cruzmisl

Since it's been a light week as far as new posts go, I'll post another pic of this weeks bread..... Boring but at least it's something new to look at.

The batteries will last a long time, a lot longer than you think. What you will find though is after a while the motor begins to slow over a period of several cooks. It's almost imperceptible. Then one day you'll have it loaded, start your cook and then come out to a stationary roti (speaking from experience) My batteries lasted 3 months or so but I would suggest swapping batteries every 60 days (give or take) just to be sure it doesn't happen while cooking. Aside from having a voltage indicator, the battery operated unit can't be beat for convenience and easily wins on the "clutter" factor. I hate pulling out an extension cord. Joe

A few days before I refreshed my French "Pain de Campagne" starter. The dough consists of the starter, some whole wheat flour, unbleached AP flour and water. The rise takes a long time though since I didn't add any yeast but that's OK. I baked it on my stone initially at 500 degrees for 10 minutes (with a cup of boiling water added to produce lots of steam which aids in oven spring) then reduced the temp to 450 for the remainder of the bake. I'm not sure how long I baked it for, I always go by color of the crust and internal temperature. I remove it when the internal temp reads 205 degrees. I don't have exact measurments since I'm not at home but if you want them I'll post later. Joe PS the dough was risen in a banneton. It really does make a difference!

That's a long cook for 2 - 8lb butts but if they taste good who cares. Butts that size normally take anywhere form 10-12 hours for me. Either way I'm sure they'll be good. We want pictures. Joe

Hi All, I made a sourdough loaf today. If I made it any larger it wouldn't have fit in my oven. For reference my cutting board measures 16" x 20". I think my wife and I will be eating toast for a week Just thought I'd share. Joe

WOW! 1/2 thick jerky?? Must be like tree bark

It usually takes 3 hours or so before the jerky is done (cut at 1/8" thick). I don't rotate the racks, no need to. The fan is located at the back of the unit so all racks get the same amount of heat. I was deciding between this unit and the Excalibur but this is all stainless while the Excalibur is all plastic. The price is the same so I went for the stainless model. I make jerky at least once a week so for me it was well worth the investment. Joe

Here you go, I posted earlier on my jerky process here. http://komodokamado.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1123&highlight=jerky More pictures It's the best investment I've made in a while. I really like it and it's built well. Joe

I agree the spinning is a gimmick. I bought four of the foodsaver cannisters for $30! I plan on using it to marinate my jerky strips. I think it will work well, if not I don't have too much invested in the project. Thanks for the advice! Joe

Good point. Since I have a foodsaver already I can buy this, save $180 and have my wife spin it http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00027NZFI/ref=pd_luc_02102B0000CFFSLB00027NZFI/102-5747716-5137703 Hopefully for my sake she doesn't read this post

I'm thinking about buying one. It sounds like a great fast way to marinate meat. Any thoughts? http://www.amazon.com/Eastman-Outdoors-38229-MariVac-Tumbler/dp/B0002OOMS0/sr=8-1/qid=1170213191/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5747716-5137703?ie=UTF8&s=outdoor

Paul I did get your PM's but apparently she isn't going now. She was supposed to tranfer with her job but they are sending her somewhere else. Thanks a ton anyway !!! Joe

Hi All, I have seen this on shelves of my butcher shop and in specialty stores and finally decided to try it. I marinated some pork loin in it for a few hours. I have to admit its pretty darn tasty. Anyone else have any experience with it? Joe

A thought on roti cooking. Get a basket of coals rocket hot, scrape them all the rear of the cooker then place your birds on. I roast at about 500 continuous heat but I am using 3-4lb birds. They are done pretty quick and the skin is crispy. If you leave the coals directly underneath the birds it can lead to a lot of smoke and smoke from bird fat doesn't taste too good imho. Just another method to try.

I made some jerky over the last few days and here is the process. Get some lean meat, in this case buffalo eye of round and cut it with the grain in 1/8" strips. I had my butcher do mine. Then combine your marinade. For me I used soy sauce, worchesteshire (sp??), A-1, garlic and onion powder, cayenne and liquid smoke. Place marinade in ziploc bag with the meat and marinate over night. Lay flat on racks without any overlap and place in dehydrator When done to your liking remove from dehydrator, for me it was about 3 hours Enjoy big pile of jerky Joe

Personally I'd go with the battery powered model. I'm not cooking anyhting heavier than 30lbs and the batteries lasted at least 3 or 4 months. You can use the ac adapter if you want but I hate cords and stuff mucking up my grill area. Different strokes for different folks. Joe

I use my roti a ton but have a great wife who cleans it every time I use it. I'm really lucky. I got the 6" because the 8" seemed too big for my application. It's perfect for 2 - 4lb chickens. I will say one thing. If you get the battery powered motor be sure to check the batteries. I went out to check the temp and it was almost stopped. That's not good. As for the buffalo I'm sure they'd send it if you wanted to pay for it. You can usually get anything if you want to pay for it I can't get kangaroo so I guess we're even

I ordered some buffalo for jerky (pics coming) and decided to buy a sirloin tip roast for dinner tonight. It was about 2lbs and was very lean. Cooked up to a nice medium rare and it was quite tasty. Apparently grass fed buffalo is much better for you than grain fed beef. Here are some pics. I bought mine from http://www.northstarbison.com and they were great to deal with. Give it a try.

I sure did but I've been working my butt off at work and no time to take pictures (I'm usually good for a few of those ) Anyway the Sausage Maker jerky machine is a quality piece of equipment. The stainless is a bit loud with the fan but no big deal. Otherwise it was a great purchase. I tried a recipe from Cooks Illustrated and it was really good. A bit salty so the next time I made it I didn't add any salt. I can post the recipe if you're interested. I literally just placed an order for some Bison to make some jerky with. I got a round roast and an eye of round roast coming (plus a tri- tip for the weary K). It's supposed to be much leaner than beef so we'll see how that goes. When I first got the machine I called the local Whole Foods and asked them to cut me a bottom round roast 1/8" thick because I was making jerky. I picked it up and paid for it without looking. I got it home and the tool cut it at 3/8" That jerky wasn't too good. WAY too thick. Oh well live and learn. Saturday is the next jerky making day so I'll post some pics. Joe

For years I have done my side ribs naked on the cooker and thought the results were pretty darn good. I read on Raichlen's site that people recommend a 3-2-1 method or a variant of the 3-2-1. If you're not familiar it's basically 3hrs naked, 2hours in foil and then the last hour naked again. Since they are side ribs I probably only did a 2-1-1 method but the point is I foiled them. Anyway, I didn't like it. The meat fell off the bone and was mushy. The taste was OK but the texture was way off. I like tender meat but also like it to stick to the bone just a bit. I don't want all the rib meat to come off on my first bite. Anyway give it a try if you're so inclined but I don't really care for it. Joe

If you're doing a low and slow with lots of smoke then you will get some smoke seepage which I believe is OK. On the other hand, if you have smoke seepage AND have trouble controlling the temps then you should try the adjustement.

Hi Dennis, Any progress on the side shelves? I'd like to get a cover for my modo since the cold weather is here but I don't want to pay $150 for a cover that won't fit. I can wait as long as my modo is OK left out in the snow. Thanks, Joe

My net is acting up so I'll post here......and I have to go to bed. I told my friend what I wanted and he said he'd take care of it, whatever that means. He's thinking something along the lines of 4 slots, like a toaster, 2 on each side. Rod through the center so it stays balanced and a locking mechanism to hold them in place. Having said that, I usually have to put an M80 under his @ss before he'll move and do anything so hopefully I'll have it before summer

HI All, I'm wondering if anyone has considered fabricating a rotisserie that can hold 4 slabs of ribs. I saw a thread on that a while back but was wondering if anyone had bit the bullet and started welding. http://komodokamado.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765&highlight=rotisserie My friend is a master fabricator and he owes me a favor so if anyone has any more design ideas I'd be willing to make him do the work Thanks, Joe

OK I bit the bullet and bought the 5 rack stainless model. I'll let you know after Christmas how it works. Wife won't let me use it until then Thanks for all the advice. Joe