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multi-tasking in the alfa tonight

One of my brothers asked for a TV console table made of Cherry. This is the result. finished with hard wax oil satin. had a great time putting this one into reality.

When you said you had bought a kamado bbq but it was not a KK I was curious as to why and what you thought about it. Thank you @Tyrus, for taking the time to explain. I know that white hot heat of passion for a new toy and reaching to find that extra thing that will make your set up just perfect. I will be interested to see what you think in 6 months to a year. I for one have been very happy with my pizza oven and KK purchases but I still have not been able to really get into my Argentinian aka Santa Maria grill. And I don't use my konro nearly enough. It will be interesting to see how you rank your toys after a while of using them all in rotation. Also keen to see the Italian job. Spoils from the you and the GOAT beating me and my Eagles. We shall fly again. In the meantime we look forward to seeing the Italian table cloth take pride of place in the pavilion!

This project began by saying to my wife, "wishful thinking" at least four times and then after she secured allies the pressure became too much... I finally relented to build. Began about three weeks ago with a little help from my friends it finally came around to what my wife desired as a permanent structure as opposed to the 10x12 metal frame fabric wrapped Gazebo that had to be taken down and put up every year for the last 6 years. I figure if I live to 100 my time invested in this might be reached to some eqivalent, what the hell, it's just about done minus a few pieces here and there. So it's 16 x14 with 6x6 beams sunken down 3 1/2 feet in the corners, 2x6 rafters, and triple 2x6 beams all pressure treated for a long life and strength. The roof was prime 27mm steel gauge and it all encircled the old brick patio built 6 years back. The structure has possibilities for a great cooking area, it has a ridge cap above to release smoke and vent the pavillion, but alas it's destined for dining...pity. Aside from putting a drill through one my fingers the project went generally very smooth, it was a small drill and production never suffered. No industrial accidents here, I sure hope the food sure taste better under this beast.

@jruddy i'm sort of conflicted by the fact that you don't get enough views on kk. i have watched your videos, but mainly the kk ones. and if i didn't have a kk, i would still watch the kk videos. because it's like watching someone with a pagani sports car. nobody has them and that's why it perks my interest. as for kj and bge content, not to say they are lesser instruments, but there's already too many of videos on yt on those..

Even Dennis isn't trying to spend your money, he just wants you to be happy. Yes, you don't need a Kamado stainless drip pan to fashion a heat deflector. For many years I lined a plain terra cotta plant saucer (they come in large sizes) with heavy duty aluminum foil. The terra cotta cracked every few years, and i'd be out $20 for another one. Once I bought the Kamado double bottom drip pan, I use it whenever I can. It makes an excellent heat deflector. If one's cook isn't overly salty, it protects the drippings from scorching. One doesn't necessarily plan to use the drippings, but cooking is improvisation, and anything remotely related to gravy needs brownings as a base. We all have different ways to measure expense. If cleanup is a bigger deal than purchase price, then one might worry about cleaning the drip pans. A terra cotta saucer lined with foil is surely a breeze at cleanup time, and one could use the drippings. One I bought an electric pressure washer to prepare our deck for annual oiling, I look for any excuse to use it. Like Arnold's flame thrower in Commando, it might be overkill but it gets the job done. I'm already using it to clean the grates, at which point giving the drip pan a wipe then also pressure washing it is easy.

@Poochie's advice is spot on (for once! LOL!) The KK is very efficient once heat-soaked at the target temperature. It doesn't take a big fire on most cooks (under 400F) - just light one spot. If you're going for high temps, like for a pizza cook - you'll need to light a couple of spots to help speed up the process. I've never really had an issue with fire propagation, as long as you have a decent amount of charcoal in the basket. Can't help with vent settings on the BB32, as I have a 23. But I can tell you the bottom vent is not very crucial for setting the temperature - just open enough for the airflow corresponding to the top vent. If the 32 behaves anything like my 23, the top vent for a 225F cook is just barely off the seat. Most of us here use lump vs briquettes. Definitely stay away from the cheaper brands (see Cowboy!) A lot of folks here are fans of FOGO and Jealous Devil lump, myself included. Royal Oak is decent and widely available at most Big Box hardware stores. The "guru" on charcoal is this guy: The Lump Charcoal Database -- Naked Whiz Charcoal Ceramic Cooking

grilled some 60-day dry aged ribeyes for lunch. been traveling to china for a while and haven't touched my grill in weeks..

Decided to make a steak for watching the basketball game, luckily the right team won so i was able to enjoy it lol Tried to insert a mov of the searing but I guess those cant be inserted from a Mac EDIT< trying MP4 IMG_9248-1280.mp4

Wife asked for brisket, Caesar salad & mashed potatoes for Mother’s Day. That what she got still working on my Peruvian brisket. This was a big step forward. Made a run with a packet of aji armarillo, aji panca, salt, cumin & black pepper made a marinade of soy sauce, pisco, aji armarillo paste and rubbed that on the meat before using the dry rub. Let sit 36 hours also used the soy sauce mixture to “mop” the brisket instead of spraying it with apple juice like I normally do. Turned out good. Little soy sauce heavy but had a nice spicy kick on the bark. Wife & mother in law liked it and my girls inhaled it. Happy Mothers Day!

Here are some miscellaneous vanilla ice cream servings, some made with full sugar, some with monk fruit - I didn't keep good notes so I'm not sure which are which, but all were tasty! I don't think I have a picture of the best I've made to date; it was just a can of peaches in natural peach juice and a can of eagle brand sweetened condensed milk.

The KK has been quiet for a couple of months as we were travelling for 6 weeks, and prior to that clearing the freezer of leftovers to leave some space for the house sitter… Finally had a chance to fire it up today for Mother’s Day- my partner loves a scotch fillet steak, so I made her surf and turf with prawns done in a cast iron pan with chilli, garlic, parsley and shed loads of butter. A great success!

Pork tenderloin, air fryer potatoes & asparagus

I haven't made a meatloaf in ages so ....

Finally some real spring type weather here in the northeast so i had to make some chicken wings !!!!