tony b

Last night's dinner was chicken adobo with fried rice. Chicken thighs with Badia Adobo seasoning, direct, apple wood chunk. Initially @ 325F, then flipped to skin side down and cranked up to 400F to get nice crispy skin. I think I nailed it! Plated with the fried rice, which I did in my paella pan and got a bit of nice crust. The sauce is coconut cream, tamari, sugar, rice vinegar, chicken stock and a LOT of garlic. I liked it!

@Braai-Q - where you been, bro? We haven't heard from you in a bit. Plus, digging the pooch in the KK avatar. He's a sweetie!

A beautiful day yesterday (looks like today is going to be as well - hurray!), so off to the grill. Straight up pasta puttanesca with grilled Italian sausages - main grate, direct, 325F, no wood chunks. No pic, but I ate one of the leftover snags for lunch today as a classic grinder - sautéed peppers and onions with provolone and grainy mustard.

Long time charcoal guy here (never owned a gas grill in my life and never will!) Closest that I've come to a pellet grill is I have a couple of friends who have them and they do turn out some nice food and are generally easy to use. However, you're going to quickly find, as others have said, that you're about to up your game with the KK. Just takes a few cooks to get the hang of setting the vents for different temperatures, as it is very repeatable. First rule of KK cooking - Don't chase the temperatures! For almost all cooks +/- 50F of cooking temperature from your "target" isn't going to make any noticeable difference in the final product. So, don't fret if you're off a bit and continually try and tweak the top vent to hit it exactly. As we homebrewers say, "Relax, have a homebrew." (which translates as - don't overthink this and make it complicated - it's not! Second rule of KK cooking - Go buy a bigger belt size! LOL!

Winds finally died down early evening and the sun came out last night - so grillin' time! I used the FoodSaver to force marinate some pork souvlaki for dinner. On the lower grate, direct over the basket splitter, a small chunk of peach tossed in, as it was going to be a short cook (about 20 minutes). Plated with some mint basmati, tzatziki, and a nice Greek salad. My last bottle of Bonny Doon rose. Randall Graham has sold the winery, so I don't know if I'm going to be able to get more? This was seriously good. Brought back memories of my trip to Crete a couple of years ago.

@alimac23 - Like your Grainfather setup - sweet!! What were you brewing? I just kegged a Red IPA, about to keg an Irish Extra Stout this week, and I have a wheat wine aging for late summer/early fall. Should get me through the lockdown til May?

Hit it with the MAPP torch until a few coals start to glow nicely, then hit it with the air blower to get it going strong. Then open the vents up wide and just let it go for a bit, until I see the temperature on the thermometer start to rise. Then add my grates (if doing an indirect, then foil on the lower one) and the cast iron smoker pot (not in that order - ha, ha!) Once temps are within a 100F of target, then I set my vents to where I want them and put on my meat when I start to see the smoker pot kick in.

I've used it as my heat deflector on occasion where I expect a lot of fat/drippings, like on a butt; otherwise, I use aluminum foil on ribs, etc. Will be interested in hearing how it works out for you. Good way to repurpose something to be useful.

I hear that! Plus, less activity to burn up those extra calories isn't helping either! Nice job on those strips!

WELL, you're off to a great start. Not being shy at all tackling brisket right out of the shoot. Can see that this is not your first rodeo! One piece of advice, no need for that bowl of water in a KK. Meat stays very moist without having to have a pan of water like with other styles of grills. It's because the KK is so efficient once heat soaked, that it doesn't take much combustion air to maintain temperatures. Less air in means less moisture out.

Well, between retirement and corona lockdown, yeah, I got a lot of time on my hands now! Having to get creative on projects around the house to stay busy. Weather still hasn't turned yet here to be doing much yardwork. And, when it comes to "raking" leaves, that's what leaf blowers are for! Not a good day for it today though, seriously windy!

Big Dizzy Dust fan here. I generally smear ribs with CYM and hit it pretty good with Dizzy Dust (or others). Don't think that's your issue. I like a combo of hickory and a fruit wood for pork - usually apple, cherry or peach. Usually 2 parts fruit wood to 1 part hickory in the cast iron smoker pot. Your spritzing technique in on point, just be careful to not overdo it and wash off that lovely bark that we all work so hard to develop. Don't know if you're a fan of Meathead over at Amazing Ribs. Here's his thoughts on smoke ring development. https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science/more-cooking-science/mythbusting-smoke-ring-no-smoke-necessary

My "garden" consists of pots on my deck (keeps the critters from snacking out). I typically grow tomatoes (cherry varieties do well in containers), chile peppers, and a variety of herbs - chives, basil, thyme, rosemary - occasionally, sage, mint, or tarragon - whatever you like to cook with.

Harder to get than TP! Let the hoarding begin! LOL!!

It's not so much about the relative humidity of the outside air, it's about the efficiency of the KK. Once heat soaked, the KK doesn't need much incoming combustion air to maintain temperatures, so the food doesn't dry out like in more conventional grills/smokers. Less air in = less moisture out. But, if you like the way your food is turning out, that's all that really matters. Just passing along some KK knowledge.

Friday night is usually steak night here. The rain held off, so here we go! T-bone and bacon-wrapped asparagus on the lower grate, direct, basket splitter, with coffee and mesquite chunks. Plated with a twice-baked spud and sautéed mushrooms. Nice red wine to go with it. Just because you're in lockdown, doesn't mean that you can't eat & drink well! Stay safe out there!

A friend sent me the link to these videos - this guy has nailed it! Enjoy!

Nicely done.

Nice gesture, mate!

Most of us have found that we don't need any extra "help" keeping the humidity up in the KK, except maybe bread baking where you want a big steam blast. Try a few cooks without the extra water bath and see for yourself. Less work - same (or better) results.

Just more time for all those cooks that you couldn't find time for before; plus, more time for posting pics of those cooks, too! Win-Win!

I use my basket splitter for about 1/2 of my cooks, as I'm usually just cooking for myself. It saves charcoal and gets hot faster when I'm grilling. I like to use it on most rotisserie cooks, with the fire in the back. Just keep working with it to find the best uses for your cooks.