Pequod

Forkish does what he does not because his pizzas are improperly formulated and need par baking, but because he's trying to replicate a Neapolitan style pie in which the sauce is a bit baked into the crust and the cheese (Fior di latte or fior di buffula) is a modest amount and gently melted, not browned. He's also trying to replicate Neapolitan results in a home oven at 550 vs 900 in a wood fired oven. His approach works very well - the pie I posted above was very reminiscent of pizzas I had in Italy. That said, I prefer my sourdough pies with All Trumps flour and smoked mozzarella on the KK. Actually was trying to reply to @ckreef on par baking. Can't seem to insert the right quote. Oh well.

Seems like that should work. Basically a jump started sourdough. One question I'd have, and it could only be answered by trying it, is the process of transitioning from commercial yeast to natural. Sourdough starter goes through some interesting phases of bacterial growth and death before it stabilizes after a week or so. Mine smelled of heavily used sweat socks about three days in. Be interesting to see if your approach avoids that.

This is actually one of Forkish's tricks in his book. Most of his recipes have you start with just the sauce on the dough, fire it for 4-6 minutes, then add the rest of toppings and cheese, then return it to a broiler (yes, broiler) for 1-2 minutes. It's whacky, but it works. This pic is of an oven baked/broiled Forkish sourdough pizza using 00 flour. The prosciutto was added last AFTER it came out of the oven.

Ah, okay. Using a biga. Haven't seen John's video, so wasn't sure whether it was using a biga or levain. Did you use 00 flour as well or something else? Just curious -- I've had great results with sourdough and both 00 and high protein flours. My 2 cents (easily worth half that!): I think pre-ferments are generally at their peak at around the 12 hour mark. Same is true with my sourdough starter -- at it's best within 12 hours after feeding. So, mixing the dough with the preferment after 12 hours is probably best, let it do a bulk rise for 2-3 hours, then you could shape it and let it slow proof in the fridge for 48-72 hours.

Looks good! Which of Forkish's dough recipes is this?

I'm so ashamed...

She said it's not similar to Food in China, but still Good. Works for me!

My 17 year old daughter returned from China last week and has been craving Asian food since. Out for sushi Friday night. Tonight it was Yam Neua. This month's issue of Milk Street featured a recipe for Yam Neua, so here we go. Start by thinly slicing a shallot and marinate in freshly squeezed lime juice. I rubbed the skirt steak with a blend of kosher salt, white pepper, and brown sugar. Idea is to get a nice char while keeping the inside medium rare. High heat, low grate, and a bit of sugar are the keys. Here we are charring the outside. Pardon the somewhat gratuitous video, but some folks at Amazing Ribs have asked for more videos of the KK's in action. Must keep the fans happy. Resting. The char is perfect. And we nailed the medium rare. Add fish sauce, red pepper flakes, tomatoes, Cilantro, mint and, of course, that wonderfully charred steak. Delicious! Big bold flavors and the char provided great flavor and texture.

Errr...yes, that's it. It's listed under the blends, but it is labeled "Shawarma Spice".

Nicely done! Look at that juice groove nearly overflowing.

That's the plan. Two sets crammed full of shawarma. Gonna be seriously impressive. This was just a dry run.

I know you're a World Spices fan -- found them because of your recommendations here...I'm normally a Penzey's guy. Give the Shawarma Blend a try. Seriously great stuff.

My BB32 will be chock full of beef plate ribs and pork butts, so the 23 will be spinning as much shawarma as I can cram in there on the forks.

I'm expecting around 30 guests for my Make Memorial Day Great Again! party, and chicken shawarma is going to be on the menu. Decided I needed a test cook since I'll be changing things up a bit. For one, I'll be spinning it with OctoForks to help me max the capacity. Here's a pic of how I'm suspending the skewers between the forks, using the slot and holding in place with the bolts. I'm using two pounds of chicken thighs for this test cook, with one pound on each skewer. I could easily get over two pounds on each skewer and have two more forks, so can readily spin eight pounds of shawarma on four skewers. The chicken marinated overnight in olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, kosher salt and World Spices Shawarma Blend. Noticed this blend has all the same ingredients I normally use and a few other goodies, plus World Spices stuff is ultra fresh. The bag was dated the day I ordered it. Gotta have fresh pita. Silly not to. Would have griddled these on my other KK, but nasty weather today. I cheated with a cast iron griddle on the stove. After 1-1/2 hours of spinning, looking good. Off the skewers and chopped. Plated. Topped with cucumber, tomato, red onion, feta, and Donair sauce. Delicious! These will truly Make Memorial Day Great Again!

Yeah, I was happy to find some post oak without having to buy a yuge amount. They had some other interesting woods I'd like to try in small quantities. They had a brisket class going on while I was there too. Very rainy, so was glad to see they have a covered porch area for cooking events.

I know we have some Dizzy Pig fans here, so took one for the team and shlepped it over to the new Dizzy Pig World HQ today, which is 11 miles from my house as the crow flies, or 30 minutes drive time. Mad Max of turkey fame greeted me at the door and proudly showed off the new space, which is immense relative to the old. They now have areas in the showroom for various BBQ items, many of which are on my list of preferred brands: the entire Dizzy Pig line (of course), Blues Hog, Fruita Wood in bulk, Fogo and Rockwood charcoals, Thermoworks, Yeti, and a complete line of products associated with some oddly egg shaped green grills. Really happy to find a ready supply of Fruita. Yeah, I know they ship for free, but it's nice to be able to buy just what you'll need and not store a bunch of wood. Today was buy four get Mad Max free day, so replenished some of my go tos and picked up some Mole to boot. That mole is pretty awesome. Dreaming up some plans for that. Here's today's haul.

@FotonDrv - I normally buy my espresso beans freshly roasted from Redbird, Klatch, or other "Third Wave" roasters (Red Rooster, Johnson Brothers, Paradise Roasters, etc.). These are pretty darn good (to me) espressos. Will I notice a difference in flavor by roasting my own?

Love your cooks!

Interesting. Let us know how it works when you get it.

That's a real beaut, Clark! Looks like you got a nice pile of CoCo char too. Good call.

I'm pretty sure it was the A-Maz-N pellets pitmasters blend, but could be wrong. I had a bag of some off-brand pellets laying around too. Been awhile since I tried pellets, so definitely interested in your report. Always loved how they burned in the AMNTS. Very consistent.

Ditto. Never considered grilling pasta. Neat idea! Wonder if I could roti pasta...

This is a killer lineup. Anyone who aspires to a KK can find something to meet their needs.

I've tried pellets and they really gunk up the inside of the induction tube. I've been experimenting a bit to find best practice as well. So far, my best results come from laying that bed of chips to just above the induction tube, adding a small piece of charcoal, then dropping a lit Rutland starter in there. Let that go for 5-10 minutes with the lid off, then top it off.