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I also like beans in my chili. The broth from cooking beans in chicken stock, with ground chilies and smoked hocks or bacon rind is a terrific starting point for a pot of chili. That is generally the route I take. I like all kinds of beans for the sake of variety. It's all good. As for...

I live with a couple of teenage daughters that don't like to eat pork. I just make something else for them when I make pork. I do a lot of grilled tuna steaks, smoked salmon, mildly flavored grilled chicken, and things like that. If you have an eater like my two, then it really wouldn't do...

I always mix the spices and herbs with the salt, curing salt (if using), and dextrose or sugar and any other flavoring ingredients. That's the best way to get the flavor into the interior of the meat.

I just took it to 150 as it took longer than I expected and I was running out of time. I will just steam the small portions as needed, rather than do the whole thing. I put half in the freezer for a rainy day.

Kevin, About how long do you steam the Pastrami? I smoked a brisket pastrami today and also have a batch of dill sourkraut that is far enough along that I can steal a little for a few sandwiches. Will be baking sourdough rye on Sunday.

The primary difference is that with briquettes you can just pour them into the charcoal ring and you don't need to worry much about how they are arranged, so long as there aren't any stragglers on the perimeter when you are doing a very short cook. Also the stock charcoal grate works fine...

In my opinion, buttermilk really adds a lot to biscuit recipes. If you swap it for milk you would have to alter the baking powder/baking soda ratio. The stores around here carry buttermilk in a smaller size that is one-eighth of a gallon I believe. Buttermilk is really versatile. Here are...

I think it is a good idea to go longer than 3 days to make sure it gets cured all the way to the center. Seven days is better.

If you are going to the trouble to order online, I would highly recommend that you get DQ curing salt, aka Prague Powder. It is way cheaper and can be used for dozens of cured meats such as Jerky, bacon, buckboard bacon, pastrami, corned beef, etc. etc. One pound would be equivalent to about...

I realize there is more than one school of thought, but I tend to disagree about the use of a thermometer in the vent ever conflicting with cooking. The only time I ever close vents are when I am shutting down the cooker, and you obviously don't need to know how warm it is when you are doing...

I don't think prebaking is a good idea. Your crust will get overdone before the topping is ready, unless you are doing a minimalist approach with the topping and/or using only things like sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil which take less time than NY style crust.

Mascarpone and whipped cream is very good. I think the tartness of key lime pie would work with that combo very well.

I have no idea what the cheesecake factory does. One thing some people do when making cakes is mix whipped cream with gelatin to make it firmer. I generally don't like a thick-as-mud whipped cream.

Chris, by all means, get yourself some fresh side pork and start makin' bacon. It blows store-bought out of the water. Buckboard bacon is more like ham than bacon, but it is very good. The bacon you purchase in stores is pumped full of water. When you fry it you get water in the pan. That...

Questions about Q Kevin's here to save the day Always good answers

I also think you'd be best off just buying a whole packer. You could cure the flat for pastrami. I've got one going in my frig right now.

I realize that a lot of people rub their meat the night before, but I don't think it is necessary or worth the hassle when making Q. Marinading or brining in advance are a different story, but for rubs I just apply right before putting on the cooker.

Marlene, I use a thermometer from BBQ guru that sits in a silicone cork and I use it all the time on both the kettle and the WSM without any noticeable effect.

I've made pasties from smoked chuck and it was very good. I baked them in the oven though. Pasties are kind of similar pot pies, although the meat is not in a béchamel sauce. I think if you are going to do it in the WSM, I like the idea of being thematic and doing some kind of smoked meat...

One other option is to check Asian markets. There's one in Madison that always has fresh side pork. That's where I get mine most of the time. The ultimate is to get Berkshire pork belly, if you can ever find a source. That tastes so good, you'll be on cloud nine. Here's a Berkshire source...