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3 rib pork chop roast. cherry smoked.

New Zealand salmon. Tri color quinoa with sweet onions, carrots and celery

After months of research and practice with many cooks on lower cuts of meat, I found the perfect method for prime rib that does not involve Sous Vide but gives similar results. That is, perfectly cooked meat edge to edge - no brown bands, excellent crust. Here is the link: https://blog.thermoworks.com/beef/science-of-perfect-prime-rib-roast/ The final cook was performed on a 11 pound, 5 bone, dry aged, Prime, prime rib. I could not afford to screw up this cook! I used a drip pan and the rotisserie basket which the roast fit perfectly. Plus there was no skewer hole in the meat. Anyway, it came out great. Excellent bark, the center was medium rare pink throughout. The ends were medium. The meat was perfect and everyone was extremely pleased. The technique above was the key. The big surprise was the length of time. According to the charts, it was going to be a 4 to 5 hour cook at 225-250. The MEATER probes saved the day - I used all four in this roast. At 1:30 into the cook, it said the roast would be done in an hour!! I was in disbelief! So, I put my faith in the Meater, called everyone, moved Easter dinner up, and pressed on. The roast was done in 2:45 total. I foiled wrapped it loosely in a metal pan and let it rest for roughly 45 minutes. It was still really warm when served. It was absolutely excellent. My wife was supposed to take more pictures buy in the chaos of the day, she/we forgot. Again, the technique above was the key to success. I used straight charcoal, no wood. Just salt, pepper and garlic powder. Was going to baste with oil, butter thyme and rosemary the last two hours, but it cooked to fast! And in retrospect, I am glad I did not. The flavor was perfect with the seasoning as is.

I’ve made pulled pork on my Camp Chef smoker and 23 Ultimate KK and they were pretty good. Yesterday I tried Smoking Dad BBQ's Kamado style pulled pork in my KK, the results were fantastic. Incredible bark, super moist meat without being greasy or wet and full of Smokey flavor the likes I’ve never experienced on the CS or KK. Here is a link to his video: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=smoking+dad+bbq&qft=+filterui%3avideoage-lt43200&view=detail&mid=DFBF2B49473021E24E16DFBF2B49473021E24E16&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3F%26q%3Dsmoking%2Bdad%2Bbbq%26qft%3D%2Bfilterui%3Avideoage-lt43200%26FORM%3DVRFLTR As Rum and Cook says, you don’t need all the contraptions that other Kamado style grills require in the KK and he is absolutely correct. All I did was use my foil lined double wall drip pan as a heat deflector on the lower rack. I used award winning Harry Soo's technique for setting up his Weber Smokey Mountain for long cooks - worked fantastic. Perfect light blue smoke for hours. I forgot to shut down the grill after pulling the meat and even after 13 hours, the smoke was perfect. No foil wrapped wood or cast iron pots. Just charcoal and wood specifically placed and lit. I followed the temps used in the Smoking Dad BBQ link above. I used my Fireboard controller to run the Pit Bull fan and my Meater Block to monitor the cooks in both pork butts. A split screen on my iPad made monitoring both apps easy. To set the correct temps, I first set the dome temp to 270. I then referenced the Fireboard probe reading and set that temp in the Fireboard app. I closed the KK bottom vent, opened the fan vent about 1/2 way, and that controlled the temps well. The sharp spikes in the graph is where I opened the KK for spraying. Please not, the iPad picture is a snapshot and does not reflect when the finishing temps were raised to 330. Special thanks to Smoking Dads BBQ, Rum and Cook, and Harry Soo for your excellent How To videos. Really appreciate your hard work and time all to make my cooks better.

@mguerra Not wood anymore - ceramic. No worries about them getting torched and breaking. The deflector is also to help prevent hot coals from leaving the KK, especially if you pull out the draft door for a very high temp sear. I use the @Syzygies smoker pot for long cooks (like the rib cook that I'm doing today.) Short cooks (under 2 hours), I just put the chunks on top of the charcoal in several spots near where I started the fire. The only time that I use the foil pouch is when I'm doing Jerk cooking with real pimento wood pieces, leaves and berries (allspice). The only way to prolong smoke adherence to the food beyond about 140F meat surface temperature is to spritz it with a liquid (apple juice, water, wine, beer, etc.) periodically to give the smoke some cooler surface and moisture to cling to.

@poochie this is the charcoal packaging. probably hard to find in Lafayette... 😆

Also note, the cook times in the stall are not accurate and Meater sends you a note during the setup process that reflects this. Once out of the stall completely, the finish times are accurate.

Just opened a new bag of Jealous Devil. It's a new one called Chunx. It's XL pieces. I like the size of it - mostly what I would call Large, with a few XL pieces (similar to FOGO), not a lot of smalls. I'm assuming that it is the same charcoal as regular JD? I'll know later today, as I'm doing a rack of ribs for dinner.

Anything made of metal will eventually one day return to the earth, it does it slowly and before you unnoticed. It's when you take notice, you realize the party's over. AHH, just kiddin, it should reward you with many years of unique and entertaining cooks, but it'll never have the convenience of the KK and I fear it won't outlast it either. Maybe you purchased the SSteel, a wise choice, if not the other will reward you for many years of service too. Nothing lasts forever, but if you had both you'd have double the pleasure, you know, like the gum..........double mint. Oh yes, you'll definitely need the cover, it's a must.....unless you live in the desert. On the other hand, preparing food and tending a fire on a S.Maria is one and only. It's all visual, the eye's don't lie and it's about the experience the ride. Keeping it covered and rust free makes the ride all the better.

That deflector was originally designed to protect the wood knob on the bottom vent. They were getting scorched, cracked and breaking off. Dennis is always updating and improving things, so I don't know what the current vents use for knob material, but if it is still wood, probably best to leave that deflector in place.

oh my, this ruben is fantastic..

Finally! Crispy crackling in my KK. Cooking pork on a rotisserie means you get all round crunch. Hurrah!

Everyone must be eating out, so chicken wings & potato and onion Perogi were on the plate. An interesting addition also if you are unaware was Black Garlic to the left of the plate. Now it doesn't have a strong flavor yet a more sweeter/tangier bouquet to it. Whatever was lost in the translation of aging came out differently with a pleasing taste. I feel it's better served with a Caviar, shrimp, on a good buttered bread, a charcuterie board aside sliced meats etc, or on it's own. They peel easy and clean, they are expensive I thought, 3 good size whole clove garlics for $15.00. I found them at a farmers market in the Berkshires of Massachusetts and I obliged. Something different, unique and applicable to the imagination. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had these and what their thoughts were. Just a thought . While preparing supper I heard a clatter above my head in the trees, it turned out to be a Red Tail Hawk sitting on a branch surrounded by 4 Ravens. The hawk didn't move and the ravens pestered him but kept their distance. My camera is old and I thought C6Bill would have captured the feathers or at least the moment because they were at a stand off for sometime.

Easter cooks. Lamb in salt ash crust for for Easter Sunday and Chicken on rotisserie for Easter Monday. Outdoor cooking, always fun.

Easter Prime Rib! coated in Dijon and rosemary After 3 hours at 250F until 119F internal Rested for 45 mins and seared at 500F Potato for scale

A nice 3 inch prime rib steak dinner was the cook of the day- along with some fried mushrooms and roasted potatoes. The rib steak was marinated for 24 hours in a mix of soy sauce, beer, oil, Worchester Sauce, garlic, Dejon mustard and pepper. I know, I know, I sliced the steak too thin but it tasted wonderful.

A very good friend of mine died last September, very tragically, on my birthday none the less. He was a big marvel and Avengers fan and we had a long conversation about the Avengers campus at California Adventures and the shawarma cart & Infinity Stone hand /drink holder they sold there. Since he didn’t have kids I promised to bring him home the shirt and drink holder. Unfortunately he didn’t make it to accept it but I went to Disneyland l/CA Adventures with my family last week and I bought the shirt & cup holder as promised. Made the chicken shawarma meal tonight that he would’ve been here for. Some meals mean more than others and tonight was a special one…..

halfway into making this shakshuka, i realized the tomatoes took off all the seasoning on the carbon steel pan. time to invest in some cazuelas…

Cooking the last meal meant par/boiling your ingredients in wine, so I thought saving the broth and using it with a few additives like onion, garlic, butter, chive, lemon and some olive oil would revive the mix. Good, no plate, the pan was exceptional to taste and the plate held the shells. Mussels and little necks/Quahogs/////Mussels Mariniere.

Yesterday afternoon it was a seafood casserole with 1lb shrimp, 1lb bay scallops and 2lbs Cod slathered in a creamy buttery sauce, topped with a bread crumb cover and cooked with a chunk of cherry out on the 23. I used the small locking basket with one chunk of wood fitting it over the fire while using the basket splitter. I used my stainless diffuser plate to accomplish an indirect and a workable temp of 375/400. Perfect, the smoke you get off the KK imparted into your food can't be duplicated at even your high end restaurants in a casserole. So there it is and unfortunately there it goes also because all that remained after the guests left was this small plate, I managed to capture it on film before it disappeared too.

Female eastern bluebird, this is the male

This is what I do while walking

A couple of warm days and it was time to pull the cover off the Santa Maria. This was a Tri Tip with a salt concoction called Sex on the Beef and a Pork loin with Mississippi Grind. It was nice to get back into that saddle and watch/play the fire after the winter. I do believe those were Maine potatoes, only grown in Maine.

Roast chicken - salt & pepper with a bit of garlic powder & rosemary rub. Olive oil binder carrots, sweet onion & celery with salt & pepper garlic mashed potatoes with sour cream, Parmesan, rosemary & butter. Finished under broiler

Wet snow falling all day didn't hinder this KK cook of baby back pork ribs. About 5.5 hours at 260ish. Plated.

sorry i'm late to this thread. i've always dreamt of completing my trifecta of kamado-pizza-oven-argentine grill. but i live a residential rooftop building, so i don't think management and my neighbors will like it if i start a bonfire just grill some steaks. so i got this little santa maria grill attachment that was made for a weber kettle, but i managed to make it fit on a fiberglass fire pit, so anyone who's chilling on the sofa and wants to grill a piece of chicken or marshmallow can just do it themselves comfortably seated.. i don't like the noisy scratchy ratchet clanking noise the attachment makes, but it's cheap so its expected. i'd probably get a full size grill if there are no restrictions, or have one built into a kitchen. i burn apple, pear, lychee, peach, jujube, or whatever wood i can get that is suitable. i use charcoal baskets to hold the wood in place. it allows me to split the fire to the sides or combine it in the center.

@Troble - Great minds! Dinner last night to celebrate the 70F day! was steak and asparagus. Direct, lower grate, used the Frog Mat for the asparagus. Plated with melting potatoes with shallot crack sauce, 'shrooms, and side salad.

Been awhile since I did a proper cook so tonight I picked up a couple of filet mignons, rubbed with sea salt & black pepper. Reversed seared in a cast iron pan with Irish butter, rosemary & thyme sprigs grilled some asparagus in the pan while the meat rested roasted baby potatoes with olive oil, truffle salt, rosemary & thyme finished with shredded Parmesan cheese just like riding a bike. Love this meal as it’s so easy in the KK and so much better than going to a steakhouse grilled a bunch of chicken breast after that I’ll use for Ceasar salad/chicken pitas and then chicken bowls with guacamole, corn, black beans & quinoa

some recent pizza oven cooks while i wait for my kk charcoal basket to be modded..

pork shawarma. whole wheat pita bread. not bad. cooked relatively fast.

tonight was a series of high temperature bakes starting with: 1. levain chocolate chip cookies. baked on two levels. https://www.joshuaweissman.com/post/levian-chocolate-chip-cookies this was underbaked but i finished them in the oven. tastes good, but tastes better from the original levain bakery in nyc. 2. originally we planned on making pizza using vito's double poolish dough, but we changed it up to turkish pide. this was the wrong dough to use. i need a thinner, less leavened dough. although i took the kk to 550, i pushed it to 650 because it was just taking so long. at the end, i think i will leave these types of bakes for the wood fired pizza oven. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7Hd6ZzKgBM 3. sourdough loaf. didn't want to deal with ice cubes so i used my trusty ceramic cloche. not enough clearance on the upper level so i used the main level grate with the baking stone underneath. came out ok. bottom got charred a bit. probably would have been avoided using upper grate..

Overnight brisket cook. 14.5 hours worth. I used cherry, oak and hickory for the smoke wood. Very juicy and tasty.

Yesterdays chicken, it went well with my salad tonight

Well, I didn't spin the chicken thighs, but I did take advantage of the 60F day to grill some for dinner last night (btw - it snowed this morning. Welcome to Springtime in Iowa!) Direct, lower grate, 375F, peach wood. Spice rub was Berbere. Au gratin spuds as the side dish. Not done on the KK - sorry. Plated with an orange juice, butter and garlic jus, with a lovely salad of arugula, spinach, orange segments, feta cheese, sliced almonds and pomegranate seeds, with an orange juice vinaigrette.

second cook on the 19 kk. first time splitting the charcoal basket and cooking dual zone. i pretty much maxed out the grill space and in the back of my mind i think i will probably get a 32 😄 tandoori chicken. i am shocked how this pretty much tasted like restaurant quality. at times the skin tasted fried with garam masala. palek paneer. first time cooking this. fantastic naan dip. naan made from scratch.