Jon B.

My sister brings Iowa chops to Michigan in the summer..........they are big and delicious!!!!! Now if I can only learn to cook them like MacKenzie

What a GREAT idea for a party......bring your own topping!!!! Think I'll steal that idea this winter

Charles, I was moving grills last night and came across my "wiggle rod". Started thinking about your experiment and how it relates to long low & slow cooks in the KK versus my Primo's & Kamado Joe. The wiggle rod is a must have/use tool when I have done long cooks in the past on the Primo & KJ without temp. controllers. If I didn't knock the ash off the coals, using the wiggle rod thru the bottom air vent, the fire would die or the cooking temp drop drastically. Some members on the Primo site would actually lift their table and jolt it down to knock the ash off. And that was just on one long cook. You are 6 cooks into your experiment and still have not experienced an issue. You didn't come out and say it.....but this experiment would not have gone more than 2...maybe 3 cooks on another brand kamado. That great KK feature of having 100% air flow go through the charcoal!!!!!! Another wonderful, cost saving advantage of cooking on a KK......no "wiggle rods" I have a lot of money invested in this wiggle rod and now it is obsolete.........

Might be the simple answer to my "ash basket" experiment.......................

Jeff, Yes, We do get our fair share of snow.....I think we had about 10 feet last winter at work (just a little north of Syracuse). The interesting part is that most of it comes from the wind blowing over Lake Ontario....lake effect snow. I think we only had one real "storm" snow fall last winter. The saving grace in this area is that we have the equipment to handle the snow. I don't own a 4 wheel drive and have never had a problem getting to work. The snow can be a pain in this area....................but no hurricanes, no earthquakes, rare tornadoes, lots of fresh water! You just have to find things to do in the winter or find a warm tavern with lots of TV's!!!!. I have heard lots of good things about the Bangkok Thai Restaurant but have never been there........will check it out and report back.

Currently paying off my daughters wedding........hoping for next summer !

Ain't that the sad truth!!!!!

I blame this KK addiction on Bosco and MacKenzie...................so I named my first KK "Mac". My next one will be called "The Big Bosco"! Quick aside.............My sister named my Primo "The Big Black Turd" .......it didn't go over too big when I posted it on the Primo site during a naming discussion.

We just started getting a little bit of color in our trees. A couple of photos at the marina from yesterday.

Bosco, I believe she sold both of the Primo's. The last one was her JR. She sold it to one of the guys on the Primo site who lives in Halifax. He owns a brewery there and my guess she traded it for a 5 years supply of craft beer!!!!! Smart woman, that MacKenzie!!!!! PS - I assume you are back from your world travels. Lets make a plan get together soon and plan your trifecta!!!

Mackenzie........Little Miss Pebbles is going to love her new home!!! Looks like she has settled in quite nicely. That is one heck of a temporary stand....she is not going anywhere!! Also love the sign above her perch. So happy she finally arrived after the long journey across the ocean and Canada. Enjoy and have fun trying out all the extra Dennis goodies that you got with her. Too much fun!!!!!

ckreef is using a infrared drip plate from a gasser as drip plate over his coals. Here are a couple pictures of different ones. They really work well when using the rotisserie

Congratulations!!!!! Enjoy

He wanted some of Susan's taco ring remains.........must be a Guru forum member!!!!

I don't think "bugger" is strong enough....................................

Tony.......she is pretty crafty, that MacKenzie.....trying to throw us off with with that cut & paste story and sending pictures that look like my cooking (that picture was funny). I would weigh 400 lbs if I ate everything she cooked!!!!!!! In fact, I think I gain weight looking at her pictures MacKenzie....Your secret is safe..............please go back to your normal cut & paste!!!!!!!

Years ago she used to have this sewing light that she used to give her photos just the proper "warmth". Those pictures were fantastic. Recently I asked if she was still using it and she told me that she had this cheap all-in-one camera that took it's place. I didn't believe one word of it..................she has to be a professional chef with a state-of-art photography studio for a major food magazine/network. Come clean.................... MacKenzie

Jeff, The other major brands of ceramic cookers will do a good job for you ( I still own and cook on 2 of them), however my KK makes them look like just clay cooking pots. The substance and quality difference is amazing. After owning and cooking my KK........I wish I would have found out about them sooner. My money would have been better spent on two KK's upfront. Best of luck with your decision. Jon B.

Used the "smoke pipe bomb" the other night with peach wood on a nice tri-tip steak. Heated the grill up to 300* F. Put the pipe on top of the coals, installed the cooking grate & the meat. Again there was no smoke for about 15 minutes................compared to dutch oven pot that started smoking right away. When the smoke started, it was a nice clear colored smoke. It didn't last more than 10 -12 minutes but it was the right amount of smoke for the tri-tip. The black iron pipe showed no signs of manufacturing oils and burned clean. Actually started to show some rust on the threads. Not concerned at all about using it on a regular basis. I did stuff it full of wood chips, so it is definitely not something you would use if you wanted prolonged smoke during your cook. Is perfect for those quick cooks needed a hint of smoke. The tri-tip was pulled at 140*F IT and had a nice smokey touch. Had some cold left overs in a salad the next day where I could really taste the peach smoke. Still very good smoke flavor . Plan on using the smoke pipe a lot for the meats/cooks that don't require much smoke _ FYI Another Quick Aside...............when I'm standing at the grill while smoking meats, getting covered with and breathing the smoke, I have a hard time tasting the smoke flavor when eating the food. It isn't until I eat left overs the next day that I can really appreciate the added smoke goodness. Guess the grill smoke effects my taste buds in the short term.

That is one beautiful cooker and if it was available when I bought my 19" Table Top, I would have selected it instead!!!! I would have also purchased the stand with the table on the left hand side (like ckreef mentioned). Very nice combination Dennis!!!!

I did have to wack one of the pipe caps with a hammer to get it loose. The other one unscrewed easily. Hoping it was just the fresh seasoning??? Good idea on the cap & screwdriver!!!!!!

You don't mess around Aussie!!!! Nice grub!!!!!!

Syzygies post above started me thinking.................I was not totally happy with the size of the 1 qt. dutch oven pot in the 19" TT. A little too big for my liking. A light went on when he mentioned the "smoke bomb" . Started thinking about trying a "black iron" version of that smoking device. Thinking that black iron is a distant cousin to cast iron & carbon steel and that it may be able to be seasoned like the CI & carbon steel. So I picked up a 2" dia. x 5" long pipe nipple and end caps. Took them home, drilled the smoke holes, washed off the manufacturing oils in hot soapy water, baked them in the oven for an hour, rewashed them and then seasoned them just like I do with my CI & carbon steel pans. The pieces actually took the seasoning quite nicely. I stuffed the pipe with 6 pieces of cherry wood and assembled the end caps. This is what the pipe looks like in the 19" TT. What I like about it compared to the CI pot, is the overall size and that it will not cover as much of the lit lump charcoal. I lit the lump, waited until the KK was at 300*F and then placed the pipe on top of the lit lump. Put the grates in along with a sweet looking skirt steak to test out. Didn't get any smoke for about 20 minutes................which was much different from the dutch oven that started smoking right away???? When the smoke came it was similar in volume and color to the CI pot/oven. I didn't smell any "off" odors coming from pipe or seasoning. Here is what the pipe looked like after a 1 1/2 hour cook. Here is what the smoking woods looked like. There were a few "un-burnt" spots remaining. The smoke flavor on the skirt steak was very good. Did not taste any "off" flavors from the pipe (but if you don't hear from me again you know what happened). My fear was and remains that the manufacturing oils may continue to weep out of the metal, however I didn't see or taste any signs. Need to research how they manufacture black iron to see how different it is from cast iron. Assuming I don't grow another head or start twitching uncontrollably................................. It was another fun KK project! Now lets see.....$30 invested in the dutch oven/shipping and $17 in the pipe & caps.......probably should have taken that $47 dollars and put it towards the purchase of Dennis's cold smoker & free air pump . Nah....too much fun!!!!!! A quick aside.........when I was at the hardware store, essentially buying the components for a pipe bomb, without thinking.........I also picked up a large package of razor blades & some nut & bolts hardware for work. When I got to the check out counter and looked at all the items, I thought...........holy crap, they are going to think I''m a terrorist and call the police. Luckily the cashier knew me and just smiled politely. PS - I did take the Mapp torch to the plated bolt holding the cast iron oven together, to try to burn off any of the plating before the first test. Hopefully that will buy me a little extra time to enjoy the KK.

Look what showed up yesterday.......just in time for a low & slow roast cook. Decided to try using a bolt to hold the lid on this 1 qt pot instead of flour paste or foil. Chopped off the handle on the top. Drilled the holes for smoke and the bolt. The only bolt I had was too long but put some spacers on for the maiden voyage. Washed the excess oil off the pot and got it ready for the cook. Here is a picture of it sitting in the 19" TT. Was interested in seeing if the bolt would hold the lid on tight enough to keep the wood from turning to ash. The bolt method appears to have worked. I lit the lump and let it get a decent head of steam before placing the pot directly on top of the fire. Got smoke right away. At first the color of the smoke didn't look much different from smoking wood directly on the coals but it did start to become "blueish" after about 30 minutes. I really can't comment on the flavor of the smoke on the meat. I didn't realize the 5 pound rib eye roast was still frozen until I pushed in the temp probe. 28*F internal......Crapola!!!! By then it was too late, so I proceeded to try and cook it. Kept the dome temp at 250* and the roast took 2 hours for the internal temp to start to rise. After three hours, I pulled it with an internal temp of 120*. Hate to think what temp the outer layer of meat was (too sacred to check it). Needless to say it wasn't the most uniformly cooked hunk of beef that ever came from a KK!!!!!! Will judge the smoke quality on the next cook. Fun little test run. I'm thinking the bolt concept will work just fine.

HalfSmoke....great post!!! Thanks.