jonj

Pizza again. Typical kitchen sink style, 500° KK dome, 485° baking steel, 6 - 6.5 minutes. Per previous comment, note deflector(!) in use under the baking steel on upper grate.

My main use of the deflector is on the main grate under a baking steel on the upper rack. I use it to keep the crust and toppings of a pizza on the same cooking timeline. Using it tonight, in fact. However, the double bottom drip pan will do the same thing.

Very nice!

We started the day with Eggs Benedict (non-KK) and Mimosas, after which I decided to cook some baby back ribs for dinner. Usually I marinate the ribs overnight in Wicker's Marinade, but as this was a late decision, I used Gate's Hot & Spicy dry rub with a duck fat binder. I smoked the ribs (and later, beans) at 225°F for 5 1/2 hours (no wrap), with the temp rising to 247° at the last 30 minutes. It was a windy day and I opened the dome several times at the end adding the beans, probing the ribs for temp, etc. so had some temperature rise at the end. Also had the last of the farmers' market tomatoes and cole slaw, accompanied by a 2010 DuMOL Ryan Pinot Noir. Finished (after a bit of a rest) with still warm cherry pie made by Jackie. All in all, a pretty good day. Lewis Hamilton won his 100th F1 race in the morning, so yay! The Chiefs beat themselves with four turnovers against the Chargers in the afternoon, so boo! However, the food was good, the wine was superior, and the day was beautiful.

I decided to smoke some baby back ribs yesterday and took the opportunity to try out the Billows Battery Bank. I didn't need the Billows fan or Signals control for temperature maintenance on the KK23 for this cook, but tried it out just to see how it worked. The battery pack came fully charged, with all four led charge indicators fully illuminated. My Signals unit hadn't been used for a few months so its charge level was undetermined. Hookup of the system was simple, substituting the battery pack for the wall wart power adapter on the cable. I had already had the KK heat sunk and at the 225°F temperature when I decided to try the new device, so the fan didn't have much to do initially. The battery pack has an on/off button on the top which allows the unit to discharge power to the fan (which I missed for a few seconds after hooking everything up - once pushed, the fan started right up). The ribs were a 5 1/2 hour cook to temperature and the Signals unit also was fully charged by the battery pack during the cook. All four charge leds were still illuminated after the cook so the unit didn't discharge much during the process. I don't know about the full capacity of the battery pack, said to be able to run the fan for 24 hours in the product information, but from this brief cook I have no reason to doubt it at this point. (sharp observers will note the KK temperature has crept up to 247° versus the 225° set temp. It was a windy day and even with the dampers shut down, the fire gained a few degrees at the tail end of the cook. No harm, no foul.)

Beautiful locations and stunning food! Thanks for sharing

I ordered the Billows battery pack when I first saw the announcement and received it a few days ago. Very substantial and came with a full charge already. I haven't tried it yet but will get around to it the next time I cook brisket overnight.

@Troble, I think you and I have the same idea of how to spend a birthday. Mine is Sunday and I am super jealous of your current trip... Best wishes for a happy birthday (but I think you already have it covered)!

Steak, potato, and last corn for Chiefs-Ravens football game last night. Steak was great, corn was last of season and so-so. Game didn't end well for my team (Chiefs); wine was great (2004 Shafer Hillside Select cabernet).

His original post indicated it was used when he got it and it had spent some time in the rain. I suspect it has accumulated some moisture prior to his ownership and the 500° burn was acting like a burn-in. It might be a good idea to actually do a burn-in with a little higher temp to be sure the excess moisture is out.

Doesn't say the haddock was actually eaten... but it does look pretty tasty.

Yum, sausage...

We had a few friends over for the weekend and I finally made @Troble Tacos de Adobada. They were terrific! Served with mango-coconut rice with Jamaican curry, Schramsberg sparkling wine, and flan for dessert. Very well received by all. Thanks again to TR for the recipe and care package! I used a 9.4 lb pork shoulder, which just barely fit on the Trompo King, but was perfect for the amount of marinade. LOTS of leftovers. I added the deflector stone under the double drip pan about 2/3 through the cook to reduce the direct heat on the bottom since on the KK23 I had to use the lower grate for the vertical stack to fit under the dome. Very, very happy with this recipe.

@Syzygies, I have been thinking about this off and on since Dennis announced the availability of dedicated smoker port retrofit parts. I've held off buying them as I wanted to be sure when I did, I got the benefit of any subsequent Dennis improvements (such as the interior retention nut, face plate locking wing nuts, bracket, straight smoker discharge tube, etc). Like you, I have given some thought to how I might carefully install the new port and sleeve once I got them. For what it's worth, here is my plan (Word document) of attack for this so far (which includes how a backer board could used in the process), absent the actual parts and updated instructions from Dennis when I actually order and receive them. So, basically a thought exercise... KK Smoker Port Installation Plan.docx I would be interested in any improvements to, or critiques of, this. I do woodworking as a hobby and have found developing a work plan / checklist well in advance can help with a successful outcome. Kind of the extension of the "measure twice, cut once" philosophy.

And our early congratulations to you and @Sharky as well! Best wishes for a great weekend!

Jerk Pork last night to celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary. Pork tenderloin with Carib Dry Jerk rub grilled with pimento smoke wood, rice & peas cooked in coconut milk, and fresh corn from the cob, served with 2011 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon. Followed by grilled peaches and vanilla bean ice cream, with a 2008 Merry Edwards Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc.

Welcome! The grill and the new platform look great!

JD is what I have using lately.

@tony b what is the mesh size you’re using for the charcoal?

@tony bI plan to go by Mad Fritz while we are here. I’ve known Nile for years when he was still a homebrewer (former winemaker of Barnett and now at David Arthur, plus his own label). A great and adventurous brewer. @Troble, I checked out Freeman; looks terrific. They were booked up today as we went through RRV (in Calistoga now), but may take a trip back over to catch them if I can work it out. Thanks to you both for the tips. (Apologies for the non-food content although, if I remember correctly, wine and beer constitute 2 of the 7 categories on the food pyramid)

@tony b we haven’t yet made to the Russian River but today for lunch I had fish & chips at the Fishetarian in Bodega Bay. Accompanied it with a Pliny The Elder. Pretty tasty brew and excellent fish & chips. I see why you and @Troble like it. Headed to Calistoga tomorrow.

Terrific looking pizza!

I was hungry for ribeye and caesar salad, so this was tonight's dinner. Ribeyes were trimmed and fixed up with duck fat and Montreal seasoning. Pulled at 130°. Very tasty with salad, potato, and a 2005 Barnett Cyrus Ryan Cabernet Sauvignon.

I generally only wear gloves (nitrile) when working with chilies. Frequent hand washing for everything else.

@Troble, I just finished dinner but I'm sure I could squeeze in a couple of slices and some salad if it was in front of me! Yum!