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I got on the hipster bandwagon this weekend and made birria tacos. I used Chef John's recipe. Started making as a stew but took longer than I'd planned so instead of eating a bowl added the extra liquid to thin the aus jus and went straight to tacos. I forgot to dice the carrots/celery as well. Instead of 7 guajilo's I did 4 guajilo, 2 pasila, and 1 ancho. No reason other than I had them and wanted to experiment. Yesterday my wife pickled some red onion so tossed that on today's lunch. It is cliche, but these are quite possibly the best damn tacos I've ever eaten. I wish I had a pot of this stew during the arctic apocalypse 2 weeks ago. Yesterday I mixed some with cream cheese and slow cooked bacon wrapped poppers all afternoon.

Ok, first Char Siu Bao experiment in 40 years. Needs work but very promising category. Using freshly ground flour was a distracting challenge, but that actually worked. The primary issue is a savory filling. We know how to make spectacular BBQ on a KK. And any Chinatown sports many places that make spectacular Char Siu Pork; they learned from previous generations. What any cookbook suggests is neither. Don't be pulled off your game. Make the best BBQ you know how, exactly as you already know how, then sauce it appropriately as a Bao filling. That's how any restaurant works: They respond to the equipment they have. This is an awesome way to eat BBQ.

Tonight I grilled the A5 Wagyu Pichana in pretty much the exact same way as last night. Indirect for 2 minutes a side, seared in the cast iron pan for 2 minutes a side. Meat ended up more medium than last nights medium rare. While the Pichana was very tasty I didn’t feel like it was so far and above a normal high quality prime grade Pichana cut that I’d normally get. The filet was worth the money but I wouldn’t say this cut was anything life changing. It was damn good though I did a slow baked sweet potato with Labneh, rainbow carrots in the cast iron pan while the meat was resting with butter, brown sugar. Truffle salt and thyme. Cesar side salad & Grigich Zinfandel round out the plate. Fun experiment. Didn’t mess up the meat. Ate some tasty steaks that I normally wouldn’t order at a restaurant. Gave me a shot of confidence that I could cook the finest cuts of meat.

Here you go, this will give you some more to look at these are all from delivery day. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very nice, I think Dennis is sending mind today Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sirloin tip dry aged for 23 days and roasted over pecan to medium, served with onions, green beans, and asparagus along with some leftover roasted potatoes. Very tender and tasty but a bit too much smoke.

Second try's a charm. Based on my bread baking recipe, I guessed a Bao dough recipe based entirely on freshly ground flour, 2:1:1 Soft:Red:Rye, and raised the hydration. Handled like a charm. Back to my advice to just cook BBQ as I know best how to do, ignore any proposed techniques from books on producing filling.

My favorite local grocery store started their 5 for $25 meat sale today and I picked up a ton of great meat. Their meat dept. is top notch! First cook was Steven Raichlen’s inside out cheeseburger, I’m sold on this method! Also a Maharaja Imperial IPA for you West Coast IPA fiends like me. [emoji482] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Olive and gold pebbles are the best. And as you’ve heard they cook better too. [emoji6] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If I go below 1k grit, it’s to do repair work, or some thinning behind the edge, that’s it. For general sharpening, I start at 1k, and up from there. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Ooh. Thank you very much! Looking forward to some authentic goodies!

I can’t stop looking at it! It’s so nice Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m so excited I won’t be able to sleep tonight!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

2 KK's. Around 10 total grills depending on how/what you count. Hey I'm trying to reform. I've swore off buying another grill at least the last 2 or 3 times I bought a new grill. But this last new grill really will be the last. . . . . . ...........

I'd say so!

Now it's almost 1 in the morning and two guys hit on the holy grail, ........ . . . . . . .

I have olive gold pebble, it’s a beautiful colour. Funnily enough, my second choice was cobalt blue, both look stunning! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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This will be perfect for that then @jonj you’ll be set up for success. Find yourself some decent tortillas or make them and you’ll be dialed in!

My Trompo King came a few weeks ago. Looking forward to giving it a try!

Looking at the description if I remember correctly the heaviest grit was the 120 and all the others declined in abrasion. I did see finer belts to finish the edge, that I liked. Lets say you cut into a bone and chip your expensive Japanese knife accidentally, this tool could help you smooth it quickly without having to send it out. With that in mind I will still continue to use my whetstone.

@MacKenzie, @Basher, @tekobo your boxes are in transit @Tyrus & @jonj yours will go out next week. I had to order more achiote paste from Amazon For all of you my recommendation is to make the Adobada sauce. In each package should be enough materials for two large batches of sauce. You can then use that sauce on chicken, pork or beef and it should make any of that food taste great. I make one batch of sauce for a 9lb pork butt when I made the tacos, and it's more than enough sauce, so that should give you some scale. Any type of recipe that calls for adobo, adobada or al pastor sauce/marinated will work. What I gave you was the ingredients to make those flavors at home.

So I didn’t want to wait for the pebble blue, I ordered the last 42 ready stock olive and gold. I can’t wait to see it in person. Anyone have that colour?

@Basher thanks and appreciate your suggestion on using some lemon to cut the flavors. It was a fantastic piece of meat. Truly exceptional. Looks like I found my birthday meal for the next decade. Only for special occasions for sure but completely worth the extra cash. Even better that I didn’t screw up the cook!

Sorry Tekebo, this restaurant don't start serving till after noon. Try the sour cream, great in the taeto and adds to the lamb. I like sour cream, great at the bottom of a beet soup.

Without a doubt the best meal I’ve ever BBQ’d in my life. Japanese A5 Wagyu Filet Mignon, seasoned with pink Peruvian salt & fresh cracked black peppercorn. Seared on the cast iron pan at 550 degrees over mesquite wood Served with lemon juice, garlic, butter salt & pepper basted asparagus with roasted Yukon gold potatoes with truffle salt, rosemary, thyme, garlic and finished with Parmesan cheese. Side salad was Cesar The meat was more like seared ahi tuna and melted in your mouth. Amazing

Took advantage of our "heat wave" here, too! Low 40s and sunny. Half rack of baby backs, Lane's BBQ Signature rub, main grate, indirect (foil on the lower grate), smoker pot with hickory & peach, Guru running at 225F. Sorry, I totally spaced and forgot to take the full setup picture. I disassembled everything and slathered on the sauce, put the rack on the lower grate, direct to set the sauce (blend of my house spicy BBQ and TJ's roasted garlic BBQ sauce.) Made homemade cole slaw and potato salad to go with it. Nice Rose from TJs.

My turn to share my experience with wagyu beef. A nice piece of imported japanese strip loin. Seared in a cast iron pan over charcoal with a bit of oak wood. With asparagus, daikon salad and sushi rice. And a nice mushroom tasting sake. It was a treat. Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Tapatalk

@Troble spotted that Pliny right away - tease! Spuds & green crack sauce - doesn't get much better than that! In celebration of the snow finally starting to melt here (we might even reach the 50s by end of the week!), marinated a nice Denver steak from Porter Rd in the liquid koji w/roasted garlic powder and black pepper for a couple of hours. Then rubbed with Gunpowder before going on the lower grate with post oak and mesquite chunks. Plated with some shrooms, chimichurri, sautéed kale and a nice Zin. The 1st course didn't make the photo shoot - short rib ravioli with a mixed mushroom brodo. Seriously good, but seriously difficult to source the raviolis (Rana, but only available as a "commercial" item - not retail! 😢)

And here are my cuts. Just dusted them with pink Peruvian salt & fresh cracked black peppercorn. 2 filet mignon & a Pichana cut

I finally went to the shop and pulled the trigger on 2 Japanese A5 filets as well as a Japanese A5 Picanha cut those will be cooked Sunday night & Monday night

Or adds to the frustration when your ship is anchored off the coast for days waiting to dock, or it does a "drive by" your port only to go to another one first. @ckreef can attest to this one, as can @tekobo!

I hate to tell you how much I just dropped on filters...4 tiny pieces of glass... From bottom to top: Cone Nebula, Christmas Tree Cluster, Fox Fur Nebula (looking particular foxy today). To the upper right with a bison head is the B39 dark nebula. An unnamed formation spotted by a friend is...SHREK. Is or is that not Shrek in the upper left???

I just realize something I think is pretty cool that I never thought of... I am turning 42 this year. Didn’t think of that until now. I didn’t come from much and I was just thinking about how happy I am that I am fortunate to have one of these bad boys. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The wood deck under the gazebo is going and I will be extending the stone to that area where it will house the kk

Seems I’m a late bloomer. 54 and have my KK since less than a year! Envoyé de mon iPad en utilisant Tapatalk

Just the excitement of it, and the unboxing and burn in experience. Very surreal after waiting so long. I’m in Western Australia and the tracking of the ship and delivery experience were all part of the fun. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The journey begins!! Enjoy every step of it, the delivery day is insane! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Those tacos and bao buns look super delicious. Just perfect for a morning when I decided to resume my fast until lunchtime regime...