Syzygies

Re: Steam for Bread I'm back at bread experiments. I bought two rolls of stainless steel chain at Home Depot; thanks for the tip. The skillet and chain together weigh 28.4 lbs, more than enough to turn ice into 350 grams of steam. It turns out that one wants steam at the very beginning, so there's no need to feed in water as one bakes. Ice is nearly as efficient as water and far more convenient. My preferred setup is now pizza stone on main grill, and steam skillet directly on the charcoal basket, the other grills removed. One can then throw a piece of ice onto the chains through the main grill hinged door, which I've never used in my life up till now. I then close down the intake and top vents for a few minutes, to trap the steam. The fire resumes just fine later. The KK cooks by radiant heat to a greater extent than an indoor oven. I moved to the main grill to actually get further from the walls, and I'm baking at 400 F with similar effect to an indoor oven at 460 F. Others have had this experience, adjusting baking to the KK. Does anyone have a good guess as to the internal volume of a KK? I'm guessing in the neighborhood of 140 liters, about the same as an indoor oven. Water expands by 1600x as it turns to steam, so Bouchon Bakery's advice to use 350 grams of water will produce 560 liters of steam, enough to fill the KK four times over. Yes, one feels steam rushing out, but there is steam left to do the job. The bread shown is 650g total flour: 40% red winter wheat and 12% rye freshly ground and sieved to 82% extraction, and 48% white flour. It is 71% hydration (baker's percentages), 15% sourdough leaven and 2% salt (both by flour weight), 1/4 tsp yeast, and 40 ppm of ascorbic acid (to help the gluten in the "green" freshly ground flour). Bulk rise 3:20, proof rise 2:30, bake for 30 minutes. (I use a speadsheet to generate each recipe from this data.)

Smoke pots Warning: Any tentative experiments with this approach must take place while the women are out of town. There's a "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" aspect to smoke. Men have been on the road their whole lives searching for great 'cue, and like love itself, all too often to be disappointed. The usual tipoff? The smoke, or lack thereof. We learn to seek out intense smoke. Women have a more refined palate, and are open to smoke as one more seasoning, to balance in a great dish. They break down and let us buy a yard oven (oh the lucky few of us that get to be indoor dogs, they keep the rest of us out in the yard and the garage and the shop, better than letting us have any designs on the house itself), only to then wonder if dinner is going to taste like a forest fire for the rest of their lives. Smoke has many components, good and bad. When a chunk of wood burns out in the open, one gets all of these, good and bad. Creosote in particular is rather nasty, though a faint tinge does reassure us menfolk that there was smoke. One needs to read up on classic barbecue technique, as used at scale by dedicated professionals. Smoke comes from wood as a fuel source, but that wood is burned down to embers in a separate fire, then transferred to the cooking pit. How are we to replicate this? My approach, after many experiments, is to drill three 1/8" holes into the bottom of a two quart cast iron Dutch oven, fill it with wood chunks and chips, seal on the top with flour water paste, and nestle this smoke pot into the charcoal. Light the charcoal under the smoke pot with a weed burner propane torch, and let the fire come up to the desired cooking temperature. The smoke pot itself will get going in the same interval. Easiest to mix and apply the flour paste in a ziplock bag with the corner nicked (poor man's piping bag, as for filling ravioli). Many indigenous cultures use flour paste to improve the fit on rickety cookware, this is not a new idea. Here, we want absolutely no convection through the Dutch oven, even if the lid gets knocked. Others have improved the idea of a "smoke pot" to a "smoke bomb": A piece of stainless steel pipe with screw on end caps, and a few holes in the middle. Pricey, but no flour paste. Avoid other metals that aren't appropriate around fire and food. This approach is like distillation. Armagnac tastes better than moonshine in part because only some components are allowed through in the distillation process. Here, the wood releases gases, some of which burn, but the wood never actually catches fire. Note the substantial quantity of smoking wood involved; unless burned down to embers, one never uses that much wood out in the open. In any case, Laurie actually bought me our Komodo Kamado (and I do get the occasional say inside the house), but the rest of this parable holds true. I do not have permission to generate smoke any other way, ever again. She can taste the difference, and so can everyone else.

Re: Sacramento, CA needs sample box of CoCo Char I'm in Concord, CA with a hoard of the stuff. Do you ever come this way? If not, UPS ground would have it there in a day (once I'm back from New York, late this week).

Re: Best vacuum packer? (FoodSaver alternatives?) VacMaster VacStrip bags These are odd looking, but they work, and they're heat safe for sous vide or "simmer in pouch". Nearly all non-chamber machines need to use bags with channels, for the air to get out. The usual approach is to groove channels into the bag itself. These bags are instead identical to chamber bags, with an extra layer of inner material providing air evacuation channels. The result is stronger. I'd still add their bone guard sheets to an order; the Cyclone pulls a tighter vacuum than a FoodSaver, so bones poking a hole in the bag becomes more of a potential problem.

Re: New KK Site is up and running.. I ordered a spare charcoal basket from Dennis years ago. It wasn't $0.08 but it wasn't much. I highly recommend a spare basket, to handle "good" charcoal like extruded coconut as little as possible between cooks, alternating with one's preferred hardwood lump. I store my spare charcoal basket on a terra cotta plant saucer.

Re: Best vacuum packer? (FoodSaver alternatives?) This is a good point; everyone should decide for themselves whether they want to commit the space to a chamber vacuum machine, and whether they can live with a different set of restrictions (no hot liquids, for example). I don't want to commit the space. I am charmed by a compact, easily carried and easily stored unit that gets the job done. (A key part of this for me are the VacStrip bags, superior to FoodSaver bags. They're the equal of heat-safe chamber bags, with an additional inner layer to provide vacuum channels.) Let's make this a fair comparison. Many people are happy with clamp vacuum machines that are 1/3 the price of the Cyclone 30. Many people are also happy with the least expensive chamber vacuum machines on the market. Were I buying a chamber machine now, it would probably be the MiniPack MVS 20 for around $1,600. Its Busch oil pump is spoken of with high regard by those who distinguish makes and types of pumps. That's around 5x the price of the Cyclone 30. The cheapest chamber machines are around 5x the price of FoodSaver level clamp machines. Everyone should decide for themselves, on space, weight, price, restrictions, and what constitutes acceptable quality. Of course the price intervals will overlap. Let's also not forget that we're here because the Komodo Kamado for us defines quality in a ceramic cooker. There are less expensive alternatives, and we've concluded that the differences are well worth the price.

MiniPack Cyclone blowout sale So I wrote MiniPack to ask about the Cyclone 30. They're no longer actively promoting non-chamber machines, finding it too difficult to educate users on liquids. They want to concentrate on their core business of chamber vacuum machines. I just ordered another Cyclone 30 for my other home, at their blowout sale price, just over $300 with shipping and CA tax. [email protected][/email:11cmmtpc] Every now and then I do run a damp paper towel around the gasket, if an oddly wrinkled bag is having trouble getting a vacuum started. The direction do say to press both sides as one starts. This is nevertheless by far my favorite such machine; hopefully my second order speaks for itself.

Re: Best vacuum packer? (FoodSaver alternatives?) PayPal heard nothing from the guy (I did, an apology for being busy) and refunded my money. Whew! However, the boilerplate in the refund included the message: Huh. Apparently, PayPal gave me money back that was in the seller's account. We've also experienced sellers folding without funds; Amex invariably sides with the customer, while other credit cards side with "the man". I'm not sure I trust PayPal for any amount I'm not willing to lose. A conservative rule: It's worth paying more, if they accept Amex. Dennis would be the one exception: We had no concerns using PayPal to buy our Komodo Kamado. This is squarely Dennis's reputation, not PayPal's. I'd hand Dennis cash, and sleep like a baby that night. Bottom line: VakShak doesn't have their act together.

Re: Pimento Wood Chunks It grows like a weed in warm enough climates. I tried growing a tree in Concord, CA (with jerk chicken on my mind) and the frost killed it. I was so hoping you'd found some! A workaround is to toss some allspice (available cheap in bulk at e.g. Indian grocers like Vik's in Berkeley) onto the fire.

I could have used that kind of charm in my single years

Re: pork butt and ribs While I agree with mguerra, I've had my KK get away from me a few times, turning any residue on the grills to white ash exactly like a self-cleaning oven. No other obvious harm. This is hard use; I did basically destroy a K7 (now limping along in my neighbor's yard) with this kind of hard living. While Dennis may advise caution, I can say that the KK is built better than any competing brand, and can take this hard use better than any competing brand. Now a new KK? Break it in gradually. Even this "or else" is not as urgent as it was for my previous cooker, the KK can probably take it. I rent new cars from rental agencies now and then; do you think anyone drives the first 1,000 miles as they would their own new car? Yet the cars take it.

Re: Everyday Misc Cooking Photos w/ details All else equal, first experiences get elevated in one's memories. I was utterly stunned the first time I had pesto, yet I'm sure I've made better. The best brisket I've ever had in my life was in Elgin, TX. I've come close several times, but they had it all. Great beef, constant practice, and probably a protocol none of us have hit upon. I was at a math conference in College Station, I'd found the best local dive BBQ joint and was taking various colleagues there. Picking up some wine the last afternoon, I asked the guy bagging my wine if we'd found the right place. I ... don't ... eat ... bar .. be ... cue One could have a reading of Molly Bloom's Soliloquy between two of his syllables. The New Yorker in me was crawling out of my skin. The last vegetarian outside the Austin city limits? "Toto, we're not in Houston any more!" 'round ... here! Well then? Where does this guy go? Elgin. The 15 lbs of brisket carry-on attracted some attention, but not till we'd taken off. Dave

Re: Please click on the Social Media icons on the front pag Also, anyone participating in other food forums, be sure to link to komodokamado.com whenever your KK comes up naturally in a discussion. One can do this without coming off as a shill, if one generally provides helpful links for whatever is being discussed.

Re: Is the Benzomatic JT850 the best? Lately I've been using an electric starter. Takes a bit longer, but less direct attention...

Re: Pressure Cookers Here's a very interesting site for pressure cooking. Very diverse set of applications: Hip Pressure Cooking

Re: Steam for Bread This has been my experience, too. I'm not saying that bread baked without steam is deficient. Steam can have a dramatic effect on bread baking, and may or may not be worth the trouble. I've seen this effect, and I want to deliver the steam more easily.

Re: Steam for Bread Here's a great link on the physics: Counting Calories The key numbers: It takes 80 calories to thaw a gram of ice, 100 calories to bring that gram to the boiling point, and a whopping 540 calories to then turn that gram of water to steam. Cast iron holds about 13% as much heat as water. So a 15 lb cast iron skillet at 500 F will boil off around 250 ml of water. It makes scant difference whether one uses hot tap water, or boiling water, and the convenience of using ice cubes isn't that inefficient. I'm now thinking, stack two skillets and use ice. I might drill a few holes in the top skillet, as I did with my cast iron Dutch oven to make a smoke pot.

Re: Steam for Bread Bayou Classic 16 Inch Skillet This one is even heavier. Some people throw ice cubes onto a hot tray, for bread. This takes more energy to turn the water to steam, but it prolongs the effect. I was just rereading the various Bouchon Bakery discussions, where they use chains and rocks for extra thermal mass (with no discussion of the dangers of galvanized metals at high heat; do stainless steel chains even exist?). What if I boiled water in a steel container (like one finds at commercial cookware stores, such as for steam tables) with a tiny leak. I'd have to boil inside a second container, but when the time comes, move the leaky container onto the skillet, and have it dispense boiling water over five minutes. The skillet would stay hot enough to vaporize the water as it leaked out.

Re: Pressure Cookers

Re: RO-MAN Pork Puller Ro-Man Pork Puller Or, if you didn't want to wait till serving time, you could really make the rotisserie from hell with two of these things...

Re: Pressure Cookers How would this fit into a cooking routine, opening up new options? Last week I made a Provencal daube for guests. (KK content: I baked the bread over fire.) The real reason to cook daube is to be able to make a ravioli the next night with meat and greens, which was the best ravioli I've ever eaten. In any case I used beef short ribs for the daube. A great stew meat, though it can fall apart. After trimming, the pile of bones and scraps is easily half the total weight. An "everything but the squeal" approach to cooking demands that one makes a quick stock with the scraps, to layer into the dish. What? Quick beef stock? Enter pressure cooker, stage left. Unfortunately I didn't have one, but this would have been a perfect application.

Re: Pressure Cookers Cooks Illustrated recommends Fissler as best-of-category: Stovetop Pressure Cookers (Cooks Illustrated; subscription required) Fissler Vitaquick Pressure Cooker, 8.5qt (Amazon) "The only cooker to reach 250 degrees at high pressure, it cooked food to perfection in the time range suggested by the recipes." Mine just arrived; they go in and out of stock, and word is that buzz is only increasing for the category in general, and Fissler in particular. There's a thread over at eGullet; this is where Nathan Myhrvold frequently posted on sous vide before writing Modernist Cuisine: Pressure Cookers: 2011 and beyond (eGullet) I have Modernist Cuisine at Home. It advocates sous vide, pressure cookers, and microwave ovens as standard tools. The series has a bit of an identity crisis, for it wants to proclaim it's the last cookbook, but if it were, it would entirely teach problem solving for adapting modern methods to any classical cuisine of our choosing, such as Moroccan tagines. Instead it is a series of recipes, but not those that I'd want to finish out my life cooking. However, more than anything, I have trouble reading it without cracking up, because the format reminds me so strongly of my Home Depot books on plumbing and home repair. In contrast, I absolutely love Heston Blumenthal's "at home" book: Heston Blumenthal at Home (Amazon) Stunning production values, font and layout choices creating a brilliant calm. The book doesn't claim to be anything but what it is. Some say, perhaps his home, but not so far off from your home or mine. In any case, there are eight pages of stock recipes, one per page, for white chicken stock, brown chicken stock, beef stock, lamb stock, fish stock, crab stock, vegetable stock, mushroom stock. Each one involves a pressure cooker; at 250 F the Malliard reaction can take place underwater. I literally bought the pressure cooker to make these eight stocks; if I use it for anything else that will be a bonus. Stock is very important to us. As a side note, I put away stock in chamber vacuum pouches, which I seal with a $40 impulse sealer. This would be quicker even if I owned a chamber vacuum machine. The pouches are heat safe, and so inexpensive that I put up smaller quantities in one cup multiples. I thaw by simmering the pouch in boiling water, then slit a corner to use the stock, perhaps in stages.

Re: Steam for Bread Hey, you're the one wearing latex gloves for a living!

Re: Steam for Bread The tiny probe hole, normally plugged with a silicone plug. I'm going to work on a prototype, this is a great idea.

Re: Steam for Bread I like that idea! That would allow a continual feed during the early bake. Just quite literally what I said, I've tried the lesser solutions people use, like spritzing with a spray bottle, and it has much less effect.