GrillingMontana

The next installment on my nothing but the money bistro cook- Baked brie in puff pastry on a gril plank. Below, Locally made pistachio and port wine brats from the farmers market.

I just stumbled on this thread, and I love it! I will add some cooks from time to time, and I apologize if I double up something that I posted elsewhere. This is a fun one for me to start with- Slow and low for hours until pulled pork temperatures were hit, then jacked the KK up to 550 to bubble the skin on the roast. I ordered this from a butcher an hour away and he told me he would call the next time he "did" some hogs. Without going into too many details, they typically do not leave the skin on yet they totally hooked me up. I got to hang out while he finished cutting to my spec's. Crisp skin was insane!

I did not want to hijack @Bosco s thread on knives so I started a new one. With the holidays around the corner, I am wondering if there is a consensus on knife sharpening and what works best? I do have an electric chefs choice sharpener which works well but I am not shaving with it. I also have a oval shaped diamond hone stick from the restaurant supply store which I never have thought does much. Finally, I have a 4 sided harbor freight tool wet stone but also no real luck. So what do you knife aficionados use to keep an edge on your blade? And @Bosco, I hope that cut heals quickly.

Wilbur- I have had really great luck using a focaccia recipe from King Arthur Flours website. The cornmeal (which I love) has been way too toothy the 4 or 5 times I have made it. I always make it in the CI skillet and go a little heavy on the coating with olive oil. Generally I cook at 400 for close to an hour which seems really long, but has worked for me time and again. Another thing i have found is I prefer to cook the sausage first and run it thru the food processor instead of putting it in the pie raw like some places do in Chicago. Usually I get the deep dish bug after eating at Old Chicago and love how they stick green olives in the crust. Here is a shot pre KK days- Now I have to make a deep dish soon!

looks like an absolute 10! Great job! Just out of curiosity, how did it stack up to Pequod's?

Still- it looks so amazing! Great looking cook for many meals!

Top notch! Another amazing looking cook- Thanks for sharing! #inspirational

the chef steps website is a fantastic recourse as well @bosco

absolutely brilliant!

Thanks @bryan will check it out!

I have some pork shanks with no cure on them that I need to cook at some point soon. I was on a kick because our football bar sold "pork wings" and I tried to re-create it with a different batch a while back. Fast forward, I would like to do a combo SV-KK cook with these and am looking for advice. I have done 70+ hour short ribs before but for some reason this one is stumping me. Some thoughts are do do a 48-60 hour slow cook, then a hard sear on the KK followed by a broth-veggie braise in the KK in cast iron. I am open to any suggestions-

@Tony b I did marinade in Franks- I think it is the best for chicken of this style hands down- @Ceramic Chef- I saw Anne Burell use it to coat one side of a halibut filet. Was on the stove, but she killed it. It had a crispy toupee. I did the same on some cast iron on the KK and then flipped only once to the skin side. Also was a 10-

Chicken on the bone, and chicken marinated overnight in buttermilk... these are a few of my favorite things! I apologize that I only have a "during" photo because the after photo was more of a platter where the wings were- If anyone is interested in a zippy new spin in wings try this: Put wings in a ziploc bag add equal parts buttermilk ranch dressing and red hot sauce (3/4 cup each) Marinade 6-24 hours KK soaked at 300-325 raised direct Here is where it can get fun- Take the marinated wings out and set on a cooling rack allowing the clumped on marinade to drip off. Toss the wings in 1/2-2/3 of a cup of potato flakes (from fake mashed potatoes) and then go to your raised direct surface. I cook for 50 min to an hour turning sparingly but mostly re-arranging to compensate for hot spots. The skin gets crispy and the potato flakes add an amazing crispy crunch. Now just sit back and watch then disappear.

Congrats! Looks amazing- what is on the menu for this weekend?

I just cannot get enough of your first image with those glowing burgers! I have to take a shot like that

Hey Dennis- I cooked lower and photographed higher. I think I was letting the corn finish up a little higher and took advantage of the light, composition. I may have even been keeping the chops warm while the corn finished as I usually give them a half hour on the KK

Thank you so much for the kind words! I use the Costco kit dslr Nikon d3200 and I believe the lens is a Sigma 30mm 1:1.4. Strangely enough as much as I know better than shooting in anything other than manual, I have found an auto setting on the camera that is aces for shooting what I make on the KK. It is the speed-sports-guy sprinting setting and I almost always use it. I just shot almost all of my cookbook with that Costco camera and knock off lens setup

Top notch!

I have failed many times with pork belly. Completely inedible. I have a slab in the freezer i may try and redeem myself with. That pork skin is a fickle son of a gun-

We were (are) following the type of protocol MK1 mentioned. Low carbs as a lifestyle with a "spike" in insulin via carb intake once a week after induction for the purpose of promoting additional fat burning as recommended in the book Carb Nite Solution. Fortunately, cooking on the KK we have so many lo-carb and high protein options I am able to keep it creative. But I still do lose sleep over pizza...

What I have concluded is you do not need nuclear reactor temps to get a good pizza. If you are making dough, leave out the sugar. 425-475 works as a great range. Warm up a stabilized kamado with stone for a solid 45 min before cooking pizzas. Make sure to cook as high in the dome as possible. Fire bricks make a great shim for an extra 3-4 inches of vertical if needed. I always use a pizza peel and parchment paper for easy placement on the stone. Although I am guilty of violating this, err on the side of more sparingly on the toppings for better results. Always have many cold beverages on hand for safety sake and most importantly, have lots of fun!

I seem to always have pizza on the brain. After many years of burned bottoms and raw tops, I think I finally have this thing dialed with some semblance of consistency. 3 weeks ago, the misses and I began embracing a lo-carb "lifestyle". So for now, and for a while, I can only daydream of cooks like this, savor the memories, and plan for future indulgences.

I thought it was a picnic roast. Frankly, I do not remember. Only thing that is for sure is that I ordered this slab custom from a local meat packer. Turns out pork is almost never sold in these parts with the skin on. The butcher told me he would have to "scald" one for me which sounded interesting. I placed my order on a post-it note that got stuck to some well seasoned trim surrounding the picture window in the butchers office. About 6 weeks after leaving the cryptic order, I got the call. "Yep- we got those pork roasts with the skin the way you wanted em... how did you want em again"? They cut a couple of these on the band saw in front of me and away I went. I believe the piggy was slaughtered and parted out into primal that same day, and I was pretty stoked. The meat went on at 250 for about 8 or 9 hours until it hit 198F. Then I jacked the heat to over 500F to get the skin to crisp and bubble up. Unfortunately, SWMBO despises pulled pork, but I predict this will be done again. thanks for looking! P-

Thanks Chef- That buck (or was it a hen) was 42" which was standard around those parts. Two days after I got back to Montana they caught 11 from the shore in an afternoon. Cheers- Paul

Was fortunate to catch a few of these amazing creatures a few weeks ago in Idaho. Here is Idaho Joe with one I got on the first day Had a few guests over and I always like to impress this group with the KK if possible. Had a small brisket point and ti-tip in the sous vide for 48 hours. While the beef rested, I go the Chinook salmon on planks and on the KK. The plan was to season simply with garlic salt blend and get the fish cooking. Once the fish got about a third of the way done, I would add dill and butter to one and generously coat the other with an asian teriyaki glaze I love- Soy Vay As the butter melted, I would move the pat a bit for even coating. The asian glaze was applied 3 or 4 times Once I saw a restaurant really cook the heck out of the grill plank and serve it smoking table side. Ever since, I have been doing my salmon much longer and darker and it seems to come out amazing. Was a big hit with the guests! After a few cold beverages, Idaho Joe and I made a play on beer can chicken on his Kamado. I actually schmeared the salmon head in hoisin sauce and it was pretty amazing. Not to gross anyone out but you cannot believe how big the eyes are on those things- Too bad neither of us were brave or beverage enough to try one- Thanks for looking! Paul-