tony b

Yep, plated pictures are a true test of patience, looking at the finished product and wanting to immediately dive right in! I assume it's like other similar rubs (I used Gunpowder), that have a bit of actual charcoal in them?

I like the eucalyptus, a bit pricey, but nice charcoal. I use their Quebracho a lot. I'm finding that the Jealous Devil is burning up more than the others that I've been using. Regular cooks in the 300F - 400F range, under an hour. Rough guess is that I'm using 2x as much JD as Fogo. Would be curious to hear what others are finding? @ckreef - did you test JD when you did your charcoal study? I've slept since then and don't remember all of them - LOL!

As opposed to the infamous POSKs! Mine is only 8 years old. It was one of the first Gen II 23" KKs. There are others that still post on the Forum that have been hear longer than me. Doc (mguerra) and ThreeDJ16 both pre-date me by a few years. Robert (5698k) is about the same time as me. Maybe some of the real old timers are still out there, like @Sanny @primeats @Porkchop @Majestik @Firemonkeyand @Fetzervalve. What about the "other" Tony - @tcoliver?

Too kind, Bruce! Maybe if it had the raita to go with it - 3 stars maybe? 😄 Nice trick there, Doc! And I know them hounds love their special treat!

Since I got one of the original batch of Double Drip Pans, which I haven't used in ages, I should reconfirm that mine fits as suggested?

Last night was Indian - kofta kebabs. Mix of ground beef and lamb, with lots of onions, garlic and parsley, with my house lamb seasoning with extra berbere spice tossed in. Direct, @ 300F, on the Frog Mat (they sometime get a bit crumbly), with coffee wood chunks. Plated with an herbed basmati and side salad. I wanted to make a raita to go with it, but when I pulled the cuke out of the veggie bin it had gone bad. Oh well!

Ja, wir würden! 😄

And not a beet in sight!

Once it's cooled, check the handles on your lower grate to see if they are vertical and not slightly bent toward the center. I had that problem with my upper grate and trying to get the pizza stone on it. Per Dennis, I just gently bent the handles outward until the interference was cleared.

Nicely done! Fretting over the burn-in is a rite of passage as a KK owner! You, and your KK, are now broken it!

As a mechanical engineer (PE ret.), trust me on this one, Doc. It works well. Just wrap the aluminum foil around the grate rods on each end to hold it in place. You're not really trying to block airflow, but the infrared radiation coming directly off the hot coals.

Been there, done that! It was so sought after, more precious than gold at the time. Napoleon had a set of flatware made of it to show off at his state dinners. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/11/aluminum-was-once-one-of-the-most-expensive-metals-in-the-world/382447/

Doc, I just copied your link and pasted it into this post. There's an option at the bottom of the screen that asks if you want to embed it or just post it as a link. The default is to embed, so I didn't change it.

Lucky you! I was just curious and hadn't planned on getting one, so I'm not disappointed.

Yeah, Doc. No one, not even Dennis, uses that big heavy ceramic heat deflector any more. Just wastes too much charcoal trying to heat it up and really slows down the heat up time. Most of us use the drip pan that came with the KK or just a layer of aluminum foil on the lower grate, if you're not expecting a lot of drippings. Main purpose is to block the infrared from directly hitting the food, letting the convection air do the low & slow. The foil does that and makes clean up a snap - no goo or burnt drippings on the stone to contend with on the next cook.

Unfortunately, Amazon shows it as being "Currently Unavailable" with no anticipated return date. 😪

Looking happy in its new home! Now get to cooking!

Shawarma pork steaks last night, with grilled red onion and zucchini. Roasted red potatoes in the indoor convection oven. Everything direct @ 325F, with apple wood chunks.

I have a Donabe rick cooker. Love it. The only issue is it take a bit more attention than a regular rice cooker. You turn off the heat right after you see steam exiting the hole in the lid.

Korean Pork Tenderloins - direct, main grate @ 325F, with peach wood chunks. Marinade was Bulgogi with some pineapple hot sauce. Basted the tenderloins a couple of times during the cook. A bundle of asparagus for good measure. Plated with some pineapple fried rice (see the connection with the marinade hot sauce!) Did the fried rice in the paella pan to get a nice crust.

I normally use the MAPP torch followed up with FiAir blower for 99% of my cooks on the KK, but I have used these starter cubes in a chimney to light the heavy binto charcoal for the yakitori grill. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C3KO7X0

That one snuck by Naked Whiz. No mention of it in his database. I used to like Weekend Warriors briquettes in my smaller Grill Dome, until they basically went out of business.