tony b

Interesting, and coincidental. I used my MEATER+ on a rotisserie cook yesterday and got some very squirrely ambient temperature reading - very sawtooth - and not from opening the lid. I've seen a similar behavior before. I suspect it's caused by juices running down the probe and coating the end of the MEATER, where the ambient temperature probe is. Given that the meat juices are a couple hundred degrees (F) lower than dome temps, you can imagine the swings that I was seeing. It played hell with the "estimated cooking time" algorithm - LOL! But, back to your point more directly. It's not just the MEATER probe, there's always a delta in temperature readings between the dome and the grate. Typically in the 25F - 50F range. I see it with my Maverick and Guru probes, too. Proximity to the meat has a small influence. One thing that I learned a long time ago and practice consistently, is to not clamp the probe directly to the grate - you get a false reading of the air temperature. I use a wine cork with a small nail in the end that I attach the alligator clip on the probe too. I cut notches out on the opposite end of the cork for it to fit in between the grate rods.

As noted earlier, inspired to try the Peruvian chicken with green sauce. Marinated the chicken overnight. Rotisserie basket, direct, coffee and peach wood chunks, started out at 275F for the first 30 minutes, then slowly raised temps up to 350F for the last 30 minutes for crispier skin. Out of the rack. Plated with side salad, crusty bread and airfried spuds, with green sauce on the side. This green sauce is da bomb, folks!

Sort of aioli meets chimichurri.

@Troble - thanks for the green sauce recipe. Similar to what I found. I have a small jar of pickled jalapeno slices that I plan to use and omit the vinegar. Will post pics after dinner tonight.

Go with the ramp idea. 3/4" MDF or sturdy plywood. Make it long enough so that the slope is manageable by just rolling the KK up on its casters. Support the ramp midway, so it doesn't flex or crack. Don't pull the KK by the handle - push it from behind. The threshold shouldn't be a problem. Just have 2 of you to help steady it (one in front/one in back) - the KK is top heavy. Stating the obvious, but unload everything inside the KK to lighten the load before moving - except the firebox. While it's OK to remove it BEFORE it's been fired up, it's still a tricky maneuver to replace it correctly. When it's heated it will expand and seat itself in the firebox and should NOT be removed after that point. You're not saving that much weight by removing it and it's just not worth it (IMHO). Break-in isn't necessary right away - only if you plan to cook above 350F. Get to know your KK and how to set the vents first, then worry about the break-in later. Everyone frets the break-in, but it's just a "right of passage" and you'll be just fine when it's time to do it. The biggest thing is to plan enough time to do it - it takes many hours; so, start early in the day, have plenty of adult beverages on hand (it's like watching paint dry!), have rags handy to wipe it down if you see any white residue (be careful, as the KK exterior will be quite warm!), a small sharp implement to poke a hole in the grout if you see tiles lifting up, and don't waste all that heat (you'll need a very full basket of charcoal for the break-in - use regular lump; don't waste cocochar on this one) - it's perfectly safe to cook during the break-in. Once the KK has cooled back down under 350F, then press down any tiles that might have lifted up during the break-in. Once fully cooled, then repair any grout tears or holes that you might have poked in it. YOU'RE DONE!

I bring in the motor.

You got me on the Peruvian chicken & green sauce. On the planning menu for tomorrow.

Another steak night. Choice Reserve Ribeye, direct on lower grate, mesquite and coffee wood chunks. Side salad, crusty bread and 2x baked spud, with some chimichurri sauce on the side. Nice TJ Zin to go with it all. Up close and personal!

Nice plan. My deck is TREX, except for the corner where the KK lives, which is ironwood, as I said earlier.

@Boom Boom - talk to your contractor. You are starting to get into the realm of needing rebar in the concrete when you get that thick. Sometimes more isn't better. Maybe a different formulation of your cement rather than more of the standard recipe is in order?

That's our Dennis!

Nice homework. Sounds like you know what you want and why! A piece of advice on the deck rebuild - see if you can score some ironwood decking for the area around where the KK will go. One of the rare woods that will scorch but not burn/flame up. (trivia - it's also one of the rare woods that doesn't float in water.) I've had a live coal drop on mine and you just sand it off and no one's the wiser. Sounds like you've got the structural aspects all scoped out. Ask away - that's what this Forum is mostly about - that, and food porn!

The LAST of the local corn! 😢 Country style pork rib, rubbed with - hommage to Aussie - Poultry seasoning mixed with Eat This. Indirect (there's that pesky thin sheet of AL foil again!), with smoker pot of hickory and apple wood, 250F. HURRAY - I can upload pics again!! Plated with some leftover polenta and ragu sauce. Side salad.

Caught - ketchup-handed! Normally an aioli fan, but since I had the ketchup out to make the chili, I decided to use it on the fries for consistency of flavors.

Never been one of mine - ROFLMAO!

Aussie, the rib king! I thought about it briefly, but didn't want to hassle with it. You shucked them, blanch briefly in boiling water, then shock them in an ice bath. Then, put them up in Foodsaver bags to freeze. It's good, but not much better than what you can buy in the Freezer section of the supermarket. Sausage layout was based more on the cooking area than artful presentation! The knackwurst, being the fatties, I placed near the back with the corn, where the fire was hotter. Similar with the others, fire was a tad lower on the left, so that's where I put the weisswurt (veal), which has less fat and the wieners, which are fattier, on the right. As you can see, I did move them around a bit during the cooking process. (Hurray, my internet service is behaving today and I can upload pics again!) Plated, with airfryer fries, and an assortment of mustards. We're still seeing the residuals from the CA wildfire smoke here. Makes for nice sunsets!

First tip, if you've used the grill a lot between roti cooks, the spring side might be a bit gunked up and not flexing enough. Try just pushing the rod in/out of there a few times to check it. If all else fails, a quick spurt of WD-40 in there to soften up any gunk. But be sure to clean it out well with a paper towel and not let it run down the inside of the KK. WD-40 smells nasty if burned. I normally cook direct on my roti cooks. If I want to be a bit more "indirect" with it, I use the basket splitter in a "forward/back" arrangement, with the fire in the back. If it's a crazy fatty piece of meat, like a duck or your porchetta, put a small disposable aluminum drip pan underneath on the non-fire side to prevent nasty smoke. I was one of the folks that "didn't get the memo" that you should take the pointy tip off the rod after you've skewered your meat before you insert it in the KK. So I thought my rod was a bit too long (worse than you described) and I trimmed off about an 1/8" of the rod. Now I have to use the pointy tip with my cooks, or the rod's too short. One other thing to remember - it will expand when it heats up, so experiment with it without anything cooking on it, to make sure that you can easily remove it afterwards. I've had a cook where I damn near couldn't get the rod out and was worried about burning my chicken whilst wrestling (and cursing loudly!) the assembly. BTW - I don't have this issue with Dennis' basket assembly, just the rod.

I laughed at the "Baby Eating Dingos!" OK, I bit! Despite having a pantry full of sauces and rubs, I broke down and order 3 bottles - regular, STB & Black. I think that I need to enter a 13 step program - ha, ha!

Do you really want to go there? LOL!

Another night of the local corn. This time with a snack pak of snags from my local shop - Smoked Knockwurst, Weisswurst, Currywurst and Wieners. For the wieners, made up a pot of hot dog chili (a.k.a. - Greek chili - which gets its name in my hometown because all the local drive-ins that specialize in chilidogs and chili cheeseburgers, are run by Greeks. This is NOT Skyline style with the cinnamon in it!) Just going on, so you can see the colors of the snags. Sorry - I was going to upload more pics, but I'm having Internet problems (my provider, not the Forum servers). Will try again later.

À chacun son goût, as the French say! You didn't catch the part about the wife liking Black & Blue?

That's the fun part of this hobby - no one "right" way to do it - whatever works for you and you get the results you want - that's OK.

You'll have to let us know what his response is when it arrives!

Nicely done!