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My family enjoyed the steaks and so did I. I will be back at it tomorrow.

Well folks, I don't know where you are, but here in Denver we are on pretty strict lock-down and self quarantine. My Fitness Center and my Tennis Club are closed for at least the next 60 (probably 90, maybe more) days. We are in self--imposed house arrest, rapidly discovering which liquor stores deliver and how to use Instacart. But you know, since you can't sit on the porch and have a glass of wine with your friends and neighbors, you still want to reach out and have some sense of communion and community. And you have to DO SOMETHING with your time, right? So, okay, today I made babyback ribs and sauce for all my neighbors up and down the streets: it gave me something to do between noon and 6PM, and I have a half-dozen or so very appreciative friends and neighbors. So I don't consider barbecue a solo sport or activity, and maybe in these trying times your friends and neighbors would appreciate reaching out with the gift of smoked meat and such. The before and after, shown below. Also my "mother" bbq sauce recipe- I never make this exactly the same way twice, but this is the base I start with. Johnny Harris BBQ sauce- Jim's version Feb 2007.doc

What I learned today was that I got the grill stable at 350. It stayed there solid all night. I didn’t have my grates set up the correct way. I didn’t have my seer grate close to the coles. I prefer to seer first. I didn’t want change it I should have. Looking at the pic the fire was on the opposite side. I said screw it and decided to cook and experience food from a Kamado grill.

Friday night is usually steak night here. The rain held off, so here we go! T-bone and bacon-wrapped asparagus on the lower grate, direct, basket splitter, with coffee and mesquite chunks. Plated with a twice-baked spud and sautéed mushrooms. Nice red wine to go with it. Just because you're in lockdown, doesn't mean that you can't eat & drink well! Stay safe out there!

A friend sent me the link to these videos - this guy has nailed it! Enjoy!

Yep. Bigger than neccessary, if there is such a thing. The smallest I could find at the butcher, 18 lbs before trimming the fat. Not sure if today will be the first time I try elephant meat 😁 About 15-16 lbs after trimming. The strange part is that it must have been the quickest cooking brisket I have ever done. Set it last night at 7:30PM @235 F, wrapped it at 1:30 am in butcher paper. Hit 204F and soft as butter at 7:30 am this morning. Resting now before slicing for lunch.

The kids want to see how the fire pit area was, so we have it a go after the plumbers had run the lines for gas, hot and cold water, sewerage for waste and stormwater. Used it as an opportunity to burn some of the scrap timber rather than dumping it. It’s hard to tell what’s been treated these days. If in doubt, it’s dumped. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Two 40' Containers of Charcoal Scheduled!!! I have a container of CocoChar loaded last week, had to send it from a different port in Java to get around the freight issues but it looks like it worked.. A 40' container of Coffee Lump will load on the 7th.. 20' of 22 lb boxes and 20' of 44 lb polypropylene bags..

We tap the bottom of the top swinging latch with a block of wood with a little weight.. just a little smack tweaks it back into alignment. Start gently and then tap harder until you get the results you want..

I feel like I'm hijacking this thread because still not sure what can I do with my basket splitter on the 21" KK, but below some pics of the bark and the final product.

They look great, a kind way to remember your neighbors. Any houses for sale on your street

I have been putting the lower grate in so I can put aluminum foil to create indirect heat. After writing that yesterday I had a duh.. moment. Today I just put a brisket and instead of the lower grate I put in the middle grate which sits just a tad higher and tada, the dutch oven fits perfectly.

Peeps and pilgrims: My teak side tables have gotten a bit weather-beaten over the last year or so in the harsh Denver conditions- and, well, I didn't do anything to protect them ....But now it appears I have a LOT more time on my hands, so I thought I would sand these back down to natural wood grain and finish them with ...what? Tung oil? Is this the recommended approach? Dennis? And for future preventive maintenance?

My "garden" consists of pots on my deck (keeps the critters from snacking out). I typically grow tomatoes (cherry varieties do well in containers), chile peppers, and a variety of herbs - chives, basil, thyme, rosemary - occasionally, sage, mint, or tarragon - whatever you like to cook with.

It's not so much about the relative humidity of the outside air, it's about the efficiency of the KK. Once heat soaked, the KK doesn't need much incoming combustion air to maintain temperatures, so the food doesn't dry out like in more conventional grills/smokers. Less air in = less moisture out. But, if you like the way your food is turning out, that's all that really matters. Just passing along some KK knowledge.

Herb and vegetable boxes went in today....getting close....now have to decide what to plant

No. He isn’t missing any meals. He is looking pretty good eating his own food.

I have heard before that many members do not feel that they need to keep the humidity up, and certainly the big professional cookers in places around Austin, who make some really magnificent products, don't have pans of water in their 1,000 gallon propane tank smokers. It may not be necessary, strictly speaking. But we live in Denver, and average humidity levels are extremely low here: if it goes up as high as 40 percent, we look at the sky and wonder when the rain will start. So I will do everything I can to ensure that my ribs are done tender and juicy, including spraying them with water once or twice an hour and wrapping them for hour 3 of their 4 hour cook (the old 2/1/1 method for babyback ribs).

Aww, man. Thank you.

Good onya mate awesome effort Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

Nothing cheap about the seats you have with view you have.

Looks good from the cheap seats!

So today I filled the KK basket up thinking I would cook a few steaks and get the burn in started. Wife had other ideas. Cook the steaks yes but she wanted to make mac and cheese. Her mac and cheese doesn’t come out the box. She does her thing with the cheese and she added bacon. So I had to wait for that.

Just more time for all those cooks that you couldn't find time for before; plus, more time for posting pics of those cooks, too! Win-Win!

Seems the latest crazy spree in the US is a run on guns and ammo. I guess people want to defend their TP.

Thank you to all for your replies! The bolts on the upper and lower parts of the latch on my 23 do not have room to make adjustments. I tried tapping with wood, per Dennis, and that did the trick. Eric

Yum. It looks like you have cooked and sliced a few of these before glx. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, that's good insight. It somehow also explains why I am not getting as much smoke flavor as I think I ought to for cooks like the babyback ribs. Less air coming through means less turbulence passing over the surface the meat, ergo, less penetration of the smoke. Hmmmm....maybe I will start experimenting with the type of wood or the blends of woods that I might be using. Typically, I am doing pork ribs, so I use a fruitwood, mostly apple. Sometimes cherry, sometimes both. Maybe I will start moving more towards oak and pecan, which are both, to my taste, heavier smoke tasting. Maybe hickory?

@tony b yep I’m definitely doing herbs. Rosemary, thyme, basil for sure. Also going to do some form of tomatoes we eat a lot of cherries so that’s possible, maybe some red or yellow peppers. Outside that everything else is up in the air

Harder to get than TP! Let the hoarding begin! LOL!!

Not hijacking as it’s an older thread. Think of it as repurposing. 🤔 Idea of the splitter is two zone. But I haven’t seen the basket on a 21, so have no idea how large the two zones would be. Do you happen to have pics of the basket with and without the splitter?

Looks delicious, glx.

Those are GREAT!

Most of us have found that we don't need any extra "help" keeping the humidity up in the KK, except maybe bread baking where you want a big steam blast. Try a few cooks without the extra water bath and see for yourself. Less work - same (or better) results.

Brisket cooks are the best, go big for big results..nice. Looks a little tight on a 21, as long as it fits. No pic of the bark, oh what happened

I second what Basher said. The wood I have treated in my backyard exposed to the elements has stood the test of time for now 5 years. Oil will darken the wood if that's a draw back but, longevity is the goal. Tacky when first applied and in a few days it dissipates.

Basher, that's an usual fire pit, how thick is that metal? You certainly don't find one like that at the local hardware! I was thinkin, right along the rim you could attach some nice cup holders or clean it out and make a giant volcano drink with huge straws you know, one of those sharing drinks. When this all passes of course. That is an awesome look with all the rust

Superb bard, I love it. Been listening to a few books recently about community engagement. Turns out, it’s almost as important for humans as air and water........ and ribs! These are fabulous moments when we can step up to help, awaken from our boring lives! Maybe not fabulous moments, but you know what I mean. Well done bard. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks "mate", and hope to get down there and visit with you and my Aussie distant relatives, who I think are fairly famous motorcycle racers....Have always felt a connection with my Aussie and Kiwi mates down there.

I got a bronze 32" from Dennis about a year ago and absolutely love it. I can do 9 racks of babyback ribs or 6 to 8 pork shoulders or at least 6 briskets, if I wanted to do that many. My last two briskets have been maybe just short of magnificent...I just followed the exact recommendations from Aaron Franklin in his book and the Master Class video (yes, I had pink butcher paper already). Today I did 9 babybacks and distributed them up and down the block to grateful neighbors and my daughter/son-in-law's household. I've done some really great beef chuck ribs- my daughter says they are a perfect compromise between brisket and chuck roast. You are well to ask about decrating and moving the 1600-lb 32" Big Boy. I had to create a makeshift plywood ramp to get mine from where it was delivered in the alley and up to the back patio- about a 6" rise over 6'. I would recommend you unpack VERY slowly and carefully, as there are not a lot of instructions. Similarly, a lot of the assembly is DIY without a great deal of instructions, but eventfully you figure it out and then, in retrospect, it's a head-slapper. It is difficult to get a 1600 pound weight rolling from a state of inertia- I was lucky and two of my neighbors showed up to help- but once you get it rolling,it is not a big problem to place it where you want it. Please feel free to write back if I can be of any help, and get prepared to enjoy!

Ok Herbie J. I will.

Looking good @Basher well have to toast each other upon completion I love the red juice myself!

That's one way to enforce social distancing. A lot cheaper and easier to just stop bathing...not 'fessing up to anything...

All those promises of, "When I get some free time." are coming to haunt you.

Dang Aussie all that's a bummer. Let me know if you need anything. I'll send it your way. Might take a month to get there but so far mail is still going strong in the states.

Staying away from crowds, so took an early pass to get home and cook a feed up for the two chippies building the ODK.... well, there was all this clean, scrap timber around for smoking So I put a coffee, spice rub on some pork. And roasted it, direct And indirect as soon as the dripping blew extra smoke out of the KK- about 90 minutes into the cook. Turned out delish. That’s with my new love for vinegar and honey based sauces. BTW ssgt that slow cook Butt looks sensational. Well done. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha, thanks all. The neighbours are fabulous. Young couple renting next door and grant us access across their property to get into our back yard. Their oldest boy Fin watches the comings and goings from 6am. Puts his boots on and want to help the tradies. Great tradies who are happy to indulge the young fella. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Basher, I am following your project with great interest and loving it.

Just an update From this. To the blockies in today. And from the other direction. Sorry if this bores you. Steps poured on Monday- found some stones with fossilised ferns for the steps. Chippies start also on Monday. Stone mason starts Tuesday. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Minimal trimming Pequod. I sliced lines around the leg- shoulder will be the same, then rubbed with salt and favourite spices. With lamb there is always cumin and rosemary in the rub.