ckreef

Great story, glad you're enjoying the time off. Reef's Bistro

You nailed that pizza and egg just right. Looks delicious. Great looking pictures all around. Reef's Bistro

You are definitely upping your game lately - no splinters for you. Reef's Bistro

That is a big motor. It's not going to hurt anything where the bracket mounts to the KK. It uses the same holes and bolts that the side table uses. The only issue is the weight of the motor warping the mounting bracket and that probably won't be an issue either. . Most people just remove the motor when not in use as it only takes a minute or two to remove or install the motor. Reef's Bistro

That tuna burger looks fantastic. Reef's Bistro

Sorry to hear about that. You should register on kamado guru. They have a sales and barging area. Post it there see if you have any takers. Reef's Bistro

Yup I agree too. Also don't put the beans on immediately. Use a foil drip pan initially then swap it out for the beans when it's time. Should be able to do all that without removing the upper grate/butt. Reef's Bistro

Really cold meat will suck up extra smoke in the beginning. An hour or so in the freezer helps a little bit and only adds a few minutes to the overall cook time. Reef's Bistro

LOL - gave me a good laugh this morning. Yea we all tend to drive our significant others crazy with all the BBQ talk. Reef's Bistro

She's freaking out. Come on guys and gals, work on her. I need your help - LOL Reef's Bistro

Plenty of fish out there that doesn't taste real fishy. We're just try to convert you Reef's Bistro

Nice fresh grouper filets if you can find them with a lime Buerre Blanc Sauce. Reef's Bistro

I have a set of those too. Not quite big enough especially for my son. Reef's Bistro

Those are 4" & 5" respectively. . Either would work for Mrs skreef. I could probably get by on the 5" but I'd like to find 6" otherwise I'd have to make my son 2 - LOL. No worries I'll eventually find what I'm looking for. Maybe small porcelain coated CI mini Caserole pans would be the bomb. Next time I go to the outlet mall I'll have to make it my mission. Reef's Bistro

Great taco dinner. You seem to be nailing the cooks. Reef's Bistro

I love fish and that is a really great looking fish meal. I need you all to work on Mrs skreef for me. Maybe you can talk her into the SV benefits then it would be her idea - LOL Reef's Bistro

Nice looking pizza. Clam pizza is a first for me. Reef's Bistro

I thought about that but my small ramekins are just a little to small. One day I'll come across the right size individual ramekins and buy a few. Reef's Bistro

Yup I really like the CoffeeChar lump. If I had the cash I'd but a pallet. Reef's Bistro

I know you said you've mainly eaten out a lot lately. There are a bunch of really easy dishes you can make that taste excellent. This is a perfect example. Mixed frozen vegetables, decent pre-made gravy, the grilled chicken chopped up and a Bisquick topping that just gets mixed and poured on. Pop it in the KK and 35 minutes later dinner was done. . No fancy mixing. No rolling out a pie crust. As easy as it gets and tastes fantastic. Reef's Bistro

Yea, doesn't help when a reptile zoo gets wiped out in a hurricane and everything gets loose in a habitat they can thrive in. Reef's Bistro

TY CC - with a little bit of planning you can get a lot accomplished using one KK - even when it's a small one Reef's Bistro

I've outlined this procedure before but with a few new members I thought I would do it again. Besides had to cook something for dinner last night. . The idea is to quickly sear a piece of protein then use the kamado to bake a dish. . Start by lighting a full firebox of lump in 2 or 3 spots. Close the dome and set both upper and lower vents to wide open. The idea is to get a raging bed off coals (for the sear) while trapping as little heat in the kamado as possible. Once the coals are going good do a quick sear using a lower grate. (in this case 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs) . Once the Sear is complete pull the protein, add your heat diffuser and main grate. Close the dome and adjust your vents for your desired baking temperature. Initially your temperature is going to plunge. Just be patient. The fire will die down while the ceramics soak up the extra heat in there. Your kamado should now slowly glide up to the baking temperature you set with your vents. I was aiming for 400* baking temperature. Once stable at your temperature proceed with your cook. . While waiting for the kamado to get to baking temperature I went inside and got my chicken pot pie ready using the grilled chicken. If you have never used grilled protein in a meat pie you are in for a treat. Takes chicken pot pie to a whole other level. I put the pot pie on a heat soaked kamado and 35 minutes later it was done. A simple easy meal using one kamado. Reef's Bistro

The 16.5" would work for a vacation kamado if you had two decent sized adults to load and unload it. Mrs skreef is a rather petite woman so I had to come up with something different. Of all the Jr sized Kamados this really is the best one for travel. Reef's Bistro

Just keep in mind the vent settings for a low-n-slow is very minute. Once it gets lit and coming up to temperature the settings to maintain 225* - 250* is somewhere around 1/4 turn on the top vent and just a small sliver on the bottom vent. It's so minute you're going to wonder how a fire can keep going for hours on end with so little oxygen. Being new to grilling and kamados I would go with leg quarters. Get it stable between 375* - 425* and let them ride 60 minutes. Really hard to screw up leg quarters and much easier to get the KK stable at higher temps. After you get to know building a fire and coming up to temperature then tackle a low-n-slow Boston butt. It's really easy to over shoot a low-n-slow temperature when you're not familiar with low-n-slow kamado cooking. Reef's Bistro