tony b

@Stile88 - you nailed it. I'm not that familiar with CNC cutting, so I didn't expect the temperatures to get that high, but obviously per Dennis, they do. You da man! I'm wondering if the compromise solution here is to make the base from basic carbon steel, CNC cut the design, then plate it with the stainless. Have no, I mean NO, idea what the cost would be, but it would get around the warping problem, while keeping the esthetic of the stainless steel. I made a gross assumption here that you can CNC cut carbon steel.

The holes aren't punched out, but CNC cut out. That didn't cause the problem. They warped in use. One thing for folks to consider, stainless steel is NOT a very good conductor of heat, compared to aluminum, copper, or even cast iron. That's the reason that it warps - uneven heating caused by hot spots that you'd expect in a charcoal fire. That's why the better stovetop cookware is a sandwich material of an outer shell of the stainless for corrosion resistance, with an inner layer of copper or aluminum to spread the heat out better, so the pan doesn't warp. That's the reason that I asked Dennis if they'd tried rods (or bars) of another material as stiffeners underneath the plates to help distribute the heat more uniformly. It would be easier for him to manufacture than to try the sandwich method.

Charles (ckreef) is the Pro here for all things pizza. So look for some of his pizza cook threads and dough recipes. There are others here that are wise, as well. I'm no expert, but can offer a couple of tips. First, most important, heat soak your grill for at least an hour once you reach your desired cooking temp. That stone takes a long time to heat up to match the dome thermometer temp. If you have an IR heat gun, use it to check the stone temp to ensure it's at the cooking temp you want. Also, when using the KK stone on the upper grate, there's no need for an intermediate heat deflector - it just slows down the heat-up process. It can handle the direct heating. Cooking temp depends on the style of crust and dough recipe - hence, the reason you're seeing the big range. Really hot temps (>550F are for Neopolitan style). Most regular style pizza cooks just fine at 450 - 500F. Deep dish styles do best at lower temps 350 - 375F. Cook times also vary with style and dough recipe - really thin crusts at high temps will be done in a matter of a couple of minutes, which is why it's essential to cook up near the dome to get the top done at the same time as the bottom. Regular styles take around 8 - 12 minutes. Deep dish go for 30 - 45 minutes. Parchment paper - my go to for getting the pie off the peel onto the stone. It barely affects the browning of the bottom crust; but if it bothers you, wait about a minute then, you can slide the peel between the crust and parchment and easily remove it once the crust starts to brown. I like it because it works, first of all; and second, you don't get any scorched flour or cornstarch flavor on your pizza.

Hope you gotta taste first!

Look for the threads where several of us here have experimented with various cleaning ideas to see what works well and what didn't work out. YMMV I'm a homebrewer and sold on using Powdered Brewers Wash (PBW) to clean the stainless steel parts, especially the rotisserie basket. The downside for non-brewers is that it is a bit pricey compared to other options, but it works fantastic and there's little to no scrubbing involved - just rinse and wipe with a damp sponge.

I can see the improvement in the crumb over the first one. Keep going, Charles, as we all want to learn from you!

D'Artagnan is running a sale on Wagyu right now, along with some other tasty meat bits, for "Grilling Month." They even can get the "real deal" Japanese Wagyu if you want to pay that kind of coin - Serious Coin! http://www.dartagnan.com

Don't bet the farm on it!

Same is true here in Iowa for pig farms. The medium to large sized confinement farms produce tons of manure that run off into the streams and the smell is apparent for miles around. Most are in the medium size range, as there are loopholes in the environmental laws for them over the larger ones for runoff mitigation. Estimates are in the billions of dollars (yes, with a B!) to clean up the water supply here that helps feed the Dead Zone in the Mississippi Delta, from all the nitrate and phosphate runoff from farms growing all that corn and soybeans to feed those cows and pigs (plus to put ethanol in your gas tank.) Buy locally raised, sustainable proteins whenever you can!

My jar was like $10 US for the same sized jar at the local health food store. Just wanted to experiment with it on the eggs. I'll stick to my go-to's of bacon grease or butter to fry my eggs. The palm oil is mainly for the air fryer, per MacKenzie's recommendation for frying/baking potatoes.

Most of us have the smaller motor size (4pm05). Unless you plan to do baby suckling pigs, you don't need that big of a motor. The mounting brack should have come with your KK. Dennis supplies those with the rotisserie basket, along with the connecting shaft linkage between the motor and the bearing in the side of the KK.

Nice, MacKenzie. Great minds. I did some Purple Crack eggs this morning, too, fried in the Red Palm Oil. Neat stuff, but a tad pricey.

Woo, hoo! MacKenzie - Purple Crack eggs for brekkie! Yeah, Aussie, I hooked up MacKenzie with a taste. Just knew she'd be down with them. And, am I seeing beets on that sammie? Silly Aussie!

Indeed! You'll have to help him with the uncrating and setup, Aussie, preferably with some adult beverages (afterwards, of course!) @tangles163 - as the song goes, "The waiting is the hardest part." Once it arrives, your mind will be blown. Eagerly awaiting the pics. Oh, and that picnic table is stunning! Can't wait to see the matching cart for the KK.

Yummy! I've been holding out on buying the Octoforks (don't I have enough "toys" already, he asked himself? ), but all these great looking cooks have gotten me re-thinking that - damn you people!!

All I can say is, "We told you so!" Can't wait to see those pork butt pictures!

Gotta be rotisserie chicken. Overnight injection of Butcher BBQ Bird Booster - Herb and rub the outside with Plowboys Yardbird. Unfortunately, the Herb flavor is getting almost impossible to find. They replaced it with "Rotisserie" which is good, but I liked the Herb better.

There we go!!

Especially on that Carolina mustard sauce!

Most likely because it had never actually been exposed to any/many fires in the KK, i.e., the "showroom model." Yes, you can solve the warping problem by increasing the thickness; however, it would have to be significantly thicker to preclude that, which introduces other things that aren't beneficial - adds weight (can you actually lift it in/out of the grill easily), adds time to heat up to cooking temps (more mass), and lastly, the big one - adds cost (not only for extra material, but also the machining gets more complicated the thicker the plate.)

I have a DigiQ-II. I only use it on low & slow cooks that are over several hours long - mainly briskets and pork butts/shoulders. I just like the "security blanket" aspect of it, especially if you want to do an overnight cook - you'll get more sleep not worrying about it. Needed? Nope! I owned the Guru prior to buying the KK; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have bought it. To your other question about "hot & fast briskets" - everything is the same, except you cook them at 325F - 350F degrees. Shortens the cooking time a lot, since you can power through the stall better at these higher temps. I've done both techniques and there isn't a ton of difference in the results. I get more variability based upon the quality of meat that I'm smoking than the temperature that I cook it at.

In what orthogonal plane do they want to warp? Is it consistent or is it random with each plate in the direction that they warp? Have they tried some sort of stiffener bar(s) welded to the bottom? Have they tried heat-treatments to temper the steel after machining? Sorry, but the Engineer in me came out when handed a problem like this!

Nice bird! For a moment, I was wondering if "dizzy" meant that you'd spun it or that you put Dizzy Pig on it!

Damn, I was all excited to practice my French and you went and translated it. I might offer some hints on the translation, as cooking terms don't generally translate directly: Preparation: Cut the chicken in half lengthways and press to flatten well. (or Spatchcock the chicken) Slice several slits of about 1 inch deep into the flesh of the chicken. Thoroughly massage the chicken with the mixture of salt and pepper. Allow to stand for 60 to 90 minutes in the refrigerator. Mix all the other marinade ingredients in a bag or a bowl. Before marinating the chicken, remove the excess salt and pepper by rubbing it with a dry paper towel. Place chicken in the marinade and baste well. Leave to marinate about 60 minutes.

Dude, your sister is in MN! WTF - and weren't going to come down to Iowa for a visit??? Now, I'm bummed that your vaca got panned, too!