tony b

Might have to buy a bag at the market and try this, since I don't have any plants this year.

Hi, Doc! Thanks for the post! I'd have never thought to use the pressure cooker for the presoak.

How cool!

Nicely done. Do you have the rotisserie basket? Works great for roasting chiles. Make up a nice wire cage and off you go!

What a fabulous anniversary present! As you know from your previous kamado experience, nothing better than chicken on the grill. You're going to be shocked though at how much juicier this will be than on the old one. PICTURES!!!!

Woo, Hoo! Welcome to the Obsession! Can't wait to see the pictures of the grand reveal and that all important virgin cook!

Still a very nice looking bird, Charles, even if you thought the rub was a tad burned. Skin looks great. Can't wait to hear how 450F comes out. BTW - see that you were using the "infrared deflector" on this one. A good reminder to use mine (out of sight, out of mind).

Great minds - pillaged my basil plants yesterday and made a batch of pesto - with pistachios (my fav, too!) Didn't put any smoked peppers in it, but tons of garlic and cheese!

Based on that article, I won't be trying to find a bone-in brisket anytime soon. I'll stick to the Prime grade packers @ CostCo - still $2.79/lb.

I had some pork belly steamed buns off of a food truck here on Saturday - seriously tasty!

In this country, there is a butcher's standard for various cuts and each has a name and number. So, if your butcher is halfway decent, you can ask for specific cuts by their number and they should know exactly what you want. http://www.beefboard.org/library/files/BeefCutsGuide.pdf

I've never smoked hab's before. Interesting idea. I've made chipotles and roasted hatch peppers. But, I'm not growing any hab's this year, just ghost peppers. If we don't get an early frost, I should get enough for making a batch of hot sauce.

You nailed it, Charles. I'm still struggling with this cut, as the actual brisket is not near any major bones - it's from the chest between the front legs.

I bet you had just kissed Susan and he was just wanting some of that shuggah!

Dennis posted that he lights a small chunk of charcoal and drops that on top of the bottom section of chips (like you, up to the holes on the sides) and then tops that with more chips in the column. Will definitely try that the next time, as I had the same issue as you with having to periodically re-light the chips on a longer smoke.

Echo the others - pizza stone on upper grate, direct heat, heat soak @ 500 - 550F for at least an hour.

Serious looking cluck (aka chook) you got there, Aussie!

Well done, Susan!

They are both "defective" now, as both have been opened and partially consumed.

For "not doing a great job," that looks pretty damned good from here, MacKenzie!

Our local distillery hand numbers all the single malt bottles. But most of these are single barrel releases, so there's only about 250 bottles in a batch. A far cry from 5000 bottles!

Hear your pain, my man! Had my wallet boosted on vacation in the Bahamas many years ago. Major PITA, but at least the Am Ex office there hooked me up with a new card, contacted all my other credit card folks and replaced my Traveler's Checks (shows you how long ago that was when folks still used those - pre-ATM!), so I wasn't totally screwed for the rest of the trip. Fortunately, my Passport was back in the hotel, so I could get on the plane home. Hardest thing was to replace the Drivers License - a whole day off work to hang at the DMV.

Oh, Hell-yall yeah! Homemade chicken stock in risotto is da bomb!

Nice twist on pasta carbonara, MacKenzie. I don't make stock as much as I should. Too easy to grab the jar of "Better than Bouillon."