tony b

I ordered the "hot" version of the SYD rub, 'cause that's how I roll!

I thought all pot was "magic!"

Thanks for the recipe. I copied it from the website, too. Just ordered some SYD Hot rub from Amazon. I've seen the banana leaves at the local Asian market, so I'll have to go shopping this week.

I might try your approach sometime, as I'm a center of the grill guy right now. To be honest, my burn patterns seem to be kinda all over the place - sometimes left, sometimes right, sometimes just radially out from the middle in all directions. Hence, my pronouncement about it being fairly random, unless you introduce a driving force that alters the flow distribution, like the Guru or putting the heavy stone deflector right on top of the basket handles.

Good eye, Bosco!

As one of the first to own the smoking gun, I might have to be the guinea pig for this experiment. I do need to get a flow control valve, as my pump is a single speed.

Looks great. Care to share the rub recipe? I have a stash of Hawaiian red sea salt just for doing this. I've used Emeril's recipe in the past.

But, when folks keeping asking you questions about the 270, are you going to tell them that you upgraded to the KK and send them over here? But, it should be! Beauty and talent win the contest every time.

Yummy!

There are so many variables at work here, that it's practically impossible to pinpoint exactly - how the pieces are stacked, density of each piece, size of each piece. Combustion like this is a fairly random process, but if a burn pattern develops, it will follow that pattern. The heat stone will affect the airflow, too, especially if you put it right on top of the charcoal basket handles, which has a strong influence on the burn pattern.

I've never used green wood, but I think that it would be worth a try. @Shuley - I've had it happen, too, but rarely. Try and set the CI pot near the back wall and straddle the lit coals on the front edge of the pot, so the CI pot doesn't smother the fire as the coals burn and the pot shifts.

Nicely done, as usual, Charles!

Glad to see you posting again, Doc!

Nicely seared!

Hey Doc! Where you been hiding? Missed your posts.

Thanks to all ya'll. It was indeed epic. I wholeheartedly recommend you do it up in whatever style suits you when you reach milestone birthdays - as you're never guaranteed to reach the next one! @MacKenzie - there are several candidate bottles of wine for the 65th in the cellar. Not sure if the wallet can up the game much more on the bubbly though - LOL!

Putting my money on Project Smoke viewers binge watching.

Thanks everyone for the nice birthday wishes. And, it's never too late to get started on that cellar.

Thanks, MacKenzie! It was a "dinner for two."

Thanks, Doc! However, if I keep eating like this, I probably won't have too many more birthdays - LOL!

Get a small (2 qt) cast iron dutch oven. You only need 3 small holes (1/8" dia) in the bottom. If the lid is a bit loose, after you put in your wood (chunks are best, but chips work, too), seal up the lid with a bit of flour and water paste. I mix it up in a plastic sandwich bag, then cut off a corner and pipe it onto the lid. The key here is that it needs to be airtight. Set it right on top of the lit coals. Once it gets up to temp, it will produce a nice clean smoke for hours. And the coolest part is, when the cook is over and cooled down, you open the lid to find several pieces of charcoal - Magic!

That's just sick!

I posted this here, since the dinner was not done on the KK. I was out of town and had to use a Weber kettle. I had planned to celebrate my 60th birthday in style. And did I ever! So, here goes. Champagne, but of course, this is my 60th after all. So, it had to be special. What goes best with champagne - well, caviar and fois gras, naturally. So, what's for dinner? Wagyu cowboy ribeye. Cooked sous vide @ 130F for 3 hours and finished off on the Weber. That's 2 3/4 pounds of luscious beef! Made a lovely potato galette in duck fat to go with the steak. Plated, with black truffle butter and more fois gras on the steak, because you can never have enough fois! So, what do you drink with this meal? I guess I'll have to make do with a "89 Opus One from my cellar that I've been saving for 25 years for this particular birthday. And for dessert? No, not cake, a nice "77 vintage port from the cellar! To say that this was epic is an understatement. My only concern is "How do I top this @ 65?"

The smoker pot sits right on top of the charcoal. The holes are actually in the bottom, so the smoke is directed into the fire to burn off the volatiles and produces a nice clean smoke. The double drip pan is basically for catching the drippings from the cook to do something with (gravy, season veggies, etc.) The double layer keeps the drippings from burning. The single drip pan that comes with the KK is fine as a heat deflector/drip pan, when you don't care about the drippings, as they will burn. Some folks like to foil it, to make it easier to clean up or you can just put aluminum foil on the lower grate to serve as the heat deflector. Whatever floats your boat.