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Fast Freddie

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  2. Brining

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    I believe it is stating chicken pieces about two hours, and pork pieces would take eight hours. I do my chicken thighs overnight. Give them a good rinse, dry and then apply rub on the chicken and under the skin. By the way, you can make a quick brine for chicken and ribs with Coke or Dr Pepper. Just add kosher salt with the soda, using the same ratio, and mix until salt is dissolved. Brine overnight. I use this mixture at contests and it works for me. This mixture doesn't give the ribs a ham flavor as some other brine's do.

    First Contest - Second Place Chicken - Modesto 2006

    Pq4o_xXS.jpg

  3. Brining

    in KK Cooking

    Posted

    Brining Article

    In several articles, I've mentioned the need to brine chicken or pork to produce juicier, more flavorful, and tender cooked meats. The net effect of brining is to infuse the meat with extra salt (and sometimes sugar and other flavorings) and water. But how does brining work? In this article, I examine what happens when you brine.

    What does brining do?

    Brining is the soaking of meat in a solution of water and salt. Additional flavorings like sugar and spices can also me added, but salt is what makes a brine a brine (just like acid makes a marinade a marinade). This soaking causes the meat to gain some saltiness and flavoring while plumping it up with water so that after cooking it still contains a lot of juices.

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    The explanation for why brining works that I hear most often is that by surrounding the meat with salt water, salt and water are forced into the tissue through osmosis. Unfortunately, I've never been happy with that explanation. Osmosis is when a solvent (usually water or other liquid that can hold another substance, called the solute, in solution - like salt) moves from a low solute concentration (like the tissue of the meat) to a high solute concentration (like the salt water) through a semipermeable membrane (a surface that allows small particles to pass but not larger ones - like the cell membranes of our chicken or pork) to form an equilibrium. Hmmm... wait a minute. If that's true then water will be drawn from the low salt concentration meat to the high salt concentration salt water. At the same time, if the salt can enter the meat (which it can), then salt will be moving from salt water to meat. Won't that result in a salty, dry piece of poultry or pork?

    Obviously, there's more going on than simple osmosis. It is true that salt enters the meat (it tastes more salty after brining). But why is it also more juicy? Well, when water flows out of the meat, salt flows in and begins to break down some of the proteins in the cells. In the broken down state, the molecules become more concentrated and the solute levels rise within the meat. This causes additional water to flow into the meat.

    But doesn't that mean we've got the same amount of water as before brining? Nope. The cell membranes are semipermeable. They allow salt and water to flow in both directions freely, but larger molecules (like the denatured proteins and other solutes in the meat released by the salt) cannot flow out from within the cells. When the solutes of a solution on one side of a semipermeable membrane cannot pass to the other side, osmosis causes more and more solvent to move through the semipermeable membrane. This continues until the extra pressure from holding more solvent equals the rate at which solvent is "drawn" through the semipermeable membrane. (This rate is called osmotic pressure. How Stuff Works has a short article describing osmotic pressure with a diagram that may be helpful to visualize the water flow.)

    What has happened is that through brining, we've caused a state change in the cells so that they will draw and hold more water than before. As we cook the meat, the heated proteins will begin to draw in tighter and squeeze out water, but, hopefully, enough water will remain to produce a juicy, tender piece of meat.

    Brining Solution

    So, how much salt in water is used for brining? That really depends on how long of a brine you want and how salty you want the final product. A weak brine will require a longer brining time to achieve the same saltiness as a strong brine. When I need a moderate strength brine, I use 1/2 cup (about 150 g) of table salt per gallon of water. (Higher concentrations of salt can be used to reduce brining times, but the amount of salt and the time it takes to brine is dependent on the muscle structure of the particular piece of meat.) Using kosher salt is a common practice, but different manufacturers grind the salt to different levels of coarseness, so kosher salt should be weighed before adding to water. For small amounts of salt, the salt can be dissolved into cold water, but for larger quantities it may be necessary to heat the water to dissolve the salt.

    Brining Time

    Always start with a cold brine. If you heated the brine, then refrigerate it before using it. The raw meat will be in the brine for a number of hours, so we don't want the temperature of the meat to rise higher than refrigerator temperatures (40°F, 4°C) if we can help it. Place the brine in a noncorrosive container like a plastic or glass container, plastic bag, or a stainless steel pot.

    The brining time depends on the shape of your meat as well as the type of meat. Generally, a good rule of thumb is 2 hours per pound of solid poultry when using the 1/2 cup salt per gallon brine. Cut up poultry will have reduced brining time. For chicken pieces like breasts or thighs, 2 hours is usually enough time. Pork may take about four times as long to brine as poultry. In most cases, it's difficult to predict how fast the salt moves into the meat when you double or halve the salt in the brine, but it's worth experimenting with to have your brining "finish" at a time where you will be around to remove the meat from the brine.

    When you remove the meat from the brine, rinse off the excess salt from the surface and return the meat to the refrigerator to await cooking. Pour out the brine after each brining. (No need to have a half gallon of raw meat juice infused salt water lying around growing germs...)

  5. KK Repair

    in Komodo General

    Posted

    Just brought the rest of my broken KK home from Rock's BBQ. He also gave me a Stoker unit for it. I will start the repair process in the next few weeks. Boy, that thing is heavy. It's a high lift to the bed of my truck. He also retrofitted my FEC100 with his Stoker controller. Now, I will have to be cooking a lot of meat everyday to put it through it's paces so he can get feedback on it, before putting it into production.

  10. Parts and Accessories

    in KK 411

    Posted

    I like to buy things with all the options. It is good to know that the KK comes this way. The large middle section fell four feet off of a truck, breaking half of the bottom, and a piece of the side is broke. It cannot stand on the base. I will form the broken area and pour some refractory cement in the form and level it out. I will take pictures of the repair process. I have new replacement tiles. I want to get it fixed and practice cooking with it. I want to take it along with my FEC to some contests. No one that competes against me has one. There are a lot of BGE's, and I use to see the couple who competed with Richard's Kamado's, but I haven't seen them since the Vegas competition in 2003.

  12. Knife Deal

    in Komodo General

    Posted

    I've heard bamboo is a bad choice for cutting boards due to the hardness that it really tends to be hard / bad on the knives' date=' requiring frequent sharpening....[/quote']

    Kershaw Shun

    14 x 14-in. Bamboo Cutting Board

    Kershaw's 14 x 14-in. Bamboo Cutting Board is a superior cutting board with a surface that is 16% harder that maple, allowing for less cutting marks. Bamboo is fast being recognized as a superior surface for food preparation. It's easy to clean and stain resistant. Plus, its natural hardness means it resists knife marks and retains its handsome appearance even under consistent use. Along with the hard surface, bamboo doesn't absorb moisture, ensuring that your board will maintain its shape with washing, time and time again. Not only is bamboo an ideal working surface for cutting, it's a safe and ecological choice. Bamboo is a grass, not a wood that grows quickly and replenishes itself.

    Kershaw Knives, Ltd. designs and manufactures tools that customers are proud to own, carry, and use. Since 1974, Kershaw's dedication to quality has led to a worldwide reputation for performance and innovation. From state-of-the-art manufacturing to advanced materials, customers rely on Kershaw for products that provide "Technology with an Edge."

    I have one and like it very much.

  16. Parts and Accessories

    in KK 411

    Posted

    It depends on the parts (and how much you care about looks). Most of the damage can probably be fixed with fireplace cement and standard grout/tiles/sealant. If you've got some damaged stainless hardware you may be able to have someone fabricate simple replacements locally but anything complex you may need to send an email to Dennis to try to replace. He can also get you matching tiles if you want, if you don't care that much you can either use some standard tiles or even just leave them off.

    If you've got any questions on how to get started, it may be best to post some pictures of the damage and we can post some pictures of what it's supposed to look like and some direction on how to get things fixed.

    The bottom of the cooking chamber has some concrete broken off. It looks like I can form it and pour some replacement cement. I will add some rebar to strengthing it. I already have the replacement tiles. I don't think anything else is broke, except for one leg on the firebox, which should be easy to fix.

  17. Welcome Fast Freddy

    in Forum Members

    Posted

    I can't find a place on the website to purchase the pieces that are missing from the cooker.

    Do you know where I can look and see what is missing?

    Yikes! You're 35 miles away from me. Want me to come by and take a look?

    That would be great. I work down that way a lot.

    I have to go down to Rocks BBQ (Stoker) next week and pick up the rest of the unit. The bottom need to be leveled out to sit on squarely on the the roll around legs. Replace a few tiles. I guess the customer kept the fire rings and the grills, when a new unit was shipped to them.

  20. Welcome Fast Freddy

    in Forum Members

    Posted

    Hi Trish

    I cook on a FEC100 and a FEC500 pellet cooker.

    I am currently purchasing an "Olyer700" on a trailer.

    I was given a Komodo Kamado yesterday.

    It is suppose to be the top of the line unit.

    It was damaged in transit, and given to John Jackson, maker of

    the "Stoker" temperature control unit. It is busted up pretty good and he doesn't have the time to fix it, so I will.

    I am a CBJ and a member of KCBS and CBBQA. I do some bbq catering and bbq competition cooking.

    I can't find a place on the website to purchase the pieces that are missing from the cooker.

    Do you know where I can look and see what is missing?

    Fast Freddie

    Love Shack BBQ

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