Basher

19 days into the drying phase. 24 days from curing beginning. After the first week of drying there was no weight loss. 5 days into the week I realised my condenser tray was blocked and the moisture was staying in the cold room rather than being taken away. This was creating a more humid environment than usual. Weighed this morning and noticed even when I picked up the pieces that the cheese cloth was very dry and the meat was firmer. Weight has dropped from 2 kg's down to 1.84 kg's.- close to 10%. and more importantly, no signs of mould or bacteria smells nutty, herby,and slightly smokey. At this rate I'd guess it'll be closer to 2 months drying in the cold room. Target weight is 1.2 kg.

Blends in with the house nicely.

That's exciting PVPaul. I'm looking forward to seeing your photos. My 23" is a couple of weeks away.

They look outstanding

That looks more like a lumberjacks axe. Isn't cutting up chicken with this a bit like driving a tank down a bitumen road? Post the photos when you cut up a whole cow. Please

Very exciting news. Just had an email from one of Dennis's helpers advising that my new KK is on board the ship Limari with a touch down ETA in Brisbane on the 29th of September. That's a Sunday................yes, I will be standing at the wharf waving the ship in to dock..... and directing containers! No Tekobo, there is zero chance that I will have the backyard completed before the KK arrives.

Yes it will definitely need a little grip. Here is the river stone sink. These guys also have petrified wood sinks.They looked great, however, wasn't sure they would be as durable. I w

Thanks Jonj. Tekobo the roof will be iron and will cover the bbq and be about 150mm short of the boundary fence so there is room to run a gutter. A mate has some grey gum timber slabs for my bench that he has cut from his property and the sink is a ground out river stone that sits on top of the bench. The KK is close to being built and could be 6 weeks away. I doubt this outdoor area will be finished in 6 weeks. I guess it will have to stay crated on my back deck for a while....... or not. Any tips on what to do for a floor in the courtyard? I was thinking of a polished concrete with chunks of sandstone pebbles through it.

So this is now looking like the final design.BACK YARD REV. A (004).pdf

I want one Tekobo. I'd call that a parrilla grill and was planning something like this in my back yard reno. That design looks similar to the Kalamazoo.

Interesting, So you either build fire into it, or around it. It's a cauldron for your wizards brew Tyrus. Just not sure what you would end up brewing in it. It would be a shame to start cutting holes into it I would think the first thing is to see if you can find the centre of gravity. And consider a band around that centre to create an easy pivot point if it was suspended between two rods within or just above a fire pit. It'll be interesting to see what ideas come forward.

Tyrus that's a unique object and shape. What is it made of and what does it weigh? Do you know how it was suspended and tipped to pour?

Here is the link to previous discussions on Smartfire v guru. I'm going to try Smartfire and will provide feedback once it's tested.

I'll weigh it each week and expect it will be ready in 1- 2 months. The kids are wanting to eat it now so I have had to distract them and can't mention it to them until it's ready

I have physically seen and handled the Smart fire adapter, however, my KK hasn't arrived yet so not sure about it fitting. The owner has looked at the KK specs and assures me it will fit. Dimensions are on this link. https://smartfirebbq.com/products/kamado-adaptor?_pos=4&_sid=ec0f406ed&_ss=r and this link. https://smartfirebbq.com/products/universal-adapter?_pos=1&_sid=ec0f406ed&_ss=r Maybe other here can check out the measurements of their KK portals to confirm.

Alohapiggy have you looked at the Smartfire? https://smartfirebbq.com/ This is the direction I will be moving in. There is an article in this forum showing features.

I've been practising and can't wait to put a bit of smoke through this in a KK. The sourdough starter has been running now for a few months. Nowhere near what Pequod, Syzygies and others seem to produce. Gotta say I am having fun with the bread and have shared the starter with a few friends.

Aussie either your photography is getting better or that's your best looking cook?

I didn't think the 30 minutes of cold smoke would have much effect, but man, when I opened the fridge this morning the smoke smell was delicious. Not so strong this evening, however, pleased I didn't smoke it longer. BTW, I have the thermostat in the cold room sitting pretty constant between 2- 4 deg C.(36- 40f) and will blow out to 6C( 43f) if the doors are opened for 30 seconds.

SS those chooks look perfect.

Yep, She had a swim yesterday, then went tearing through the dirt. What a mess.

After taking the sirloin out of the salt bag, it was definitely firmer. The salt only drew about 5% weight out of the meat in moisture. Set up a cold smoke with a few apple chips and mostly french oak barrel shavings after patting the beef dry. A little over half an hour on smoke. And then selected some spices. My son chose bay leaves, turmeric, cumin, coriander seeds and black pepper. The cheese cloth was soaked in white vinegar and is to help hold the spices together on the meat. I rubbed cayenne pepper, black pepper, pepper berries, cumin, coffee beans and dried garlic. And my daughter slept at a friends house last night so we will sort hers out this afternoon. Looks a bit ugly, now to wait until they lose 40% of their original weight. My daughter took great delight in loving or hating different spice smells. She went with cumin, coriander seeds, smoked paprika

That' Billie, she is a Lagotto..... and is loving the dirt! Not too many truffles to be found in our back yard.

Work has started...... then the wife and architect gang up on me and the project is now much bigger.

Digging up an old post here. A friend just introduced me to the Binchotan charcoal here and there seems to be only one supplier in Australia- Chefs Armoury at $26/kg!!!!!!!!! That's about US$8/lb. Crikey that's more than I pay for most prime cuts. I'd never seen it before. There is no doubt the product is unique. It's heavy, hard, quite beautiful and seems more like coal, or petrified wood. Dennis do you know what they are doing differently in their process that makes it so unique?