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Best Happy Father's Day cake ever!

Looks great Remi. Points for commitment to the first cook and points for the remote monitoring. I'm getting shades of this with the smokey shot:

After a few delays traveling cross-country our 32” was at long last unloaded at the final shipping terminal in Massachusetts on June 7 or 8, and I scheduled delivery for Friday the 11th. The expected delivery time was between noon and 2PM but the driver called at about 10:45AM to tell us he was 30 minutes away. Fortunately, we were finishing our errands and were home in 10 minutes. The driver was great. The crate was unloaded. Others have commented about not appreciating the size until it is right in front of you. I showed him where it needed to go around back. Two 4x8 pieces of plywood were already in place over the crushed stones on the side of the house. He agreed to help and away we went leapfrogging the plywood until we reached the patio. Perhaps, a half hour total. He tried to turn down the tip, but we insisted he take it. He was worth every penny. I did not have any burly helpers, and did not want to wait to assemble a team, so I proceeded to uncrate on my own. Really impressed with how well everything was packed and secured! After unbolting the sides of the crate from the base it was obvious that I could not lift it up and over the KK on my own. I took off the slats from the front of the crate which allowed me to tilt the rest backwards and drag it away. Not ideal doing this alone, but doable nonetheless - even by someone who is not an exemplar of muscularity, lol. After pondering a while, I decided to take the supplied crowbar and remove the pieces of wood in front of the front wheels. Wasn’t sure that was correct but didn’t see any other way of rolling the grill off the platform. I imploded the center support box - I found that quite enjoyable. My wife came to give me a hand. We rocked it a bit, pushed, and it rolled off the wheel supports (not sure what else to call these). We must have turned the KK so the rear wheels got around the front supports as we moved it towards the ramp but I don’t recall exactly. Down the ramp and onto the patio for unwrapping. Opening the lid and removing each item was embarrassingly exciting. Even after all I read on these forums, I was not ready for the heft of the grill grates and the other pieces. I’m still not sure why there are four heat deflectors. Here are some of the photos, not sure why several imported rotated. Sorry, 😣.

I did have some help with positioning the grill. Our eight-month-old grand-puppy, Tova Rose the Rottsky, living up to her Husky half. Grendel meeting his patio mate, and surveying his new domain. I wonder if he is the first of his kind in Little Rhody. BTW, before anyone gets upset rest assured she was really not pulling the KK.

Did a “quick” smoke last night - couple dozen party wings from Costco. Smoked at 225-250 for 1.5 hours then cranked up a bit and grilled them over the coals/fire for another 10 mins. Then tossed in simple Buffalo sauce (half butter half hot sauce). Currently have a pork shoulder smoking (apple and hickory wood chunks) so maybe some more pics to share tomorrow haha. Happy Father’s Day to all!

Well- had my first attempt at proper bbq today; and it was not exactly straightforward! Decided a brisket would be the way to go to properly christen my new 32" BB. Picked one up yesterday- on the small side at 2.7kg (6lb), and more point than flat. The wife convinced me not to go straight to an overnight session the first time before I knew what I was doing (wise woman), and given the smaller cut I planned on a hot/fast brisket instead at around 150c (300F). Very cold here this morning, and my first attempt at lighting a small piece of charcoal resulted in me coming to find the fire out completely 20min later- and I had only 40min until I needed to leave for work for a few hours... Got a bit more aggressive with the weed burner, still only lighting a small tennis ball size piece. Got the racks in, foil pouch with mesquite pellets, had covered the brisket with Meat Church Holy Cow. Set my top to where I had thought 300F roughly was based on my burn it- and left the wife in charge for a couple of hours. She checked on it diligently and sent photos of the dome temps, but within 30min it was clear that it needed to be throttled back majorly- as a result it was quite a hot/fast brisket; although it was at 300F to start with, much of the rest of time was spent at 350-400F. The smoke in the first hour was EPIC; lucky no neighbours called the fire department. I had only opened up 1/4 turn after just touching the gasket; but as mentioned previously I still have a full 1/4 turn of feeling gasket before I get to properly closed- so in reality I was probably 1/2 open or perhaps even a touch more. Live and learn. Total cooking time was 6.5hrs, wrapped at 170F/ 75C at around the 3.5hr mark. Rested 3hrs in cooler before slicing. Given the pace I had resigned myself to a tough overdone brisket. Couldn't have been more wrong- it was sooooo good. Tender, melt in the mouth, super smoky. Best bbq I've ever done that's for sure, and that in the context of largely stuffing it up! Served Project Smoke taco style for tonight given that I had the ingredients at home already. Perhaps brioche burgers tomorrow with burnt ends and a nice bbq sauce. Thanks for all the tips and advice. It's a great forum.

I think I will always be stressed by brisket - first or hundredth. It holds even more promise and mystique than any piggy. I look forward to seeing your cook. @Bruce Pearson, lovely to hear from you. Yes, it was fun surprising our friends and it made for a lovely afternoon. @MacKenzie, you are welcome at my table anytime but I am guessing a long haul flight doesn’t win against the draw of Moncton. @Basher, the quail cooked in the pig were soft and yielding. I preferred the quail that had been grilled outside of the piggy. Each couple was allowed one of each. Next time, if there is one, I might revert to the pig kidney stuffing. Not sure about the weight - approx 12 kg. All, thank you for your likes!

Added a little more peach wood this time and first 10 minutes without a drip pan. Then added the drip pan with veggies in it. I had some issues getting the rotisserie motor aligned this time, but I will do some more test fitting next week, I’m sure it is user error. But I am real happy with the results 😁

A little sausage cook with roasted veggies. The sausages were only 3/4 cooked as I wanted to finish them off with the veggies. Roasted red and orange peppers, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and shallots. Plated with roasted potatoes.

Thanks a lot. I have two racks of St Louis ribs cooking. Just added some sides to reheat, creamed corn with pancetta and truffled creamed spinach. Both are recipes from the Strip House - a NYC (and elsewhere) steakhouse in case the name is throwing you. The plan is to crank up the heat after the ribs are done and throw on some shrimps, scallops, and vegetables. Maybe, I’ll post some photos. Depends on how good things look.

Wow. Happy Fathers' Day to all the dad's.

Thanks, it was my first time using coco char, it was really tasty 😁

Beautiful cook and great colour on that skin. Oh. to have been at that table.

I had to keep this cook secret because it was for a surprise party for a friend last weekend. I am really pleased about how it turned out. Like @Syzygies, I have a soft spot for the chef Fergus Henderson. Ever since a friend gave me The Book of St John a couple of years ago I have wanted to make Fergus' quail stuffed suckling pig. It was part of a banquet menu that started with a huge and comforting cucumber, butterhead and lovage salad and ended with strawberries in wine. Everyone enjoyed everything but the pig was the star of the show. I picked up the pig from the farmer a few days in advance and had it hanging in my dry ager. I felt rather sorry for it and promised to make its death worthwhile. On the morning of the party I seasoned and browned the quail Then covered them in a 50:50 mix of creme fraiche and dijon mustard. Fergus' way of "seasoning the pig from the inside out". After the trouble that I had with keeping the first piggy that I did sewn shut, I asked the farmer to cut out a bit of the rib cage to make it easier to sew the pig up at the top end. I managed to get 11 quail into the pig. Sewed it up with a specialised butcher's needle and string. Was easy compared to my previous attempt with upholstery gear. Had to do a bit of manhandling to get the piggy's legs going in the right direction. It had been prepared for a hog roast and, apparently here in the UK that sees you having the legs sticking out. The pig was to be cooked in a pool of apple cider, topped up through the day. The ground under my KK is uneven and so I ended up turning the pig around and topping up with a full bottle of wine to keep the liquid from burning too much at one end. It cooked for 4.5 hours at 180C. After resting for about an hour, the piggy was ready to carve and eat. It was spectacular, having my friends cut it open like a wedding cake - sounded a bit different to a cake as the crackling crunched beautifully - and surprising them with the fact that there were hidden treasures within. Well worth the effort. Served with extra grilled quail.

Awesome!

Congrats, it looks great !!!!!!!

You pulled it off in fine style.

Now that is a serious cake !!!!!!! Happy Fathers Day !!!!!!!

Veggies straight into the dripping, I added some apple cider vinegar and olive oil along with some spices. I put Meat Church Herb and Garlic on all of my veggies and their Lemon Pepper too. Love the Meat Church line of products.

Perfect birds Bill. Did you par boiled the veges first or straight into the KK? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great cook, those veggies and chicken look soooo tasty.

Spun a chook Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

So 106 F here, second day in a row, and a spare the air day also. Our usual way to cook salmon is to brine it, then smoke it in the KK in a cazuela over a bed of basil. Too hot outside... We're finding more uses for the "indoor K" Musui Kamado. I bought their white Dutch oven so Laurie could see ghee cook. So why didn't I realize before today it's a perfect "court bouillon" cooker for fish? Court bouillon is such a classic French technique that it has fallen from favor. I don't know why. Using the Thermapen, and aiming for 125 F internal temperature in a bath held at 200 F, this was spectacular.