tony b

Serious eats!

Crazy. I don't even have enough freezer space for that much meat!!

Seriously funny MacKenzie and Thanks for having my back! To the rest of you - It was raining steadily the whole time, so I barely got this cook in at all; but I'd already marinated the chicken and was committed to it. So sorry, no pics. Not much to show really. But, since it seems to be so important to some of you, here's a shot of the leftover leg quarter.

You know, Wilbur, it's super easy to do a butt on the main and ribs on the upper grate at the same time! Just sayin'.

Sorry, Wilbur, but I don't think peeling will solve the "asparagus pee smell" problem. I have it, too, btw!

Yeah, got mine from Amazon. With Prime, it keeps the price point reasonable. Also got my Hasty Bake there.

Hadn't made any Jerk chicken in a while, so I did some for dinner tonight. Have to say that this was some of the best Jerk that I've ever done. Just a couple of basic tweaks to my normal recipe, seemed to make a difference. I'm a big fan of Walkerswood Jerk paste. A nice heaping Tablespoon in a zip bag, mixed with a 1/2 cup of a 50/50 mix of dark rum and water to make the marinade. I did a breast and a leg quarter in the bag overnight. This afternoon I took out the bag and injected the chicken with the marinade. This was a new twist that I'll keep doing. It was a rainy day, so I did some shortcuts in setting up the KK for the chicken cook. This was an indirect cook, with drip pan, and the chicken on the upper grate - my typical chicken setup. Smoking pot with a chunk of mesquite and a couple of chunks of peach wood - trying to simulate pimento wood (This was the second tweak that I'll keep doing, as I think it did a great job!) Like I said, being a cool, rainy day, the KK was a tad slow coming up to my target temp of 350F, so I put the the chicken on at 250F, as the smoking pot was just kicking off. The KK had been lit for about 30 minutes at this point. Left the chicken on for 90 minutes, much longer than I'd normally leave it on, but since the early part of the cook was at a very low temp, I compensated with a longer cooking time. Note: while I was shooting for 350F, the KK only got to 325F. Both the breast and leg quarter were 175F IT when I took them off. Skin was a decent texture, not super crispy, but not rubbery either, despite the lower target cooking temps and using a wet rub. Meat was nice and moist, too. The flavor was amazing! The combo of injecting and the longer, slower cooking time/temp, along with the smoking pot mix, turned out something close to authentic Jerk chicken. And Yah Mon, I've been to Jamaica and had awesome roadside stand Jerk chicken, so I know what I'm talking about! Rahstah-far-eye!!!

Did someone mention chocolate??

I've found that Royal Oak burns fast compared to many other lump charcoals. I like it for short cooks, but for longer ones, like butts, look for something in the next higher quality bracket - Weekend Warrior, Fogo, Humphreys, Hasty Bake, Fire King, Ozark Oak, based upon my experience. Consult Naked Whiz's database. Let's not forget Dennis' CocoChar, which is the BEST charcoal out there for longer cooks like brisket and butts.

Crazy, as I'd always been taught to seek out the smaller diameter asparagus, as being better quality/tenderness. Have seen others post about peeling the stalks, but never tried it (my dogs LOVE the cuts off the bottom of the stalks!!) So, I'm gonna have to try this - the dogs will just have to suffer without their treat!

Christmas in October! Woo, Hoo!!

Thanks for all the nice compliments, but the kudos go out to Doc - it was his preaching the gospel of hot & fast that got me to try this. I have to say that it's the best brisket that I've ever cooked. Was it the prime grade beef? Was it the technique? Was it the combo? Don't care, as I'm sold on it, whatever it is!!

Sorry, Poochie, cole slaw maybe, not a big kraut fan over here. Just sayin'.

That skin looks amazing! I'm just in awe of that whole hog roast! Brings back fond memories of my childhood in the south, where "pig pickin's" were a great affair.

Sounds like you're in the market for a double KK order - the Bad 32" for your pig roasts and a 19" Hi-Cap for the day-to-day cooks. And with the basket splitter options on the 32", you wouldn't need the trifecta 23" KK to round out the family. Just tossing out a suggestion!

Thanks for the tip, ckreef! May try a molecular gastro trick (Sodium Citrate) on the cheese blend to leave out the mayo. May do 2 steaks, one each way and see which works best.

Thanks, ckreef! Will check it out at both and compare prices here.

Doors open and the dogs are friendly!

OK, no crap from you folks this time cause, Yes, I do have pics! Wanted to try the Hot & Fast method for brisket with this one, since it was prime grade and wasn't worried about it drying out at the higher temps. Nice hunk of meat. Injected with Butcher's Brisket and Sucklebuster's SPG overnight in the fridge. CYM and mix of 2 parts Bovine, 1 part Black Ops, and 1 part SPG. On the KK @ 325F indirect (w/Guru) and the smoking pot with 1 chunk mesquite and 2 chunks of apple wood. Wrapped in pink butcher paper at 170F. Finished at 203F in only 4 hours!!! Wrapped in foil, towel, and into the cooler until dinner. Look at the butcher paper. The grand reveal. Money Shot. Ring the dinner bell!! It's a WINNER, Doc. Moist, tender, and great flavor! Will be my "go to" method for brisket going forward!!!

No need for bling on that plate, MacKenzie! Thanks for showing the way. Need to do some SV carrots soon!!

Nice job, skreef!! Gonna get a some votes for sure!

Replace that kraut with hotdog chili and now you're talking my game, Poochie!

Killer cheesy goodness! Have you ever done one with blue cheese crumbles??

At 3/8" thick, I wouldn't think warping would be a concern at the temps were doing, even on top of the basket handles. The 1/4" version is probably OK, too, but I'd spend the extra $20 for the thicker one if that's how I was going to use it. YMMV

Took it for a test drive yesterday. Worked great. Surprisingly quiet. Only complaint is that the hose, including the metal nozzle extension, is about 4 inches too short. The canister wanted to tip on its side when I was reaching in from the top and trying to get into the back of the firebox. But, it's very light, so holding it by the handle while vacuuming out the KK was no big deal. I could have used one of the plastic hose extensions, too, which would have been plenty of slack. Will likely go that route next time.