cruzmisl

Hahaha! Well said. Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

5698k, I agree. Wusthof and Henckel were the standard when I started in the kitchen. Paul felt obligated to "confess" he has them in his kitchen. It's all good Paul haha j/k. When it comes to rough knife work, the Germans have it cornered. They're like a Timex. Take a likkin' - keep on tikkin' My Japanese knife broke Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

When buying a knife, some may consider it an obligation and not the purchase of an essential tool. Once I gained more knowledge, I began to appreciate them more. The learning curve was steep and the knowledge base vast. My education led me to think of my knives as family heirlooms. Heirlooms that will be passed on and enjoyed by other family members long after I'm gone. They have scars, stories and memories that will be shared for years; just like Grandma's cast iron pan. Lastly, I love my Japanese knives but there are great knives made everywhere. The artisans that made my gyotu have a wait list of over 50 months and they're in Georgia Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

@Troble happy to help. One important thing I failed to mention. In most cases, japanese steel holds a great edge and is very hard. Those traits come at a price. You need to be careful around bones and hard root veggies etc. This is the result my carelessness when I hit a hidden bone. I cared for that knife for over a decade [emoji19] Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

Knives......talk about Pandora's box! Below is my most recent knife purchase from October. It's a 220mm tapered Gyuto. The octagonal handle is made out of cherry burl. The blade is forged from roller bearings and hardened to HRC 64. A highly functional work of art made from the most basic materials. It's a carbon knife so it requires maintenance but well worth it. If you're just starting out there a few points to consider. Stay away from any knife sets. They usually have ten more knives than you need which means you're spending money on stuff you don't need. I would really only consider stainless knives at this point in your early knife career. Carbon knives are more work to keep in tip top condition; more work than most will commit to. My suggestion is a japanese style knife from a Japanese manufacturer. A Wustof santoku (and similar) always felt and performed like a fake. Lastly, a sharp knife is THE MOST important thing. The best knife in the world is useless and more dangerous if it's dull. I know it seems incongruous to your belief but a razor sharp knife is much safer. Also, a very sharp knife is glorious to use. There's lots of sharpening options out there that range from wetstones/manually to systems like Wicked Edge/ Edgepro. Stay away from anything motorized or those cheap pull through units. They remove way too much steel and will quickly destroy a knife. I apologize for the verbose response. This topic is HUGE. I hope it helps a bit. J. Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

Sadly my little boy didn't get any. At 11 months old, his stomach is a little sensitive to rich foods. AAAsh, if you're using bincho, you may not have used enough coal during your previous attempts. I'm only guessing based on the cost of bincho and what I would do in the same scenario, which is to use as little as possible. As a general rule, larger coal is better suited to low and slow and smaller coals perform better for high heat and grilling. The great part about the K? Even mediocre results are better than "perfect" results on an inferior cooker. Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

Like this? Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

I don't have a 32" but a 23" so the specifics regarding the use of the 32" I can't help with. I will however add that this isn't as simple as it sounds. There are a lot of variables that need to be taken into account such as the thickness of the steak, thin will easily overcook, seasonings on the steak, spices can burn, desired level of final "char" etc. I never found in my long term use of the K to go lower than the standard grill. I like a char but there's a limit. A fully lit, coal bed always provided plenty of heat to get a great sear without overloading the temp of the cooker. Meaning, it's not necessary to allow unlimited airflow and allow the dome temp to exceed 1000f. It's hard on the cooker and not necessary. More is not better. I never found going above 600f to produce better results. In fact, it was the opposite. Fwiw, I usually get my steaks cut at two inches. I always like extra for breakfast the following day. Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

I have a meater. Very slick little device. I also have a thermapen, BBQ guru digi-q and a thermoworks blue dot bluetooth probe. I can't get enough of these devices. They all have their place and specialized uses. Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

Lighting the KK quickly is all about technique and fuel used. If your using say BGE large chunk charcoal to get up to temp quickly, no way. Great for low and slows but for grilling, too much mass. You want small chunks of coal for a very fast burn as Dennis suggested. Secondly, a torch and some type of forced air is essential to light quickly. I use a Bison lighter and it's worth every cent. Ultimately, as other have suggested, gas is easier but you still have to wait for the grates to heat soak. Before I even start dinner the first thing I do it light the cooker. I'm NEVER coming home and dropping a slab of meat on the grill in five minutes even if the grill was ready. There's other stuff to prepare first before the meat goes on. NOTHING can beat coal or this cooker!! FWIW I used to own a very high end gas grill. Sold it to my brother in law who didn't know better lol Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

I'm across the river from Detroit in Canada so welcome to the club! Your FIRST PRIORITY is to make sure you have a cover before or at the time of delivery. As you know, Michigan weather is very unpredictable and you cannot leave your cooker uncovered (cold/wet/ice weather) if you're not using it. If your cooker gets wet and then freezes, it will eventually cause problems. Prepare to be amazed! You've joined a fantastic community. Joe Sent from my SM-G973W using Tapatalk

Thanks Cookie. I'll have him give it a go.

Hi All, My Father in law has a POSK (another brand) that he hasn't used in several months since he winters in Florida. He came back to find his POSK tophat frozen shut. He asked me how strong I felt and explained what needed to be done. Being a previous owner (and sadly the catalyst for his purchase) I knew using brute force would rip the top right off the crumbling disaster. Anyway, my question is how does one go about freeing the top hat safely without destroying the frail cooker. Thanks! Joe

Hi All, While putzing around on the Williams Sonoma website I noticed they had 4.5lb boxes of Afire extruded on sale. $4 per box delivered. I bought some before reading NW's review....... Not an overwhelming product endorsement by any stretch. One of the pitfalls was the outrageous pricing. This is essentially $1/lb which is competetive but if it's junk, it's not really that great of a deal when kk extruded is about $1.30 plus shipping. Anyway, is it still as poor as before? If it's garbage I can always return it. Thanks. Joe

Done.

Hi All. A friend of mine is looking to get into smoking. He's poor and not a very savvy cook so he needs something basically idiot proof. I was looking at the Bradley Digital. Any opinions or something better? Need a set it and forget it system. Only issue with the Bradley is the proprietary wood pucks. Thanks! Joe

Hi All, I'm tired of not having any work space around my KK so I want to build a BBQ work area. I don't want to build anything too crazy but at least get some counter space and a few cabinets. I was going to use cedar and make a concrete counter top but was hoping someone can share a design or picture of their own. Thanks! J.

Re: Steam for Bread That is a stellar looking loaf!! Absolutely NOTHING like baking bread. The smell, tastes, textures and minimal ingredients makes bread baking fun. I've never done a loaf in my KK but this makes me want to try.

Re: Pressure Cookers I've had a WMF perfect plus for years. Works great. Quick stocks, chili etc. A great tool to have. When I bought it I couldn't help but thinking about my mom using them when I was a kid. Then they went out of style and no one used them. Maybe they're the bell bottoms of the cooking world

Re: Cleaning Stainless Steel It also depends on the stainless. Some new stainless appliances have a coating on them that doesn't respond well to the conventional cleaners. For example, my old Frigidaire refrigerator looked amazing after using 3M stainless cleaner. Tried it on my new Samsung fridge and streaks galore. Tried every "stainless cleaner" under the sun and they were all horrible. Now I use a glass cleaner with no ammonia and it's flawless. On my KK I only use a magic eraser for the stainless assisted by some form of grease cutter. The grills I leave alone and only use grill floss and a grill brush.

Re: berkshire vs. commercial butts Thanks for the kind comments about my dog. I'm a big dog lover of all types. Sadly, due to poor breeding practices many purebreds have health issues. It seems mutts live the longest and have the least health and behavioural problems. I watched a documentary on the history of dogs/humans. It was eye opening to say the least. Anyway, the pork is perplexing. I'm not sure what to make of it. I think I'll try one from SRF and see how I make out.

Re: berkshire vs. commercial butts Well, I could care less on the breed but I do care about humanely raised livestock. Most farmers choose a heritage breed for that purpose, why I don't know. The butt had a good fat cap/flavor but seemed to lack the intramuscular fat. And I love my purebred dog, I don't care what you say http://home.cogeco.ca/~4re/head.jpg[/img:t7jivrs7]

Hi all, Trying to be the responsible consumer I passed on the commercially raised pork and bought some humanely raised Berkshire butts. Trouble is I find the Berk drier even though the exact same process was followed. I've done a few with the same result so its not a fluke. Anyone else notice this? Thanks. J.

Re: Foil pork butt? Well that's the thing. I don't want rubbery bark. The reason I ask is because I saw on pitmasters they foiled their ribs and brisket to minimize smoke application. I think it was 5hrs bare, 2hrs foiled then 1 hr bare again to crispen the bark but that was brisket and I'm guessing at the numbers.

Hi All, For years I've done my butts bare but I was curious if anyone foils their butts? Any ideas or tips? Just looking to try something different. Anyone care to share their prize winning recipe? Thanks! Joe