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gadgetgeek

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  2. Guru Hints & Tips!

    in KK 411

    Posted

    After 1 year of this original post,I have found it( I just bought Tlinder's Guru). I wish I'd have seen it back then,this would have saved me from replacing several probes on my assorted Polder thermometers. I'm going to order about 25 feet tomorrow from Mcmaster-Carr!For the price I don't know why they don't just manufacture them with this in place!

    Any further issues or recommendations? Thanks Jasen

    Actually, the folks at Guru sell replacement probes with a SS sleeve and higher temp rating. It is standard on the DigiQ and they sell them as an upgrade for the Procom. But I imagine they will also make them for the competitor.

    -=Jasen=-

    They do make and sell them for the competitor. Mine work great.

    .

  3. Burnin' burnin' hunk-o-cow

    in Techniques

    Posted

    what do you mean by 'wet'?

    In an oven bag, sitting on top of some root vegetables in a large pot, pressure cooked, long sauté, something like that... I just rarely do a large chunk of other than prime or rib roast on they grill.. But I am here to learn.

    .

  4. Burnin' burnin' hunk-o-cow

    in Techniques

    Posted

    Re: Burnin' burnin' hunk-o-cow

    Got a 23lb chuck roll that's been on since yesterday before noon. Sitting at 173, 173 & 178 internal (got three probes in ol' Bessy). Planning on the foil towels and cooler long rest period, then pull. You guys suggest 185 or 195ish as the 'finish line'?

    btw - gotta go run out and add some fuel, I'm loosing my fire and that beast has been sitting on these temps ALL afternoon, she may go into the evening at this pace! TKS!

    Strange as it may seem.. I have no idea what internal temp you would cook that to? I could go look it up, but I so rarely do a roast like that I guess I just forgot? I almost always cook that roast in a wet environment, for a long time..... I would bet you could get away with 140º if you foil, towel and rest for a long while, but I might be wrong.. ?

    .

  5. Well CRAP!

    in Komodo General

    Posted

    Not sure exactly how what happened to occurred' date=' but one tip is where you are clipping the pit probe. I want the least amount of wires inside my grill, so the pit probe gets clipped just through the polder port hole, several inches in (that will give you a reasonable average temperature of your main surface). This way, if it did come unclipped, the situation that happened to you could not happen. [/quote']

    DJ, I figured you'd either have a glass top for your Stealth Ninja or possibly a teeny camera probe or something rigged up by now, with some kind of windshield wiper thingy to clear it off once in a while? YOU KNOW cooks love to look..... 8)

    .

  7. What am I doing wrong?

    in Komodo General

    Posted

    Ok, so a little more info and a few more hints...

    1. I used just dry rub (no sugar in it), plus some yellow mustard for the first four hours,

    2. The "mop" was root beer (a belgian, heavy nutmeg microbrew)

    3. The 250 temp was at the dome, should I be at 225 here?

    4. I didn't flip the ribs at all. just cooked the entire time with the bone side down

    5. Totally indirect. Had the heat deflector in its metal pan on top of the fire basket and had the large drip pan on the lower rack with the ribs on the main grill.

    6. Had about half a dozen medium chunks of hickory and three or four small chunks of maple in there.

    I'm itching to start another batch today, just to continue the experiment, so chime in as you can.

    DMAX

    Comments on the wood choice... I really like the flavor of white oak on ribs. I sure can't add advice for a Kamado, there are REAL pro's in that department here. I like the smoke on for about half the time required on the smoker too, especially if it is hickory mix. Good lump charcoal will give it the rest of the smoke it needs IMHO.. I use Wicked Good "Competition Blend, and really like it.

  8. What am I doing wrong?

    in Komodo General

    Posted

    Foil....BAH! I hate foiled ribs. The meat ends up steamed' date=' not good eats IMO. LIke others have said, try a rub with little sugar.[/quote']

    Lots a BBQ contests are won slow cooking first, foiling second, and then grilling after. But hey, It's all in what ya like...

    .

  9. What am I doing wrong?

    in Komodo General

    Posted

    Well, thanks again all for the guidance. I did another spatchcock chicken, no worries there, and then did a low and slow set of ribs on Sunday. I did as directed, filled the fire basket, lit two or three larger pieces of my Wicked Good Weekend Warrior blend, left the intake wheel at about 1/8" open and the hat at a half turn. It took her a good 45 minutes to get to 200, I took the hat to a 1/4 turn open, waited until she had been at 250 for a half an hour and then put on the ribs. Checked her every hour or so and she didn't budge off 250. Awesome!

    I need though now, to figure out when to wrap my ribs in foil. The family wasnt a fan of the color and texture of the bark, but the meat was perfection! I'm thinking that at my first peek and mop at 4 hours, I will go ahead and wrap them for the final two hours.

    Thoughts? DMAX

    I'd hang check them at 3 hours... or tear check them.. if they are somewhat close to done, I'd wrap 'em in foil then.. You may want to go to a dry rub rather than a mop? Then when you unfoil them later you can doctor them up with whatever suits your fancy...

    So many ways, so many different sets of ribs, and so many kinds of cookers.. Thank goodness all of the backyard chefs are the same... :smt004

    .

  10. Chicken Parts & Stinky Beans for the Kids..

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    Re: Chicken Parts & Stinky Beans for the Kids..

    The Indo pete beans or Sataw beans in Thailand were tossed in pod and all. First time for this on my Komodo. It was pretty cool that some of them blew up like a balloon and were then really easy to open. They actually had some smokey tones to them and were extra good. They are about the size of US quarters and have a strong smell. I read them explained as being a bit like garlic with a hint of brussels sprouts and pumpkin seeds.

    <<<>>>

    I see those bean/peas in our local ethnic markets and can never get anyone to tell me what to do with them... Now I have a starter lesson... What do you do with them once you shell them?

    Salt them?

    Are they soft like boiled peanuts?

    Any other things to "do" with them but crack them open and eat-em out of hand or on your plate?

    Thanks in advance...

    I did a little Googleling-----

    ______________________

    Petai beans or seeds look like broad beans. Petai has earned its nickname 'stink bean' because its strong smell is very pervasive. Like mature broad beans, they may have to be peeled before cooking. It lingers in the mouth and body. Like asparagus, it contains certain amino acids that give a strong smell to ones urine, an effect that can be noticed up to two days after consumption. Like other beans, their complex carbohydrates can also cause strong-smelling flatulence.

    ______________________

    Oh great... being a Hungarian and eating nearly any dern thing isn't enough... LOL My wife will LOVE these...

    . :roll:

  11. Whole Fresh Ham

    in Komodo General

    Posted

    I used the Cuban Mojo marinate from the BBQ bible "rubs and sauces" book. I definitely overcooked the meat (did it overnight and woke up to it being over-temp :oops: ) so I may give the marinate another try at some point. It uses a lot of sour-orange and cilantro (those are the primary flavors).

    Thanks... I picked up a 20# whole fresh ham from a Central, GA. Hog killing yesterday, and have been thinking about just what to do with it...

    I think I'll cut mine in two (it helps to have good suggesters), slice some nice Hamish steaks to freeze and smoke the shank end for dinners this week. I may just chunk up the rest in serving size pieces, drop some marinade on them, vacuum pack them and toss them in the freezer?

    I just don't have the place to do a good cure, or I'd do that with the whole thing.

    .

  12. Third Cook on the Dragon, Spatchcock!

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    I didnt see that in NakedWhiz's desrciption, but I'll certainly give it a try! For the pics, :roll: I know, I know. Just ready to go eat so I dodnt take the time to rotate... I'll give it more attention next time!

    DMAX

    It looks great and I bet it tasted super...

    I am just in from a "Hog Killing" in Central Georgia with a nice 20lb (freshly killed) swine whole ham... I am debating whether to brine it, freeze it or just proceed with cutting it into two sections and smoking it today/tonight?

    If I just had me one of those dern, fancy-tiled cookers I'd be in good shape. One day, when I win the lottery, or open an apple stand down at the street I'll get me one... :shrug:

  13. Third Cook on the Dragon, Spatchcock!

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    Re: Third Cook on the Dragon, Spatchcock!

    Tonight is the thord cook this week on the Dragon. Did fish the first night, burgers the second and tonight is some chicken...TOMORROW is the first batch of ribs. Can't wait!!!

    I just LOVE watching the smoke roll out of her cap!

    DMAX

    aVtCd70.jpg

    btw.. I clip off the wing tips, and the leg joints to make it a "for sure" Spatchcock".... sometime I clip the wingz off to the second joint, but I ALWAYS scissor off the end of the leg knobs. To each his own......?

    .

  14. Third Cook on the Dragon, Spatchcock!

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    Re: Third Cook on the Dragon, Spatchcock!

    Tonight is the thord cook this week on the Dragon. Did fish the first night, burgers the second and tonight is some chicken...TOMORROW is the first batch of ribs. Can't wait!!!

    I just LOVE watching the smoke roll out of her cap!

    DMAX

    aVtBsJi.jpg

    GG>- Cumon DMAX, turn your pictures right side up... I love your cooker, and your cooking.. but daymn... turn the pics around.... :wink:

    .

  16. How long should I cook an 9 pound butt?

    in Techniques

    Posted

    Scouts honor.

    Okay.. the short version....:

    Step one.....When the meat is cool enough to handle either have someone or you pull the meat apart into sections and pull out some of the fat and sinew and yucky stuff, remember to keep the cap intact to work back into the pulled pork when it's finished but you can certainly take out (for your own health) some of the fat and connective tissue.. Hurry with this process or have someone work with you so you can do step two...

    Step two involves a lab-clean rubber mallet (mine is white and goes into the dishwasher often) and some heavy duty zip-lock bags.. The two gallon bags are thicker than the others and are what I use... I toss a couple hunks of the still warm pork in the bag (turn the top of the bag away from the floor) and pound the meat until is starts to separate. You don't want to mush it, you just want it to come apart in long strands. turn the bag over and whack it a few times on the other side making sure you get the section you are working on good and pounded, but not mashed up, toss the meat in the bag into a big bowl for you and your partner to pull later and go on to the next few sections of pork shoulder.

    I promise you that this works, and it saves a bunch of time. I know it sounds strange, and folks that have been with me when I am whacking at that bag of pork looked at me strange, but time (in the catering business) is money, and I know I shave off a half hour per pork butt doing it this way.. pulled pork done right goes a long way, fluffing it up by pulling it extends it by at least half over chopping it. A 10 pound Butt usually gives me 6-7 pounds of finished un-pulled BBQ'd pork and 30 to 50 sandwiches depending on the size of the buns and the size of the eaters.

    Hope this helps.

    GG>-

  18. How long should I cook an 9 pound butt?

    in Techniques

    Posted

    Re: How long should I cook an 9 pound butt?

    At what temperature?

    It kindof depends on what you want to do with it... If you want to chop it into BBQ sandwich meat then getting it up to about 185º with a long rest is all that is required IMHO. On the other hand if you want to pick or pull the pork, you have to get it to 195º and hold it there for about an hour in order for the collogen to break down and make it moist but easy to pick/pull. I am NOT a know-it-all when it comes to this but I have been doing it for a long, long time and keeping good notes.

    The Hint about foil or paper wrapping it and sticking it in the cooler is a great idea. the best results for me have been after a long rest held at near the cooking temperature. You have to be cautious not to let the meat get above 200º or 205º as it will start to dry out, and the results will be less than desirable. I have some unusual but workable methods to speed the picking/pulling process that we used in the catering business that saves about a half hour per Boston Butt.

    .

  22. Hot sauce pairings

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    Hot Sauce, Home-Made and Tasty...

    We've been fermenting our own hot sauce for years, in carboys and fermentation locks from a beer making store. Same process as making sauerkraut or kimchee, we use live juice from one or the other to start the fermentation. Main issue is to set the initial pH low enough to evade botulism risk (a standard way that homemade sauerkraut goes wrong) with a few TB of white vinegar per gallon mash, confirmed with a $100 pH meter.

    After a month or two we double the volume with white vinegar, and let rest for a few more months before bottling. My hot sauce fanatic friends prefer the best batches of this homemade to what they can buy. My wife only finds homemade acceptable; she won't use commercial at all.

    We find there are three components of flavor (to simplify) in variations on Tabasco. Some chiles (thai are the extreme case) come across as pure heat. Anything in the habanero category takes the blend in a second direction. And bizarre crosses (it's really hard to grow more than one variety of chile and keep the lines pure) from our favorite Farmers Markets lend a depth of flavor missing e.g. in the Thai chiles.

    We number our blends #1, #2, ... #7 and do reach for specific bottles all the time, but it's hard to explain any system we might have to this, except remembering the three modes above. Perhaps our label should include barycentric coordinates, via a dot in a triangle...

    Dave's Insanity is spiked with extract. Same idea as port -vs- wine, it's fortified and I don't count it as in the category.

    Very interesting... it's flavor I'm always after first and heat second. I have never made hot sauce, but do make kraut and kimchee.

    May I post your answer on another food board and see what reaction I get?

    .

  23. Hot sauce pairings

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    Well' date=' hot chili oil goes well with Asian food, of course. Dumplings/pot stickers/noodles, and Asian soups. For example, I put a healthy dose in some hot sour (heavy Chinese type, not light SE Asian) soup I made a week or so ago, and it was MOST excellent.[/quote']

    I asked this question on atlantacuisine.com and got this comment from a notable chef that has a lovely Asian wife.. Here is what Chef Lamar said....

    ++++++++++++++++++++++

    Pickapeppa, Tiger Sauce and Cholula are for

    fowl and pork dishes. Tabasco, Srirracha and Texas Pete are good for

    pasta as well as chicken and beef. Mae Ploy Sweet Chili is for chicken and fish.

    Habenero Tabasco and just any Habenero sauces are for shell fish and beef,

    they kill chicken and fish. Lamb requires a more subtle approach like that

    found in Tiger sauce, banana chili ketchup and hot mango chutneys.

    Dipping sauces are best in the form of roasted Thai bird chili with soy and

    yellow rock sugar to calm the after taste. Fresh wasabi for tuna.

    Smoke salts and pepper salts all depend on the region of origin and the

    foods particular to that region. Of course, I did drink a bottle of Red Rooster Hot

    Sauce when I was about 3 and that made all things Southern fried chicken amazing

    up until the age of 30, after which I rediscovered Tabasco original and green.

    There is so much to go on here, I'm sure there's a whole 'nother huge set

    of combinations West of the Mississippi and even inside the Perimeter.

    ++++++++++++++++++

  24. Hot sauce pairings

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    Well' date=' hot chili oil goes well with Asian food, of course. Dumplings/pot stickers/noodles, and Asian soups. For example, I put a healthy dose in some hot sour (heavy Chinese type, not light SE Asian) soup I made a week or so ago, and it was MOST excellent.[/quote']

    We here in the Atlanta area are gifted with a robust population of many ethnic types. We have a huge contingent of Korean folks, as well as a bigger than normal group of Vietnamese and other SE Asian populace. I say gifted because there is so many diverse restaurants to try that one lifetime is not enough. Our top picked "foodie" restaurants (see Tom's Picks on atlantacuisine.com) include some hole-in-the-wall Asian restos as well as some been-there-forever- places that, at least for the foodie community, serves up delicious food nearly every day. I will say that most of the pairings that we have talked about here, have been explored in the restos in our HOT list...

    Come on down and let me take you on a restaurant or grocery store jaunt, to see what could be/would be/is, available in the greater Atlanta area.

    a 6 hour cruise would take in a good portion of the neighborhoods and ethnic areas so you would get a good cross-section of the ethnic availability here in the Deep South.

  25. Hot sauce pairings

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    Re: Hot sauce pairings

    We all know that chicken and fish go with white while real meat goes with red - that's easy. How about hot sauce? I've found that fake pizza (Sanny and other New Jersey-ites should know that the bready mess sold as pizza elsewhere in the country is not really pizza!) goes well with Tabasco. Italian food needs crushed red pepper (except, for some reason, lasagna which is better with Morton's Hot Salt). Rice-based dishes are often better with the infamous rooster sauce, and this is also an ideal breakfast condiment. Buffalo sauce makes a great all-around dipping sauce for meats, chips and pretzels.

    What pairings have you guys found? Not that I'd be looking for an excuse to try new hot sauces, of course, I'd just hate to find out that Joe Perry's Boneyard Brew is great on apple slices any later than I need to :)

    Really good question... answer in process....

    .

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