tony b

Selling her on the idea of the trifecta might not be that hard after all, ckreef!

I ordered that foot pump and will give that a try on my next duck. Not sure when, but will likely be soon, as I haven't done a duck in quite a while.

It is kinda like a fraternity/sorority here, isn't it?

Yeah, what Ken said!

Ckreef, I completely understand where you are coming from, but at the end of the day - Did your family/friends/guests enjoy the meal??? All that matters in the big flick!

You people are just sick! Sorry that you have to suffer through all this, Bosco.

Bosco, I upgraded to the dual door, so I have the experience of using both designs. To be totally honest, the dual dial door was only a marginal improvement over the single dial door - IMHO, as I controlled temps just fine on the older design. As Dennis has preached to us many times, it's really the upper vent hat that controls the temps; you just have to provide enough air flow from the bottom so the fire doesn't go out. I do like the dual dial door over the single, as I can start out with the left dial wide open, along with the top hat wide open, to get the coals going good, then can close down on both top and bottom vents to get where I want for the final temps. I haven't done any very low cooks yet, where one might use the smallest couple of holes on the right dial, but I have used the largest 3 holes a lot for most of my under 450F cooks. For serious high temps (500F+), I've stopped pulling the lower vent door out and just opened the left and right dials all the way and pulled the guru port plug out. Gets the job done and I don't have to fret loosening the seal around the vent door frame over time from sliding the door in and out. Hope this helps.

Just tell me that there's a hot tub off on the side of the Bistro for the after dinner drinks and ???

What, you just lit a fire and watch it burn? Where's the food porn? You know the rules, Ken!

Me, too! Plus, she can cook, too!!

That's the classic technique, Poochie, except I don't wash mine 7 times - DAMN! I do soak them in salted water and rinse them, then they get air dried before the first blanch fry.

Yeah, don't be confusing it with that Yankee thing with the seaweed!

Nice job, ckreef! Looks pretty damned tasty from here!

Great cook, Wilbur. You know that I'm a big fan of your duck cooks! How did using the injector work for puffing up the skin? I tried the turkey baster with the injector needle before and it didn't work so hot. I read a post online about using a foot pump for inflatable toys to blow up the duck. Might be worth the coin to give it a try. http://www.amazon.com/AIRHEAD-AHP-F1-Bellow-Foot-Pump/dp/B000FE9CGE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1446650912&sr=8-3&keywords=foot+pump+for+inflatables

Unfortunately for this experiment, I have other dinner plans for the rest of the week and won't get to try again until at least Sunday. So, looks like you're carrying the water for us for a while, MacKenzie! (pun intended!)

Nice Job, Poochie! Want to see some mudbugs in there next time! What ckreef said! While I grew up at the other end of the state, I've had the pleasure of many a low country boil down around Beaufort, Edisto, and Bluffton!

If you think THAT'S a mess, don't come near my kitchen when I'm making pizza dough or pasta!

Hear, hear, Poochie!

Cold, MacKenzie, just cold!

Excellent plan, MacKenzie. It reminded me that I didn't soak the potatoes before putting them in the SV bath, a step that I would normally do if doing them traditional style. Let's keep experimenting and sharing notes, as I know that between the two of us, we'll get it figured out! I love ghee, but have a local Indian market where I can buy it, so I haven't made any for a long time. Simple to do, but grabbing a jar off the shelf is soooo much easier! Once we get this figured out, I'll up my game and fry them in duck fat. I have a tub in the freezer that's been calling me! I think I'm down to my last duck leg confit, so time to do some more confit, too. I can get a 3# tub from my local butcher for $25. Can't beat that with a stick!

Yeah, but I couldn't resist the throwdown from bryan!

This reminds me, I need to contact Dennis about a gasket problem. I have the old single gasket design and have a leak. Need to fix that before the snow flies!

Thanks, Suzy! It had a kick to it for sure - yah mon!

Good to hear, Bosco! My book doesn't account for varying thickness in the cuts. Does it make that much of a difference in the cooking times? Just curious.