tony b

Where's my jar? Ken, haven't you paid the man yet!?!

You, my dear, are pure genius with a camera! Another home run!

I agree, MacKenzie. Ken seems to have Oops'ed that one a lot lately. Maybe we should "disarm" him!

Hear ya, Ken! I grew up in South Carolina in a house without A/C, until I hit high school. Probably the only positive thing about Mom's menopause; she told Dad, either you put A/C in this house, or I'm finding another one that does! Guess who won that one?? Mom didn't ask for a whole lot, but when she did, she meant it.

On top of all the other awesome things that you do in the kitchen - you're into molecular gastronomy, too!! You are a Goddess!!! btw - I had bought a pre-marinated carne asada sirloin from Trader Joe's, not realizing that it was not whole, but pieces. Came dangerously close to breaking out the "meat glue" (transglutaminase) to try and put it back together into a solid chunk. Wimped out and just put the pieces on skewers and did kabobs. Maybe next time.

I've pretty much stopped doing whole briskets in favor of doing smaller roasts - chuck, bottom round, etc. I do them just like a brisket, injected, dry rubbed, and cooked indirect at 250F, either oak, pecan, bourbon staves, or mesquite, mixed with cherry wood in the smoker pot, to about 205F internal. All the veggies are cooked separate. Kabobs of potato, carrot, mushrooms, and onion work well. Note: don't mix the veggies on the same skewers - they cook at different times. Keep them separate on their own skewers, which also allows you to season each differently. Currently waiting for my butcher paper from Amazon, so I can try one using the Aaron Franklin method.

Enjoy the ride, but hang on!! I think everyone here gains weight right after they get their KKs, as they just can't stop cooking on it and experimenting with everything that they've read on the Forum!!

I'll jump on that bandwagon, Poochie! Put me down for a couple of jars, too! ckreef, you're bringing back some fond memories with that one! I grew up in peach country. My folks would buy straight from the orchards. The stuff in the grocery stores these days doesn't even come close!

Poutine rocks! Another awesome cook, MacKenzie!

We used to have a great local BBQ spot here (Al's Rib Haven), since closed; but one of my favs on their menu was the "boney box" - rib tips. Miss the joint. Al's sauce was awesome! Best part, he'd sell it to you! Made many a great rack of ribs with his sauce. He passed a number of years ago and the kids, who all grew up working in the place, didn't want to take it over. Sad!

Hear yah, Wilbur. I put that info to good use last night. Lit the coals in the back of the basket and put my CI pan of potatoes and onions on the front part of the main grill, so I didn't burn the bottom. Was cooking direct. I've done lots of shellfish on the KK in the shells - mussels, clams, and oysters (Drago style - KILLER!!)

And I'll die like one, too!

Here yah, Syz. I had one of the first Indo POSK-7s, so it held up better than the later ones, especially the Mexi's. It was about 8 yo before the top hat collar finally crumbled. Fortunately, I'd already ordered my KK and was just waiting for it to arrive. A buddy has the K7 now. He patched it up and used it a lot before he got an electric smoker - .

Cold soups are the best in summer, even fruit based ones! Yes, there is such a thing. btw - stupid humid here, too! Can't even walk the dogs around the block without coming home dripping wet! Thought yesterday's downpour (first in over a week) would help, but actually made things worse! Thought I was gonna melt cooking dinner last night.

Awesome! Welcome to the magic of KK cooking. Know you've had experiences with other ceramics, but while similar, it's not the same - at all. Can't wait for the pics of the arrival, offloading, and that all important virgin cook! As Tom Petty says, "The waiting is the hardest part!"

Thought so. Was just curious at to your response to my earlier post on the butcher paper/umai bag purchases?

One of my buddies chastises me whenever we eat wings together because I "leave all the good parts behind." He literally sucks every bit of stuff off the bones. And, Yes, he was born in this country. Go figure!

Up front disclaimer, no pics - I know, my bad! Thought about it, but it was soooo damned humid last night that I didn't want to hang out by grill making pictures. So, did the whole chicken spatchcocked. Left side was dusted with Cornstarch, Sucklebuster's SPG, granulated roasted garlic, salt, and fresh rosemary. Right side, same spice mix, but with Baking Powder. Rested in fridge on drying rack for 6 hours before the cook. Chicken on the upper rack, skin side up, direct, with smoker pot of pecan and peach woods. Put the chicken on the KK early, about 225F, while it was slowly coming up to temps (back story below). After about 30 minutes, flipped over skin side down, dome around 300F. 15 mintues later, flipped back to skin side up, KK dome at 375. Left on for another 15 minutes (1 hour total). Interesting note - after the first 30 minutes, the skin on both sides was covered in white dust. Was a tad concerned, but had planned to flip the chicken over anyway. After the 15 minutes of skin side down, the white dust was now starting to turn brown. Results - extremities were all nice and brown, skin on the breast was a bit pale. However, ALL the skin was crispy, even the breast! Skin on the leg and thighs was like cellophane! Crazy moist meat, as always! My call, it's a dead heat. Use cornstarch or baking powder, doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference in skin texture. Back story - shouldn't have tried to do two, separate experiments at the same time; but, patience is not one of my virtues! Recently acquired the new dual dial draft door from Dennis. This was my first cook using it, so I was experimenting with the different hole sizes to learn the new vent settings. Hence, the reason that the KK was slow coming up to my final cooking temperature. Initially, had fixed the top hat at the "normal" position I'd use for a 375F cook (3/4 turn open) and was just changing the draft door vent holes. Started with the 2nd largest hole. KK parked at 200F. Went to the largest hole, KK stopped at 225F. Closed the holes and went to the left knob (semi circle). Started at 25% open. KK went to 275F. Went to 50% open, KK went to 325F. Based upon my observation of smoke coming out the temperature probe hole and a couple of other spots, I suspected that I'd reached a choked flow situation with the top hat, so further opening of the draft door would not have further increased the dome temperature. So, I bumped the top hat another quarter turn open and the KK finally reached 375F. Will sit down one afternoon soon with a cooler of adult beverages and do a full mapping session. It's like learning a new grill all over. Feedback from those of you with the dual door would be helpful in setting up the matrix of sample points.

Just a simple roasted garlic aioli would be awesome!

I have the small Cuisinart machine (pre-freeze containers) and I've found that halving them and macerating in sugar, then a quick pulse or two in the food processor works well. Still nice bites of berry, but not "ice cubes." Works for peaches, too!

Hey Ken, been meaning to mention that I finally opened my bag of FOGO. Been using it for the last several cooks. Huge chunks in the bag. Impressive. Burns great too. A tad difficult to light, even with the propane torch, but not as tough as CocoChar. Only negative so far is that when lighting it with the torch, it pops and sends sparks flying everywhere. It's like lighting a whole string of firecrackers!! Caught one on the arm last night - ouch!

Thanks for the feedback. I was reluctant (for once!) to not take the bait and plunk down the coin on the Jeff Ruby's (It's seriously pricey for a dry rub). Now I'm glad that I held off. But, you've got me off to buy these damned bags! Not available on Amazon, except as the full-blown kit w/vacuum sealer. (btw, Robert, you posting via TapaTalk? Your emoticons aren't coming through. All I see are empty rectangles.)

Great cook, Wilbur and hat's off on staying "pure" (no foil, no sauce!) Second, GoFrogs on the St. Louis style. Your carnivore son will love the extra flap of meat off the back!

Good luck in the Challenge! Looks awesome.