pmillen

I don’t want to be demeaning, but I don’t understand why you two had such difficulty installing the multi-piece fire ring. I'm an old, short, fat arthritic guy and I got it done in just a few minutes with one strong handed helper. Perhaps there’s a manufacturing variance between your metal ring and the current vintage. I didn’t have the cast iron grate in place because I didn’t need it with a charcoal basket. Here’s my best advice—it’s what I did. Be certain to center the fire box ring in the bottom of the Kamado. Use a scrap piece of cardboard or the ash catcher to measure the clearance between the ring and the interior sides all of the way around. Set the firebox pieces in place making certain that the bottoms sit squarely on the fire box ring and lean back against the kamado wall. Put the metal ring on top of the firebox pieces and with a second person helping, tilt the firebox pieces into place under the metal ring. This was probably too late for your use now, but it may be of some use if you disassemble it for spring cleaning.

I took your advice and looked around on youtube. There are hours of celery juice testimonial videos there. I also saw nut milk bags. So I tried it this morning. Nothing to report.

Do you just blend it or do you also strain it? I've never heard of a nut milk bag.

Recent posts about the best mac & cheese caused me to wonder if any members use melting salts to make their own meltable cheese. Two searches didn’t produce a “hit” so I decided to post an introduction. There’s a huge convenience factor with processed cheese because it melts so nicely, but you’ll get a better flavor from other cheeses. You can easily make perfectly melting cheese and non-separating cheese sauces (for mac & cheese or nachos) by using your favorite cheese, whether it's aged or unaged, and melting salts. For mac & cheese I've been making homemade American Cheese using sharp cheddar (sometimes smoked) and milk. It melts like Velveeta but tastes waaaaaay better. With melting salts, the cheese sauce for mac & cheese is quick and simple and eliminates the need to mess with roux. I measure 1oz dry elbow macaroni per serving and cook it. For the cheese sauce, I double the weight in milk and any favorite gourmet cheese(s). Two oz each per serving adding 4% melting salt to the milk. I add the cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce and put it on my smoke pit ‘till hot and bubbling. This article can start you down the melting salts path: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/melty-cheese-slices. They heat the mixture sous vide but, if you’re careful, you can just use a heavy sauce pan and low heat and it’ll work just as well. You may be inspired to try their nachos: https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/nacho-cheese. And here’s their mac & cheese recipe. https://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/silky-smooth-macaroni-and-cheese/. This is the stepping off point. Use it as the foundation for your special version. Then try Alfredo sauce with sous vide shrimp. When making a smooth cheese sauce for Mac & Cheese, consider the weight of the cheese to be 100%, then the weight of the liquid should be 93% of the weight of the cheese, and the weight of the sodium citrate should be 4% of that liquid weight (which is approximately the same as 2% of the sum of the liquid weight plus cheese weight). The formula is very forgiving so there's no need to be extremely precise. This method of making a silky and non-separating cheese sauce is very easy. No need to make a roux or a bechamel sauce which masks the pure flavor of your favorite cheese. Just whisk a teaspoon or two of sodium citrate into your liquid of choice, heat the liquid and blend in your favorite grated cheese with a stick blender, regular blender, or whisk. This results in a smooth, creamy texture that doesn't become grainy, greasy, or separated. You can also add in any flavors you enjoy like Rotel with green chile or Pico de Gallo. You can refrigerate any leftovers and reheat it the next day to enjoy the smoothest cheese sauce ever! For other types of cheese sauces, you can control the final "thickness" of the cheese sauce depending on your ratio of liquid to cheese. If you weigh your cheese and then measure the liquid (water, milk, beer, wine, stock, etc.) as a percentage of that cheese weight, you will get: Cheese plus 0% to 35% liquid weight = firm, use for making "American" cheese slices for burgers, etc. Cheese plus 35% to 85% liquid weight = thick and flowing cheese sauce, good for dips and queso. Cheese plus 85% to 120% liquid weight = thin cheese sauce, good for fondues, mac & cheese, etc. Cheese plus 120% liquid weight or more = continues to become a thinner and thinner sauce. 100% weight of cheese 16 oz. 93% wipping cream 14.88 oz. 4% liquid weight = 0.60 oz. Sodium Citrate I can measure that small amount of Sodium Citrate with a quality scale. I use a handloading scale and convert to gram weight. I think this scale will work: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HCKQG7G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. If you don't have a scale, here's an easy hack to use: granulated sodium citrate weighs about 4.25 grams per teaspoon (which is equivalent to about 0.15 ounces per teaspoon). So in the example above, you could use 4 level teaspoons of sodium citrate (= .6 ounces). Caution: Sodium Citrate is NOT the same as Citric Acid. Use Sodium Citrate for the results above. You can buy it on Amazon.

I'm certain that you enjoyed your meal. Was that Fathers' Day?

My experience– When it's unpacked, two really strong people can carry it. The company advises to not lift it by the table hinges but there doesn't seem to be a better way to grip it. (Wear leather gloves.) A third person (teenager) can move the frame. After that it's a one-person job to assemble until it's time to assemble the fire box. Be certain to center the fire box ring in the bottom of the Kamado. Use a scrap piece of cardboard or the ash catcher to measure the clearance between the ring and the interior sides all of the way around. Set the firebox pieces in place making certain that the bottoms sit squarely on the fire box ring and lean back against the kamado wall. Put the metal ring on top of the firebox pieces and with a second person helping, tilt the firebox pieces into place under the ring. I'm an old, short, fat arthritic guy and I did it with two strong helpers to first lift and carry, and then one helped me with the fire ring.

Looks attractive and tasty. Is this the serving dish or an individual plate?

Thanks. I've thought for years about buying one. If I do, I'll keep it in the basement storeroom (without the propane tank) and roll it onto the patio below the deck for use. EDIT: What did you use for seasoning? Is there a need to season the griddle bottom? Does it rust if you don't?

How wide is that 36"Blackstone? Will it roll through a typical sliding patio door?

Ummmm, it looks to me like there are six skewers like the Weber 17395 and others. I'm probably missing something.

That's the way they should look, smooth and shiny black with seasoning.

No, there won't be much smoke. I don't think that's the intent. I think it's intended to convert your pellet grill into a flat-top so you don't have to buy another large unit.

The griddle hack (made by BBQHack.com) is all the rage on another forum I frequent. It converts a pellet grill to a griddle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZfBeuBn3C8

I think that I've seen that video but I can't locate it here. Someone please steer me toward it.

I used one about 10 years ago in an attempt to control the temperature in an original Bradley Smoker. It sat idle for a few years until I gave it to a friend about a year ago. He's still using it and loves the ribs.