Bunji

I also use the vac100. I haven’t used it a ton yet, but it’s been fantastic every time I have.

Yep, vac seal, freeze, and sous vide is what I did. Makes for a great and super convenient lunch. I’m not sure what the reason was but I ate the first of the frozen portions last week and I think I might have even preferred it to the fresh ones! The meat had a bit more “bite” to it that I really enjoyed.

Was browsing FB marketplace this evening and was surprised to see a listing for a KK! This 21” looks nothing like the modern units, how old do you reckon this one is? 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/247556144731513/

11 minutes ago, tony b said:

Will be interested to hear how you liked them afterwards. 

I'm a dry rub only guy for ribs. Yellow mustard slather. I like Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust. No foil, no spritz.

Are you familiar with the "bend test " to check for doneness on ribs? Pick up the rack with tongs perpendicular to the bones about 1/2 way in the rack. If the meat cracks slightly at the end of the tongs, they're done.

I had picked that test up from a previous thread here, definitely planning to use that to decide when they’re ready to pull. 
 

I think I’m going to compromise slightly and go no spritz but a light baste with sauce near the end of the cook to give a little bit of a glaze. Mainly because I found some sauces I forgot I had that will hopefully go well with the jerk and the curry powder slabs once mixed with a bit of butter and sugar

edit: I really need to make it over to Dizzy Pig HQ, it’s pretty close to me. I haven’t heard a bad word about their products yet.

A little over 2 hours in, ribs are sitting around 165-170. Just cracked the lid to rearrange them a little bit. I’m starting to get a little bit of pullback in a couple places, but they still look very moist, without much of a bark forming.

Thanks gentlemen! I just got three racks on, right around 250 with aluminum foil along the lower rack with apple pellets in the cold smoker. Praying the last of my charcoal bag burns long enough to cook these guys.

Because I started so late (couldn’t find a parking spot at the hardware store to buy more coal, then decided my cold smoker needed a clean before using again) I didn’t make my rubs, instead just using some premade things I had on hand. On the right in the photo is a jerk seasoning with olive oil, in the middle is some Meat Church Texas Sugar also with olive oil, and then on the left is some Japanese curry powder with Kewpie mayo as the binder. That one I’ll probably mop some bachan’s sauce on at the end. 

I picked up a pack of 3 racks of pork spare ribs at Costco today with the intention of doing them up tomorrow on the 32. I haven’t made ribs before, and since it’ll just be me eating these (and then packing/freezing the leftovers for later) if love to try a few different glazes on them. If you’ve got a go-to or recommendation, put it here!

Method-wise I was thinking of doing around 250 and skipping the foil-wrap so often used with other cookers, as I believe I have read here that that step isn’t needed due to the moist environment in a KK. I may spritz with cider vinegar and water if they look like they’re drying out, but otherwise would probably just apply some sauce near the end of the cook to tack up a bit. Certainly open to the wisdom of experience from the smart folks here though if that method needs to change in any major way.

On 5/31/2023 at 9:39 PM, C6Bill said:

I was getting Wicked Good from Ace Hardware but they said it was discontinued. But they can still get Rockwood so I ordered 6 bags of that. I'll be trying Kamado Joe Big Block this weekend and I have several different bags of B&B but i'm not holding out much hope for those, I had been using B&B for a few weeks now and during my latest clean out found several nails and more than a few rocks. There was a local Backyard type store that always had a few pallets of good stuff but they seem to be pushing gas grills now so no more lump 

Man, I had no idea Wicked Good was discontinued! I got one bag from Ace last month and loved it, was looking forward to picking up some more

Haven’t strayed much from the usual chicken thighs and steak cooks lately, but a friend of mine dropped by yesterday and brought some goodies to grill up. Lamb kofta and a middle eastern sausage which he wasn’t entirely sure the composition of. Grilled and eaten alongside a handful of peppers, some foil pack potatoes, and pita bread with a delicious yogurt sauce he whipped up while I got the coals going

I’ve been thinking about getting a roti for my 32. Had completely forgotten about the cradle option and now i need to figure out which way I want to go! 

Rolling in panko, what an idea! I can’t believe I never thought to try that. Guess it’s time to pull another pack of wings out of the freezer!

On 4/30/2023 at 6:24 PM, MacKenzie said:

I did two batches of Wings and Tater Tots for dinner and some first of the season spinach.  

 

MacK I think I can physically feel the crunch of those wings just looking at the photo. What was your method? I’ve always gone very minimal with my wings but seeing those I think I might have to step it up next time around.

I’ve only used my cold smoke generator twice thus far. The first time the results were absolutely incredible, despite the fact that at some point during the cool the smoker went out. The second time the results were indistinguishable from a cook without generator because the pellets simply would not stay lit longer than a minute or so. Same pellets both times. I suppose it could be moisture in the pellets but I don’t own a microwave, so I will need to find some other way to dry them out 

I’ve never done a “true” Demi, but whenever I make stock I usually over-reduce to about the same consistency just for ease of storage. Pull some out of the freezer and add it to water and it’s back to being stock! Hadn’t heard of adding tomato paste before, I will have to give that a try next time!

3 hours ago, Tyrus said:

Tasty looking too. A lot of realestate for a dozen wings even so with a half basket. Makes you want to go out and get a matching 19 like Mac and Tekebo...just a thought.

Ha! You make a great point Tyrus, in retrospect I probably could have gotten away with a quarter basket for them had I thought of it. A matching 19 would certainly be fun, but I have other bases I would want to cover before doubling up on KK’s. Pizza oven, Konro, griddle, maybe a Santa Maria. With the weather warming up I’m starting to daydream about the outdoor kitchen possibilities

Pulled some CostCo wings out of the freezer yesterday for dinner.  Built a pretty raging fire on one half of the 32 and hit them direct for a couple minutes, then moved them to the cool side and closed the vents a good bit. Brushed with sauce a couple times while on the indirect side, as well as after pulling them off and wrapping in foil for a few minutes. Still floored at how easy cooking on the KK is. These were insanely tasty

I have a few relatives who own this and they rave about it. I haven’t tried true ice cream from one, but I did sample some imitation Dole-whip that was made in one and it was delicious

I have found that Amazon is loaded with cheap clones of the SearPro/grillgun, so I’ve placed an order which should get here tomorrow. More compact that the full-on weed burner, and cheaper than buying a looftlighter or the cordless Milwaukee blower a few of yinz have. I figure when I get around to buying a cordless shop vac to clean the ashes out I’ll be able to use that as a blower in a pinch, but that will probably only be necessary if I want to quickly go from a low and slow coal bed up to a hotter fire for a sear or something like that.

@Troble I think I’m going to need to get a roti spot for my 32, those birds look delicious!

@Tyrus the color on that chicken is great!

I did my first chicken cook on Sunday for an Oscars party we hosted. Two birds spatchcocked, indirect with a half basket and apple pellets in the cold smoke generator. Initially thought to cook at 250 for a while, but lunch plans ran late and I decided closer to 300 would be a safer bet time-wise. Think they ended up cooking around 290 for a couple hours. I removed the skin and pulled the meat for sandwiches with a vinegar-based sauce. The smoke flavor was perfect! Skin was a little gummy/rubbery which didn’t matter in this case since it was removed, but I think I’ll try a higher heat next time to see if I can get a nicer texture on that. Between cooking and hosting, I didn’t remember to get a single photo of the food, just the KK smoking away 

Skewers, what a great idea!! 
 

Grate-wise I was on the main grate, but next time I will do the upside-down upper grate approach. That, combined with skewers should make it much easier. They still turned out delicious, but tedious to track and flip each individual shrimp. Thanks everybody!

I also read through the lighting techniques thread again and I think using a blower of some kind will help me get a nice even heat across the grate, rather than just relying on the starter cubes.

Hey all! As a KK newcomer I have been taking my time, learning something new each time I get it fired up. Last night I did a shrimp cook. Used a half basket on my 32 and brought the KK up to about 325ish, let the grates heat up a bit, and then put the shrimp on. They turned out delicious of course, but I needed to do a whole lot of shuffling because the heat was super uneven across the hot side of the grill.

My lighting method was to  use two Weber wax cubes spaced a little ways apart with smaller chunks of lump across the top of the coal bed, and larger pieces below. It makes sense that the hottest spots were around where those cubes were to start I think, but are there any tricks to getting a more even heat across the coal bed? I suppose it’s really only an issue on something like shrimp where there are so many pieces to shuffle around, but it could be helpful for next time.

I have really loved the content yakitoriguy has been putting out on his Instagram. Watching him travel through Japan talking to chefs was so fascinating!

My girlfriend requested pizza for Valentine’s Day, a perfect excuse to fire up my new KK! I’ve made plenty of good pizza we a baking steel in my oven, and I’ve seen the recommendations to use a steel at around 450 in the KK. But like driving a new sports car I felt the itch to pedal down and see how she fares.

Preheated between 600 and 650 for an hour or so. First dough broke so it became a calzone. Second went as intended. Both turned out light years better than any of my previous gas oven pies.

That’s a fantastic idea @tekobo, photo attached!

Thanks @DennisLinkletter! I think I misinterpreted the instructions saying the lower bolt was used for leveling, thinking it was referring to the lower of the three attachment bolts. 
Well don’t I feel silly not seeing those attachment holes. Worked perfectly!