tony b

Grilled Romaine lettuce Cesar salad is awesome, if you've never tried it.

Looking good so far!

I think that mine went to my nephew when I outgrew it.

MONEY!!!

Funny, but I had a Schwinn Stingray, neon green, back when I was a kid! Mine was a single speed, with the banana seat.

Stunning! It's always been so hard for me to wrap my head around the magnificence of our universe. I toyed briefly as an undergrad of going into astrophysics, as it was so closely related to nuclear physics/engineering that I was studying. Quantum physics, just on another much bigger scale!

Unlike brisket, that I like to wrap in pink butcher paper - ala Franklin, I don't wrap butts or ribs. I'm generally in the 250 - 275F range for butts. I have done hot & fast butts at 325F if I'm short on time. I also like to inject butts with Butcher BBQ marinade. Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust is my "go to" rub for pork butt. Don't worry, you can never have enough pulled pork lying around. I'll even warm it up and put a fried egg on top for breakfast! Makes a good breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, peppers, onions, cheese and salsa. Pulled pork mac & cheese is another OTB dish. Pulled pork Bolognese over pasta. Just get funky with it! Oh, it freezes really well in a vacuum sealer bag, too.

Interesting bike you've got there, ckreef. Almost recumbent?

^ +1! Go, Suzy!!

Scored a nice flat iron steak at the market, so onto the KK it goes. Sear grate, with mesquite, post oak and coffee wood chunks. Rub was a mix of Shut Shot Sid's Gunpowder and Lane BBQ's Brisket. Plated with melting potatoes and sautéed green beans, with mushrooms and chimichurri for the steak.

😢

I have no inherent "grate bias," as I cook on all of them, but the main grate sees a majority of the duty. It's one of the things that makes the KK unique - the versatility. When using the lower grates, I don't bend over the grill (usually will get you a face full of smoke!). As Paul said, just score longer tools. tekobo makes a good point about the weight of the grates on the 42". Consult with Dennis to see what will work out best for your cooking needs and physical capabilities.

What do you have against hotdogs? I cook all kinds of snags on the KK, including hotdogs. 😄

Sounds like you've gotten a pretty good handle on it.

Welcome back, ckreef! What an entrance that was - holy cow!!!

Amazing story, Jon! Welcome back! Hope to see pics of that rebuild project soon! I took care of my Dad for a month right after my Mom died, while I arranged for him to have in-home care and then eventually in a care facility. I know exactly what you're talking about. Folks that do this full-time are practically saints!

Another cook in the dark (it's that time of year and we're a month away from the winter solstice!) Tonight - snags in the dark. Lower grate, direct, 325F dome. No smoking wood. Snags are beer brats and bacon/cheddar brats (2 each). Plated with homemade potato salad. 3 mustards - Dijon, spicy brown and Stone Brewery's smoky chipotle. Top it off with a side salad, crusty bread and a tasty IPA (Stillwater's 420 Series Hoppy Pilsner.)

I'm all ears!

Spun a chook in the dark last night. Rotisserie basket, 375F, direct, injected with Seasoning Stix and outside rubbed with Slap yo Daddy, apple wood chunks. Another squirrely MEATER+ performance on the ambient temperature. Meat temps were good, just really odd behavior again on the ambient probe. I'm beginning to wonder if it's gone off somehow? It started out weird - very slow increase, then shoots up after 30 minutes, but plateaus out well below dome temperature (375F). Probe wasn't overly gunked up after the cook, as I had made sure to put it in as parallel to the axis of rotation as possible, so juices wouldn't run down it and bake on (my theory on the last cook with it.) OK, onto the plated pics - garlic mashed potatoes (sous vide) and sautéed green beans. Chicken was falling off the bone and very moist. Decent crispiness on the skin, too.

I bought a copy of The Pizza Bible by Tony Gemignani. I've read through most of it, but haven't tackled any of his recipes yet. I've tried various methods before to keep it simple, including the 2 ingredient one (AP flour and Greek yogurt) and some "no kneed." I just don't make pizza that often to hone in on a "go to" recipe. Not just the work to make the dough, but the amount of charcoal that it takes to heat soak everything up to cooking temperatures for a 12 minute cook (I'm normally just cooking for me) just rubs me the wrong way. Plus, having to buy more ingredients than I need for one pizza (pepperoni, mozz, etc.) only to not use it all up - I hate wasting food. I'm just too miserly! 😜

Piling on here - I'm 64 years old and I've NEVER owned a gas grill. With a charcoal chimney, you could get up and going in 10 -15 minutes for basic grilling. (I've switched over to a MAPP gas torch and air blower to start mine for a bit more control.) I just plan for about 30 minutes lead time to do my prep work in the kitchen and the KK is usually ready (or close enough for government work), depending upon target dome temperature. The notable exception is pizza - which takes hours to heat soak the KK and pizza stone to 450F. But, a gasser can't cook a pizza like a wood-fired oven - the KK IS a wood-fired oven. Cleaning out the ash is not a biggie. If I'm ambitious, I'll haul out the shop vac (with drywall filter) and can be done in 30 secs - easy, peasy. If I'm lazy (usually!), I'll just clean it out with a metal scoop. Takes maybe 3 minutes. @tekobo - the 42" KK actually has TWO springs for the lid! Dennis overengineering things again! You know, the KK makes a great chili pepper roaster, too! I just fabricated a cage with wire fabric (1/4") and insert it into the rotisserie basket. Key - use the half-moon of the rotisserie basket to your advantage and leave the ends of wire cage half open to make loading and unloading the peppers easy. Been using this thing for years now. Oh, the other trick - cut the stems off so that they don't get caught in the wire mesh.

Rah-stah time again, mon! 3 day marinade of the jerk chicken. Direct, on the main grate, smoker pot with pimento wood, pimento leaves and berries (aka allspice), 325F. Plated with "rice & peas" (Jamaican curry rice and drunken black beans). The surprise of the dinner was the garlic toast! Yes, really! Probably some of the best that I've ever made. I think that I stumbled on the trick - low & slow in the oven - 275F for 15 minutes and then shut off the heat and let it ride until serving time. Righteous, mon!

As a last resort! I'm not a baker and don't pretend to be one. Plus, to do it properly, one needs to plan several days in advance. I was looking for a better option than Papa Murphy's for a last minute decision for pizza for dinner. But, yes, in the future, I'll likely make my own when I plan enough time ahead.

Don't forget the best veggie cook out there - local sweet corn!!