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

[See also SoloStove Bonfire - Mrs skreef's new fire pit. As referenced in Vermicular Cast Iron Induction Cooker] I've been playing with the best way to roast chiles on the smaller of my two Solo Stoves, the Solo Stove Campfire. The same principles apply to my Solo Stove Ranger. With shortages of 99% isopropyl alcohol I can no longer rely on my "stunt" conflagration approach to lighting charcoal. And these stoves were originally designed for wood, not charcoal, though they'll burn anything they can get. Meanwhile, they burn hot, and it is way too easy to scorch chiles rather than gently roasting them. But they're so efficient that wood burns down to practically no embers. These twin problems tend to cancel each other out. To roast serrano peppers last night for pasta sauce I tried just using apple wood, no charcoal. Home Depot had large bags. I thought I timed this well, though I wanted to get the dough to rest, and by the time I got back to the fire there was little left. Even so, five minutes on a side, the chiles roasted just fine. This could be ideal, if one can find the patience. I left my wine inside so I'd keep going back to the other prep; this fire was low enough to just leave the chiles unattended, yet there was an effect. Ideally, one mounds the desired charcoal on top of some wood for initial fuel.

I've been using mine one way or another every day since it arrived. Even last night's pasta sauce, that I do versions of for decades in other pots, just to calibrate my understanding of what it can do. The computer programmer in me loves how I can offload work to it, less attended, with none of the limitations of sealing food in a plastic pouch. While ingredients sautéed, I was outside roasting chiles on my Solo Stove Campfire, another tool I love because it's not an attention hog. A Moroccan tagine of lamb, fava beans, artichokes (all fresh from our farmers market) was an interesting exercise in adaptation. First steam roast the vegetables, a classic mode of operation for what Laurie has dubbed our "indoor K". Set aside, sear then cook the lamb and spice mixture, with ample mounds of parsley and cilantro on top. Arranging ingredients in a thoughtful stack as the Moroccans do for clay, works here because the induction delivers more uniform heat. Then add back the vegetables with the preserved lemon to finish. This sequence would allow cooking the vegetables above 185 F (a known sous vide threshold) and the meat below 185 F. We didn't this time, because I ran out of time. I'll experiment with the plainer lamb Tangia to dial this in. We're eyeing the space occupied by our high end Zojirushi rice cooker (though I keep this K close by the cutting board, under our range exhaust fan, for uses like tagine). I'd heard the praise for rice made in a purpose-built clay Kamado-san Double-Lid Donabe Rice Cooker. And I love mine, though rice in it is more work, and simply different, not a compelling reason to give away one's Zojirushi. Following Vermicular's brown rice instructions to the letter using Massa Organics brown rice, we made the best rice I've ever tasted. I've been in correspondence with Vermicular.us. They're thinking about starting a forum like ours. There's so much to figure out, adapting this K to international cooking.

I posted this photo recently of my wagyu picanha. I believe it is an Australian wagyu, so perhaps it may be accessible in Indonesia. This one certainly had marbling. It is actually my new favorite beef cut. I agree the flavor is like the tri-tip, but it is slightly more tender and has less connective tissue. This gives it a beautiful consistent texture. It isn't as fatty as the ribeyes, but it has deep beef flavor. I had to ask the butcher to trim the fat cap to 1/4", however. The butcher was clearly distressed having to cut it off. He reminded me that people buy it because of the fat cap. If only my wife and kids loved fatty meat the way I do! Your cook is far more beautiful than mine. Clear signs of a pro vs. a novice.

I could not resist, even though it was a struggle to get one of these things to Canada, started working on it yesterday and just now managed to get my order to go through. There are so many things I want to try in this pot. You know you can even let your bread proof and then cook it in the Kamado part in your oven or in your REAL KK Kamado. This is going to be exciting. Thanks for pushing me over the edge, Sygyzies.

I went for it. Am I really the first, here? Can't be. After all, like orangutans these be Kamado cousins to us. Vermicular We're pretty thrilled. Much easier to use by playing with the control panel than by trying to understand the directions. Though the imposing hardbound recipe book gives some idea of potential range and technique. Our first try was Lion's Head Meatballs. We get awesome ground pork from a local farmers market. Local cabbage, our house chicken stock, good fino sherry, hand-stirred Zhongba soy sauce (now back back in stock) from Mala Market. A gentle dish that shows its flavors. Rejiggering the recipe for the Vermicular, I first cooked the cabbage on low for an hour, with just a pinch of salt and some lard. Stir a couple of times, otherwise away from the kitchen, I love how unattended this is. One could of course use a low oven, but this is more predicable and in my face when I want it to be. The cabbage browned and melted, with little risk of burning, exploiting the special tight lid design. I then set aside the cabbage to simmer the meatballs in broth. Here I first tried an hour at 180 F. Did you know meatballs could be too tender? We've made this recipe before, conventionally, and perhaps it is tuned for more aggressive heat. Though the flavors were unworldly. I turned it up to 200 F while flipping the meatballs and adding the braised cabbage on top. A lot to learn, the best of sous vide and meddling as one cooks, with the opportunity to brown first in the same pot. I'm thinking Moroccan tagines will shine here.

Wow those pork chops look delicious making my mouth water! Nice cook

I think Mrs skreef would kill me at this point in time.

The 8.3 pound bag of HEB Grand Champion Briquettes for about $4 is available for delivery, at the HEB website. The big 18 pound bag is curbside pick up or in store only. So if someone was curious about it, you could order it. https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-grand-champion-charcoal-briquets/1480554

Royal Oak also offers briquettes made from their American 100% hardwood lump charcoal, different from their "regular" briquettes. Those are nationally available.

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Mick Jagger's kid brother

So finally cooked my first Picanha last night.. Kept it simple, salt and pepper, reverse seared/smoked with cherry and a bit of coffee wood. Took it to 128º then pulled and let sit about 20 minutes, then threw it in on the lower at about 550º but the fat side started pouring oil and so I pulled it and threw in my big commercial grill grate to slow down the oil flow.. Brought it to about 135º thick end, 145º thin end, pulled and rested it. I could see obvious grain in the meat but every Youtubian video showed people slicing across the large end with the grain.. I then realized that after they cut the slab with the grain they then cut it again into little strips with the fat on the end. This was the across the grain cut. It was good, flavor VERY reminiscent of Tri Tip (especially cold the next day) the fat was nice but there was zero marbling in the meat. Not sure it lived up to the hype for me... There was a thick and thin end and the thinner end was of course more well cooked. I think I preferred it's texture at medium rare to medium than I did rare to medium rare. I think I'll take the next one to 140º thick end. But it was Purdy!