tony b

Good news, gents! The last of your stuff arrived today in the mail - back ordered for 3 weeks! Hope to get everything boxed up and to the Post Office tomorrow. Will post the tracking numbers thereafter.

Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about!

I've done 140F cold smoking. Don't see any problem with a 180F smoke. Don't light much charcoal (1 or 2 small pieces), smallest vent hole in the draft door, and almost no opening on the top, just barely off the seat.

You know that many of these "upgrades" can be purchased - as I know from personal experience!! Double gasket - check, locking nuts for the rear draft door - check, dual dial front draft door - check. And of course, all the new accessories are available, too! Again, I have most of them - cold smoker, rotisserie rod & basket, new pizza stone (KK shaped), double bottom drip pan. YMMV

I don't know what the limit is, but I've done cold smoking sessions that were 4 hours long and I used only a fraction of the wood chips/pellets. I did try an overnighter once - got up the next morning and it was empty and cold, so I don't know how long it actually burned.

One of the earliest tips we give new KK owners - go out and buy a bigger sized belt!!

Thanks, Aussie. It wasn't that expensive on Amazon when I got it ($75), but you can't get them anymore. It's my basic slicing knife now. A tad more work to keep sharp (it's only one-sided), but it's a nice knife.

It will actually. The worst part of the fallout is breathing it in. Staying indoors (especially in a basement) is about the best thing you can do, unless you have an actual fallout shelter with filtered air intakes. But, given how they build houses in Hawaii - very open because of the nice year-round weather, they might not be as protected as a tightly sealed house on the mainland would be. https://www.ready.gov/nuclear-blast I plan to hide out in my wine cellar in the basement.

Very similar to my favorite Cook's Illustrated method for baked potatoes. You make up a strong brine and soak the spuds in that briefly before baking. As the water evaporates during baking, the salt sticks to the skin. And, it helps to make the skin crispier, too. https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/8654-best-baked-potatoes?incode=MCSCD00L0&ref=new_search_experience_1 Cool story about the origin, Jon!

Sorry, I'll pass on this one, Aussie. Snakes are NOT my thing at all.

We all tend to think that there's only a few varieties of spuds, as that's all we're used to seeing in the market, but there's actually hundreds of different kinds. The Apache sound interesting, but I've never seen anything like them here. The purple ones are about as exotic as I've seen. Yukon Golds are my go-to for mashed. Might be similar to your Mayan.

I intend to share some of mine. We're just your street corner hustlers, Aussie!

Sad, but there's some twisted folks out there that get off on this stuff.

Is it because of the smaller size that it's effective?

(other cDitch the big heat deflector. No one uses it anymore for any type of cooking. If you want indirect heat, use the drip pan or a sheet of aluminum foil on the lower grate. The big ceramic heat deflector just sucks up a lot of heat - you burn a lot of extra charcoal just heating it up for no good reason. Even Dennis hasn't used one in many years now. He only includes it in the standard package because folks expect it (other kamado style cookers have one.) FYI - the pizza stone is made of a completely different material, especially formulated for cooking on - breads, pizza, etc. But, just like the heat deflector, it will soak up a lot of heat to reach cooking temperatures. The upside is that once heated, it will allow multiple pizza cooks in quick succession without significant drop off in cooking temperature (fast rebound).

That's right - not much beats ooie-gooie warm cheese and puff pastry!

Yeah, pretty awesome stuff isn't it. I've never stuffed it with preserves before, but makes sense, seeing as how you put them on the outside after it's baked. I have stuffed them with chopped cooked mushrooms and herbs before.

Welcome to the Obsession! Quite a few of us here do Sous Vide cooking, so much so, that Dennis added this separate section to the Forum for us to post about our cooks. (Speaking of, I'm off to fire mine up to do a steak for supper!) Was impressed with the goose fat potatoes! I'm a junkie for duck fat spuds. Haven't tried to source goose fat. Curious as to the difference? Pics, Bruce, pics!!

We missed you - WELCOME BACK! Glad to hear that you had a great time back in the States and missed those ugly disasters in So Cal. Also glad that you're breathing better and it's OK back home. Don't go visiting Aussie in Perth right now!

Looking forward to those "tips," Dennis, as I've often struggled to keep mine lit, too. Tried your suggestion to place a lit chunk of charcoal just above the tube - with only moderate success. Best thing that I've discovered so far, is to blend pellets for those style of smoker grills with my wood chips. The combo seems to stay lit a bit better than chips alone.

Looks amazing, Aussie, but inquiring minds like ours would like to know - with all that lemon myrtle sailing about, how come none ended up in that salsa or marinade??

Welcome to the Obsession! I've done grilled sardines and they came out great. Never seen your fish before, must be a local species that's not exported.

Wow and then, WOW! Pretty picture until you realize what it really means! Stay safe!