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I was in a cook shop in Sweden over the weekend. I think the must have titled this display "shock and awe" when they dreamt it up! Huuuuuge pots!

So after all drama it actually was a text book brisket. Texture was on par, tenderness, taste and fold was really good and everyone liked it, however the bark could have been better. So if the 24 hr dry brining helped with holding in the moisture as well as using some tallow in the butcher paper wrap then it was successful. All done.

I actually received my 32" Autumn Gold Pebble KK almost a couple months ago now. I had wanted it held at the warehouse until my patio was completed but some communications got crossed up there and it went out the door and arrived early! Not such a bad thing I guess. But it just had to be stored in my garage while the patio was being done. The driveway was also cluttered with pallets of pavers and stone. The whole patio remodel was done with receiving the KK in mind. Otherwise it would have been extremely difficult to get back there. So the timing of the grill purchase and patio was great. We also just had the deck redone over the patio with a TimberTech Dryspace installed which will help with grilling year round here in the Puget Sound area. Below are pictures of the the patio work, arrival of the KK, and the KK in it's resting place! I've just gotten some outdoor cabinets from NatureKast on order for a BBQ island that will go under the deck. Unfortunately it's an 8 week lead time but at least I can cook now! Old pathway and patio: Pictures of the new patio construction (new fence also)! IMG_4913.MP4 Now for the KK!

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Those pots are for some serious cooking, once or twice a year I make a Kapusta (a Polish cabbage stew with meats and sauerkraut, etc), one of these is perfect. They appear to have a hammered finish, and the handles give them a strong imposing look. Definite winner in my book.

Ooooh. I pre-ordered that book months ago. Here's hoping it arrives soon. Fingers crossed for that puff @PVPAUL! Glad to hear you got the adaptation to the grinder working well for you.

@Tyrus Cooking brisket can be like a roller coaster ride. Glad yours turned out so well. Looks good, gentle smoke ring, nice layer of fat and moist.

I ordered their Santa Maria rub, as it was the one that I don't have another substitute for. I like their Competitions and Secret Weapon as well and ordered some Secret Weapon and Dominator Rib Rub. Black Ops and Carne Crosta are nice coffee rubs, but I have similar stuff from others that I like equally well (Lanes BBQ and Dizzy Pig). I prefer Jerk wet pastes from other folks better than dry rubs, but Oakridge's dry is decent. Their crazy hot ones are some of the hottest things around, if you like heat. I was intrigued by the Saigon one and threw it into the order for grins.

Been there, done that. As you noted, full briskets can be finicky about cooking times. That's why it's best to shoot for early and then hold in the cooler. If it goes a bit long, no worries about keeping your guests waiting for food.

Sunday lunch also a major success- pork butt rubbed with 5 Monkeys rub, cooked at 250F for 11.5hrs, pork ribs for 5 hours (including 1hr in foil). Vinegar based and also espresso BBQ sauces, pickles, coleslaw, white buns and habanero hot sauce. My brothers were feeling a little ‘dusty’ this morning after last night’s fun; suffice to say lunch made them feel a whole lot better.

Pizza night for a college football Saturday. 24 hour poolish dough @ 65% hydration. The new twist was a bbq pizza with sweet baby rays sauce, caramelized onion and pulled pork w sharp cheddar. We will do that again. The kids love the bacon pizza best.

So for my birthday this year I received the “Masa” book by Jorge Gaviria of Masienda. I must say there is a lot of great information here should you also be climbing down this rabbit hole. Also at the suggestion of @Syzygies I upgraded my premier grinder which the new Stainless steel stone holder. I made masa twice this past week. On Tuesday (for Dia De Muertos) I made a batch of Pozole with Nixtamal that was not ground into masa and then I also made masa for tortillas to go with the Pozole. For the tortillas I ended up using the original grinder as I didn’t realize there was some assembly required that had me taking apart the grinder more than expected. So with the original set up the grinding process ended up being somewhat difficult. I wasn’t sure if this was related to the nixtamal I used? From the book I learned that in many cases it is desirable to leave some of the pericarp in tact as it acts as a binder and provides some elasticity (similar to gluten in pasta) which helps in certain masa end applications. Previous to this, my experience was mostly washing off most if not all of the pericarp. In any event Tuesdays masa experience was a challenge at the least. On Thursday after speaking with technical assistance at Melangers (distributor and upgrade manufacturer for grinder) I was able to get the new stone placement in place. On Friday with a new batch of nixtamal with an approximate 50% of pericarp left in place (same as Tuesday) the grinding went very smoothly (pun intended). Tomorrow for the Sunday football game I plan to make freshly cooked tortilllas served with overnight brisket that I just made. I hope that I can achieve the famed “Tortilla Puff” when cooking!!! In the book they talk about in old Mexico that when a woman has achieved “Tortilla Puff” she was worthy of marriage. I still have not achieve this so my wife may be divorcing me soon!!!! All the best, Paul

Did a pork belly last week, cured it then smoked on the KK Sunday and sliced it Mon. Today was the taste test. The morning of the smoke was perfect. I have 20 of these piles, 7 strips per pile. Taste test. Double espresso coming up.

The pans are solid, and gorgeous with a subtle hammered finish. I do not believe the phrase “currency arbitrage” has appeared in these forums before. Once we knew we were not going to Europe this fall I stopped paying attention to exchange rates. I was surprised to see the euro fall below one dollar several weeks ago. Rameria Mazzetti sells on Amazon under the name Bottega del Rame (literally copper workshop). They also have their own website, https://www.rameria.com/ . Prices are in dollars on the former, euro on the latter. The Amazon prices include shipping, the website does not. Even adding shipping costs, the website prices are noticeably lower. Also, during checkout on the website 20% was taken off the price since US buyers do not have to pay the VAT. I don’t know if that happens with a purchase through Amazon. If anyone is thinking about copper cookware, this is a good time. Mazzetti’s prices compare favorably to those of the artisans here in the states.

Enjoy the family time over good food - take it while you can! I had been planning a trip back to SC to visit family/friends that I've not seen in person in 2 years. But I came down with a nasty head cold (not COVID thankfully) over the last week that put a damper on my travel plans.