BEER-N-BBQ by Larry

The total bill is 20 oz flour and 12 oz milk if you add it all up. Flour: 2 oz from the starter, 6 oz from the sponge, and 12 oz for the final. Milk: 2 oz from the starter, 6 oz from the sponge, and 4 oz for the final. If not using a yeast starter, add just a little dry yeast (~1/8-1/4 tsp) to the sponge starter (8 oz each of flour and milk). You should be all set for the following morning to add the final ingredients.

Yes. Absolutely. I do that as well at times when in a hurry, but to keep the recipe whole you'll need to add the equivalent amount of flour and water that would have been part of the starter.

The after party was just as fun as it went well into the night. Sorry, no film of that. LOL

This would be considered hot smoking. Cold smoking would take days. Plus, I'd use Prague Powder #2 (with nitrates) if cold smoking. Prague Powder #1 (with nitrites) is only for hot smoking.

Depends on the strength of your starter. If you regularly use your starter (e.g. weekly), it may only take a single feeding (or two) the day before to get it active again. If you keep in the fridge for a month and don't feed it regularly, it can take several days to restore it to good active health. When I'm making bread/buns/pizza every week for months on end, all I have to do is take it out of the fridge the day before, pour off the hooch, dump half, let it warm up a bit, then feed it for several hours before using it in a sponge/poolish starter.

The Keg worked great for this event. Only issue I had was the smaller size of it compared to my Big Joe as the ends of the ribs overhung the deflector plate and got more direct heat than I would have preferred. However, this was the only cooker I have that is mobile and large enough to cook three slabs of ribs.

Thanks guys!

Hi all, I finally participated in my first ever BBQ contest recently after over 25 years of outdoor cooking. Although it wasn't an officially sanctioned event, it was good practice for the future in case I decide to entered a real one. Was a great time. I totally see why people do this sort of thing.

Excellent to hear about a retrofit hinge. I'm already well on my way to my third hinge in 3 years; probably in the next 6 months or so.

I have answers for both. I use a combination of roma and san marzanos for my tomato sauces that I harvest from my garden, process, & can them for later use. I've done some videos on the topic. I link them below.

I just love the way kamados can bake bread, pizza, and calzones. I made some calzones on my Kamado Joe Big Joe using freshly harvested ingredients from my garden and patio including a variety of tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. Also trying out my new camera, a Canon EOS 80D, for the first time. How To Make Thin Crust Pizza Dough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvx2oWgwy8g&index=6&list=PLJGQZwp3xoftupOC6r1KAijdScKy6c7N7&t Pizza Cheese Blending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ9hWIvSNMI&list=PLJGQZwp3xoftupOC6r1KAijdScKy6c7N7&index=2

Thanks for the shout out. As for the beans, you've learned your lesson. You MUST cook the beans until they are soft to your liking BEFORE adding any acids. Acids prevent them from softening. Otherwise, you get what you got; many many many hours of cooking time and still get hard beans. Don't skip the steps in my BBQ beans video. They're there for a very good reason. You'll get it right next time though. (Boil them first.)

You're welcome! Thanks for watching. I'm not sure why some roast yield a lot of drippings and others do not. I have had some with lots of drippings and others with very little. I also have some beef base and/or homemade chicken stock on hand to mix in with it to ensure enough au jus to go around just in case.

Dinner from the other night: Pizza with garden tomatoes, patio grown Melrose peppers, green and black olives, onions, garlic, pepperoni, and fresh basil and oregano (again from my patio). Kamados are awesome pizza ovens.

Rosemary and bread go together like peas and carrots. Awesome toasted with butter.