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Just in time for the Abba reunion I have discovered something really cool about my money. I have been saving £2 coins for years. The pace has slowed recently because we use real money so rarely these days. A week or so ago I thought I really ought to count up the coins to see how many I have. I counted and weighed the first ten coins and then twenty to callibrate and then weighed the lot to see how much I had. £562. Hmmm. What to do with it? I can spend that easily with a few clicks online but spending real cash feels like a greater responsibility. First candidate was a medium Korin and some Binchotan but I am not sure if that is quite symbolic enough. No decision made yet. In meantime, I happened to mention my piggy bank to my greengrocer. His shop is one of the few places where I still spend and receive coins. He told me that some £2 coins are worth more than others. My curiousity was piqued and I found an article online this morning: https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/3524236/rarest-most-valuable-2-pound-coins-designs/ What fun, searching through my pile of coins. I wasn't aware of the different designs and the stories that each represent. The majority of my coins are the least valuable. But I have a number of different designs across the spectrum. And one of the most valuable on the list. This £2 is worth £40. I know this has nothing to do with KKs but I was so excited that I had to share this with someone and you were here. I like playing with money.

Interesting recipe/technique for cooking Scallops on the Konro grill. I have 6 of these shells so we cooked 2 at a time.  Sauted some finely chopped onion and garlic in ghee for about 30 seconds.  Add your Scallops.  Turn after a minute or two. Add a little sake and mirin. Finally a touch of soy sauce then pull and serve. Caution the shell is really hot. Tasted fantastic. The sweet sake and mirin with the salty soy worked well together. 

Forgot to mention the temp control is amazing, compared to the Big Joe it is so intuitive and responsive it reminds me of my younger days when i once owned a 1970 428 Cobra Jet Mustang and my 2nd car was an 65 XP Falcon.....would jump out of the XP and into the 428 and say to myself, yep....this is where i want to be, OMG do i miss that car and the 70's

Seafood marinara and a bitzer a bit of this a bit of that lol

Cut up an eight ounce Wagyu filet on a couple of skewers and added a couple more skewers of shrimp... Cooked all the way down low very fast. Turned out tasty, but almost overcooked the beef.

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

Just another chook spin. This is why I like my 23 better for rotisserie. Can balance a pan of veg below the chook to catch the drippings. Great stuff!

Touché and too true! I'll re-train as a life coach and make money, helping them adjust to the real world when the realisation finally dawns that life just isn't fair, or safe.

We might have to auction it off on this site, given the number of folks here that love to imbibe!

Shhh...it's not beer, it's fire lube. At least that's what I told my wife.

What Aussie says is true. I add beer into the equation.

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.

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 am more worried about death and taxes. Once the old people who collect coins die off there will be no one to sell them to. I will ride out Brexit, move to a tax free haven and then sell, sell, sell before the Millennials take over the world.

I've done lots of sous vide eggs and not all were successful but this one was. SV egg at 194F for 8 mins. and then into a very cold bath to stop the cooking. Lately I've used the air fryer to cook the bacon and am liking that method. Wouldn't want to do a lot at a time just a couple of pieces or you might get a lot of smoke. It sure gets rid of lots of the fat and the bacon still tastes wonderful. That is some of the Lebanese Mountain bread that was just made recently. My eggs are fresh and I has a difficult time getting it out of the shell as you can see by all the ragged edges. The egg was very creamy, both the white and the yolk were very tasty and both had a nice texture. Purple crack added. Next up, SV coffee.

Tasty looking skewers! Eagerly awaiting my "special" charcoal, so I can fire up my yakitori grill for some shrimp skewers.

If you were old enough to have one @Bruce Pearson, you would know. On that basis, not wanting to corrupt you, I won't explain about adult beverages. Cherish your liver, I might need it one day.

Nice little nest egg you have saved up Tekobo. Why not just keep saving it, never know when that elusive rare coin will show up lol. I like playing with money too if only I had some

Your sooo rich, order up pizza! I place my loose change in a draw and sometime in an old cigar box, it grows for about a year. I don't think I've ever seen the money because the recipient of these small fortunes has always been my daughters. I ask sometime what the take was and it's always just under 100$, that's I know because the draw becomes a chore to open. Good Luck Tekobo.........don't spend it all in one place. lol

I have an old jack Daniels tin I throw my loose change in when it's full I just go to the bank usually get a couple of hundred .I have a separate jar of money I find on the street yes I will pick up that 5 cent coin last year that jar cashed in at nearly 50 dollars lol .its

Haha that’s great. I had a tin of special edition coins I collected over my life. Then kids came and used it as toys.... most of them are now lost. Much like my sleep.

Cheers mate .chocolate yum you got me thinking this looks good.https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/11459300/Chocolate-balsamic-glazed-pork-ribs-recipe.html.I use this makes a great reduction on steaks .

Sat around 400 for the 1st hour then brought it up to the recommended 550F, went and checked after the last post and found 2 tiles lifted, one went back no worries the other keeps coming out, i'd say its still venting. Also finding a few white spots which i presume is the solvent seeping out, using Aussie's tip and cleaning them off with the Magic Eraser. Owners manual says 4-6 hrs at 550F Then raise it 50o for a half hour until you are up to 650o for 2 hours. Anybody advise, do i need to re-grout around where the tiles lifted and if so can i do it after its cooled down.....thnx

Up before sunrise, full basket, beaut day unfolding and been holding steady at 550F for 3hrs so far like a champ. Solvent venting underway,....it does have that acrylic paint smell With Magic Eraser at the ready. Sorry folks just doing the burn-in today, got work commitments this afternoon

At least you've figured out the adult beverage solution to this problem!

I love air fryers

Treagers are supposed to be excellent at smoking Kale! Or so I hear.

I went on to eBay straight after I posted my photos here and found that the sought after coins were not quite as valuable as I had been led to believe by the internet hype. That said, most are worth at least £7.50 each. I never realised that £2 coins from as recently 2002 could be worth more than their face value. Plan of action: 1. Smile and thank greengrocer for alerting me to this interesting and potentially lucrative wheeze. 2. Take all the standard £2 coins to the bank. Invest the total in premium bonds. 3. Hang on to the non-standard £2 coins and look out for more. Maybe one day in the future they will make me rich. All good.

California used to be the origin of all nutty food trends. That seems to be shifting to Cedar Rapids...and @tony b is likely the strange attractor causing it all.

350F for 8 mins. was just a tad too long, maybe 350F for 7 mins 30 sec. Don't get me wrong the bacon was still tasty.

What’s an adult beverage?

When I first bought my KK I bought a weed burner to light the fire but that thing is like the after burner on a jet engine when use it kinda scarry, so I bought a looflighter, and then a heat gun. I like the heat gun

Tekobo after reading your post about chicken I may have to try some on my KK. JD that penguins looking pretty tasty lol

A light refreshment always works lol

Wow Ck what a thing of beauty that turned out fantastic great job cant wait to see what you churn out of that beast after that long burn in lol

The road is long with many a winding turns. For the moment we'll stick to the backyard and occasional favor for a friend at there place. Thanks though, for the vote of confidence

Looks fun. I've never tried using an offset.

Ok gotcha - thanks all ! Top tips.

I'm expecting "call ups" down the road!

Late to the party, but I do my briskets at 275-300F (that’s 135-150C for the civilized world). Never see a stall. Generally wrapping in pink butcher paper once the bark sets in 4-5 hours. Start probing 1 hour later and every 30 minutes thereafter. Generally done in 7 hours. Let it rest for at least one hour in the butcher paper. If holding longer, wrapped in towels in a cooler.

Another roaring success, tekobo.

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.

Is that the new take on the lo and slo method? Sure look good. Like the white sauce but you may loose me if you drizzled them in chocolate and jimmies.

I love Aussie’s cooks. Always looks like there’s no way that should work, but somehow I always end up drooling. White sauce on ribs...

Dude, you are finding seriously creative ways to use the stuff I sent you!! I've only used the white sauce on chicken. Totally OTB, baby!

Thanks, Bruce. I think I'll try airfrying the bacon tomorrow at a lower temp just to see what happens. I might try 350 F for 8 mins. I had another SV egg this morning and it was just as good as the first one.:)

It’s 5:30 am and that breakfast is sure making me hungry! Nice cook Mac bacon on the air fryer hummmm sounds interesting I may have to give that a try

Thnx for the advice Aussie, will look into the Majin eraser or do you mean Magic eraser, the tile lifting sounds like its a normal thing, nice to know a noob can get answers on a site such as this, cheers mate

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

My Joule arrived today so I had to try it out. Did a beef tenderloin steak at 132F for 4 hours. A double baked potato in the air fryer along with some onion rings that were added at the end of the potato cook. I have been eyeing this sous vide for quite sometime and seeing it in amusedtodeath's post I got busy and ordered one. Tomorrow morning I hope to do a sous vide egg for breakfast and later some sous vide coffee. It should be a fun day.:) So far I'm very happy with this machine, it is quiet as a mouse, small, about 1.5 X 11.5 inches and 1100 watts.