tony b

@Syzygies - it not for tenderizing, but to help dry out the skin so it crisps up easier. Did enjoy reading about "velveting" though.

Good call, Doc. Been buying Pendery's chili spice blends and dried peppers for at least 20 years. My standard chili recipe is a 4 dump - the first is crumbled dried chiles, the other 3 are different Pendery blends. I've never bought from World Spices, despite your and Dennis' accolades. On my list, as they have some interesting stuff. Never saw those folks before, Robert. Thanks for the hook-up. I'm a HUGE (make that YUGE) Penzey's fan for most of my spice needs, other than BBQ rubs.

Check out your local ACE Hardware store for the Black Diamond. It comes in a box. A tad pricey, but great distribution of mostly medium sized pieces, with not a lot of smalls or fines. Lights easily with the torch, burns well, with not a lot of ash or heavy smoke.

Hey Doc!! You AND Wilbur posting in the same weekend. Like old times!!

Atta boy!!!

That's the life of a farmer. Always at Mother Nature's mercy.

Very similar. It's basically cinnamon sugar, but with a kick to it (has some chile pepper in it) and some extra boost from the nutmeg and allspice.

We haven't had frost in weeks, but the lows were still in the 40s at night until recently. Plus, we've had a lot of rain lately, so the soil was really soggy and like they say "tomatoes don't like wet feet." So I was waiting for things to dry out a little before planting.

It was pretty tasty chook, too! Took some leftover breast meat, toss into a pan with a dollop of butter, more Purple Crack and some Franks Hot Sauce - buffalo chicken, served on a nice tossed salad with Purple Crack blue cheese dressing! Nice lunch.

Just the Pineapple Head. Unless you want total decadence - then put the grilled slices into a pan with a lot of butter and big shot of rum, then flambe and serve over vanilla ice cream.

Killer brisket! And that tasty bit looks to die for! Gotta go off and make lunch now, as this has gotten me seriously hungry!

Nicely done, Keith! Waiting with bated breath for my forks to arrive tomorrow! Can't decide what's going to be the first cook - those bacon wrapped pork ribs or maybe some tandoori chicken thighs? Decisions, decisions!! If you want to take that pineapple to the next level, get you some Dizzy Pig Pineapple Head rub.

Great to see you cooking again, Wilbur!! Nicely done, btw. Interesting brisket cook. I'm in the Franklin camp - wrap in pink butcher paper after the stall and cook to 203F IT. But, I can't argue with your results, looks moist and tender.

@Keith OctoForks - Did the Purple Crack chicken. The overnight rub of baking soda, kosher salt and Taz pepper berries did turn the skin purple. But, the Purple Crack mixed into the Butcher's BBQ injection didn't really turn the meat purple, as I'd hoped. Here's a snap of the purple skin. My dinner guest commented that it looked like it was bruised (beaten up) - LOL! Obviously didn't stay that way after cooking.

Totally down with Tandoori chicken. Looking forward to doing some when my OctoForks arrive this week. It will be Christmas in June!

Nice duck! Haven't done one in a while. I follow Wilbur's method for doing them Peking style, except I don't hang mine outside on the clothes line to dry!

Totally down with Za'atar. Mix up my own. Might need to look around to source the sumac. Look for middle eastern markets or a Penzey's spice market, if you're lucky enough to have one close by. And, there's always on line.

Thanks, Garvin! High praise getting the Grandma seal of approval!

@erik6bd - see if you have a local homebrewers supply shop nearby. You might get a slightly better price, especially if you don't have Prime and have to pay shipping. Also, 4 lbs is a lot of PBW, as you typically use 1 TB per gallon of hot water. The 1 lb jar on Amazon is a tad pricey, should be closer to $8.

@ckreef - 'cause you folks down there don't have to make up "snow days" when school is either cancelled or late start. Sorry, MacKenzie, it was a gorgeous weekend here - upper 70s/low 80s. Cooling off a bit today - low 70s. Planted my veggie garden yesterday (tomatoes, peppers and herbs).

Good read. Kinda backed up my own experience over the last few years. Still some caution - I recently bought a couple of NY Strips from the local COOP when they were on sale ($16/lb). Locally raised, 100% grass-fed, no growth hormones/antibiotics. Nice looking piece of meat in the package. Cooked them sous vide @ 125F for 2 hours, then finished on the lower grate on the KK. Finished steaks looked perfect. Had a really nice beef flavor. Now for the big BUT, they were very chewy, not very tender at all, especially given that they were cooked sous vide, so they weren't overcooked. Won't be buying them again, even at that sale price. Will stick to CostCo Prime for the same price. It might be lowest tier Prime, but it's better than these steaks were by a long shot. Even the local supermarket's "Angus Reserve" is better. Or my local butcher, who's beef is generally high Choice. Problem with his stuff is that it's pre-wrapped in white butcher paper and frozen, so you don't really get to see it until you get it home. Plus, unless I order specially, he has his steaks cut to 1" thickness. I prefer 1 1/2". So, as the old Latin saying goes, "Let the buyer beware!"

Not unless heavily armed and armored!

Yeah, that was me on the soapbox (pun intended) about the PBW! Here's a pic of the roti basket. The left side had been soaked in the PBW for several hours. The right side had not. So, you can see the difference. All I do after the soak is wipe everything down with a wet sponge. No elbow grease required! I bet PBW and your ultrasonic cleaner would be a dynamite combo! You might not even have to sponge it off! But, you'd still have to rinse it down, as PBW is NOT a no-rinse cleaner, like some out there.

Like they said, "No working probes, who cares about the Block!" It's the crux of the biscuit (= ') !!

I hear yah, Robert, but only if I could keep a steady supply going. I just can't swing a half pallet order by myself. And, it's pretty lonely out here in Iowa when it comes to pallet sharing!