dirty6

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.

That is correct.

I have a KJCII. I’ll say up front that most all of my cooking on it has been less of the “whole meal on the grill” variety and more of the “I cook something outside while momma cooks something inside and we’ll put it all together on the table” variety. But I have done the former a couple times. It’s cramped (I cook for 5: wife and I plus 3 kids from 8-14). Couple quick pics. Full chicken w corn on the cob and a few side shrimp skewers. The bird is sitting on a cast iron skillet full of diced red skin potatoes. This is easily the most food I’ve crammed on the grill so far. Skillet of fajita veggies flanked by 6x chix breast. And about 30x wings on the extender with 5x potato/onion/butter foil packs underneath. My biggest issue with cooking a whole meal on a grill this size is whether I need two cooking zones. If I do, it’s probably too cramped. If I can get away w cooking at one temp, then it’s much more doable.

Attempting to make buckboard bacon. 9 days ago I absolutely mauled pork shoulder to get the bone out and ended up with many small pieces of shoulder. They all went into a ziplock individually with various salt/sugar/seasoning combos plus the requisite amount of Prague #1. I rotated the bags and massaged them every day in the fridge. When I pulled them out today I was alarmed to see that the brownish color on the exterior didn’t extend into the meat very far. I panicked a bit and cut every piece in half to see what they looked like. So....for those of you who know bacon, would you say that these are cured? Or not cured?

I don’t think you’re asking too much at all. I wonder if costco would be willing to manage a delivered replacement. Worth a shot.