BalconySmoken

I love cheesecake! When I was living in Austin I was given a generous slice of a blueberry smoked cheesecake from a friends smokehouse restaurant in Blanco. So I thought I would give something a crack. I had a heap of raspberries in the freezer that I needed to get rid of (somebody has filled the freezer with meat!). I used this recipe (times 2): https://letsdishrecipes.com/2018/06/white-chocolate-raspberry-swirl-cheesecake.html for the grill setup:I used the temperature as described in the recipe, I made a foil pouch of applewood chips, and put a pan of water on the heat deflector. Cakes were on the top grate. all was going well until my foil pouch had some sort of critical failure: a heap of smoke came out all at once and not the gentlesmoke I was aiming for.after the cook I discovered the foil had disintegrated so all the chips must have lit up rather than smouldered. The cake tasted sensational, although it was a little bitter on the top which I assume was from the smoke explosion. Luckily it wasn’t overly bitter- I just would have preferred a softer smoker flavour. Next time I will double down on the foil! so tips for Singaporean’s and other non American residents: half and half is just half milk and half cooking cream (the runny stuff - not thick or whipping cream, just plane old cream. And don’t go light - you aren’t making cake to loose weight; go for a run) if in Singapore, buy all your stuff at Phoon Huat or other as it is heaps cheaper than the supermarket for the ingredients (I use the one at Holland village)

That looks fantastic! Glad you had a great Australia Day (I am not sure what we are even supposed to call it anymore - when did aussies become so PC!). Food looks amazing - I will attempt that next year. Did you do anything for the hottest 100? i was stuck in Sydney working and I think I had a Sanga for dinner - I didn’t even get any lamb! I did have a great room at the Shangri-La overlooking circular quay though so got to see the fireworks from bed.

It was movie night last night with girls and we normally get delivery which is normally pizza - screw that now I have the ability to make them better at home I say! so this is my first attempt. I took some digging around on how to set things up as there was tidbits everywhere. Here is my summary for future learners like me - chime in anybody who thinks there is a better way or if i cocked something up basket was pretty much full with extruded coconut lump (from Dennis) - lit it in a couple of spots with my soldering torch no deflector top rack with the steak seerer on Top. Not I used it with the high arms so it was as as high as it could go pizza stone on top of that Closed the lid bottom vent open all up, TOP vent open 3 turns when I hit 450 I changed the top vent two turns at 500 I changed the top to 1.5 turns then I fine tuned the bottom and TOP a little more to settle around 550~600. I was impatient! From memory the to-mvent was about 1.25 turns and the bottom big vent was aboun 3/4 open pizza base was home made using a normal recipe: I read somewhere that you neeeded to use less water in Singapore but I didn’t do that, if anything I accidentally put a but too much in I was not really being very accurate. So the different dough for Singapore is a load of BS in my opinion (I baked a lot at home before moving here - I did not see any difference in gluten when holding it up to the light and it certainly cooked and rolled out well) i prepared the pizza on one of those fibre glass anti stick mats you can get transferred to a floured pizza peel cooked for around 7-10 minutes let it cool for about 3 minutes before slicing i think that’s it. My Daughter who is 8 is a fussy eater and doesn’t generally eat very much. This is her pizza below which she almost completed and then complained that she had no room for the last slice but wanted to eat it: winner on this one. Jazzy my dog thoroughly enjoyed the fact Maeve didn’t eat all her pizza... i only have photos of her pizza and a dark photo of the last one (forgot to check the photo and didn’t realise there was no flash) : I got distracted eating! Freezer is still full of meat!

If I tried that going to Australia I think I would still be in detention after receiving a complementary internal massage Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All those hours allegedly wasted playing Tetris on a game boy has payed off.

7 days in Sydney and now am on the way home. The picture is self explanatory. Updates to come in due course (the fillet had to be shortened and that excess cut into steaks to fit in the eski)

I’ll have to look into this further

That’s the great thing about Low and slow; the smell is all consuming! You can’t see my KK from downstairs so nobody will know where the goodness is coming from. The only risky bit is the smoke when there is some wood on; I’ll always start under the cover of darkness. thats what i have convinced myself anyway...

A Friend in my condo flew back from San Diego yesterday and brought me some tortillas: I had to fill them with something obviously! I don’t think we will be going to the local Mexican any more! kK win! My Friend said he could smell it from the street: how Long can I keep getting away with a smoker in my condo: time will tell but I will enjoy it till then! Can’t wait to do a brisket in a few weeks when I get back from travel.

That is next level awesome - I am going to have to try that Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep ~. Said I wouldn’t put up the recipe until when I do them properly; they should come out crispier. 1) put small spuds in water and get to a high boil; pro tip is to try to use a wide pan so it is a single layer of spuds with about an inch of water on top 2) simmer for about 20-30 minutes until tender but not too sodt 3) remove from water and let cool a bit on some kitchen towel, maybe two minutes 4) squish to about 1/2 an inch. Some will fall apart completely but not to worry 5) let them cool to room temp 6) put on a baking pan cover in foil than baking paper 7) apply salt like it was healthy, than olive oil. Lift the spuds so the oil gets underneath 8 bake at about 220C I think that is around 400 or so. 9) bake for 30-40 minutes carefully flipping half way. They should turn out to be golden crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside bundles of flavour The last photo was not today obviously but that is what they normally look like

It was a painful 4 days of looking at an unused bbq but I finally got to use it today! nothing fancy but tasted awesome and the family thought it was great too. Corn fed chicken, smashed potatoes and caprese salad. I am Not going to buy fancy chicken again but as it was the first go so I splurged (Singapore prices are ridiculous). Smashed potatoes could have been better ~ I didn’t get the temp high enough quick enough, I’ll do them again soon and put the recipe up as they are simple and awesome (today’s batch and photo won’t make your mouth water). Also of note with my stealth smoker (I am in a big condo block) - no visible smoke and no complaints! I didn’t add wood chips but when I do something like brisket; that will be started at nighttime to keep the stealth going; by morning it will be invisible smoke and just an awesome untraceable smell. i also cleaned up around the bbq and got a cheap ikea cupboard for storage (temp location I am not investing in). photos speak a thousand words:

Thanks guys ~ that’s enough to get going and in the ballpark I am looking for

I should have mentioned I am using the coconut charcoal from Dennis.

Hi, i Used my new 23” today to cook some steaks; first I realised it takes a lot longer to get to temp than my old smoker, and secondly I was having a mad ass Guess at the vents which didn’t matter so much as I was aiming for pretty bloody hot (I like my steak still kicking). So today I had the top vent maybe 1/2 a turn open and the bottom vents open to the max and the slider thing slightly out. Tomorrow I have found a window to cook a chicken, but it has got me worried about wild guessing the vents. I dont want to get grief from the boss for a late dinner so will stat the cooker early - but it would be great if somebody could give me a tip of what vent settings I should try to start with to get me in the ball park of 180/350. What hole size in the bottom (I am guessing the vent with all the different sized holes will be enough air) and how much of a turn at the top I am undecided on using the heat deflector or just the pan ~ seems like some people do either option. Science tells me the drip pan is probably good enough as it is just deflecting the direct hot air to the sides and the radiant heat coming off the steel shouldn’t be too bad - but maybe it is at a higher cook temp? Maybe I could work it out with a calculator but that seems like too hard work for a weekend. thanks for any tips

That looks awesome - and you have found a use for bundy (aside from starting fights) we did a ham this year but in the oven - I miss Aussie ham prices: ours was $100 for a half ham. Christmas ham is always the best ~ pitty the Cricket is so crap for eating leftovers in front of. Would Kohli fit in your KK?

And if somebody else in Singapore sees this thread looking for a motor: https://www.bbqspitrotisseries.com.au/stainless-steel-bbq-spit-rotisserie-240v-motor-20kg they will ship here - but it is obviously cheaper to send it somewhere in Aus and bring it back over here

I found a place in Australia so will wait till the end of January and get the motor then; it will be heaps cheaper than here so I am ok to wait! noted on the pictures; current discussion at home is what to cook first!

Hi, My new grill is on its way and will be here in time for Christmas! Does anybody know where I may be able to get a motor suitable for Singapore? Preferably locally. Alternatively,what about in Australia? I go there frequently (with an eski for the way home) thanks is for your help Rob

Hi, I moved countries last year and some things that didn’t come with me were my bbqs. We really miss the grilling and smoking and how I am getting some pressure to get something over here. The problem is I live in a condo. I had a Weber smoker at home, but have always had my eye on a KK - this May be my chance to get one. However I am a bit worried about pissing off all the neighbours. I am thinking of the 23’’ for clarity. So a couple of questions to help me please; 1) when you are lighting the KK - how much smoke comes out and how thick is it. Also he how Long to get it going (I see on the forums a lot of people have the lid closed when getting the coals going which is different to the Weber). On the Weber this was when most smoke was created and it could get pretty thick! 2)when cooking Low and slow how much smoke can I expect to come out. I am less concerned with the wonderful aroma of the meat as this could come from anywhere but a smoke trail will lead people straight to me! 3) for cooking steaks of anything hotter - again how much smoke I plan on asking my upper neighbours first but it would be really helpful if I could get some guidance on smoke expectations. thanks!