tony b

Rocked it, MacJeezie!

Nice trick with the taco rack. Were they difficult to remove after cooking?

@wilburpan - You had mad cooking skill before you bought your KK. So, learning all about low n slow wasn't a huge leap for you. You'd read up on our posts here and it was a slam dunk from there!

Like Robert said, the folks on the Forum try and steer new buyers into loading up the crate with coco and coffee charcoal. For my 23" KK, I think the limit was like 15 boxes, which is a lot if you use it judiciously. You can buy individual boxes on Amazon, but the cost is a bit pricey ($45 for a 20# box), but it is Prime eligible.

Most of my career was immersed in probability and statistics. Hence, my reticence in jumping back into a project like this.

You're killin' me! Next thing you'll tell us is that you have a Par - 3 golf course, too! In a word - Shangri-La!

Oh, Hay-yall Yeah! Roasted grapes. I've never done them myself, but had them in restaurants - killer! Don't limit yourself to dessert. Think about putting those yummy flavor bombs in a grilled chicken breast salad, or along side a nice grilled piece of fish!

MacKenzie, or should I say Jezebel! Had another lovely G&T on the deck tonight, as pre dinner warm up. I'll post pics tomorrow of the din-din, as today is the last day of the month on my cellphone plan and I've used up all of my data!!! Living on the edge, baby!

I'll bring the serious piggy - what you want - mule foot, red waddle, swabian, berkshire?? It's good to live where the tasty piggies do!

I retired from Engineering for a reason! This discussion is making my brain hurt.

Crazy, nice setup! I have to ask, is the tennis court yours, too? Pool & tennis court - sooo jealous!

Excellent job, even if it was seriously hot outside!

Count me in, too! Had a nice couple of bourbons after dinner last night - beautiful weather to sit out on the deck - Jefferson Reserve (Ocean Series) and Bib & Tucker - both outstanding.

Well done, indeed. I've always contended that ceramics make the best grilled chicken. While it's not impossible to dry it out, you have to actually work hard at it to do so!

Another congrats on setting the date. That's just around the corner, so not a lot of planning time. Is this a casual ceremony, meaning, are folks going to be dressed up for it? If so, you might want to stay away from the messier foods, like pulled pork or brisket sandwiches with BBQ sauce or Buffalo chicken wings. Think about assorted skewers/kabobs. Do all the prep a day or two ahead. Do them in shifts on the KK so there's always some on the table and are still hot. You can do an assortment of different things - meats (beef, chicken, lamb), seafood (fish, shrimp), veggies (squash, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, onion), and fruits (melons, pineapple, peaches, apples, all work well). Dry rubs keep things neat, but some sauces/glazes tighten up well under heat, like teriyaki or balsamic vinegar. The nice thing about kebabs is that you can just eat them off the stick, no utensils/plates, and most importantly, leave a free hand for a cocktail in the other hand!!

Crazy looking bacon, MacKenzie! I waited until this past weekend (Memorial Day) to put out my tomatoes, herbs, and pepper plants, as we still had nightly lows in the upper 30s the first week of May. Been in the 50s at night since, so - fingers crossed - I'm in the clear. Oh, btw, was on the deck last night having a G&T waiting for the KK to heat up, and spotted a female hummingbird in the neighbor's apple tree.

Bosco, did you have the coals in a zoned cooking arrangement, so the chickens rotated in/out of the hot zone; or, was it just a straight up direct cook directly underneath the birds??

Excellent looking "shot" of espresso! (pun intended)

Sounds like someone might get invited over for another dinner and after dinner drink!

All's well that ends well!! Enjoy you new awesome toy!! Pictures of that all important 1st cook are always expected.

The beauty of Franklin's method is that the pink butcher paper has a much less effect on the bark than foiling, which results in steaming and softening the bark. I was a bit skeptical myself, until the first time I tried it and now I won't do a brisket (or beef roast) any other way.

@MacKenzie - great looking pie. Now that you know how to lattice pie crust, you know how to weave the bacon blanket for a fattie! @Bruce Pearson - when I remodeled my kitchen about 8 years ago, I did not put in a conventional oven, as I rarely used the old one. The KK gets all the big stuff and small stuff works great in the counter-top convection oven (brick lined Cuisinart).

Looks like someone's done this before!! Rookies don't do Fatties!