Project: Smoke-Stacked - Part 2

Another week's worth of work, and we are getting closer to the finish line.  Here's a summary of the progress.

I cut out the holes for the dampers to set in, and drilled out the pilot holes for the screws.  Here it is just lined up making sure the hole was cut large enough.

Here's all three of the barrels together, with the two dampers on for a test fitting.

Next, I had to drill the holes and have a test fitting with the double barrel leg adapters.

 I threw the top barrel on the legs, just to give you an idea of what it will look like eventually.

After that, I went ahead and cut out the exhaust hole, where the smoke will exit out the top.  I eyeballed it to get it roughly at a 45 degree angle. 

Now it's time to start thinking about the opening for the top barrel.  I used painter's tape and measured from the seam in the barrel, using a fabric tape measure. 

After some cutting with the jig saw, and angle grinder, we have our opening!

 The door will be cut hopefully by my next update.  In preparation for the door, I want to share my ingenious solution for a handle.  After consulting with my friend Erik, he convinced me that a spring handle is probably the way to go.  This will ensure that you won't burn your hand during a long smoke, and it will never rot away like wood eventually will.  Trying to stay as cost efficient as possible, here's how you can make your own cool handle, on the cheap!


First, buy a welder's hammer.  These are available for like $6 at Home Depot.

Carefully use an angle grinder to cut the welds off of the original shaft.  Once, it's off, slide it onto a 5/16" threaded rod. 

After that, I slid a pair of steel 3"x3" L-Braces that I had already drilled 5/16" holes in.  Throw on a couple of 5/16" nuts, and you've got yourself a handle!  Granted, I still need to bolt it to the door, but still...

More to come later this week!

Project: Smoke-Stacked - Part 1

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, I'm back in the blog world.  Sorry for the long absence, but I'm back.  Hopefully, for good this time.  I won't bore you with excuses or anything, so let's cut to the chase.  Project: Smoke-Stacked is underway.  I am building a double barrel smoker, out of 55-gallon drums.  One reason for this project is simple... I love barbeque.  Another contributing factor, is that there are no longer any barbeque restaurants in Gardner.  Ironic, since we are still considered part of the Kansas City suburbs.  With this in mind, I am taking it upon myself to build a big enough smoker, that our friends, family, and neighbors can enjoy with us.  For a sneak peak at what I'm trying to build, head HERE.  I was so impressed when I stumbled upon this guy's smoker build one day.  I'm basing my design on his smoker. 
Less talk, more rock... let's get down to business with some pictures of my progress. First off, I  had to acquire three, 55-gallon steel drums. This is probably common sense, but be sure your drums did not carry any harmful or toxic materials in them.  One will be used as the cooking barrel (top barrel), while the other will be used only to cut a door for the cooking chamber.  (More on that later.)  The third will be used to burn the wood (bottom barrel). Here is a picture of two of the barrels while I was attempting to burn out the remaining petroleum oil that the barrels originally had in them. 

I think my fire was not nearly strong enough, as I still had quite a bit of cleaning out to do with the inside of the barrels.  In hindsight I wish I would have cleaned them out with soap and water first, and then burn them out to remove any remaining material.  Oh well.
After getting all the barrels, I ordered some of my necessary hardware.  Vogelzang makes stove conversion kits for 55 gallon drums.  A few tweaks in the design, and you can instantly have a nice smoker!  Here was the night it arrived on our doorstep. 

 I'm still missing one collar for the exhaust stove pipe, but hopefully that will be here before I'm ready for it.  After burning out the barrels, and making sure I had all my parts, I began the long process of paint removal.  Before you do any sort of work, where you are grinding off paint, safety needs to come first.  So, before I started, I made sure to have my hearing protection, eye protection, and a respirator.  Here, you can clearly see, I am ready to roll!

It took a couple of hours with an angle grinder, and a lot of ibuprofen, but I finally got the barrels down to the metal.

Be sure to wear clothes you don't care about, because that paint will get EVERYWHERE!  Here are the barrels I am going to use for the cooking barrel, and the donor barrel for the main door. I couldn't decide exactly which one I wanted to use for what, so I went ahead and stripped them both.

They are so cool looking, it will be a shame when I go to paint them.  After grinding the paint off of my third barrel, I was ready to start cutting out holes for the stove hardware.  Here is a shot of the hole being cutout of the bottom barrel, where the stove door will go.

Basically, I just sat the stove door right where I wanted it to be mounted, and traced the inside with a marker, and cut it out with my jigsaw.  Here's a picture of how it will look when I eventually mount the door.

Thank goodness it was a beautiful weekend, I was able to make some decent progress on this project.  That's all I've got for now, but check back for further updates.  My goal is to have this completed by the end of the February, but we'll see.  I'm anxious to get out there and start smoking some meat!

Top 5 Burger Places

For a while now I've been wanting to rank my top five favorite burger places in the greater-southwestern-suburbs-of-Kansas City-of-Johnson-County.  Obviously, an extremely prestige list to be a part of!  Without further ado, here we go!

To make this list, each place will be graded on three different criteria: Taste, Fries, Price.  The highest average score will obviously top the list.  Each grade will be given on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being high.

5. Hardees - 8.0/10 (Taste: 8.1, Fries: 8.1, Price: 7.7)
Now, I know you're saying, "but Hardees is a chain, and I can get those burgers anywhere."  Yeah, well if you haven't had their Thickburgers before, you should treat yourself sometime.  Along with the wonderful Thickburgers, the curly fries at Hardee's are wonderful as well.  Considering these are both found at a fast food joint, the price is decent.  Granted it will probably be one of the more expensive "fastfood burgers" you'll ever eat.  Plus, their commercials are pretty much spectacular.

4. Fox and Hound - 8.1/10 (Taste: 9.2, Fries: 7.5, Price: 7.5)
Perhaps not as well known for their burgers, the Fox and Hound surprised me when I ordered my burger there.  Great taste, super soft bun, served with your typical bar fries.  Decently priced as well.  Located in Overland Park, KS.

3. Austin's Bar and Grill - 8.2 (Taste: 8.8, Fries: 8.2, Price: 7.7)
Austin's in Olathe, and now Gardner, offer some tasty options for your burger pleasure.  One nice thing about Austin's is that each burger come's plain.  It's up to you to dress it how you want at the condiment bar.  Fries were crispy and seasoned well. 

2. Wendy's - 8.3/10 (Taste: 8.9, Fries: 8.1, Price: 8.0)
If you know me well at all, you know that my favorite fast food restaurant of all time is Wendy's.  There are few things in this world that can top a nice Classic Double with Cheese with all the toppings.  There is just something about those fresh, cooked to order, square burger patties.  Wendy's fries are fantastic in their own right as well!  I know I'm not the only one out there who loves to dip those fries in a nice cold Frosty!  The best thing about Wendy's is that if you are looking for something other than a burger, you can always fall back on their wonderful Spicy Chicken Sandwich.  Although their prices have gone up over the last couple of years, it's still a pretty cheap option for a great burger and fries.

1. Five Guys Burgers and Fries - 8.7 (Taste: 9.5, Fries: 9.0, Price: 7.5)
If you have not tried Five Guys before, do youself a favor and run, DON'T WALK, to your nearest FGBF and join the club.  This place will never wow you as far as looks or decor goes, but the food will keep you coming back for more.  For starters, the burgers are awesome.  The menu is very simple too.  Basically, you order your burger, then you can choose which toppings you want on it.  Get as many or as few as you want for no extra cost!  If you order fries, you better hope you have someone there to help you eat them.  If you watch the guys scooping the fries, you will notice that they fill up your cup of fries, and then fill up a second little boat container full of fries, and dump that in you bag on top of everything else.  Awesome!  To top that all off, you can even choose between regular and cajun fries.  Both of which are very tasty.  The price appears really nice at first, but when you are ordering everything seperate, it adds up quickly.  But, it is still pretty reasonably priced in my opinion.  Having a FGBF within walking distance of our apartment was probably the one and only regret I have about moving to our house earlier this year. 


Honerable Mention:

Red Robin - If I was only voting on burgers alone, Red Robin probably would have made the top five.  However, taking into consideration the fries and price kept it out.  The fries, eventhough they are "all you can eat" are average at best.  I also think RR is one of the more overpriced burger places out there.  However, they have a wide variety of toppings and flavors abailable. 

Winsteads - Great place to go for a nice steakburger and a shake!  The fries are your standard crinkle cut variety, if memery serves me right. 

Smash Burger - Good burgers.  GREAT fries.  Higher price tag.  This place would have scored very high marks if their portions matched some of the other places.  The smashfries are tossed in rosemarie, olive oil, and garlic.  They are wonderful, but you only get a handful with your burger.  In order to match the portions that Five Guys gives you, you'd be spending quite a bit more!

Culvers - Another great fastfood burger.  The classic Butter Burger is always a great choice.  They serve classic crinkle cut fries which are good, but nothing to write home about. 

Blanc Burgers and Bottles - I have not eaten here yet, but I've heard great things.  My brother-in-law says this place is pretty legit and always recommends that we go.  Looks a little pricey for a burger joint, but the variety in the menu has me wanting to try it!

Atlanta Adventure!

Before I dive into our recent trip to Atlanta, I must start by telling you why we went.  Early this year, my dad and I decided that we would attempt to visit all 30 major league baseball stadiums, by hitting a few each summer.  We will attempt to see the Cardinals play in as many as possible. 

Because of some pretty awesome circumstances, my dad was able to score us some great Braves tickets for Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  It was such a good deal that Katie decided to tag along!  So on Friday Sep. 10th, we land in Atlanta, get in our rental car, and drive straight to Turner Field.  We get to our seats just in time for the first pitch.  After the first inning, we decide to go ahead and get some food.  I spied a tasty looking hot dog stand on the way to our seats, so my dad and I decided to head back that way. We both ended up ordering the "Georgia Dog".  It was a footlong beef hot dog, with coleslaw and a sweet onion relish.  Holy Toledo that was a great hot dog!  

To add to the enjoyment, I ordered a "small" cup of fries to go with it.  The dog and fries ended up being $11.25.  Now, if you've been to ballparks, you know the food isn't exactly cheap.  But this was the first time I can ever remember beign full after my meal at a ball park.  All in all, a great meal!

On Saturday, we got up early and headed to the Georgia Aquarium.  If you are ever in Atlanta, I highly recommend going if you are ever in the area.  This was another big reason why Katie wanted to travel with us.  She had a great time!  Probably the most memorable part of that was getting to pet the manta rays. No food stories from here, but a great stop none-the-less.

After the aquarium, we headed to our first stop on our "Man vs. Food" tour.  We ate lunch at the Votex Bar and Grill. Here is a short vlog entry of Adam Richman talking about the Vortex.  I ordered the Tasmanian Devil Burger.  It was a 1/2 lb sirloin burger with a pepperberry rub, pinapple salsa, and pepper jack cheese.  It was amazing.  I ordered onion rings to eat on the side.

Katie ordered the Pesto burger, which was topped with a pesto spread, of course, and provolone cheese.  She had fried zucchini for her side.  My dad ordered the Coronary Bypass burger.  It came topped with a fried egg, 3 slices of cheese, and 4 slices of bacon.  He had sweet potato fries on the side.  It was an excellent meal.  The Vortex got six thumbs up from the Montagues!

After the Vortex we went back to Turner Field early to watch some batting practice.  Katie was able to catch a practice ball thrown to her by Chris Carpenter who was out shaggin fly balls.  For the second straight day, the Cardinals ended up losing, but at least they were both close games.  After the game we drove a little north to visit our second stop on our Man vs. Food tour.  We ate at The Big Pie in the Sky Pizzaria.  Here are the highlights from the Carnivore Challenge as seen on Man vs. Food.  We  merely attempted to tackle a 20" Large supreme pizza.  That turned out to be way too much pizza, even for the three of us.  It was still very good pizza! 

Sunday, we ate a quick bite in the morning, headed to the airport, and flew back home.  It was a quick, wonderful, delicious trip to Atlanta and back.  I would definitely go back to both of these wonderful restaurants if given the chance.  If you ever find yourself around Atlanta, we highly suggest stopping at either of these places. 

A Tasty Breaded Talapia Recipe

Ok, for our first post, I figured we would share one of our favorite recipes for Talapia.  We make the breading using Cream of Wheat.  I know, it sounds a little strange, but trust us, it's delicious!

Here's what you will need:

Up to 4 Talapia Filets

1/2 cup of Cream of Wheat
2 tbsp of Old Bay seasoning
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Egg
Some lemon wedges

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a flat dish or container.  Beat the egg in a seperate flat dish or plate.  Before you get too carried away, make sure your fish filets are fully thawed.
Next, pat the fish filets dry with a paper towel.  Dredge the fish through the egg wash, then dredge the fish through the breading. 

Now, you have a decision to make.  We have prepared this recipe using three methods of cooking.  All of which are delicious! 

Method 1: Using a deep fryer, cook each filet 2-3 minutes.  Fish doesn't take too long to cook!
Method 2: Put enough vegatable oil in the bottom of a large pan, and pan fry the fish a couple of minutes on each side.
Method 3: For a healthier taste, throw it on the grill!  Make a little aluminum foil boat for the fish, spray it with a little oil, and cook it a few minutes on each side.  I have a charcoal grill, but i'm sure a propane grill would work great!

Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on your fish, and enjoy!  If you try this, let us know what you think, or any variations you try with it.

Welcome, to Monty's Food Blog

Howdy!  My wife Katie, and I, have been discussing starting our own blog over the last month or two.  After careful consideration, we decided to start Monty's Food Blog.  Now I'll be the first to admit, when it comes to cooking, we are average at best.  However, while we have been married, our cooking ability and quality has become noticably better.  As I learned from my parents long ago, "You won't get any better, unless you try!".  This applies to most anything you do in life, but it definitly holds true in cooking.  Anyway, the point is, I wanted to have a place where we could give helpful hints that we have learned over the years, share recipes, tell stories, and give advice to anyone who likes to cook.

In addition to giving mediocre cooking advice, be on the lookout for topics that might include art, bowling, home how-to projects, our cat Murphy, Xbox, family, fantasy sports, movies, music, and so on. 

That is just a "taste" of things to come on this blog.  I'll try to keep it up-to-date, and post as often as I can. Thanks for reading!