Recent content by Craig A

Mac's Speed Shop is good. I prefer the one on South Blvd, the food usually seems better there. Bill Spoon's on South Blvd is good if you like eastern NC vinegar style. They cook over electricity so most of the flavor comes from the sauce. Bill passed on a few years ago, but his family still...

I crisp chicken skin after they come off the smoker using direct heat from a propane blowtorch. Just move around as the skin crisps, often it will shrink a bit as you go.

I turned the grate in the bottom of my chimney upside down, so it forms a V in the bottom. I stick a Weber starter cube in the middle of the V, pour the briqs on top, and light the cube. I hold the chimney up with one hand and hold a blowtorch underneath to light the cube. I'm sure a long...

If you choose to temp through the lid vent, be sure that the probe is in the same position and depth each time. I like to use a thermometer in the vent because it gives me a clue what my smoker is doing. Thanks to advice from folks like Kevin I don't obsess over 10 or 20 degrees. However...

Any time I'm cooking on my WSM I need to set up a portable table to work on. I really like the side table on my Performer, it would be nice to have something similar for my WSM. A cart to hold a WSM with wheels and a table like a Performer would be great. A clip on table like the one Weber...

My wife bought me a Performer and a Stok Tower from the Home Depot clearances. I fired up the Performer with the Stok grate system last night, I really like it.

Thanks for posting this Robert. I was looking for a a relatively easy chicken recipe to break in my new Performer, this worked out great. I burned the skin trying to crisp it up, but other than that my family loved it.

If they think their food isn't cooked through, stick their plate in the microwave for a few minutes. People who don't understand food or cooking won't care if their food came out of a smoker, oven, or microwave. Their food will be cooked through and they'll be happy. Your food will be cooked...

When I do a minion method I fill the chamber with briquettes and then remove them from the middle to fill my chimney. Once they're lit I pour back into the middle of the pile. If you just pour on top you're setting the whole pile on fire, start from the middle and you'll have a more...

I like my OXO tongs. They're relatively expensive ($10-$15) but they're sturdy and they lock closed for easy drawer storage.

My Q200 does that sometimes. It will fire up fine, then when I come back a few minutes later the flame is off and it won't light. It really bothers me when I'm preheating the grate and I show up with a plate full of food just to find out the grill is cold. It's even worse when I have food on...

Search youtube for Chimney Loin Tuna. It's a good, simple, easy recipe for grilled tuna. You can cook it on any hot grill, you don't have to copy Alton's chimney method. I use tuna steaks, not loin like he does. The exact recipe is on foodnetwork.com. Some of my local grocery stores have...

Jay - Where did you find one for $50?

I really like the cast iron grate in my Q200, all of my future grills will use cast iron. It gets hot, retains heat, and imparts nice sear marks. However, even though it is porcelin coated like all Weber CI grates, my Q200 got some surface rust during December/January while it sat outside...

I check on the grill when possible. Some items are best probed from the side so I'll pick them up with tongs. Usually I dont like to move things on the grill more than necessary. Uniform items should be temped in the middle, such as burgers or steaks. Uneven items should be checked in the...