Recent content by KurtV

I think it's unlikey to rupture without storm surge and in that case it won't make a dime's worth of difference. Agree with the posts recommending high levels of chlorine.

I'm in.

http://64.176.180.203/charcoalretort.htm Man does this look like fun.

Next time you make hamburgers try this. For each pound of lean to very lean ground beef between two and four ounces of ground pork; more for leaner beef and less for fattier beef. They'll still taste like hamburgers but more so. Most people don't detect a pork flavor but rave about these...

3-4 Tablespoons sea salt or kosher salt (3 tablespoons if you have a heavy hand with the rub, 4 if you're reasonable) 2 Tablespoons back pepper (freshly coarsely ground is best) 2 Tablespoons brown or turbinado sugar (packed if it's brown sugar) 2 Tablespoons sweet and/or hot paprika (I like...

I resemble that remark about the PC pizza stone; my wife was not pleased. Terra Cotta planter saucers make great heat shields for ceramics. They can crack but usually not into pieces; more like a partial split. At 2 or 3 bucks apiece for a 16" one they're really hard to beat. You can also...

The cooking spray on the newspaper makes a big difference when using a chmney starter. I'd forgotten about MAPP torches; many serious BBQ people, especially ceramic owners, swear by those.

If you read throuigh the Naked Whiz reviews you'll find that many brands of lump are actually rebranded Royal Oak or Cowboy. Sometimes you can find pretty good deals on those "off-brands."

That definitely does not count. Applying one of my first grade math lessons, barbecue and crock pot are mutually exclusive sets.

I don't think lead has been used in newspaper ink in several years (though I'd probably forgo the glossy, colored pages). I've used the wood chip 'n' wax starters, the gels, the electrics, and every other type of charcoal staring method you can imagine and nothing beats a chimney and a single...

Start making your own rub and you'll soon turn up your nose at the prepared ones. Here's one I like that you can start with. Experiment from there (or someone else's homemade rub that sounds good) and you'll very quickly get better results than from any commercially prepared rub. 1 C...

You can fit plenty on an 18 or 20 inch ceramic. Here's about 5 or 6 racks of ribs and a pork butt on one and I'd say you could get 2 more slabs and 2 more butts on there without a problem. I never soak my smoking wood on the ceramic. One fist-sized chunk typically lasts at least several...

I'm sure you'll be happy with it (though probably not QUITE as happy as you'd have been with a Kamado). You'll have a great time learning to cook with a ceramic. Check out the Naked Whiz, Kamado's forum, and the Big Green Egg forum for a ton of information.

Here's where I got those statistics. I found 2005/6 statistics on CDCs website. For the 1-4 age group in 2005 there were 493 deaths while in 2006 there were 2,376 near-drownings (2006 death statistics not available yet) Of the near drownings, 469 were treated and released (probably not too...

Kamado has a gas insert available. As a charcoal purist, it's not for me, but to each their own. Some of the others may have a similar option. With a Kamado (I'm sure it's the same with the other ceramics), I can be at a pretty steady 350-750+ F in 15 minutes. It takes me maybe 30 minutes...