tcoliver

Come on all you Georgians, lets get this thing done!! I live near Tucker and it would be great to have this product there at the fest. Its a pretty big deal for ceramic cookers.

Ok, someone has to ask. How much for the cabinet?

Dennis, did you ever get any resolution from UPS? It never did make it to my house.

Thats odd because their forum link ends up here. Can't Dennis stop that?

Somebody sent me this

Well . . . It is smoked cheese time again . . .

A cold night, a glass pan of ice between the fire and cheese, and an extremely small, controled fire for smoldering my favorite wood chips for smoke. Keep the dome temperature south of 100º using the polder probe for monitoring temperature.

Wood chips were added as needed for a slow, four hour smoke. To the uninitiated, smoke several blocks to start and pull a block off at thirty minute intervals for sampling. Wrap, label, and sample the next day. This will help you assess the level of smoke you like in your finished product.

What kind of cheese is that? It looks good already.

As I recall from the last go, djm5x9, the cheddar was not bad, but the Mozzrella dried out & crusted.

Harry

A few questions:

1. What kind of cheese have you had the best luck with, both in terms of flavor and in terms of the smoking process (maintaing consistency, absorbing the smoke, etc.)?

2. Do you rotate the blocks or leave them as shown in the picture?

3. Do you replace the ice as it melts?

4. How small a fire? How much lump to begin with?

5. What kind of wood?

The cheese looks delicious.

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eguy:

I smoke mild and sharp cheddar but will soon be trying my hand at mozzarella. I have had some by others and a slight touch to it is great.

The blocks of cheese are not rotated, just spaced well so smoke can get to all sides.

I do not replace the ice because I keep a very small fire. If you need to as you feel your way through a cook or two, the renewed cold buffer will greatly help you control temperatures.

By way of the flip grate I start and maintain a very small fire. In this picture of a #7 firebox the area where the chips are is where the fire is started. A single hot coal is placed on the chips and more chips placed on top of the hot coal. I try not to let it get bigger than this area. I try to "feed" the large piece of lump to the fire as needed. Periodically, more chips are added.

I used cherry and Jack Daniels for this smoke

It is very important to monitor your dome to keep the temperature under control. A polder is just the tool to assist with monitoring temperature. A cool night greatly helps with this. Keep the smoke under 100º dome and you should be OK.

How long do you smoke the cheese? Or more importantly, how do you know when to pull it off? (By taste?) Very cool set up, I'm going to have to try it!

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I smoked the cheese for four hours. I have found that is what works for me. I suggest you smoke several blocks of cheese and pull one off every thirty minutes to see how you like it.

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I tried your method for cold smoking cheese and it was wonderful! I also made lox - try the recipe posted here: Lox recipe The setup used for the cheese worked perfectly for lox as well.

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Hiya Maties, Really glad to find a discussion on smoking cheeses. Been trying this off and on for a few months and have had mixed results. Their are some benefits to higher unit temps to melt cheeses add ingredients and then chill.

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I tried the lox recipe posted too. Did not like the rum mixture but other wise worked out fine. I kept the temps below 100 F by using the BBQGURU. I followed the instructions in their manual on cold smoking (wrap the two thermocouples in foil and set the meat to 110 F and the pit to 175. the ramp mode tricks the unit into heating to the meat temp). I used a pizza stone and placed the salmon on the upper grill. I did not use a pan of ice.

The lox recipe only required an hour or so of smoke, but the same technique would probably work for

I still have some of the original good stuff but I'd be in for 5 boxes.

Oh, well maybe Dennis can cash in on that.

Ok, thanks. I am definatley missing the SS pan that the stone goes in. It is kind of strange that that would have been in a separate box than the stone but who knows. UPS still hasn't delivered my lost box, I'll probably never get it.

Yeah, I thought that outer coating may be a problem with using it as a pizza stone.

Do you have a picture of the two pans side by side so I can see the difference in the two. Thanks.

Thanks, thats what I thought. I guess I need to find out what was in the box UPS lost.

BTW, how many of you use this as a pizza stone. What are the results?

Folks, I was one of the original recipients of a KK and at that time I did not get the new pizza stone or drip pan as they did not come in the package (actually I don't think they were even developed yet). I since had Dennis send me these items however I am a bit confused. In one box I received a round ceramic stone along with what looks like a SS drip pan. I was under the impression that the pizza stone had a SS bottom so I am wondering if this is a heat deflector or a pizza stone or if they are one in the same. Unfortunatly UPS lost one of the packages so I'm not sure what part is in that box. It is only one pound so it can only be some sort of SS pan. So...does the pizza stone/heat deflector actually have a SS botom that is attached to the stone or does the stone just sit inside of it. Are the SS bottom to the stone and the SS drip pan one in the same? Thanks for your help.

Theres always the "its better to ask for forgiveness than for permission" option.

or......

start dropping hints that you would love a cooker and then make it sound like you would be super excited if she got you one for say your birthday, fathers day, Christmas.... If she thinks SHE is doing something great it is much easier.

I still have some of the '03 stash but would be interested in some more. I have been using this sparingly because I knew there was no way to get any more. Now I may not be so conservative. Good work Dennis, now we can get charcoal and know for sure that it is the good stuff.

Actually I have a bar that runs perpendicular to the grate bars. Maybe these were only on the first few that went out, mines one of the originals. I've been waiting to get some upgraded stuff from Dennis but I wanted to wait for the side tables to be available, didn't realize it was going to be such an endeavor for him. I guess I need a new grill to be added to the list.

I like the fact that there are no middle bars. Will make it much easier to clean.

I don't believe you!!

Yes, I have made pizzas with both charcoal and gas; however, I, like Bob, prefer to not have the charcoal flavor or the ash build up that sometimes goes along with charcoal. I have been using gas for several years now for our Friday pizza night, matter of fact going to have one tonight. Ritual is to come home, pour a cold Black and Tan, light a Gloria Cubana, sit on the porch and cook a pizza on the KK, can't think of a better way to start off a weekend. I also am one of the fools who retrofitted my gas burner. I only open my 0-30 psi regulator about half way and then use the adjustment on the burner to do the rest. Haven't blown anything up yet and I get the temps I need to cook just about anything.

Doesn't matter if I'm going low and slow or regular cooking, I throw the chunks in with the charcoal and then load up the meat. Smoke has never been too strong for me. I use all sorts of wood, hickory, oak, apple all seems to come out the same.

Yeah, if I die everything will still be good.

Mine was new (I think), although I do think it was a national mandate to not use arsenic in pressure treated lumber any more. I will be sure to wash down any roasts we cook with some vintage vino just in case. Actually we already cooked one of them and are still ok.

Be sure to tell them how many people you want them packaged for. This will make it so you get the right amount each time you defrost. I just had a hog butchered last week and they sent the loin WHOLE with the bone attached, it was 21/2-3 feet long, had to take out the sawsall and cut it into small roasts. You will get LOTS of sausage. I probably have 20 packages and lots side, probably 10 packages. I also got neckbone, backbone, hocks and tail. Going to give that stuff to a local country girl that may know what to do with it. I agree to keep the hams uncured, they make great roasts. Hope you have a large freezer as it will fill up a large floor freezer.

Yes, I use it to cook when I'm in a hurry, hot dogs and stuff like that. I also use it when I cook pizza as I don't like the charcoal taste that is found when cooking pizza with charcoal. I use an adjustable regulator so I can get temps up to about 500 deg.

Thanks everyone, I too have done many searches on the internet to no avail. Problem is I want something I DO NOT have to cover. Don't want to uncover a cabinet evey time I need a gadget. I am using one of those plastic cabinets now from Home Depot but was looking to upgrade a little. After a while those do get weathered and thats where I'm at now. I do like them because they are actual cabinets and have shelves and drawers for small items in lieu of just one big chest. Well if anyone comes across anything please let me know. Nice job Tucker, can't wait to see the finished product.

Does anyone have a good source for some outdoor cabinets or carts. I just need something to store all my gadgets and accessories in. Need something weatherproof and durable. Stainless steel would work or anything else that is attractve. Thanks.

Wow!! How did you get to play a round at Augusta? That is an honor I would love to have.

It was just a matter of knowing the right people and things fell into place. Nothing special just a matter of a friend doing business and being friends with a member and the member being gracious enough to offer to take us. It was truly an honor and something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

Memorabilia and commercialization can't replace the experience.