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Went on vacation to my sister's house in FL. In the past I always took an Akorn Jr. This is the first time I got to take my Primo Oval Jr. Packed in the car and ready to go.     Monday he was caught lounging pool side.   While pool side I put him to work cooking Brunswick Stew and ABT'S. Dinner was served with summer Slaw and Mrs skreef's famous Cornbread muffin tops.   Tuesday we went off to the beach then came back and went out for all you can eat blue crabs. Later that evening we had fresh Blueberry Cobbler   The Oval Jr was easy enough to transport and didn't take up too much room in the car. We have a pretty full schedule for the next couple of days so that's all the action he'll see. Very pleased with the Oval Jr as my new vacation kamado 

Yes, it is!! I thought that I had posted this already, but who knows what I did before?? So, here's my 1st contribution of my "home style" - South Carolina low country (aka Charleston) Shrimp & Grits. The recipe is one from a dear friend that I've known since high school, with some added notes by me. Mary Carr’s Fabulous Shrimp & Grits recipe Shrimp (for 6-8 servings) 2lbs medium (25 count) shrimp (peeled/de-veined) 1 Tb butter 1 cup minced bell pepper (a mix of red, green, yellow, orange) 1 tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce Saute peppers in butter until soft, add the shrimp and chili sauce and cook until the shrimp are just pink. (Cook shrimp sous vide w/o peppers, just butter poach with seasoning. Put peppers in gravy along with Sriracha.) Place shrimp on top of cheese grits and smother in the red-eye gravy. Garnish with chopped chives and/or parsley. Red-eye Gravy w/mushrooms 1 Tbl butter 8 oz country style (salt cured) ham (Andouille and Spanish Chorizo work, too) ½ cup Shitake mushrooms ¼ cup minced onion ½ cup Madeira ½ cup strong brewed coffee (french/italian roast or espresso) 1 Tbl cornstarch 6 oz V-8 juice (spicy) (Can use Bloody Mary mix, just be mindfull of the extra salt) 1 Tbl minced thyme Melt butter in large pan over high heat, sauté ham until beginning to brown. Add the mushrooms and onion, continue to brown. Pour in the Madeira, followed by the coffee. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by ½ (about 15 minutes). Dissolve the cornstarch in the V-8 juice and whisk into the gravy. Return to boil and allow to thicken. Add thyme to finish the gravy. Cheese Grits 1 stick butter 2 cups water 2 cups half & half 1 cup grits (it is essential that these are stone-ground white grits – my choice is Carolina Plantation Stone Ground Grits - http://www.carolinaplantationrice.com) 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (Vermont white cheddar is also good) salt (be generous in salting the water for the grits, similar to pasta). Melt butter in large pot. Add the half & half, water and salt. Bring to a boil. Slowly add the grits. Reduce heat to low and simmer until done (texture should be similar to polenta). Add the cheese and stir until melted.

Nigerian Jollof Rice with Chicken and Dodo This is a typical Yoruba party dish in Nigeria. I cooked as much of it as I could in the KK and I am very pleased to report that it tasted great, just like home. A quick run through the component parts. Jollof rice at parties is typically cooked over a wood fire so I simulated the effect by smoking some washed, raw rice before cooking it in my donabe rice cooker. I fried some finely chopped onions in goose fat, fried the smoked rice and then cooked the rice with half water and half smooth tomato sauce. The tomato sauce can be cooked with any spices you like but make sure it has a lot of chilli in - always use a bit more than you think you can stand and it might be close to being right. The rice was fluffy and tasty. A bit more smoke (hoping to have pellets for my Dennis smoker soon) and a bit more salt next time. Smothered some chicken in cooked down onion, tomato and sweet peppers and added some chllis for good measure. At a Nigerian party the chicken would have been deep fried before going into the sauce. Next time I will brown on the KK before the sauce stage. If you have read this far I am guessing it is because you want to know how I came to be cooking an extinct bird. Dodo is what we call fried plantain and has nowt to do with the other dodos. The ripeness of the plantain is important. Green ones won't cut it. The riper they are, the sweeter they taste. The Ivoriennes go so far as to get them to a soft, almost rotting stage before deep frying and slathering in hot sauce as a road side snack. They call it aloco. We don't go that far. Here are some semi soft plantains. Here they are, chopped party style. I guess they go further if cubed this way. When deep fried they absorb a fair bit of fat but come out very tasty. My father prefers them cut on the slant with less surface area exposed to the fat. I was going to give you a triumphant view of my new rotisserie "air fryer" but the less said about that debacle the better. The picture at the start of this thread shows the cubed dodo, deep fried in my IDK. I will continue my experiments with the roti in secret.

Could darn near double as a hammock!

Hello All, I’m pleased to say that Christmas arrived on June 5th this year! Attached are some photos of the move and unpacking. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot as it was just the truck driver, a friend of mine and myself.....so no one to really work the camera. All and all the experience of unloading and putting into position went as planned with no hiccups. Now the fun part of cooking on “PVG” (Puravida Grill). I’ve also enclosed a pic of my 1st cook which was burnt ends made from Pork Belly! Oh yea, and a couple of my pups cooling off in the lake! Thanks to all on the forum who share their experiences and knowledge which definitely made the move easier! All the best, Paul

Thanks for the tip El Pescador! Hit up my Costco today to score the cowboy ribeyes. It's a Father's Day special, so folks - get to Costco NOW!! Prime grade bone-in cowboys for $12.99/lb!! I didn't see any out in the general meat section with the other Prime cuts, so I had to ask one of the butchers. Quickly 3 of them set to work on a couple of full ribeye loins, sliced them and frenched them on the spot! I came home with 3 of these beauties! So, if you don't see them in the meat counter, ask for it!

Received a great care package from ckreef today some great stuff can't wait to try it all. The wild raspberry is making me drool.lol Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

Damn that thing is massive congratulations!! Do u have any pics of the goat?

Enjoy your vacation!

Mrs skreef is scared if I got one I would load her up in that rotisserie basket - LOL

Placed an order with Dennis in February and needless to say i’m Very excited to soon be receiving my 32” BB KK. I’ve been a cook pretty much my whole life, not professionally.... just a great hobbie. I’ve also been a home brewer for over 26 years as well. For grilling I’ve been cooking on charcoal, gas and recently added a Cookshack PG500 (Pellet grill) to the arsenal. I also have been dabblining in SV cooking for a couple of years now. I have been reading the forum extensively looking for ideas and tips so I can hit the ground running once my KK arrives. I’m fortunate enough to have recently retired and this is the present I bought for myself so with the extra time I look forward to creating great meals for family and friends. I was going to wait to join the forum until after my KK arrived but decided to start now so I can chime in and start asking questions etc. I’m looking forward to meeting with the great people who take time to help out us newbies. All the best, Paul PS - I’ll be keeping this grill at our vacation home in Northern Wisconsin. We call our up north place “Puravidaville” and therefore the natural name for our grill will be “Puravida-Grill”!!! (My wife says I have a Grill fetish......I think she’s right!)

Months ago I made some homemade lasagna pasta noodles and today was the day to try them out for the first time.

Pepper is absolutely stunning.

Agreed!

I did not find the goat! I even opened her up slowly to make sure she didn’t jump out at me lol. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know you are and I appreciate it. It’s a long story but it will be worth the wait, I promise. I’m just so busy and hate posting basic photos. Maybe this will do for now? Meet “Pepper”. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

DON'T leave home without it. Like the credit card

Pay them no heed, @tekobo - if your scalp doesn't sweat, it not hot enough!

My favorite line, as well!

@tony b come now you know what they say - I guess it really didn't happen. Try again - this time use a camera - LOL

I am ignoring all references to third degree burns and hope that you do try your version of this dish sometime. It is really cooked "to taste" and is very tasty. Smoked rice is definitely something I want to explore more. As for grits... I have never tried them but my local Texan friend has some, I think. Will see if she is willing to share in return for a taste of @tony b's recipe. Failing that, an American friend with a card took me to the Costco in Southampton a few weeks ago. It seemed to be an outpost of America so I expect they sell grits there. Thanks @MacKenzie. I was resisting an early lunch but now that I have seen the picture again I think I might go for the last of the leftovers...now!

You're most welcome, @tony b - you're in for a treat!

@Aussie Ora the pepper berries arrived today. I was not home but had a lady from work pick them up for me. They are safe and sound - can't wait to get home.

HOLY CRAP!!!

So...I've learned that @tekobo's heat scale is a bit different from the typical American's. "Safe" probably means "only 3rd degree burns".

Cool stuff. I've used that pasta before - it's good. Fingers crossed, your package finally arrives in good shape! No leakers this time! LOL!

Bad Byron's Butt Rub! A personal favorite.

Not Piedmontese. That farmer sells only at a particular farmer's market in another county, so must schedule the trip.

Yes @rick, I will keep the bark on any trimmings from fruit trees. One of Lumberjack's selling points is that they keep the bark on so, like Tony, I'm going with the pros.

I buy my actual wood chunks from Fruita (great source) and they typically come with bark on them, so if the pro's leave it on, enough said!

Teaser pic as I will be busy for a bit. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pics coming soon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just hope it shows up seems to be stuck in limbo Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk