mguerra

Re: Newbie 101 Read the old posts, lots of them... Your KK will probably be one of, if not the most, rewarding purchases you have made.

Re: New Member/Owner in the Nation's Capital I like Torano and CAO products mostly. Also Rocky Patel Sun Grown and also his Vintage 1992. Torano has a cigar you rarely see in stores or on the net. I call their office to get them sent to me. It is the red label Nicaraguan. Inexpensive and super flavorful!My favorite CAO varies between the Italia, Anniversaire, and the Criollo. They are all three damn good.

Re: New Member/Owner in the Nation's Capital 24 hours pre-arrival inject a pork butt and put in the fridge. Have hot batteries available for the camera. Set aside some tip money and or adult beverages for whoever is helping move the beast in place. Get your torch or charcoal chimney, if you don't have those yet. Go to Wal-Mart and buy six bags of Royal Oak lump. Join Amazon Prime and get free two day shipping on a Maverick or Oregon Scientific remote thermometer. I suggest the Oregon Scientific AW-131. If you are in to it, put a special cigar in the humidor. If you enjoy spirits of any sort, put a special bottle in the freezer, ice cold spirits are awesome! Get fresh spices to make up a good rub. Clean off your favorite outdoor chair and throw a cover over it. Find your rain gear, just in case it's raining that day. Clear the path from the drop-off point to the final resting spot. Get your 2x4's and pad them, if you will use that method to move the behemoth. Wait.

Re: I'm STOKED!!! (newcomer) If you use the 2x4 carry method, PAD the 2x4's!!! If you remove the lid, make sure you understand how to release the spring. Open the lid all the way, prop it open such that it CAN NOT fall closed, and release the spring. Cook a pork butt first. Post a couple pics. And welcome to the club!

Re: New Member/Owner in the Nation's Capital Welcome. Enjoy. Cook a pork butt roast.

Re: New owner in Dublin, CA How have you been cooking/grilling/barbequeing til now?

Re: First Roti Chicken We have discussed this at some length. If you cook chicken indirect it comes out done, but rubbery. Cook chickens direct, roti or static. Some folks say the fat dripping on the fire results in an off flavor, I have not experienced that. For those of ya'll that posted on this, with your tricks for making a drip catcher, you might re-post here. A roti chicken cooked direct gives some GREAT crispy skin!

Re: Chris Lilly's Championship Pork - how long for rub? Chris lily is on TV right now with two KK's. "Best in Smoke" on the Food Network HD, Directv channel 231.

Re: Chris Lilly's Championship Pork - how long for rub? I don't know about the rubs, but these are some good injections, if you don't make your own. I have had some great results with the Rosemary Garlic. http://www.cajuninjector.com/

Re: Multiple Small Boneless Boston Butts Just took an 11 pounder off from an overnighter. Taking it down to my Mom's place. I'll try to sneak in the rendered fat...

Re: Multiple Small Boneless Boston Butts 4:30 AM! You are hard core. Report later...

Re: Multiple Small Boneless Boston Butts Cook them bone in and just pull them apart at the end. Cook with the skin on, skin side down. They will be ok cooked at 300, but a little better cooked lower. You don't have to get up at the crack of dawn! Get your fire stable at 200 to 225 and put them on at 11:30 and go to bed. Get up by 6:30 and check them, they should be ok. Pull them off at 185 to 200 internal. Wrap in foil and towels, place in a cooler, and hold til party time. No problem. Now, here is the real kicker. You have to do this when no one is watching. Pull the roasts apart and scrape out all the fat, connective tissue and skin. Put that in a frying pan and fry it/render it down. Shred your meat, then pour all, or some of, the liquid fat from the frying pan on the meat and mix it in. To the diners, the mouth feel will be of just lean, moist meat. But the flavor will be over the top. This is no different than how BBQ joints prep their chopped beef and pulled pork sandwiches, you just are not aware of it!

Re: Bronze Behemoth Game On! 2 http://www.flickr.com/photos/46399761@N ... 659484894/

Re: Bronze Behemoth Game On! 2 This month's Cooks Illustrated has some GOOD recipes for grilling sauces. Last night we cooked a pork loin which had brined all day. I cooked it on a hickory fire, indirect, 350 to 400 degree dome, til it hit 150. Then I slathered on the glaze and cooked for a few more minutes to get it just caramelized a little, but not burnt. Delish. It was a sweet glaze made with apple butter, apple juice, caramelized sugar, apple cider vinegar and some other stuff. Penny made it and I wasn't paying attention, but it is damn good. Pick up this month's CI! You won't regret it. We are really bummed that Gourmet magazine went under, Bon Apetit is OK, but just not the same league as Gourmet was. But Cook's Illustrated is a staple around our house. After work I'll put up some photos.

Re: Getting the KK to 500 degrees For your charcoal chimney, if you start it with paper, add a little vegetable oil to the paper. Credit: Alton Brown. It prolongs the fire to get the coal started.

Re: Boneless Beef Short Ribs Sometimes people see these photos and think we have burnt the meat. From time to time you see these comments on various BBQ forums about how our cookers just burn stuff up. Of course it is just the rub that takes on a black color, the meat is succulent!

Re: Pepper Mill Thanks for the tips.

Re: Lighting Looftlighter A charcoal chimney can get a raging fire going in 5 minutes. However, if you start it with paper, you do get a lot of paper ash flying everywhere. Normally I fill it only 2/3 full for the fastest start. Sometimes I'll fill the chimney halfway, hit that with a MAPP torch for 30 or 40 seconds, then add some more charcoal on top of the lit stuff. Eliminates the flying ash. If you try the Looft, let us know how it works. The Amazon reviews seemed pretty positive. And it's cool looking.

Anyone know of a pepper mill that can grind a LOT of pepper fast? Not just a little for your plate, but a bunch to put in a rub. Something that can grind, say, a quarter of a cup real quick.

Re: Rib Roast All these posts about rib roasts put me in the mood. It's been two years since I did one; so yesterday I got a 4 bone standing. That's a piece of beef, not a condition!!! I'll slow smoke it at 225 indirect on a mesquite fire, since that worked so well before. Hopefully a few photos to follow. Happy Easter!

Re: Rib Roast If you like your meat charred on the outside and rare in the middle, cook it on a raging hot fire down close to the fire. If you want it more evenly cooked, cook it up high away from the fire, direct. It takes longer, gets a little more smoke flavor imbued in to it, and comes out more evenly done. It's also slower to hit your finish temp and does not blow right past your finish temp so it's a more leisurely cook. Get yourself just downwind, fire up a stogey, grab an adult beverage, and bask in the smells and flavors of that little combo.

Re: Order placed and now the waiting starts..... I mentioned in some posts last year about wanting a nice stainless cabinet to store all my Q gear out of sight. The custom cabinet I designed was going to be over $5,000.00. It occurs to me I can just go find a gas grill with enough storage space and use that! They are WAY cheaper. It's not as clean looking as a pure cabinet, but it is something that looks correct and proper, not out of place, out on the deck. Hmm...

Re: Pork Butt: cook time by hour per pound??? Yes you can cook it well ahead without having to be up at the crack of dawn. Put it on the night before. Hold it in the cooler wrapped in towels. It will be perfect at party time! Your time was 1.6 hours/ lb. Right in the 1-1/2 to 2 hr/ lb guideline. I use 2 hrs/ lb and count back from serving time to calculate my latest start time for the cook. Then I figure I can hold it for six hours in the cooler, and using those numbers decide when it is convenient for me to start the cook.

Re: Pork belly (German: Schweinsbrust) recipe Here is an email I received regarding prepping a pork belly; Michael, Simple version: score the belly and season well, add enough liquid (wine/stock/juice/beer...) to come halfway up the belly. Place the belly on vegetables (onion, garlic, carrot) fat side up and roast, uncovered until tender, maybe 3-4 hours at 300 degrees. For a more expansive version, see below. See you soon! Jesse Jesse Griffiths and Tamara Mayfield Dai Due daidueaustin.com 512.524.0688 Apple Cider Braised Pork Belly Serves 4 24 oz. Richardson pork belly Salt, to taste 2 white onions, sliced 2 Jonagold apples, sliced 4 bay leaves 2 cloves Black pepper 1 quart fresh apple cider Turn the pork belly fat-side up, and score ¼†deep in a crosshatch pattern with a box cutter or sharp, thin-bladed knife. Salt to taste and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to one day. Preheat the oven to 275. Trim a 2†strip of fat from the belly and melt over a medium flame in an oven-proof pan that will hold the belly snugly. Add the onions, apples, bay, cloves and black pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add the apple cider and bring to a boil. Add the pork belly, fat-side up, and cook, uncovered, in the oven for 4 or 5 hours, or until a knife meets no resistance and the belly is tender and crisp on top. Remove the belly, apples and onions from the pan, discarding the cloves and bay. Pour the braising liquid into a tall container and refrigerate. Carefully pour off the rendered fat from the liquid as it rises to the top and return the remaining liquid to the pan with the belly, apples and onions and gently reheat or refrigerate for later serving. Serve with mashed sweet potatoes. I had some prepared like this at the Dai Due kitchen. Absolute heaven!

Re: Pork belly (German: Schweinsbrust) recipe You can cook it with the skin on, but you will have to cut the skin off to eat the belly because the skin is leather. I have had it cooked with skin off. Luscious.