Brick Pig

Thanks!

Got ready to spin a chicken and noticed I’ve apparently lost one of these little dudes: It’s not going to interfere with today’s cook, as I have four forks and only need two. But sometime down the line I’m going to need all four at the same time, and of course I want to replace the lost one. Unfortunately I’m a bit hardware-ily challenged, so two questions: 1) What’s this called? and 2) Is it something I can get at a hardware store, or do I have to order one from KJ?

Hah! THAT'S where I read about it! Thanks for the idea.

I recently read (maybe here?) about somebody making meatloaf with half ground beef and half Jimmy Dean sausage, and decided I had try it. I’ve never made a meatloaf before, so I just read a bunch of recipes, watched John Setzler’s apple smoked meatloaf video, and made it up out of whatever ingredients I had on hand. Smoked for about 90 minutes, give or take, over cherry. Could not be happier with the results. Even my wife likes it, and meatloaf is very definitely not her dish. Goin’ in IT approaching 150°F (shooting for 160°) Ate a slice before I remembered to take a photo.

I get a better bark with the pan than I used to get when I just wrapped in foil. It's been a pretty long time since I cooked a butt without wrapping at all, but I would venture to say that the pan gives me pretty close to the same bark as completely unwrapped. The main reason I went to using the pan, though, is because I read someone here who mentioned that they shred the pork in the juices that are collected in the pan. That's why I tried it, and I've been doing it that way ever since.

Hardcover link: https://www.amazon.com/Kamado-Smoker-Grill-Cookbook-Techniques/dp/1612433634/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3BEP58C2L1UTI&dchild=1&keywords=chris+grove+kamado&qid=1590585691&sprefix=chris+grove%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-1 The Chris Grove book is the only Kamado-specific cookbook I have, and it is fantastic. I can't say I make many of the recipes in it very often, but it really helped me learn various techniques, so that when I find a recipe I want to make on the kamado, I have a pretty good idea how to do it. And as others have said, the info on this site and in John Setzler's videos is invaluable.

I haven't posted a cook in an pretty long while. Seems like I don't ever remember to take pictures until I'm finished cooking or, more often, finished eating. But yesterday I managed to think ahead and document my pork butt cook. It's kind of inconvenient to do my job from home, but boys howdy is it nice to be working about 20 yards away from the Big Joe! 9.7 lb. picnic, rubbed the night before, bagged and refrigerated overnight Into the smoke at 8:50 am; KJ lump with 2 chunks of cherry I was aiming for 300º, but it settled in just under 320º Around 1:15pm I was measuring ITs from 155º - 170º in different spots. Placed it in a pan & covered it in foil. By 3:00pm my dome temp had crept up to 350º (direct hot sunlight), but the meat probed like butter After resting in a cooler with towels, I shredded it at 5:00pm Served at 6:00 with some roasted veggies and store-brand mac & cheese

Here’s my finishing sauce recipe. I just sprinkle in a little bit once in awhile as I pull. Not very much. If I had to guess, probably around 3 tablespoons for a ~10 lb. bone-in butt. Of course you should adjust for your own taste. I use just enough to give it a bit of punch; not so much that you can really taste the sauce itself. 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup white vinegar 2 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 Tablespoon rub 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes Mix well. Keeps for a long while in the fridge. NOTE: I’m no longer sure where this recipe originated. I’ve probably tweaked it over time, but I definitely did not make it up from scratch. It is very, very possible that someone here on this site created it, and if so it is not my intention to take credit for their work.

We never, ever give a thought to "preparedness" in terms of emergencies. However, we tend to buy pretty much everything in bulk whenever possible. There are only two of us in our household, but we're generally stocked more like a family of four or more, simply because it's usually a lot cheaper to buy larger quantities and we have plenty of room for storage. In addition to our kitchen fridge, we have a "beer fridge" and a chest freezer in the basement. I put beer fridge in quotation marks because beer most often is the smallest percentage of what's in there. Mostly it's extra sodas, seltzers, and other stuff that we need at the ready but don't have room for in the kitchen fridge. The chest freezer is almost always at least 3/4 full, mostly meats. Under all-out siege conditions, I would imagine we'd have food for 4 or 5 weeks, and basic cleaning supplies and sundries for probably 3 or 4 months. But it's driven purely by economics.

We routinely order our TP by the case from Amazon just because it's easy and cheap. Got a case delivered about one week before the virus hit the States, and still haven't opened it yet, so we're good in that department for a long while. I wouldn't mind picking up a couple rolls of paper towels; we're on our last roll now. But of course it's not too hard to find an alternative to paper towels, if needs be. I'm working from home now (for the first time in my 33-year career), which has freed me up to get to the grocery at varied times, and one trip they'll maybe be out of chicken, the next time maybe they're out of potatoes. But then those things will be restocked the next trip. All in all at one time or another I've been able to get everything we need except flour (and the aforementioned paper towels). Of course there are plenty of things I can cook without flour, but as a rule I bake fresh bread at least twice a week, often three times. My waistline doesn't really need it, but I don't like doing without it. But obviously I shouldn't complain. We're d@mn lucky people compared to a bunch of others out there right now.

I definitely find this to be true. Of course everyone has an opinion on how much smoke is enough, or too much, or too little, but I almost never add any smoking wood at all to any cook except for a butt or ribs. Even then, the most I'll put in is a chunk about the size of a tennis ball. Maybe not even that big. When I got my kamado and retired my offset, I had two new large bags of wood chunks, one cherry and one hickory. Here we are about 4 years later and neither bag is even half empty.

This is awesome!

I really have to get back to weeknight grilling. I blame my 80-minute commute for not doing it, but the truth is I go in earlier and I still get home at the same time now as I did at my old job, and I grilled 3, 4, or even 5 nights per week back then. Agree with @ckreef: the only real trick is to start the fire as soon as you get home. After that it's easy-peasy. Maybe I'll consider this my New Year's resolution.

Looks delicious.

Yes, but you should not use soap on unglazed stoneware, such as the baking dishes I posted above. The soap will get into the pores and your food will taste like soap. And since I mentioned cast iron in my post, I should also say that you shouldn't soak cast iron. Not because of soap, but because the prolonged exposure to water can cause it to rust.