LarryR

SO will more than likely be out of town so it's just my 8 yo son so we'll probably be going light this 4th weekend; spares, tri-tip and probably some butts over the span of the long weekend. I'd like to find some beef cheek and do barbacoa but might be hard to find.

I tied the rope used to tie the KK down in transit to each leg and my SO's son and I each took two legs and lifted her off.

Got a 10 lb Wagyu brisket on. Went with the coffee cardamom rub over pecan at 210. Haven't decided if I'll foil at 165 or not. More pictures HERE. If you're into Twitter you can also follow the cook under stoker_ace on Twitter. More comments to come . . . 6 Hours in OK, you ready for some good food porn? The brisket slices are NOT brushed with any kind of finishing sauce, the sucker is just that moist

Made and assumption . . . Doc, very good point, I made an ass-umption it was a pork loin or a lean pork roast like I get locally here. What cut specifically?

If memory serves me correctly I pull my pork loins around 125 - 130 and then rest and allow internal temp to come-up another 10 or so degrees. 195 would be for much fattier cuts of pork like a shoulder or picnic. Due to a loin being such a lean piece of meat I personally see no real benefit of cooking low and slow so i do mine around 350 dome temp. Hope this helps.

Pre-Cooked Yes pre-cooked taters. I used a method similar to THESE. However I went with my standard version of mashed potatoes with the addition of 1 string cheese and about 1/2 cup of grated cheddar. Next time I'll either make fewer potatoes or use a smaller piece of salmon so the potatoes won't be stacked so high. Also, this was a last minute addition to my cook so I had to rapidly cool my potatoes in the freezer vs. allowing them to sit in the fridge overnight. I assume they would have kept their form vs. spreading out as much as they did. Total cooking time was about 30 min between 375 - 400.

First time trying mashed potatoes on a plank, everyone loved them. Will definitely do them again.

Ordered a Wagyu Brisket Ordered a Wagyu brisket from my butcher for next weekend and hopefully I won't F this cook-up. From the advice I've been given and what I've read she'll be done at a lower temp and I should cook her at a lower temp, 210 - 225 is what I'm reading. Should be a fun (but nerve-racking) cook I'm sure. I'll be sure to post my results.

KKing is a Lifestyle Couldn't agree with the Doc more. Every cook on Heista is an event for me. Even if it's going to be a real quick steak cook I'll light her with a couple of lit briquettes and let her warm up over the next hour or two. Enjoy a few cocktails, some good tunes, a cigar; KKing is a lifestyle for me not just cooking a meal. In-fact it's a bachelor weekend for me so I'll have all evening tonight and tomorrow night to hangout on the patio with Hestia, grill, smoking and enjoying some adult beverages, perfect weekend ahead. And congrats on your new cooker, looking forward to seeing pictures of her set and in action.

Getting action from your pictures Hephaestus, I like your photos, each time I click on them I get a pop-up from some gal who lives in my area that's horny and wants to talk to me. I've never gotten this much action in my life

We were in The City yesterday for The Battle of The Bay Giants vs. A's (we/Giants won by the way, great game) as we were walking down the Embarcadero after a great lunch I had the opportunity to explain to my son (8 yo) that things are done just a little differently in the city by the bay. He had a pretty good laugh out of the whole thing, 8 yo boy humor is awesome and I've got to admit I still have a little of that in me. He's got what he feels is a great story for his buddies. I just hope he doesn't organize a neighborhood version of this. My SO snapped this photo BATTLE OF THE BAY Turns out yesterday was World Naked Bike Ride Day, who knew. I figure there were about 200 riders pedaling leisurely by us. Unfortunately, it seems like the San Francisco chapter of this ride had a high percentage of "dudes" participating

Avatar Beautiful cooker and welcome! I like your avatar, I named my cooker Hestia, thinking maybe I should change my avatar, hmmm

Did three more steaks tonight I did this again this evening for the SO and my 8 yo son. Didn't tell SO what I was doing and she commented that his was the second best steak I'd cooked her. Didn't tell her until after the cook how I'd prepared the steaks and she remembered seeing this on a cooking program and being skeptical. I salted for 50 minutes and that seemed to be perfect. All the steaks were about 24 oz Harris Ranch Choice bone in rib eyes. Threw them on the KK for 3 minutes each side on the sear grate at 550 dome and they were perfectly med-rare. Having a great time with this method.

To quote John Winger (Stripes), "I want to party with you, cowboy." Sounds like there are some great stories here . . .

Welcome Welcome Screaming, pulled the trigger on my KK about 3 months ago and I can tell you everything you say regarding quality and customer service is true. Dennis even called me the evening my KK arrived just to make sure I was happy. How many company presidents will do that and from 1/2 around the world? Like you, I had many questions regarding the KK and the members of this forum couldn't have been more helpful. Dennis too, we had a couple of early morning (Dennis' time) calls during my decision making process. Look forward to your participation on the forum and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have from a new KK owners perspective.

Jason glad I could introduce something different. I'm like you, don't run across much new that often, but this one's a winner in my book! Doing bone-in rib eyes tonight and I'm going to use this method again, however this time I'm going to shoot for a salt period closer to 50 min.

That is so cool!

Did my first KK brisket this weekend and really need to do them more often, turned out great. I didn't get her on until 10:00 a.m. and wanted to eat around 7:00 p.m. so I had to foil her when she hit 165 to speed-up the cook and was right on time for dinner. She was a small packer, one of the smallest I've ever seen, 7 lb CAB brisket. Used a Coffee Cardamon rub, used a mixture of leftover lump and a couple pounds of Rancher briquettes. Moist, tender, packed with that big beefy flavor with a nice caramel and chocolate flavor from the wet rub. Used peach chunks for my smoke. Used my Stoker which kept her pegged at 240 grate the entire cook. Brisket on At 165 At 165 Close-up Done around 200 Sliced Very short Stoker cook

Moot oint today but I appreciate the input and will use it Well, went to pick-up my brisket and my butcher didn't have the one I called in on and asked to have set aside for me. Ended-up having to go with the largest size he had 7 lbs, LOL, it's a packer too, funny, it's a little tiny packer. I'll post pictures later. My other option was a beautiful 15 lb Kobe Beef packer ($75 not a bad price at all) if we were having guests I would have bought it but it's just the SO, myself and our 8 yo son. That's a lot of brisket just for the 2.5 of us. I ended-up going with the left over lump that was in the basket and topped it off w/Rancher since it's probably going to be about a 10 hour cook.

Great pictures! I know the longer than planned on drill well. Remember if you're ever in a pinch for time briskets do very well at high heat. In-fact I know many guys who prefer it to low and slow.

I'm rationing I'm rationing the 7 boxes of ECC I have left and only using it for long low and slow cooks so I'm trying to dial in an amount without having much unburned leftover. So I guess I'm trying to make a calculated guess as to how much I'll use. If I do run out of fuel at the end of the cook it's pretty easy to roll a handful or two of Rancher briquettes down through the front opening of the upper grate so I'm not overly concerned with having to add a little fuel at the end of the cook. Thanks for everyone's input and I'll report back what the magic amount is As a side note I did buy 30 bags (540 lbs) of Rancher yesterday so I'm pretty well stocked on that.

Salsa Negro One of my favorites, in fact I just might have to make tonight since I'll have hot coals from our steaks going . Great smokey flavor in this salsa. Goes great on eggs too. Salsa Negro 4 roma tomatoes 1 red pepper 1 med red onion 1 or 2 jalapeno (depending on desired heat) Juice from one lime 2 cloves garlic minced ½ to 1 bunch of cilantro chopped Salt to taste On a grill or cast iron skillet char all vegetables Place charred veggies, garlic and lime juice in food processor and blend to desired consistency. Add cilantro and pulse cycle to blend in to salsa. Flavors meld nicely after 24 hours in the fridge Note for additional heat ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper can be added

NICE!! Dennis, having done several of the Wagyu Tris I can tell you you're in for a treat. They're out of this world, an out of this world cut/grade on an out of this world cooker. Hope you're drinking something nice with it