tony b

Better than when mine would do that while snoozing in my lap! 🤪

Between you and @Syzygies, I don't know who makes my brain hurt more?? Evaporative Cooling, Heat of Vaporization, Departure from Nucleate Boiling - You guys are dispelling the idea that making good BBQ, especially on a KK, is NOT Rocket Science! 🚀 Let's pose the question in a less academic way - how does one achieve the best crust/bark on: 1) a high temperature sear, like a steak; and 2) a low & slow cook, like a brisket or pork butt? Are the best techniques the same or are they different? For example, to get a good sear, one pats the steak with a paper towel to remove excess moisture and you want a very high surface temperature (for the geeks - less evaporative cooling and better heat transfer - more Maillard reaction); but on the brisket/butt, we spritz the surface with moisture to promote smoke retention (more evaporative cooling and sticky surface - better particulate adhesion) and we cook at a much lower temperature to render fats and collagen breakdown (tenderizing). Different cuts of meat - different techniques to achieve the desired results. Does our cooking improve if we know the "why?" these techniques work or are we just content to rely upon "tribal knowledge" to achieve the desired results? I leave that answer up to the individual - this Forum can accommodate both! The beauty of this community!

That's not a dog, that's a horse! 😆 Unfortunately, big dogs like that don't live very long. 😢

Looking forward to your next attempts and updates!

A little rain won't stop you, @Poochie! You've waited too long for this to arrive to just stare at the crate!

OH MY, that's a big pooch! He doesn't need a pathway!

While we're glad to hear from you, Bruce, we've missed ya!; but sad to hear that you haven't been grilling.

I'd say that Nor'easter hit ya'll pretty good!

Welcome to the Obsession!

Your KK will be ok in those temps. Mine does just fine here. It will take longer to heat up though, so plan for that.

Dennis will send you the manual via email. Enjoy the new grill in the meantime. The only "essential" info in the manual is how to do the break-in, which you can find excellent info and vids on here in the Forum.

They are a small outfit and it's hit or miss if they have everything in stock when you visit their website. But, everything that I've ordered from them has been great. They've turned me on to interesting cuts, too, like Bavette and Denver steaks.

@PoochieI can get Dizzy Dust locally, as both ACE Hardware and a local BBQ shop carry the Dizzy Pig line. Available online, too - directly from them or Amazon. Their rubs are a staple in my pantry for a long time. Thanks for all the compliments on the ribs. I can only take partial credit (I didn't screw them up!). The real credit goes to the Porter Road folks. These ribs were amazing. Will definitely order them again and will try a pork butt from them, too.

Nice job (see my comments about the cook in the other post). Looks like you got a pretty good bark on it for wrapping in foil. I like to follow Franklin's technique of using pink butcher paper instead of foil - YMMV. Happy guests - all that matters at the end of the day!

Took advantage of the last "warm" day this week (it was 22F yesterday - today it's 4F) to do a rack of ribs. These were the first ribs that I've ordered from Porter Road. I love their beef, so thought I'd give their pork a try. No regrets - these were some of the juiciest ribs that I've ever had - anywhere! I didn't do anything extraordinary either - no lard slather, no pink butcher paper. The only thing I did was overnight marinade with yellow mustard and dry rub (Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust) and after a couple of hours on the grill, I spritzed them with apple juice & bourbon every 30 minutes or so. Cooked indirect, average temp 250F, 4 1/2 hours, with smoker pot of hickory and apple. There is NO Sauce on these ribs, they are just this shiny & color from the fat and the spritz. Plated with homemade potato salad (tater sallat!)

@Dabble - the slow rise could be attributed to a couple of things - the damper settings that you initially started out with were for that temperature and it was just coming up to equilibrium - 1/4 turn is generally way more than needed for 250F or below. Later on, if it was a bit windy, you could have what it is called "vacuum drag" across the top vent - that's where air blowing past the top damper actually pulls air through the KK, effectively making the vent setting "more open" than usual. It has to be fairly windy for that to happen though. Some advice - don't chase the temperatures. +/- 25F degrees or so from your "target" makes zero difference in the final outcome of your cook. As I like to say: "close enough for Government work." Speaking of final outcomes - that brisket looks OK to me.

You'll be extremely lucky (we're talking winning lottery ticket lucky) to find a used KK - 1) the size you want; 2) the color & tile style you want; 3) within a reasonable driving distance; and 4) up for sale in the next few months.

Let the roos be warned!

Indeed, Troble can point you in the right direction for great breweries in SD - there are plenty!

@jonj - sharp eye there!

A balmy 19F today, but windy (windchill 5F). Might see a heat wave of breaking freezing on Monday. I have a rack of ribs in the on-deck circle, just in case!

Bon temps!

AWESOME!

You do know that I was born and raised in SC - no Yankee here, despite where I live now!

OMG @Poochie Y'all might freeze to death in such cold! 🤣 btw - the high here on Thursday will be 3F.