tony b

Awesome looking dessert! We'll have to share shrimp & grits recipes. I think mine is a pretty damned good one if I do say so myself. I'm from SC, so I'd better know how to make decent shrimp & grits or they'll take away my visiting privileges!

Great Pun!!!

If you're doing a reverse sear, you need to flip often and quickly so you don't overcook the steak. Initially roast it to about 15 degrees below your final temp. You pick up about half of that during the reverse sear and the remainder during the rest period. Final sear on the KK (lower grate, not sear grate) screaming hot fire - 1 minute each side, then rotate 90 degrees for 30 seconds each side, to get sear and grill marks, without overcooking. Like ckreef said, you do need to make adjustments for the thickness. I normally cook steaks in the 1" thick range, hence the flip quickly and often method. The big boys (1.5" + range) are a lot more forgiving on the reverse sear, but obviously take more time in the roasting phase. That's one of the side benefits of sous vide - the thickness doesn't really change the cooking time in the bath, since it's so long to start with (typically 2 - 4 hours).

Next time, I promise!

Great food porn as usual, MacKenzie!

TY.

I put booze into a lot of my cooking, especially fond of "drunken" beans, but have never put it into MNC - sounds good, though! Like the old saying goes, "I cook with wine, some actually ends up in the food!"

My current 2 favorite methods - 1) sous vide w/final sear on the KK (lower grate, not sear grate). 1 minute each side, then rotate 90 degrees for 30 seconds each side, to get sear and grill marks, without overcooking. 2) "frozen" - straight out of the freezer and onto the lower grate, 2 min per side initially, then 1 minute per side as I get close to final temp. If you're doing a reverse sear, you need to flip often and quickly so you don't overcook the steak. Initially roast it to about 15 degrees below your final temp. You pick up about half of that during the reverse sear and the remainder during the rest period. I basically follow the SV searing method here too.

Don't make me get all George Bush, Sr on you now!!

Most of us here own multiple grills as well. I have 2 - the 23" KK and a baby Grill Dome.

Poached eggs for the first time in the SV bath. Only way to describe it - PERFECTION!!! 142F for 50 minutes, in the shell. Yes, leave them in the shell. I was initially concerned about being able to get them out after the cook without breaking the yokes. NO PROBLEM. Light tap on the counter, just like you'd crack a raw one, and they slide out of the shell easily and in one piece. Now, for the best part (sorry, no pics), but the eggs were for one of my favorite pasta dishes - cacio e pepe, with a poached egg. Think carbonara without the panchetta. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cacio-e-pepe-365162 I tweaked it a little by using a blend of olive oils - Stonehouse basil, Trader Joe's Sicilian and White Truffle oils, with a pinch of garlic powder instead of the butter. The poached egg just takes it over the top! Simple, but elegant and will put you into a full-on foodgasm!

Update. I did another batch of asparagus on the Cookina mat. Cook was on the main grill, basket splitter, 350F. No deflector, but the mat was mainly on the "cool side" of the grill to keep the mat off the direct heat. This time I drizzled some olive oil on top with some S&P. Worked much better than naked. Still no grill marks, but they kinda fried in the oil, so they were crispy on the outside with some char color. Mat makes it easy to rotate the spears without worrying about loosing some between the grates. Will definitely do this one again. Will keep experimenting with the mat and post results.

dstr8's the pizza master on this site, so do WHATEVER he says!!

I can see doing it in the oven, but on the KK, I'm not sure that it's all that necessary. It might speed up the cook a little, but don't think it makes the skin any crispier than what we normally get on the upper grate. YMMV.

OMG, you are seriously killing me here today looking at all that food porn!!! Won't make it to lunchtime before having to eat something!!

Welcome to the Obsession! Like others have said, PICTURES, lots and lots of pictures! Uncrating, setup, and especially that virgin cook! One thing others didn't mention, you don't have to do the burn-in right away. If you're only doing lower temperature cooks (<350F) to start with, you don't need to do the burn in. It's only for when you want to do seriously high temperature cooks (>450F), like searing steaks or making pizzas. And don't waste that burn in either, it's perfectly safe to cook during the burn in process, as the volatiles you are trying purge are all on the outside of the grill under the tiles. Lastly, go out right now and buy a new belt at least 2" bigger than the one you have now. Trust me, you'll be needing it sooner than you think; because once you start cooking on this amazing grill, you won't want to stop. Oh yeah, if you aren't feeding hoards of people, get a vacuum sealer (e.g., FoodSaver) if you don't have one already, for all the leftovers!!

HOLY CRAP, you did that too!?! Maybe that's why we're wired differently than most folks - he, he, he!

I'm just assuming that the bourbon was for the cook and not the MNC!

What was your secret to crispy skin? I've done this once, with the loin inside, and the skin on mine didn't come out nearly as nice as yours! Despite the color, it was more chewy than crispy - think pork taffy. Interesting, but not what I wanted.

No such thing as "too much Sriracha" in this house! Marinade looks like a "mojo." What did you use? See MacKensie, there's a place for broccoli and cheese, but it's not on nachos! (Sorry, just had to get that dig in there!)

As I have often posted, big, big fan of Fruita. Another source is Hawgeyes BBQ, here in IA. My current inventory is Red Oak, Hickory, Mesquite, Pecan, and Maple for hardwoods. Cherry, Peach, Apple, Alder, Grape vines, Sassafras, and Bourbon and Wine barrel staves for "fruit" woods. Bought the sassafras for grins, never did much with it. Can't say that it's anything special. Grape and Alder is used exclusively for fish.

If you're asking if I have ever done chicken al mattone, the answer is Yes. I can't say that I used any of these particular recipes though.

Just so happens that this month's Cook's Illustrated had test on rice cookers. Here's there winner and it's only $30. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007WQ9YNO/?tag=cioequippilot-20 Now, I'm confused by CC's post. His link sends you to the Zojirushi model NS-ZCC10, which came in 2nd in Cook's test. But, that's not the model in his pictures, which is model NS-WAS10-WD. However, the WAS10 is $50 cheaper than the ZCC10 and gets equally good reviews on Amazon as the more expensive model. Cook's didn't test this model. There were a fair number of negative comments on both Zojirushi model in Amazon relating to the coating peeling off and the cooker dying right after the warranty period expires. YMMV.

I've got a couple of burn scars (inadvertent branding) from some culinary adventures. (And yes, alcohol was sometimes involved!) Like I said, there's always a good story behind a scar. Was doing a 4th of July cookout at a friends place for about 50 - 60 people. I was manning the Weber kettle doing roasted corn. Lifted up the lid and the wind caught it and pushed it back into my left arm. Had a nice 2nd degree burn on my forearm! Fortunately there was a paramedic in the crowd. Time heals, not much scar showing anymore. Reminded me of that opening scene on Kung Fu, where he grabs that blazing hot urn to "tattoo" his forearms with the dragon symbol.