Firemonkey

Oh I see...added it after the fact, then whistling casually like it was there all along

Are you going to maker us search for the video?! Come on, how about a link for us lazy-folk?

D_J, What are you doing on Letterman?! Is that your smokey joe replacement on his desk?

Curly, you can cetainly make your own. The crushgrind mechanisms are about $10-15 each depending on the size. You may need to drill a few times, as the bore diameter on mine is not the same throughout. The grinding mechanism which is housed in the base is a little larger than the rest of the bore and the top of the shaft, where it inserts into the top which turns is a small hole. One feature I found on mine, that I would recommend is lining the inside with a piece of plastic tube. to prevent the contents from coming into contact with the wood and prevent leaching of oils.

Your comparison could not be more accurate - they are one in the same

Sanny, wise to be cautious with the smaller deflector (speaking from experience) My advise: Place the griddle on your lower bracket, and some sort of drip pan above it. A foil pie pan would be fine. To prevent burning grease, leave some space between the griddle and the drip pan (use the same nuts or washers you used between the stones for baking pizza). Some even add water to the pan as a precaution, but I never do. Then set the bird directly on the grill rack to allow full heat circulation and even browning/roasting.

I am 100% happy with the ones I got. Granted, the design is not for everyone - either people love them or hate them. The grind mechanisms are ceramic CrushGrind (www.crushgrind.com), and are adjustable from a fine powder to just cracking the peppercorns. What is most impressive is how quickly they will grind a quantity of pepper for a recipe. I hate to use any other type grinder anymore. Since they are ceramic, they are suitable for salt and other spices as well. You can find them on the dark side if you want, and you can get them in several different woods. Mine are cocobola and 10" tall. They are not inexpensive, but I would confidently place them in the lifetime purchase category. I also have a grinder with a plastic interior and all stainless on the outside. It has an identical ceramic mechanism in it, though it is not labeled crushgrind. I got it from Ikea several years ago, and it grinds beautifully as well. Ikea has 2 grinders listed on their page right now, and both have what looks like the same ceramic mechanism as mine has: http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... ctId=34539 http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s ... ctId=11351

What did you do about the top? Are you still hose clamped and saucered?

That sounds like the object is to hide the meat and whatever flavor it may bring Kind of like "We have this bear, and we are going to eat it so we can survive the winter. It may be nasty stuff, but the protein will keep us alive." Exactly why I stick to conventional barnyard animals! You are a braver man than I, Curly. I think living in that log-cabin out in the woods has brought out the call of the wild in you

I get heavy condensation in my mexi-k when I leave it sealed up. It collects on the inside of the dome as the dome heats up in the sun. Over several days there can be so much condensation that I have a small puddle in the drip pan I used to leave on the grill. It will even sometimes run down the back of the inside of the dome when I first open it. It takes some time for the condensate to get this bad, and cracking the dome open a tiny bit to vent seems to cure it. I just need to remember to back the dome open some the day after I cook As soon as I get a KK with the lip around the dome, I can even do so in the summer, when it pours down rain for 30 minutes a day!

Looks tasty, Curly. What are you using for spacers between your dish and your stone? Is that wood?

You go for the big guns. (There is an acorn squash on the left, and a dollar bill on the right for size reference) I was given a few of these by my produce pimp. I am only making one for the whole family to go along with some country style pork loin chops.

With lump, the reverse is true...more open=more air=more heat. With the gas burner, I suspect what you read is true. More open=more heat escape

I know all about the versatility of the burners, since we had one at my Dad's house in Annapolis. Never did a turkey on it, but steamed many crabs and fried even more chicken wings! I did enjoy having a burner like that handy - even if I was just trying to sear a steak on a cast iron skillet - for exactly the reasons you mention. The smell is great while you are cooking, then you want it gone! I have a countertop fryer that I dont even use in the house. Even that is an outside operation. Here is the real question? What do you do about the spatter on a pot that big? The first time I fried a big batch of wings for a party, there was a nice eclipse pattern of oil spatter in the driveway for weeks! Newspaper helped some, but always wanted to blow away and I was just waiting for it to flip an edge up into the flame.

You can do it on your K, no prob. Treat it like a big chicken, indirect heat, and I dont stuff mine just to be on the side of caution. Ive done many turkey on my old weber kettle. This will be the first on the K for me ( I think I did a spiral ham last year). When you do try it, my best advice is to make sure you keep space between your drip pan and your heat shield or the drippings will burn and you will get that greasy soot flavor. This is easier said than done in a #5 because there isnt much room between the heat deflector and the main grate. I usually use a 15" pizza pan thats about 3/4" deep as a drip pan, and put it on the heat shield using a few washers as spacers between them. I am thinking about putting the bird in a roasting pan, just as if it were going in the oven, and putting the whole thing in the K. Just depends if it fits? Otherwise, I will stand it up like beer can chicken sans the beercan!

Yeah..."more evolved!", thats it!

Since it IS Curly, you never know! Could go either way

I am going to have to try a fried turkey some time. As I dont have a fryer, and dont really want to store one in the garage for the 1 or 2 times a year I would use it, I am roasting mine on the mexi-k. I havent decided exactly how. I was considering spatchcocking it, but that likely wont fit on my #5. Probably going to roast it normally this year...and start looking forward to rotisseried turkey on my KK next year!

oh, man...I was expecting you to say you found them today - over a month later If that bag had burst, you would have found them soon enough!

We expect some pictures, you know! Was this a stoker-controlled cook?

Sweet! You will be happy with them. This is another company where the lifetime warranty is exactly that, and is happily honor without argument. I dont have their knives, but do have their commercial cookware, with a lifetime warranty. After over 10 years of use, the anodized finish is worn down on the interior of some of the more used pots, and I have a couple of 13" fry pans which have some warp on the bottom surface. I called their 800 number, told the lady what I had, and her reply was "just package up any pieces you are not 100% happy with, and send them in. That model is no longer in production, so we will be replacing them with Calphalon One" She provided thew address, and now all I need to do is find time to package them up and ship them off. (Its been months but I know the offer is good whenever I get around to it) I am thinking about calling to ask if I can send all of my pieces, so they will all match since I am getting a newer model. I suspect they will have no qualms with it.

Who needs friends?? We keep hearing about all of your monster-in-laws...put them to work!

Turtle, The weber group has a nice write-up about ribs: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ribselect1.html There is a link at the bottom of the page that will walk you through how to trim them.