Syzygies

Read these comments: http://vacmaster.aryvacmaster.com/vacmaster/VP215C.php I too have long eyed this unit, affordable for oil pump units. For long freezer storage I'm fine with my two Cyclone 30's, but for sous vide a chamber machine can do more. What struck me was the cost of return shipping if one does encounter problems, with the unit just over shipping limits for affordable rates. This might be that rare instance where buying with a service contract from a local restaurant supply vendor might be worth the extra expense. Do restaurants worry about shipping these things for repairs? They're too busy, but also too broke, so I don't know.

Re: Heat/Ash Shield -- which way is up? Yeah, I had the same question new. I tried all four ways, and decided which way I wanted it. This approach has interesting unintended consequences. Do KKs still ship with that pair of funny metal grabber things? Many of us concluded that they were for grabbing and lifting the main grill when hot. Apparently not, but they work great for that purpose. And I can't recall for the life of me what they're actually intended for.

Re: Heat Deflectors I've always used a 16" unglazed terra cotta plant saucer from Home Depot, lined with foil if there will be any drips. I could imagine lighter, but so far the weight hasn't bothered me. It is possible for even unglazed terra cotta to turn out to contain lead, though I doubt it through major channels.

Re: Baking Steel I have their thickest steel in an apartment oven in NYC. I didn't get much time to experiment with it before heading out to CA for the summer, where my KK resides. It does add lots of thermal mass, e.g. under a large cast iron pan the combination yields commercial-grade bread baking steam, as advocated e.g. by the Bouchon Bakery book. I wish that the walls of my oven were this solid and thick. The steel is optimized for very fast pizzas, and will be inappropriate for other applications. Different stones vary in the rate at which they return stored heat; Dennis has thought carefully about this in designing his pizza stones. A baking steel returns heat way too fast for most purposes. There's a lunatic fringe that prefers aluminum to steel, even faster, but this is in the service of "blink of an eye" pizzas, nothing else. One can google for ways to prepare one's own baking steel, far less expensively. There's a coating that needs to be removed (not easily), buying from a metal yard. I've considered getting a round disk for my KK, but to increase the radiant heat above bread or pizza (ceramic cookers all have a "from below" heat bias), not to directly bake on the steel. Putting in a cast iron pan cold is an entirely different story, there's no stored heat. It's the difference between picking up a cast iron pan and having one fall on you from a second floor window. However, to continue that analogy, by weight steel retains far less heat than water. That's why steam burns, and why it takes so much steel to create small amounts of steam.

Re: Charcoal choices? I use two charcoals: KK coconut extruded for low & slow or anything truly critical, and Lazzari hardwood briquets for everything else. I just returned from their yard near SFO with a car full of 20 lb bags at 10.34 a bag. They use natural binders; I can't taste a detrimental difference. I however find that lump sparks, and burns sootier and less cleanly. Of course lump eventually settles down, but that takes longer, at which point it is nearly spent. A good thing the KK has so much thermal mass. I used to buy into the idea that true purists use lump; I don't buy into this any more. Actually, purists know how to use green wood. Then there's properly aged wood, prepared in a separate fire. Using charcoal at all is a few reading groups down from there, and one shouldn't avoid the briquet category just because some briquets are evil incarnate. I cook better with better fire control, and Lazzari briquets are entirely predictable, unlike lump. Yes, lump takes skill, a skill I have learned. Anything that behaves unpredictably takes skill, but why bother?

Re: More like survival training than a holiday.. Dear friends of mine spent the year on the Mediterranean, and debated this same question with me. I flew home with 44 bottles of wine for them, which made for an interesting delay at customs. (Two checked boxes; I'm the master packer.) They ended up having some double-walled cardboard boxes made up that were exactly the maximum dimensions for checked luggage, and they checked 12 such boxes. This was actually the least expensive way to move this much stuff home. I met them at JFK in a rental truck, that got some stares. But you ship KK's around the world, surely you can manage this also by boat.

Re: Turbo Lighting a Ceramic Grill Then there's this video dating to the dawn of the internet. George Goble be the man!

Re: Everyday Misc Cooking Photos w/ details Molly Stevens is a cookbook author.

Re: Everyday Misc Cooking Photos w/ details Another typical Fourth of July around here... A good day when I get to use my weed burner twice!

Re: Cleaning Stainless Steel -Burning?

Re: Tarpon on Fly Rod Wow. That's not going to fit on the grill, is it?

Re: Emulating Wood burning pizza ovens with KK The flour paste is as thick as possible while well mixed and able to extrude through a nicked corner of a ziplock bag. While getting the hang of it, mix in a cereal bowl? The whole idea is to avoid convection. The smoke pot should rest on the fire. Ideally, at first the fire is entirely under the pot, so all heat also is applied to the wood within. When I light using a MAPP gas torch, I aim the flame under the smoke pot, to get it hot too. (I love MAPP gas. They scent my home gas line so I can detect leaks, and it smells like the dog passed wind. Do they scent MAPP gas? It smells like Italian white truffles.)

Re: Emulating Wood burning pizza ovens with KK I came up with the 2 qt Dutch oven after many experiments, some failed. I tried cooking only with wood, wrong idea unless one has a separate starter fire for making embers away from the food. I tried making my own charcoal: The gases leaving the chamber eventually create enough heat as they burn to maintain the fire that makes the charcoal. This lead me to the design of the smoke pot. In my experience the smoke pot effect is best at lower temperatures, below 300 F. Above 300 F one starts to get a runaway self-sustaining flame, like making charcoal. And the intensity of the flavor, while always more subtle than open wood, gets out of hand at higher temperatures. For making pizza, the first rule of any equipment is "it is what it is". One doesn't heat a house with fake fireplace logs. How does one make the best pizza in a Komodo Kamado? In my experience, I find I want a very stable target pit temperature, ideally so I'm cooking as much as I can with radiant heat. Then, all of the play is in the quality of the dough. Dough is infinitely variable and a lifelong obsession. One can only say one has mastered dough as a way of saying one has given up trying to do better. There's an eGullet thread Modernist Cuisine Baking Steel with some insightful commentary on the differences between ovens, including ceramic yard ovens. Bottom line, our heat source is below, and that's what we've got to work with. There are also instructions on making one's own baking steel. As a future experiment, I'm tempted to have made a round steel disk to go on the upper grill, above pizzas on my main grill, for a very black, close up radiant heat source from above. But of course, this is overworking the problem. Focus on the pizza itself.

Academic version One day while walking downtown, a historian was hit by a bus and was tragically killed. Her soul arrived up in heaven where she was met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself. "Welcome to Heaven," said St. Peter. "Before you get settled in though, it seems we have a problem. You see, strangely enough, we've never once had a historian make it this far and we're not really sure what to do with you." "No problem, just let me in" said the woman. "Well, I'd like to, but I have higher orders. What we're going to do is let you have a day in Hell and a day in Heaven and then you can choose where you want to spend eternity" the Saint replied. "Actually, I think I've made up my mind.....I prefer to stay in Heaven". "Sorry, we have rules....." And with that St. Peter put the scholar in an elevator and it went down-down-down to Hell. The doors opened and the historian found herself stepping out into a beautiful seminar room. Down the hall was a lavishly appointed lounge, complete with a small but useful reference library. Standing in front of her were all her former colleagues, a veritable Who's Who of the historian world, all cheering for her. They ran up and kissed her on both cheeks and they talked about old times. They had marvelous historical discussions trashing post-modernism, and then retired to the faculty club for an excellent steak and lobster dinner. She met the Devil, who was actually a really nice guy. And although he was a theorist, he showed a real interest in her work. They talked and joked into the wee hours of the morning. The historian was having such a good time that before she knew it, it was time to leave. Everybody shook her hand and waved good-bye as she got on the elevator. The elevator went up-up-up and opened back up at the Pearly Gates where St. Peter was waiting for her. "Now it's time to spend a day in Heaven" he said. So the historian spent the next 24 hours lounging around on the clouds and playing the harp and singing. She had a great time and before she knew it, her 24 hours were up and St. Peter came and got her. "So, you've spent a day in Hell and you've spent a day in Heaven. Now you must choose your eternity" he said. The historian paused for a second and then replied, "well, I never thought I'd say this. I mean, Heaven has been really great and all, but I think I had a better time in Hell." So St. Peter escorted her to the elevator and again the scholar went down-down-down back to Hell. When the doors of the elevator opened she found herself standing in a desolate wasteland covered in garbage and filth. She saw that her colleagues were dressed in rags and were picking up garbage and putting it in sacks for the evening meal. They barely paused in their work long enough to grumble and tell her that they thought her research was second rate. The Devil came up to her and put his arm around her and laughed at her. "I don't understand," stammered the historian, "yesterday I was here and there was a library and a faculty club and we ate lobster and we talked about my research and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland of garbage and all my colleagues look miserable and hate me." The Devil looked at her and grinned, "that's because yesterday we were interviewing you, but today you're faculty."

Re: Hell explained What a great version! The original pales by comparison: Hellfire (Snopes)

Re: New BB32 Autumn Nebula coming to Rochester NY Yes, Bryce Bayer. There is also a Bruce Bayer, to whom this invention is sometimes attributed in error. Yep, same here. Night and day difference. "Quinn The Eskimo" was written and sung by Bob Dylan, and covered by Manfred Mann. In my errant youth I took it as a mark of integrity to prefer originals; the Manfred Mann version is actually quite good. Here, as a good-hearted member of his community, Dennis adopted an abandoned group of skilled workers (formerly making POSKs). I mistook his early efforts as copies; I wanted Dylan. Luckily I got over this. Dennis is just plain smarter and more dedicated, and the KK is now far better than any competing ceramic cooker. The POSK did help us to realize that this category is important to us, and we wanted the best. I wish I knew how to make this call the first time. For example, why spend $100 then $200 then $400 on headphones, when you could spend $700 all at once and get a phenomenal pair? But one never knows what matters without making experiments first.

Re: New BB32 Autumn Nebula coming to Rochester NY My hometown! My dad moved there from Maine to work at Kodak: Bayer filter.

Re: Square pizza stone for bread? Wow, great idea. I'd heard about kiln shelves for pizza, but forgotten. A 16" x 16" x 1" tile looks like a perfect place to start. Lopping 1" off each corner takes as much room as a 14" x 16" rectangle each way, and a 14" x 16" rectangle does fit each way. Any idea how easily I can cut the material? A tile cutter, perhaps.

Does anyone have experience with square pizza stones in a KK? I'm baking bread regularly in mine, and a square stone would be the difference between two (bâtard) loaves and three. (My neighbors with chickens trade eggs for bread, so this is a matter of some importance.) I'm thinking that since I wait till the fire is fairly settled, and the KK fairly heat-soaked (a few hours), the corners nearing the sides of the KK is not a big deal? Making cardboard mockups, either a 14" x 16" or a 15" x 15" stone would fit nicely, both with just over 21" diagonals. Or one could go larger, lopping the corners. Fibrament-D is a source I trust, that will cut custom sizes.

Re: Roasted Corn

Re: KK & Korin Konro... I've seen binchotan charcoal in use indoors in sake pubs in Japan. Amazing stuff. I've made charcoal in small batches; one could learn to make a binchotan equivalent. Ultimately, what matters is carbonization, density, and form factor. The extruded coconut lump that Dennis sells is not so far off on the first two measures, and a Japanese pull saw would be ideal for adjusting the form factor. The price of binchotan charcoal ($6/lb now at same site as your binchotan grill) helps to illustrate the value that Dennis delivers with his charcoal. Note that any charcoal this dense is hard to light; use a propane (or hotter, MAPP gas) torch. One would need experience with both charcoals, using this binchotan grill, to know for sure.

Re: Steam for Bread Dennis does make a 19" baking stone. Perhaps I need one!

Re: Where is the smoke ? That is very interesting. I'm torn, I believe it has too many holes to prevent convection burning the wood. But might be intermediate in effect between open chunks and a smoke pot? I priced stainless steel tubes and couldn't figure a way that wasn't $200 with the caps.

Re: Meat slicer advice With really good knives kept really sharp, one can't come close to sliced meat, but sometimes close enough. One does better with a vertical surface to press against. I'm tempted to go into the shop and make an L-shaped cutting board, with a vertical wall at one end to push against. Would it work to provide 1/8" ridges front and back, so a knife leaning against these guides would slice uniform 1/8" slices? An experimental question. Of course each slice would be slower than a machine (and thicker), but taking account of cleanup and storage costs this could still win for some of us. I just served a small tray of eating chorizo from Spanish Table in Berkeley, bought presliced at a significant markup. The unsliced stick I bought last time just wasn't as good, but this time we ran out instantly and more would have been good. Some of use would never buy a full scale slicer because our needs are limited to moments like these, but still yearn for a way to take our knife work the distance.

Re: Where is the smoke ? Yes, I only use this with coconut extruded charcoal from Komodo Kamado. I've never come remotely close to running out of fuel on a 24 hour cook. My idea of a "24 hour" cook gets shorter with experience, I may not have fallen into the "quick brisket" camp but they have a point one should understand, and my longest cooks revolve around the question of serving time, and how late I'm willing to stay up before putting the meat on. "18 hour" cook may be more like it.