Firemonkey

if your cook is long enough to need additional coal, you should be filling the big basket. If your mid cook, it doesnt even need to be pre-lit...if it rests on a hot coal, it will ignite.

I agree with the North-South idea, but that will make the hinges trickier. Not sure I would agree with the flap being in the back, though. could be hard to get some lump into the middle of the basket from the back, since the dome is much lower back there.

Who needs a kamado? I am gonna go fridge hunting! The HOA should love a 60 year old refrigerator on the back patio!

Welcome to the party! Maybe we should build a memorial wall somewhere. A giant mosaic obelisk that we could cover with all the tiles that fall from Kamados..people could send them in, and we could write fun sayings in the various colors? I am near Orlando, so while we have enough tourist traffic so that people could easily visit...it also has some significant competition. Maybe we should put it in the Carolinas. Could paint barn roofs...kinda like "See rock city."

Man, you guys are harsh!

My eyes see it that way, too! I am glad someone here has a calibrated monitor!

The results are in... I cooked it for about 10 hours at 250, until it came out of its plateau. Then I bumped the temp up to about 325. Unsure of the meat, I was cooking it for pull, but after getting into it, I think it would be better as a roast. After 12 hours on the grill it was certainly tender, but there wasnt alot of fat in it. Just one small thread (about 1/8") across the middle. It had excellent flavor, but was slightly dry for my taste (the wife disagrees). I covered my bases when I saw that there wasnt alot of grease in the drip pan, by making up a nice juice. I figured it was going to be used to either thin some rasp/chipotle sauce or it was going to be used to juice up the meat if damage control was in order . It was one big muscle, so I ended up cutting it into about 1.5 inch slices and pulling that apart into chunks. It was like post roast, without the pot To make the juice, I finely chopped a small onion, and cooked it down over about a tbsp of butter until translucent and very soft. I then added about 3-4 tablespoons of sherry, and reduced it by about half. Added 2 cups of beef broth (made from a tub of beef base), about a tablespoon of w-shire sauce, and about 2 teaspoons of thyme. Simmered it for a while, and kept it warm. The extended family, who were here to eat it, preferred the added flavors of the the juice, so I poured the juice over the meat. It soaked it up beautifully, and tasted great. Sorry, no pictures before the horde got it I still have half of it left, I will try to get a picture cut across the middle of it, showing the interior of the cut. My conclusion: I would get another of these - they have great flavor at <$2/lb. I think the next time I will cook it more like a roast, a little higher heat, and either foil it for the second half, or finish it in a dutch oven with a little juice in it. Next stop...a proper chuck roll. But I have to wait a week or two to get rid of some leftovers!

No photoshopping here Thats straight off the camera! I saw Dennis' matching grill, but I want a different color. Maybe the brown/blue like Tony's. I CERTAINLY dont want a matching one now that everyones making fun of it!!! Its up to 163* now, and the temp is steady at 250 dome. Its nice and dark and starting to ooze some shiny juice out onto the bark. Not much in the drip pan at all right now. Seems like it might be lean...I am so tempted to hack a slice off the end and see how it would be as a roast!

shoulder wagon, maybe? This is the mystery muscle that I got from BJs. I have no idea what subcut of chuck this is. The package was labeled Shoulder Muscle C9 (980059) After the long discussion of chuck rolls, I searched high and low to find what subcut this really was. I couldnt find those numbers listed anywhere. It looks like one muscle (7.8#), and is boneless. I am going to cook it for pulling...low and slow. I took it from the COV, rinsed it and let it dry uncovered in the fridge for about 12 hours. I rubbed it with olive oil to help the rub stick, and rubbed it yesterday afternoon. Wrapped it in plastic and went back in fridge until morning. Here it is ready to go on the grill: a little over 3 1/2 hours into it (pink, eh?): The smells are getting really good, now!

Roger that, skyrocket Those were frozen tuna steaks. They had to get cooked

I was saving that... until tomorrow when I do the beef shoulder roast! It always carries more weight when there are pictures.

Errr.... At least mine is still in one piece!

See... Taken in its younger days...before it got a case of the crumbles.

What?! Drunk_J is off the wagon again...That is sandy brown! I think RJ calls it "spice" Adjust your monitor, I just looked at the pics to see if it was the camera - it wasnt!

I had to do both, since I forgot that I promised Pizza before my son goes off to summer camp. So it was tuna steaks for teh wife and I and Pizza for the young-ins. These pictures will also show how much of a difference the heat shield makes when I use it. Notice here the temp guage, and the lid/draft door settings. This is with the tuna grilling over direct heat: There was plenty of air there to grill this fish, and plenty of lump: With the Fish done, I put on some Pizza. This meant putting the mexi-K 15" heat shield directly on teh main grill, and then I used a few spacers and put my pizza stone on top of that: First was a BBQ pizza, madce with rasp/chipotle bbq for the sauce, and topped with pulled pork and chopped honey ham. Half with roasted Jalepenos and bell pepper, too. Then a more traditional one: Look at this...Note the temp dial only about 50* higher (about 470) with the heat shields in there, AFTER cooking pizza for 20 minutes! All was good in the end...fish for the wife, pizza for the kids, and both for me!

What have you guys been rubbing these with? I am going to rub mine this morning and I cant decide if I want a savory type rub (salt/pepper/thyme/cumin/etc) or a sugar based rub?

sams sucks everywhere I get pissed off just pulling into Sams parking lot. Horrible service...but at least they employ the idiots. we have BJs , but I havent seen a costco around here. I drove 15 miles PAST 2 SAMS to go to Bjs last week. My membership to sams expired last month, and I havent renewed it, either. They did have the best deal on my 33" jeep tires, and offer liftime rotate/balance/road hazard, but it the a-holes in the tire shop that broke the monkeys back. They were actually decent when I lived in Missouri. Middle America has a little bit differnt culture, i guess.

Pictures in Firefox David - if you go to Tools -> Options in firefox, a dialog will open. from there choose the content tab, and be sure to check the box that says "load images", and you might as well unselect the one below that which says "fopr the originating site only" Then, your mouth can water with the rest of us!

thats how I understand it. good info: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/chuckroll.html

Whats next... You gonna ask us if your pants make you look fat?! POST 'EM!

For me the heat deflector makes a big difference Without the HS in place, I open my draft door about 1/8" and the top damper about a half a turn. Depends alot on the heat and wind of the day. My K is kinda warm inside after being in the Florida sun all afternoon. Small adjustments on the top will move me about 25* With the HS in place, I need to rely on the bottom draft door more, but my experience has nee the opposite of yours. The HS makes it harder to get up into roasting temps. Alas, if I try to get 350 indirect, with the K supplied HS, there is a big ole crack that opens up about where the HS sits! I have had a overnight butt run up to 325 or so on me, but I attributed it to a cold front which brought rain and alot of wind with it during the night I willpay closer attention when I do my chuck roll this weekend and let you knwo how I fare.

One more day... I bought one of these from BJs ($1.99/lb) last weekend, intending to cook it on the 4th. I am going to open it tonight, put it on a rack, and and let it dry overnight, them hit it with some rub in the morning. Saturday...Clermont Florida will be awash with the scent of beef BBQ

hmmm...what to name it... Mothra? The bat grill (since it black and all)? The black hole?

Hmmm... I suppose aking Dennis to cut one in half so we could see a cut-away would be too much to ask It would show the clearances and such, though! Its hard to guage those from the top looking down!

Those pics are what made me ask for one of it in place The HS is a tad bigger than the Ls in the first pic, and the LS loosly fits the firebox. Seems like it might be tight? Who wants to post a pic? OLops...i gues we are calling LS's charcoal baskets now