tekobo

I had a thin venison rump steak the other day and cooking direct on the coals seemed to be a good way to get a good sear quickly without over cooking the steak. The soot that you see on the KK comes from blowing it off the embers before placing the steak on top. The steak was cooked rare, to my liking, but I did find it just a little bit gritty on the outside. I think it is a method worth pursuing and will try again soon.

@RokDok got me into making cider although I managed to dodge the massive spend on scratters and such like by simply using my home juicer to start the process off. We are visiting him next week and I may take a bottle with me so that he can judge whether I have ended up with cider or just a nice batch of cider vinegar. An interesting by product of the process were the cider lees - the sediment that falls to the bottom of your fermenting container as your apple juice turns to alchohol and clarifies (or at least, that is what I think was happening). I used the cider lees to marinade wings and they came out nice and deeply delicious, a real umami flavour. I also tried to use them to make a sourdough starter but that was not successful at all. No pix, sorry, but I do have pics of the output of my cook last night. I used this recipe https://www.quicksandfood.com/recipe/sake-lees-marinated-grilled-chicken-w-herb-salad-sesame-chilli-sauce/#ingredients and sake lees that friend bought me for a present. My excuse for not taking the pic of the food cooking on the KK? It was cold and dark out and I left my phone in the house! I give you sake lees chicken shawarma. Yum.

Merry Christmas to you all! Here’s to more cooking and learning in 2022.

I had a hankering for something similar when someone posted a pic on the forum a couple of years ago. Finally got my brother to bring this over to the UK from Texas for me this summer but I have not tried it yet. Similar concept but probably heavier, given it is cast iron. Lodge L15RCGT 15"x12" Cast Iron Grill Topper, Black More information: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0971NXQNM/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_EBRPC6QSJQ04WRKKZDHA?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Hey, we all have to learn in our own way. For my part I started off with pebble and then moved to the right side of the fence with my current tile KKs. I see you made the right choice straight out of the gate. I love you ODK space and design. I guess all you have to do now is figure out where your second KK needs to go...

@johnnymnemonic, like @jeffshoaf I have only ever seen smoke coming out of the bottom of my KK when I forgot to push the front plate back in after a clean. That said, I never use a controller with my KKs. It might be worth experimenting without a controller to confirm that this is the reason for the problem. I would not be keen on applying loctite to any part of my KK unless it was really necessary. Good looking cooks all round. I want some of those Meyer lemons for my Christmas recipe @Troble and I could just devour those chicken thighs for my lunch @tony b. Like @MacKenzie, I find looking at this forum at a wrong time of day a trial!

That looks fabulous @Basher! How lucky are you?

We’d go well together, that granny and me. She can eat the sweet stuff and me the savory!

hi @Cheesehead_Griller Chicken shawarma on a vertical spike Chicken shawarma on a rotisserie spit I have found it much easier to use the vertical spike. Manoeuvering a container under the rotisserie rod and cutting away over the fire is not quite as easy.

Adam is very clear in his book that you need to get to the stage with hot coals, create a level bed and blow off the ash just before putting the meat on. I want to try pork chops this way as I hope it will reduce smoking. Some articles that came up on a quick google search: https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/clinched-strip-steak, https://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/meat-clinching-a-revelation-in-grilling and https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/may/27/dirty-barbecue-dirty-steak-clinching

Johnny, your post reminded me of an experiment that Charles did many moons ago. Discovering it freed me from the shackles of sweeping out my KK after every cook. He went 15 cooks, just sweeping the ash towards the back of his KK. And he only had a 19! See below for link. We haven't heard from him for a while but I am sure he is out there enjoying life. Cheers @ckreef, wishing you and Mrs SK well.

I love Adam Perry's approach to layering flavour. I always have a jar of his four seasons blend to hand - it is easy to make up and is great universal seasoning. I have only "clinched" or cooked direct on coals a couple of times. Sounds like I should try it again as that steak of @C6Bill's looks awesome!

Beautiful @sihb001. You are helping to cement my love affair with tile. And with lamb. Gorgeous looking cooks. I never use the "official" heat deflectors. It sounds like you have worked that out through trial and error. For low and slow cooks I only light a small fire in the centre of the KK and I sit my smoke pot on top of the fire. That acts as a shield against direct heat and I have never had any problems with dry meat in those circs. That said, I would normally put my short ribs in a pan with stock or some such liquid. Others put a small deflector under their pizza/baking stone but I don't and I don't remember when or why they do that. Hoping someone else will come on and explain that configuration. All that said, you look like you are having lots of fun. Bravo.

That looks delicious. Thank you for posting the recipe.

You are soooo right. Wings and drumsticks are my favourite. Wrong in that I don't eat turkey, just chicken and quail and duck and all the tastier birds.

I stubbornly went for a 21 and 23 when I bought my first KKs. A couple of years on, I finally bought a 32. I wish I had bought it at the start. My husband calls it the "multi-tool". As others have said, the 32 is very versatile and will meet and exceed your expectations. As for your Primo XL? I would keep it to a) compare it with your KK and b) see if you find a use for it alongside your KK - good information for deciding whether to buy a second KK in the future!

@Cheesehead_Griller the 32 is a great choice. It has a lot of room and the ability to split the firebox down to a quarter of its size means that you can cook very economically if you only have a small cook. If you are even thinking of it I would go for a second KK - now or at some point in the future. I thought it was a mad idea until I tried it myself. An example is being able to grill at high temps in one KK while the other is still going low and slow. Not having to wait or juggle cooks is a nice luxury. And you could order your second KK in pebble and settle, once and for all, the argument about which cooks best - tile or pebble?

Stop right there! My view is that you should not start your KK journey with regrets. Get in touch with Dennis and ask for a change if you really want pebble instead of tile. A month or two's delay, if any, will be worth it. I think the 32 is a great cooking machine and you have made the right choice there. If you want extra versatility I would get a second KK while you are at it. I have three and I love having the ability to cook a whole meal outdoors, using different temps in each grill as necessary. Your KK, your choice, my two penneth's worth.

Hi @Scott.W, when you say you have the large basket do you mean the rotisserie cradle? If so then my advice would be to remember to tighten the prongs as the cook progresses and the meat shrinks. I suspect you only have to do it once or twice during the cook but I do know that you end up with your food starting to rotate within the cradle if you don't take this simple step. Don't ask me how I know that to do otherwise will likely leave you with a rather ugly looking result. 🤭

Welcome @Durangutan. I was once a new useless girl checking in who had never used a kamado and had only rarely barbecued. I now love my KKs and use them whenever I can. Get stuck in. Half the fun is in the deciding and waiting and then, when you finally get a KK (or two) of your own ALL the fun is in the cooking and looking.

Hi @RokDok, I usually dry cure my bacon. Works well every time. I buy the cure from Surfy's in the UK.

In my fantasy world I would make fresh pasta every week. It is so simple, and therapeutic, to get your flour and eggs on the table, knead them and turn them into beautiful home made dishes. That said, it is messy and time consuming and it is much faster to open a packet or grill a steak. Only two bits of advice from me: 1) don't go hand cranked. It is so much easier to have an electric roller helping you. Leaves you with two hands free to handle the pasta. I went to my local Kenwood outlet store and got the roller and cutter attachments at a good price. 2) find a local class with someone who has made a lot of pasta in their life. Having them show you how easy it all is and the tricks for particular types of pasta is worth a lot in time spent on trial and error on your own. Above all, have fun!

I am not sure what all the fuss is about turkey. I never eat it if I can avoid it - too much else that is much nicer. I want to make a fuss about your bread. It looks great. Like the Incredible Hulk ripping out of his shirt! How do you get that effect @C6Bill? My sourdough does not come close.

I refuse to laugh at your awful jokes @Poochie but I am sure I would enjoy a road trip with my two amigos!

A nice looking cook @jeffshoaf. Good for getting close to the food you are griling. Your work looks like it is coming along well @Basher. I think you will reach a good balance between your ODK and IDK, particularly since the latter will include your new dry ager! I find that I rarely use my Argentinian/Parilla grill. Mainly because I find the KKs so much easier to light. That said, I want to do a lot more experimenting with fire cooking a la Lennox Hastie and others. Winter will see me bundled up and outdoors I hope, trying out stuff on the KKs, Argie Barbie and Solo Stove. What fun.