jonj

Very nice!

What a wonderful bunch of cooks, @tekobo!

Happy Birthday, Bruce!

I've used my smaller grate only once in 7 years, but I have one of the earlier 16s with the flatter top. I assumed the smaller grate would be of more use with the current Hi-Tops.

@tekobo, after I saw your picture of the lamb chops on those clean grates, I had to go out and apologize to my own (shamefully neglected) 16KK. I've spend half today cleaning its and the 23's grates and will finish up tomorrow. And yes, they were in pretty bad shape from the winter but much, much better now.  

Excellent dinner and location for the KK!

@tony b, I actually intended to roast potatoes with the chicken but 1) I foolishly got the oven temp up to 550°C and had to wait over an hour to let it reduce to 400°C (which was still 200° hotter than I wanted) and at that temperature, the thighs took less than 20 minutes to cook and 2) I had some leftover linguine + pesto from the night before and decided to use it for the starch instead. But, yes, the pan would do great for roasting potatoes, etc. It is about 12 gauge steel so isn't going to flex or buck in the heat.

I tried out my new wood oven accessory (Alfa BBQ500) on some chicken thighs yesterday: a round, rotating grill on a stand above a metal tray for drippings or to add coals below. I cooked them too hot (because I was excited and got the fire way beyond necessary) but, with some judicious management, they came out fine. Just a new toy. It worked very well, especially since the fire was 200°C above where I intended...

[And yes, these mutant monsters are actually thighs, not breasts! Of the six I cooked (we ate two), only one was "regular" sized - upper left.]

Mine does not have the new threaded ports.

@Poochie, make careful note of how small @tekobo cut up the half block before putting it into the blender. It is hard to turn it into a sauce, but well worth the effort.

@PaulJ, if your ThermoWorks probe wire is 2mm (0.079"), it is larger than that of current ThermoWorks (0.065"). 

@PaulJ, I saw your post this morning (before full coffee awareness obtained), so I measured my 2016 KK23 probe port, plug, and a typical, current Thermoworks probe wire: 

KK Probe Port, Internal Diameter = 0.548"   

KK Probe Port Plug, Outside Diameter (near lip) = 0.551"

ThermoWorks Probe Wire (current version) Outside Diameter = 0.065"

I hope this helps. It seems to me your port internal diameter may be somewhat smaller than mine, especially if your port plug won't fit into it flush against the tiles. Also, I know ThermoWorks has reduced the outside diameter of their probes over the years, as I have some old probes which are a bit larger than the current versions (won't fit the modern clip holders).

Jon

@PaulJ, I still use (and am happy with) the Signals/Billows combination when I have a long cook requiring low temperature control. It is not a gimmick, but a useful tool, at least for me. For short (6 hours or less, plus or minus) cooks like ribs, I just use the inherent stability of the KK and don't bother with the Billows. For brisket or pork shoulder, the Billows is always in use.

As @Dono, @MacKenzie, and @tony b have already noted, there is no problem getting three food probes and one pit probe through the access hole, then opening the rubber plug to encompass the cables and inserting it into the access hole. You can carefully bend the right angle probes to about 60° to easily go through the hole, or just use straight probes. 

I did buy the ThermoWorks power bank to use with the Billows when it became available so I don't have to run an extension cable out to the KK.

On this Forum, the correct answer to the question of “which option” is always “both”!

Welcome to the group, Bill. 

Friday night and the NFL Draft is in Kansas City. Time for Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Aioli.

@Troble, I used olive oil spray followed by Gate's Hot-N-Spicy dry rub (Kansas City BBQ joint). I didn't have time for my normal routine as I bought the ribs at 1:00 and they were on the smoke (hickory) at 2:10. 

Last weekend, some friends came to town for a birthday party and some music. The birthday girl wanted some baby back ribs from one of the local high-end BBQ places. This weekend, I made these. Much better, even if I say so myself.

Joining in with thanks for the amazing pictures of the food and art, @Troble! What a terrific trip!

new cooker???

Yay! Seems fixed!

Same here on Safari.

2 hours ago, tekobo said:

Same time next year?

It's a date!

@Troble, @tekobo and I have already communicated and (I think) we're all good. 

(And yes, happy with the outcome)

I made chili with the sirloin steak I had grilled the day before in a last-minute decision. Mostly just to have something to do while waiting for the game to start. Only a finished picture this time.