tony b

Don't sweat small differences in target temperature. The worst thing you can do is "chase the temperature." The KK, when heated up, is like the proverbial "turning a battleship." All the temperature difference does is change the cooking times slightly, not the results. The other piece of advice that I offer is to cook to internal meat temperature, not to time (exception is high temperature searing). The excessive drawback on your ribs (picture before saucing) says that they were overcooked a bit. The best test for rib doneness is pick up the rack with tongs in the middle, bounce it a little, and see if the meat cracks near the bone. Check out www.amazingribs.com. It's a great resource!

Nice, especially the pooches! Just curious, did you get that color of tile to match the dogs??

So, Syz, when you gonna start making your own brews? Great hobby! Being doing it steadily for over 10 years now, but I brewed my first batch back in 1980, right after Jimmy Carter signed the bill making it legal again! It was a kit from an ad on the back page of the Parade magazine. I still have the plastic tub from that kit! In contrast, my contractor is coming over tomorrow with the plumber to give me a final estimate on building a dedicated brew room in my basement. Once that's built, I'll probably double my brewing output and will likely up my game from partial mash to full grain mash brewing.

If you mean the one that looks like a chain link on the second line of the menu, that's the one that locks up my browser every time I try to use it.

Now I get the "stabilize juices" part. Makes excellent sense. While I grind my coffee every morning (burr grinder), because there is a noticeable difference in flavor, not sure that I'm ready to go that far yet for flour. Partly because I have coffee every morning, but don't bake bread or make pasta every day - a few times a month, maybe. Is there really a taste difference between good commercial (King Arthur) and home ground? Plus, is sourcing the grain hard? I'm a homebrewer and can get lots of different grains, but they aren't what you'd make most flours out of, for example, barley.

SERIOUS sticker shock!

I cooked a whole one on Friday (sorry, no pics as I had house guests to entertain). Grass fed beef from local farmers' market. All day marinade in mustard/Santa Maria rub. Cooked on the main grill @ 350F dome until 130F internal temp (about 45 minutes) over red oak staves. Perfect medium. Great flavor. Would have liked a touch more bark, but again was still super tasty. Thanks again for the advice, Normstar!

I've cold smoked salmon and almonds, but not cheese. That's a real "cold" smoke in the 100F range. So, like dstr8, I'm looking for suggestions on how to get temps down that low and hold them.

I'm a little slow today. Not getting the "pressing in a bowl to stabilize juices" part?? Hey Syz, I'm not that hardcore, man. I'll make my own pasta, but grinding the flour, too? Serious! Have the technology (Vitamix dry blades), but have only made rice flour in it so far (for tempura). Think I'll stick to my King Arthur pasta flour for the time being.

Looking in the Seafood thread for tips on smoking salmon. "Cold" is a relative term. Here we generally mean in the 140-160F range on the grill. Good smoked salmon needs to be brined and then pulled out and set next to a fan to set the pellicle so the smoke adheres to the fish.

If you ever figure it, let me know. I've never gotten it to work either.

Hang on tight; you're in for a crazy wild ride! Congrats!

Only cooked with it once to make a terrine. Hard to find. Never used it in the KK.

Of the "jarred sauces," Bone Sucking Sauce is pretty damned good. One of the very few that I'll buy.

You know the rules - no pictures, it didn't happen!

I'll join that club! Variety is the thing that makes cooking fun for me.

Don't remember who it is Porkchop, but it ain't Blacks. I seem to recall that Myron Mixon preaches hot & fast brisket cooking in his book.

I'm surprised you share them with family and close friends - aren't they one of those "cook's benefits"? LOL!!!

Burnt Ends = Meat Candy!!

Good luck with that one, Robert. For that kind of coin, you keep your fingers crossed that you don't mess it up!! Have you tried their "regular" brisket or their corned beef? More on my budget than the Gold line.

Sounds exotic! Upload some vacation pics, too, while you're at it, please!

If it looks like bacon, smells like bacon, and tastes like bacon - I call it bacon! Yeah, the "no nitrate" thing is kind of a myth, since most folks use celery juice (i.e., "natural seasonings") to claim there's no pink salt in it. But it's super tasty bacon, which is the main reason that I buy it!

A 5 hour brisket? How did you pull that off? What was your cooking temp, direct or indirect heat, and you must have been using the "texas crutch" (wrapped in foil).

I've done gastriques (agrodulce) before, but never for a marinade. Interesting idea!

Just ordered my Ringer. Thanks for the tip!