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So this is one of the last’s cooks that I will do on my Vision grill before my BB32 arrives and it got me to thinking that since this is an international group of people I think it is a good time to talk about very regional BBQ. I live in St. Louis Missouri here in the good ole USA and we have 3 food items that we are known for and started here. The most famous one is “toasted ravioli” which is ravioli dipped in egg wash then in bread crumbs and into 375 degree hot oil. Most people serve it with marinara sauce but I prefer it with drawn butter. Next on the list is something called “gooey butter cake” I don’t know how to describe this other than it was supposed to be a cake like dessert that was undercooked but they sold it anyway and it became this whole thing here. They are really good. Now to what we are all here for, BBQ! St. Louis is also famous for “pork steaks”. I have been eating these my entire life so it doesn’t occur to me that people outside of STL don’t know what these are. Simply put it is a pork butt cut into 3/4 inch steaks. Every store here has them so we don’t have to go to the butcher to get them but you probably will. I cannot recommend these enough. They need to be cut across the bone. So when you get these the bone should be in the middle of the steak. I do these indirect at 250 for about 2.5 hours. Put your favorite rub on them and flip them about half way through the cook. Most people will put sauce on them to finish but I don’t. i would love to see some of your local BBQ specialties.

@tony b thanks I will definitely look into it. That’s pretty ironic timing on the inquiry though. my buddy sent me a picture this morning of his plate from last night. He’s been trying to not meat for many months but he eventually gave in and had a 1/2 rack of ribs.....and took a 1/2 rack home

Best stuff is actually a paste. I have a couple of "go to's" - Walkerswood (https://smile.amazon.com/Walkerswood-Traditional-Jamaican-Seasoning-Ounce/dp/B07D9YDQNT) JCS Boston Bay (https://www.amazon.com/Jamaican-Boston-Seasoning-Bundle-Bottles/dp/B0181C74DE) Dizzy Pig makes a dry rub that's not too bad either. https://www.amazon.com/Dizzy-Pig-Jamaican-Firewalk-Spice/dp/B005PIPGBU Just so happens, Mon, that I did some jerk chicken for dinner last night! Marinated for 3 days. I like to mix the paste with dark rum to thin it out for an extra kick. BUT, the real key is to smoke it with pimento wood - traditional style, straight up Rasta, Mon! I used the smoker pot with pimento wood chips, leaves and allspice berries. I started them out at 325F, indirect - seeing as they were boneless breasts, but finished them off direct to get a bit more color. Plated with herbed rice (parsley, cilantro, scallions, basil and thyme) and drunken black beans (no pigeon peas around here). I put a splash of rum in the beans, along with epazote and scallions. Hush puppies just seem to go "wid it." Unfortunately, no Red Stripes!

Wagu steak .yum Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

Baby back ribs, lobster tail, mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus

This is what I love about the forum. They look fabulous. Do you smoke them as well? I've regularly done pork with Apple wood and Pear and I think it might work well. Think we need a NSFW type label on these sort of posts. Perhaps 'NSIH' - Not Safe If Hungry.

@Boom Boom great idea. Like you my 32 hasn't arrived (I've only just ordered) . There is a whole wealth of cooking out there that I've never tried or even heard of and it'll be great to link it to a particular region in an authentic way.

That sounds great @Boom Boom. That is an unusual cut. I recently had my butcher cut me something called a "collar steak". I think it might be similar/the same thing. Will certainly like to try them St Louis style if so. I usually keep the collar whole and turn it into bacon - a delicious and tasty alternative to lean back bacon or streaky belly.

Great minds, eh? Another dry rub in my pantry that I forgot about since I haven't actually used it yet. Oakridge BBQ's Jah Love. I've just sampled it. It's got a serious habanero kick.

Thanks, Braai-Q

@Boom Boom - you left out Provel cheese on pizza. Another St. Louis-ism. Being in "pig country" up here in IA, we regularly have pork steaks at our supermarkets, too. A nice change of pace, but I still prefer a good ole Iowa Chop.

Nice cook Aussie- Troble has stolen your rib cook. Troble I imagine you have read through that book by now. It’s gold. Very simple to understand, but also some challenging recipes. Smoked water on hand and tomato water????? I’ll work my way through some of his recipes...... after working through this gravlax cured tassie salmon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That 0027 was sent to me by a Namibian friend who acknowledged I understood the need for charcoal/ timber fire to cook- now he has accepted me into his African family. The Braai was better, however, old mate was right to pull them up for forking the snags. And I would welcome any lady who wanted to hang around the bbq. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tong master is a recognised term in our family's vocabulary. Cooking with fire is a great skill to have though. You'll have to get them on to 20-30 hour slow cooks on the KK. I don't really know what 'boss level' is in BBQ terms - going the whole hog must surely qualify for complexity and commitment. Certainly on a Weber!!! I think you're right on the surrender. But I learnt a long time ago that you don't mess with vegans - they're angry to start with and I don't think the jokes help. 😁 Vesselfinder and Marine Traffic are both good AIS services and Dewi should give you the vessel name as part of the document set. You can set up alerts to notify you of activity and I remember the judgement I got when I did this. I think Mrs BQ called it 'the Santa NORAD tracker for grown men'. I then busted her looking at it a couple of times because she was 'interested in the route'.

Good idea @tony b , certainly if I have trouble sparging clear I'll do that. That is a monster wheat wine ! It's set my imagination running- it would probably pair very well with the 42" seriously big bad. That or a cutting blue cheese - goat's preferably.

That end of the roti spit is adjustable. If you look closely there is a round nut with flat sides right before the square part of the rod. Turn the round part with some vice-grips or pliers and it will loosen. Adjust the length so that when the left spring loaded plate is compressed the shaft just clears the body on the right and goes into the drive socket. The spit and cradle are adjusted the same..

I had to grind the square portion of the piece for mine to fit properly Scott. In the motor receptacle for this small shaft you should have a spring to accept some play for distance for a comfortable fit between the KK and motor once it's secured to it's housing. If you have a grinding wheel it would make quick work of it. Just go slowly with the removal of metal and fit it to the motor and align all your parts. It should come together for you eventually once you remove enough stock.

@Basher look what just arrived in the mail

I remember the time I followed a recipe with what turned out to be too much salt and it's what prompted me to research the ingredients. If it helps, these were the recommendations from the Neapolitan Pizza book in relation to salt (I just took some notes, but there are all sorts of graphs and diagrams supporting everything they say). - 1.5-2% total dough weight should be salt. - Sodium chloride acts on gluten composition making the dough more compound (less sticky) as gliadin which is a flour protein is less soluble in salt water and more inclined to gluten network formation. - During leavening, the speed of the secondary fermentation and the development of gas decreases, contributing to the alveolar structure of the finished pizza. - Too much salt compromises the fermentation activity of the yeast. - Salt increases the crunchiness and browning of the crust. Hopefully of interest and use. You'll have to let me know how you get on.

Bourbon sausages with sweet corn . Indirect with a little mesquite wood

A friend set me on this journey of roasted tomatoes, lucky me.

Making pickled peppers today, peppers right from the garden. Did these jars in the pressure cooker for 10 mins. I did get 4 jars, one is hidden in the background.

For all you fish lovers! Smoked rainbow trout on cedar planks. Not even a scale or drop of fish touched the kk grates. Delicious, cooked slow and low for only 90 minutes and only salted. KK held at 115c and removed internal temp hit 60c. One for tonight and the other for pasta later this week. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Twas a beautiful spring Sunday afternoon. a great day to try out my new Smartfire on some ribs. beef ribs, and pork.

Once a year I like to have a batch of nachos. This time I started at the beginning and made the corn tortillas, cut them, fried them up into nachos. Veggies are from the garden. Served with spiced up sour cream. Sorry Tony no broccoli.

Striploin for the father in law last night. Very rich with that marbling. Sunday is fathers days here... a good day for slow beef ribs. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wait every summer for fresh corn and cucumber sandwiches, lots of pepper on both. Made some sandwich bread today just for this sandwich. Add a little Zanzibar Black Pepper. Finally.