dirty6

I have one of these tables. It’s not very sturdy but it gets the job done. The ample storage space is quite nice. I also had a dinged stainless steel top, but I move a lot (Army) so I didn’t bother asking for a replacement. Eventually, the movers are going to dent it again. best warning with this is to be careful to not overstuff the area behind the doors. The “rear wall” of the cabinets is not sturdy and if I overfill the cabinet and shut the door, I will blow out the back wall.

Does the Meater report internal and ambient temp off of a single probe? I assumed you’d have to use two Meater probes for that, ala the Thermoworks Smoke. But I get the impression from this post that you’ve only got one probe running....

Alaska military resident here. I cooked last winter in -30 c weather no problems. I second all the tips proposed here re: gasket freezing and small fires especially. Also, if you store your deflector plates outside the grill, be sure to put them inside a the grill warms up. I also wholeheartedly concur that a ceramic grill makes a great severe winter cooker. I’ll take it a step further-not only will your ceramic grill work in the bitter cold, it may will be the only grill that can hold enough heat to do so.

Chiming in late here (sorry, I’m a deployed service member and haven’t been paying much attention to the forum since I left the US for this little trip). I had a similar weird issue with a warranty replacement for a cracked deflector plate. I purchased my grill when living in South Carolina and then did a military move to Alaska. The plate broke and the warranty request all happened in Alaska. At first I was told the plates could not ship to Alaska. I was shocked bc of all the ceramics covered by a robust warranty, the plates are the simplest to ship. I pushed back on the customer support (direct w KJ, via email). I was then told they could ship to Canada but not Alaska. I pushed back again (the closest KJ dealer in Canada to me is like an 18 hour drive. Come on). After some back and forth I was told I would receive new plates. I’m struck by the similarity of my case to the one in this thread. Here’s what I suspect is happening: I think that when a customer puts in the shipping zip code on the warranty claim website, the customer service back end software matches that zip code up to the closest warehouse to reduce shipping costs. Except, an Alaska based customer is closer to whatever warehouse supports Canadian customers, not lower 48 US customers. That would explain the weird “we can ship to a dealer in Canda for you” response. Just a guess, based on anecdotal evidence. But I really am amazed at the consistency in the response here.

I have never used or seen alder for sale as a smoke wood. It is naturally abundant where I live now. What do you think of it? Ribs look great BTW.

I also concur. From torch light to lid close it takes me 2 minutes with the torch, and for less than 30 seconds of that time the torch is running. It’s just too easy, for not much money or gadget-ness. Also concur. I’ve used mine for pretty regular cooking (1-4 times a week) for 9 months now. I’ve also used it for some weed burning in the backyard and for lighting the backyard fire pit (no more “one match fires” when I own a damn near flamethrower) as well as kitchen searing and creme brûlée-ing. I’ve yet to go through a single tall blue propane canister. Even if the cost per pound of propane is way out of whack, the consumption rate is so small the difference becomes negligible to me. For the record I’m using the tall blue propane canisters on mine, not actual mapp gas.

I have a theory, that is entirely anecdotal, that the market for companies like Omaha Steaks can be divided into two categories: 1.) Folks who live a long way from a local grocery store and don’t have convenient access to “regular” quality beef. For these folks, a mail order company may be twice as expensive, but it’s also the only game available to them. I used to live in a very rural area and the beef available at the “local” grocery (40 miles away) was...not good. 2.) Folks who have a lot of disposable income and not much cooking acumen to distinguish between local grocer quality and premium. For these folks, the marketing machine of a company like Omaha Steaks sells the product. That isn’t meant to be a commentary on the company you just received this mail order from, as I’m unfamiliar with them. Your comparison comment between Omaha Steaks and the local grocery just piqued my interest.

Not only does it stay upright, it “hooks” onto the side of the grill pretty easily for a center-firebox light. Now, holding a torch for 20 seconds isn’t exactly a taxing endeavor, but when I’m doing a handful of things at the same time it’s nice to light the grill hands free. 88823CEB-DB71-41C8-AA9D-47D2E5CFBF36.MOV

This is the sum of it. I had no issues whatsoever lighting my grill with this torch in -20F Alaskan weather this winter. But, it has to be stored inside. At the same time, an extension cord stored outside to power a looftlighter in those temps could snap in half unless I buy the high end arctic cords. My wife has ceded a small section of the pantry to house some BBQ items that don’t do well outside-the ThermoWorks thermometers, the cast iron, some nice utensils, the gloves that keep my fingers from falling off in the winter while grilling, a spritz bottle of ACV...it’s easy to keep the torch with that small stash of stuff.

I had good success with this and plan to repeat

When you say that your smoke wood died out, how did you observe that effect? Did you previously see white smoke, and then stop seeing it? I ask b/c I have learned over time that the visual indication of smoke is only one cue that smoke is being produced. Usually when I place a chunk on the coals, it smolders and produces white-ish smoke for 30-90 minutes (depending on the size of the chuck) and then keeps burning, but without the visibly obvious smoke. My biggest clue that the wood is still smoking is the smell coming out of the vents. When that apple wood is smoking, it sure does smell sweet and fragrant. When it stops producing smoke...the vent smells like charcoal burning (or pork cooking).

Not sure is this is wise or not....so take this as a story, not as advisement. My kontrol tower ended up closed tight bc of gunk. The cap would twist open but the entire apparatus would not pivot. I tried adjusting the hardware screw but no luck. So one day when getting the grill hot for a quick clean, I just lifted the whole cap off the dome and placed it inside the grill on a grate. 15 minutes of high heat burning later...it pivots just fine.

For what it’s worth, my understanding is that a bone-in strip steak in the heartland is a Kansas City Strip. Obviously a localized name....but also, a good steak wherever you name it.

Bravo. This is bananas. And it looks fantastic.

Some internet sleuthing suggested that my cure was complete. We fried some cured-but-not-smoked bacon last night and it was neither too salty nor did we keel over and croak. I smoked (hickory) it all this afternoon. Some of my pieces are way more lean than others. We taste tested a very lean section and it was decidedly in between a bacon flavor and a Canadian bacon flavor. I don’t know what to call it. Nor’Dakotan bacon? It’s good. Unless it makes us sick, it will make for happy bellies at breakfast for a fair bit of time. So I guess the bacon crisis has been upgraded to just a bacon...event.