Norm Matthews

It is true for KCBS contests. MBN is for pork so they would not be able to enter beef brisket since it does not fall into the official meat categories of those contests unless the contest sponsor had it as an additional category. I don't know if MBN allows additional categories but KCBS does. Memphis in May does have an Everything But (pork) category or did the last time I checked.

A contestant may enter only one or two categories. There are 4 categories that they must enter only if they want to be considered for Grand Champion or Reserve Grand Champion.

I think it's a cultural thing. While store bought might not be as good (or might be the same) I am not a fan of it. It's kind of bland to me, but not muddy. I mean I'll eat it but I'd much rather have a French onion soup made with fresh meaty ox tail bones.

I had forgotten about this. I should add that my son's mom came here for his wedding in November and I gave her some of the soup. She said it was good. Getting her to say that about anything is something to remember. Some of the bones I used-and possibly contributing to the flavor- were oxtail bones that I first used to make Western style soup, then used them again with other beef bones to make the Korean style soup.

I think the fans are for heat control rather than circulation. The shape of the Harvard is a venturi which will increase any natural draft. I was thinking about ceramic fiber being used inside a more durable coating. Alfred is top notch in the ceramics field. As for kiln designs, I think horizontal smokers, whether the designers realized it or not, have a functional draw a lot like 5th century to present day China, Korean and Japanese anagama kilns. That principle is so old because it works well.

The article covers the technical research they did on models based on the BGE. I wonder if they looked at other types of smokers already on the market? Their price point target isn't really all that competitive unless they have come up with a significant innovation. They seem to be aware of the technology used on other smokers. The settled on ceramic. Is it because it has superior insulating properties over a drum barrel? I wonder if they or anyone has ever thought about lighter and more efficient insulation like Kaowool as part of the wall? I'd really be impressed if they had some innovation that no one else had used before. Is the shape in itself an improvement? I am really interested in hearing more about their design and results.

If it has an app, I wonder if it activates an automatic feed. It seem pretty obvious that it is PID controlled and ceramic. It uses wood chips and charcoal. It all seems like it is designed more for ease of operation than for outstanding results. All that has already been done and apparently done well. But that is just an old man's opinion, stuck in his old fashioned ways perhaps.

I spent quite a while typing my thoughts but then Dave W posted first and when I checked to see what he said, I found he said it much more succinctly but a little more pessimistically than I and then I accidentally did something and lost everything I'd typed.

I don't usually have anything worth mentioning or photographing for lunch but yesterday I made some chili dog chili and had it with a bratwurst, onion and cheese.

Our dinner tonight was Jerk Shrimp, mango salsa, Spanish rice and beets cooked with Mangue, brown sugar and corn starch.

As I think you are quite sure you know I made a mistake by typing UV when I meant IR. My smoking chamber is always under 350º F, nearly always under 275º F. Higher than that isn't smoking. It's roasting. The firebox gets higher but that isn't where the probe is going. I don't have a BGE and don't expect to ever have one. I can't think of any food that wouldn't be almost instantly incinerated at 700º C. My cheaper probe thermometer's drawback was the probe cable. I am hoping this one is more durable. I have had 50 years experience using a kiln pyrometer. They aren't accurate at smoking temperatures. Heck every one I ever used wasn't accurate enough for firing pottery kilns. They are only used as a guide for time to start checking pyrometric cones.

I want to thank Shel B for starting this. I don't have anything to add. I do have a UV thermometer but have not used it much lately. I used to use it when I did more deep frying. But I went to the Thermoworks site because of this and noticed a new product called Dot. It's an oven alarm thermometer. I just ordered one with a probe designed for measuring the air in my smoker. Unlike other such alarms, the probe wire is suppose to stand up 700º. I hope it works out.

http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=1810 Category(s): Vermouth Producer: Lillet - www.lillet.com ABV: 17% Brand: Lillet Colour: White Country of Origin: France Type: Dry

Nice. Great price too. Some inexpensive gas grills only last two or three years. A good cleaning will probably be in order. Take out the burners and make sure the holes aren't clogged or have spiders inside. Check the hoses for leaks and replace if necessary. The first time I got a gas grill and told my son, he was living in Seattle. We were talking on the phone when I told him. There was a pause then he said "what have you done to my real dad?" After that, there was never a time when not having one was ever under consideration. In the last 30 years or so, I have ended up having an electric stove in the kitchen so the side burner alone its worth it sometimes. It's really handy for hamburgers on a hot day. I have baked bread and pizzas in it too. If you use a pizza stone, be sure to heat it fully and slowly. The bread was done with the heat on either side but off in the middle. There are lots of things you can use it for.

Everyone's food looks very good. Strip steak was on sale at Hen House. We had lots of toppings for the potatoes and I made Cheesy Corn. It's an adaption from a dish they have at Woodyard BBQ. Theirs is a baked kind of casserole, mine was just heated in a sauce pan. Their recipe used a 96 oz can of corn, I used 15 oz and estimated the rest of the ingredients.

I have a Ken Onion Shun packed away in the basement. Looks like you are right. I was able to isolate this shot.

In the videos he is using a Damascus steel knife. Any one know which kind he has?

mix with milk and use as a panade in meatloaf

I have not seen the video yet but this is the second time in a couple weeks that I have heard of a competition BBQer using margarine. I wondered why he didn't use whipped butter but i looked up margarine v butter and found that margarine is mostly 80% vegetable oil while butter is 80% milk fat. Because of this, butter will brown and start to burn at 250º F and margarine will stand up to much higher temperatures.

Thank you weinoo.

Cassie was using the oven to bake a cake for a client so I used the new grill to bake potatoes and grill pork chops. I did use the stove for green beans and cream of broccoli soup. The soup was something Cassie had got at the store, frozen. All we needed to do was heat it in a pan.

I can't find the source right now but I seem to recall that during the Civil War, the Northern troops would burn all crops they came across, leaving fields of okra alone because they did not recognize it as food for humans. I did came across a description for making a coffee substitute with okra starting: "Parch over a good fire and stir well until it is dark brown; then take off the fire and before the seed get cool"

I've had dried okra a couple times before. It wasn't Asian; it was cut into rounds and sold in bulk. It was a tasty snack.

The day started out very nice. I BBQed a slab of spare ribs and trimmings. Here is the smoker going and next to it is my brand new grill. Next picture is after two hours, just before wrapping the ribs and the last picture is after another two hours. As soon as I took them off, the sky got dark and the clouds opened up. I wanted to do a quick run to the store to get a few things to finish dinner but the storm sirens went off and the car radio said there were tornadoes sighted. I was at the store but they closed before I could get in so I'll have to finish dinner with left overs I guess. The ribs are nicely done and very juicy, btw.

I never cared much for it. But I was in my 20's and had one on three or four occasions when others were having it. By then I figured out that it was the beer causing the headaches the next day.