What's for Dinner?

That looks hmmmmmm.....

In an effort to better my health I am taking a little time off of animal products. That doesn't mean I don't get to eat! Last night's fare was a whole wheat dough that has been fermenting for several days topped with an avocado garlic "sauce", baby portobellos and red bell pepper.



We also enjoyed a wonderful bean and rice dish for lunch yesterday.

You can never have enough "tools" in the Kitchen right? Made a Costco run yesterday and snagged this bad boy. Every now and then you need something bigger and this should fit the bill. Oven safe to 400F Nonstick as well. $34.99

ibglowin said:

Every now and then you need something bigger and this should fit the bill.

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I know, right? My mother-in-law gave us this for Christmas, and I thought "What in the hell am I ever going to use that monstrosity for?" I already had the 9" version of this pan, and she gave me the 12.5" version. But now, I feel like I can't live without it. How did I ever fit things into my dinky little pans before?



Your Costco version looks like it will fill the bill nicely!

NY Steak, well done, on the grill with potatoes and asparagus...OMG this is good!!

Small chickens were on sale, so I bought two of them and "fried up a mess".

Also made a 5 pound batch of "tater" salad.

YUM!!!

Future dinners are looking good right now........

We need an emoticon for "jealous"!

ibglowin said:

Future dinners are looking good right now........

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Mike: you may have jumped the gun. Weber is releasing a new product on Wednesday and it is rumored to be a Kamado style cooker.

Is that a Costco find? Reasonably priced?

Costco. We went down on Friday and wanted to bring it home then but did not have the right vehicle so deadheaded back down yesterday afternoon to snag it before they are all gone. Costco had these a couple years ago then something happened and they did not have them for a year or so. I almost got a similar knock off from Home Depot but build quality was not up to snuff.

This is a 24" diameter and weighs in at 300lbs. I still have it in the back of the Expedition and will have to take it out in pieces.

The build quality on this is excellent. The price IN STORE is $599 and I had a $150 Costco gift card from Xmas from the kids still so I used that as well.

Costco Pit Boss Kamado

Costco is selling Kingsford Competition Charcoal as well but not sure if that is the right stuff for this guy. I know you need the lump charcoal.

All in all looks like a great deal to me especially for $450 out of pocket!

Boatboy24 said:

Mike: you may have jumped the gun. Weber is releasing a new product on Wednesday and it is rumored to be a Kamado style cooker.

Is that a Costco find? Reasonably priced?

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Would love one of those but would have to find a place for the tractor I'd have to move out of the garage. Don't know if the wife would appreciate a 5th grill either (Weber propane grill, Weber bullet smoker, New Braunfelds smoker and several smokey joes so far).

300 lbs, oh my. Betcha that holds the heat really well. That will be fun to experiment with, have fun Mike!

Well the Kamado is out of the truck and safely in its stand on the back patio!

Made a ramp out of 2x4's and slid it down and out of the truck to the ground. Unboxed it on the driveway. The top and the bottom come pre-assembled and I thought we would never get it to the patio. However the kettle has a huge ceramic firebox that can be removed. It probably weighs in at 40lbs. Once the kettle was completely empty I was able to use one of those amazing $8 Harbor Freight dollies and get it on to one of those from the ground. From there I wheeled it into the house and then out that back patio door which was the shortest and smoothest route to the patio. Waited for SWMBO to get home from work and we lifted it up and into the assembled holder and it's pretty much done. I will put on the shelfs and handle tomorrow. Gonna finish watching the NCAA championship game for now!

Oh and Craig, this is grill #4 for me LOL. Have a propane, 22" Webber kettle, and one of the original Char-Broil offset firebox smoker pits when they were actually made from a decent weight metal.

Mike,

I was shocked to see the price of your grill after first seeing the picture. I am not an expert on grills and have had the same $400 weber propane grill for 24 years.

What is it about this that makes it so expensive and desireable??

LOL this is CHEAP by Kamado Kettle standards @JohnT. This is not propane either, its a smoker pit but can be used as a grill as well. The Big Green Egg was the original ceramic kettle pit and came out ~ 2008. Only sold through high end patio dealers, the large kettle back then cost ~$2000 with accessories and everything was an accessory back then where as today with the knockoffs everything is included with the grill. BGE's have had to lower prices to compete with the imports but the 24" like the one I have is still ~$1200 today. So this is 50% off.

So what makes them so expensive is that they are made from fired clay and act/cook much like a kiln. This weighs in at 300lbs with the stand and firebox and pop up shelves. Does not have a "built in sauce rack" however. LOL It is an expensive process to make these without nary a crack. Painted outside, built in temp gauge, heavy duty spring loaded hinge(s) plus a separate one piece clay firebox insert make for an expensive product.

What makes it so desirable for a BBQ aficionado is the constant steady temperature control. Due to the thermal mass once you fire one of these up using lump charcoal it will hold temp without any adjustment for pretty much the entire day. I have used a metal offset firebox BBQ for years and you have to adjust it about every hour in order to keep the temp where you want it. This is an absolute bargain for this price, what you get in the box as well as the build quality. The BBQ it puts out is some of the best I have ever tasted.

My BIL in Seattle has had a BGE since they came out and one of my BFF's in Las Cruces got one of these Costco Kamado's when they first came out several years ago. I have had a whole bone in rib loin as well as a brisket cooked on these and they were both hands down some of the best "Q" I have ever put in my mouth. Of course the pecan wood may have helped as well.

I don't have a kamado, but I would like one. Another thing that Mike alluded to, but bears saying directly, is the range of temperatures. They say you can both hold ~200F all day AND fire it up to 800F or more.

Saw the MSRP on the new Webber Kamado was $1500!

Boatboy24 said:

Mike: you may have jumped the gun. Weber is releasing a new product on Wednesday and it is rumored to be a Kamado style cooker.

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Thanks for the info Mike!

So this is more like an Artisan Oven? Heat is retained within the walls of the cooker itself?

Yes, its a giant clay oven with 1" thick clay walls sorta like the ones used by the native americans for centuries on end.

My cousin has one (built of masonry). Amazing! The food he made from just the retained heat was unbelievable.

I get it now. Yours is well worth the money.

Makes sense to me if a wine maker needs ump-teen carboys, a BBQer needs ump-teen grills.