Leaderboard

Nixtamalisation report - A+. It is well worth diving down this rabbit hole. I have done this twice now and the second time was even better than the first. In reverse order: Every tortilla in the batch bubbled to order. Not @Syzygiesfull tortilla rise but enough to get me whooping for joy. We tried some tortilla in the hollandaise sauce from the previous course. A combination to die for. I wrote to Tony at Masienda after my first cook and he advised me to use plastic bags to line my tortilla press in place of the grease proof paper that I normally use. Big improvement. Peeled off so much easier. I also asked him about needing to use masa harina (dried masa flour) to get the wet masa to the right consistency. I felt like a pregnant mum who had wanted a natural birth but ended up screaming for the epidural. He reassured me that it was perfectly normal. I didn't want to have to ship more masa harina over from the US and so I asked if I could make my own. He said I could dehydrate my masa and then grind it myself. Here it is, with the bonus that the masa harina is made from the same corn as the wet masa. Fresh masa straight from the grinder, ready to go in the dehydrator. Dried Ground No pictures of the front end of the process but this is what I did: Cooked 500g of corn with 2000g of water and 15g of cal. It took about 1hr and 15 mins for the bolita amarillo corn to get soft(ish) to the bite on the outer kernel while keeping the heart of the kernel hard. Heated slowly and it didn't read over 90C until after 45 minutes. Didn't let it get to boiling. At the end, overall weight was down to 2000g. I decanted the hot mix - corn, nixmatal and all - into a fresh container, added 500g of ice and placed in a sink full of cold water and ice. Once cooled, I left the mix to rest for 24hrs at room temp and then stored it in the fridge without grinding. One recipe that came with the corn said never to put this stuff in the fridge and the other said it was OK to put in the fridge for a couple of days or so. Latter much more convenient, given the need to use the masa within a couple of hours of grinding. When I was ready to grind, I washed the corn in lots of running water (some recipes say not to be too vigorous with your cleaning, others say to be thorough). The Premier grinder is awesome. It comes with rudimentary instructions and I watched a Gujerati woman on YouTube before assembling and using the kit. Dead easy to use and you need to judge the amount of liquid you need to keep the ground corn going round smoothly. A few interventions with spatula needed during the process but it works pretty well on its own for 40 minutes. I suspect I could have stopped at 20 minutes but twice as long was good. I added in my powdered masa when I came to make up the balls and all was good with the world. The Husband said he could understand why Mexican chefs would cry when they tasted tortillas made with fresh masa made from good corn. The best compliment came from one of our guests when he said what a difference it was to eat a tortilla that was not just a tasteless conveyor of its taco contents but a player with a stake in the game. Thanks @Syzygies P.S. No I am not mad and this is not difficult. I cooked the corn two days before I needed to use it. All of the process on the day fitted into the prep for a four course meal that was cooked fresh on the day in a total of three hours active cooking time. I continue in search of the perfect tortilla but, in the meantime, this was pretty damn good.

Hey @Troble, it is great to be feeling like I can advise you on the strength of one suckling pig cook of my own. I think your time and temp should be fine for this young animal. I cooked mine slightly hotter 150C (300F) and it took approximately four hours in the roti basket. Don't worry about needing to saw the trotters off. Once the pig is cooked they will either fall off or be easily pulled off. How are you planning to get the pig off the grill? I guess you could actually lift out the grate if you don't have an alternative holder in place during in the cook. I didn't have the issues with juices running out that @Basher described but we will learn more when you try it out.

Yesterday's tacos. "Hand" of pork and a few purple sweet poatoes, waiting to go into the KK first thing in the morning. Covered in salt. In the KK after about six hours. Broken out and shredded Taco with purple potato mash at its base and pork, sauce and coriander layered on top. Yummy!

Thanks @Basheri have a table I plan to put it in and was going to lay down a sheet to carve it up but had not thought about the “trotters” I don’t know that I have equipment to saw off the feet but I do have a couple of knives that you recommended to me. im also still a big nervous and time and temp. I ordered a 20-30 pound suckling pig. I was planning on smoking it at 250 temp for 10-12 hours but I’m not sure that enough time or now. I’ve done multiple 8-9lb pork shoulders that have taken longer than that so it feels wrong instinctively, but that’s what Rodney says to do in his book and he cooks much bigger hogs. Any thoughts on timing/temp anyone? I made out my menu today and started a ingredient list for grocery shopping but I stayed second guessing the timing/temp after I made the list. Menu attached

Troble we have carved a few whole pigs amongst Pacific Islander friends. First step is to get a really big carving knife( this adds to the theatre). Minimum 16 inch blade. And an old but clean bed sheet or large table cloth to spread over a dedicated carving table. While it’s cooking, remove the trotters when they look like detaching easily. This will likely be when you are 70- 80% into the whole cook. Ultimately you want to remove the whole pig on the rod and place it on a table with the old bed sheet or large table cloth. Carve away. For me, best meat is the delicate cheek oysters. Everyone will have their preferred piece- see if you can talk one of the daring kids into the snout. That child will be the legend for years later The cloth will soak up the juices so they don’t run everywhere and can wrap over the meat between carving. You can soak and wash it afterwards. Have a second and third sharp knife handy- I’m sure one of your mates will want to help you carve. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Birthday is a month away Tekobo so definitely cooking on this before and probably on the birth day. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That piece of kit looks just awesome @Basher. Just beautiful. I look forward to seeing it in action. When is your birthday and will you get to cook with it on the day or has that "deadline" been missed?

Looks delicious @tekobo

Thanks @BOC. It never occurred to me not to use the splitter! Still not sure if my tidy gene will allow me to do that regularly but I will give it a try very soon.

I would appreciate some help? I’m really not sure if I have this set up correctly. Is the rectangular bracket the grill floss hangs from mounted correctly? They were a pretty snug fit. I THINK the L brackets circled in yellow are how the side tables hang in the collapsed position. But the brackets circled in red stick out to far and keep the shelf brackets (yellow) from hanging in the tubes (blue). Those rectangular brackets also rest directly on the tiles which doesn't seem right. Hope I explained it clearly. Anything you can offer would be appreciated!

Troble, lifting the grate and then sliding the pork off at the table sounds like the perfect solution to me. Hopefully with be able to keep the meat in tack this way.

@tekobo you know removing it from the grill was something I hadn’t thought of. I just assumed I’d pick up one end and get my friend to pick up the other but the meat would likely fall apart and be too soft. Now that you brought it up I think I’ll have to lift the grates and carry it over to a table where I’ll have a sheet laid down and then perhaps I can slide it off the grate on to the sheet/table @Basherafter @tekobofirst adventure I’m keen to try to putting it on the top grate and avoiding the basket for the time being. I’d like to keep things as simple as possible this first attempt and I’m also planning on using the double bottom drip pan on the lower grate to ensure there’s no big flare ups from Joyce’s going into the fire. I don’t mind the longer cooks and frankly I have a loose plan that will all be finalized once I see the pigs actual size. I don’t mind starting low and slow and then needing to turn up the heat later if needed, hence why I was planning a longer cook. Like I said I regularly do pork shoulders at 225 that take 12-15 hours so I just can’t wrap my head around a 25lb hog taking 4 hours.

Correct Forrest. Donno the red brackets slip on and off pretty easily if you want to hang the tables collapsed. I never have need to remove the side tables so use those points on the table to hang cleaning brushes where they don’t rub against the KK body. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As Tekobo said Troble, you will see when the trotters can be pulled off with tongs and a light flick of a knife. I’m with Tekobo on the temps. Reverse engineer back the cooking times for your convenience. Minimum 4 hours will be plenty. It’s a big enough day for you with the guests without fussing over the cook for 12 hours. Maybe 6 hours at 250f or 4 hours at 300f? Are you cooking in the roti basket or flat over the grill? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The hooks (circled in red) must be removed to hang the side tables. At least that is what Dennis told me on the phone. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks @tekobo although I had to look up parsimonious

@Basher I’ll let you know the size when I pick it up on Thursday

@tony b I’m sure it would’ve been amazing as always from you

Interesting that you should ask. I didn't think about the serving bit before I started cooking mine and I was a bit daunted when I started to cut into my cooked pig. In particular, I had no idea how much meat there was overall and so I was a bit parsimonious with the first few sandwiches that I made. I think I ended up in the pulled pork space but I might have preferred to separate some of the joints out and to make a deliberate mix of different parts of the pig for each person. Whatever you end up doing, don't sweat it. It'll be the best roast pig your guests will have eaten - that day, if not ever.

I’ll weigh in on this one. No 42 for me tekobo, but I’ve found that I don’t use the splitter much in my 32. I just load it up and light it. If I need two zone for a good reverse sear, veggie cook, etc., I mostly haven’t bothered with the splitter, I just load up one side of the basket, light it up and go…I have a feeling that will quickly become the norm for me unless I am grilling for a larger number than 2-4 because I might need more precision in my zone management. It probably not quite as fuel efficient as using the splitter but I’m not one to put the extra squeeze on my char use unless I’m running low. And great space buzillo! I’d probably never leave the house with that in my backyard. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So, new piece of kit arrived last week. It meets my requirements and fits in the 23 and 32. Testing against @Syzygies's criteria: being able to leave the food in a fixed position which will cook evenly without one side burning - one side will burn if you don't have a heat shield and/or don't turn the skewers over. I do like the way the skewers are held in position so that you have control over the position of your food. getting serious "taste of the fire" not tainted by fats burning in the fire - not tainted if you put a heat shield underneath. I might not use a heat shield, particularly for leaner proteins, and am looking forward to getting a good taste/kiss of fire. being able to baste easily on all sides with ghee, without having to move the food - nope, you need to turn being able to remove the cook for careful Thermapen temperature testing, then return it to the fire if needed. - yup, it is relatively lightweight and so should be easy to move when loaded with meat. Real life trial to follow when I receive my Tandoori BBQ pack from Aktar at Home. In the 23 Low down in the 32 if you want to get close to the fire.

Yes decided to keep it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

These let you hang your right side table in the vertical storage position with the rotisserie bracket installed.

Picked up a couple of 4x8 1/2 inch plywood boards yesterday, but just checked on the KK delivery and see they have pushed it back to June3. 😪