billg71

Yeah, finishing is the hardest part. getting to 95% complete is easy, it's that last 5% that drives you to drink. All the minor details that you put off in the build come back to bite you in the nether regions at the end. But those minor details make the difference between an OK job and a great job.

Oh, I loves me some Bison ribs! I have them at the Gun Barrel in Jackson, WY every time I go out there! Nice cook, thanks for posting!

In that case I loves me some "meat and bean stew" seasoned with a combination of dried chili peppers! So for simplicity's sake I'll continue to call it chili. Whatever floats your boat.

So after the longest, hottest, driest Summer and Fall I've experienced here in the Atlanta area it has finally rained and turned cold. So it's time to cook up a pot of chili! The recipe is nothing fancy, just Carroll Shelby's mix and his basic recipe with a couple of additions. Ingredients: 2 lb. ground beef 1 4 oz. can of tomato sauce(I use unsalted) 1 packet of Carroll Shelby's chili seasoning salt and cayenne pepper(included in the mix box) to taste. I add a jar of Neumann's Medium Salsa, pureed a few seconds in the blender to eliminate the chunks. YMMV on the puree but I think the salsa throws in an extra twist to the basic recipe. I also add in a can of Bush's low-sodium Red Kidney beans, rinsed well. These are optional, I know chili purists don't put beans in their chili but I like them. Whatever floats your boat. I usually use a mix of 1-1/2 lb ground beef and a half-pound of country sausage or ground pork but I didn't have either so I went with the recommended 2 lb of ground beef(85/15) for this cook. Methodology: Brown the ground beef in a large skillet(I only do 1 lb. at a time) and place the cooked beef on several layers of paper towels to drain. I don't like big chunks of ground beef in my chile so I pay attention during this phase and break up the chunks with a spatula. But that's just me, if you like chunks go for it. While the beef is browning, puree the salsa(if you wish) and put it in a large pot to start heating over medium-low heat. Then add the tomato sauce, chili seasoning, salt, pepper, and 1 salsa jar of water. Let this come up to a slow boil while you're browning the beef, as soon as the first pound of beef has browned and drained, throw it in. Follow with the second pound of beef when it's cooked and drained. At this point your chili will be pretty thick, you'll want to simmer it for a couple hours to integrate the flavors so you'll need to add another jar or so of water. Now's the time to add the beans after rinsing them well in a colander or strainer. Once the chili has come back up to a slow boil drop the heat to a simmer, cover with the lid open just a bit and stir every 10-15 minutes for at least an hour or until you reach desired consistency. The longer you simmer the more the flavors develop so I usually go for 2 hours. All's well as ends well, first pot of the season came out great! Now I just have to put the leftovers away and clean the pot. Best, Bill

A roof over the patio is definitely on the list of home improvements for next year! But it'll have to be after I finish all the little things still to do from this year's projects...

We need the rain anyway:

A couple of weeks ago my daughter called and asked what I was doing today and could I take a couple of hours off this afternoon for a surprise? I thought it would be for something like graduating from her Master's program or maybe she was getting married or(hopefully) helping her move out of the house into her own place. So I said sure, I'd be happy to. Then I find out my surprise was a ticket to a book signing by Bruce Springsteen at a local bookstore. I'm a long-time fan, it isn't something I'd go out of my way for but I'm now committed. I run a small business so I busted ass yesterday to get my people paid and called in some favors so I could put enough money in the bank to cover the checks. The event was scheduled from 12:00 - 2:00 and they were running shuttle buses starting at 8:30 AM. I'm not a big fan of standing in line for hours so I figured if I got there around 1:00 or so I'd be good. So I show up at the location around 1:00, find a local place to park, go into the Starbucks next door and get my Nicaragua Clover. I hit the line abut 1:15, line is moving fast and there aren't a lot of folks behind me. About 45 minutes later it's my turn: I step onto a low platform, Bruce says "How are you?", puts his hand on my shoulder and the employee that took my iPhone 15 seconds before takes a pic. 5 seconds later it's over and done, I pick up my pre-signed book on the way out and that's it, I'm out the door. Never got a chance to tell him my favorite song was "Racing in the Streets" or that while I liked "Born to Run" my favorite albums were "Nebraska" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" or anything like that. Just "I'm Here, You're Here, We're Done". Didn't even get a "have a nice day" in parting. But I did get my 5 seconds of fame and a crappy iPhone photo to commemorate the moment. I'd post it but it seems my iPhone and Yahoo Mail aren't on speaking terms at the moment.... Wait a minute, it looks like they kissed and made up, here's the pic. All in all, it was a good day. Just not what I expected from a "book signing" event at all. Hope all of you had a nice Friday or whatever day it is wherever you are. Bill

Charles, Where is this Buffalo Ranch?

That's cool! I was hoping to get a shot of one in the Badlands when I was there but didn't see one. They live in abandoned prairie dog and ground squirrel burrows. Congrats on the pic!

Sorry, didn't realize you were going that far. I was looking at your picture and thought you were going to the area below and to the left of the garage. And the roof would definitely be a problem! Good luck and post some pictures! Best, Bill

I think you should just hire a crane and be done with it. Trying to manhandle that cooker down those grades and stairs will be time consuming and physically challenging, to put it mildly. Spend another $500-750 or whatever a minimum charge is for a small crane and operator where you live, he'll set the whole crate where you want it in 15 minutes after it gets off the truck. No fuss, no muss, no taking things apart, nobody gets hurt. No additional labor needed. Or you can spend a whole day futzing around with taking things apart, putting them back together and McGuyvering. Your choice. In your situation, I'd go for the crane. YMMV.

Yeah, what @tony b said. Wet wood doesn't smoke until the water boils off and it reaches temp.

@ckreef, that would be White Oak Farms, right? Will's a great guy, really believes in what he does. I chatted with him a while back when he was cooking hamburgers at the local Whole Foods and he impressed me with his commitment to humanely raised proteins. I get a lot of his meat, it's great. Sign up for their newsletter, they occasionally have some great deals. I have 7 of their chickens in the freezer from the last sale. Best, Bill

Sounds like Alton Brown's recipe for mashed potatoes minus the cheese and using whole milk instead of half-n-half. And minus the sous vide, of course. I'm definitely going to try this, thanks! Bill

Welcome to the Real Meat Club, Mac! Trust me on this, there's nothing you can buy in a grocery or Big Box store that will excite the taste buds like a heritage pig that's been pasture raised. Mother Nature has forgotten more about raising pigs than Smithfields can ever hope to know.

"All's well as ends well" is the old saying and it looks like your chops definitely ended well! Congrats, Mac!

That looks good! Do you know SRF has a buy one, get one promotion on certain cuts? I just ordered two briskets but I'm splitting it with my best friend.

Thanks for the coupon code Tony, but I've already ordered and paid for the Joule and I think one will be enough for now. Don't you just love these companies that will take your money today and promise to ship you your order in "4-6 weeks"? I like your suggestion for fried chicken but if I do it better than SWMBO I'd be looking for a place to sleep. I may try to sneak it in regardless, wish me luck. Grilled chicken breasts are a no-brainer, I'm sure she'd like one that wasn't chicken jerky. Thanks to all for their input, I'm now looking forward to heating up my hot tub. I'm not sure I'll be dunking any briskets or butts in it but it does seem it has some very good applications. Best, Bill

Thanks all, I'm starting to see where it could be a nice tool for certain that are difficult to grill without drying out and, of course, veggies. I'm definitely going to have to try it on chicken breasts, those things turn into jerky 5 minutes after I put them on the grill! And I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that doesn't see a use for it when barbecuing large proteins. Best, Bill

My apologies to Shakespeare but it just seemed to fit. I have a Joule circulator on order and I'm looking forward to learning how to use it so I'm not exactly an impartial observer. I can see using it for steaks and veggies but I just can't seem to get my head wrapped around its use for traditional smoked barbecue. After thinking about it I have to say I don't see any real advantage in taking several hours to bring a steak up to 115 so I can sear it on the grill to medium-rare versus the 30 minutes it would take to just reverse-sear it on the grill I have to fire up anyway. Am I missing something? I'm reading on sites where people are talking about using sous vide to cook briskets and pork butts anywhere from 24-72 hours either before or after smoking. I just don't see the point. If I have to smoke the meat anyway then why would I spend an extra day or three in the process? It seems to me sous vide is targeted for the commercial restaurant where proteins can be brought up to just below normal serving temp and held there safely until an order is placed, then quickly finished and served. Please tell me why I haven't spent $200 for something I'll use once and toss in a drawer because it's a PITA to use. I have enough of those already. Thanks, Bill

That is such good news, here's to a speedy recovery! Best , Bill

Charles I totally agree, it definitely ain't rocket science. But common sense isn't as common as it used to be and I'd have to say the average homeowner just assumes his deck will hold whatever he can fit on it. And he wouldn't know a 4x4 if you hit him with one. I've seen too many decks(and floors, and roofs) overloaded after the customer has moved in to think otherwise. I may be a little cautious but liability insurance is a major expense for the business, if I don't absolutely know and have a code or calcs to demonstrate something I built will safely support something the customer wants then I have to refer them to a structural engineer. Knowing something will work and proving it in court are two very different things. And that goes for you as well: if your cinder blocks and 4x4s fail and your neighbor falls down and sues you, your HO insurance is going to throw you under the bus. It's sad that we've come to making decisions on who might sue us and how we're covered but it's where we are and we have to live with it. I just want to make folks aware that you can't just haul one of these cookers up on the deck and expect it to stay there forever. Best, Bill

And I don't mean 4 or 5 of your buddies or a fork lift and a case of beer, you really, really need to get a structural engineer to evaluate whether your deck can support it safely. It all boils down to gravity. You know, the force that keeps our feet on the ground and makes launching a satellite expensive. Your deck is designed to resist a reasonable amount of gravity, enough to keep you and your neighbors suspended above ground without crashing through it and being injured. IT IS NOT DESIGNED AND BUILT TO SUPPORT SEVERAL HUNDRED POUNDS OF WEIGHT IN A SMALL SPACE! And if there's one thing a KK cooker is it's several hundred pounds of weight in a small space. Deck design and how it's supported has varied over the years , we've all seen the news where the deck fell off the house and people got hurt. If your deck was built more that 15 years ago you're in the Wild Wild West era and I wouldn't put anything heavier than a lawn chair on it. Building codes began to address this and have increasingly mandated deck construction methods and design to the point that today any new house will have a deck that you can pack shoulder-to-shoulder at a party and have confidence you'll all survive the evening. But the codes don't address excessive loads like a KK weighing 500 lb. or more in a fixed location would be. That's where the structural engineer comes in. I have to get a little techie here, we're talking about weight and the ability of a structure to keep it where you put it after all. Deck codes require a deck to support a minimum of 40 pounds/square foot of live load(think of a 160 lb. person packed into a 2'x2' square that follows them as they move around and fill your deck with those people). Big party, right? But everyone has a good time and gets to take their chances driving home. Now let's look at what the deck is made of and the stuff that sits on it, that's called dead load. Codes require decks to support 10 pounds/square foot of dead load. That's enough for the deck materials and a reasonable amount of chairs, tables, etc.. What happens when you place a 23" KK on that deck? The footprint of a 23 is 23.5" x 30", now you've got 550 lb of weight concentrated in a space that 2-1/2 people would occupy for a short time. Less space than that since the casters are recessed. And the cooker isn't walking around, once you get it there it's there. Do some arithmetic: your deck which is designed to support 10 lb/sft of dead weight is now supporting 110 lb/sft. That's more than an order of magnitude greater than design. This is Not A Good Thing. Looking at the BB32 you're increasing the load to 118 lb/sft. There are no dimensions available for the SBB42 but I'd expect a greater increase, maybe somewhere around 130+ lb/sft. OK, techie hat off: What it all boils down to is that it isn't safe to put any of these cookers on any deck that hasn't been engineered for the weight and location of the cooker. You might get lucky and just experience some sagging in the first few years but eventually there will be a structural failure(we all fall down). As I said, that's Not A Good Thing. I've made my living building houses and decks for the last 25 years, never had one fall down. I use software to design beams, I work with suppliers on load calcs and I'm pretty good at what I do. I wouldn't put my 22" Supreme on my deck without an engineered design. "Do you feel lucky, punk?" I don't. Please get some professional advice before you plunk that new KK in the middle of your deck. FWIW, Bill

@fotondrv, I strongly suggest you get a structural engineer to evaluate your deck construction before parking that 32 BB on it. Decks just aren't designed to support loads like that and you could be looking at (best case) a gradual failure. Worst case is the deck collapses with no warning. And that firepit is already beyond design load unless there's posts and beams under it. I frame houses and decks for a living, I've been in residential construction for 25 years and there's no way I would advise any of my customers to put a thousand-pound load on a deck unless it was specifically designed for it. I don't mean to rain on your parade but Mother Nature is a bitch and gravity is one of the tools she uses to get our attention. Best, Bill

Well, DUH! Should'a thought of that, no latch in the previous pics. Nice job, Dennis!