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It’s 86 degrees here today in January. Peach tree flowers are opening. Feels like summer I’ve done the lobster cooks 3x now. First time I paid $16/each, then it was $24/each. Then they disappeared for about 6 weeks cause China was buying them for $65/each. Now they are back for $30/each but after a long week here in the US decided to treat myself and the wife one of the lobsters had this pink stuff in it I guess it’s called a tamale, highly sought after in sushi restaurants I was told but that one was incredibly pink and tasted like Maine lobster claws grilled over coffee char with garlic, butter, parsley & chives slow baked sweet potatoes with Greek yogurt and grilled asparagus

Nice lobsters. I can just see MacKenzie's face as she sees those pictures - LOL!!! Last night was a pre-marinated pork loin (Local supermarket has been running BOGO sales on them just about every week lately!) This one was garlic and herb, which I rubbed with Sucklebusters Lemon & Garlic. Direct, 325F, apple wood chunks. Plated with curry rice and a Greek salad. These things are super juicy. And a 2-4-1 deal to boot!

Here been busy but continue to be inspired by y'all. Chicken shawarma inspired by @Troble. Just four thighs made a good meal for two. I used a shop bought ready mix of shawarma spices. Delicious. The chicken went into tortillas made to @PVPAUL's family recipe and method. I cooked them first in a cast iron pan and then passed them directly over the flames. All topped off with a hot pepper mash sauce inspired by @tony b. See? I've been thinking of you.

For the new folks, there's a next step to this process that's important. Once you see the dome temperature drop 50 - 100F, you're pretty sure the fire is out at that point. Next, bump the top vent off its seat a bit. This will prevent it from seizing up on you as it cools down further. If this happens, it's a major PITA to get the top vent open again. You should also open the lid to the 1st position on the latch to take the compression off the gaskets. They will last much longer if you do this.

Hey @Basher. I have a copy cat donabe shelf ala @Syzygies I use black rice cooker the most, every other week. The white steamer whenever I want to steam something and want to be reminded how beautiful donabes are. The big donabe on the far left gets used for nice stock based winter meals and the soup and stew donabe on the far right hardly ever gets used which is a shame. Note to self - reach for this when next making a stew. Our favourite recipe so far is this duck and tofu hot pot from the Donabe book I recommended earlier in this thread.

I haven't posted in a few weeks but not for lack of cooking! Here are several items I've done during the holidays and recently. 1st two pics - Tenderloin stuffed with Fior di latte, parrano, and roasted red bells. Smoked over coffee char (I think - probably also leftovers from other cooks) then final sear on the evo. A tad overcooked but its tenderloin so still very good. 3rd - greek lamb chops, green beans, and (over-cooked) greek potatoes. 4th - pork belly burnt ends and a few thick slices for tacos. Fogo yellow and a chunk of post oak. I pulled the thick slices before done to use for tacos. 5th - Finished pork belly - I also threw some brisket in after the last pic. I'd picked up a brisket point for my wife to use for her Vietnamese soups. 6th - Guajilo salsa cooking! 7th - searing the pork belly and tortillas 8th - Final product of the smoked/seared pork belly - tacos w/guajilo salsa, pickled red onions, Mexican creme, and cojita cheese! Also grilled some corn to make elotes! We prefer to remove from the cob before coving in mayo/mexican crema/cojita/and spice. Hello 2021, goodbye resolutions! Edit: The order wasn't what I expected but put your elementary caps on and draw lines from the picture to the description

Since @tekobo mentioned football, I'll share my cook for the weekend's games. I made chile verde, starting with turning 6 pounds of pork loin and pork shoulder into carnitas yesterday, finishing up this afternoon with the rest of the cook. Four pounds of tomatillos, 1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes, 1 1/2 pounds of Hatch and poblano chiles, etc. Game one is about to start.

Welcome @Wilsonj. Don't panic. It is a bit like getting to know your long term partner. This one doesn't need a pre-nup and will forgive you for pretty much every mistake you can/will make along the way. Assume it will take a while to get into your stride. Make sure you enjoy the journey.

Hi BOC, the UK site says shipping Oct 12th! In any case, I don't really want something with a permanent spike in it hanging around my kitchen. I like the DIY version. I have all the components bar the pineapple. Can get one of those next time I venture out into COVID Central i.e. outside my front door. In the meantime, KK23 is lit. Wingfest for tonight's football. It is that bittersweet point in the season. Lots of great football but the knowledge that it will soon be all over and your team won't have won. Yay all the same.

I guess you are saying there is not enough room? Too dark and cold here for me to go out to experiment in the 32 here. I did look up the Trompo King. Why don't I have one yet? 1. The UK site doesn't have any supply 2. The US site won't ship to the UK even though their help folk said they would 3. I wonder if I really need one and whether the "self basting" in the horizontal rotisserie format is a better solution. Rest assured, reasons 1 and 2 are the prime reasons. I am wondering if I can adapt make something similar here. We do have a local blacksmith who made our staircase and gates. I wonder what he (a vegetarian) will think of a commission to make a shawarma spike.

Same here. You mean some people go on holiday without taking their own gear with them? Weird...

Surprised by that. I have not tried this in my 32 but here are clearer pictures of the setup I used in the 23 in the summer. In the summer I used the upper/pizza grate turned upside down in the 23. In the shot above I just used the lower grate throughout.

It seems to me the Trompo King version has at least four interchangeable spikes of various lengths which screw into the base dish, if I remember it correctly. @Troble probably knows for sure. In any event, it would be a nice feature of a DIY version.

We finally got to cook this today . Fortunately our freezer in the garage broke down so we had to move our meat and fish to friends which gave us the chance to get our goat out and prepare the cook. I'm a bit lame at the moment with a hopefully temporary hip problem so Mrs RD did the cook - she is an expert on South Indian curries ( I gave her 10 lessons for Xmas a few years ago from a delightful and very talented local Mumbai lady). Best present I've ever given. I'd been waiting for my daughter to get hold of some Portland Heights Jamaican Curry Powder but we didn't have any so Mrs RD made it from scratch - recipe from the book C is for Carribean. The last time we'd eaten proper curry goat was when we lived in Jamaica 35 years ago . We went with Ray a local and colleague up into "the hills" and chose a goat from a small flock that his folk had. Mrs RD made the mistake of naming the goat Winston - a fine fellow. Next time we saw him he was in a large pot expertly cooked , together with a tub of " Mannish Water" - a delicious broth made of entrails. The curry goat was for my leaving do, together with a few cases of Red Stripe and some rum punch. I can't help feeling that Mrs RD was thinking of Winston when she was cooking today - but she still ate a healthy portion. Didn't have Scotch Bonnet unfortunately and one or two ingredients had to be subbed but it was pretty much to your recipe @Braai-Q, and delicious it was too so thanks for that.

Not as easy as buying one, but the internet wins again. [mention=3070]Tekobo[/mention], I think you can buy one that ships to UK on Etsy too. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/443323157073721767/ https://etsy.me/2IWcvKO Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@tekobo I’ve tried 3x previously but I can’t use the lower grate and rotisserie at the same time with my 32. Perhaps using the pizza grate flipped would work, but now that I bought that Trompo King accessory it’s kind of a mute point.

This feels like an important part of the story to me. I pretty much always start with a full basket of charcoal. Don't be afraid that you will waste it. You preserve most of the charcoal when you choke off the fire by turning off your top vent and bottom vent at the end of your cook. Having a full basket means you have more of a chance of getting to a good temperature during your cook. When things have cooled down the next day I re-set by dragging any partly used coals to the centre of the fire basket and arranging new coals around the outside. Helps you contain the heart of the fire and means you don't have a raging fire across the whole basket next time you light it. I hope that all makes sense!

@Adam Ag 98 way to come back with a bang! Great looking cooks @tekobolooks delicious! Even homemade tortillas! Wow! Excellent work. Question though - which KK did you do that on? I can’t fit anything below my rotisserie on my 32

I had the basket loaded pretty full, but they were large pieces so a fair few gaps in between. I can get Binchotan for $2.22 per kg if brought in bulk. Kingsford is around $4.12 per kg. The new Bincho I have is more like the Kingsford briquettes in size.

My wife won't eat goat and I think this sentence would put her off forever! Glad you enjoyed. Sounds like the substitutions didn't detract from the enjoyment. You'll have to give me your match report when you've got all the ingredients.

No. The split basket is doing the job of the deflector in that configuration. Your approach to the reverse sear is otherwise correct. You should get an email from Dennis with the Owners Manual. Ping him if you don't get it shortly. If you have specific questions about a given cook, just ask here. Folks are always willing to help out with answers/suggestions.

Very nice, all of them! Making me hungry.

Perfect. And no bench is high enough in that house. I’d be keeping a very close eye on that steak. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Like this? Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

Exactly, the upper grate turned upside down works perfect for searing. I love the reverse sear method where you bring the steak up to temp indirectly and then sear at the end. Steaks turn out perfectly every time! I made a video of this method and you can see the top grate upside down and right over the coals. You should have no problem at all getting a nice sear this way. 7A2FD34D-0770-4FEC-BD0F-AEB3E665054F.MOV

My 32” is finally here! I am gonna call it The Texan. I did a lot of research and looked at a lot of images before pulling the trigger. Let me tell you, none of the photos do it justice. It is absolutely stunning to look at in person. The cobalt blue pebbles are gorgeous, as is the new metal lip on the upper lid. I hate having to put the cover on. If you have a picasso, you want to see it! Once I do the burn in/venting, first cook will be carne asada and peri peri whole grilled chicken. I cant wait! Anybody need a used primo xl?

More ribs 😋 then put 2 chicken on the top grill for the last hour took off ribs and cranked it up to 400 to give chicken skin nice crisp, put on a bit more charcoal opened her up to 500 and finished off with cheese pizza no photo but was good.

Just wanted to let you know that last week, both Mimi and my accountant tested positive for COVID, on Monday 4 more tested positive. Only one is in the hospital (she's stable) the others are doing well.. we delivered their computers to their homes today and hopefully they will be able to work some tomorrow.. If you have/had goods going out, please excuse any delay.. we are working to catch up. Thanks for your understanding.