tony b

I use a metal scoop - bought at the feed store. Scoop up the ashes into the lid of the plastic tub that I keep my charcoal in, take them out back into the woods and dump them there. Probably only do that about once a month, even in heavy grilling season. As Dennis says, the KK will hold a lot of ash, and as we all know, the cocochar doesn't create much ash when it burns. Another good reason to check out the Naked Whiz's charcoal database, as he rates charcoals on the amount of ash created so you can look for the ones that don't leave a lot of ash when burned. One of the many reasons that I like Wicked Good Charcoal's Weekend Warrior - low ash production.

Like you surmised, not enough air to cause a big flare-up. You weren't "lucky," except for the fact that you own the best engineered ceramic grill on the market! I prefer to do my chickens indirect (drip pan on lower grill) on the upper grill skin side up, so that they get the radiant heat off the dome better**. Will give you that crispy skin that you're looking for. Also, your temp was a bit low for crispy skin; need to be in the 375 - 425F range. Lastly, don't be afraid to cook them a bit longer than you're used to, as the KK will retain the moisture, so you don't end up with dried out chicken, but the extra time will allow for the skin to crisp up. If you want to do the main grill, direct, my advice is to do the majority of the initial cook (30-45 mins) skin side up, so you don't burn it. Finish off skin side down for the last 20-30 minutes to crisp it up. YMMV If you do get major flare ups, think about your source for poultry - free-range birds don't have as much fat as the confinement raised commercial chickens. With the KK, you don't need extra fatty birds to stay juicy like with metal grills (gas or charcoal). But, if you're worried about juiciness, you can always brine or inject! ** I like this configuration rather than the drip pan directly underneath on the main grill, as it allows for better airflow around the birds from the extra space between the drip pan (heat deflector) and the grilling surface.

RIGHTEOUS!!!!

Big fan of Bronto Ribs (aka beef back ribs). Here's a photo of some that I made. BTW - this was a 1.6MB file and the software shrank it down to 150KB.

Looks awesome. Can't wait to see the pics of the finished product!

Great video. You are about to embark on an amazing ride - Hang On! FWIW - find the post under "Poultry" about debunking the Beer Can Chicken myth. Go with spatchcocking - you will get amazing results. I swear that whole chickens are the best thing to come off the KK (and I do love me some ribs, butts, and briskets!)

I have a Dark Autumn Nebula, too! Aren't they gorgeous!? Welcome to the Club! Despite all the other problems that I seem to be having with the new Forum software (see my posts in the new Forum thread), uploading pics hasn't been one of them. And, I haven't had to downsize any either.

Why I bought the Food Saver! Best investment I've ever made. Now, I get the side benefit of being able to use it for my sous vide cooks, like the ribeye in the water bath as I type this.

As is. Corned beef isn't usually grilled or seared.

Did my corned beef brisket in the sous vide for St. Pats. 36 hours @ 145F. Perfect.

No pictures, it didn't happen! (Forum Rule #1)

Doc, from Evita - "Don't cry for me, Argentina!"

Susan, have you ever experimented with reverse searing?

We are de-evolving!

I have a Chinese themed dinner coming up for my Dinner Club and was thinking about doing this as the entrée. I've been reading lots of recipes/techniques online about how to do them. This is consistent with many of them, but doesn't mention doing the hot bath first (mixing the honey/vinegar with lots of boiling water and ladling over the duck)? Anyone have experience making this? Any help/suggestions would be appreciated. My dinner party is the first Saturday in April, so I have some time to plan this out.

Ba, da, bump - tssh! (rim shot!) He's here all week folks! And, don't forget to tip your waitress!

www.cubanmarket.com Get almost all of my latino spices, marinades, etc. from them.

Hey Robert, check out MadMedik's seriously bad-ass outdoor kitchen picture in the "Tapatalk" post. Be inspired!!!

To paraphrase Dennis, smoke flavor comes from condensation on the meat surface, so you want the meat to be cooler than the smoke for it to stick. So, as noted, leave the meat in the fridge until just before ready to put on the KK. This will help maximize the smokiness. As Robert noted, by the time you've hit the stall point (around 160F) you're past the point at which smoke is absorbed into the meat (140F). Wrapping in the foil only softens the bark on the meat surface, it doesn't cause a loss of "smokiness." Unless it gets so wet that all the bark falls off! Hence, the reason that some folks unwrap the meat for the last 30 minutes or so, to tighten up the bark. My technique (learned from others on this Forum) for prolonged smoke generation on a long lo & slo cook is to use a smoke pot - a cast iron dutch oven with 3 small (3/32") holes in the bottom. Place your chunks/chips of smoking wood inside (do not wet/soak them, it's pointless), seal up the lid with a simple flour/water paste. Place pot on top of the lit coals. By restricting the airflow, you prolong the smoking; think of it as a "baby KK." The holes in the bottom force the smoke through the hot coals that help burn off some of the volatiles that make smoke bitter. And in the end, you end up with a few chunks of homemade charcoal - Bonus!

My trick to getting the pizza off the peel and onto the stone - parchment paper. Doesn't impact the bottom crust that much and if you want it more crispy, the paper comes off easily after just a few minutes on the stone. If you turn your pies mid-way through, it's an good time to remover the parchment.

Devil's in the details, Robert. Make sure your builder/designer has experience in outdoor kitchens, lots of unique considerations from an indoor one. For example, if your outdoor kitchen is 100% open air, i.e., no overhead covering, then things like standing water on the countertops becomes an issue. So, the design needs to consider those things - slope the countertops towards the sink, extra corner drains, material selection, etc. If your outdoor kitchen isn't close to the indoor plumbing for tie-ins, consider an on-demand gas hot water heater, since you are running gas for your burners anyway. You won't have lots of waiting for the hot water to arrive (wasting a lot of water) and by using an on-demand, you won't be wasting a lot of gas heating a big tank of water that sits 95% of the time on "stand-by." If your patio/kitchen isn't convenient to the indoor kitchen, would a dishwasher make sense? You could keep a separate outdoor set of dishes/silverware/glasses and not have to schlep all your indoor stuff back and forth. Depends on how frequently you plan to use the outdoor kitchen. Once a week, maybe not that big of a deal, but if you're going to be using it 3 or 4 times a week, then maybe it would be more convenient. Good luck! Remember, "How do you know when your contractor is lying to you? His lips are moving!"

Hey Doc, long time, no posts!! Glad to have you (and your sage advice) back on the Forum!

Tide will turn in July, Downunder Boy!! We'll be the ones sitting outside in shorts, drinking beers, and grilling big ole hunks of meat! In the meantime, go smoke your nuts - ha, ha, ha!!