ejl

first cook ever Gentlemen, thanks for the suggestions. I just uncrated my komodo a few hours ago. The handyman I hired to deliver it, conveniently forgot to bring a ramp and a proper dolly, but I luckily managed to get some addtional help from my neighbors -- although not before I almost crushed my foot, broke my back and was almost stung by a hornet. Also the handyman guy almost passed out. Ah, good times. But before we made the next installment of the Darwin awards, help arrived. The neighbors puzzled and oohed and ahhed over the komodo, then of course, b*tched about how freakin' heavy it was. I'm happy to report there were no injuries to us or the komodo. I was just telling Dennis how great it looks in our back yard -- the dark blue matches our pool tile perfectly. Our elderly neighbor (who was kind enough to bring us ice packs (ice packs?) to help us keep cool in the 90 degree heat) has already taken to calling the komodo, R2D2. Anyway, after talking to Dennis again, (it is great how accessible he is, on the other side of the world) turns out I don't need to break it in, I just need to keep it under 400 for the first couple of cooks until the tile and grout dry. Alas tonight, what with my limp, and my surly drunken state, my wife and I settled for leftovers... but for tomorrow I'm thinking either the ribs or the spatchcock chicken which both sound great, however indirect heat is iffy as my pizza stone was missing (although Dennis, no questions asked, promised he'd send that along with the other missing accessories (meat hanger, thermometer) ASAP. I'm gonna cook tomorrow without a thermometer -- since I have R2D2, I'll just use the Force. We'll have a couple of friends over as guinea pigs... I might do the ribs (Dennis suggested using a terra cotta pot bottom for indirect heat), maybe the chicken or maybe I'll throw caution to the wind and do a big ol' pork butt. thanks again.

While I'm an okay cook and a minor league foodie, I'm a complete newbie to this culinary world. After doing some research, going through various forums, trading a few emails and talking to Dennis, I decided to take the plunge on a Komodo (with my wife's permission, of course). I'm anxiously awaiting my dark blue-tiled deluxe OTB; it should be here in just a couple of hours give or take... As there isn't a Komodo Cooking for Dummies book out yet, I thought I'd ask some of you folks what you'd recommend for a relatively easy first time cook for a first time cook. Also, Dennis suggested a low and slow of at least six hours to break it in (correct me if I'm wrong, Dennis). Is there anything else I should do before firing it up, please let me know. thanks. ejl