tony b

And to think, you haven't even cooked on it yet, and are this blown away! Wait til you cook on it and taste the great food you're going to make; your head will likely explode!!

Just teasing, as it did read funny the first time, but I knew you weren't really planning to put PBW on your pork butt!

Remember, you can cook during the burn-in. All the volatiles you are trying to purge are on the outside of the grill, under the tiles. Safe to cook. No sense using up all that charcoal and not having something to eat afterwards!

Nature's most perfect food!

I use Ken's "stuffing method" when I'm doing leg of lamb, with big slivers of fresh garlic and sprigs of fresh rosemary off my plant. GREAT! ckreef, I've struggled with this issue for a long time, too. I try and grind up my spices as fine as I can first (think dust), then mix into the liquids. However, it can still sometimes clump and clog the injector, if it doesn't emulsify well. For larger cuts, I have a very large needle (about 3/16th" dia), which works great; but I can't use it for small cuts, especially chicken pieces. My smaller one (1/16" dia) is super easy to clog, so I generally stick to liquids (Butchers BBQ chicken marinade/injection works really well and is tasty. I think that they've change the name from Herb and Garlic to Rotisserie?) Or, with some pre-planning, you can soak your herbs and dry spices in liquid for a week to make a tincture that will inject easier. You have to really amp up the amount of herbs/spices if you try this, as you can't get a very good extraction easily and remember to shake it up several times a day, as most things will settle to the bottom of the jar. Plus, some things are water soluble, others in alcohol, still others in acids (wine, vinegar). So, finding the happy medium is a challenge. If you come up with something that works well, I'm all ears!!!

DAMN, they're not showing up in the official tally???

Just to be clear, kjs, the PBW goes onto the grate AFTER the cooking, NOT into the pulled pork!!

Grilled melon, both water and musk, are awesome on the grill!

Careful, ckreef, publicly announcing that MacKenzie has perfect buns will likely get you into hot water with skreef!!

Glad to hear/see that it made it safely to the ground and onto the patio!!! HURRAY!! Now for those pics of the all-important virgin cook! Did you decide on what "meat" you were going to do?? For a fast cook, there's chicken. For the most-forgiving cook, it's pork butt. You'll need to do your burn-in before tackling steaks, as they are best done (IMHO) at scorching high heat.

Only if you vote for me, Ken!

Nice grill. Thanks for the picture. It staves off the dreaded conversion into a Weber Tailgater from the bot that Dennis hides in all his grills!

Sorry to disappoint you, poochie; but NO, none of my dogs have been named Reefer (or Doobie, Blunt, Ganga, or anything similar!) Thanks, MacKenzie! He was a great dog. He is missed.

Just go for it, MacKenzie. Here's a secret - OxyClean powdered stain remover is a great substitute for PBW. But, I'm totally shocked a brew supply store doesn't carry PBW??

Another killer bread bake from MacKenzie!

What a bargain!

Patience, my friend. Don't be in too big a rush; do it right. It's too much of an investment to risk tipping it over. My suggestion is to go rent a truck from UHAUL with a TommyLift on the back. Plan B - get a sheet of 1" (nominal) OSB {http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=12218-99899-NA&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3602846&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1} and make a ramp off the back of the truck. You'll need to support it underneath about midway, so it doesn't bow from the weight. Then you can lower the KK down the ramp with rope- you'll need at least 2 burly guys manning the rope, and another one in front of the KK to guide and steady it. Best of Luck! My fingers will be crossed for you!

Why do you think that I named my dog, Guinness??

Cause you strained out all the "tasty bits!" It's the black and red chile peppers that give it the needed kick to balance out the vinegars.

I'm just about positive that they will, MacKenzie. It's standard stuff in the brewing biz - commercial and homebrewing. Hear yah, poochie. You can't keep the "new car smell" forever. You folks don't even want to look at my drip pan - it normally looks like it's made of cast iron and not stainless steel! Whenever I get the notion, I give it an overnight soak in the PBW to kind of "refresh" it somewhat. I care to think of it as "patina."

Don't forget those peaches, too! Seriously yummy grilled!

Bwah, ha, ha! More corn for dinner last night!

Yeah, I bought it for fruit, mainly. But, as I was eating my corn on the cob last night, I had to think that it would be great on it, too. Slather on some mayo, sprinkle on the Takin, and a little dry cheese and viola - Mexican street corn! May have to try this out while the local corn is still available.

You ladies rock!!! Also recently did another "cult" big hoppy IPA clone - Heddy Topper out of VT. Only had the original once, but it rivals Pliny, IMHO. Another cult fav, which I can actually get here in the Midwest, is Bells' HopSlam. Comes out once a year and is sold by lottery draw in local beer stores that can get it. Gone within hours. What makes it unique is their use of honey in the brew, in addition to a sh!t-ton of hops! Since Surly has expanded their brewery, Furious is now commonplace on local beer shop shelves and on tap in all the local good bars! Beer scene in IA has improved immensely in the last 2 - 3 years!

I'm a big fan of NC style vinegar based sauce for pulled pork, but I've never tried it as an injection or marinade, hmmm? Here's my go-to recipe for the NC sauce. 1 cup white vinegar 1 cup cider vinegar 1T sugar 1T cayenne 1T tabasco 1T kosher salt 1T cracked black pepper Whisk together and there it is.