CeramicChef

Tony - Beauty hit the driveway this afternoon at 2:30! She looks better in person than in her pictures. She's simply radiant!

Howdy KKers! As many of you know, last Tuesday was a bit of a downer. Beauty!, my new KK 19" Hi-Cap wasn't delivered. What a saga! BUT (there is always a but, right?) I did get an unexpected expected delivery! A couple of months back I asked if anyone had any recommendations for a chiminea and I got a few good leads. Out of that "conversation" SWMBOI and I went and ordered a Rose model chiminea from The Blue Rooster Company. This was after looking at many different types of chimineas, ceramic, cast iron, cast aluminum, brick, etc. SWMBOI christened this Chiminea "Rose" and she thinks it'll make a nice playmate for Beauty! on the patio. This is a pretty hefty unit (approx. 80 lbs.) and it took some considerable tugging to get it out of the box. This is a cast aluminum unit. It was packed quite well and there was absolutely no damage in transit. So, without further adieu, here are the pictures of Rose, the new chiminea that arrived Tuesday afternoon and that was assembled yesterday and it took its proper place on the patio. So here is a picture of just the firebox sitting on 3 cast aluminum legs that I had to screw into the body. No big deal. You can also see the screen that again, required just a bit of assembly. Now the next picture you KKers are going to find more than a little humorous. This picture is looking down the top of the chiminea. See that grate? Well, that is what Blue Rooster calls a "cooking grate"! The girl I spoke with when I ordered Rose told me it was included. That grate is 8" in diameter! What are you gonna cook on an 8" grate? A burger or no more than 4 hot dogs! I"ve got 32" of Hall of Fame cooking greatness, TheBeast, always ready to get fired up and I've got Beauty!, my new 19" Hi-Cap on the way, so what am I going to do with an 8" grill? I don't think I'll be using that specific attachment. But in any event, here it is for your amusement! The next picture is with the chimney portion attached. It is held in place by 3 set screws. It has the signature Rose rising up the length of the chimney. Looking down the chimney of the chiminea you can see what Blue Rooster calls the spark arrestor. I don't see how this is going to keep sparks from flying out the chimney, but nonetheless, ... There is a cap that comes with most chimineas by Blue Rooster to keep stuff from falling into the chiminea when it's not in use. Here is a picture with that cap in place. Kind of Like BGE! And finally, I purchased a cover for Rose. As is the case around here, this is formal wear. This black cover is really quite well made of a heavy fabric that is both UV resistance and waterproof. In the bottom left hand corner, you can see what looks like a pigtail. That is a draw string that will keep Rose's dignity intact during the stiff OKC spring breezes. Her dress won't be flipped over her head like some kamado covers! I'd rather have had a Sunbrella cover, but this will have to serve instead. So, Tuesday wasn't a total bust! Rose showed up and she's already started talking smack to TheBeast. He's kind shell shocked. He's run this place for quite some time and he really doesn't know what he's in for at this point! But then, none of us guys ever really get over a new female in the digs, right? Hey Dennis - have you ever thought of making a line of chimineas? I can see it now ... a 350 pound chiminea! Seriously, I know you could build a KILLER chiminea. I'll buy one now!

Tony, as usual, you're right, but I'm still noshing on leftover Juicy Lucy Meatballs! Remember, it's only me, even tho my waistline looks like I'm eating for 3!

Ckreef - very nicely done! Great color on those cooked meatballs. Buddy, that is one nice cook. Kudos to ya!

Dstr8 - that looks as if it made some wonderful eating! Beautiful pizza pies! Kudos and congrats to you!

Tony - with that post just above, you are officially off the list. You're too damned far gone!

Wow, tony! Those are some great looking ribs! Thanks for posting here. I think I'm going to put this on the list of things to try. First though, I'm doing a Sous Vide Tri-Tip. I'll sear first then put the Tri-Tip then seal and sous vide for about 48 hours. We'll see how that goes and report back!

I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in the procrastination boat! I always meant to see who else was in the boat with me, but I always found something else to do!

Ckreef & Tony - you boys are going on the list of folks I've met in the kamado game who need a BIG dose of professional help! Y'all are simply nuts and may be beyond professional help. Kinda like me.

Tony - LOL! A man I can related to big time! LOL! I love it!

Dennis - do you have one of those double walled drip pans for the 19" Hi-Cap? If so, what's the price point? Thanks in advance!

Have a nice trip to the market. It'll all be worth it in the end. Kiss skreef for me!

tiny - thanks so much for the compliment. You'd knock this cook outta the park. Give it a go!

ckreef - thanks. I'm looking forward to your cooks on that 16.5" KK you're contemplating. Those will be killer cooks!

Tony - thanks for the compliment. I used to own a hamburger joint and I always fixed my own Juicy Lucy Burgers. I learned how to crip patties so that things didn't blow out. Meatballs are MUCH easier! Really.

dstr8 - this was an easy cook, fun to do, and was really pretty tasty!

mk1 - I've been interested in these drip pan that can double as a heat reflector for some time. I should have ordered two last time to talked to Dennis ... one for my KK BB32", TheBeast, and another for the 19" Hi-Cap I just ordered, Beauty! Could have killed two birds with one stone. mk1 - thanks for this post! I appreciate your taking the time to show us these new drip pans. Oh, BTW, great looking ribs there. Beautiful money shot!

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.