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I chose Italy for my Fed in the Med Cook . I decided I wanted to cook Fish for my Challenge. So our Kroger had Mahi at a decent Price. Didn't really know Excactly what I wanted to do with it ... But I'm one of them that will figure it out later. Lol... . . First off I got busy to find out what kind of drizzle sauce that would be great on fish.. Naturally for me its lemon. Got on web to find a great sauce that I thought we would like. So I pick Citrus Gremolata, (which originated in Italy.. Thats how I decided which Country). . Ingredients for Gremolata (as you can tell, very minimal ingredients) which I Love. I mixed all ingredients together so all flavors come together. Lemon was for zest only. Along with Orange zest. Recipe calls for a lime zest too.. But didn't have it. So I use lime juice instead. . . I chose a Akorn squash for my side. Akorn squash really originated in Mexico and central America.. But in this day and time Akorn squash's are commercially grown in Italy as well as a few more country's. . I cut them in half and scoop all the seeds out. I kept some of the Akorn squash seeds. Hoping to dry them out for later use. . . Akorn squash on Grill @400 indirect for bout 45 minutes . . Ckreef had our starch covered(Rice) which was my first choice, but since we decided to eat our Challenge cooks on the same night, I opt to just make my Akorn squash a simple side which they might actually like. So I needed to find the right something and that something was a brown sugar glaze. . Brown Sugar Glaze Ingredients . I melted down all the ingredients along with butter (which I forgot to add to pic, 1/4 cup. . . Brush the Akorn squash with Glaze and grill them another 15 mins . . Next it was time to put my fish on . I just added seasalt.. Didn't want to add other seasoning to get in the way of my Citrus Gremolata flavors. I put them on Grill Grates @ 500 for about 8 minutes total time. . . So I have all my components ready Fish-check Gremolata-check Akorn squash done and glazed - check . My Money (cheap) shot Cheap cause it was bout $6 a plate. Loving it. And O So good... .

First cook while doing the burn in. There she is in the "Go" position. A simple cook of some Souflima. Pork tenderloin medallions that have been marinating in oil, lemon juice, garlic (lots!), salt, and oregano. Very tasty. As the cook progresses, the heavens parted and angels sang. Note the light halo over the KK. If that's not a good sign, I don't know what is!

Turned out I only needed one burly dude, myself, and my two daughters. We removed the lid and hauled that to the back first. Also removed the firebox halves. Made it as light as possible. Since I had 4 half-size sheets of plywood to roll over the lawn with, stood the ramp from the crate on the lower palette to get to the edge of the upper palette, then laid one of my half sheets over that. Worked like a charm. Daughters kept the plywood rolling to the front and we were down to the back in no time with 1 burly mon and me. Here it is deployed. Twins, separated at...hold on a sec...something not right... Better. MUCH better. A Babe in the Woods.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to post some cooks. I’ve been using Smaug over the summer, but have had very little time for posting. Here’s a pork shoulder. Here’s two more pork shoulders that I cooked at once. And here’s a nice 12 lb. brisket, with before and after pictures. There’s nothing special about these cooks. I’ve done them before, like many of you. What all of these cooks have in common, however, is that I did the same routine for setting up Smaug for each one. I started the fire around midnight, set the vents for what’s worked for me for a low and slow cook (bottom vent barely open, top vent turned 1/4 turn), waited long enough to see that the thermometer got up to around 180-200ºF (about 20-30 minutes or so), and then went to bed. In the morning, the thermometer was pretty consistently right around 200-225ºF, which is where I wanted to be. Probably better than anything else, this shows what the quality of a Komodo Kamado grill gets you: ease of control and repeatability in your vent settings. I’m confident enough in my grill that I was able to set the vents and walk away knowing that I would get really close to my target temperature. I should mention that I’m usually not in the habit of doing cooks this way. In each case I was “volunteered” to provide food for a potluck or a party at the last minute, which is why I wound up doing the overnight cook approach. Still, it’s really nice to know that my KK grill is so well made that I can get results like this.

For my KG challenge entry I thought I would try a shrimp and lobster Paella. I used two kamado's for this cook, one for high heat and one for lower heat. First I prepared all my ingredients. Then I add the lobster tails to boiling water until they turned pink about 5 minutes. Save 2 cups of the lobster water for use with the rice. I have all my ingredients close to the grill for ease of cooking. Kamado #1 is set for higher heat. I added 3 tablespoons of oil to my pan and sautéed my 1 chopped onion until soft then I added 4 cloves of chopped garlic and sautéed another minute. Next I added my rice to the pan that had been soaked in water for 5 minutes and strained. I cooked the rice about 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Then I added the two cups of lobster water to the rice plus another 1/2 cup of water that had a pinch of saffron soaking in it. I also added 1 tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne, a pinch of hot pepper flakes and salt. I also added 2 finely chopped Roma tomatoes and 6oz's of green beans. I brought the mixture to a boil and covered it. I transferred the pan to kamado #2 set at 250f for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes I added 1 pound of shrimp, add more water to the rice if necessary and continue to cook with the cover on for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes I added the lobster which I removed from the shell and cut into large chunks. I continued to cook until the lobster was warm. Now the hard part, I can't decide on the one photo I should enter, since you can only enter one. I can't decide between these three pictures...any suggestions. 1. 2. 3.

For my KG challenge entry I thought I would try a shrimp and lobster Paella. I used two kamado's for this cook, one for high heat and one for lower heat. First I prepared all my ingredients. Then I add the lobster tails to boiling water until they turned pink about 5 minutes. Save 2 cups of the lobster water for use with the rice. I have all my ingredients close to the grill for ease of cooking. Kamado #1 is set for higher heat. I added 3 tablespoons of oil to my pan and sautéed my 1 chopped onion until soft then I added 4 cloves of chopped garlic and sautéed another minute. Next I added my rice to the pan that had been soaked in water for 5 minutes and strained. I cooked the rice about 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Then I added the two cups of lobster water to the rice plus another 1/2 cup of water that had a pinch of saffron soaking in it. I also added 1 tsp of paprika, 1/2 tsp cayenne, a pinch of hot pepper flakes and salt. I also added 2 finely chopped Roma tomatoes and 6oz's of green beans. I brought the mixture to a boil and covered it. I transferred the pan to kamado #2 set at 250f for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes I added 1 pound of shrimp, add more water to the rice if necessary and continue to cook with the cover on for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes I added the lobster which I removed from the shell and cut into large chunks. I continued to cook until the lobster was warm. Now the hard part, I can't decide on the one photo I should enter, since you can only enter one. I can't decide between these three pictures...any suggestions. 1. 2. 3.

Talked with Dennis. He's sending me some info on the fix, but nothing major. Cut away some of old and use the tube in the repair kit. Doesn't affect burn-in, so doing that today and will do pebble repair later. Easy peasy.

I’m a little late to this, but congratulations on finally getting Ora to your home! Normally I would say that you’re going to love cooking on your KK grill, but you’ve already experienced that.

Watching up my driveway for the truck to roll up. Saw him park on the street (the slope of our driveway tends scare large trucks from entering), so heading out to meet him. There it is...behind some other cargo. Bringing the accessory and charcoal palette first. Thanks for the extra coffee char, Dennis! The first palette is in the garage. Delivery driver was hilarious -- said it was his third KK delivery this year, so had a lot of questions. He also knew how heavy it was, so was looking down the driveway and hating that slope at the top. Our house is behind the trees...way down in the holler. With my help, he backed partway down the driveway and got himself into a comfortable spot. What could it be?? Why...it's a major award! Fragile´...must be Italian! Got the crate off. Opened 'er up to remove all the goodies. It's indescribably beautiful! Ready to roll down the ramp...except we have a palette on palette situation, and the ramp only goes so far... Hmmm...well, my daughter's burly friends arrive at 4, so we'll get a little help to move 'er out from here. Stay tuned...

So, its August and the time of year when zucchini plants are in hyper-drive. What could be worse than a saute of onions, fresh young zucchini, garlic, ripe tomatoes along with a kiss of dry sherry turned into the base for a Neapolitan pizza? Exactly: Nothing! A few rounds of Calabrese sausage a friend and cafe owner here in Reno made (Calafuria) atop a thick layer of ratatouille along with browned shiitake mushrooms and covered with a mix of whole milk mozzarella and apple wood smoked provolone. Oh yeah, and a drizzle of EVO then baked over Dennis' CoffeeChar lump; thanks again @Bruce Pearson!

Used the basket splitter ad the 32 is enormous and I am just cooking for four. Lit her up and got her to temp(400-450) in 30ish min. Put chicken legs, breasts and thighs on. Marinated in store bought bbq sauce. Cooked about 20 min on direct heat. Turned out great! Served with cornbread muffins, kale, and fresh field peas (from Lane in Ga.- the wife went through town a week ago)

That porkloin cooks was perfect, you are on a roll:)

Very nice first cook looks tasty love the smoke coming out of vent what a great shot Looks like you are having fun with your kk

Looks like you and your grill are getting alone just fine!! Rob

Leftover KK sausages for lunch. Homemade buns, hot pepper relish, cheese and onions toppings.

Thank you CC. This really was my first time eating a Akorn squash.. I really enjoyed it. Mrs. Reef's Bistro

Beautiful KK and such a lovely setting lots of great pictures hope all goes well with the loose tiles. Looking forward to your first cook. Congratulations

Wow and double wow that looks very tasty and very nice presentation.

Susan - beautifully done cook! I love fish (sans the head!) and this fills the bill. And you simply can't beat Acorn Squash cooked any where and any way. Great cook all around! Kudos to you!

This is my "Fed in the Med" entry over on the Guru Za'atar is a generic name for a combination of spices commonly used in the Middle East. Key ingredients are sesame seeds and ground sumac - from there, different cultures add their own spin. My blend was sesame seeds, ground sumac, oregano, savory, a bit of salt and some fresh thyme from the garden. Here it is dry on the left and combined with olive oil and minced garlic to form a paste on the right. The sumac, which was hard to find, is the star of this show - it has sort of a lemon zest flavor that isn't as sharp and doesn't linger in your mouth as long as lemon zest does. Coat the chicken with the paste first, both over and under the skin, then sprinkle on the dry blend and pat it down. I let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. Here is is on the KK rotisserie. I have the basket splitter installed and the fire is on the back wall (can't see it in this image). The pan of veggies has carrots, onions and cabbage and is sitting over the non-direct side. The cabbage really picked up the nice flavor of the za'atar blend. The chicken also had great flavor and you could squirt a little lemon on it to pick the flavor up even more. Plated with some couscous made with onion and sun-dried tomatoes. I haven't made couscous in years and forgot how easy and delicious it is. Money Thanks for looking.

@HalfSmoke - congrats on the new arrival! She's a beauty and looks great on your patio. That's a really nice setting. Follow the instructions Dennis gives you and you'll be fine with those loose tiles. I'm looking forward to pics of your first cook. Again, congrats!

Perfect! Thanks! And my motor is definitely turning clockwise, so seems I'm cleared hot on a rotisserie chicken this weekend.

The springs are for the small shaft that goes into the motor. A lot of us (myself included) don't use them. Not really needed with the new adjustable mounting bracket. Looking into the shaft socket of the motor it should turn clockwise. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

No worries on the repair. The engineer in me is happy to have something to fix...and very minor. First light: And here she is running up to temp. Much better light this AM than yesterday's pics at dusk. Only my first time behind the wheel, but very pleased with how responsive the KK is to the vents.

What a beauty your new KK is and great that all hands on deck were able to put it in the correct location.

Sk, that was a wonderful cook, it sounds delicious and looks delicious, good luck in the challenge.

Hoping to spin a chook...err...chicken (been reading too many Aussie posts) on my spankin' new KK this weekend. This gives me a bit o' inspiration.

It has been a fun day what with Ora's unveiling and then two high temp. cooks on the KK. First, the sour dough bread. Proofed and ready to bake. On the KK at 440F for 22 mins. The bread is singing to me, what a nice sound. It lasts quite a few mins. The crumb- On to the Fresh Mozzarella pizza. Ready to bake at 450F. BTW, if you are ever in Halifax, Nova Scotia THE place to get the best beer is at Unfiltered. It is awesome. Ready for the fresh basil. Sliced. That's all folks.

Tony I haven't received it yet next month some time. It was put on the ship Aug. 5th/ I will post pictured when it arrives

The view from the sun room. Y'all are gonna have to bear with me until I've covered all angles.