ThermoWorks – Plug Mount Thermapen – Use any Type K probe. Small and Accurate.

This Thermapen is pretty nice - you can swap out the probes so that you can use the right tool for the job without having to have a full second (or third or...) unit. Not the cheapest piece of equipment, but very handy and fast.

Thermapen with Socket for Interchangeable probes

• Available with 1° or 0.1° resolution
• -50 to 1472°F (-50 to 850°C)
• Quick reading with large LCD display
• Rotate tip to turn on and off
• Reads Type K thermocouple probes

Check out our new Thermapen 3 and 7 with interchangeable type K thermocouple probes for complete versatility. Connect our new plastic airline safe probe, a penetration meat probe, or a surface grill probe all with a single Thermapen for fast response and accurate performance. If we don’t have a standard probe to fit your application we’ll make one that does.

With one-handed use, there’s no worry about dangling probe wires or finding a place to set your meter while you position the probe. For the cost of those typical replacement probes, you can buy a new Thermapen and tell your boss how much money you saved.

Specifications

Range:
Thermapen 3:-50°F to 1472°F (-50°C to 850°C)
Thermapen 7:-49.9°F to 199.9°F (-49.9°C to 199.9°C)

Resolution:
Thermapen 3: 1° C or F
Thermapen 7: 0.1° C or F

Accuracy:
Thermapen 3: ±1% ±1 digit
Thermapen 7: ±0.7°F (0.4°C) ±1 digit

Battery:
12 volt MN21 - 100 hours

Sensor:
Type K Thermocouple (not included)

Display:
0.5" (12.7mm) LCD

Dimensions:
0.75" x 1.85" x 6" (19 x 47 x 153mm)

Weight:
3.1oz (87 grams)

SEE MORE DETAILS: ThermoWorks – Plug Mount Thermapen.

Freezing and Food Safety

This information is from a USDA website. There is much more than I have posted here so please follow links to the site to get more great information. This is a common area for questions - what can I freeze and for how long? Take a look at the site for a lot of helpful info!

What Can You Freeze?
You can freeze almost any food. Some exceptions are canned food or eggs in shells. However, once the food (such as a ham) is out of the can, you may freeze it.
Being able to freeze food and being pleased with the quality after defrosting are two different things. Some foods simply don't freeze well. Examples are mayonnaise, cream sauce and lettuce. Raw meat and poultry maintain their quality longer than their cooked counterparts because moisture is lost during cooking.

Is Frozen Food Safe?
Food stored constantly at 0 °F will always be safe. Only the quality suffers with lengthy freezer storage. Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a dormant stage. Freezing preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness.

Does Freezing Destroy Bacteria & Parasites?
Freezing to 0 °F inactivates any microbes -- bacteria, yeasts and molds - - present in food. Once thawed, however, these microbes can again become active, multiplying under the right conditions to levels that can lead to foodborne illness. Since they will then grow at about the same rate as microorganisms on fresh food, you must handle thawed items as you would any perishable food.

Read more! --> Freezing and Food Safety

Free Preview - WSJ.com

Sawdust Shock: A Shortage Looms As Economy Slows

By Joel Millman

Ernie Johnson figured $100-a-barrel oil was bound to happen someday. But the 58-year-old businessman Missoula, Mont., never thought he'd see sawdust at $100 a ton.

The price of sawdust has soared since 2006, up from about $25 a ton to more than $100 in some markets. Blame the housing slump: Fewer new homes mean fewer trees cut for use in construction, which leads to less sawdust and other wood waste, driving up the price.

Free Preview - WSJ.com 

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Folks on a number of the BBQ related forums are talking about this shortage and predicting that the cost of charcoal will be going up soon as a result of the shortage. Time will tell.

Guess this is another reason to move to a stick burner.
Maybe one day I will be one!

Get Your Grill On - » Product Review: J&D’s Bacon Salt

Thought you might like this review by Chuck Marting on his "Get Your Grill On" site. It is a through review, even with photos.

Bacon is one of my favorite foods, in my home my kids have grown up thinking its one of the basic food groups! In fact one of there all time favorite meals for dinner is an all American BLT! Bacon in our home is a food group all by itself!

So it was no big surprise that I would have to try a seasoning whose motto is “Everything Should Taste like Bacon!” Of course I’m talking about a seasoning known as “Bacon Salt”.
Bacon Salt is the brain child of Justin and Dave who love grilling, hanging out with family and friends and of course eating there favorite food bacon! (my kind of people!)

Read more: Get Your Grill On - » Product Review: J&D’s Bacon Salt

What the fark?

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. My brother sent me a link to this......thing today since he knows I like to BBQ.

They call it the SteakHouse Grill.

I'm not sure what to call it! =)

Care to learn more? Follow the link below...

http://www.ariete.net/catalogo_06/catalogo3_en.asp?prod_id=339

Babeque Wood link

Ran across this page that discusses various woods used for BBQ and has a nice table detailing the flavor of the wood and what meats it is most typically used for. Not a complete list, but covers the most common ones from what I see there.

Take a look here.

I don't agree with his notes on the age of wood - I think it needs to age at least six months. One month is probably still too green. And it can be older, just not toooooo old.

The Must-Have Instant Read Thermometer

The Thermapen by ThermoWorks. This is the tool to have when cooking.

No, they aren't cheap. But if the popularity of these guys on the various BBQ forums is any indication, and the positive review by folks like Alton Brown - then this is the tool to have to check the doneness of your meats.

Lots of colors to choose from. "Free" carrying case when you buy multiple Thermapens at once, etc.

Check them out here.


I've decided I'm worth it and I'm buying myself one with my holiday bonus from work.

Useful Site - Cutting Board Care

I thought I'd pass on a link to this site as it has some good basic information on selecting cutting boards and how to care for them. The site is called "Cutting Boards, Chopping Blocks, and Butcher Blocks" - I recommend taking a look.

Free Fryer Contest - and an interesting new product

Deadline is November 22nd - so hurry up if you want to try your luck.

Char-Broil has a new product - "The Big Easy". It is an oil-less turkey fryer that works with infrared heat. Interesting idea.

To promote this new product they are having a contest where the winner gets a free Big Easy. All you have to do is send in the recipe for your favorite "easy" Thanksgiving Day food. It can be any part of the meal. You can enter up to three times - but you have to get them in before midnight on Nov 22nd.

http://charbroilgrilling.com/?p=463 - here's the link for complete information on entering the contest.

I'd love to try some various meats cooked up in this thing to see what they are like. If anyone has experience with infrared cooking, drop me a line to let me know what you think about it, how it compares to grilling, smoking, or deep frying. I'll share your comments with other readers.

Thanks!

Some nice Equipment Tips on this Site

I have just started poking around on this site, but this Tips & Modifications page looks like it has a ton of informative tips - especially for folks that might want to modify their smoker a bit. This is on the Virtual Weber Bullet site, but most of these ideas can be used with other brands of smokers as well.

These Weber Bullet users seem to really love their smokers. I haven't seen one of these in the stores (Home Depot and Lowe's) here in the San Diego area. I haven't been looking for them either.

New Smoker Information

I forgot to mention what the new smoker is...

It is a Brinkmann Gourmet Charcoal Smoker.

http://www.brinkmann.net/Shop/Detail.aspx?category=Outdoor+Cooking&subcategory=Charcoal+Smokers+%26+Grills&sku=852-7080-E&series=OUT-1001-3&seriesname=Gourmet%20Charcoal&id=225


I got the green color. Why? Well, that was the only choice I had, so...

Tip of the day on this smoker: Don't buy it online from the manufacturer. They charge $90 - Lowe's has it for $44.

I'll post more on it after I get the two missing parts and fire it up.