Braai-Q

Just now, tekobo said:

Nope.  I have a box of unused kit with wires.  I tend to use multiple probes from my MEATER block if I have to and I am relaxed about some variation in temp if I fail to set the KK vents right.  Always learning but still not convinced of the need for blowers and wired probes.  

I'm the middle ground. Don't see the point of the blowers but the probes are brilliant. The app is also really good. BBQ guru always felt a bit homemade Radioshack which is what I recall you have.

I have a Meater and don't find it's as reliable. I have a weapons grade WiFI network with repeaters and I just find the connection is flakey. Fireboard is rock solid in that regard. I'll do a live Zoom for you and you can subscribe to my cook in realtime (yeah, you can do a share via the cloud so the people you can't invite get to see the progress of your cook). I have no idea what the use case of having a share function of your cook is other than 'because you can'. I really rate the Fireboard, particularly compared to other products in the market. 

Sorry, going off topic but playing the 'this contributes to better quality of content in this thread' argument.  

1 hour ago, tekobo said:

Sorry, I am no help here @Braai-Q.  I think the stainless steel upgrade looks pretty but, as I don't use any of those monitors with probes, I have not had any reason to play with the stainless steel plug or the plastic bung before it.  

I feel an upsell opportunity coming on. Have you considered a Fireboard? I'm very impressed with mine. Joking aside.

8 hours ago, Tyrus said:

Too bad Braai-Q, a simple overlook and boom..out go the lites. No big deal, tomorrow is just a few hours away. Your still batting 998.9. 

It was a rookie mistake. I caught it early enough but a 14h cook was about 8h as a result. But I think the flavour profile would not have changed so I saved some charcoal. Maybe?   

Useful to share with those new to the KK. A black KK with black bungs and used at night has disadvantages.

I know you get doom scrolling on Twitter but what's the equivalent on this thread?

Hunger scroll? Some great looking cooks on the thread. KK kudos. 

I decided to do an experiment using pork shoulder and Shichi-mi tōgarashi. 

I thought the flavours would lend themselves to the dish and would give me the basis to use leftovers for Okonomoyaki.

Well, the results weren't quite what I was hoping for and I decided that I would make a pork pibil and set about creating a citrus cure (the togarashi has orange peel in it). It worked beautifully. 

So a togarashi rub on its own. Meah. The taco pork pibil recovery was a winner though. 

I know my KK well and couldn't figure out why my temperatures were coming up high. I realised that the rubber bung where I had put my Fireboard probe wasn't back in. I realised this as I was watching the graph on my app. I went to sleep pondering why my temperatures were higher on settings and then at 3am, I woke up, ran downstairs and checked it. Sure enough, in the dark, I had not realised I hadn't put the rubber bung back in. For those of you with new KKs, how are you finding the stainless steel upgrade? @rokdok and @tekobo   

54 minutes ago, Aussie Ora said:

 

Helicopters sent in to rescue dozens trapped in floodwaters across WA's Gascoyne

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-05/helicopters-rescue-dozens-stranded-by-wa-floods/13127214

 

Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

The fires last year produced some of the most horrible imagery. Despite all the horrors of 2020, those are still etched in my mind. Terrible to bear witness to, even worse to experience. Stay safe. 

Those steaks look good @RokDok I'd call that a very successful first cook. 

I'm not sure if you have a cover but watch the teak controls on the vents, they'll deteriorate left wet so might want to dry before covering.

You've tried the grill, assume a slow cook is up next? I trust you are taking @tony b advice and grabbing adult beverages and getting to grips with the air control first?

Good to see some pictures of Mrs RokDok proving she survived the experience of acting as anchor too! 

Pleased to see it has arrived. Looks great. Enjoy. And the beer.

3 hours ago, RokDok said:

We put a rope around the KK and tied the other end to Mrs RD as we gently manoeuvred it down the slope we'd made.

Any one else find this a bit scary ??

I'm not a betting man but I'd wager good money that Mrs RD would definitely fit within the group who 'finds this a bit scary'.  🙂

28 minutes ago, MacKenzie said:

Nearly the whole world is awake now, let the show begin.

I was holding out for multi-cam tekobo style. I still chuckle about the delivery manager being brought to camera for a 'post match interview'. Easily my favourite Zoom call of 2020.

Came to check in on the expectant dad. What news @RokDok

22 hours ago, RokDok said:

Thanks guys,

Just one of those things.

Seems ironic that I've tracked it half way across the world for this to happen.

Anyway I'll have it on Monday....

That's frustrating. Feel for you. It'll be forgotten once you've got it setup and running. 

13 hours ago, Aussie Ora said:

 

 

Enjoy

 

Sent from my SM-T835 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

Fixed it for @Basher

Happy Austraya Day.

(Major upset in our office today. Aussie Quiz won by an Italian.)

Some great looking cooks here. 

Those pork chops look particularly fine @jonj

Presently: 

2 hours ago, 5698k said:

I don’t think you should spend real money on a bread knife, they can’t be sharpened properly. Go cheap, and replace when necessary.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

More or less the conclusion I'd reached. Where I'd got to before checking group wisdom:

https://www.opinel.com/en/kitchen/parallele-wood-handle/n116-bread-knife-parallele

2 hours ago, tony b said:

After a very long quest to find a decent bread knife (I've been through at least 6), I am head over heels in love with this Japanese one that I recently purchased. Reasonable cost and cuts through crusty breads like butter! 

Suisin Inox Bread Knife 9.75" (25 cm) (korin.com)

AND, it's 20% off now with this code: KSALE20

Interesting....

I disappeared down a rabbit hole thanks to this thread. Having spent half a day last week checking batteries, fluids and so on regarding my cars that I can't drive (due to lockdown and the weather), I decided to make myself feel better and decided to run to some knife upgrades. I may have gotten carried away. Not that something like that has ever happened to anyone on this forum before.

One of the first upgrades arrived yesterday. It's a work of art and I'm not sure whether I'm going to be cooking or admiring it more. Picture enclosed.

As a question for the group - does anyone have a recommendation for a bread knife? At worst, it'll have to slice sourdough and we've always used an old Laguiole (closest match is this). It works ok but the handle isn't very comfortable and feels far too small in my hand. What does everyone else do?

6 hours ago, tekobo said:

Simple proof of the value of a sharp knife.  The Husband is responsible for fish prep round here and he and I were delighted with how cleanly this fillet of brill came off yesterday.  

O

Looks brill! Scroll down.

I know. I know. I couldn't help myself.

6 hours ago, tekobo said:

Thank you all.  Thought I would share something I should have discovered way sooner than I did.  Hey @Braai-Q, you should have told me before now!!!

You just had to ask! It's classic French method. You've probably figured this out but the classic French method to stop the breast curling (and cooking unevenly) is to put a heavy skillet on top of it to press it flat. If you have two slightly different sized pans, it works quite well at suppressing any splatter. I found this is less of an issue with the dry aged duck - the duck that I get from Yorkshire (when I do sneak an order in) looks almost cured so I know what you mean.

Looks great @tekobo This is my go to technique as well. I hot rodded the motor on our extractor hood (small children can get sucked in) and it was due to the smoke that comes from cooking things like this (I think lamb may have triggered the whole exercise come to think of it). Then I found the cold pan method and got my temps right with the fat (silent > bubbling < spitting). I find it's very forgiving and I think I do mine at 15m as well or thereabouts. 

Problem I have is that Mrs BQ doesn't like game. 

Have you dry aged yours? There is a butcher in West Yorkshire who does dry aged duck breasts and they're sensationally good. Given your setup....  

2 hours ago, Jon B. said:

Great conversations and great tasting beers!!!   Brought Tony's care package into the bar in a Bud Light box,  It was fun to hear all his brewer buddies and the server giving him the business, thinking there was Bud Light in the box.  

I'm surprised you were not tarred and feathered for the Bud Light. I always threaten my father in law with Fosters Lager or something like Coors Light if he makes any rude remarks. Living dangerously! 

34 minutes ago, BOC said:

I don’t work in manufacturing, but I do work in analytics, so I am very impressed by the availability of information. Although impressed, I probably should have never looked...closing on day 4 at anchor just outside of port. Likely a couple weeks through customs, a couple more to get to me from the other side of the country. Maybe my first cook will have to be pastrami just in time for my St Patty’s day corned beef fix.

Mmmmmmm pastrami.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's like Norad's Santa tracker. But for adults. And better. 

2 hours ago, Syzygies said:

All forum posts on all forums are for the future benefit of others; this isn't a private help desk.

I've talked before over a thousand people multiple times, and given advice to others on doing so: It isn't about you!

In pre-pandemic times, people would gather together like wolves in a hole, and have someone stand in front. It's a role. It's easier to play this role if one sees it as such.

The OP is the conversation starter, that's all. Thank you! Others will find this great thread, and learn what they need from it.

It was actually said tongue in cheek, I didn't mean for it to be taken literally. 🙂

3 hours ago, tony b said:

Back in the day, Sabatier was one of the "gold standards" for professional knives. I coveted a set, but they were out of my price range back then. I don't know their history well enough to know why they seem to have fallen out of favor these days? 

 

Yeah, I always thought they were respected as a brand. I have a little paring knife that I've had for years. Still going strong. 

7 hours ago, 5698k said:

Wustof knives are excellent knives as far as German knives go. German steel is softer, which makes them easier to maintain, and sharpen. You’ll never get a German steel knife as sharp as a Japanese knife, but it’s much easier to sharpen to get back to its best. They’re better for hard jobs that are more of a hacking motion.

There’s been posts about Japanese steel, white and blue are the most prevalent in the carbon steel world, the difference is basically hardness. Blue and white are different..no one is “better”than the other. Blue is harder, holds its edge longer, assuming everything is equal, it’s also more brittle, making it a bit more fragile. White steel is a bit softer, less brittle, but also easier to sharpen to a screaming edge, to the point that there are plenty of forgers that will only use white steel.

I must apologize, I’m more into knives that many would never care to have, so often I comment on things that many don’t care to venture towards, but I do have thoughts if anyone cares to go down this rabbit hole.
 

Great to have your knowledge and passion here Robert. I wouldn't apologise for knowing your subject. Hope I don't annoy you with stupid questions!