tony b

We're in the middle of Indian Summer here. Taking advantage as much as I can. Did some tile cleaning and touched up the grout in spots on the KK to get it ready for winter. Last night was a Cajun spiced pork chop, direct, main grate, over hickory and apple chunks. Paired with a wild rice medley and Mexican street corn (local stuff is gone, so had to settle for frozen. 😢 )

I hear yah! I'm not shy at all when it comes to using garlic. No vampire worries here! LOL!!! Those spiny lobsters remind me of the Caribbean. Try a Jamaican jerk style. I know it sounds crazy, but it works! btw - I spotted that Pliny in the background. I suspect it was put there for my benefit - ha, ha!

Sounds like some tasty beers on the way! Regarding your big stout, you can always do a parti-gyle for the 2nd runnings and get a nice brown ale or Scottish out of it. I don't generally do big ABV beers, but I just finished a Wheat Wine that I brewed for our beer club's competition. It came in at 12.2% ABV. It's BIG!

Very good! You're well on your way with your new KK. Happy Burn-in!

Congratulations and Welcome to the Obsession. You are definitely in for a huge (literally) surprised when that BB 42 arrives. Can't wait to see the pics! Just curious - what made you order the gas burner insert? That's very uncommon - in fact, Dennis stopped making the back door for it some time ago and made a retrofit bolted door for the rest of us to seal it up so we didn't have air leaks.

Speaking of steaks, did a nice bacon-wrapped sirloin last night, direct, lower grate, mesquite and post oak chunks. As an homage, I called this dinner "No Flies On Me Steak Night!" 😄 Duck Fat air-fried Yukon Golds (with Peruvian green sauce - the new "crack" in my house!), chimichurri for the steak, sautéed mushrooms and a nice side salad.

Looking forward to those uncrating pics (not as bad as you think - depending on where you have to move it to for its final home?)

Looking sweet in its new home! Glad the ramp worked out well for you. Now, we just need to see pics of that virgin cook! btw - I found the Rockwood was very "sparky" too. Otherwise, it's a good lump charcoal.

Check the plated photo - there's a dollop of green sauce by the spuds for dipping! Yes, it was very good with them.

I eat that! I've never cooked one that thick before. I can image that it would be more difficult trying to manage it. I'd have bailed and done it sous vide, then finished it on the lower grate to sear it.

Too funny! As you can see in this pic of the chicken, the exposed end of the probe was pretty gunked up. Here's the MEATER graph. Initially low, as I put the probe in early inside the kitchen and it sat for a bit before I put it on the KK - that's the 1st spike. It sort of cruised up and then something happened and I saw the rapid increase to the 2nd spike. The drop right after was me opening the grill to check on what was going on, since it was behaving so squirrely. Temps rebounded after I closed it back up. That's when it really went wonky for the rest of the cook. Again, seeing how gunked up the tip of the probe was lead me to believe that's what caused the end of the cook to behave so crazy. Meanwhile, the dome thermometer was ready steady right where I set the vents!

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.