Loquitur

Re: Hot Smoked Swordfish It took three hours to 135. I did the first 45 min at 200 Stoker because I forgot to take it out of the frig and was concerned the Stoker would run hot next to the large, cold piece of fish. Then I bumped it up to 225 and never opened the lid for the duration of the cook. I kept it on the rack I used for drying it so I wouldn't have any issues with it sticking to the grate. It came out fantastic with a truly melt in your mouth texture. I had a salmoroglio sauce with olive oil, lemon, herbs and garlic which was wonderful against the smoky flavor from the apple and cherry chunks. Interestingly enough, I was unable to slice it for serving though I gave it a good long rest and tried various serrated and non serrated sharp knives. But it was very easy to pull large chunks off the roast with a fork. We enjoyed it immensely and it was a really fun cook. I would definitely do it again even with swordfish steaks instead of a roast. I have 1/4 of it leftover and am dreaming about the Russ and Daughters type spread I will make with it tomorrow. Here it is:

I have a 4.5 lb swordfish loin/roast/hunk that I want to hot smoke tomorrow.It is currently in a brine until the AM when I will remove it to place it in the frig to develop the pellicle. My plan is to smoke it at roughly 230 deg, indirect, with cherry and apple chunks. I plan on cooking it to 135 deg. to obtain a 140-145 temp after resting. My question is - how long, approx, should I plan for this cook? I will be internally monitoring the temp as I go but am looking for a general idea of the time so I can appropriately plan for my guests. I'm thinking maybe 2 hours? Any insight or advice is greatly appreciated. Susan

Re: Sandwich Time Thanks for posting this, Cook Shack. At first I also only had a blank page but it loaded after a while. I really like that this site tells you how to grill many of the sandwiches on a charcoal grill. Also, some good looking franks/wurst recipes which would be fun for kids.

Re: Cooked 8 Pork Butts/Shoulders for my Brother... Mad Medik wrote ........I realized later, like around 0700, that the Stoker Graph Chart was indicating my Blower had been on continuously since 0500...for 2 HOURS it had been blowing, yet my Temp was slowly decreasing...not staying the same and not getting hotter. This is NOT suppose to happen...remember, you have fuel, and when you had more air, the fire gets hotter....mine was decreasing in Temps...could I be running out of fuel??? That is exatly how my Stoker acted when I ran out of fuel cooking a 17 lb turkey so my guess is Yes - you ran out of fuel. Susan

Re: Rack of short ribs... Great looking cook!!! So what temp did you bring them to and roughly how long did it take? Susan

Re: Another argument for using grill-floss When I first got my grill floss a couple of years ago I remember thinking that the tip didn't appear to be very strong. But, I use it all the time and it has never bent or warped or done anything but work perfectly. I also bought the replacement tip and have no idea where it is since its been such a long time where I've not even thought about it. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Susan

Re: KK Cutaway Great shot!! This will answer so many questions for prospective purchasers.

Re: Everyday Misc Cooking Photos w/ details Chicken drums with zucchini and mushrooms - direct at about 400 deg. Quick and delicious weekday dinner with leftover chicken for lunch/snacks.

Re: First cook... Doc - you're on a roll lately - thanks for the laughs!!

Re: Meats. Info Worth Considering? Me too - LMFAO!!!!!!

Re: Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs : VIDEO That's some weedburner you have there, MadMedik!! The diameter of mine is only about 1 inch and doesn't make nearly such a blast of fire. I totally agree with you that lighting the coals with a torch is a lotta fun!! Great looking cook and video. It never occurred to me to do a breaded coating cook on the KK even though breaded chicken and breaded pork chops are some of my husband's favorites. So this is going to the top of my list. Thanks for posting the video and keep 'em coming!!!! Susan

Re: Tri-Tip Cook - VIDEO Thanks, Larry - I really appreciate you explaining your process. You obviously have great success!! What I love about the light weight deflector you use is that you don't need to deal with the heavy gloves to move it!! The ones I have - the original that came with the KK and the new KK shaped ceramic deflector - weigh a ton and you can't handle either of them, once the KK is heat soaked, without heavy gloves. Do you think there is an advantage, generally, to using a heat deflector which absorbs heat? Susan

Re: Tri-Tip Cook - VIDEO Fantastic video, Larry - your KK, as well as the results, look wonderful!! Hope you don't mind a few questions. Are the grill lifters you are using both the same size at the end? I see you are using a light weight heat deflector. Is it something like a metal pizza pan? Does it work any differently than the heavy ceramic heat deflector? Susan

Re: Flat Iron Steak Cook : VIDEO I found this post from Dennis entitled Three Grills Four Cooking Positions:

Re: Flat Iron Steak Cook : VIDEO ...... and then the third grill, Upper Grill, the one with "legs and handles" of a sort, that I put on the Main Grill, which extends the cooking vertically and up in to the dome.... Is this the grill you are mentioning? Yes. If yes, then you take the Upper Grill, and put it all the way down and rest on the handles of the Coal Basket? This would certainly get the cooking level VERY low and below the levels in which LarryR and I seared our steaks. Yes - but you turn it upside down so that the short handles are resting on the charcoal basket, the opposite of how you use it on the tall handles to extend the cooking area into the dome. It gets the meat within a few inches of the coals. I had never really considered doing this before. The grill i used gets so hot, I cannot imagine getting the meat even closer to the coals??? It's really great down there if you like your steaks/burgers well seared on the outside but still rare on the inside. And you don't have to be dealing with those super high temps because you are so close to the coals. I bring my KK to 450 dome and then two minutes a side is perfect for my family - no dwell required. I certainly could be wrong about this but I always understood that this is what Dennis called the sear grill. I call the grill you and Larry are cooking your steaks on the "lower grill". We need to get this terminology squared away so that we are talking about the same thing when referring to the sear grill. Honestly, I was very surprised to see you and Larry cooking steaks up there. But it was soooo interesting!! And, you can't cook with honey way down close to the coals, for sure. I actually rarely use the lower grill. If I want to cook at that level, like for pork chops, I use the sear grill on the tall handles which is just about the same level as the lower grill you were cooking on. I just find it easier to lift the sear grill on the tall handles in and out of the KK than the lower grill when I have bulky gloves on. Being able to cook so close to the coals is one of my favorite things about the KK. I never liked a steak or burger I cooked on a gas grill because by the time I got it seared on the exterior, it was overdone on the interior. Now my steaks and burgers are perfect. Interesting to say the least....like I orginally said, there are so many techniques in cooking on the KK....and none are really right or wrong...it is all about what works for you , makes you feel comforable, and ultimately, what tasted good in ones own mouth. Just like wine...the only good wine is what tastes good to you...regardless of type or Cost. Absolutely!!! And we have so much to learn from each other - especially me who never cooked on charcoal before buying my KK. Your videos and Larry's are fantastic and I can't wait for the next one!! Hopefully Dennis will let us know soon what the proper terminology is for the three grills and four cooking positions. Susan

Re: Flat Iron Steak Cook : VIDEO Great video, MadMedik!! I love seeing how other people do things on the KK - its very instructive and opens all kinds of new doors. For example, I've never cooked a steak on the lower grill where you and Larry cook them. I use the sear grill on the low handles very close to the coals at maybe 450 dome for 2 min a side and they come out great. But yours and Larry's are coming out great as well so its very, very interesting. Susan

Re: Komodo Kamado YouTube Video I Made (inspired by LarryR) Love the video, MadMedik - next time let's see some cooking on it!!! Susan

Re: you've seen a lamb shank, now look at my beef shank! I use wide metal skewers for kebobs and rest them on the handles of the charcoal basket with no grill underneath. Is that the same as you were doing? Works great!!

Re: Rack of Lamb with Walnut Crust Thanks, MadMedik - I can't wait to try this!!

Re: Standing Rib Roast Cook VIDEO The videos are great, Larry - I really enjoyed them! And thanks for showing me how to use the grill lifters!!! Susan

Re: you've seen a lamb shank, now look at my beef shank! I would love to do tandoor type recipes too. Please don't forget to report back and post pix.

Re: What's everyone cooking this weekend (5/19/12)? Eggary: I hesitate to answer this because I'm surely no expert having only made great ribs one time in my whole life. But if I were doing them based on my recent experience, I would think the first stage would be 1 1/2 - 2 hrs and start checking them after 1 1/2 hours since they are smaller than spares. Once they are browning and plump, I would move on to the foil and keep them in the foil for 30 - 40 minutes, since you don't prefer the meat too soft and falling off the bone. Then back on the grill without the foil to firm them up and set the sauce or rub, another half hour or 45 min. That's what I would try but I hope some of the rib experts who don't object to foiling will chime in here. I use apple and/or cherry chunks for smoking, which are mild smoking woods and which don't seem to suffer from early acrid smoke as far as my taste buds can tell. So I put the chunks on right after I light the fire then load the grill with the food when my Tru Tel is between 150 and 200 degrees. But I don't start timing my cook until my Tru Tell gets to whatever temp I'm aiming for. I don't find ill effects from letting the food sit in the heavier smoke at these temps with apple and/or cherry chunks. Please report back what you did and how it comes out - its so helpful to us!! Susan

Re: What's everyone cooking this weekend (5/19/12)? Larry: Can we watch the video yet?

Re: What's everyone cooking this weekend (5/19/12)? My ribs were definitely a variant of that but less time at each stage, including only one hour in the foil. They still had chew. I also meant to mention in my prior post that this was my first cook since I replaced my gasket where I could really tell how it was working since I had a couple of cherry chunks in with the ribs. All the smoke was coming out the top with no smoke leakage whatsoever!!! Didn't you recently replace your gasket, Doc? How is it working? Susan

Re: Kelly's Cleaner I love this stuff for cleaning my KK and most everything else around my house and make batches for my mother as well. But I have some dark marks on the door of my lower vent from my high temp cooking. Is there anyway I can clean that up? Its not terribly unsightly or anything but I have the rest of my KK gleaming right now. Susan