Johnny

Hi Guys, Been a while since I posted on here. Sorry. Seasons greetings to all. On Christmas day here, we cooked a spatchcocked chicken on the Kamado. It was lovely. The family loved it.....so did I. After our lunch, my daughter made an apple pie from scratch. She had the oven in the kitchen warming up to cook the pie. The Kamado was shut down after I pulled the chicken out. As the daughter was nearly ready to put the apple pie in the oven, I looked at the temperature in the Kamado, and it was perfect for cooking the pie. So, we put it in the Kamado with it still in shut down mode. 35 minutes later we pulled the pie out, and it was fanstastic. Just a suggestion for you to try next time..... FYI, the Kamado was pre-heated for 2 hours prior to cooking the chook at 400℉. The chook was cooked for 1hr 25 minutes. When the pie went in the kamado, the temp was at 350℉, and stayed steady at that temp during the pie cook.

Looks great. Did you cook them with the lid open, or closed?

Bought some more rump today. It is also called top sirloin.

One thing I am not good at, is lighting the Komodo. I guess we can't all be good at everything we do. Enter the Komodo gas lighter. Great gadget.....gets the charcoal burning in a few minutes. So, if any of you, like me, are crap at lighting the Komodo, then get one of these. http://www.komodokamado.com/gas-lighter/

That looks tasty!!!

Cooked a butterfly chicken tonight. Cooked it at 300 ℉ until the inside was 74 ℃. The family loved it.

I found this great chart for ID'ing the cuts of meat.......and the names they are called in the US. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/meatcharts_photos/RetailBeefCutChart_Handout_FINAL2013.pdf Here is an Aussie Chart http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/meatcharts_photos/beef.pdf

Hmmm.....not sure. It is from Costco. I'll check what they call it next time. Even though it is here in Australia, all their cuts are US cuts and names. Prior to Costco coming to Australia, I had never heard of, or seen Tri-Tip. I love Tri-Tip now.

Cooked some rump steaks this evening.......These were the best I have tasted in a long time. I used a method I learned from Larry R on his steak video. I salted the steaks for an hour prior to cooking them. It really does open up the steaks, and the family loves the salty taste of the steaks. Pre heated the Komodo to 650 ℉ Then sooked them for 2 minutes each side on the lower grill. Then I took the steaks out for a few minutes, while I put the middle grill in the Komodo. Then put the steaks back in for another 3 minutes, while also closing the tophatand lower vent. First pic, after washing off the salt. Second pic, after 2 minutes on the first side.

Looks great! What temp were you running?

I am in Australia.......I don't do the Vacmaster machines, or any other brand from China. I do the Dutch brand Henkelman. They come with a 3 year warranty.

The money shot:

OK, dinner is over. This was my first attempt at calzones....ever. Really pleased with the outcome.......could have spiced the meat a bit more, but other than that, it was great. Cooked up some yellow and red capsicum, onion and garlic in the pan. Then I put down some cheese first, then the sous vide cooked tri-tip beef with the vegies and cheese on top. Closed them up, and put some egg and salt and pepper on top. Then cooked it.

Second cook tonight. I'll try and take some pics. Going for a beef calzone tonight. Got some tri-tip in the sous vide at the moment. The plan is to thinly slice it and use it in the calzone, along with cheese, green and red peppers, onions and garlic........maybe some tomato too.

Good thing I have a photgraphic memory. You will have to get inside my head to see the images........be careful though, you might not like what else you see........or maybe you will. This is the first time I have used a charcoal BBQ. Lighting it was ok. I was trying to get the temp up high to sear the steaks. I got it up to 600℉, but couldn't get it past there. I have some practicing to do. I am the only one in the famiy that likes medium rare meat. The wife and daughters will only eat meat if it is dead (well done). All the meat was cooked the way we like it. So, it was a success.

Well, It's home, unpacked and setup. Just stocked up the fire........waiting to get to temperature, and then on with some rump steaks. I'm like an excited kid on Christmas day.

Yes you are correct.....An impulse sealer works best on soups, sauces and liquids. It is quicker and not as messy. I have customers that wanted to purchase a chamber machine to pack soups and sauces, but I advised them to buy an impulse sealer. Once you have the correct technique on the impulse sealer, it works a treat. We use a vertical impulse sealer with a foot control. This way both hands can be used to juggle the bag of liquid. It also seals from both sides. Although we dont use it for food, we use it to ship oil for vacuum pumps in 1 litre stand up pouches.

The circulator is a must (IMHO) for short cook times. For short cook times I use a Polyscience unit. For long cooks (12+ hours) I use a water bath with no circulator. The problem with the circulator on long cooks, is that I can hear the motor humming during the night and it keeps me awake. As for the vac packer, because I sell and service them (my day job), I always have a commercial machine at home.

Hi Guys, Noob here. My name is John, and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I am hoping to get my new Komodo in a few days. Can't wait to start using it. So I will be asking for advise and suggestions soon. I am a meat and potato type guy. Love my beef. I also want ot try some pizza and calzones in the Komoda......and some slow cooks. I am fortunate to have the equipment for sous vide cooking and vacuum packing (my day job). Chat soon John

Hi Guys, I sell and service commercial vacuum packing machines. The biggest killer of these machines in the restaurant industry, is moisture mixing with the oil in the vacuum pump. It is best to always pack your products when they are cold. Many restaurants try to pack food when it is hot. Firstly, a hot product does not vacuum very well. Secondly, the steam from the hot product mixes with the oil in the vacuum pump. Regular changing of oil in the pump will keep it in good working order. Some of the more expensive machines, have pump conditioning programs built into them. That is, they run continously for 15-20 minutes. In this time, the pump will reach full operationg temperature, and any moisture mixed with the oil should disipate. We recommend running the conditioning program at least once a week. Feel free to ask me any questions etc.