CeramicChef

NORM! Nicely done surf and turf! Very nicely done. Kudos and congrats to you BIG TIME on this one. Beautiful money shot!

Continuing on ... And finally here is a cutaway view of the Juicy Luck Meatball showing the melted cheese. Next time I think I'll use 4 cubes of cheese per Juicy Lucy Meatball! I cooked these Juicy Lucy Meatballs for about 50 minutes at 325F. You can cook to an IT of about 165F or until you see a little bit of cheese seep out. This recipe made 21 Juicy Lucy Meatballs as you can see in this picture of the finish cook in the Belly of TheBeast. Don't forget to spray your meatball tin with Pam or some other nonstick cooking spray. I forgot to spray the tin on the left holding the 9 meatballs one stuck inside. I had to pry it out. It came out in pieces and of course, I HAD to eat it! Thanks for looking at yet another meatball cook, albeit with a little twist. I've got a fair number of meatballs left over. My BBQ Mooch Brother failed to show up with his bag of chips ... the wind was out of the North and he lives North of me! Y'all have a great week!

HOWDY KK GURUS!!! I've seen a lot of meatball cooks lately, so I decided to give mine a little twist that may prove interesting. As many of you know, I LOVE hamburgers, especially the Juicy Lucy. For those of you how may not know, a Juicy Lucy is a hamburger with cheese cooked into the middle. They originated in Minneapolis years ago at one of two places. I find them to be a real treat. I don't have a recipe to give you. At this point in life after cooking for 40+ years, I just put in a touch of this, a dab of that, and a bit of the rest. I apologize in advance for being so lax. So I started with about 2.5 lbs. 90/10 hamburger and about 1 lb. of breakfast sausage with a couple of beaten eggs, some garlic powder, plain Panko, S&P, some creme fraiche, and Italian spice mix that I mix up on occasion. The cheese I'll be using is cubed mild cheddar which SWMBOI likes. Here is a look at the ingredients well mixed : In the upper right hand corner of the picture you can see my little trick for making uniform meatballs ... a nice sized ice cream scoop! Here it is in action: Now we add the cheese. Just press it right in the middle of the raw meatball mixture while it is in the scoop. Meatball mixture will raise up around the edges. That's okay as you'll just close that around the cheese: Squeeze the edges up around the cheese and eject the meatball indoor your other hand and roll it gently to make certain everything is nice and closed up and you have a nice round meatball. It should look something like this: Here is a nice picture of a dozen meatball in a special utensil with holes drilled in the bottom of each cup that allows the grease to drain while cooking. I got this idea from a friend out in Arizona and this pan is available on Amazon. Stupid me I only ordered 1 and I should have gotten two! We're trying to eat healthier you know! Here's a shot of the meatballs going into the Belly of TheBeast! I put a drip pan under the special meatball pan that allows grease to drain. A clean Beast is a happy Beast! Dennis, here is your marketing shot if you like. And here is a shot of the finished product being inspected by Pete The Salt Pig and his minions. Here is a shot of the Juicy Lucy Meatballs on the plate prior to being topped with a simply homemade Sugo. Here is the finished plate. A coleslaw and Cherub Tomato salad, LeSuer Peas, and a couple of Juicy lucy Meatballs topped with Sugo. Pete looks on approvingly. To be continued ...

ckreef - that's the spirit! You tell 'em! I like your style. I'd love to see your Better Half get her teeth in their backside and shake 'em like a starving pit bull with a juicy one! LOL! Seriously, I'm looking forward to you getting the 16.5" and watching you cook! That will be some kind of fun!

AMEN! I served briefly on a competition team. Competition BBQ is meant to make a real impression with the judges in one and only one bite. To my pallet, competition BBQ is over the top. It's too sweet these days and the seasonings are, again to my pallet, an assault on your taste buds. I prefer my BBQ to be more subtle and I make it to the tastes of my guests, my family, and myself.

Frog - trust me, I'll bomb this place with pictures and comments. Take a look at my thread on the unveiling if TheBeast for a preview of the kind of stuff you'll be subjected to in a few days! LOL!! If Dennis packs these "smaller" units like he packed TheBeast, it's an all day job! I find it interesting that Beauty! at 19" is considered "smaller", especially when you see that the standard BGE, KJ, Akorn, etc is an 18.25" grate! In fact, in another Forum to which I belong, they have a thread for Small and Mini Kamado cooks. So I asked if because Beauty was a 19" and significantly smaller than TheBeast at 32"and because it came with a nest or could sit on a table top, if I could post cooks on her in the Small and Mini area. NO. HELL NO! All of a sudden up pops all sorts of opposition! Beauty! is considered a full sized kamado! WOW! Even the smallest KK that Dennis makes, the 16.5" Table Top is considered too dadgummed big for that category! LOL!!!!! The biggest allowed in that category is a 14" grate diameter. Ahhhh well, at least I'll be the PROUD owner of 2 Komodo Kamados! How many can say that? Hell, at this rate, I should get a thank-you card from Dennis' son every semester he goes to college! I'm paying his tuition! LOL!!

Thanks, tinyfish. You'll be seeing quite a few as I unpack Beauty! and do some cooking on her. You may even get tired of my cooks.

I'll let you know how it turns out. Nice rift! Thanks for the idea.

wibblylee - those look like ribs worth eating for the OKC vantage! I love my ribs dry and those look positively delicious! Kudos to ya on this cook.

SWMBOI got to pick the color of the new 19" High Cap we just ordered. Harvest Gold Pebble if I remember correctly. She kept asking me why I wanted another KK seeing as how I already have TheBeast sitting on the patio. When I told her this new KK was hers, she gave a little chirp, asked if she got to pick the color, and never asked another question except "When does it arrive?". Next Monday, Darling.

EGGARY - yeah, I only hit a spot for about 20 seconds of so. I guess it really depends on the kind of charcoal now that I think about it for a bit. For my regular FOGO brand charcoal, I hit a spot for about 20 seconds. However, when I use CoCoNut Extruded Charcoal, because of its density, it does take longer to light. I'll probably hit a single spot for about 30-45 seconds, at the max. I always try and hit a jagged edge on the CoCoNut where I broke it. That works infinitely better than trying to light a side or an end of a piece!

Aha! A ringer! Me thinks the game is afoot. Montana, I used to be in higher Ed and for this assignment, I give you an A+! How do you lose in this game? Photography, cooking, and having to eat your subjects! Nice catch, tony!

Montana - nicely said! I just got my Anova Sous Vide after a conversation with Dennis. I'm looking forward to doing a Tri-Tip beginning today. This will be my first experiment/experience with SV. We're having a couple of friends over on Saturday evening and they both requested Tri-Tip based on previous experiences here at ChezChef. It will be interesting to see their reaction to this new method. Reverse sear Tri-Tip has always been one of my go to recipes, especially for SWMBOI, and it should be an experience. I'll get some pics and post them the first part of next week. SV just gives me another arrow in the quiver. And according to some, I need all the help I can get, especially professional help! LOL!

reported the above as spam

reported the above as spam

Doc - heck, cooking the classics is never a bad idea around ChezChef. Hot fast brisket and pulled pork are staples around here. So are NY Strips and pork loin and hot dogs for that matter! I'm getting ready to start some cooks that are classics in the kitchen but I'm going to adapt them to the KK. I've also got a 19" High Cap coming that should be here by the end of this week or the first of next. She's been dubbed Beauty! And should make a nice counterpoint to TheBeast, a KK BB 32". Again, thanks for the pointer to the knife and enjoy blowing things up! Don't be a stranger.

Montana - I understand how that is an instant classic at your place. It'll be an instant classic at my place too when I cook it for SWMBOI! Nicely done and kudos to you! Thanks for the inspiration!

Doc - Thanks for the tip! Just grabbed one myself. We haven't see you for a while. Good to know you're still in the hunt! Don't be such a stranger.

tony - THANKS for the link! Just ordered it; it'll be here tomorrow with Amazon Prime. It also looks as if the author has several other Sous Vide books. Any experience with those? Thanks again, tony!

I just got a Sous Vide, ANOVA, at the urging of Dennis. I'm looking forward to seeing this cook and learning how this works best. I'm also going to search this Forum for Sous Vide cooks, tips and tricks, recipes, etc. Should be a nice ride. Tri-Tip is one of my favorite cuts to reverse sear.

Jim - I don't use a chimney at all. I've got a MAPP torch that I always use. A 20 second blast in a single spot lights things up quite nicely for a low-n-slow. Three or four spots hit with the MAPP torch gets things going for higher temps. Given how efficient the KK is, you're up to temp in just a few (15 or so) minutes. That gives me time to finish up the prep work for my cook.

tiny - i've screwed up more posts than I've gotten right, so you're entitled! As for the apple pie - KILLER! That ice-cream just sent me into sugar shock! Very nicely done. Kudos!

tony - you need professional help!

ckreef - that's because the KK is a work of art and like a beautiful fighter jet, it looks gorgeous just sitting. The lines, the tile work, the craftsmanship ... everything combines with a synergistic effect to exceed the esthetics of any individual piece. It's the whole experience that most people never understand because to merely look at a KK is only the beginning of the experience! The feel, the deep thought that lays behind every aspect of the KK, the delicate heft, and more all combine to produce an experience unsurpassed in world of kamados and all backyard cookers. Damn! That's some great marketing copy! Crap, I still amaze myself! LOL!! I used to teach this stuff when I was in academe and I guess I still have it! LOL!! Dennis, feel free to use without any attribution!

Tiny - we've never had that problem here at ChezChef! I'm one of those guys who measures twice and cuts once. CONGRATS! on the bronze metallic! You'll absolutely LOVE your KK! And the food that you cook on it ... it'll be simply amazing. I couldn't be happier for you and your family. Welcome to the KK Family!