tony b

Gorgeous looking bacon, @MacKenzie. Happy party guests, for sure, @Troble

While I obviously have carboy airlocks in my brewing room, I use these membranes for the Mason jars in making my pepper mash. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H7GI7V8/ You can see the pink tip of it in the picture that I posted. It's funny, but they look just like nipples - LOL. I sanitize everything that will come into contact with the mash with StarSan, which I use all the time in my brewing. It's a no-rinse sanitizer that kills just about anything with a couple of minutes of contact. I agree that the white stuff is NOT mold, but Kahm yeast. I should be more precise so as to not scare folks off from trying this. Plus, you mix the mash with a lot of vinegar to make the hot sauce, which drives the pH down to where no other preservatives are needed. I've never had a bottle of my hot sauce "go bad." Your best judge of whether it has turned on you, is your nose. It's very sensitive to the off smells when something has gone bad. Evolution got us here.

First time is always a learning experience. Sounds like you got some good "take aways" from this one for the next time. Eager to hear how Bird #2 comes out.

Woo, hoo! Love me some 'speriments! No worries about the white stuff on top. It's expected. Just skim it off. It's not "tainted." (Why do I have Soft Cell playing in my head!?) 😆

It's just overpriced Royal Oak charcoal.

👍

This year's batch of Aji yellow peppers for the hot sauce. Chopped up with the salt, garlic and sweet white wine - time for Mother Nature to do her thing and let the fermentation begin!

Search the Forum, as I recall someone recently did it using foil (?) to make a barrier to hold the charcoal in the back of the basket.

Do you have a basket splitter? I like to put the charcoal in the back half, so the rotisserie rotates in and out of the direct heat. I have a 23" KK, so my charcoal basket is round, which facilitates this arrangement. If you have one of the larger KKs with the oblong basket, then you'll have to Gerry rig up something else. Maybe just some foil to block the heat on the front half of the basket?

I was just thinking that I need to get all my harvest out of the freezer and start making this year's batch of hot sauce - and then I saw @tekobo's post. Maybe yet this afternoon?

JD sells a version that's bigger pieces. Check that one out. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D5DDT0G I get my JD at a local BBQ store. Not the best price, but like supporting these folks - nice, family run business. Guess that I hadn't noticed the change in Cowboy, as I thought so little of it back then (at least 13 years ago), and there are so many other options that are far superior, that it never occurred to me to keep up with it.

This guy lost immediate credibility when he included Cowboy in his list. Worst lump charcoal on the market (IMHO). It's made from scrap lumber, so you don't have any idea what wood it is (or if it's been treated!), burns up in a flash and produces a lot of ash. If you want a better source of info about charcoal (including KK cocochar), go read Naked Whiz. The Lump Charcoal Database -- Naked Whiz Charcoal Ceramic Cooking

Cut off some of the point on the brisket to make burnt ends. Tossed in a blend of BBQ sauces and into a 350F oven for 30 mins. MEAT CANDY!

Great looking beef ribs, man! One last pic of the brisket. Came out like "buttah!" Was still warm after 8 hours in the cooler!

This weekend is likely our last hurray for the season - low 80s. Took advantage of the warmer nights and did a packer cut Prime brisket that I found buried in the bottom of the freezer. I injected it with Butcher's BBQ, as it had been in the freezer several years! and I was afraid that it might need some help, despite being Prime. Rubbed with the Coffee rub that @Aussie Ora sends me. For grins, I weighed the fat that I trimmed off it and WOW it was almost 2 and half pounds! Put it on at 9:30 pm with a smoker pot of post oak, mesquite and coffee wood chunks. Guru set at 250F. Plan was to get up in the morning and wrap it in pink butcher paper slathered with smoked Wagyu beef tallow, but when I got up at 6:30 am, the Guru was beeping at me that it was done (set for 203F but was reading 205F). So, I just wrapped it in plain pink paper, foiled it, wrapped in a towel and into the cooler to rest until dinner tonight. I was surprised that it finished that quickly for a 9.5 lb (trimmed) full packer.

Excellent. I 2nd Robert's tip about injecting choice grade meats. It does help.

@CaptMorg82 - I'd eat those pork belly bits in a fat man minute!

Great minds, @Aussie Ora - chicken thighs last night - mix of 3 different rubs, one was the Icelandic, one was that new chook rub you sent me, and the 3rd was the Wing Dust that you also sent me a TON of! Thanks again! Had a recalcitrant tomato that wouldn't ripen on the vine. Owing to the sub-freezing temps we're getting at night now, I picked it anyway. So, being a good Southern boy, it became Fried Green Maters! Homemade remoulade sauce. Thighs on the upper grate, 325F. Sorry, no other plated pic. Only side was some curried rice done in the donabe.

As always with a brisket, start early, as you need to wrap it and let it rest for at least an hour, if not several, so no harm in it being done earlier than you expect.

Your roux looks absolutely perfect! Nice job, Robert!!

I was going to ask what you did with that many loaves, as we all know the "life cycle" of a French baguette is only a day.

Holy crap, dude! That was some flare up on that steak! Wicked! So, what was the special occasion for this elaborate feast??

@5698k, Robert, that looks like a boil kettle for homebrewing beer!! Have you gone down that rabbit hole?

Measure the width of your doors and gates to make sure that it will fit through in the crate - as you have a BB32, if you chose to use a lift of some sort. Otherwise, you will need to uncrate it first. Sheets of 1/2" plywood are typically used to roll the KK around on soil/gravel. Get 2 or 3 sheets so you can "leapfrog" them as you go. It will take at least 2 people to roll it and move the plywood. The key is once you get it rolling, it's easy to keep going, but if you have to stop and start, then it gets harder.

It changes the pH on the skin. Helps it dry out more. I should have been more aggressive in wiping it off before seasoning the chicken prior to cooking.