Pyro

I've always found the most consistency and best results by stacking them like little chimneys. First I shake the old ash, then stack on the remaining pieces.

Pyro, FYI. Appreciate the comment; however, I'm not the Whiz.

I realize that, none of us has made the commitment to lump charcoal that he has. He also recommended the little chimney method.

I had terrific results by following the Whiz's advice and filling them in as little chimneys. Cleaned out the cooked, put in a single level of ECC with holes us, then put in four wax-like charcoal starters spaced evenly, and then added another layer of ECC on top. Used my torch to light. Lit quickly, got up to temp (450) and maintained temp wonderfully. It take, perhaps, two or three minutes more to stack them than to simply dump them. You will be more than paid back in lighting time, max temp and burn evenness. I could have easily gotten the heat up to 650/700. If this is the second class stuff, I cannot wait to get my hands on the really good stuff.

This is Good Stuff

I have not had the chance to use the ECC before today. I had a group of 18 over and one of the ladies wanted to cook kabobs from Fresh Market. I cleaned out and then loaded my Medium BGE with ECC - just two rows. She had wanted to cook at 1:30 PM so I lit it up at one and steadied the temp at 450. 5 1/2 hours later it was still rock solid at 450. Lots of charcoal left, it could have gone six more hours easily at that temp. Sorry no pictures (boy, am I sorry), my Nikon D70 picked this past weekend to die. Now, in the middle of Christmas season, I need to find the funds to buy a new D90.

PS - Fresh Market has wonderful kabobs both chicken and steak. You cannot do better at home.

Stacking KK Charcoal

This, as Dennis said, proves "...KOmodos are in a league of their own. " It also showed the 'right' way to put KK charcoal in your cooker. I've got the charcoal on the way, now I need to save up enough for a Gen 2.2.

I'm like a golfer who always wants the latest and greatest driver. In this case I justify it to myself by saying that my medium BGE lacks the grill surface area that I need. Porkchop and the rest of you great cooks, you do not need to remind me that golfer like Water Hagan and Bobby Jones would easily outplay me using their wooden shafted clubs.

Naked Whiz Salmon Recipe

TNW's recipe for Salmon is one of the finest I have ever tasted. The pecan pellets give a wonderful, slightly smokey flavor to the fish w/o hiding its flavor. As usual, the better fish you start with, the better your results. I eagerly anticipate trying this recipe with Copper River King.

I have put a link to TNW's recipe as well as my own version of a tartar sauce that I believe goes well with it

Wayne

The Salmon

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/pcnslmn.htm

Tartar Sauce

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup good mayonnaise

1 tablespoons well drained dill pickle relish

1 tablespoon drained and chopped capers

1 teaspoon anchovy paste

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Reduce lemon juice to 1/4 cup and cool.

Combine 1 tablespoon of the reduced lemon juice with the rest of the ingredients. Retain balance of lemon juice. Refrigerate for one to two hours. Adjust seasonings as needed.

DJ,

Please include Nator's five boxes if still possible. I will pick them up for both him and tcoliver's and then deliver them to GA during the eggtoberfest. If too late, then I will pass along five of mine to Nator.

In either case, please close the thread.

Wayne

That's a model cook. I am amazed by the grill marks. I have to use a cast iron grate to get marks like that on my egg.

DJ, I agree with johnnyboy - DO IT!

Pending Thread Closing

Just a brief note to everyone that this thread will be closed at 2:00 PM EDT Wednesday September 3rd so we can get the charcoal on its way. Please post or e-mail me with any changes before then. Dennis has offered to invoice each of us separately and I have taken him up on that offer.

Wayne

Don, I sure did. You are on the list.

Wayne

Back On Track

I know it's boring but I really do have a question about smoke pots and how they work. BBQ's Delight, that sells wood pellets, advertises a smoke pot with this description:

"Cast Iron Smoker Pot -- Heavy cast iron smoke box with no holes, smoke comes out between the lid and the base and lasts a long, long time."

http://www.bbqrsdelight.com/order.html

Their pellets are great for about thirty minutes. Try TNW's recipe for salmon and you will understand. Does anyone here have any real-time experience with a smoke pot and pellets/chips. It sounds like a good idea to me, but then many ideas sound good.

Thanks for any input,

Wayne

Fifteen it is. I'll get the invoice and pay up front. The rest of you can square up with me when we get the charcoal.

Over the Top!!

Here is the count as I have it:

Turtle - 15 boxes

tcoliver - 5 boxes

Don - 10 boxes

FireMonkey - 12 boxes

Pyro - 10 boxes

Don - 10 boxes

Tucker - 7 boxes

Total - 69 Boxes

Please let me know of any mistakes I have made or any changes desired by Wednesday afternoon. We are well over the 1,000 pound discount point (by more than 500 pounds). I will place the order on Wednesday and let everyone know when it is coming in, where and how much via this thread.

Wayne

Turtle, you are in for eight. We now have met the 600 lb requirement and will go for 1,000. Thanks everyone for making this happen. Any people from FL, GA or AL feel free to jump in. The more, the merrier.

Central FL Pallet

We have put together a pallet for delivery to Central FL (Orlando area). I know it is a drive, but would be happy to add an order for you if you want. See the Central FL thread for details.

Wayne

At the moment we have 36 boxes (per my calculation). We are well over the 600 lb threshold and within eight boxes of the 44 needed for the 100lb pallet. I have sent out a couple of e-mails myself. Let's try to put this to bed by Wednesday morning. I will up my order, if needed.

Let's Get It Done!

As I understand the situation as of now, we have four of us who want to go in on this. (Don, Tucker, Firemonkey and me-Pyro). To get to the 600 pounds we would need to order twenty-eight cases or seven each. The cost breakdown for this order would be:

Charcoal $338.80

Shipping 117.86

Pallet load & shrink-wrap 27.50

Warehouse in/out fees 15.00

Total $499.16

Cost per case $17.82

Cost for each of us $124.79

There is always something you forget to account for, so plan on $150 each. This is a bargain that we not likely to come across again. While this may not be ‘the good stuff’, it is certainly better than any other extruded charcoal available today. If you doubt that, please note that The Naked Whiz has been trying to get a pallet started for North Carolina. If this stuff is good enough for TNW, it is good enough for me.

If the other three of you agree, I will find out about the details including what terminal it will be shipped to and how long we have to pick it up. Once we have decided to ‘go’, I will send the necessary check/checks and collect from each of you upon arrival. I can borrow a pickup truck to carry the stuff, but cannot load/unload w/o help.

Let me know what you want to do. I can handle eight or ten boxes but not a full pallet load.

Wayne

Where to accept delivery?

It looks like we have enough people involved to order a pallet. The only thing missing is a delivery point. I don't have access to a loading dock. Do any of you?

I would come in for five boxes, but only over the Eggtoberfest weekend (Oct 17 through 19). There will be a bunch (1,000 plus) of Big Green Egg users in Tucker, GA that weekend. I don't know how to get the word out to much larger ceramic cooking community, but it could solve the problem.

Sounds Like a Great Approach

howieb,

It can be called a pot roast, because of the way it is finished (braising) or it can be called BBQ because it was started in the classic manner of BBQ'ed Brisket.

What makes this approach great is that you got all the smoke flavor you could ever get by having it in the cooker for several hours and then, by braising, completed it in an easy to control manner, that helps prevent drying out - the bane of BBQ Brisket. While it would not qualify under KCBS rules, it is still a good way to cook a brisket.

Dry Aged vs Wet Aged

This seems to be a matter of individual taste. Morgan Ranch, identified by the Wall Street Journal as providing the finest Wagyu beef in the United States, wet ages their beef for four weeks. I e-mailed them and asked about dry aging. I got this reply from Dan Morgan, "As far as further aging of the steaks ; I do not like the potential after taste with the dry aging. I think, we have the steaks ready to be eaten." Based on my experience, they are definitely ready to be eaten.

I've ordered two briskets from him and will be cooking the first one on the labor day weekend, Having been raised in Kansas City, I will use the point for burnt ends. I will take and post pictures. BTW, for anyone that is interested Morgan Ranch sells Wagyu brisket for $5 per pound. Weights vary from ten to thirteen pounds.

Try 'The Shoulder Strap' available from Amazon. This will make moving your KK a reasonable task for two normal people.

I recommend you avoid any cooking oils to lube anything. Pam has its own special problems, but any vegetable oil will eventually go rancid. Use pharmaceutical grade mineral oil instead.

I cannot receive a pallet here in The Villages, but would like to go in on one. I'd like to get five boxes and will take up to ten to help get the pallet together. Any interest by people within 100 miles of Orlando?

Whiz,

Does this mean you have started your evaluation and like what you see? In any case, I am hoping someone in FL has access to a loading dock. From what I have read, this seems like a 'no-brainer.'

Wayne

Thanks for the warm welcome. I do have a ceramic cooker that I purchased this spring - a BGE. I had not heard of KK when I pulled the trigger and bought a medium egg, table, ci grate, etc. I am enjoying it and putting it to good use. This forum is great since it does not worry about what you own, but rather how you put it to good use.

Firemonkey, do you know anyone with a loading dock? I would like to get some of the new extruded coconut charcoal, but do not need 600 lbs worth.