tony b

I assume that you were going for the "colloquial" definition - A person from the state of West Australia - the largest and most important state in Australia. Sandgropers are well-known for being taller, healthier and better-looking than other Australians. Versus the literal one - Sandgropers are wholly subterranean larviform insects of the family Cylindrachetidae that may grow up to 7 cm (3 in) long.

A minor setback - package tracking says my Maggi cubes won't arrive today as originally promised, but now on Thursday!! WAH!! Looks like it will be Friday before I can mix up a new batch and do some skewers.

two thumbs up on the Baharat.

Glad you're liking it. It is a pretty amazing piece of gear for the KK. Dennis is just a genius! If you saw my post in another thread, I also did some baby backs tonight using the cold smoker. Your suggestion of 100% pellets was the trick! Best run with the cold smoker to date. Ran flawlessly for the entire 4 hour rib cook. I only filled mine 1/2 way and there was about 1/3 of the pellets left that weren't even beginning to light. I just hit the side air hole with the MAPP torch and off to the races! I started out trying the cotton ball in alcohol, but I was using vodka and it had too much water in it to sustain a flame. Should have gone downstairs to the bar and gotten the Everclear! (190 Proof grain alcohol!) LOL

Well, here's the results of tonight's cook. I probably should have laid down a thicker base of the Tabasco Sriracha, as I could just barely taste it. Better to ease into it than jump right into the deep end of the pool and be overwhelmed. Second part of the experiment was a much bigger success. Used the cold smoker on a hot cook for the first time. Worked great. Smoked some baby backs at 225F for 4 hours with the cold smoker loaded with 100% pellets this time. Will not go back to wood chips!! This worked so much better than any previous use of the cold smoker. Hat's off to ckreef for the tip! Plus, the local sweet corn is getting better every day! Tonight's was very sweet. The next 6 weeks or so will be awesome! And, Yes, there's pictures! Served up with some hushpuppies (air fried) and a nice side salad, with a tasty rose.

@Aussie Ora - I noticed that it was "mild" wing sauce! Actually looks like it's mustard based, which would make it very much like a South Carolina BBQ sauce, which is excellent on pulled pork; so you must be channeling your inner Sandlapper!

Funny, I resemble that remark! But, I totally agree. I have a couple of specialty spices coming that I hope are that missing taste. Plus, I've ordered Nigerian Maggi cubes in hopes that they are part of the equation, as well. If not, then this will have been an expensive lark!

What a shame, as it was a great way to get around the bay area; well, at least the East Bay and SF.

Trying something new today on my rib cook. Instead of slathering on yellow mustard as the base before the spice rub (Dizzy Dust), I used the Tabasco version of Sriracha (pretty tasty stuff as it turns out). However, I didn't use a lot. We'll see how much flavor it imparts.

You should see my pantry then!

I lived there from Summer 78 until Fall 82. I used to take the BART from the Fremont station up to Berkeley for classes 3 times a week for 9 months in Grad School. I worked in the south end of San Jose and we could smell the garlic when it was being harvested.

And not just the front end, but the back end, too!!

For a "tumbling dice" rotisserie chicken, MacKenzie, it looks pretty damn good! But, I don't know about that "faux tofu stuff"?? You were almost making falafel, so you should have gone "all in."

@ckreef - I wholeheartedly agree, especially after him buying the whole catalogue of Dizzy Pig rubs! But, at least he scored the 150th Anniversary sauce! @Bruce Pearson - that's going "all in" son, including the smoking wood chips! I was a tad more selective!

Back in the day when I lived in San Jose, I had a 1975 Jensen Healey. I knew I-5 well. First time I hit 100 mph over in the valley, I remember the front end starting to lift and thought maybe I should back it down a notch!

I'm guessing that using only the smaller pieces of lump might have something to do with it, but certainly not all, as small pieces do burn up quicker. I don't think the brand of lump here made any difference, as I've used both and they burn about the same. Next time, line the bottom of the basket with larger pieces and toss the smaller ones on top to help get it going. A full turn on the top was far too open for a low and slow cook. I'm leaning toward that being the culprit here over the size of the lump. One of the tricks of using the fan systems, regardless of brand, is to minimize the natural draft through the grill and rely on the fan to supply almost all of the air needed for combustion. With your top vent open that much, the grill was able to breath on it own. I'm surprised that your temps held as low as they did. I would have expected you to be about 100F higher than that for this top damper opening.

Hope it finds a good new home!

No doubt it will have my own spin on it; if nothing else, it will have Purple Crack in it - LOL! I'm just intrigued by whatever it is in the one you sent me that I can't put my finger on?

There's always injecting the brisket. I like this stuff if I'm doing a Choice grade brisket. https://www.butcherbbq.com/online-store/Brisket-Injection-p64796418

I hope to have some of my final product ready to send you by then, so you can do your own comparison with the stuff your Mom's bringing. I did a quick experiment last night. I was cooking some pork chops, which were fairly thin and boneless, so I took one and pounded it out even thinner and skewered it with both your rub and my latest incarnation. I guess that I was a bit too light on the rub, as neither was really spicy. I just wanted to see if pork worked as well as beef with the rubs. Jury is still out I'm afraid due to my wimpy seasoning.

If the corn is a bit sub-par, cheat and put some fresh tarragon in the foil pouch with butter and S&P. It will enhance the sweetness. When the good stuff comes in, I just put it straight on the grill and let it roast in the husks. Easy, peasy!

I have fond memories of the Gilroy Garlic Festival! The most amazing garlic bread, garlic knots, etc. You stank for days afterwards, but it was great!

Did a Costco run today and what did I spot on the shelves? Yes, the peanut butter powder! So, if the rest of you want to try and make your own suya pepper spice, go to Costco and get the PB Fit powder. Or, be like me and buy it off Amazon and pay $3.50 more for it!! Still playing around with the recipe. Today I experimented with Black Cardamom, Curry Powder, and Urfa Biber (Turkish pepper). There's just something in the one tekobo sent me that I just can't put my finger on - the "je ne sais quoi?" I have a couple more things I'm going to try.

GORGEOUS! Now I see why you're so eagerly awaiting them to open. If I remember correctly, they'll be all brown and gross by morning?

I second your thoughts on 100% grass fed beef. I don't care for it. As you noted, even if cooked "correctly" it still comes out dry and a bit chewy. As Aaron Franklin says, "Always buy the best cut of meat that you can afford." I have a BBQ Guru DigiQ-II and I've never experienced a cook that blew through that much charcoal. Something else is at work here, but you said that your temps stayed steady???? Oh, one last comment, YES - the KK makes the BEST roasted chicken!! It's almost impossible to screw one up. ckreef actually did a test to see if he could dry out a whole chicken on the KK - NOPE!