CeramicChef

That's one righteous steak cook! Kudos to ya!

Bosceaux - try Amazon for the 2qt CI Dutch oven.

Charles - that certainly looks delicious from the OKC cheap seats!

bosceaux - I think you'll find 5 Qts much much too big. My smoke pot only has 1/8" holes in the bottom. Don't drill the lid. The theory here is that the smoke is ejected down through the bottom of the pot into the burning coals thus burning up all the volatiles that can make smoke taste so funky. You get thin blue from the very beginning. I hope this answers your questions.

Grey!? How about bald? God Almighty made a few perfect heads. The rest He covered with hair! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Wilbur - the important thing is that you clean Smaug! A clean Smaug is a happy Smaug and a happy Smaug is a safe Smaug.

Tomahawk - I have done exactly that. Folks preferred the double sear by 5:1! That's good enough for me!

+1^!

No big deal, Tony! My great pleasure.

Tony - thanks for the post link. You saved me having to search for it! You're aces!

I've used the smoker pot for quite some time ever since Dennis told me about it when I first placed my order. Thanks to Syzygies original post on this technique, I've done dozen of cooks with my pot. I've never had trouble getting the pot to produce smoke. Of course, I always heat soak TheBeast for about a hour before the cook, so my fire is very well established. When I lay in my charcoal, I always create a well about the size of the pot. That well is where I ignite my fire. Then when I put my cook on, I place the pot in the well with a well established fire, then I move my heat deflector over the post, put my drip pan on top of the deflectors, them the main grate and then the cook. Within about 5 minutes I've got thin blue smoke that smells heavenly. I prefer using chunks in my pot. During a cook this weekend, I used a combination of peach and hickory chunks. I also fill in the interstitial spaces with pellets, in this case hickory pellets. A good shake with the lid on gets everything settled nicely. My 2 Qt, Lodge CI Dutch Oven holds just enough chunks and pellets to last 6 hours or so. I've found that seems to lay on quite enough smoke that everyone is happy. If I want more smoke, I chill my cook in the freezer compartment at least while TheBeast heat soaks. Cold meat condenses much more smoke than a warm cook. More smoke condensed equates to a smoker tasting cook. bosceaux, I know you've seen this technique. I've posted it at the KG site as well as here. I'll post the smoke pot as part of a weekend cook I'll post tomorrow. The 2 qt. Lodge Dutch Oven seems to be the optimal size for this. It fits quite nicely in the belly of TheBeast

Tiny, bosceaux - you boys are gonnA be doing the Spunky Monkey Dance very soon!

Poochie - I'm thinking Red Beans and Rice, etoufee, jambalaya, etc. for my Saints parties. I'm thinking chili, ribs, and brisket for my Cowboys parties. Don't ask what I'm cooking when they play eachother. Probably some of both!

Based on whT I'm looking at, Poochie, I'd say you aced this test! 5 gold stars to you!

Oh My Goodness! What a droolicious money shot! Kudos, MacKenzie!

I'm too cheap and lazy to wrap a grate in foil. Further, I feel it disrupts the airflow through TheBeast. I generally use the rectangular deflectors on all low-n-slow cooks in the belly of TheBeast. On top of the deflector, I'll lay a long rectangular steam table aluminum pan that is basically a throwaway pan. Above that is the main grate and on that is my cook. The original drip pan that came with TheBeast has never been used in any BBQ cook. I use it as a serving platter it looks so nice. I don't really care about saving drippings, so for me the double walled drip pan is a nonstarter. I know a lot of folks like drippings, but I've never been a fan of that method. If I need added moisture, I'll add some of the liquid I injected to the final product and go with that. I'm not a big fan of adding rendered fat back to the cook. This past weekend I cooked some spares. The basic throwaway aluminum pan worked just fine resting on the deflectors. Yeah, the drippings were mostly charred, but no big deal. If I really wanted to save drippings, I'd use 4 balls of aluminum foil under the drip pa. Let me also say I always use a drip pan for every low-n-slow cook. I simply can't stand a dirty kamado. I don't like the rancid smell some kamados develop over time. I also believe that a clean kamado is a safe kamado. I've never once ever had a flare up because grease has been left in the kamado from a previous low-n-slow and the current cook temps is above 350° or so and a flash fire because of the increased atomized grease above its flashpoint just waiting for some oxygen to ignite. A clean KK is a happy and safe KK!

As for sales pricing on KKs, I look at it this way. I truly like the fact you're not going to discount prices a penny. That helps maintain brand value. It also helps me in the long run as every time you raise prices on the KKs that I have, mine become intrinsically more valuable! In my world, pricing is an inherently efficient means of communicating information about the asset in question and also what the company thinks of that asset. Prices that are stable, i.e. no discount, tells me everything I need to know about the supply and demand curve of the particular asset. In the instant case, supply and demand are in balance and the firm is making money. If prices are constantly discounted, the company does not fully understand its niche dynamics, overestimates demand, produces too many units, and must sell them at a discount to recover capital. Margins suffer and the firm is less than optimally profitable. All this is a long way of saying that Dennis understands the KKs position in the kamado niche, how that niche is evolving over time, how his specific portion of the niche is playing out, etc. That should give us KK owners a great deal of satisfaction. We made a really intelligent purchase decision and we own assets that will only maintain or appreciate in price over time! Thanks Dennis for all that uncompromised excellence both in your kamados and your business acumen!

Tony - that is one marvelous looking brisket! The money shot just makes my mouth wanna eat even the plate! Beautifully done, my Friend! Kudos all over the place to ya!

Tomahawk - kids grow up way too fast. Take lots of pics because you'll turn around and next thing you know, she's grown and gone. Pre- and post- sous vide sears have a different taste than just post-sous vide in the following manner. I think searing Pre-sousvide gives a nice crust and the taste of that wonderful Maillard reaction. It's that taste that permeates the cook during the sous vide process. Then at the end, you get to resurrect that seared taste and the seared crust with a post-sous vide sear. I'm beginning to think it's the best of both worlds. I use this technique on just about everything I normally sear irrespective of size. All you need is a blazing fire for a quick sear at the beginning and the end.

Tomahawk - I can't wait to see how these duck legs turn out! I use my sous vide all the time, but I never thought of your technique. Have fun with your folks and enjoy the fruits of your efforts with your sous vide. Looking forward to your posts on this!

Poochie - that's one great looking pot of chili! Kudos and congrats on a wonderful cook and money shot!

Tony - those are some beautiful burgers! Mega kudos to ya! Hey I owe you two calls and the package arrived in great shape. Just got back in town, so I'll call you tomorrow afternoon. looking forward to touching base.

Nanuk - you forgot the 32 KK body and the lid. That's about 700 lbs of love! You also forgot to mention that the undying envy of every man in the neighborhood is standard with each and every delivery. You're really going to enjoy your KK BB 32"! Congrats again.

MacKenzie - Ma'am you never cease to amaze me. This buns are simply beautiful. Please tell me I can make these hotdog buns using the same recipe that you used for the hamburger buns and that you posted here!