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Since the lockdown in the UK, I've either been in the garden or the kitchen. So I thought I'd share some of my endeavours. Tried baking in the 32KK for the first time. Made a banana and tahini loaf. If you like peanut butter and banana as a combination, you will like this. Used cocochar, had a very slight smokiness to it which was discernible from doing it in our fan assisted oven. Crumb was great in both but I think a savoury loaf might benefit more from the KK's charms. Ordered some pork ribs from the butcher who now identifies me as 'the meat enthusiast' and recognises a kindred spirit. He has made some suggestions on cuts and modifications to recipes and I must say, it's a match made in heaven. Pictured are pork ribs which he cut long so we had a large piece of non-rib which I think is a cut used to make bacon. Applied our own house dry rub which has around 250 ingredients (feels like it at least). My wife is pictured applying it as she is far better at getting the membrane off the ribs so got to be the kid and get covered in rub mix. Cooked then in the KK rib rack at 105 for 4-6 hours and then grilled to finish with lots of sticky BBQ sauce. I cheated and used bottle sauce to glaze as I was low on sugar and am trying to clear the fridge out of BBQ sauces (I swear they've been breeding). They were superb and I ended up wearing the ribs. I got told off by my wife for spilling food all over my t-shirt. I may have grunted and slurped some sort of acknowledgement whereupon she said I was like an overgrown caveman child. I think it's a compliment. We have Wild Garlic growing abundantly in the woods behind our house so in our prescribed daily exercise, we foraged some and I'm currently working up some recipes with it. Wild Garlic Oil to go on to a pizza with goats cheese and onion. I think some might find its way into a Pesto and there'll be some gnocchi pan fried with sage and wild garlic on the cards this week too. I'm debating a wrap for whole fish slow cooked on the KK. A bit like a banana leaf. I've attached some pictures for interest if you don't know the plant. You use the leaves of the plant which are quite succulent. Slightly different smell to regular garlic and doesn't have the same pungency and heat you can find in garlic bulbs. Hope everyone is in good health and spirits (and using this time to perfect their KK cooks). 🙌

Practice makes perfect. Cheese pizza, Hawaiian, bell pepper & mushroom, pepperoni, basil & prosciutto. Pepperoni and Hawaiian were sourdough crusts others were NY style

Last night was Indian - kofta kebabs. Mix of ground beef and lamb, with lots of onions, garlic and parsley, with my house lamb seasoning with extra berbere spice tossed in. Direct, @ 300F, on the Frog Mat (they sometime get a bit crumbly), with coffee wood chunks. Plated with an herbed basmati and side salad. I wanted to make a raita to go with it, but when I pulled the cuke out of the veggie bin it had gone bad. Oh well!

Great burgers require great buns. The rules: #1 - make it brioche, and #2 - make it yourself. The burgers...they be of the smashed variety to maximize the char. Superheat a baking steel, then flatten two 2.5 oz balls o’ boeuf with a heavy flat spatula. The chez is of the American variety. Not really cheese, but a must have, like beet root. Great burger meets great bun.

I'm on this thanks for the head's up... ****Changing the location of the handles on future DBD pans to their natural balance point would seem to be a more elegant and simpler solution.**** With 7 grills/sizes we do have a problem from time to time with handles from different models being used at times, this is very tough to spot for our QC gals too.. I believe the lower rack is a better place to put the drip pan.. down below will trap heat in the firebox and reduce performance..

Troble, you are making me hungry. Fantastic.[emoji4][emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]

This was a small bottom round, it's always a favorite. Sorry no plate shots, too many projects on another plate. You gotta love the roto, very dependable.

Burger lunch today.

Hotel Turkey breast with no tell sauce. Foiled on the left too protect the thin and closer side running by the fire.

@Basher thanks for the tip I will have to try that next time. I did not read that prior to the cook. overall it went well however I had the right side of the coals burning much hotter and faster than the left which resulted in me needing to take off one bird earlier than the other. I need to work on a more even and consistent fire in the future, When I did remove one bird and moved the 2nd bird over in the cradle I didn’t secure it as tight as before so it moved around a bit and some of the skin got scraped but all good i was really amazed at the difference in taste between the rotisserie cook and traditional roasting method. Also the skin on the rotisserie chicken was nothing short of luxurious. IMG_2156.MOV

Since I got one of the original batch of Double Drip Pans, which I haven't used in ages, I should reconfirm that mine fits as suggested?

Jon, I don't need to post pictures because Dennis was exactly right... the handles of my lower grate are angled inward enough to prevent the pan from sitting flush on the grate. I foolishly tried to pull them apart with my amazing brute strength... That went absolutely nowhere, lol. I'm going to tap them into place as Dennis instructed, or use ratchet straps to pull them out gently and with control. My drip pan handles rest on the grate handles just like yours, but my handles are centered as you suggest they should be. The CG when carrying the pan is pot on.

Yesterday was brioche buns for burgers. Today is sourdough cinnamon raisin with 30% fresh milled hard red wheat.

Those ribs look like they are to die for, gorgeous, you will wear those ribs one way or another, and the scent in the woods must be wonderful with all that wild garlic. Glad to hear you and you wife are making the most of the lock-down.

You are a pro pequod. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for all your advice. I have definitely decided to ditch this stupid sourdough starter I’ve been keeping and go all in on your NY crust recipe. While it wasn’t perfect this week it was damn good and 200% better than my initial attempt. A few more cooks and I should have it down. Your help has been immense and my girls thank you

Nicely done!

That’s a great repair job wingman, better than new. And now a piece of your toil is imbedded into your KK. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, and those black spots are black garlic.

I have the same issue in my 2016 vintage KK23 and Double Bottom Drip (DBD) Pan. I thought until today (seeing Syzygies' fit) the interference was an issue with all the DBD pans. I also had the same issue Tony relates about the pizza stone and the upper grate, which I resolved as he mentions. This thread prompted me to look into it further. I don't use the DBD pan too often, mostly because it doesn't fit where I want it on the middle grate. After some checking this afternoon, I believe the actual issue is the handle location on the DBD Pan, not the bend or lack thereof of the middle grate handles. The actual balance point of the DBD pan is located in the forward 1/3 of the handles (as they are welded on the pan) noted with the blue tape on the photos below, instead of at the center of the handles. The handles could (should?) be welded to the DBD pan approximately about 1 1/2 - 2 inches (3.8 - 5 cm) forward of their current location (at least on mine), at which point they would clear the middle grate handles and actually provide better balance for the DBD pan at the center of its handles. Which would be helpful if the DBD pan was full of water, drippings or stainless steel chain... This would eliminate the need to bend the middle grate handles (and risk a broken thumb, as I can attest from experience as these do not bend easily, at least as it applies to the charcoal basket. But that is another story). Such a method would require a significant bend on mine to clear the DBD pan handles and also reduce the clearance between these handles and the KK body (which may be seen in Syzygies' photo). I assume the curve in my grate handles was done to provide better hand clearance when placing the grates into the KK (Thanks!). Changing the location of the handles on future DBD pans to their natural balance point would seem to be a more elegant and simpler solution. Some photos for context. DBD pan on middle grate in an appropriate location for cooking on the main grate, which would be located above in the actual KK, showing handle interference: Blue tape indicates the natural balance point of the DBD pan in the front 1/3 instead of the middle of its handles. Moving the pan forward on the middle grate still doesn't clear the grate handles and runs the DBD pan into the "T" handle of the hinged part of the middle grate: Moving the DBD pan forward to completely clear the handle interference between the DBD pan and middle grate handles results in the DBD pan too far forward to fit into the KK. Obviously, I have a lot of time on my hands given the U.S. and Kansas stay-at-home orders. My apologies for the length. As for my DBD pan, I will just continue to locate it on the charcoal basket handles rather than try to bend the middle grate handles. One broken thumb is enough. Just a friendly suggestion for future KK improvements... Jon

Went to a local custom countertop company and they cut it off a piece of scrap. Cut to size edge and top ground smooth and polished two pieces for $50.

Toss me into this group also. I like mine rare enough to be on the endangered species list while she wants hers dead.

In these times anything goes for supper, tonight it was homemade spaghetti, sauce and meatballs with a side of steamed cabbage with butter and lots of pepper.

@Basher I don’t think it was the piece of meat. I had my eye on two other ones but as the guy was packing my ground meat the dude next to me grabbed the two cuts I was eyeing and I had to “settle” for these think it was just due to the fact I’ve never done a reverse sear and I got lucky on my first cook with timing. I didn’t use a meat probe. Just look and finger test. But the juiciness and tenderness of the meat was just perfect Its always tough cooking steak in my house because I like mine medium/pink but the wife likes hers overcooked (no pink). I managed to get mine cooked perfect to my liking but found this mythical spot for the wife where it’s not overcooked, still slightly pink but not “undercooked” in the wife’s eye. however to be clear my comment about the steak was only in reference to the taste and tenderness of mine.

I am honestly blown away right now. I just did a reverse sear fillet mignon that was without a doubt the best steak I’ve ever cooked in my life. I grilled some asparagus and whipped up some chimichuri with some roasted red potatoes. I am utterly blown away at how perfect the steak turned out. It wasnt the cook that’s for sure. It was the magic of the KK

Peach maple glazed swine tenderloin.

Shawarma pork steaks last night, with grilled red onion and zucchini. Roasted red potatoes in the indoor convection oven. Everything direct @ 325F, with apple wood chunks.

It’s a rainy day in the 757. I decided to toss 8 porterhouses on YOLO the Dragon. Porterhouse Pork Chops today.

My last trip before quarantine was to take a weeklong woodworking intensive with Jeremy Tomlinson at The Urban Woodworker in North Vancouver. I met him at a Lie Nielsen hand tools expo in Oakland, and knew the weeklong would be well worth the trip. I'm not in a hurry, I came out of this deciding to prep and finish (resaw, true) my wood by hand, like our ancestors did. Not that it's warm enough to work outside in California, I'm just waiting to finish other pressing chores. Today I finish reworking our garden irrigation system, to take out some corroding unions and add a flow meter, and inline strainers before each valve. Not my idea, the valves were getting stuck open. I'm good enough at plumbing for "handy" friends to ask for my help, but I enjoy sweating pipes the way one enjoys a prison sentence. Like, not. Wood, and bread, on the other hand, invites and responds to love.

I do feel like I've lost my convictions, using a loaf pan, but they're more forgiving and the bread is more useful. We always add a bit of yeast as insurance to sourdough recipes. Laurie buys it by the pound, using it in many other ways. (She also has a separate yeast for sweeter breads.) We got lucky that our health food store had stock today.

I rarely sift unless a particular recipe calls for high extraction. I don't do "no-knead" either. I use bulk fermentation to build structure via a set of folds. My bread muses are my pals Maurizio and Trevor J. 1) Maurizio (https://www.theperfectloaf.com/) has a number of recipes specifically for fresh milled flour. You'll also find that he has a number of recipes that include high extraction flour. He tends toward very high hydration doughs and exotic flour combinations. 2) Trevor J. Wilson (http://www.breadwerx.com/) is known for his open crumb techniques and his excellent ebook, "Open Crumb Mastery." While many try to push the hydration as high as it will go, Trevor J. makes the point (correctly, I think), that proper dough handling and structure building are the keys to open crumb, and hydration is secondary and over-rated. His Champlain Sourdough recipe, for example, is only 70% hydration as I recall, but with proper structure building and dough handling, has a fantastic open crumb. The take-away? Focus on learning to build structure and handle dough before worrying about hydration. Most people get this backwards. The issue with 100% whole grain is that the bran tends to act like tiny razor blades and cut gluten strands shorter and, hence, makes your breads a tad more dense. There are a number of techniques to fix that. These include a long autolyse (I typically use at least 90 minutes) so that the bran softens. Others will sift out the bran, but then add it back into starter so that, again, it has more time to soften. Peter Reinhart wrote an entire book on Whole Grain Breads but, as with many Peter Reinhart books, I think he misses the mark.

Pot smoking didn’t mellow him. At. All. ‘Course, around here that means something else entirely...RIGHT??