jdbower

Re: Say Goodbye to this Red forum Out of curiosity, what flavor of IE are you using? The later IE revs are apparently a bit better.

Re: Say Goodbye to this Red forum When you're viewing this post, look just above the Subscribe Topic and below the user list

Re: Ok, so we have a new look... Hmmm... WinMo is about the only major platform not supported by Tapatalk, IIRC. It's doubtful they'd add 6.5 since WP7 is a major update to the OS. That said, my stock (Webkit-based) browser on Android shows a similar behavior of killing the leftmost side of the forum. I haven't tried any of the other browsers at my disposal nor any settings to try to fix it.

Recently there was a discussion about ultra low temperatures and draft control systems, I can certainly attest to the Stoker's prowess in this regard. I've got a life-sized EZ-Bake Oven in my kitchen. Below my wall-mount double oven is a little cubby hole for a Stoker. Instead of a blower, I took a pigtail from a blower and connected it to a relay. This relay drives a 75W light inside the oven and I use a food probe as a pit probe (no need for the higher temperatures and there's a chance the food probe is more accurate at lower temps). I use this setup for proofing things like bread and yogurt where the oven's own proofing temperature is too high or erratic. How well does the Stoker handle this? The first few hours of the very first cook were a little "special" as the Stoker learned the ins and outs of the new "cooker" but since then it's been pretty good. I plug in the light, turn on the oven for about 30 seconds to prime it (takes a while to heat an oven at 75W) and then let the Stoker take over. Below is a graph of a "cook" at 107F: yogurt.png[/attachment:1292kgrm]

Re: Ok, so we have a new look... Apple does have a habit of abandoning people with old tech, which makes it nice in that there are only a few form factors that need to be developed for (if you've got an iPhone 3-series you're pretty much out of luck now that the 4 has a higher resolution). Luckily fragmentation on the Android platform is mostly FUD and every vendor deals with it. Want to design something that runs on an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 3GS? You need to use relative graphics and the intersection of iPhone OS features available on each platform. Android has dozens of form factors and a lot more experimentation, but realistically hardware fragmentation is a minor problem, OS fragmentation is the same for every platform as it matures, and marketplace fragmentation is really more about choice than anything else. Where Android needs to really draw the line are manufacturers like HTC who heavily integrate their SenseUI to the point where a lot of the customizations just don't work - they're essentially replicating the iPhone model of our way or the highway. Nokia isn't relevant in the US because they never bought into the carrier-subsidized model - it's hard to compete with a $200 smartphone with a two year contract when you're selling a $600 phone without a monthly discount. They're burning marketshare quickly, but worldwide Symbian is still the #1 deployed smartphone OS. And they're in Tapatalk's support list so I had to remind the followers of the man in black that the iPhone isn't as relevant as a company with zero US marketshare As for the Tapatalk functionality, playing with it briefly I kind of like the Favorites function. As for snapping pics and uploading, I can sort of see that being useful but I also question whether the editing interface is reasonable enough for a decent-sized post where I'd want to include pics. Then again I'm fine with uploading to a third party using something like this and then pasting the URL in manually.

Re: Ok, so we have a new look... For those who don't kneel before the Altar of Jobs, Tapatalk also handles smartphones including world market leader Nokia, US market leader Blackberry, and of course world and US sales leader Android. Personally I've found most forums to work fine under the stock browser, but maybe I'll give Tapatalk a try to see if it buys me anything.

As far as my Stoker setup is concerned, I've got the 10CFM fan on my 23" cooker (probably overkill). I had two meat probes in the roast (one was a little flaky, I think there was some moisture in the plug end) and one pit probe at meat level on the main grill. As far as the settings, I just dialed in the temperature I wanted (145-160F depending on the timeframe) and the Stoker took care of the rest. I never doublechecked the accuracy, but considering I use a lightbulb and a relay in my oven to proof yogurt at 105F I don't have any reason to suspect the temperature was off. Hope that answers your question about the Stoker set temps, wasn't quite sure what you were looking for. Unless the Guru doesn't allow you to set temperatures that low for some reason.

My technique was to open the top damper all the way and use the propane starter (which lights the coals from below) until I reached about 100F. Once that happened I removed the burner, closed and then cracked the top damper, and let the Stoker take over. I was able to have it stabilize to 160F without any issue, and adjustments to as low as 145F were pretty easy - while it takes a long time to bleed off heat at these low temperatures once I got there it was pretty stable. Yet another nod to the KK design and materials to be able to hold temps that low with that kind of stability. Of course, using the KK extruded coconut charcoal also helps, I'm sure.

Sorry, no pics (I was hungry when I came home!), but it looked a lot like yours. Tough, brown outside but almost no transition at all to a pink center. The texture is hard to describe, very tender yet still firm. I guess "homogeneous" is a good term, almost no distinction between the muscle fibers. The first roast which I cut into strips and braised was cooked stringy and tough and then simmered back something like a pot roast (where the muscle fibers fall apart as you chew), this second roast was a stark contrast to that and it's hard to believe it's the same cut. I'll have to try again some time, maybe I'll start around 140F or so and then gradually raise the temperature a bit to keep it below 122F longer.

I have to say I'm impressed. I tried this over the weekend I never would have predicted the results. I had two round roasts from Costco, the first I sliced into ~1" strips and simmered in sauce for a few hours and it came out as expected - nice firm chunks. The second I brined in a mixture of Worcestershire, balsamic, and salt. I cooked it at 160F for about 12 hours, then went to sleep and turned the temperature down to about 150F. When it still wasn't done in the morning I monitored it at work (thank you Stoker!) and lowered it to 145F around 2pm when it reached 138. When I got home it was hovering around 140F and looked like a little leather football in the cooker. Expecting the worst I sliced it open and it was just as yours was, bright pink, tender, and moist inside. It was odd being able to handle the meat without gloves fresh from the cooker.

Here are some pictures I took when I first got mine as well as some first impressions - I can try to grab some with both open when I'm at home and it's light out (which seems to be a weekend thing these days...) viewtopic.php?t=2865 You can cook on multiple levels at once, it comes in useful when you have multiple items on the grill (for example, I frequently will throw on some corn or another side while the meat's cooking).

Having both, I'd say that if space isn't an issue the 23" would probably be a better bet. I haven't found any downside to the 23" over the 19"; it's only a little more expensive, no substantial difference in fuel consumption that I've seen, a few additional grate configurations are possible, and it's the perfect size for the Costco pork loins my family and friends love. The 19.5" is great if you're putting it into a compact area and the smaller wheels help keep it in place with a smaller barrier (the 23" can roll right over some seams between patio blocks, the 19.5" needs a little more of a push). There's also some weight savings if you're putting it on a second floor balcony, for example. But fundamentally I'd recommend the extra space even if you're like me and frequently don't use it.

I generally do my poultry at a bit of a higher temperature, closer to 350. However, Cook_Shack is right, cooking to temperature is much more important than time. I also generally cook them indirect, but with a large bird if you find things cooking unevenly you may want to have your heat deflector offset a bit, this allows you to move it such that the thighs get more direct heat and can catch up with the breast. Alternatively you can remove the deflector for the last bit of the cook just before the breast is done.

Some interesting stats about 2008: There were 5.8 million car crashes(1) There were 255,917,664 registered vehicles(2) Cell phone market penetration in the US was 86.79%(3) How many of those crashes were caused by cell phones? Let's look 10 years earlier to 1998: Cell phone penetration was 24.62%(3) We had 6.3 million car crashes(4) with 215,496,003(2) registered vehicles. OK, both fewer crashes AND more cars in 2008, but how many fatalities? "In 2008, the number of overall traffic fatalities reached a record low since 1961, and that number continued to decrease in the first few months of 2009."(1) What does this mean? Obviously as cell phone penetration skyrockets the use of phones while driving goes way up, but the number of accidents is going down and the seriousness of the accidents are going down. While the seriousness can be attributed to better safety features, distracted driving doesn't benefit nearly as much from this since the accident frequently happens before you can react. My conclusion: Distracted/bad drivers will be distracted by SOMETHING when driving and picking on cell phones, while politically expedient, does nothing for overall safety. What we need are laws that can cover anyone who's driving irratically instead of trying to get legislation through that picks on each potential distraction. I saw a guy making a turn in Cambridge while eating a salad in his car, daily I see people using the rearview mirror to shave or put on makeup, yelling at the radio, turning to talk to people in the back seat, reading a book, and a whole host of other potentially dangerous behavior. My solution is to get rid of seatbelt laws, allow people to flip a switch to disarm airbags and other safety features, and let Darwin do his thing. In a few generations we'll have people who pay attention to the road or multitask in an appropriate manner or at least use safety features. And in case you're wondering, I hate talking on the phone and I hate driving in Boston traffic (which is too bad, because I love driving) - I don't think the two have ever intersected but I do have a monaural Bluetooth headset for when I need to take a conference call on the walk to work.

Nice to know it found a good, loving home - and that you got a good deal out of it! Maybe you can collect them and create Carbone's Home for Rehabilitated KKs? Good work on the repairs!

The Shadow would prefer you to cook with Blue Coal Anyone else think about these commercials whenever you see the term anthracite? Guess it's just me...

Just remember, salsa is like BBQ. This is a great starting point but experiment away until you get something you like

And I like the toy in the background, too! It could squish my little Deere 2520 and not even notice.

For an idea of how subtle the extruded coconut is I've made a cheesecake with it. I don't use it about 350F or so, but then again I don't do veggies often. For that I use Cowboy lump from Costco and it gets the job done. Another piece of advice is to make sure you burn at temperature for a while, if there's white smoke you're still releasing a lot of volatiles into the cooking chamber, let it burn at temperature for a while and most of the water and strong stuff will burn off.

Back in Jersey we had a place called Juanito's which was fantastic Mexican food. Up in MA we have a place called Acapulco's which is the bastard love child of Chi Chi's, Taco Bell and a hint of Applebee's. What I miss the most is the salsa, but I've gotten close enough not to care much anymore. Fresh salsa is pretty quick and easy. http://www.ebower.com/recipes/recipe_SalsaFresca.htm Ingredients 2 Tomatoes 1 Small Onion 1 Jalapeño Pepper 2 cloves garlic 1 tbs lime juice 1 tbs red wine vinegar 1 tsp salt 2 tbs fresh cilantro Instructions Place all ingredients but the cilantro into food processor and blend until smooth. I like to put the onion in last so it's still a little chunky. Tear the cilantro into small pieces and stir into mixture. Refrigerate about 15 minutes and enjoy! Notes Makes a thin, restaurant-style salsa and is best eaten fresh. Adjust the pepper content to taste, or use preserved sliced peppers in vinegar and forgo the red wine vinegar.

Often Totally Bloated? It's how I feel after eating what comes off it

I had one (stopped using it after I got my Stoker - the range just wasn't there). The easiest method is to gently bend the probe to straighten it. It doesn't need to be perfectly straight, but after you're done you may want to calibrate it in boiling water.

Hmmm.... I'm using Chrome as a browser under Linux while logged into my Google account - so I may not be much help. Anyone know the requirements? You can try downloading Google Gears which provides some enhancements to the standard web protocols in your browser (mostly it lets you do some nifty things with Google sites).

With 15 votes we're running about 50-50, I wonder if it would make sense to split the difference and go with a ~45 degree angle? For the super-sized grills especially it may be nice to get diamond sear marks by lining up meat either horizontally or vertically. Personally I don't think I'd mind either configuration.

Re: how do you add a position? Just zoom into wherever you want the marker, right-click on the map and select "Add a Placemark".