the MNC. Cooked at 375F until the breasts were at 155F internal. And here is the finished product. Sorry, no money shot, but every morsel of chicken was gone, plates licked, and the leftover MNC packed off to their home for lunch today! The girls loved the MNC, but to my mind next time I will use much more sharp cheddar and no mozzarella and no jack cheese. They are just too mild and added nothing to the flavor profile for me. The Ladies raved about the MNC, but I've done much better. Also, I had forgotten how much baby spinach reduces. I only used a 6 ounce bag and that was much too little an amount. Use a full pound of spinach. I used fresh baby spinach this time and frankly, it was a waste of money. Use a box of frozen spinach ... it works out just as well and costs much less! So all in all, an okay cook. The Ladies LOVE really MNC and discovered that feta cheese is really tasty! Tally one up in the Win Column for CC and Score one for The Team! Thanks for looking in. Y'all have a great weekend with the Family and your friends!

I put booze into a lot of my cooking, especially fond of "drunken" beans, but have never put it into MNC - sounds good, though! Like the old saying goes, "I cook with wine, some actually ends up in the food!"

Came up with this recipe on the fly tonight based on what I had available. This one is going in the personal cook book.

Thanks everyone.....this is truly exciting! Believe it or not this KK 23 is all for ME....no wife or family to feed so I can do what I want and cook what I want a MUCH as I want. Having said that I guess I am on my own to uncrate and move this behemoth so here I am sipping a coffee and staring at it trying to plan it out. Good thing I bought a dolly lift with pneumatic tires so I am hopeful she will get a smooth ride around the side of the house into her final position on the patio. Suppose if I need some help I will recruit it. Yes, I will snap lots of pix for our viewing pleasure step by step. Also appreciate the members for their great advice and tips....keep them coming...please. PS: In my old-ER age I have been collecting different BBQ smoking machines as a sort of amusement...I even had a trailer mounted good ole' barrel rotisserie smoker (almost 1000 lbs) that I feed big oak logs into and talk about WORK....but much fun and quite a challenge (pix to come). AND for the lazy days a pellet machine so I can marvel at technology!

Welcome to the Obsession! Like others have said, PICTURES, lots and lots of pictures! Uncrating, setup, and especially that virgin cook! One thing others didn't mention, you don't have to do the burn-in right away. If you're only doing lower temperature cooks (<350F) to start with, you don't need to do the burn in. It's only for when you want to do seriously high temperature cooks (>450F), like searing steaks or making pizzas. And don't waste that burn in either, it's perfectly safe to cook during the burn in process, as the volatiles you are trying purge are all on the outside of the grill under the tiles. Lastly, go out right now and buy a new belt at least 2" bigger than the one you have now. Trust me, you'll be needing it sooner than you think; because once you start cooking on this amazing grill, you won't want to stop. Oh yeah, if you aren't feeding hoards of people, get a vacuum sealer (e.g., FoodSaver) if you don't have one already, for all the leftovers!!

HOLY CRAP, you did that too!?! Maybe that's why we're wired differently than most folks - he, he, he!

What was your secret to crispy skin? I've done this once, with the loin inside, and the skin on mine didn't come out nearly as nice as yours! Despite the color, it was more chewy than crispy - think pork taffy. Interesting, but not what I wanted.

ckreef - thanks for the kind words. That's high praise coming from you. I didn't plan too well on the chicken breasts ... I should have double coated them. But, that's the next cook!

Isn't that just the cat's meow, beautiful

Yes sir, that is one fine prepared meal you have there.

That is simply droolicious! Please pass a piece and a new drool bib! Beautifully done! Kudos tp ya.