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Re: Steaks on the Bar-Bee Those stripes just gave me an idea...Dennis, you should have your sear grates incorporate a 2 inch "KK", thus branding (pun intended) the meats...

Re: V Pills for those on the go The rage at the hotel brunches in Singapore right now is vodka or gin infused sorbet balls dipped in liquid nitrogen...you eat immediately after it comes out of the nitrogen.....taste really good, but not strong enough to do much damage, so we tend to wash it down with Champagne...would be fun to experiment at home.

Re: Faceting If the pink tourmaline is for sale, please PM me... I live in Asia, typically use one of two very good jewelers in Hong Kong, but that cut is pretty amazing...my wife would likey...although she just got a new ruby for our anniversary last week, so she really doesn't "need" anything right now...still, I know she'd like that one... The great thing about tourmalines is that they come in so many different colors...that is a shade of pink I've not seen before...very cool.

Re: help me decide! Let your better half select the color...if you don't have a better half at the moment...get your Mom or Sister's advice based on your environment / current decorating... My brother-in-law is a die hard BGE guy and my sister frequently reminds him of how ugly it is and wishes he would move it to a less prominent area of their property...

Re: I hate spring for one reason..... Water:Vinegar ratio?

Re: Lighting Looftlighter Could someone that has purchased one of these please tell me what voltage range it will work in? Is it 110 only, or is it able to be used up to 240? We are on 230 in Singapore. It should be labeled on the device or plug. Thanks, Brian

Re: New to the club! Welcome to the club... First timer advice... 1. Always start with a full basket of fuel 2. Let the KK come up to your desired cooking temp slowly and get "heat soaked" before you put the food in the cooker. Get impatient and light too much charcoal and you will overshoot your desired temp and the KK is so darn efficient, it will take forever to come back down to your desired cooking temp. 3. Vents don't have to be open much to get low to medium temps...careful does it. 4. Try to wipe that grin off your face, your friends are already jealous enough.

Re: Smoked salmon/BBQ guru That is a great looking cook...nicely done! I bet catching it was almost as fun as smoking it on your new KK...

Re: Steaking my claim Nice looking cook...and I'm with Simon, increase the grape quantity on the next go...

Re: Placement of Wood Chunks My comments / suggestions: 1. If you have to use wood chips, you are going to have to use a foil pack or smoke pot. If not, the chips will ignite to easily and burn up quickly. Even using the foil packs / smoke pot method, I feel that you don't get nearly as much smoke flavor vs. using true chunks. I find it very difficult to get a foil pack / smoke pot smoking at temps below 250F. This is not a problem if you are using chunks. 2. For all cooks except very long low and slows, I don't add smoking wood until the KK is heat soaked at my target temp for the cook. I then add the smoking wood directly to a hot spot in the lump and wait for the billowing white stuff to fade to a "cleaner" smoke. For low and slows, I mix smoking wood throughout the lump so it is present in multiple phases of the cook. It is hard to find wood chunks where I live, but they are far superior to chips. I've also used pellets via the foil pack method -- similar results to wood chips in my opinion. I just purchased chunks from fruita and am really impressed. Brian

Re: Fruita Wood Chunks Let me now say this after doing ribs tonight......Peach wood......AMAZING!!!

Re: Fruita Wood Chunks I had my Mom bring us the Nikon 16mp underwater camera for use with the kid in the pool...tried it out today....amazing....can't really tell the photos are under wate....

My Mother, who just visited us here in Singapore for Christmas and New Years, can't seem to stay away from our 7 month old baby boy - her first and only grandchild to date. A few weeks ago she informed us she'd bought another ticket and would be visiting again this month. We always seize the opportunity to pay for one or two extra checked bags when we have guests coming from the USA. We shop till we drop on Amazon, etc. Usually, my wants get pushed to the bottom of the priority list in favor of baby clothes, toys, etc. -- who am I to argue with a wife and grandparents??? Not this time! Mom arrived last night, and I now have in my possession a 24 lb mixture of apple, peach, grape, and hickory woods from http://www.fruitawoodchunks.com I feel like a kid in the candy shop since I can't buy wood chunks in Singapore. First impressions (without yet doing a cook): The wood smells amazing, they must cut it into chunks just before shipping. It smells moist, if that makes any sense, not dried out like it has been on a shelf for months. The chunks are huge, I will post some pics later. I can tell you now, I'm going to love this stuff, but will post some pics with the first cook... I think I'd already recommend it just based on touch and smell....but let's wait for the true test. Brian P.S. The wife and kid still got their usual supply of goodies as well -- before I get accused of being a grinch.

Re: Chipotles Sounds good...where are you buying your peppers? The only place I've been able to find them is Tanglin Mall. A few years ago, I found a Mexican wholesaler here in Singapore that supplies all the restaurants, and they had some, as well as other hard to find Tex/Mex goods... I'll have to see if they are still around. They were in a warehouse in an industrial park, but did have a small storefront on site.

Re: We're all ok. Earthquake was far away.. Did you guys feel much Dennis? There were reports here in Singapore of buildings shaking a bit, but I was in a highrise at the time and felt nothing...friends in Phuket felt a little.

Re: Easter Ham That looks fantastic!!!

Re: Amazing! Nice!

Re: Amazing! Yes, amazing, but what did you cook for that long?

Re: Food price increase I have little sympathy for ya'll...here in Singapore, I pay $75 USD for an 8 pound pork butt... A pound of ground beef you ask? $12 USD. A 24 pack of the local everyday, nothing special, domestic beer....$50 USD... I have dreams about Sam's and Costco...

If this topic has already been discussed ad nauseum, I apologize for starting a new thread, but I'd like to try to get a consolidated list of cookware people have used safe and successfully in their KK. I have often wondered if putting enameled cookware (such as a le creuset casserole dish or dutch oven) was safe -- not so much for the food or KK, but safe for the cookware (ie does it clean up ok, or is smoking in a $300 dutch oven a stupid idea?). So, I'll start this off with what I've successfully cooked with in my own KK, that is not impacted by smoke, heat, etc, and basically cleans up as it would if used in an oven: 1. Cast Iron Cookware (Duh) 2. Pyrex Cookware (think 9x13 pans, pie dishes, etc, never on direct or super high heat, usually 400F and lower) 3. Disposable Aluminum Pans MadMedik just did a Paella in a pan purchased at Sur La Tab...again prompting me to wonder...is it a great idea to be putting expensive cookware in the KK with smoke? I hope the answer most of you are finding is YES, but I've not taken any chances with our "good stuff." So, what else do you ladies and gentlemen (I know, I've taken great liberty with those two monikers) us in your KKs with little or no trouble? I hope someone can specifically share their experiences with: 1. Enameled cookware 2. Stainless cookware (such as expensive Calphalon, not the non-stick stuff, just straight stainless) Thanks, Brian

Re: Paella on the KK (NakedWhiz version) This post was inspirational...nice work, I have to try it...

Re: Sai's Bday - Ribeye Roast Bone-In and Boneless Beef Ribs Here is the Raichlen Salt and Pepper Beef Ribs Recipe (out of the BBQ USA book) adapted for the KK: 1 rack of beef ribs (2.5 - 3.0 lbs) Coarse Salt (kosher or sea) Cracked or coarsely ground black pepper Apple or Hickory wood chips / chunks Your choice of BBQ sauce, for serving 1. Very generously season the beef ribs on both sides with the salt and pepper 2. Set up the KK for a low and slow smoke and heat sink to 200F (use heat deflector, drip pan optional) 3. Once smoking, place ribs meat side up on upper rack 4. Cook 3-3.5 hours until dark brown, almost black 5. Meat should be crisp on outside and tender on the inside 6. Slice into individual ribs and serve hot with BBQ sauce for dipping The ones I made were delectable...and annihilated by our guests. Most people didn't want any sauce for dipping, but some did. I preferred them 'al naturale'

Re: Sai's Bday - Ribeye Roast Bone-In and Boneless Beef Ribs I recently followed a simple Raichlen "Salt and Pepper" recipe for beef ribs and was very impressed with the results given the simplicity. Given you've gone top shelf on the meat, why not let it speak for itself? Let me know if you need the recipe.

Re: Help with Temperature Please 250 for me is right where Firemonkey has described it...1/4 to 1/2 turn on top, a dime's thickness on the bottom. 1 hour(ish) to heat soak. Firemonkey can chime in if in disagreement, but for me, this also means using a FULL basket of fuel, and I usually light about a tennis ball size area dead center. If you don't have a full basket, airflow will be inconsistent, leaving you with inconsistent temps from cook to cook.

Re: Coffee wood impressions I tried the coffee wood for the first time last weekend for a batch of ribs. I was running mangrove charcoal as my primary, and just one chunk of the coffee for the smoke. I let the KK soak and come up to 250 (about an hour) before adding the coffee wood. After adding the coffee, I let it burn for 30-45 mins, watching the smoke go from a heavy white to almost no white. I thought perhaps that I'd missed the window of opportunity for much of the coffee flavor profile, but boy was I wrong. First impressions: I really like the flavor, hard to explain, different, but really good; A little bit goes a long way; I did not miss the flavor window, adding the meat any earlier would have been too much for my tastes (and I like a strong smoke flavor); Looking forward to a long low and slow with two chunks staggered in the basket for something like a pork butt -- I expect I'm going to find that this smoke penetrates better than most others and is excellent for large pieces of meat on long cooks.