tony b

Happens to me all the time. I either do one of two things - use my propane torch to warm it up from inside until it spins opens (usually only takes a 10 sec blast); or, once I know the fire is out after the cook, I go out and barely spin it off the seat before I put the cover back on.

I would support that assumption, Wilbur, to a point. My old POSK cranked out some of the juiciest chicken that I've ever made. Granted, it was a heavier ceramic than most on the market at the time, so the delta there isn't as great as with some of the other ceramics that have thinner walls and bypass flow around the charcoal basket. But, the basic theory is still sound.

Good start, Rak!

Thanks, Tony. I do admit that I have a twisted sense of humor!

Great pun, even if you didn't mean to do it!

Nice job! Next time, take one of the corned beef briskets, rinse it well, then coat it with a heavy layer of ground corriander, black pepper and salt, and viola - pastrami! Reminds me that I've got one buried in the freezer that I should thaw out and make into pastrami!

Bet eating that rice was a b!tch?!

Indeed!

Thanks, Jon! Will shoot you a PM with my address. With the nice weather today (hey, it's finally above freezing here!), did some more measurements, based up ckreef's feedback. If we want it to fit on the handles of the full charcoal basket and be centered under the rotisserie (I eyeballed it from the holes in the KK, since I don't actually have the basket yet!), the length should only be 17" long (i.e., need to cut off 1.25 inches). No need to trim the width. This is for a 23" KK, YMMV. Folks with the BB 32" shouldn't have any problems with the grate, as is out of the box. I had forgotten that the KK isn't round, but teardrop shaped, so the widest part of the grill is NOT on the centerline, but slightly forward. This gave me another idea. If you don't want to cut it. If you place your basket splitter with the coals in the front half of the KK, then you should be able to cover almost all the coals and shield the rotisserie basket from direct fire.

Nice one, Jon. And it just love the cart idea! BTW - it's actually ABOVE freezing here - woo, hoo! Gonna fire up the KK for some Chalet chicken for dinner tonight!

OK, it's the elephant in the room - why the skewers AFTER you cooked the pork (which looks awesome, btw)??

Both look killer. Didn't take you long to hit your stride with the new KKs, Ryan!!

Tried the scrambled eggs this morning. 2 eggs, 2 tsp of half-n-half, tsp of butter, TB boursin cheese (chives), splash of hot sauce, S&P. Used a zipbag. SV @ 167F for 10 minutes, smoosh, then 6 minutes. Tasty, but next time, I'll make a couple of changes - less half-n-half (1 tsp), and 7 minutes on the second bath. I'd like them a bit tighter.

Snow rarely stops me. Now, when it gets down to single digit weather, with below zero wind chill, then I stop grilling! But, it was almost above freezing today, so I did a quick stuffed pork chop. Tomorrow is suppose to be almost 40F - woo, hoo! Got some Chalet chicken marinating for dinner tomorrow night!

Will do, Reef. I played with the calculator a bit and have 2 more combo's to try. It's quite interesting to see what a couple of degrees and a minute or two does with the final results.

How am I going to get that image out of my head now???

Thanks, MacKenzie. I've got some Chalet chicken marinating for tomorrow night. Planning on potatoes to go with, but haven't settled on which style to do. Too many good ones to pick from.

Where did you come up with that crazy baked potato idea? I've never heard of anything like that before??

Nice job on the ribs, Rak. You're obviously on a steep learning curve with your KK. What's your game plan for the steaks?

PRippley, it's an herb that you can find in Mexican markets. It's supposed to help with the "gas problem," sort of like natural Beeno! It's not essential, as it doesn't impart a lot of flavor (it's actually a bit on the grassy, bitter side.) You can substitute Mexican oregano for the flavor, but it won't help with the "gas." dstr8 - Mark Miller, right on!!

Dodged a bullet there, Charles. My family up in SC got several inches. Another friend in TN got hammered with 8 inches!!

Thanks, ladies! Just like many dishes, you are trying to build a complex flavor profile, hence, the various ingredients at different times. Yeah, the 4 dumps is a bit over the top, but after many years of experimentation, it's what I've settled on. Now confession time. I often make a pot of chili beans on the side, as I do like them together in the bowl. (The bowl in the picture actually has a bottom layer of beans, middle layer of cheese, then the chili and eggs on top.) I like to do "drunken beans." I like pintos, but red beans/kidney beans works well, too. I short cut and use canned beans most of the time over dried. Saute a diced onion and a clove of smashed garlic in oil (or bacon grease!), add 1/3 cup of chile powder (single dump), heat until fragrant. Add the beans (if canned, I drain and rinse them first), then add some chicken or beef stock just to cover. Add 1 tsp of dried epazote. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Now the fun part, take the pot off the heat and toss in a good shot of tequila (use a decent one - this last batch was Sauza Reposado) and stir into the beans. Serve!

OK, I'll give you the basics (but not all my secrets!) Use a nice cut of beef (sirloin is standard in competitions), but a nice bottom round steak or roast works, too. I go with 2 lbs. Cut into 1/2" cubes. Season with your favorite steak rub. Sear in a nice hot DO with some veggie oil and brown all sides. Remove when the beef starts to sweat to another bowl, including all juices. Saute a couple of medium yellow onions, diced, in a couple of TB of oil (bacon grease works very well, too. Hint, hint!), until translucent, add 3 or 4 large garlic cloves, crushed. Return meat and juices to DO. I use 5 different varieties of dried chiles - Ancho, Guajillo, Pasilla Negro, Cascabel, and Chipotle, one or two of each depending on size. Break up and remove seeds. Soak the dried chiles in a bowl with a nice dark beer (12 oz) until soft. Puree chiles and beer in a blender or food processor. Add to the DO with the meat. Add a cup of beef broth and simmer. After 30 minutes, add 2 TB of powdered cumin and 2 TB of Mexican oregano, with one can Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chile. I use 4 different chile powders (here's where the secret part comes in - not telling which ones, but they don't come from the spice isle in the supermarket!) Each one gets added sequentially every 15 minutes after adding the tomatoes - 1/4 cup each, adding more broth as needed. In the chile cookoff world, these are referred to as "dumps." So my chili would be called a 4-dump recipe. Try and use at least 2 different chile powders, if you can. There are dozens of blends out there, so there's plenty to choose from - just like BBQ rubs. The meat should be tender by now, but if not, simmer until it is. You shouldn't have to thicken the chili, if you've been careful not to add too much beef broth, but if you need to tighten it up, use 1 -2 TB masa harina (corn flour used to make tortillas); a slurry of corn starch will work, too. Told you it was a bit on the tedious side, but it's worth it. Where are the beans, you might ask? This is competition style chili, no beans allowed. Your entry would be disqualified if it contains beans (or other extraneous vegetables, like corn, potatoes, zucchini, okra, or heaven forbid, lentils) - that's not chili, that's beef stew!

YUMMO!!