tekobo

All fantastic looking cooks on this page. The winner for me is...the octopus! And the no-cook winner is the ceviche. Yum!

Thanks Robert, Tony. Simple seasoning definitely feels like the right way to go, as does wrapping. I won't sous vide but dry brining does sound like a good call. Will look up the video that you refer to Tony. I am starting to imagine a very tasty Wagyu brisket burger in my future and that feels good.

Hi. I ordered a Wagyu brisket online without really paying any attention to the weight. It was sold as a 1.6kg piece and is, as you would expect for that weight, skinny and small. Any ideas about how best to cook it? I thought I could treat it like the flat on a larger brisket and turn it into burnt ends but that would seem to be coating the flavour of something that should really taste quite good on its own. Grateful for advice.

You are going to enjoy just playing around with your KK when it arrives. The fun thing is that nothing ever has to stay the same and there is lots to learn and change to suit what you want to do. My preconception, having had a 23 and a 21 originally, was that I had to use the splitter to achieve two zone cooking. Now that I have a 32, and with @BOC's advice, I realise that the fire basket is infinitely "configurable": simply by moving the coals around to just where I want them. There is enough space in the 32's base to create separation without using the splitter if I want that extra flexibility.

That looks awesome @Basher. I would love to have somewhere like that close to me. That said, having a dry ager of your own spoils you for anyone else’s choices about how long to age and what you age. Hope your reno gets finished soon!

What fun! Welcome Lila. I hope that you and your husband love your new KKs when they arrive.

Nice week day lunch. Galician steak with sweet potato fries and salad.

Dennis, you posted this just as I was finishing my post above. Glad to hear the flipping the half grate is “approved”. Also helpful to be reminded that I could just go indirect on the lower grate over the splitter.

I’m not totally sure what you are talking about but I suspect you are talking about the half grate in the 32. If that is the case then I think I do what you have described by flipping the half grate over and having it on the right hand side of the grill when I want to be able to step down to the lower grate with the basket splitter in place. That said, @BOC opened my eyes to the fact that I don’t have to use the splitter at all and can simply pile my char where I want it. That makes things even more flexible. Sorry if I am not answering the right question but some pics to illustrate the problem would help. This is the config with the half grate flipped over and used on the right hand side of my 32. I too would like some advice from others as to how they do the step down with the basket splitter in place, if it is different to what I have illustrated here.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer my questions @Troble. Super helpful. Good to know that flipping the pig was not a big deal. I work out too but I think I might ask for some help if I go that route! I am hosting a friend’s 40th birthday party next week and have a little piggy on order. We are allowed up to 30 in the garden now and it feels like a great opportunity to have a great looking centerpiece like a suckling pig. Will hang it in the dry ager for a few days to help to develop the flavour a little. I hope you found that brisket place in San Antonio and that it was as good as they made it out to be!

Wow! Now there's an awesome sight. Looking forward to the uncrateing.

Cooked the secreto hot and fast yesterday. Was a lot like skirt steak, on steroids. Bought some more immediately. Salt, pepper, a bit of garlic powder and a coating of chilli vinegar. 10 minutes in KK, flipping every 2 minutes. KK was not heat soaked. Ate with chips, salad and a hot tomato sauce. Delicious. There is a Steve Raichlen recipe online that recommends romesco sauce.

Hey there @Troble. How are you feeling? Guessing you must have hit the drinks hard once you had got the pig cook and all of your food out for the guests. I would have! Now, lots of details required to inform future pig cooks: How did you turn the pig? Why did you take the eyes out? Aesthetics or some other reason? How did it taste and what did your guests think? What would you change, if anything, about the cook? How long did you cook for and at what temp? How much did the little piggy cost? Oh yes, and how did you serve it? Was it pulled or did you cut it? Thank you in advance! I have a party to cater for soon and am considering my options.

Looking good, looking great!

The day has come! We are all really looking forward to this cook. All your preparation looks like it is coming together nicely. Have a great day.

Don’t tempt me Dennis! Those terra pebbles look great!

Shaping up nicely @Troble. We are all looking forward to your meal now. That piggy looks like it is just the right size. Can’t wait to see it cooked in a couple of days’ time.

Aha! Yes, I have watched the series, I just didn't remember Rodney's name. I really enjoyed it, thanks for the reminder. Yes, of course I wasn't expecting you to take my "feedback" as gospel. I just wondered about the difference in the type and size of animal that Rodney is dealing with when compared to yours and the tools he has when he comes to turn his cooks. I'll make a point of watching it with my pork chop dinner tonight. Yum.

This sounds like a level of complexity that you could leave out if you wish. I do not know what Rodney Scott normally cooks but my guess is it may be a much bigger whole hog. In that case he will likely have a frame for turning the hog with and the injection is worth the effort. I think that the flesh of a suckling pig is so tender that you don't really want to be messing with it too much. Salt and pepper or a gentle rub of your choice applied the day before and then cooked on its belly, giving the skin the chance to crisp up would be my choice.

This working from home lark makes it easier to do mad things like this. Cooked a 500g batch of corn Tuesday morning, ground it to make wet masa yesterday morning and then left it in the dehydrator for a few hours. Trays below show the dehydrated results. Got back to it this morning and ground a full batch in my small spice/coffee grinder this morning. I did try the blender but the result wasn't as fine. 400g of masa harina from 500g of corn. Will store in the freezer to keep it fresh (as per advice from Anson Mills for their freshly milled products). U

She loves you for it, I'm sure. Looking forward to pics of the piggy when you get it home.

That piece of kit looks just awesome @Basher. Just beautiful. I look forward to seeing it in action. When is your birthday and will you get to cook with it on the day or has that "deadline" been missed?

Hey @Troble, it is great to be feeling like I can advise you on the strength of one suckling pig cook of my own. I think your time and temp should be fine for this young animal. I cooked mine slightly hotter 150C (300F) and it took approximately four hours in the roti basket. Don't worry about needing to saw the trotters off. Once the pig is cooked they will either fall off or be easily pulled off. How are you planning to get the pig off the grill? I guess you could actually lift out the grate if you don't have an alternative holder in place during in the cook. I didn't have the issues with juices running out that @Basher described but we will learn more when you try it out.

Thanks @BOC. It never occurred to me not to use the splitter! Still not sure if my tidy gene will allow me to do that regularly but I will give it a try very soon.

Interesting that you should ask. I didn't think about the serving bit before I started cooking mine and I was a bit daunted when I started to cut into my cooked pig. In particular, I had no idea how much meat there was overall and so I was a bit parsimonious with the first few sandwiches that I made. I think I ended up in the pulled pork space but I might have preferred to separate some of the joints out and to make a deliberate mix of different parts of the pig for each person. Whatever you end up doing, don't sweat it. It'll be the best roast pig your guests will have eaten - that day, if not ever.