jonj

Nice weather for a change so I decided to smoke some pork yesterday. Small (2 1/2 pound) shoulder and baby back ribs. Marinated overnight in Wicker's Marinade (local vinegar-based marinade), then on the smoker at 9:00 am, 225°F, plus hickory wood chunks (yes, I know it was a late start...). No rubs or other seasoning were used; just meat and marinade. Ribs added at 3:00 pm Shoulder wrapped after the stall (158°F) Ribs pulled at 7:30 and plated for dinner (the small bowl is sauce, not catsup). Not much smoke ring on the ribs but plenty in the flavor. Pulled the pork shoulder at 200°F (around 9:00 pm), foiled, toweled, and into cooler to rest. Took it out at around 10:00 for a small taste test, then into the refrigerator for today. I'm pretty sure this is my first smoked pork shoulder. I've always smoked pork loins or hams and used the shoulder for carnitas or chili verde. I grew up with sliced smoked pork, so have generally not been a big fan of pulled pork. The butcher paper worked well to absorb the excess fat from the shoulder. The taste test of this shoulder was very good, so I may have to reconsider the loin versus shoulder issue for the future, assuming the time difference works. However, I am still going to slice this one.

Has Avery got a West Coast brewery now? I’ve been to the Boulder, CO location every trip to Denver and never been disappointed.

My Trompo King came a few weeks ago. Looking forward to giving it a try!

When I bought both of mine, I chose from what Dennis had available in California. The wait time for custom colors was nothing like the wait is now (basically a few weeks for the build, then ship time). Once I decided a KK was in my future, I wanted that future to occur VERY quickly and that meant off the rack rather than bespoke. Never regretted my decisions for one minute.

Looks terrific!

Looking good, B!

... keep your hands and wallet where you can see them.

Yay, it's there! And a great color and tile choice!

I have one of the older Celestron NexStar 8s (silver tube model with computer handset). Used it a fair amount before neighbor A's tree grew and neighbor B's lighting system changed...

Yes!

Excellent color choice!

I'm watching for pictures and the Postman...

I had to look up "olive burger"...

Dennis will email you one (or a link) prior to your KK arriving. I've sent you a copy of mine, which is from 2016.

Thanks for the reminder of this recipe. I plan to give this a try once the weather gets better.

Getting close, BOC!

I think you will quickly notice the difference between how your new KK operates and your experience with other kamados. I suspect your concern with heat entrapment under the drip pan will eliminated once you use it. These really are superb units.

Looks great! You will definitely notice the difference.

@Tyrus got the call right on this one, unfortunately. Congrats

No question about it!

I too will be watching the game with interest, and of course rooting for my Chiefs and the Kid.

You raise an interesting concept: what is the actual temperature at which we are cooking? I don't use a BBQ Guru, but the issue of probe location and temperature is universal. Is the probe exposed to any radiant heat (outside the boundary of whatever heat deflector you choose)? Is the probe on the same plane vertically as the meat? The KK dome thermometer will generally read higher than a probe on the main grate, and may or may not match that of a probe on the upper grate, depending upon its location front to back. I'll have to leave it to the engineers of the group to determine the temperature effects of any eddy currents within the KK body and dome. All this you have already stated, so I'm not adding anything new except my practice. I locate the smoker probe (I use ThermoWorks) within an inch or two of the meat, isolated from any stray radiant heat from the fire below (Tony also insulates his probe from the conductivity of the metal grate but I don't bother). Once the KK temp is stable, I note the difference between the KK dome temp and the grate temp and, if they are within 25° degrees or so, call it good. I adjust the KK temperature according to the smoker probe, as it is nearest the meat. I am referring to a KK23, which is what I use for smoking. A KK32 or KK42, with their greater configuration variations in fire to meat location left to right, would likely be more complex. Incidentally, I suspect (and with no proof whatsoever) Franklin's pit temperature also varies as you note, left to right and upper to lower grates. One of the reasons I was initially interested in a Lang smoker (which @Tyrus has) is its design to have the smoke travel all the way to the non-fire side of the chamber before it comes back across the meat to the exhaust. I thought this was an excellent way to accomplish a number of positive things, one of which would be to stabilize the temperature. Since our high today is only 12°F, I wish I had some of your pork shoulder for the game later today.

Very cold weather coming in for the next 10 days. Decided to use last night's moderate temperature (1°C) to cook up this tri-tip. Santa Maria seasoning over duck fat. Plated with salad, roasted baby potatoes and baguette. Accompanied by 2007 Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon. I left it on the KK16 a couple of minutes too long, but it was still tasty.

Looking good!

It's time to cook!