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Took me 40 odd years, but I have found my childhood! Over at pizzamaking.com there is a user named Garvey who posted this recipe for south side Chicago Thin, characterized by a spicy tomato paste based sauce and a particular type of sweet Italian sausage I’ve not been able to replicate...until today. Was hoping to find something close to what I grew up with - Colucci’s in Lansing - delivered in white paper bags and always cut square. Nailed it! Garvey is my new hero. That’s two 14” pies on one KK.

Here you go. Kiln dried mini splits of oak. On the right, 2 bins fit perfectly. It was like they were made for my setup. One bin to hold small items (gloves, hatchet, infrared gun etc......). The other bin filled with Kindling from the backyard woods.

Dinner done ! Not quite long enough for the lamb but super impressed with the flavour ! Roast potatoes were a new benchmark, crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside ! i don’t think I put enough charcoal in the basket for the cook, as I had to top up, and I couldn’t get past 250C (not that I needed to - but was seeing if I could). I assume to get high temps it’s more of activity with a well lit (spread) basket of charcoal. I’m using the mallee charcoal - which I love the taste of.

We worked as a well oiled team today. Everyone did great with the job they had. Had my son do everything from turning the truck on, turning on the pto, putting out the outriggers, linking up remote control, using the boom/crane then shutting everything back down. He had fun with it and learned something in the process.

Here we go. Very exciting day. Mrs skreef manned the camera. My son worked the boom/crane while I guided it into position. The entire operation went as planned without any issues. The first fire. Once it got going I pushed it to the back. I need to maintain 150* for 5 hours. Should be interesting. It's been a long tiring week but so glad we've started the burn in fires. Next week going to lay the pavers. If I get my act together I might be able to cook a couple of pizzas next weekend

Chicago Thin is itself a unique sort of pizza, and the version on the south side where I grew up is even more unique. Never realized how much I missed it until years later when we’d visit my wife’s family on the north side and just couldn’t find anything like that flavor (that’s “flavour” for our friends farther north). We always make a point now to stop at Aurelio’s in Homewood whenever we’re in the region, although Aurelio’s is known for a sweeter sauce, not spicy as was the norm in the mom and pop shops I knew. I digress, but South Side Thin is a pizza style y’all should get to know.

Did some chicken for the hockey game. Unfortunately this is what the Penguins looked like after the Capitals "smoked" them Chicken was great though

I used to do brisket low-n-slow until someone on this forum introduced the fast-n-hot method. I only do brisket fast-n-hot now. Very reliable timing, temp, etc. Put brisket on cooker, indirect @ 350f, let it go until internal temp hits 160f. Put it into a foil pan, add 1/2 cup beef broth, cover and let it go another 2.5 hours. If you want a bit of bark, at 2 hours into the foil phase, take it out and let it sit on grate to bark up. This method is pretty much always at 4.5 hours of cook time and renders excellent results.

Thanks Bruce! Being in California, feel free to add an avocado, but I advise avoiding the temptation to add kale!

The tool is to remove the rear stainless steel plate covering the hinge spring. Removing that plate gives you access to a hex bolt that allows you to adjust the spring tension. I and others like to adjust the tension so that the lid stays where parked, and doesn’t fly up or drop down when released.

The recipes are in Garvey’s signature here: https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=17662.0

I recently made a new purchase of an offset smoker, one that allows me to take it with me if I choose to do so because it's attached to a trailer. It's a smaller cooker that gives me the opportunity to enter a competition down the road without having to drag around one so large as some of the monsters I've seen. The inside capacity for meat is approx.. 70 lbs, that will feed a crowd of 40-50 people. I can also smoke a pig up to 50 lbs. It also allows me to put on heavier smoke profile and a thicker bark and fuel is free. Unfortunately, it does require a lot of attention with fuel having to add a stick or two every 45 mins or so unlike our KK's that are almost virtually carefree. I'm certainly not trying to replace my KK,...I'm simply covering my bases. These smokers are made of 1/4 inch rolled steel and are harder to maintain temp due to the elements that could affect there performance. So I have to build a cover/shelter to keep the rain off when in use. Nothing extravagant, maybe something similar to one of Aussie's pics when he was at an outdoor BBQ in the backcountry. Something practical. This is a reverse flow smoker..meaning that the smoker travel under the plate pictured and surfaces on the last 4 inches and travels across to the opposite side to exit the stack. This allows for a more even temp across the cooking area. After your cook you simply hose the area down and wire brush your grates, the water flows to the middle into the trough and exits a drain. Nice and clean, and fast. The chimney stack picture depicts the clean smoke exiting at a cooking temp of 275 degrees. Beef clod heart on smoker, 9lbs and 9 hrs later, midnite, oh boy, have to plan that better. Industrial refractory on brick pile, touque and groove and 5 inch base brick used to make fire pit and cooker, just have make a grate. 30x30 inside Any ideas for cover

Yes it does. Like I said, I need to chill.

Looking good! Somewhere in this world there are some chicken torsos looking for their limbs...

Regardless of what type of cook you're doing always start with a full basket of lump. What you don't use will be there waiting for your next cook. BTW - dinner looks delicious.

Chicago Thin is definitely low carb. You can take my word for it. If you do try it, I highly recommend trying the authentic approach before getting creative. Reason is that this pizza is characterized by a particular flavour (that’s “flavor” for gringos) profile that is unique and works extremely well. Make the sauce as prescribed and use a lot of it. Definitely make Garvey’s sausage recipe too - a sweet fennel sausage with a white wine twist. There is no substitute in stores. All together it just works and - I might be biased by my regional roots (but highly unlikely) - it kicks the pants off NY style any day (there...I said it!).

I know what you mean about the gas lasting forever, I've been using this tank for years, can't remember when I changed it last. If I ever run out I'm sure I could come up with some other way to light the grill especially if the stores were not open. Without a doubt I can get the KK going much faster.

I would wrap it in foil and keep in the oven at a temp of 70 C. That would keep it warm and prevent any bacteria. It will be fine although the bark will be gone I wonder why your briskets cook so quick. Mine take about ten hours or so. I do cook mine at about 107c and take it off at 93c(a bit higher than you) or so. It’s not unusual for the stall to last 4-5 hours.

Definitely going to give this a try. I too am doing a (relatively) low carb diet but, happily, have allowed myself one pizza night a week. Great fun for trying different doughs although The Husband is getting a bit frustrated with the less successful ones and just wants an improvement on the first one that he thinks was the best so far. Hoping the Chicago Thin will give him something to smile about next week.

I have not ever needed to use a blower. I just open the vents, light one or more spots using my MAPP torch (purchase down to @tony b suggesting ti!) and wait about 15 mins to make sure the fire has started and then up to an hour for full warm up for most cooks. Thanks to this post @MacKenzie, I understand that the blower could save me some fuel in my torch. I am not sure if that is worth it, given my gas canister seems to have lasted forever. Do you get to cooking temperature significantly quicker? Trying to help @Bruce Pearson save some money and cupboard space!

19 on Monday 5/7. He wanted to go Mexican and celebrate Cinco De Mayo. We went to the best Mexican restaurant in Macon, GA. The restaurant was in crazy mode. We got there at 3:30 pm and still had a 20 minute wait. Sure glad we went early.

Everything was done and pictures taken by noon. Didn't want to post them until I had a first fire picture. After we cleaned up we went to town to take my son for his birthday dinner. When we came back from an early dinner I lit the fire, took the final picture and then posted them.

Very nice pizza and it's cut to perfection. Ain't thin crust the best. Hey, some say the other way but, you know it's thin. That thick crust just fills u up, done. Glad the 32 is your go to for pizza, cause your kids are getting bigger and you need room to move. Perfect crust on the bottom, gooood so good.

Ok, back with a few more fotos, was up early this morning after watching the Roma v Liverpool clash and i know its been said before but...perfect packaging throughout. Had to dismantle the crate bit by bit (no-one home to help me lift off over cooker). Anyway finally got access to the stuffing inside as Mimi put it to me when she told me they were getting ready to ship, lol So much stuffing i was amazed, anyone on the sidelines about getting any KK.....just do it. The top damper alone i thought the circumference was as big as a soccer ball....i was wrong, here it is next to a regulation size World Cup ball and so i was left with getting the ramp ready for disembarkation Now where's that muscle i ordered. to be continued

Hello everyone So I am a happy new owner of a new 21 supreme! Got it in metallic bronze, or as my daughter would say - "disco ball". I was really leaning toward a 32, but the wife was going to have none of that. But, I am super happy with the 21 - I think it will be just the right size for our family of 3. Here are some shots of the unloading and unpacking process, with the obligatory 'kid in the cooker' shot. She loved it, but she's 8, so she loves almost everything right now. First cook was a simple one of burgers and dogs for the family. Really happy to be part of this adventure with everyone on this forum. It has been a long time coming, and well worth the wait. All the best, Rob Arrival! Yay! Not much stuff in the way in the truck, which was nice. Easy unload in to the garage (full of other crap). I had to get the crate down this narrow passage from the alley, over all of the flag stone. My first process didn't work and the crate got stuck in the doorway and started to slide off of its wheels. So I had to jack it up and run to the hardware store to rent a pallet jack and buy some thicker plywood. Hours later... Daughter was supper thrilled! And couldn't wait to get in... Not the final resting place, but good for now until I build the counters and the outdoor kitchen setup. And the start of a nice, simple cook!

Every other brisket that I have cooked has ended up with a long stall. This MEATER graph from last week's (small) brisket cook illustrates it well. The green line is the ambient temperature in the KK and the purple line is the internal temperature of the brisket, temperatures in Celsius. As you can see, i broke the stall by increasing the temperature at the end. I am cooking lunch for the neighbours today and I had originally planned to get up at 4am to start the fire and put the brisket on but then decided that starting last night would be a better idea. It was a chance to have the time to ride out the stall and find out how long that takes. Well, what happened to the stall? It all cooked super smoothly and was ready at 4:45 am with no intervention from me! Double boo! I had to get up early anyway AND I now have a brisket resting that won't be eaten until about 1pm. I wrapped the brisket in pink paper and put it in a cooler. Will it last until 1pm? Should I put it back on the grill later in an attempt to re-set the bark? Any advice welcome please. Back to bed now!

Burn in fire two happening as I type this. I'm hoping to do a pizza cook next weekend. Fingers crossed.

Ha. That made me competitive - I wanted your target time so that I could beat it! In reality I generally have things to do while the KK warms up and don't need to rush.

Looks like you have picked out something that is just right for you. Looking forward to seeing your shelter progress. In the meantime, you had better get out there and win some competitions!

I just recently did a 9lb beef shoulder clod. Put it on at three in the afternoon, what was I thinking? Duh. Anyway 9hrs later I pulled it and wrapped it foil and a heavy towel and put it to bed. That one was on offset, great bark. A few weeks back I did one at 275 on the KK 8lbs for 6 hrs and a fraction, cherry wood, great bark too. Tekobo, don't tell anyone but at midnite I was toast, so I layed down on the couch just for a minute, poof it was morning. The meat was still quite warm, didn't dry out...had it for breakfeast. Does this help?

Thank you all very much. I used a modification of @Drew's method - kept the pink paper I had already wrapped the brisket in and put it in the oven to keep it warm. It turned out very well. In fact our neighbour's 15 year old daughter was so mesmerised by the meat as I sliced it that I had to repeat the question about how many slices she wanted. I like @tony b's method of wrapping the joint in a bath towel to keep the brisket warm and I definitely want to try @Tucker's more predictable method. The funny thing about trying so hard to make sure that the meat was ready bang on time was that, of course, my guests were not. Reminded me to chill...

Nice! I was going to say it looks like a Lang, and then I saw that it was in one of the pics. I’ve always wanted a reverse flow offset - Lang or Meadow Creek - but never pulled the trigger because of that continuous feeding thing. Maybe a smaller 36 in retirement would be fun. Enjoy! Hard to beat brisket from a stick burner.

The pink butcher paper will help retain the bark better than bare foil, as it will absorb some moisture. I do both - wrap in the pink paper after the stall is over and back on the grill until IT target; then the paper-wrapped meat goes into foil and a heavy bath towel and into the cooler to rest until dinner. You can hold a butt or brisket several hours using this method.

Wow nice looking KK great color and such a nice location. If it was me I’d wait till after the rain. You can still cook on it though.

TY amusedtodeath. Mrs skreef has been a really great sport about my crazy cooking adventures. After she endured buying 2 KK's nothing seems that crazy anymore - LOL

TY tekobo. I'm probably going to do a test pizza dough this week since I'll be using a new recipe. Want to make sure I have my ducks in a row before pizza night.

Magic easer works good. I use a car wax once all cleaned up.

Great progress and pics bonfire! weve just got back from a weekend camping trip up to Moore river. The rain absolutely poured this morning which made packup challenging. I was thinking of you and the Kamado burn in, hoping that the rain was just up north.

At least you get to look at it and admire your purchase.....pretty nice, huh.

It really is a fantastic project. Over the next couple of weeks we'll put the finishing touches on it. There'll be more pictures coming in the future.

Thnx Tyrus, i've decided just that, every once and a while it comes down heavy so keeping an eye on things makes it a pain...will do it on a better day.

Do it on a dry day, safe and sure. There aren't any cactus where I live so as soon as the sky returns do your thing. Nice setting for your 32...the best.

What great pictures. Looks like a fantastic project and I am sure the food will be great.

Awesome, it looks fantastic and there's my fire. That has got to be a relief.

Great pics, you the Ms's and your son did well. The look is inviting and I'm sure the cooks will be inticing. Cudo's to you and yours the look is fantastic.

It’s a good point. I have my blower to clean my pool area. The KK was a bonus. I have a petrol one too...that is too powerful for this hahaha The makita one has 3speeds and you can vary the throttle as well. Like MacKenzie says you have to control it otherwise ashes everywhere and it it also sparks. I take the grates out and go top down. I did go through the vents once doing a low and slow where the coals were dying. Yep... make sure you do that slowly as ashes on the food... I learnt the hard way. Send more pictures when you have time

Our Fogo charcoal arrived, and I used a chimney's worth in my KK to first grill burgers on a baking steel, then to roast a Spanish potato, onion, salt, black pepper, pimenton mixture in a cazuela with the residual fire. Like pool; always have a plan for what to do with the white ball next. The Fogo did spark, especially when I fanned the fire with a Milwaukee M18 blower tool. Fun to watch, but no need for a welding helmet. Very dense, not very smoky at all, hotter perhaps than other fuels. No objectionable flavors at all, and a very mild pleasant flavor imparted to the potato mixture. More like "Of course we cook with fire!" than "Can you pick out those hickory notes?" (I'm notoriously fussy, the guy who came up with the cast iron smoke pot whose wife won't let him use smoke any other way now.) As I mainly wanted to cook outside, I like this subtle profile. Recommended? Yes. I prefer coffee charcoal from Dennis but we can't get that. Worth the price? Depends on your other options. Worth a try. Of course we cook with fire!

Here it is - as yet unnamed - was Voltarin a dragon ? Should have been.

Finally got it in its spot, took 3 of us quite easily, gets on a roll effortlessly...stopping it is the tricky part, just a matter of taking it slow. Pretty hard to take a bad photo, this cooker is a work of art Quick advice anyone, i want to do the burn in (venting) 1st, do i use a full basket or use the basket splitter for the process