BARDSLJR

Will do. I was going to do them tomorrow but it looks like the weather is bad Thursday-Friday so , since I want to do the sanding outside, will probably post sometime later this summer.

I could post pictures of the duck/andouille gumbo I am doing later this week, but I do not think it would be as impressive.....thank you, Lafayette, Louisiana.

One could do that, and I love vegetables, too, but somehow I think showing up with a plate of smoked, grilled eggplant (yum!) would not have the same salutory effect.

I usually use apple, or a combination of fruitwoods- apple, cherry and pecan being the most frequent. And yes, I am a big fan of Meathead and have read his book cover to cover. I love the fact that he uses real science to demystify, and demythologize, so much of what passes for accepted fact in the food and barbecue world.

Yup, I know that, thanks. Glad you approve.....

That's a great insight, and makes sense, since we know the meat stops absorbing smoke when the surface temperature reaches 135*.....and wife says maybe if I went with a lighter application of rub (usually Dizzy Pig's Dizzy Dust, which I apply liberally and let it soak in and dry-marinate the meat) maybe they meat would absorb more of the smoke. So we'll be trying that next time, too.

No, that's good insight. It somehow also explains why I am not getting as much smoke flavor as I think I ought to for cooks like the babyback ribs. Less air coming through means less turbulence passing over the surface the meat, ergo, less penetration of the smoke. Hmmmm....maybe I will start experimenting with the type of wood or the blends of woods that I might be using. Typically, I am doing pork ribs, so I use a fruitwood, mostly apple. Sometimes cherry, sometimes both. Maybe I will start moving more towards oak and pecan, which are both, to my taste, heavier smoke tasting. Maybe hickory?

I have heard before that many members do not feel that they need to keep the humidity up, and certainly the big professional cookers in places around Austin, who make some really magnificent products, don't have pans of water in their 1,000 gallon propane tank smokers. It may not be necessary, strictly speaking. But we live in Denver, and average humidity levels are extremely low here: if it goes up as high as 40 percent, we look at the sky and wonder when the rain will start. So I will do everything I can to ensure that my ribs are done tender and juicy, including spraying them with water once or twice an hour and wrapping them for hour 3 of their 4 hour cook (the old 2/1/1 method for babyback ribs).

Aww, man. Thank you.

Thanks "mate", and hope to get down there and visit with you and my Aussie distant relatives, who I think are fairly famous motorcycle racers....Have always felt a connection with my Aussie and Kiwi mates down there.

Well folks, I don't know where you are, but here in Denver we are on pretty strict lock-down and self quarantine. My Fitness Center and my Tennis Club are closed for at least the next 60 (probably 90, maybe more) days. We are in self--imposed house arrest, rapidly discovering which liquor stores deliver and how to use Instacart. But you know, since you can't sit on the porch and have a glass of wine with your friends and neighbors, you still want to reach out and have some sense of communion and community. And you have to DO SOMETHING with your time, right? So, okay, today I made babyback ribs and sauce for all my neighbors up and down the streets: it gave me something to do between noon and 6PM, and I have a half-dozen or so very appreciative friends and neighbors. So I don't consider barbecue a solo sport or activity, and maybe in these trying times your friends and neighbors would appreciate reaching out with the gift of smoked meat and such. The before and after, shown below. Also my "mother" bbq sauce recipe- I never make this exactly the same way twice, but this is the base I start with. Johnny Harris BBQ sauce- Jim's version Feb 2007.doc

Gorgeous! Looks just like mine except I have the side tables.

I got a bronze 32" from Dennis about a year ago and absolutely love it. I can do 9 racks of babyback ribs or 6 to 8 pork shoulders or at least 6 briskets, if I wanted to do that many. My last two briskets have been maybe just short of magnificent...I just followed the exact recommendations from Aaron Franklin in his book and the Master Class video (yes, I had pink butcher paper already). Today I did 9 babybacks and distributed them up and down the block to grateful neighbors and my daughter/son-in-law's household. I've done some really great beef chuck ribs- my daughter says they are a perfect compromise between brisket and chuck roast. You are well to ask about decrating and moving the 1600-lb 32" Big Boy. I had to create a makeshift plywood ramp to get mine from where it was delivered in the alley and up to the back patio- about a 6" rise over 6'. I would recommend you unpack VERY slowly and carefully, as there are not a lot of instructions. Similarly, a lot of the assembly is DIY without a great deal of instructions, but eventfully you figure it out and then, in retrospect, it's a head-slapper. It is difficult to get a 1600 pound weight rolling from a state of inertia- I was lucky and two of my neighbors showed up to help- but once you get it rolling,it is not a big problem to place it where you want it. Please feel free to write back if I can be of any help, and get prepared to enjoy!

I got a big pack of disposable aluminum bake trays (24?) that are probably 18" x 24" or so. Maybe 12"x 18". Fill them 3/4's " full of water to keep the humidity in the smoker up and they double as a fat/grease catcher. I can usually use one two or three times.

Peeps and pilgrims: My teak side tables have gotten a bit weather-beaten over the last year or so in the harsh Denver conditions- and, well, I didn't do anything to protect them ....But now it appears I have a LOT more time on my hands, so I thought I would sand these back down to natural wood grain and finish them with ...what? Tung oil? Is this the recommended approach? Dennis? And for future preventive maintenance?

I agree some experimentation is generally a good approach, kind of like: “ don’t just follow the recipe, taste the dish as you are cooking, as often as you can.”

Although wouldn't the downside of cooking more rapidly, at higher temps, be less complete breakdown of the collagens and therefore tougher meat, and the potential to dry out the meat? Isn't that why most barbecuing/smoking recipes favor lower temperature in the 225-275 range?

Good to know (about the temps and results). My brisket cooked at 300* for almost the whole 12 hours. It is worth noting that John Mueller, who has a high barbecue pedigree, cooks his briskets at 400* (!!!) and apparently they turn out just fine.

Thanks. Just get the Aaron Franklin book or master class and do what he does.....

Tony B: yes, I think you are quite correct about the heat setting. Dennis told me sometime back to only fire up a limited portion of the charcoal/wood reserve- he suggested "a baseball size", and then get the KK to the desired temp and turn the top vent all the way closed, then open it up maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 turn and stabelize the airflow/temp. I am still fine tuning my technique, since I am surprised at how quickly the KK ramps up sometimes. Once it gets to 300*, it is very difficult to get it back down to a 250 or so range. I would like to get to the point where I can run it at 225 (perfect for babyback ribs) but I need to improve my low-low technique. As to the wrap: yes, I put the brisket on at 300* (here's where I wish I could have dialed it back to 250-275) at 11PM and go up around 4:30AM and wrapped it tightly in butcher's paper, a la Franklin's instructions. It was about 165-170* at that time. It stayed in the KK until 11AM, when it finally hit 203* and I took it off, left it on the cutting board to rest for 90 minutes before tried it. It was very, very good. I gave 2/3rds to my daughter and her family (husband and 3 kids) and we had some for lunch and again for dinner. Done with brisket now for a few weeks!

BTW, I should have mentioned, it is COLD here in Denver right now: mid 40s in the day to high 20s or so overnight. So the extended burn life of the 32" KK is really that much more impressive. I think I am getting the hang of using the KK, but it is so VERY efficient and well-insulated, that the challenge is to pre-heat it only to the level you want to stabelize at, because if you overshoot it, it is very challenging to bring it down again. The 32" KK is a real thermal beast.

And as an observation of secondary importance, but interesting....I started this burn around 9:30 last night using huge Komodo Charcoal (chunks the size of my fist, maybe half the size of my head) and big chunks of post oak (I can seldom get post oak here in Denver, but some turned up at Walmart and I just went out and checked on the 32" BIg Boy is still pegged at 275*....very impressive!

I’ve been getting these from Oliver’s Butcher here in Denver. They are beef chuck ribs which my butcher there says have better flavor than plate ribs. It certainly is a LOT of meat, and really rich. I think one of these racks could feed four people ( or, as used to say in Louisiana, two hungry Cajuns.)

This started as a 15 lb prime brisket ( thank you, Costco): pretty much followed all of Aaron Franklin’s methods for trimming, slather, seasoned with 50/50 salt and pepper. Into the 32” KK at 11 pm last night, off at 10:45 this morning at a perfect 203*. Got up at 4:30 am and wrapped in butcher paper. Used large lump Komodo charcoal and post oak. Temps were 275-300 ( would have preferred 250-75, but what the heck). Impressions: I usually don’t have access to post oak and use fruitwoods. This is noticeably more of an acrid smoke flavor (in a good way) than the sweetness I get from the cherry or apple. I think it is a better match for the beef brisket, though I will stay with fruitwoods for pork. Bark was excellent, brisket completely done and tender. After really ruining the first 4 briskets I tried, the last two have been excellent...I think I’ve got this.

Howdy, K-K peeps: attached is today's project, about 13 lbs of beef chuck ribs, smoked at around 285-300 with post oak for seven hours. They are no resting, wrapped in butcher paper in the igloo cooler, and will be served later with some nice sides for Sunday dinner. Some days, life is good.....