Basher

Thank you Tekobo. A couple of things playing in my mind. We have tropical summers here and even the edge of the cold room around the doors can pick up a little black mould that needs attending to. Never inside but I’m mindful that white mould can be ok, black mould is never good. Also, after renovating the back yard complete with outdoor kitchen( mostly my design inspired to house a new KK), my clever half is wanting to renovate her indoor kitchen..... and all of the upstairs house- all her design. This will very likely include a complete relocation of the current cold room- knock it out and install a new one. We live in a timber workers cottage built in 1913 and although this sounds new amongst British houses, it has a character dwelling overlay..... suggesting it’s old by our standards and needs some level of preservation. Anyway, a dedicated dry aging meat fridge has more appeal to me than a wine fridge. So thank you again for inspiring this desire, I will see if I can sway the dedicated dry aging meat fridge into the new design. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Soooo close. Not sure I would let him go RD. Tantalising. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes I do have a cold room that keeps very stable between 1 and 3 degrees C. And there’s room in it- it’s about 3m2 and the air circulates well at the higher levels.... I’m not sure about the humidity controls required and also the filtration of air drawn into the cold room. I’ll investigate this further. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dam you two- Jeff and Tekobo. Now I want a dry aging cabinet. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good tips thanks Tekobo. Are you melting animal fat then painting it on as it cools? Early on you mentioned duck fat. Is there a preferred fat to encase your meat? Also, all our poultry here has to pass through a mild chlorine/ bleach wash to stop salmonella here, and then rinsed. We rarely ever get salmonella sickness as a result and you can’t smell any traces of the wash. Is it the same in the UK? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m not so sure anyone is immune to the politics today Tyrus. Here’s an example: The Canadians are coming. We had a major Aussie cheese brand selling well since 1931 called Coon Cheese. It was named after the American Edward Coon who patented fast maturation of cheese in 1926. The company is now mostly Canadian owned, and they changed the name a week before Australia Day to Cheer Cheese!! https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theage.com.au/national/victoria/indigenous-people-should-have-been-consulted-on-new-coon-cheese-name-20210113-p56try.html There are plenty of Aussie companies moving away from Australia Day promotions as the whispers of calling it Invasion Day are becoming a quiet roar. Traditional cricket matches, top 100 songs for the year, etc. No one is permitted to tell a joke anymore for fear of offending someone. Can’t laugh[emoji2960] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Perfect jonj Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RD that reminds me of this story. My cousins are bull farmers in NZ. They sell their meat for a premium price thanks to the American market preferring bull meat for their burgers. All grass fed and all exported. As good farmers living the dream, they always have an array of animals for their own consumption- Chook’s, pigs, a few sheep. When we were visiting a few years ago they said the local ice creamery had a failure with one of their freezers and they needed to dump 200 gallons of blueberry ice cream. My cousin lobbed in their door with a truck full of drums to pick up this ice cream and for a month, this fed the pigs before sending them off to the butcher. Our trip coincided with the return of this pork.... talk about a build up of high expectation for the anticipated bacon breakfast the next day. Expectations were high........ It tasted like bacon! It was pretty good, in our minds we had all built up an expectation of a little blueberry, or hint of ice cream flavour in the bacon [emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It has to be tried Troble. I’m not sure of the difference between Aussie v Japanese. Each country professes to be the best- japan for traditional reasons, Aus for science and breed management. I like it. Despite the extra expense, you will be sated with 1/2 to 1/3 of the mass that you would normally eat due to its rich flavour. For me, 150grams is plenty. Cook it rare, and from room temperature. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If that was right, he would never have moved past the BGE or KJ! [emoji23] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Australia Day on the 26th of January so I’ve tried making our national dish..... meat pies. Left over ribs And pork. With a few spuds, roast garlic Chopped up and boiled down with beef stock And this has to be the greatest thickener for any sauce. It basically dehydrated granulated connective tissue. Once cooled, all went into puff pastry crust- a filo crust would be better, but this was worth a try. And finally baked. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m batching at the moment with my 13 y.o. son while wife and daughter are off to a water polo comp. My son asked for a steak for dinner so I picked up a couple of t bones on the way home, lit the fire, position the lid at 3/4 open and went for a run. Is this the perfect grilling fire? When I came home about an hour later, my son had seasoned and cooked these. I guess he was hungry and had been watching my behaviours at home after all? It looks like I may have someone to leave the KK to..... assuming it out lives me. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Although you can spend £400- 500 on a Japanese knife, you don’t have to. I just paid £75 for this petty Tanaka knife. https://www.knivesandstones.com.au/products/tanaka-ginsan-nashiji-petty-120mm-with-ebony-handle If you look around you can buy good Japanese knives made from top steel ( blue super) for £100. UK, USA, Canada, Australia. Dive into the rabbit hole mate, you will love it. I maintain that all sharp knives are good knives, the question is how long do they stay satisfactorily sharp? I don’t mind drawing along a steel mid preparation, I don’t want to have to sharpen mid prep. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Also high temp pizza cooks use more charcoal that my slow cooks. Easily 3/4 of a full basket. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I like beer more than kids! Does this work RD? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I concur with cruzmisl. Settle on a sharpening system and keep your knives sharp. Even your old knives will come back to life with a sharpen and be enjoyed again. I’d suggest a whetstone of 2000 and 4000 grit and practice on the old knives. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All times Wilson, and close everything down at the end the cook to snuff the fire. Left over coals are good for the next cook Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Of these mass produced stamped knives- very popular with butchers and fisherman the brands can polarise people, however, they are all pretty similar. Victorinox- softer steel by 2- 3 Rockwell points. They drop the edge a little quicker, however, a couple of stripes along a steel can hold it for a days work. Very easy to sharpen at the end of a day for butchers. F Dick- steel is a little harder and considered of better quality than Victorinox, however, also come with a higher price tag. Frosts- this is my preferred. The steel is slightly harder again. They are hard to buy retail here as the supplier sells all his knives directly to commercial fishermen and abattoirs. The pros reckon they can hold the edge much longer and need less touch ups through a days work. Nothing wrong with any of these knives if you can settle on a quick and easy sharpening method. All can be made razor sharp with little effort. I still say for a special knife, try out blue super steel. Unbelievable polished razor edge retention. This is carbon steel and doesn’t compare the the above 3 stainless knives. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here’s the end result of the pork loin Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So good to be home. I found this little pork loin in the freezer. Salted, cumin, paprika. I’ll do this at a higher temp- 400f direct and have built to fire up to the from of the basket. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Troble I do have a weakness for a good knife. First decision is stainless or carbon steel. Stainless requires less maintenance- more rust resistant, however, carbon steel is harder and will hold an edge longer. I’d reckon you could look after a carbon steel knife. I have a few and just wipe them down after use and immediately dry them to store them. If you decide on carbon, pick the steel. I am a big fan of Aogami blue super steel. Holds an incredibly sharp edge for a long time and easy to sharpen. I’ve just purchased a ginsan steel knife- technically it’s a Japanese stainless, however, it has a Rockwell hardness around 62- 63. Too early to rate this knife yet. Out of the box it’s very sharp as most knives are. I struggled with plenty of sharpeners until I purchased a whetstone. They give the best polished edge and with a little practice you can pick it up easily. There is a Russian diamond sharpening system that’s extremely good- it takes a little longer to set up and sharpen knives. I’ve just purchased the Ken onion work sharp tool that sharpens with a belt to get a slightly convex edge. Theoretically this will be a stronger edge. It’s easy to use and quick. Stay away from draw through ceramic discs, I’ve found these to be very inconsistent. I’ll be interested to see what you choose. I have found the French cook Jaque Peppin entertaining lately. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jamie congrats on your decision to invest in a KK. Yes to gloves, yes there is a reasonable manual to show you the basics. You will get the hang of everything else with a bit of practice. Troble and I use a flat gas griddle for eggs, bacon and quick cook ups. Others use Parrella style grills, pans and other methods. You will find once you get the hang of lighting the fire and then temp control within the KK you will use it even for short cooks. BTW sausages in the KK are delish, seriously good... even cheap snags become sooo much better. The KK bakes the skin to a crispy crunch- not oily like a pan fried snag, a dry crunch. There are plenty of tips on line for Kamado cooks. My best advice to you is to dive in and cook as much as you can on your KK. Before long it’ll become second nature to you. What do you usually like to cook? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Perfect. And no bench is high enough in that house. I’d be keeping a very close eye on that steak. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha! I knew I wasn’t alone, my wife thinks I’m nuts. Tony that’s a great collection..... another rabbit hole for me to climb into. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Definitely missing my KK thanks Tyrus. I like to cook when on hols, however, the unit we are staying in only has a microwave, a crappy pot and fry pan and a single cooktop. I’d never seen knives as blunt as what’s here- now they r sharp.[emoji23] I guess this becomes the challenge of preparing good food with rubbish gear. Still, Noosa is a pretty place. I usually buy offal for my dog and now will be adding rice to the mix. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk