tony b

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.

What is your best estimate for the "angel's share"? Just want to compare with my experience.

The coco charcoal has almost no smoky flavor; so if you have some of that, try it for baking and see what you think?

Money shot? We're all waiting to see that one. Been a big fan of the smoker pot, ever since I read Syz's original post. Works like a champ folks and that Lodge pot on Amazon is the cheapest that I've seen in a while. Jump on it!

Isn't this the tastiest thing that you've done in a while? I was blown away with the pork when I tried it. Definitely one for the "keeper" list. Interesting, as I've never grilled beets before. Have to admit, they are not high on my list of things to eat. But, I do like "bubble and squeak" every now and then.

If you want a neutral smoke flavor, then it's Dennis' cocochar all the way!

Big fan of Aaron Franklin's brisket cooking method. My standard now.

They can be lightly sanded and used many times. Also, follow Steven Raichlen's video on Project Smoke to lightly char the plank just before putting the fish on, so it will pick up some of the woody character. I think that it helped when I did the salmon for the Pink Flamingo dinner. Note: there's a couple of alder wood chunks on the coals; hence, the smoke plume.

Kinda how I feel some mornings after a beer too many!

@KevinD - fingers crossed that it works out. Best of both worlds, indeed.

The Beer pictures are making me thirsty, MacKenzie.

@skreef - hear ya, home girl! While the local Quaker Oats plant actually makes their grits, you can't buy them at any of the local stores. I have to order mine online. Silly Yankees!

Like I remind folks, not only do I use the grill as my oven, I don't even own a conventional oven.

Yummy

Do tell? I will look forward to more posts and data points.

Spun another batch yesterday as the market is running out of them. I got the last 2 bags of hot and had to settle for a bag of mild ones to finish out the batch. This little basket idea is a keeper! A buddy says that he's got more jalapenos than he knows what to do with, so I'm hoping to score a batch of those and try my hand at chipotles.

I'd never heard of it before either and I think this is the only place that I've seen that calls it that. A rose by any other name, eh?

Break a leg, kid, in the Challenge! Well done, including making the pita bread - Wow!