tony b

MacKenzie, that breakfast sammie is just sick! @Bruce Pearson - my best advice, not knowing the dish you plan to use it in and the size of the cook, start with a few drops (think of using it similar to hot sauce), mix it in, taste it, keep adding more drop-by-drop until you get it where you like it. One of the fundamental rules that I have learned in cooking over the years is to "taste, taste it again, then taste it one more time." Most cooks just put everything into the pan and don't taste it until it's on the plate and then wonder why it didn't come out the way that they planned (either under or over seasoned.) I keep a jar full of tasting spoons by my stove. Bought a dozen cheap teaspoons on Amazon. One of the smartest things I've ever added to my kitchen!

Nice job, Aussie. Got me Jonesing for some beef, but we're supposed to have thunderstorms late afternoon, so grilling might not be in the cards tonight!

Can SECOND the duck fat popcorn! It rules! You will not go back to plain butter ever again!

A big SECOND on the duck fat popcorn!

Great looking duck, Shuley! Please tell me that you save that wonderful duck fat for some special use? If you've never had potatoes roasted in duck fat, you have been missing out! I have been thinking about doing another Peking duck lately, but when I went to the market the other day hoping to get one on sale after Thanksgiving, they only had 1 left. It was one of the pre-brined ones with that 12% solution stuff, so it wouldn't have worked for a Peking duck. Unfortunately, the Asian market where I used to get them (with heads still on) has closed, so I need to find a new local source. To quote one of my favorite lines from "A Christmas Story" - "He's smiling at me!"

Nothing like a good "pig picking" as we say down South!

Stay away from Cowboy - it's total crap - scrap lumber that burns up in a flash. I used the Whiz's database to scope out new brands that I run across before I buy them to see if he's rated them and what he thinks. Like you said, many of those listed aren't widely available (or discontinued.) If you look closely, many of them are just re-branded Royal Oak, especially supermarket brands and even BGE.

Love the hunting/fishing twist on the Fleur de Lys design, very unique!

I've tried many, currently my "go to" is Rockwood. I like it over Fogo, which has too big of pieces for my liking (I'm talking very large chunks that need to be broken up to burn well.) Royal Oak lump is a back-up, since it's cheap and I can get it several places locally; only one BBQ store carries the Rockwood, and it's way across town, so it's a journey for me to go there. My previous favorite was Weekend Warrior, but they went out of business due to a fire in their facility. Humphries is good, but it's hard for me to get without paying out the nose for shipping. I love Dennis' cocochar, but I tend to hoard my boxes, as it's cost prohibitive for me to get more. I only use it on very long cooks, like butts and briskets. Check out the Naked Whiz's database for lump charcoal - http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

Thx!

It's one of my favs, right up there with the Purple Crack. It's sweeter than roasted garlic and the consistency is like a gummy bear. Like Purple Crack, they will stain your foods - in this case black and not purple.

Just to follow up on MacKenzie's post - the reason to pull out the dome thermometer in cold weather when not in use, is that it will under range (go below the lowest setting) and throw off the calibration. I have seen as much as a 50F offset in readings. While it's an easy fix to re-calibrate the thermometer - loosen the hex nut on the back, put the probe into boiling water and rotate the dial to read 212F (or whatever boiling water temperature is at your elevation), then re-tighten the nut on the back. You can also throw off the calibration if you leave the thermometer in the dome if you go super hot (over range). This is what I did once - was planning a super hot sear of a steak, cranked open the vents and went inside the house to get stuff ready, came back outside to see the dome thermometer reading 200F and going WTF? Only to open the dome to a roaring fire - the temperature had gone all the way around the dial (estimate was around 1000F). Threw off the calibration big time!

I haven't used mine in years. Tonight's cook was a simple aluminum foil wrap on the lower grate, as I wasn't expecting much drip (country style ribs.) If you are cooking a large hunk of meat - butt, brisket, etc. that has a lot of fat, then use the drip pan. The pizza stone is a completely different formulation of ceramic than the deflector stones, which are basically the same material as the walls of your KK. They are NOT interchangeable.

Thanks, Bruce. The spud was twice baked - 1st bake in the microwave to just barely done, then scooped out and mashed with the stuffing (I left out the salted chives in the description - Ooops!), the final cook was in the air fryer (20 mins @ 325F). The secret ingredient is the black garlic, this stuff is extraordinary! https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B013EM8IRW

Not really, but I am quasi-ambidextrous. Why did you ask?

Every time that I've been there, I ended up ordering nothing else - appetizer, main course, dessert! These things are truly addictive if you love oysters!

Here yah go!

I was referring to the wavy lines - that's not standard.

Steak Night! While doing the weekly marketing, spotted this bad boy in the "special sale" section of the meat counter. I couldn't say No! Injected with Sriracha Stix (classic garlic butter), rubbed with Sucklebusters Hoochie Mama and Dizzy Pig Montreal Steak rubs. On a direct fire in the split basket, with coffee wood chunks. Finished with some compound butter (garlic, parsley and Parmesan cheese) - leftovers from doing Drago oysters. Plated with a killer twice-baked potato (boursin cheese, black garlic, sour cream, butter and S&P), green salad, crusty bread and a nice bottle of red wine. Can't get any better than this!!! Ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille! Bon Appetit, ya'll!!

Nice, but I really love that spoon! Who's your friend swimming in the soup, MacKenzie? And, I don't even want to know why you cut that squash like that - crazy!

Woo, Hoo!

@Tyrus - lots of good intell on the web about SV cooks (Moderist Cuisine, Serious Eats). MacKenzie and I have experimented on several cooks - see posts in the Sous Vide section of the Forum. Only thing that I've struggled with was mashed potatoes - I found that it takes longer and a bit higher temperature than the standard literature says. MacKenzie experimented with some malted enzyme. It made the potatoes very creamy, but I didn't like the flavor it imparted to the spuds. We also tried to optimize a "hot & fast" method for poaching eggs, as the preferred "low & slow" method takes 45+ minutes. MacKenzie got it down, but I bailed because it was taking 3 steps to get the whites set without setting the yolks - sous vide, then ice bath, followed by boiling water bath. I just plan ahead now for the longer cooking time.

Can't wait to hear what ya'll do with them, once you get them? @Tyrus - I think that they'd rock a Bloody Mary. Would add that "je ne sais quoi," similar to using black cardamom.

Yeah, make sure that you're using food grade paper and not just regular "kraft paper." Here's the Amazon link for what I get: https://smile.amazon.com/Butcher-Durable-Approved-ORIGINAL-smoking/dp/B0757WVCJK

I wouldn't pay $250/lb for it - that's more than Kobe beef for crying out loud. That said, I have had a lot of fun trying it and doing different things with it, like putting it in my beer. Try an ounce or two at their price and see if it's something that trips your trigger, then decide if it's worth it to pay the big $$ for quantity. Remember, harvest in Australia is in March, so the next crop isn't that far off, if you try it and like it, then order directly from them at 25% of the imported cost.