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I finally get to fill the dry ager tomorrow. With this big boy. Then I’ll post some more cooks- 330kg dressed.( that’s shy of 700lbs) I’m going to need some ideas on creative bbqing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I tried out my new wood oven accessory (Alfa BBQ500) on some chicken thighs yesterday: a round, rotating grill on a stand above a metal tray for drippings or to add coals below. I cooked them too hot (because I was excited and got the fire way beyond necessary) but, with some judicious management, they came out fine. Just a new toy. It worked very well, especially since the fire was 200°C above where I intended... [And yes, these mutant monsters are actually thighs, not breasts! Of the six I cooked (we ate two), only one was "regular" sized - upper left.]

half a butter chicken, ribeye steak, and some sides

multi-tasking in the alfa tonight

@Basher please post pictures because that is an insane amount of cow to put in a home ager. i'm tallow ageing an australian westholme M6/7 brisket. i've never tallow aged so i painted on the tallow on the hanger haha... i have no idea what i'm doing..

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.

The last ride. 2 pics to close it up, basically finished...added in 4 architectual post, stained with a soft desert sand and added some decor. Done, except for a bend on the ridge cap end just for measure. TY

Rotisserie chicken - olive oil, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, garlic, rosemary & thyme. Irish butter tucked under skin on top of breast meat roasted potatoes- olive oil, truffle salt? Garlic, black pepper, rosemary & thyme roasted baby carrots - Irish butter, chicken juices, salt, pepper

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!

Because you asked Tekebo, how could I refuse you. Well, the Kamado I purchased is called a Goldens, built or should I say forged in Columbus Ga at their foundry which has been a family owned business since say, 1875. Obviously they haven't been producing Kamado's since that time but inclusive to their line of products today are cast iron kettle bells, weights, dumbells and large cast fire pits and more. Incidentally these pits were historically somehow used in the sugar cane industry and by some fashion rethought of as a fire pit . My kamado is all cast iron except for the box steel welded frame cart and the wooden grasp on the handle. The outer core is 3/4 inch (19-20 mm) with cast iron deflector, grates, firebox and splitter. So I was intriqued, knowing the great heat retention cast pans have and transfering that into a kamado (which by the way is just about indestructable) gave rise to my interest leading to my purchase. You also have to realize as diehards and servants of the BBq, we all like to try out new things offering quality, purpose, and longevity and in so doing this kamado checked the boxes. My first light to seal the cast iron with oil was successful and easily shot above 500 thereafter. There's no overfiring this kamado and unlike the KK which keeps it's outer husk cool this gets very very hot at high temps. However I wasn't disuaded, this is an adult toy and most of my cooks are at lower temps. I found it relatively easy to adjust, maintain temp once dialed in like the KK but it does use more fuel..probably because of the heat loss through the cast as opposed to the KK's refractory. Cleaning the KK is much easier by simply pulling the basket, on the Golden's I fashioned a curved device and had to persuade the ash out, removing the fire basket with it's weight and tight fit is not an option you want to try. There are no tiles, it's polished cast with a good durable powder coat that hardens over a period of firings to protect against rust. It's mobile and weighs in at about 400lbs but it's actually not bad, it's easier to move than the KK given your working on a hard surface and it's center of gravity to it's height and wheel distance was well thought out. I like the grates and the deflctor which are easily removable with a tool that came with the unit. The KK will run longer on a basket of coal, but this unit comes to temp quicker. The basket spiltter makes it a truer two zone because it reaches high enough to accomplish this better than my 23 KK. It comes with a Tel tru thermometer grading to 900, larger than my 23 and easier to read. I noticed though on a cook that my beef ribs were cooking faster in appearence than what the temp alluded to. I was running at 250 on the gauge but the grate level stated 300 after I placed a probe on. Having the fire to close to the cast iron deflector made the grate temp hotter than what was reading at the dome. No problem, now I know. So the lid weighs about 126lbs, the spring assist makes this relatively easy to open however the KK' spring assist is superior. Since this is forged in two separate molds, there is no mistake in alignment... ever, it will open and close the same way tommorrow as ten years from now because of it's engineering and your seal remains true until the gasket has to be replaced from wear. It uses lump, charcoal briquettes or even wood if you ever chose to do so, you can even use lighter fluid, yes, say it isn't so. You can buy extra grates as an option and stack them for additioal height into the dome. The grates (two half moons) are reversible for searing steak. Yes, this kamado has some things you wouldn't be aware of, it does things differently but that's all solved pretty quickly knowing generally how kamado's work. It not as big as my 23, it's alike and unlike, the learning curve wasn't hard and food coming off is good. It'll last, and like the KK will be enjoyed by an hier just like our KK's. The KK with all it's features wins the race I have to say but this unit was 1/2 the price and it does the job well and up and running quicker. This kamado won't win any beauty contests or have that allure from across a crowded street as the KK, but I like it. Now I'm hoping to place that beautiful table cover down Tekebo, you know the Italian beauty, the next project is a 9-10 foot table under the Pavillion, soon you will see, I haven't forgotten................................. excuse the pics, shot at night and the pollen is horrendous.

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

I'm glad I came back to find this thread. I had some slightly tough hogget chops and remembered the Indians' use of papaya and other ingredients to tenderise meat. It worked out really well and, not wanting to waste my papaya, I used it on a chicken drumsticks and hogget chops. Here are the chicken drumsticks on my 16KK. I used the recipe for chicken tikka from the Ranjit Rai book recommended by @Syzygies above. They have a neat trick, which is to freeze your chicken for 15 minutes before putting it on the grill. This is to stop the potentially sloppy cream and yogurt marinade from falling off before it gets a chance to cook. It worked a treat and the chicken was very tasty. I cooked the lamb chops a couple of days later and they were much more awkward to skewer. This is where the trompo king might come in handy. I don't have one so I threaded my chops onto this prongy piece of kit that I bought from a tandoor seller. At first it all looked very precarious but as the meat cooked and firmed up it all worked out just fine.

One of the first dishes I ever learned to cook and still one of my favorites…Chicken Marsala

Homemade lasagne

So, I finally looked at the instructions. Who does that??? I now know that you can see the UV light (when you have worked out how to turn it on!). I have replaced both the filter and the light now. They are meant to last a year. On my list as a maintenance item now although I will likely run them for more than a year given I don't keep the dry ager on continuously these days.