Saucier

Thanks!

So my cold smoke unit finally arrived.. I have had some fitment issues, as My 23 OTB is so old, Dennis couldn't remember if it came over on the Nina, Pinta, or the Santa Maria! So. Once I got it all attached via the Guru tube. Did some ribs, using hickory chunks. Got it lit ok, only had to re-light once.. but the chunks burned fairly fast. Nice hickory smoke flavor. I chose to use it before I had it really mounted properly, and when I wasn't looking for a second, it fell over and burnt the S)&! out of my inner arm.. Measured the surface temperature of the tube, it was around 1400 degrees.. Lesson learned.. Wait until it's mounted right. LOL Had lots of smoke escaping from the side lighting holes in the tube. but still worked ok.. Cleaning. Well, it sure makes a mess that needs to be cleaned.. But worth it. Soaked in in PBW overnight. and lots of scrubbing.. I did find a toilet brush at ace, that fits just inside the big tube YAY Next was chicken legs.. This time, I used post oak pellets, microwaved them as Dennis recommends.. loaded the tube half full, lit it and it rip. Pellets stayed lit 100%, still have smoke departing through the side holes etc.. But a nice smokey flavor! didnt have time to clean it that night.. So yesterday, came home yesterday. was going to clean it.. And.. thought.. hey, before I do, I hot a half pound of cheddar.. Let's cold smoke it. Had the smoker and unit ready in minutes ! Loaded with a MIXTURE of pellets and chunks. Mostly pellets.. lit It off. No problems.. it was more windy yesterday. and lots of smoke departing the holes.. Thought.. wait a minute.. took a piece of foil and plugged up one of the two holes.. Problem solved! Smoke now billowing out of the smoker! Very little from the hole.. Perfect.. Rolled the smoke on 18 minutes of so, and it was perfect. No appreciable temp change in the grill, awesome smoky flavor, and almost ll the smoke going in the grill where it belongs

Does that make it a FETish ?

I hadn't done chicken in a long time, as was looking up some brines for spatchcocked. I came across THIS ONE . Was kind of a lengthy prep, I did the 24 hour soak in the brine, then make the rub up but made a 1 1/2 x batch of it, because I was headed to the store to buy a whole chicken, but remembered I had some cut up legs and thighs in the freezer that needed to be cooked up. So after dumping the brine, and drying the pieces, I spread the "marinade" all over the chicken parts and let them chill out for an hour or so. Then prepped the grill up with a preheat to 440 dome, added some hickory smoking wood, and let it go on the upper rack just under the dome for about 45 min, pulling it off at 165 internal. Let it rest for 10 min or so, and brushed with more honey and lemon juice.. I used more honey than it called for, because it tasted better.. OMG this stuff was amazing for sure !! Well worth the effort!!

Easy solution for me, mine doesnt have any gaskets at the moment.. As soon as more is back in stock.. I shall own one!

Well, answered my own question, lit a load of lump with the BIG weed burner (250kbtu) then hit it with air.. closed lid, brought it to 600 and let it set about 30 min.. Then on lower sear grate, gave the filet 1 min on each side, then let it set on the flames with no lid to about 109 internal.. and pulled it.. Let it rest.. Perfection ! Yay!

No, it is clicks..

I am sure this is likely covered somewhere. But I haven’t seen it. I have had my KK for years, but only done steaks once. The rest low & slow etc.. When one is going to crank it up to the temperature of the sun, for a sear, I get that you light as much lump as possible..The question is, do you just leave the lid open and let it rip, or close it and open the damper on top way up? Or? What’s the preferred methodology ?

A friend of mine had a “pepper cannon” which I had seen, but wasn’t prepared to spend that much money on. Later I saw these which are way larger, heavier, and made of milled aluminum. They are also hexagonal in shape, making them easy to operate! The top caps have pushbuttons in the top to release for filling, and the bottoms have a cap with 6 spring loaded ball bearings that snap them into place. The two together weigh just over 3.5 lbs ! You can leave the caps on and grind into the cap if you want some for a recipe, or just let it rip on a steak or eggs, or ? Bought the pair on amazon for around 200.00 . They will be the last ones I can already tell.. I bought a set of beautiful wooden ones from someone on here years ago, from TX I think.. but alas ,,they fell apart.. Don’t see that happening here ! Also on Amazon, those pepper corns.. Hands down best I have ever had. 7.00 a cup, but worth it ! And plenty of adjustment for different grinds in the mills!

Well, it was interesting, but not all that and a bag 'o chips really.. I have been making one by hand, a modified version of "Old Mill" rub from one the rub books for a long time.. Tastes better to me. Has some exotic ingredients though, vinegar powder, soy sauce powder, Worcestershire sauce powder, and goodies like that . They still tasted great. But wasn't quite there with the rub. I have to admit..

Thanks gents ! In the past I am always started my smokes without any it's OK. So I lit the fire and put the product on and started out like that. Had a very pronounce smoke flavor that I like. But I've been trying to experiment with a different techniques people have used. So much appreciated:-)

Well, after my crappy first attempt at no draft controller.. Decided to try again, with ribs! So got a rack of baby backs, and slathered them up with mustard, and then used a commercial rub, which I never do lol... I used Meat Church's Holy Voodoo Rub... Lit plenty of lump this time, still no draft controller. Took it to 255 or so, and smoked for four hours, dumping a few small chunks of hickory on top of the charcoal before putting them on. The heat crept up along the way up to 285 or so. So was making small adjustments along the way. But I bet if you put an accurate thermometer in your kitchen oven, it would fluctuate more than that ! My electronic thermometer was bouncing all over, the Trutel was easier to deal with! Used a piece of foil over the bottom grate, and the drip pan on top of that. Came out looking good I think! Lifted in the middle with tongs and they were starting to bow over and tear. Wrapped in red paper, then foil x 2, then cling wrap, then a towel, for a two hour rest. Perfect texture and looked amazing. Would have preferred more smoke myself, and one of the KK smoke generators may be on the way! Also the rub wasn't too pronounced even though I used what I thought was a lot.. So maybe more next time Also found those porcelain dishes at an antique shop, and thought they would just fit a rack of ribs.. I was right ! Handy for popping in the fridge as it all comes up to speed !

I filled it, albeit with lump.. to there are some gaps.... Next time will over fill it !

Well, I have had a KK since 2007 I think.. bought a bbq guru back then, and yeas back bought the newer digital one.. I always put the product on in a cold freshly lit KK, and then brought it all up to temp and smoked away. Havent used it awhile and thinking of buying the smoke generator, which would take up my bbq guru port.. So thought, why not try a pork butt, after heat sinking it first. So decided to try 230 degrees f for 16 hours. Started it around 2 pm, and got It up to temp,, Had to light more charcoal as I didnt light enough the first time, no big deal. It was soon up to temp. Put the butt on and kept an eye on it, had to make some minor adjustments but was trying not to chase the monkey making too many adjustments. Things went well! Went to bed at 10pm, internal was 170, life good. Woke up at 6. Pit was 140, internal 190 (was shooting for 204 or so). No idea why the fire went out. .Had no time to redo it.. So pulled it, let it rest, shredded it, bagged it.. called it a day.. It was really dry. I have done stacks of these.. First time it was dry like that. Anyway took it to the small event, put it in a crockpot to reheat, ended up dumping a can of chicken broth in with it, and that brought it back to life. People were raving.. I wasn't LOL. No idea after that many hours of stability, what went wrong. So today was going to try with a rack of ribs. opened the KK and pulled the racks and the piece of foil I used as a deflector last cook. guess what? I ran out of charcoal ! LOL.. DUH! There is a reason your fire might die! LOL.. Lesson learned!

That is absolute perfection! I was going to say "well done" but.. well you know... Was just reading old posts but had to comment on that picture .. My mouth is watering!