tony b

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!!

Tried another pizza cook last night. Been trying locally made pies (frozen). Heat soaked the KK and pizza stone on upper grate for 3 hours - checked the stone with an IR thermometer and it was averaging 450F (475F in the back, 435F - 455F in the middle and 425F in the front. Dome was sitting at 430F. Pizza was a 3 meat combo (pepperoni, sausage and ground beef) to which I added mushrooms, red pepper flakes and parm. Came out looking nice, good browning on the bottom crust. Like the old saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the tasting! Well, I have to say that I'm not impressed with these pizzas. The crust can't make up it's mind if it wants to be thin and crispy or thick and chewy. It's in some "no man's land" and not very appealing. Toppings and sauce are OK, it's the crust that's holding it back. After the 1st try a couple of weeks ago, I thought that it was my fault as I didn't get the stone heat soaked at the right temp (a bit low) and I hadn't put in enough charcoal and my fire was dying out. This time, I started earlier, put in more charcoal (cocochar this time) and made sure that the stone was where I wanted it before putting the pizza on (frozen, per their instructions.) And, I rotated the pizza every 4 - 5 minutes given the temperature profile front-to-back. Similar results to the 1st one, so I'm concluding that it's not me, but the pizza. Won't try a 3rd time.

If I may ask, what grade of beef was it? That could have been a factor in the flat being a bit dry. You really shouldn't have had any issue with the temps going up to the 265F range. A few of us here have done the "hot & fast" method at 325F, with very good results. And on the bright side, that's probably going to be some damn good chili!

Catching up on a couple of cooks. Couple of nights ago, did a pre-marinated pork tenderloin. Some lame peppercorn stuff, so I amp'ed it up with some Suya pepper rub (my recipe.) Got so tied up with all the sides getting done at the same time as the pork; plus, the stupid MEATER app was beeping at me to get the meat off the grill, that I forgot to take a picture of it on the KK. . DOH! But, I did get a plated pic. Served with potato gnocchi with alfredo sauce and sautéed green beans with Japanese yum-yum dressing. The Suya pepper rub really helped this pork flavor-wise. But, the marinade did it's job, as this thing was melt in your mouth tender! I DID remember to get a grill shot of last night's dinner of Persian chicken breasts. Main grate, direct, grape vine chunk, 325F. A paste of orange zest, olive oil, fresh cracked fennel and coriander seeds, with sumac and roasted garlic powder. Plated with couscous with an orange juice, olive oil, and parsley dressing and roasted broccolini with Everything Bagel seasoning and more of that Japanese yum-yum dressing.

Serious looking crotch rocket, Aussie!

Very nice, indeed!

Off to a good start. Are you using Aaron Franklin's method for brisket (pink butcher paper wrap post-stall?) What flavor of wood are you using in the smoker?

Nice cellar and a decent looking stash - might get you through to at least until the mid-terms! LOL!

BUT, on the upside - after today, my phone will stop blowing up with text messages asking if I've voted yet and my email in-basket won't overflow with campaign emails!!! CHEERS!!

Nailed it!!!

'Coz you're not from the South, honey! LOL! Slice, bread them puppies up with seasoned cornmeal (Whistle Stop is very good) and fry them! Remoulade sauce on top! Heaven! Also very Southern: Chow-Chow - pickled mixed vegetables, but the base is green tomatoes. It's a relish. Treat them like tomatillos and make green salsa or enchilada sauce with them.

Snuck in a cook yesterday before the weather takes a downward turn here for a couple of days. Sunny today, but super windy, with windchills hovering around the freezing mark. Flat iron steak on the lower grate, direct, coffee wood, post oak and mesquite chunks. Rubbed with Oakridge BBQ Carne Crosta and Santa Maria rubs (not mixed, each side got a different rub). Plated with 2x baked spud, shrooms, side salad and chimichurri.

Glad to hear that it's working out well for you! It is a handy little device.

You sound exactly like me! The one time that I tried to do a porchetta, the skin was as you described - chewy, taffy-like and not crispy.

I think the actual term was "crotch rocket!" LOL!

Like we tell new owners, who've never cooked on a similar grill before - Don't chase the temperatures! Once heat soaked at a specific temperature, it's very hard to lower the temperature again, given the mass of the KK. But, during initial heat ups, you can tweak it back down if you overshoot some (see note below). You'll just end up frustrated if you are constantly messing with the top vent opening to hit some magical target temperature. So, as you're doing, get a feel for the top vent settings (lower vent is not important as long as it's open to supply enough air to keep the fire going - which isn't much). Top vent settings are very repeatable, so make some notes to follow until you've gotten it down pat. You'll find that it doesn't take much movement of the top vent to see a noticeable change in temperature. Give the KK time to stabilize temperature before making any adjustment to watch the change. Also, part of the "Don't chase the temperatures" mantra - don't fret if you miss your target temperature by +/- 50F. All it means is that the cooking time will be a bit different is all. Your food will come out fine. You should be cooking to internal meat temperatures and not by time, anyway. Good luck with the burn-in and happy cooking!!

Gruesome! I seriously doubt that I could eat any of it, once cooked! 😵

As noted, Dennis has struggled with this for years. Even the OneGrill motors have varied over the years, so there's no consistency there either. That's why he supplies shafts of different designs (square/hex) and lengths, trying to get as close as possible to every combination of motor/grill.

Best wishes and cheering you on for another 15!! I'm sure that the anniversary dinner will be spectacular!

Very nice, indeed! What's for dinner?

Hey, you both know how to cook it - just git after it!