jeffshoaf

I've heard pork rinds referred to as "fried farts..."

Around here (North Carolina), cracklings are what's left after rendering out lard. Fried hog skin is called "pork rinds".

Just saw this in the accessories for the 23" ultimate, but not in stock... https://komodokamado.com/products/23-ultimate-duck-hanger My Santa Maria grill has a cross bar that would work for hanging and I've thought about trying hanging ribs or chickens but the KK would definitely be more fuel efficient and have better heat distribution. Maybe good for tandoori?

Since you need to preheat to heat soak before doing a long cook, the distance between the fire and cooking surface isn't critical for low and slow. For searing, that distance is critical and both sizes come with a lower grate that suits just above the charcoal basket. I think the larger KKs take longer and/or use more fuel to heat soak so unless that's a consideration, go with the largest that you can afford and will fit in the allocated space.

I think letting meat come to room temperature before cooking is one of those things that everyone "knows" that has been passed down for years without question that just isn't valid, like searing sealing in the meat juices. Every thing I've seen where someone actually tests it by comparing a room temperature cut to a refrigerator temperature cut cooked the same way at the same time has shown no advantage to tempering. Even some of the folks who are obsessive over food safety don't question the tempering thing.

I tend to forget leftovers in the freezer...

I'm not a spritzer but I do always go from the fridge to the KK.

I'm not a fan of brisket but I've thought about grinding up the dried pellicle trimmed from dry aged beef and using it in a rub for rib roasts...

The cold smoker was delivered yesterday and I'm planning on using it Saturday with a spatchcocked chicken. Since the chicken is a relatively short, cook, I can monitor the cold smoker pretty closely for that -- I tend to put butts in the KK around 8 or 9 pm and let then go overnight and I wouldn't be able to sleep worrying about the cold smoker if that was my first use! I picked up some apple chips for the chicken but will used hickory for the butt.

Since I'm usually cooking for just myself, it seems to be overkill for a lot of my meals especially since I have the 23" KK, a Weber kettle, and a gas grill and all of those are upstairs on my deck and convenient to the kitchen, but it's been great for the bigger events. I'm still learning how to cook with wood -- I tend to use to much wood and build too big of a fire (like the August one); I over compensated on this cook and used too little. The grill is under my deck with the brassero hanging out from under the deck but the bottom of the deck is 12' up. I've considered putting some metal roofing or other metal over it to help deflect the heat but I think I'm ok without it. I'm mostly happy with the grill; my only real quibble is the brassero. On their website and videos, The brassero hangs on the back of the grill with no legs leaving the floor totally open and making it easy to pull embers out and position them, but my brassero is on legs and stands on the floor. It's also more enclosed than shown on the website/videos. It functions fine but I really liked the original and it irritates me that they didn't mention it during our discussions and haven't noted the difference on the website. I called and discussed it with then after I received mine and they said they made the change because others had complained about the original design scratching up the back of the grill; they offered to work up some brackets that I could mount to the brassero and hang it. As you can see in one of the pics above, I cut some fire bricks in half and raised the brassero some which makes it a bit easier to access embers underneath and that helped some. My big issue now is that I have too many things I want to try on all of my grills (plus I have pizza ovens as well) and I'm on a diet! Cooking for one tends towards having leftovers too so one cook can sometimes feed me for days - the last pork butt I fixed in my KK fed me for a week. I'm planning on spatchcocking and roasting a whole chicken Saturday in the KK and trying out the new cold smoker that was delivered yesterday; that's 3 or 4 meals before my next cooking adventure.

Did another small cookb using oak on the big grill last Saturday. I didn't make too big of a fire this time but did have to add wood during the session. I'm still experimenting with different sear techniques and used the griddle for the sear this time. Cooked all the sides on the grill as well, including baking a couple of potatoes in the embers. Very tasty!

King Arthur just introduced a Masa flour for those of you who want to make tortillas without bringing it yourself. I don't know how the price and quality compare with other sources. They also have a tortilla press. https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/refine-results/tortilla?go=EM211004_S1&trk_msg=LNOTPRHPH9N4NA2UNM82G4KSCS&trk_contact=GTA0QAPE8K6DVHDJN27QL6N8RS&trk_sid=56S56DA4IPLA66UK1525B3V7JC&trk_link=EETMMQQ6SOC413N3P45G4F8P6C&utm_source=ltk_master&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Shop+Masa+Harina&utm_campaign=EM-211004&utm_content=masa-harina-set I usually use their bread and whole flours for making bread; I really like their white whole wheat flour but haven't found a local source and their shipping prices drive the price up high enough that I rarely order directly from them unless I can get free shipping.

I'll probably put in an upside down plastic container so there's no worry about it collapsing. Depending on the layout of the pump, I'll either cut holes in the container or leave the lid off the bottom and elevate it a bit so air can get in.

I've had the same issue with the last few butts I smoked - very tender and moist with a great smoked ring but very little smoke flavor. I actually smoked one last week in the KK but didn't post pics because I was so aggravated with the lack of smoke flavor. I've cooked ribs and beef that had a nice smoke flavor, but they were relatively short cooks (4 to 6 hours vs. 12 to 16 hours for the butts) I've tried both with and without using a smoke pot as well as using a heavy rub and a light dusting of SPG. I've had success in the past; the only thing I can think of is where I bought the butts - I've been taking my mother to the grocery store and, since she doesn't like my preferred store and I don't like her preferred store, we've been going to a compromise store that has a different brand of pork products. The labels on at least some of the butts from this store have had a blurb indicating that they may have been injected with a brine solution - I'm wondering if that is at least part of the issue. I've ordered the KK cold smoker; its scheduled for delivery Monday and will use that for my next attempt. The compromise grocery store had butts on sale for $0.99/lb and I couldn't resist that price and bought the limit of 2.

I have a set of plastic containers for my guru equipment (including the power supply) with holes cut in them for cables that I use when the weather is threatening -- I even have one that fits over the fan. I plan on doing the same for the cold smoker blower but I'm assuming the cold smoker itself gets too hot for that. I do use a Ziploc bag for the meater block.

My cold smoker is scheduled for delivery Monday and the weather forecast is indicating rain all week. Has anybody used the cold smoker in the rain? If so, any adverse effects from the rain? Yes, I'd protect the air pump from the precip! Thanks!

That's purty!

Those are the plugs you're looking for - the first really popular cabled remote probe-type thermometer was made by Polder so it used to be used as a generic name for that type of thermometer. Those plugs will fit the KK port that's leaking smoke in your pics.

Forrest, how long did it take to roast that cluck at 450*? Thanks!

https://komodokamado.com/collections/21-supreme-spare-parts/products/polder-tube-silicone-plugs-6pcs

The only issued I had with the Meater+ is the tendency for the ambient sensor to read low when inserted deeply, I assume due to its proximity to the cool meat. I liked it so much I upgraded to the Meater Block with 4 sensors! What kind of issues have you had with the app?

I generally only used the cyberQ for overnight cooks so I'm at home. I haven't had any problems adjusting the temp settings but I don't like the web interface and I don't like the notifications coming via email and text - I'd really prefer an app so I could get discrete alarms for under/over temps so I don't have to check every text and email while I'm trying to sleep. I also have issued with it forgetting everything if I don't use it for a few months; I have to go thru the whole set up process and re-register the device on the website. I can never remember the process and it won't switch between direct and infrastructure network connections smoothly so I end up having to manually enter my network information; it's really painful to enter the network info using the buttons on the device!

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If you have (or are considering) a Thermoworks Billows control system, they've just introduced a battery pack that is supposed to power the system for 24 hours: https://www.thermoworks.com/billows-12v-battery-bank?trk_msg=EN9KKKFOFCQKTF3ME2DPOUAQG8&trk_contact=GTA0QAPE8K6DVHDJN27QL6N8RS&trk_sid=ENJUV7E0FU4M7TMOF962T1KVN0&trk_link=NTQUV0NK43D4T4C7T66V1D9DD8&bxid=D48A54C5643634667553A4085A&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=battery-image&utm_campaign=Sept2021-Billows-Battery-Bank-LAUNCH-cs They also have the fan on special now. If I didn't already have a BBQ Guru, I'd be strongly considering one of these. I find my CyberQ irritating but I only used it for overnight cooks and don't used it often enough to replace it.

2 lb choice ribeye roast, dry aged 33 days and roasted over oak lump charcoal and mesquite - very tasty!