Daddy-A

Yeah well, we could have used an extra stomach. I have a feeling I'll be eating pork for the next couple weeks Arne is sporting a stylish, yet functional Corian© ballcap which today reeks of smoke. The beer's yellow label (Leffe) nicely offsets the smokey surroundings. This also shows the new smoking-grotto at the Daddy-A household. There are now two Bullets, a Kettle and my favourite addition, a tent! Some pictures from the weekend's cooking endeavors: Smoked Chicken - Thai Style My son prepping ribs Two ways to increase your Bullet's Rib-capacity Top - Rib Rack (modifed file holder from Staples) Bottom - The Nautilus Technique Don't know if you can see the rain ... but believe me it was there! One of 3 Butts to be pulled The Finished Pull So we're knackered, full, and looking forward to a week of salads. Of course today, the sun has come out. A.

yeah that Brian ... always hawkin' somthin'. That BBQ class is coming up again at NWCAV in June. Joe's given you good feedback on the chimney starter. the only thing I would add is that there are other less expensive models out there than the Weber starter. Johnstone's has the Weber on for $27, but they also have another for $16 ... Broil King or something. I've had 3 of them for about 2 years now. They are indespensible, especially if you ever get out to the maritimes to see your Bullet. If you're doing a 14-18 hour brisket smoke, it's nice to have another chiney of coals ready to go when the Minion method runs out at 3 in the morning! Another benefit ... no lighter fluid. Awful stuff that, and it adds a nasty flavour to your food. A.

Pretty much everything I wanted to say has been said. I'm having 3 chefs over this weekend (amongst a larger group) and I'm going what Susan & Mike would do ... smoke meat! I have a few friends who are chefs, and the way one of them handles this issue is anytime he and his wife get together for dinner with friends, only one meal is allowed: spaghetti. That goes for the chefs too. That way, nobody has too worry about the food. I experience a similar situation because I'm a kitchen designer. I've had friends (family too) tell me they feel self-conscious inviting me over because they feel their kitchen doesn't "measure up." A.

Hmmmm ... maybe I'll give lump another shot, especially since it seems to be much easier to find in the Lower Mainland. I just had a major problem keeping the heat down the first couple times I used it. Maybe now that I've got a couple years of smoking under my belt I'll have better luck controlling. Intersting about your Kingsford experience Brian. The guy at VirtualWeberBullet is in LOVE with the stuff. I'm going to try Royal Oak "Plus" a try this weekend with my ribs. I still have a couple bags of NamChar left which I will use for the overnight butt-smoking ... A. Smoke-Geek

Thanks Susan & Mike. That's just what I was thinking, but needed the support of group-think. And yes Mike, there will be suds, including my ritual 3am can of lager! Susan, I won't be smoking everything at once. The chicken (thighs) only take about 3 hours, so I'll smoke those off on Saturday morning. I usually do about 5 dozen so I'll have some extra to keep in the freezer. I'll heat them up on the day of the event in the convection and give them a quick shot on the grill to crisp up the skin. I'll have 3 Bullets at my disposal (2 are mine, one is nwyles') so I can use one for the butts and the other 2 for the ribs. So, timing isn't really going to be a worry. I even have the Kettle just in case, although I doubt I'll attempt a first time smoke on it when I have 50 guests! I did a couple racks of ribs on it the other day using indirect heat and they worked just fine ... Pictures will follow, but later on during the week. A.

I'm okay with plastic (recyclable for produce & bulk items only) as long as they're not these plastic bags from HELL [CLICK]. From the Hilex website: Now, either I'm the biggest feeb in the world or these things just don't frickin' open ... EVAR! I've stopped buying produce at my favorite supermarket just because of these bags. Seriously. A.

Lump charcoal was at the Burnaby (Willingdon & Lougheed) Crappy Tire today. Royal Oak & Hard Coals. 7.99 a bag for the Royal Oak ... I forget how much for the other. I however was looking for briquettes which I nabbed at Home Depot ... again about 7.99 for the larger bag. I've also seen lump at: Superstore, Safeway and Save-On Why the love in with lump? Is it the heat? I find it too unpredictable for smoking. Brian ... any luck sourcing inexpensive Namchar? Johnstone has it but at $12 for the smaller (2kg ?) bag it's a bit steep. Kerrisdale is pretty pricey too. Joe! Another Bullet-Head! Let me know if you'd like to get rid of some of that apple. A.

Nice lookin' butt Chris! I especially like the cross-hatching. Very chi-chi for a butt! Okay smoking community, I have a question. I'm doing a big-ass smoke up this weekend (holiday weekend here in Canada) ... pulled pork, smoked chicken and 4 different kinds of ribs. I may be insane by the end of it, then again I may be insane now. My dilemna arose today when I went to pick up the butts. They were rather small ( about 7 lbs each) so I picked up 3. My worry is that 2 of them will not fit on one rack of my Bullet. I have three, but two of them will be used for ribs. Is it okay to cut one of the butts in half? I'm guessing that will change it's smoking time since the mass has been reduced, but outside of that is there anything I should be looking out for? A.

Nobody's mentione Go Fish! either. Right beside the Fisherman's Warf near Granville Island it has arguably the best fish & chips in the city, plus a fresh sheet that changes daily based on what's coming in off the boats. I had one of the best civiches ever there last summer. Now if it only had a liquor liscence A.

C'Est Si Bon - Deano Hominy Grits - Deano (again ) Chili Dog - One Man Dog Copperline - James Taylor How the hell did I ever do this before Google?? A.

When I'm 64 - The Beatles Here's an oldy ... Try an enchilada with a fish baccala A.

For clarity, by bread bag clips, I mean these [CLICK]. As a child I remember a drawer in my grandmother's kitchen full of them ... all sorts of colours & sizes. She never really re-used them, thus the fullness of the drawer. She had to be collecting them. Today, I have a smaller collection (in a smaller box in the tin foil/plastic wrap drawer) that I periodically clear out. Sometimes I'll even revert to my childhood, breaking them in half, "clipping" one half to the tip of my index finger, and flinging it across the room at our dogs, or my wife if I'm feeling brave. Anyone else? A.

I remember looking up that theory awhile ago and the Eagles said it is NOT about Drug use per se, here is the web that I found the info on with a quote from Don Henley Yeah, and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds wasn't about an LSD trip either. (yeah yeah I know about the drawing his kid did. puleez. ) New Lyrics: How come you're always such a fussy young man Don't want no Captain Crunch, don't want no Raisin Bran Well, don't you know that other kids are starving in Japan way too easy I know, but it has to be the BEST song about food, EVAR! A.

Wow! If Me&Ed's is good pizza for you, the TO is really in dire straits! Try Lombardo's next time if you like the thin crust. A.

Exactly. Then I just keep the bag closed with a chip clip. ← My charcoal never seems to last long enough for me to have to re-seal. Then again, I use NamChar in the 4kg bags. A.

Ohhh ... you seem to be under the impression I'm going to use the kettle to smoke. Naaah ... that's what Bullet's are for. The kettle's for grillin'. I mean, you gotta use the proper tools for the job, right? [ducks & runs for cover] A.

It's been a long wet winter out here ... but the smoker's coming out this weekend! In addition, I have to build myself a new smoking platform in the backyard as I have purchased my second Bullet, and ... (looking around for Susan ) a new Kettle! Stay tuned ... A.

Some recs can be found HERE. Ruby Lake was a top pic a while back: HERE Let us know how your search goes ... A.

Here's a great little web site I use to get info on appliances: Appliance Advisor If you're trying to find the appliances you had "overseas" many of them are available in North America. Montreal in particular seems to be the landing point for many of them. Check with web sites for a local distributor. A.

I was also going to suggest another night. Pear Tree isn't open on Mondays. There's also The Hart House & Horizons. Along the Burnaby/New West border there's not much besides grow ops. Your best options IMO are in North Burnaby in The Heights (Hastings b/w Willingdon & Boundary). Bombay Bhel, Burgers Etc. and Thai Cafe are all in that block. A.

In your opinion. ← Well, clearly, or he wouldn't have said it. ← In your opinion. A.

I assume you're asking about painting shelves vs. making new drawers? If so ... have hubby make drawers, or what I assume will actually be roll-out shelves (drawer boxes that will be behind doors). My storage philosophy is that "useful space" trumps just plain "space" every time. Roll-outs make the full depth of a cabinet useful. A.

^ Yes to reservations at the HSG. You can make them on OpenTable.com as well which is nice and easy. Enjoy your visit. A.

Susan, I haven't put shelf paper into cabinets in years ... if ever. The MDF (medium density fibreboard) my supplier uses is coated in a "thermally bonded" melamine that is incredibly scrubbable and durable. Having said that ... birch ply is nice too. But as you noted, stuff doesn't stick to it so well. And IIRC, part of the benefot to shelf paper is that you can remove it if it gets too dirty. Try painting a shelf (or test with a scrap of the same birch ply) with "Melamine" paint ... any home centre will have it. I think the shelf paper will stick better to a painted surface. Hope that helps. A.

Not to put you on the spot (as some of the new judges are members on eG) but what exactly did you notice? Did you feel the impact was a positive thing? I thought not awarding a Gold in the "Best New Design" category was a bit of a cop-out, but that's a minor quibble. Some of the winners were predictable ... e.g. Salt, "C" for Best Seafood (is that really all we have??), Vij's for Indian and Tojo's for Japanese (can't we just have an Asian category and let them all duke it out?) ... and some were just, um odd (Lumiere is Formal French? ). I know this is all subjective, but that's what caught my eye. There's a small typo on the VanMag web site that lists The Pointe at the Wick as Best of the Okanagan. As much as Jaimie may wish the Wick was in Kelowna, it just ain't. A.