EmirOfShmo

One of these on Craigslist for $800. Never heard of it - Weber Ranch Kettle 37"

Thanks, I appreciate it. Here's a couple of things to consider: What do you plan on cooking? Large cuts of meat (brisket, pork butt, etc.) take 6-12 hours or more depending on the size of the meat. Can the grill cook that long on a single fill of charcoal? If you only plan to use it for smoking, you don't need a kamado style grill. You can get a smoker to do that (electric, propane or charcoal). Does it leak (they all leak). How do I fix it? Or can you leave it alone and still cook successfully? Are replacement parts available? Surface area for cooking - make sure you can fit what you plan on cooking, i.e., they all can't fit that 20 lb Thanksgiving turkey on it. Weight of the kamado - I need to be able to move it up/down about 10 stairs whenever I redo my deck floor. Some of these bad boys weigh 600 pounds! Ease of use - how easy is it to use? Can it consistently hold a temp for a long period of time? The temp you need to hold could be 600 for a steak sear or cooking a pizza. It could also be 100 degrees to cold smoke cheese. Price - how much do you want to spend? Heck, people build them out of old hot water heaters, wine barrels, and 55 gallon drums. Basically, anything that will hold a temp for a long period of time will suffice. Of course, how it looks on your deck/patio might be important to you (or your spouse). Where will you put your grill? Kamado style grills are well insulated. I have mine near deck railings. I don't need to worry about the deck igniting during a 8 hour cook because the exterior is only warm to the touch. I'm pretty sure if this was a kettle style grill (like a Weber) I wouldn't be able to have this type of setup. I'd be concerned the exterior temp would be too hot and damage the deck. Ease of cleaning - how do you empty the ashes? For ceramics, what happens if it cracks? How good is the warranty? Cover - make sure there's a good cover available for it if you plan on keeping it outside. Accessories you'll need to buy: Deflector to sit between the flame & the grill. I use a $3 Walmart pizza pan. It lasts 8-12 months depending on how much I cook. Dual Zone thermometer - a decent one costs about $50+ Pizza stone - I use a stone used in kilns (~$30) I bought from a ceramics store. There are 'pizza stones' available. But I find them to be pretty flimsy & they crack easily. There are blowers that can be added to almost any grill that will allow you to hold a temp for a long period of time. Prices for these are $150-300. These also fit Weber kettle grills. So you don't necessarily need a 'kamado style' grill for long cooks. These adapters take the guess work out of cooking (but that's the fun part!) Others on here with more experience....? Here's a link I used for info on evaluating kamados. It also has some good recipes & other info - go to the "Talk About Your Cooker" section where you'll see most of the popular choices discussed. https://www.kamadoguru.com/ Let us know what you decide. Kamado cooking is awesome!

My friends restaurant here in RVA has set a new sales record every weekend day since April 4th.

I'm actually cooking one tonight, too. I haven't cooked them on a grill grate. I use a stone (used in kilns) to cook them. The stone is pretty nasty so I put course corn meal on parchment paper & then put the pizza on top of that. Grill gets to 600 degrees put it on the grill for 4-5 minutes. Done.

In Va, if you're turned down for unemployment you still might qualify for the $600/wk Fed PUA. That's $31k/yr & $15/hr. The PUA is scheduled to run through January 31, 2021. Va unemployment is 12-26 weeks.

‘Stealth Bailout’ Shovels Millions of Dollars to Oil Companies (Bloomberg) -- As it headed toward bankruptcy, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. took advantage of a little-noticed provision in the stimulus bill Congress passed in March to get a $9.7 million tax refund. Then, it asked a bankruptcy judge to authorize the same amount as bonuses to nine executives. The rig operator is one of dozens of oil companies and contractors now claiming hundreds of millions of dollars in tax rebates. They are employing a provision of the $2.2 trillion stimulus law, called the CARES act, that gives them more latitude to deduct recent losses. “This is a stealth bailout for the oil and gas industry,” said Jesse Coleman, a senior researcher with Documented, a watchdog group tracking the tax claims. It’s geared to companies “that have been losing money over the last few years -- and now they get that money back as a check from the taxpayers. That’s exactly what the oil industry has been doing.” https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stealth-bailout-shovels-millions-dollars-080000681.html

-edit-nvm

AKA - Fungible Asset

Yep..once people discovered chicken thighs they've pretty much become the same thing as breasts. AND the price has probably tripled in the past 5 years.

^^All of this is why McConnell is pushing to exempt companies from liability for infections caused by on the job contacts. Don't go back to work? Fine, you get dropped from unemployment. Go to work & get sick? Too ****ing bad. Unless you have sick leave to cover your time off, you're not getting paid. Next in line, you're up...

Wasn't sure where to put this. It's an interview with a co-founder of meal subscription service Blue Apron and the CEO of Cooks Venture, which raises, processes, and sells heritage, pasture-raised chickens. It's his take on some of the problems with our meat supply & breeding animals. He explains why there was a hit to the meat food supply chain when the processors shut down. Towards the end he talks about animal breeds & pharmaceuticals with some pretty graphic comments. I spent a lot of time working with meat processors (slaughterhouses & downstream food companies) so it was an interesting read for me. Confirmed some things I was thinking. https://www.eater.com/2020/5/11/21254684/how-the-pandemic-exposed-the-cracks-in-our-industrial-meat-system

LOL ... yeah, doing the same type of food prep with the excitement on this end, too. It's the highlight of the day for me: planning, prepping, cooking. Wife loves it cause she just asks "what's for dinner?" every night. I try to have an appetizer for dinner so we can sit on the deck/patio, listen to music & sip a ****tail. I made my first spring rolls last night with bean thread, raw spinach & shrimp. I forgot I had the rice wrappers & saw them when I was digging around for something else. They turned out pretty good. I'm going to scour the net to find some other options for the rice wrappers.

The one good thing here: IF they can get state unemployment they will also get the $600/wk PUA payment. I know that's a big IF but they would be making more at home than actually working.

Grilled shrimp & baked potatoes for Mother's Day dinner. Cooked the crab cakes in the oven with a side of caprese salad.

He doesn't care. This isn't about people to him. It's about the DOW Jones Industrial Average

Obviously a graduate of Trump University where she majored in stupidity.

Are you using your grillgrates on your smoker when smoking meats/fish or are these primarily used for searing foods?

That's good to hear. I heard that used car prices are going through the roof. Especially on trucks. if you work where I think you work I know your used car manager James.

Add to that - they've already turned Fauci & Birx into the boogey-people who don't know anything about viruses. They're making videos with quacks & distributing it to try & discredit Fauci. And people believe it. "Plandemic Documentary: The Hidden Agenda Behind Covid-19" https://youtu.be/nFPeN17PVU8

The Last Supermoon of 2020 Arrives Thursday. Here's What to Look For. It's your last chance to see the moon show off this year. Supermoons are a lot like Oreos. By the time you get to the last one in the package, you may have had your fill. Moreover, some part of your brain is telling you there will always be more, but that's not guaranteed to be the case. Also, they're round. Can't overlook that. Well, we're at the last Oreo in the supermoon package. It's been a good run. There have arguably been four straight supermoons in 2020, but the full moon on the night of Thursday, May 7, will be the last full moon supermoon of 2020. It'll actually be the last one until April 2021. With a few in a row, you might feel like you've had your fill, but it's last call on supermoons for a real long time. https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/may-supermoon-2020

Got ours, too.

I have found this to be true only at grocery stores. We went to Lowes on Sunday ~8:45am. About 50% of the people had on masks. We passed a mid-50s couple not wearing a mask as they were standing at the customer service counter. While my wife was looking at paint samples, the guy coughs into his hand & then proceeds to walk toward a rack holding small plants for sale for Mother's day. Of course he picks up 3 or 4 of them before walking back to the counter where his wife/girlfriend was standing. I told my wife we needed to get the furnace filters & GTFO.

Cinco de Mayo Menu Frozen Margaritas with Trader Joe's mix Grilled black bean & roasted corn quesadilla Chicken enchiladas with green enchilada sauce - cooking these on the grill

I didn't know this ... found it in the above Hannity tweet.