tony b

Girl, you just keep knocking it out of the park with the food porn! Crazy good pictures - so good, you can almost taste it!

I KNOW you'll love it. Everyone that I know that has one swears by it. I think it rates right up there with the microwave as a game changer in the food prep world!

Didn't have a lick of problem drilling mine with a standard metal bit. No oil, nothing. Cast iron is about as soft a metal as it gets, except maybe next to lead. Dennis, curious as to the tube idea - how were you addressing the structural issues with bending, crimping, unless you were keeping them very short, like nipples or a nozzle? Longer tubes would have to be fairly robust, given the small internal diameters were talking about. Good engineering problem!

“All I can say is that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.†- Winston Churchill

None this time. Maybe next time.

OK, I jumped into the pool. Bought the Cookina Xtra Reusable version (cheaper and higher quality) from Amazon (free shipping). Won't be here until next week, so won't get to play with it this weekend. Will feedback later after I get a chance to use it a couple of times.

Here's another version, has a slightly higher heat rating (600F). AND, can be put into the dishwasher! Lots of 5 star reviews on Amazon, too. This is a 2 pack, so you could experiment with putting holes in one to solve the drainage issue. http://www.amazon.com/Kona-C2-AE-BEST-BBQ-GRILL-MAT/dp/B00KJVTB96/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8

The only true test would be to make both versions and compare them.

No, but I have some pulled pork in the freezer from my last butt.

Either buy two - one to punch holes in and one to keep intact; or, just punch holes on one end - sort of like indirect/direct cooking.

Sounds like a winner to me! I often make fried eggs on top of leftover pulled pork (sans BBQ sauce - I'm a Dry guy!) for breakfast. Sometimes throw in some grated cheese and chopped onion in the pan warming up the pulled pork. Just something magical happens when you break open an egg yoke on top of pulled pork - Heaven!

No contest here, as my waistline will attest! Some of the best advice that I got when I got my KK, was to run right out a buy a bigger belt, because it was a given that you'd gain at least one waist size!!

Since you can trim it, I assume that you could cut small holes in it for drainage. Not sure the best way to do that, not knowing the material it's made from. My first thought was a paper hole punch, but not sure it would cut through it. A drill bit might just get caught up in the material and bind up. Small slits would be easy to do, but I'd worry about it tearing/raveling over time and not all that sure it would drain effectively.

Finally took Dennis' suggestion to cook shrimp SV. AMAZING!! Just like he described in another post - they squeak when you bite into them, just like fresh cheese curds. We have a seafood truck come up once a month from the gulf coast of TX with fresh shrimp (and other yummy fresh seafood) in the warmer months. Yesterday was their first trip of 2015. Scored some Jumbo and XL shrimp (along with a gorgeous whole red snapper for the grill this weekend!) XL were done as the appetizer - peeled, lightly sprinkled with Old Bay and into the pouch. 132F for 20 minutes. Served with homemade cocktail sauce (ketchup, horseradish, Old Bay, lemon juice, hot sauce). Tasty warm-up to the main event. Jumbo (peeled) were done scampi style - butter, EVOO, roasted garlic, fresh parsely, and S&P in the pouch. 132F for 30 minutes. Served over angel hair, dressed in browned butter, roasted garlic, parsely, S&P, freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano. FAB-U-LOUS. To paraphrase a line from my favorite movie of all time - "As God as my witness, I shall never boil shrimp again!!"

You're right, the key trick is to NOT cut off the root end of the bulb, so it holds together better.

Interesting, indeed. Scoped it out on Amazon. There are 2 models and believe it or not, the heavy duty version (http://www.amazon.com/Cookina-B241770-Barbecue-Reusable-Cooking/dp/B00ESBM3EI/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t/188-5860710-7983956) is cheaper than the regular one - http://www.amazon.com/Cookina-B241660-Barbecue-Reusable-Cooking/dp/B007KNJL0K/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8. Better reviews on the heavy duty version. Lots of comments on the regular one about it being harder to clean than advertised. Also, something else that was commented on - because it's non-porous, any fat that renders out has no place to go, so your food ends up "frying" in its own fat. For some things, that might be OK, but for a steak, for example, defeats the whole purpose of grilling it. I've owned a Frogmat for quite a while and like it. Use it mainly for smaller veggies and stuff that might fall through the grates. Works great for fish, too. Since it's an open weave material, no pools of fat accumulate. http://www.amazon.com/Frogmats-Non-Stick-Grill-Mat/dp/B00LBH7TZK/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1428687108&sr=1-2&keywords=frogmats

Seriously, Girl - you need to get into the food photography business! Gorgeous pictures. These are why we refer to it as "food porn!" OK, now to the serious foodie questions. Looks like you separated the halves and put them under the broiler to finish or did you torch it to get that nice brown top crust? Looks like you had 4 layers of onion. I wouldn't go below 3 or there might be structural issues. [underneath the foodie in me, there beats the heart of an engineer!]

I'm on my way with a case of pork butts!!!

Based upon my 23" KK's port, one should be plenty for running both wires out. In fact, I've had 3 probe wires run through it on occasion - one grill, 2 meat.

Great food porn!

Didn't the neighbors see anything? It would take several folks and some gear to move a KK around. Not something that can be done all that clandestinely. Hope you get Tatay back (or your homeowners will cover the cost to replace it)!!

Here's the one that I've been using for a while now. Cheapest one that I could find. http://smile.amazon.com/Texsport-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Dutch-without/dp/B004H13NZM/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1428608541&sr=8-11&keywords=texsport+dutch+oven It's only a 4 qt one, so a bit smaller (approx. 10" dia. and 4.5" tall). Here's a 2 qt. one that might fit in Beauty, CC. It's a Bayou Classic - It's only 8.25" dia. and 3" tall. http://www.camping-gear-outlet.com/camping-gear-121819.html If you really want the deeper chicken fryer. They make one of those too. No dimensions given though. http://smile.amazon.com/Texsport-Cast-Chicken-Fryer-Cover/dp/B000EIIDEI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1428608717&sr=8-2&keywords=texsport+chicken+fryer Here's a 3 qt Lodge chicken fryer. 10.5" dia, 5.5" tall. http://www.webstaurantstore.com/lodge-l8cf3-3-qt-pre-seasoned-cast-iron-covered-chicken-fryer-deep-skillet/530L8CF3.html?

I have used one of these for years. Yeah, there's some slight rust on it, but who cares? It never comes in contact with the food. It will take many years to rust through. I followed Syz's directions (mine only has 3 small holes in it). One of the best DIYs I've ever run across! Works a lot better than the Bobby Flay box I bought first. It worked, but didn't hold a lot of wood chips, so it petered out on long cooks. The DO allows for using bigger chunks, which is why I went with it. Went on a search and found Syz's original post - http://komodokamado.com/forum/topic/4570-where-is-the-smoke/?p=43238.

Ditto!