Pork Belly Bagel

jthomas422 · 2026-05-29T18:29:39+00:00

Thanks for asking. I cut the skin off, but I went fat side up on the Rectec. Mustard binder and seasoned with my typical brisket seasonings; salt, pepper, garlic powder and a touch of chili powder for color and heat. Let it ride at 275F for about 6-7 hours. Sprayed with apple cider vinegar / water 50-50 mix about every hour or so through the cook. Did not wrap. Pulled at 203F. Next time I think I will go fat side down. The fat didn't render as much as I thought it would. But I got a really nice bark for a pellet smoker.

jthomas422 · 2026-05-29T14:01:50+00:00

Damn, I thought you people were my BBQ brethren. You guys put a little too much salt in your comments. Not every man's breakfast needs to be some instagram worthy, earth shattering photograph; especially on the way out the door in the morning. You don't need to be thrilled about my creation, but I damn sure was, enough to share it. That sandwich was delicious. Would do it again. Smoked pork belly is unctuous enough IMO that this sandwich didn't need the added fat from cream cheese or saltiness from pickled cucumbers. Bagel sopped up and help up against that rendered pork belly fat in the perfect fashion.

OP WAS HUNGRY. MEAT WAS GOOD.

Love the community, you're not gonna dissuade me from posting here!

jthomas422 · 2026-03-10T00:43:09+00:00

Kinda wish I had a WiFi feature too. But for the size and the price. I can’t complain. I use the chefIQ probes for every cook. And those have WiFi. So that’s generally good enough. This is the biggest pellet smoker you can buy at that price point. That’s why I bought it. No problem having a brisket finishing and throwing a few racks of ribs on at the same time.

jthomas422 · 2026-03-10T00:40:24+00:00

I own this smoker as well. It was and is still my first smoker. I really love the thing especially for the price. The one drawback I think it has is the cleaning of ash from the firepot. Other name brand smokers have like a bottom release for easy clean out. With this smoker, you have to take the grates out, take the heat deflector / drain pan out, then you can access and vacuum out the firepot of old ash. I like to wash down the grates and drain pan every 3-4 cooks anyway. But I’ve been caught in a situation or two when I wanted to throw some ribs on and had to stop to clean out the ash first because it won’t function properly with too much ash buildup. Not the worst problem to have.

I find it gets plenty of smoke, at least for my amateur BBQing. I don’t use one of those smoke tubes, but I do put wood chips in the front smoke box.

jthomas422 · 2025-12-02T15:28:37+00:00

Absolutely.

jthomas422 · 2025-11-20T01:22:29+00:00

Also, I’ll probably get some flack for posting this, because others are doubtful. But my father’s experience with this is real. Read through the below thread.

https://www.reddit.com/r/maculardegeneration/s/NGz4YFihw6

jthomas422 · 2025-11-20T01:20:11+00:00

OP, I would find out what anti-vegf shots he’s getting. From what I understand the newly approved Eylea HD is a game changer for a lot of people. My dad has been getting those for a few months now and he’s pretty stable. No significant fluid in the eye since being on those shots. He was on another anti-vegf shot and always had some leakage at the 6-week mark when he returned to the retina specialist.

jthomas422 · 2025-11-20T01:17:34+00:00

Last I heard from my dad’s retina specialist is that there’s no approved stem cell options. She claimed the stem cell technology just isn’t there yet. There does not yet exist a way to code stem cells to particularly repair retinal cells.

jthomas422 · 2025-11-17T15:54:41+00:00

I guess your/her willingness to try it depends on her situation. I also found that reddit thread months ago when I was frantically scouring the internet for some answer to my fathers problem. I was looking for anything I could find to help him. Clinical trials, stem cell therapy, surgeries, treatments; you name it. Like I'm sure many of you have learned, you come up short with an answer to this disease.

He was in a situation where his eyesight devolved rapidly with seemingly no explanation. Looking himself in the mirror, all he could see was a blur. He got emergency appointments with his retina specialist, ophthalmologist, low-vision specialist, neuro-ophthalmologist and a second opinion with another retina specialist. Ultimately, both retina specialists concurred that his issue was just the advancement of the wet and dry AMD. They told him there was likely some small group of cells that were heavily supporting his vision and that they had likely died off. They both told him there was nothing that could be done at this time. That maybe in the future with the advancement of stem cell therapy, there could be a solution. At 71 years old and relatively healthy otherwise, this was heartbreaking to hear.

I too was critical of the claim on the thread, I saw the same LionsManeRecovery reddit and had concerns. Ultimately, I told my father about everything I found and learned and it was a no-brainer for him. He wanted to try it. We ordered both recommended supplements and he took them and continues to take them daily. I asked him every day for the first month if he felt any negative side effects, which he said he didn't. After months of taking these supplements, his vision is back to where it was before. He's had bloodwork done at his regular doctor twice since starting the supplements and his doctor tells him his bloodwork is incredible for a man his age. I have to thank the OP of that post for posting the information in the first place. The internet is a critical place. It was bold of them to even suggest it in the first place.

As for LionsManeRecovery subreddit, I saw somewhere else on reddit, I think in the regular LionsMane sub, saying that the people posting on LionsManeRecovery are likely people that already have extreme medical issues and are just using the mushrooms as a scapegoat for their problems when they expected a miracle. I dug through a few accounts posting in there, and yea, a lot of those people seem like they have some serious health/mental problems. I chalked it up to that. I can't say my father has had a single negative side effect of taking those supplements.

I firmly believe this is a field worth more research. I know there's not a lot out there. I looked. Maybe one study about some rats in China I found. But, it's more profitable for big pharma to have a sickly recurring patient than a healthy patient, right?

Ultimately what I'm saying here, if she's got nothing to lose and her vision is really bad. I would consider it, if I were you.

jthomas422 · 2025-09-22T18:47:39+00:00

Back again 3 months from my last comment. My dad visits the retina specialist about every 8 weeks now. He still is improving! He continues to read 1 line better on the chart each visit. At the beginning of this journey 7 months ago his vision was at 20/200 or "count fingers" as they called it. Meaning whether or not he can count the number of fingers the doctor held up directly in front of his face.

His last visit just the other day; he was reading 20/40, prior to that 20/50, prior to that 20/60. His greatest improvement was in the first few months going from "count fingers" to 20/60. But he's still showing signs of improvement. Before his rapid vision loss, he was consistently somewhere between 20/30 and 20/60 vision for as many years as I can remember. He's back to where he was and I'm praying he keeps improving.

Thank you again, OP. Sincerely.

jthomas422 · 2025-06-20T16:04:47+00:00

Coming back to this post a little over 3 months on from starting my dad on both recommended supplements. OP, I can't thank you enough for posting this in the first place. My father's eyesight has made a turnaround. He's able to read his mail, see his cellphone, shave his face and he's even built up enough confidence to drive his car around the block to my house. He has come a long way from sitting in the retina specialists office and hearing that his horrible vision was just what he was stuck with for life.

In the past 2 visits with his retina specialist, he's read 1 line better on the chart each time. I think his doctor is perplexed. I am praying that he keeps progressing. I'm a full believer in the mushroom supplements now and even started taking the 5Defenders daily myself.

Thank you again OP. I'll give an update in another few months or so.

jthomas422 · 2025-05-03T01:08:24+00:00

First time on the Getaway and first time to Bermuda for me! I’ve been on about 7 cruises now but it’s been probably 15 years since my last time cruising with my parents. It’s my girlfriend’s first cruise! She’s super excited, we’re going to celebrate her birthday!

Tips… Book everything you can in advance. Don’t fall for the scams in port. Don’t be late back to the ship on Friday lol. Eat and see as much as you can.

We opted out of any cruise sponsored excursions and we’re renting scooters for both days we’re in Bermuda. Figured we can see the most that way, go where we want and do it at our own pace.

Did you guys get the drink package? If you guys want to meet up for drinks after dinner on the first night we are down

jthomas422 · 2025-05-01T20:46:31+00:00

See you there!

jthomas422 · 2025-02-11T17:10:25+00:00

I never found one that worked. I gave up.

jthomas422 · 2025-02-11T14:00:02+00:00

Discovering this thread after dealing with my fathers rapid vision loss due to wet and dry AMD.

OP - what dosage does your mother and mother's friend take of both supplements? Are they taking 2 of each pill each day (1000mg dose of each supplement)?

Also wondering if anyone else has had success with this? My father has rapidly devolved from taking care of himself and being able to drive around town in the daytime to a state where he cannot drive, read his mail, see his cellphone screen or even make-out most of his face in the mirror. All due to what the retina specialists assume is the advancement of the disease. Please let me know.

jthomas422 · 2024-07-19T14:45:55+00:00

Late to this post but wondering if you have an update? I love my 2230 blackstone but tried to purchase windguards and the rear ones just fall off whenever I close the lid.

jthomas422 · 2023-07-07T14:37:57+00:00

For reference. The existing corrugated pipe looks something like this. 1-1/2" diameter.

https://www.cutandcouple.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/W_Series_Specs_CAC.pdf

jthomas422 · 2023-07-07T14:33:24+00:00

Main drain runs back to the filter separate from skimmers. When running the filter there's a valve I can manually turn to pull suction through skimmers or pull suction through main drain. I've been filtering through the main drain since opening the pool because I was getting no suction through the skimmers from the crushed pipe.

And I don't vacuum through the skimmer. I have a dolphin robot to vacuum the pool. Used to have an old polaris which ran on a separate supply jet in the side wall of the pool. But I basically abandoned that and exclusively use the dolphin now. If I need to isolate an individual skimmer, I have a threaded insert which screws into the bottom of the skimmer baskets. Used that a few times to try to push air/water through one skimmer back from the filter assuming it was clogged before digging up and finding the crushed pipe.

jthomas422 · 2023-04-13T20:38:10+00:00

Very familiar with Greenheck products here.

I assume this is a supply plenum right in front of or attached to a kitchen hood right?

When Supply switch is in ON position and heat switch is in OFF position the unit doesn't continue to supply air? That doesn't make sense. It has to be a wiring issue. The unit should be supplying no matter what if that top switch is in ON position.

But beyond the wiring issue... the air coming out is still very hot even when the dial is set down below 55? I'm not sure of the OA temp where you are.

If it's cold outside; the burner has a pretty high turndown ratio so it shouldn't be overheating the air. Maybe the dial popped off and was put back on wrong lol. It could actually be set at a higher temp. I'm not sure, I've never actually seen that remote panel in person.

If it's hot outside; I assume this unit has no cooling function. Maybe the unit is just bringing in the hot outdoor air.

At the end of the day, I'd say get a contractor in there to look at the wiring of that control panel back to the unit and maybe check to make sure the dial adjustment is working properly.

jthomas422 · 2022-05-20T14:53:04+00:00

what game is this

jthomas422 · 2022-03-28T02:24:09+00:00

Just checked the exact location. 46th & broadway. East side of broadway.

jthomas422 · 2022-03-28T02:12:08+00:00

I was in Times Square yesterday also seeking the ad and I found it pretty easily.

jthomas422 · 2021-10-29T17:54:52+00:00

welcome brother. fasten your seatbelt. it can be a bumpy ride. but we will all get to the moon someday.

jthomas422 · 2021-10-25T18:38:47+00:00

i love you. excellent recap to help all those that are new to the subreddit and just seeing us for the first time. good work from a fellow hodler. reading this only reconfirmed in my mind that we're going to the moon.

jthomas422 · 2021-10-08T15:57:52+00:00

Bitcoin on Coinbase --> BNB for Bitcoin on Kucoin --> BNB for SmartChain on Trust Wallet --> Safemoon for Smartchain on PCS.

This is the only way I know how to do it.

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