tony b

On my places to visit on my next trip to Napa.

Love his beer names and label art! They look collectable!

Hoping MacKenzie chimes in Jon, as I think she likes the one she has. I'm not terribly fond of mine. While it's very easy to disassemble and clean, it doesn't do a great job at thin slicing. I bought it to slice my homemade bacon and pastrami, but the meat wants to stick to the blade and the slices want to go on a spin instead of falling off into the tray. It's a Chef's Choice Model 609. Picked it up on sale - you get what you pay for!

Not making this sh!t up, people. I've used it. How do you think they make chicken nuggets people? From the Moderist Pantry: What is Transglutaminase or Meat Glue? Transglutaminase (TG), aka Meat Glue, is a natural enzyme that has the ability to glue protein-containing foods together. When raw meats are bound with TG, they typically have the strength and appearance of whole uncut muscles. Primary uses of transglutaminase include: Making uniform portions that cook evenly, look good, and reduce waste. Binding meat mixtures like sausages without casings. Making meat combinations like bacon and scallops. Producing special effects like meat noodles, meat and vegetable pastas, etc. https://youtu.be/suPyqOZc7M4

Reminds me - I probably need to buy a new batch of transglutaminase (meat glue), as mine in the freezer is probably too old. Comes in handy for cooks like this - no toothpicks needed.

Speaking of - how big a dent have you made in that haul of Tabasco sauces you bought, Bruce??

Nice lot of hot sauce bottles you have there, Tekobo! Envious! That nice yellow Jamaican/Belize reminds me of a sauce that I buy from Barbados - Lottie's. It's awesome on fried chicken, as a dipping sauce! Don't sweat the mold, it's just part of the process, just scrape it off when you notice it, no worries about being Johnny on the spot with it. I picked up a cheap bottle of Moscato today in preps for doing my batches. I still have a few peppers on the plants that I'm waiting on to ripen first. I did move the plants indoors a few days ago, as our nighttime temps have occasionally dipped below freezing. Hopefully I get them going in another couple of days.

I hear yah! I bought a LOT of rubs last year and now I'm looking at my pantry and going - when am I going to use all this stuff up before it goes stale???

OUCH!

I get mostly duck products from D'Artagnan. Just got some ground duck w/duck bacon for making sliders, along with a couple of duck sausages. Everything is very tasty. I usually wait for a good sale, as the stuff is on the pricey side and shipping can rack up, since it's usually shipped overnight. Trader Joe's chicken shawarma is my new favorite and the Santa Maria tri-tip is another favorite, as well as the rosemary & garlic racks of lamb and cabernet pot roast.

I could type for hours listing all my spice/rub/sauce sources! Short list: Penzeys, Dizzy Pig, World Spice Merchants, Sucklebusters, MoHotta MoBetta, Lanes BBQ, Plowboys BBQ, Oak Ridge BBQ, and Butchers Blend. If I'm not buying from my local butcher, it's Costco for Prime Beef. I like Trader Joe's for their pre-marinated meats. Online, it's either SNF or D'Artagnan.

Looks very juicy and I KNOW it's tasty! What did you rub it with?

Ditto MacKenzie's advice. No deflector needed and at least an hour to heat soak the stone once you get to temperature.

I had to bend the handles back on mine to get Dennis' pizza stone to fit. Used a rubber mallet. One of them actually broke off - no harm, no foul in my book. Made things even easier and I don't use the handles to pick it up anyway when it's on the grill, as it's hard to get a heavy glove through the handle.

HURRAY! But -- I'm totally shocked that your first cook wasn't Suya Pepper skewers!?!

Reiterating what others have said and add a thought or 2: 1) The fan has an adjustable damper, I usually run my fan for lo & slo at 50% open. That way when the fan isn't running, you don't suck in too much air. Keep the top vent almost closed, the fan will force the air out. If you see smoke, you're fine. 2) Push on the 4 corners of your lower vent plate with the door as snug as you can get it. If it moves at all, you need to tighten up the door a tad. Do NOT bend the rods on the door, but stick a long screwdriver into the tubes from the inside and bend the tube AWAY from the corner that's loose. Reinsert the door and check it again. You might have to do a couple of tweaks to get it solid. As others have said, check the rear door as well. Highly recommend sealing it up if you never use it. 3) Per MacKenzie, remove the bung to insert the probes and find the slit in the bung for the wires. I've had to straighten my angled probes to fit - easy, peasy, just bend slowly/gently. 4) Haven't used the heavy diffuser in years. Takes too long to heat up. Use either the drip pan or aluminum foil on the lower grate. 5) Never had this issue, so no advice on that one. Good luck and post pics of these cooks you're doing!

A win-win indeed! Congrats to both of you!

Par for the course! Haven't reached out to friends and family yet, but the winning ticket was sold in SC in a suburb of my hometown. Maybe someone I know was the big winner??

OK, lesson learned. After direct grilling of the fatty lamb ribs, they dripped so much grease onto my charcoal, that I've been having issues with both temperature control and lots of smoke production in subsequent cooks. Next time, I'll put just enough charcoal in the basket to do the ribs and not fill it up, like normal. Here's a pic of tonight's cook (Jerk Chicken thighs). Every time that I opened the lid to flip the chicken, this happened! The good news - it didn't impact the flavor of the chicken. Yes, there's a plated picture - chicken with Jamaican curry rice and a nice side salad. The wine was a very nice Viognier that I picked up at Trader Joe's last week.

Not on that day, for sure! But, I do cook on mine in the winter, except for the brutal days when the windchill is below zero! (That would be in Fahrenheit here - LOL!) Or, in the freezing rain/sleet. I will cook when it's snowing, as long the ambient temps aren't too cold.

It's actually close to black powder, as it really does have granulated charcoal in it!

It's fun watching how crazy folks get when the pot gets this large. They don't seem to understand that the probability of winning doesn't change with the size of the pot, but it does increase the likelihood that they might have to share the winnings with someone else when this many folks are buying tickets like there's no tomorrow!

Great point about the bacon for the weave, Charles. That's what I normally do; use the "good" bacon for the stuffing. I imbedded a few of my own personal twists/tips, including that one, in the pdf file - fwiw.

Doesn't stop most of us, especially MacKenzie, who probably sees the most snow of anyone on the Forum. We can get our fair share here in Iowa, too!

@ckreef - I've observed that the temperature of the meat itself can have an effect on the ambient reading, as well, as it's only a inch or so away from the meat. The interesting thing is, during a rotisserie cook, the ambient temperature doesn't seem to bounce around as it rotates, so there must be a bit of a lag, or there's an averaging circuit in it to smooth out the reading.