GrillingMontana

Here is an example of how I used GG for some amazing rustic style taters-

Hey Dennis- I wrote a long opinion about the Grill Grates but somehow it got vaporized when I tried to attach images. No worries- To paraphrase what I wrote, I love the Grill Grates. Reason being, they allow me a micro adjustment when I cook direct, or raised direct which is hands down my favorite method of cooking. I feel that they are far from perfect, but one of the best tools for actual cooks I have come across. Yes- they put pretty marks on food, but I would rather have protein and veggies that taste amazing and look just ok any day of the week over something that looks like it should be in a magazine. As an example, in this cook, I wanted the fatty beef I purchased to melt and come to temperature a bit slower than if I just had it on the cooking surface. For this cook, I started on the GG and finished on the cooking surface because the GG does not give me the complete texture I was after for a cook like this. I cooked 4 min a side on the GG but only 45-60 seconds on the cooking surface for finishing. I hope you can put together a product that has the KK quality and also allows for the micro- temperature defusing I prefer when not using a heat deflector. I will post a few images of another veggie cook that was amazing with the GG below- Paul

My travels had me near Seattle this week. I went to a major Korean market and got a couple live Dungeness crabs to bring back but could not help but notice how this market had a much better selection of kobe cuts than I could ever get in Montana. The cuts were squared off and in bite sized, slices. I wish i knew the name of the genre of cooking but I presume it is for cooking over a tabletop grill over hardwood lump. My mind raced thinking how fun it would be to have a party with lots of sauces, rice, and veggies to go along with the thin slices of extremely well marbled beef. I steamed the crabs in my rice cooker and then they got a plunge in the ice bath for the remainder of the evening. Last night, I picked the crabs apart and sent SWMBO out to see if the only place around here that carries Snake River Farms products had any well marbled beef in stock. She came home with these- I simply seasoned them with a salty local garlic powder made here in Montana called Alpine Touch It was a piece of flank steak, and the other was a chunk of New York Strip The KK was at about 500F. Meat went on to a well heated grill grate for about 4 min a side Then I finished for about another min over direct heat to get the outer fat layer to melt and get an extra crisp browning on the meat and then they rested quietly. Crab I made 2 ways- one in a parfait with cocktail sauce and the other was a de-constructe crab cake done in a pan with vidallias, garlic, olive oil, butter, bread crumbs, paprika, and garlic powder. Sorry- no plated pics. I did take a quick vid and am not sure if it will load or not. Thanks for looking- Paul

I will ask the better half if she has an idea for a name, but much to my dismay, she keeps a healthy distance from the outdoor cook stations. Do you all really have names for your grills, or many of you? ...interesting!

She really is a beauty @bryan I'm open for suggestions on naming her-

We had something worth celebrating going on and decided on some surf and turf for dinner. SWMBO loves bone in ribeye, and I prefer a filet medallion. Whipped up some stuffing for shrimp with leftover garlic bread, shallots, and some other randoms I had in the ice box. Stuffed some prawns from the meat store with the garlic mixture and roasted raised direct. The steaks were simply seasoned with a garlic salt I enjoy which is local and been around forever. Cooking away- SWMBO likes beef on the rare side of mooing. and plated Thanks for looking! Cheers- Paul

Thanks for all the kind and fun words about the cook! My inspiration was my over stuffed spice cabinet and how when I open the door, random jars of spices just fall out on to the counter. Other thoughts of Jim Belushi dumping that jar of mustard on his shirt for no real reason in Animal house comes to mind as well. Same concept but with a cocktail. In the book I add kaffir lime leaves but in reality, it is just a moscow mule (vodka, half lime, ginger beer) and ice with a half cup of garlic salt. What is cool is that the salt and alcohol open the cell walls of the meat. There is a low amount of sugar in the ginger brew so it really does not burn and the chop is extremely moist and juicy. The only down side is that you are minus one adult beverage on a cook evening. With proper mis-en-place you can make up for it. Cheers- Paul

This has become one of my favorite cooks. I am lucky to have butchers nearby where I can order 2" thick chops and they cut them the day the piggies get butchered. Concept is simple. Pour an entire cocktail in with your chops, add some garlic salt, and allow to brine. Warming things up with some corn in the husk Getting the reverse sear on Re-warming back up the corn and rendering some pork fat Just prior to plating. Came out fantastic! Recipe was so good, it is going in my book! Thanks for looking! Cheers-

I have always found scallops done sous vide are much sweeter than just normal. Has anyone else experienced this?

We were just saying how a key lime pie would go wonderful with a holiday weekend! Thanks for sharing!

Amazing looking cook all the way around! Thanks for sharing!

Fantastic looking cook! Thanks for sharing and inspiring!

Good point- Have a butane torch and although it comes in handy, I really do not enjoy the taste.

The only reason I actually purchased a SV is because I could not dial in stove top or crock pot temperatures with any kind of accuracy or consistency. Kudos to you for being able to nail 130 for 48hours ++

Happy to see you are on board with both the sous-vide kick and tri-tip! I just did my first 2 TT in SV last weekend and you have something to be excited about. I did mine at 131 for about 28 hours and then ice bath for a full hour before into the fridge for a rest. I did not sear first, but ended up doing a hard sear before plating. A few weeks ago, I did a similar cook with London Broil and warmed the beef back up after a full chill at 120 in the bath prior to a hard sear. Was amazing- SWMBO said the tri from last weekend was the best ever... ever... ever... The other TT I put in SV is in the freezer now for an evening when I feel lazy- So excited to see and hear how your first cook went! Cheers- P

Sweet looking J-L meatballs! Quite inspirational- Thank you for sharing P-

Guessing you are referring to the SV method? I bet your tips are amazing and doubt you are missing something. It is a matter of having more fun toys to play with your food, tweak your recipes, collaborate, and enjoy something as routine as eating. I have been cooking passively SV for close to 3 years. It comes and goes in spurts, and not all of it has been a success. However, sometimes it is fun to season, bag, and SV something like a bunch of short ribs on Wed and cook them in a water bath straight thru to Sat before I sear them off. SV for me is just an extension of having fun times with family and friends over some food and beverages- Cheers- P

Thank you tony b! Super flattering of you to say, but in reality I am in a photo "composition" class at the school of evening learning and submitted some plated pictures for my assignment. Cheers- P

Thank you Chef!!! Funny how making dishes like this can resonate so much emotion. Have had leftovers now twice already and I just want to keep this on hand for funzies going forward. On to the next experiment! Cheers- P

I have made this before from scratch to the best of what research I had available. This time, I grabbed a few packets of Char Siu marinade from the big W that looked Asian and somewhat authentic. Taking 2.5# of tenderloin and slicing it into long, thin strips was all I did other than adding the marinade powder to the zip top bag. It rested overnight. Then- raised direct at about 375F Getting some char-color Switched to direct and opened the vents and a couple of plated pics- Instant classic at my place- Thanks for looking! P-

Have not yet had the guts to try Tri-tip sous vide, so thank you for sharing. I did however recently do a London Broil at 132 for 23 hours which came out amazing! Perhaps tri-tip in the SV is next for me...

Tony- yet again, this is a concoction where I wish I had kept some semblance of a recipe. SWMBO loved the sauce and she never goes for BBQ sauce or anything leaning toward more sweet than savory. It did also have some cooking sherry in it as well come to think of it-

So this is my first time posting a video from youtube or anywhere for that matter. My apologies if it does not show up here. I did a couple racks recently, for 5 hours, raised-inderect over a large water bath. One rack got a hoisin, ginger, oyster sauce, ketchup, maple syrup concoction that was amazing. Still have a third rack of pork and 2 large beef racks to make soon! Cheers- Paul

I am now considering doing an east -vs- west pork rib cook off for the big game. For the west (Seahawks) I will probably embrace the Korean culture of Seattle but I have no idea what would be a fun way to represent New England for flavors. Being a Patriots fan, and originally from the area, I would love any fun, creative ideas.

Looks fantastic! Not sure where you live, but I have been enjoying ultra thin January asparagus here as well and it has been sweeter than I ever remember asparagus being. Your socarrat looks sublime. Thank you for sharing-