tony b

Re: gyros with pics I love my FoodSaver and use it for lots of stuff besides BBQ. I grow my own hops for beer making and use the FoodSaver bags to store those in the freezer. I buy spices and rubs in bulk quantities and break them down into smaller bags and vacuum seal them. Works great and the spices stay fresher; and buying in larger (bulk) sizes is always cheaper. Here's a tip that I learned from a friend who convinced me to buy one - use the rolls of bag material (vice the pre-made bags) and make the bags bigger than you need. Then you can open them, take out what you need, then there's enough bag material to re-seal it again. You actually end up using less bag material this way. I didn't use to frequent Costco before the FoodSaver because I was afraid that I'd end up throwing food out. Now, just bag it, tag it, and toss in the chest freezer. Cha-ching! Don't mean to come across as a TV Infomercial, but these things are worth the money.

Re: New arrival Welcome and congrats! Pictures, please!

Re: Cleaning Stainless Steel Cool tip about using Google's search engine on a targeted site, will definitely remember that one .

Re: Berkshire (kurobuta) Pork Cook the ribs "lo & slo" (275F) with a drip pan to avoid flare-ups and let that inner layer of fat render out, about 4 1/2 hours. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Re: SNAKE RIVER FARMS Whole Bone-In Pork Shoulder LIke Doc said, I'd seen a lot of BBQ heavies just doing S&P and thought this would be a good time to experiment, given the opportunity presented by the "mini racks." Plus, heritage pork has much better natural flavor than the standard Hormel cryopac ribs (the "white meat" version of pork that we were all brainwashed into believing was better?) My pantry is full of various rubs, spice blends, and hot sauces. My guiding philosophy in the kitchen - "Don't' be afraid to play with your food!" I almost never make anything the same way twice. I also follow this philosophy in my beer making, always tweaking the hop variety/amounts, yeast strain, or the specialty grains.

Re: SNAKE RIVER FARMS Whole Bone-In Pork Shoulder Finally got around to re-trying the Berkshire ribs after the previous disaster. This time w/drip pan and heat shield, low & slow. Grill @ 275F for 4 hours. Much better results this time around. The middle fat layer was almost rendered out, but just enough fatty goodness to be tasty, with a nice bark on the top. As before, the rack was in 3 sections of 3-4 bones each, so each mini-rack got a different rub - Dizzy Dust, Billy Bones Competition, and just plain ole S&P. My favorite, was the simple Salt & Pepper, it seemed to let the beauty of this pork shine through. I'll keep practicing with it.

Re: Berkshire (kurobuta) Pork Look under the post - SNAKE RIVER FARMS Whole Bone-In Pork Shoulder.

Re: Tatonka Dust Now available! Awesome. Thanks. It tells me a lot about a company and their products when they are open about how they're made. I'm OK with small amounts, but if it's too high, it gives me headaches. As long as it's a subcomponent of another ingredient, it should be OK. I will definitely try it.

Re: Tatonka Dust Now available! Curious. Webpage warns that it contains soy and wheat. To me this screams MSG. Not a big fan of it. So, anyone that's used it look at the ingredients list for it, including its many pseudonyms - hydrolyzed vegetable protein, natural flavoring, etc.

Re: I cooked all weekend! Genius is sometimes observing the obvious. Great tip, Sanny!

Re: **Big Bad 32" Komodo** Doc, that was cold!

Re: Another argument for using grill-floss Just ordered mine, but without the extra tip, based upon the feedback that you don't need it. And, I'd probably Just end up a member of the LRGFT club anyway! Plus, the price has gone up - $5 now. Fill out their survey and tell them that you heard it raved about here, and get free upgrade to priority shipping.

Re: Covering your KK True Brown for me, too, for the Dark Autumn Nebula. There were some better matches for color on the Sunbrella site, but they only came in the 42" width and John needs the 60" material. Too bad, as I could have had ALMOST as attractive a cover as my KK is. No complaints with John's work, I'm just saying.

Re: Cover essential? My cover from John arrived yesterday, a week sooner than he schedule making it for me. Just in time, too! We had 6" of snow today and my KK is snug as bug in a rug on the deck in its new cover.

Re: Thermoworks probes If you're in the market for a great instant read thermometer, the Thermopens are on sale right now. Only $69 while supply lasts Limit 3 per customer • Open Box or refurbished units •Like new condition • Includes instructions and calibration certificate • Ships with Thermapen User Guide • Full warranty • Available only in North America, Central America and the Caribbean http://www.thermoworks.com/products/thermapen/splashproof_thermapen_open_box_sale_2013.html?utm_source=Nl-2013Jan18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=shop_now&utm_content=inbox&utm_campaign=openbox-cs

Re: Covering your KK Was surprised to find my new KK cover on the doorstep when I got home from work today. Just in time for tonights snow storm (2 4 by morning). So my KK is now snuggly protected in its new brown cover. NICE! Updated Actually got closer to 6" of snow today. As you can see the KK is doing just fine!

Re: Covering your KK Eagerly awaiting my cover from John (I'm scheduled for the first weekend in Feb.), as today we had a freezing rain that covered the KK in a nice "glaze." I wanted to cook some boneless beef ribs, so undeterred, I decided to see if I could get it open. It did open, but there was a 6" tall wall of ice rising up from the bottom lip of the grill about a 1/4 of the way around the perimeter. However, it was thin and was easily thumped off. The top damper was another story. Wouldn't budge a millimeter, even after knocking off the icicles. So, fired up the grill anyway and pulled the temperature probe plug out of the side of the grill for outflow. Temps came up and settled out right at 220F. After about an hour, I could finally open the top damper. Ribs are happily cooking on the grill right now @ 350F. They say that necessity is the mother of invention!

Re: Murray's Cheese Shop Hey, you're in the middle of the Hudson Valley cheese makers, so I'd say you're OK. I'll toss another fav into the mix - Humboldt Fog (Cypress Grove).

Re: Murray's Cheese Shop You nailed it. It's a sensual experience. Another favorite cheese, but will be hard to find is Robiola Di Mia Nonna, made by Reichart's Dairy Aire (cute name) here in Iowa. Iowa might be developing a name for itself in artisanal cheese production with help from another famous cheese - Maytag blue.

Re: Pulled Lamb Since you're already talking about using a Tagine, then stick with Moroccan and use Ras El Hanout for your spice blend. It's one of my "go to" spice blends for lamb. http://www.zamourispices.com/raselhanout.html

Re: Murray's Cheese Shop You hit "the sweet spot" when you mentioned St. Agur. My absolute favorite blue cheese. Amazing actually! I once blew some friends away with sprinkling it on pomme frites with fresh rosemary. They claimed they were the best fries they'd ever eaten!

Re: Thermoworks probes I have to wiggle my Redi-Chek meat probe (90 degree bend) some, but I can get it through the hole. I can't go the opposite way and push the plug end through from the inside.

Re: berkshire vs. commercial butts I had the opposite problem with Berkshire (Kurabuto) pork. I did ribs and they were so fatty that I had flare-ups (I normally don't use a drip pan for ribs) and burnt the outsides before the interior fat had rendered out. A friend has done 2 butts and had problems; they cooked much faster than regular pork. It cooks differently for sure.

Re: Ribeye Roast cook Kudos to Doc for all his great advice! 1500 posts - WOW! Alton Brown does a steak cook using just a chimney in one of his Good Eats shows (it's in one of his books, too.)

Re: First cook on KK - RIBS - Need advice As noted, ribs are bite tender when the tips of the bones are showing about 1/4". Also second the suggestion to move to the main grill level to improve smoke contact.