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An easy dinner and more squash. After all it is squash season. This time a very small butternut squash that I wasn't sure was going to even ripen before the killer frost hit but there it is. Served with chicken burger and roasted potatoes.

Tony, I steamed them in the Vermicular, cooled them in the fridge and next day sprayed them with oil and cooked them in the Instant Vortex Air Fryer for about 8-10 min or so at 395 - 400F. Just winged it.

Yes, I have a few photos I need to upload. Getting pretty good on brisket...maybe not quite Franklin/Micklethwait/LA BBQ level, but getting close.

Turned out perfect

And to top it off, our Costco doesn't have Angus Prime anymore. They have Prime Choice. It makes a big difference in the briskets. The big meaty Angus beef ribs (Dino bones) they used to sell have been replaced by choice ribs that have less meat than lizard ribs. But they still have those rotisserie chickens for $4.99 that get you in to store so you can buy $200 worth of other stuff.

@BARDSLJR - Howdy! Where you been? Haven't seen you post in a while. Hope all is well there?

This would be making me really hungry, except I was reading this at 9AM Denver time (MST). 😃

K, dinner is looking lovely.

All your food looks great, Tony. That chili BOC made had to be good. Beans and all. And MacKenzie nailed with that chop. I can't wait to get my KK so I can share too!

I agree with this. If you observe the way that fat renders out of a piece of meat then you'll also observe that most of the fat from the cap has to basically roll right off and into your drip pan. Whether it is on the top or the bottom makes little difference. Thinking about it from experience - where do you want bark? On the meat itself, not on the biggest piece of fat, so - it makes a lot of sense to do it fat cap down. Most of your bark is going to be on the top and sides of the meat, not on the part that is on the grate. This weekend I did a pork butt on my BGE that had a lot of the fat cap trimmed, so while I did it fat cap up, there really wasn't much of one there. It was one of the best "hot and fast" butts I have ever done. Low and slow is better / more moist, but you can get pretty OK pork butt going hot and fast. I don't have any gadgets with the egg. No fan, no regulator, no probe. I started this one about 9:30 AM for a 6:30 dinner. The egg was about 270-280 dome temp so on the grate was probably something like 325. Didn't wrap it through the stall. In the last 4 hours at 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30, I sprayed it with ACV. Took it off around 195 degrees at about 5:30PM and let it rest for an hour before pulling at 6:30. Was about the best pork butt I've ever gotten in 7 hrs. Some people who are into BBQ get super obsessed with super consistent grill temperatures, etc. With pork butt I assert that it doesn't matter. I have made a lot of great pork butt on my green egg without any fan/regulator and without a probe. I'm in triple digits on pork butts on my BGE - just me, the grill, and an instant read thermometer. Many temperature fluctuations that would be "unacceptable" to some enthusiasts. Just let it go long enough and rest it and it will be good. I've only had one that I didn't like. It was too smoky and I overdid it. It has been a while. I think on this one I let it go overnight and woke up to a grill that had gotten too hot. I'm excited about my KK getting here b/c it will be even easier to regulate temperature without any gadgets. But I probably will also invest in some gadgets. But you don't need anything but you and your KK and an instant read thermometer to make a good pork butt. Pork butt is very, very forgiving. (I cannot claim all the credit for my product).

Our food discovery of 2020 was just how much we like duck breast. While I was KK-less over the summer I found that cooking duck breast over my Solo Bonfire stove worked very well. There was limited smoke and what smoke there was stayed outdoors. The fat collecting channel also felt like a great innovation. It was so good that I thought this would be my go to method for all time. Then my 16" KK arrived and I tried the duck breast out in there with good results. This week I thought I would look up alternative recipes for duck breasts and, alongside a great recipe for blueberry mostarda, I found a great method for cooking duck breasts. It was in the book "Root to Leaf" https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0062283693/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_bi-cGbYZTK42X. Super simple. Put your duck breast skin side down in a cold pan. Cook on a medium-low heat for about 12-14 minutes, I did 15. Then turn over and cook flesh side down in the rendered fat for 2 minutes, I did 3. Rest for 5 minutes. So simple. No smoke. Indoors and warm. Done. My new go to method.