tony b

Just enough to cover the bird by an inch or so.

Just wait til you walk out and see this! Then, you'll really appreciate having a Sunbrella cover!

Your's might be a Tuxedo, but mine's a Burqa.

Similar to how my mom used to cook our turkeys in the oven. Put it in a hot oven (450F) for about an hour, just before bedtime, then turn off the heat, and just let it roast overnight on the stored heat. In the morning, she'd take it out, stuff it, tent it, and put it back in the oven to cook the stuffing. In over 40 years, she never made anyone sick doing it this way.

Only thing I can add is that you might want to give yourself a couple of days in the brine. That's a big bird and there's no harm in giving it extra time in the brine to allow for deep penetration of your flavors.

I would definitely be interested in one if you make them. I understand the concepts - it's a matter of which damper is the choke point. I would think that it would be preferable for the lower vent/damper door to be the choke point to limit the combustion air. Hence, the reason that I like the dial with the small holes in it. The much larger open surface area of the top vent make temperature control a bit touchier, since just a slight twist on the screw has a big impact on the flow area out, especially trying to control temperatures at the very low end.

Amazing that I'd never considered cooking the steak sous vide in advance and just stashing it in the fridge (or even the freezer) and just finishing it up on the sear grate. Dennis, you're just crazy innovative!

My role model!

Just don't turn into that grumpy old man that sits in the rocking chair on his porch and yells at the kids all day to stay off his lawn! (My Grampa!)

HOOOOWWWWLLLL! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPdOUA6PobA Nice Job, CC!! I'm impressed.

And to believe that they let me work at a nuclear power plant for over 30 years, "Scary stuff - eh, kids!" (I will be seriously impressed if anyone can guess where that quote is from?)

I can definitely see your point on another "pricey gadget;" at $199 for an Anova, it's not a cavalier purchase. But, in my case, I use it not just in the kitchen, but also in my brewing room for getting my sparge water at the correct temperature. Keeps it from being, as Alton Brown puts it, a "uni-tasker." And, I cook a lot more other stuff with it than just steaks. Simplest way to make perfect soft-boiled eggs and seafood comes out amazing.

Wilburpan, first, great looking steak cook!, Second, next sous vide steak cook, try this tip I learned from Dennis - Sear it first, then put into the sous vide pouch and finish in the water bath. Interesting variation. Love the multiple ways to cook a steak on the KK. So far, I'm still leaning to the frozen steak cook, but just slightly over sous vide (conventional method - bath first, then sear). Great way to sear a steak first, without overcooking it, especially a thinner cut. I've also learned to give myself extra temperature range for doing a reverse sear (conventional or sous vide) - at least 15F from target final when I start the sear and to do shorter times between flips (15 secs each) - you don't get as much heat penetration that way. YMMV

She Who Must Be Obeyed Immediately

I use this book for my bread and pizza dough. http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes/dp/0312362919/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418062243&sr=1-1&keywords=15+minute+artisan+bread

You crack me up, dude! Nice looking steaks, too! And, I hope you're feeling better! The doctor said, "More Wild Hare!"

You make it sound like NJ is the "taint" of the area!

Nice looking kebabs! Yeah, pork and dried fruits go naturally together. I use a combo of dried apricots, prunes, currants, apples, and cherries in braised pork chops with red wine. Toss the fruit and wine into the food processor after the pork chops are done, then back into the pot and reduce down to make the sauce, mount it with a healthy dose of butter and you got some kind of killer hearty winter dinner there paired with dumplings or noodles.

Yeah, what bgrant said. Palmer is one of the "gods" of homebrewing. To quote the godfather of homebrewing, Charlie Papazian, "Relax, have a home brew!" His books are excellent for beginners, too. He preaches the gospel of laid-back brewing. Don't sweat the minor stuff, just have fun with it. I have a signed copy of The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing. In fact, I hope to get the inaugural brew in today in the new brew room! On the menu, Baltic Porter.

Those silly scientists (physicists/chemists) think too damned much and dither around; us engineers just try stuff, even if it doesn't work perfectly. One of my favorite sayings is "Perfection is the enemy of 'good enough!'"

Did another roast on the KK yesterday - bottom round. Cooked indirect @ 250F, using Guru, with mesquite and red oak woods. Injected with Butchers BBQ brisket injection and dry rubbed with a combo of Oakridge Secret Weapon and Just North of Memphis. Rested in fridge overnight. Pulled off at 210F internal, rested for 20 minutes. Killer meat flavor. Here's the porn! Going on the grill - full shot w/logo for Dennis. Up close and personal. Done. Resting. Sliced and ready to be chowed.

You know that whiskey starts out as beer, just without the hops. So, you're more than half way there. And the best part is, you don't have to wait 3-5 years to find out if your batch is any good, assuming you're barrel aging it! Or, you just making white dog?

Karma, man. It's all about karma! If you need another hobby in retirement, I can hook you up and teach you to make your own beer. Been doing it for over 25 years. But, now in retirement, I'm hoping to scale up a bit. Construction is finishing up this morning as I type this, on my new brewing room in my basement. Finally, a place to brew, clean, keg, etc. without having to haul all my gear back and forth from the basement to the kitchen!