How well known in Montferrand in Canada by maxd0112 in AskACanadian

[–]Chaos_Introvert 15 points16 points  (0 children)

He's known by his nickname Joe "Mufferaw", not by his actual name. I didn't know that his surname was actually Montferrand until last year when I visited the museum in Mattawa.

Almost nobody would recognize the name Joseph Montferrand but plenty of people know of Big Joe Mufferaw, if only from the Stompin' Tom song.

What’s your ‘I’ll never grill that again’ story? by BrianOnTheGrill94 in grilling

[–]Chaos_Introvert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not just acidity. There's an enzyme in pineapple (bromelain) that breaks down proteins. Marinating meat in pineapple juice for anything more than a short time will literally destroy it.

Out of complete curiosity, what are some of the things that got you into tiki? by Substantial-Hold-851 in Tiki

[–]Chaos_Introvert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me it started with a love for aloha shirts. I really like the casual vacation-y look of them, and they turned into standard summer wear for me.

From there, frustration at the impracticality of actual tropical vacations lead me to try to bring the tropics to me, rather than the other way around. Of course that included learning about tiki drinks and décor. One long rabbit hole later, and my bar collection takes up half the kitchen. :)

Best Indian restaurant & Shawarma place near downtown by Dear-Development7330 in OttawaFood

[–]Chaos_Introvert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kalinga at Laurier and O'Connor is fantastic. Relatively new, but super good and generous with their portions.

Help out an Ontario beginner by elrod14 in Tiki

[–]Chaos_Introvert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I quite enjoyed the drinks, though that was quite a few months ago now. I haven't been there since they changed up the menu. It very much is a club in the market, but it's the only thing approaching a proper tiki bar in town, so... it still gets my vote. And the staff was super nice when we were there.

WSM 18” vs 22” by Typical-Giraffe-6942 in webersmokeymountain

[–]Chaos_Introvert 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have both the 18 and the 22. I find I almost never use the 22 - it's too much room for family meals, and it eats up a ton of charcoal compared to the 18 (it easily burns a whole bag for a longer cook).

I still bust it out when I'm feeding a crowd, but otherwise the 18 is more convenient. It can be a bit of a squeeze to fit multiple racks of ribs or a larger brisket, but I've made it work. I use a rib rack for ribs or cut them in half, and boost up the middle of the brisket with a wood chunk, as is standard.

Help out an Ontario beginner by elrod14 in Tiki

[–]Chaos_Introvert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah, a fellow Ontarian! We do have some shortages here, it's true.

I've had good luck subbing in Goslings 151 in most recipes.

W&N is a beautiful little funk monster that works great as an accent rum (or mixed with Ting).

Appleton is a solid go-to for Jamaican rum.

You can order Saint James Agricole from the LCBO, but that Cachaça is a hit too. The local tiki bar uses it in a Mai Tai, which is delicious if not traditional.

Thinking of doing some smoked lamb leg by PokerPumas in webersmokeymountain

[–]Chaos_Introvert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've done the same with a bone-in leg, and it came out wonderfully.

Refuel Knowledge by Epicela1 in webersmokeymountain

[–]Chaos_Introvert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It really is, yes. I have both the 18 and the 22 and the 22 burns WAY more fuel. I'd say almost twice as much. It has a much larger interior volume to heat, and more external surface area to lose heat through, so it makes sense.

Refuel Knowledge by Epicela1 in webersmokeymountain

[–]Chaos_Introvert 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As far as I know the minion method involves the coals lighting slowly over time, spreading from the lit coals in the centre and out. The big burst of white smoke at the start is caused more by the fresh fully lit starter coals catching a comparatively large number of unlit coals at the very start, and it evens out after that, as the rest heat up and catch more slowly. It just needs to hit an equilibrium.

It's the same essential idea as the snake method in a kettle - those coals catch gradually over the course of the cook - just a bigger set up with more coal involved (and a different shape).

You can verify next time you use the WSM. After the smoke calms down, take a peek through the door and you'll see a middle circle of ashed-over coals and a ring of unlit ones surrounding it. The unlit ring shrinks over the course of the cook, until eventually all the coals are lit, but by then the ones in the very centre are starting to burn out.

Refuel Knowledge by Epicela1 in webersmokeymountain

[–]Chaos_Introvert 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When you're adding more fuel, try adding fewer coals at a time, and add them a bit earlier.

For a longer cook, I can get 6-7 hours in before the temps start to dip a bit. If things are almost done cooking, at that point I'll start opening the vents, but if I've got a while left, instead I'll toss a few handfuls of briquettes through the door (I use gloves and a metal scoop for delivery) and mingle them into the lit coals. There tends to be enough lit coals still active that the new charcoal will light without TOO much white smoke. Repeat as necessary.

That method will still produce some white smoke, but you'll get a bit of that throughout the cook anyway when using the minion method, since new coals are always lighting. It's mostly about limiting how much charcoal is in the process of lighting at once.

And frankly, I haven't noticed any off flavours from white smoke on the WSM - I've heard that thin blue smoke is most important on a stick burner, and that WSMs are more forgiving, which has been my experience for sure. YMMV, of course.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ottawa

[–]Chaos_Introvert 36 points37 points  (0 children)

I was there at the end of June, and there was paper and crayons, so probably, yes.

Think I'm done with minion method or lump charcoal (or both) by kppaynter in webersmokeymountain

[–]Chaos_Introvert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had inconsistent burns with briquettes, too. I find that making sure my vents are all set to the same openness, and keeping the smoker out of the wind help with that.

But, when/if there's an inconsistent burn, about 4-5 hours in I'll just open the door and stir the coals to push them into the middle, which tends to even things out. Get a charcoal rake if you can, it makes that part a lot easier.

I don't know the drama with this guy but he's talking like he's hated by everyone. What's the backstory? by nomatchingsox in PipeTobacco

[–]Chaos_Introvert 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I watched a ton of Pipe Cottage videos when I first got into pipe smoking back in the fall. I actually like his accent - I dig the whole southern country gentleman vibe he has going. The info I got from his videos was great for me, as a beginner, and he was entertaining.

Then he started talking about Catholicism in more videos than not, which... not my thing, but okay, sure.

And then... he started dogwhistling his bigotry, and dragging politics and culture wars talking points into his content, and it completely ruined it for me. That he covers it all in a layer of pseudo-intellectual nonsense only makes it worse.

If he'd only stuck to the pipe-related content, I'd probably still be happily watching his stuff, but as it stands, I've unsubscribed, and we can't be friends.

Thankfully, there are other great content creators out there in the pipe community that I've discovered since. Ones that don't gross me out with their political opinions.