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Re: Rib Roast Bravo!

Re: Pork belly (German: Schweinsbrust) recipe I just acquired a beautiful 8lb pork belly. Is there any down side to leaving the rind on when following this recipe?

Re: High Temp Brisket

Re: High Temp Brisket In all the years that I've been cooking, I had never used cardamom before; it has a quite interesting and complex flavor.

So I took the plunge and tried the high temperature method for cooking brisket. I used the coffee/cardamom rub. Cooked at 290 uncovered for 4 hours and 15 minutes, then wrapped in foil for another hour until it was tender. I'm not a big fan of brisket to begin with, but I have to admit that the flavor was excellent, and the meat was moist!

Re: Leg of lamb cooked in hay I think the "hay" grown in Humbolt might have a better aroma!!

Re: Suckling Pig

Re: New owner of KK in Mendocino County, Ca My first cook last year was in the rain. Go for it!!

Re: Intro, My KK, and My first Cook I've got a 26 oz rib eye dry aging in the refer right now. It's turning to that deep maroon color. Tomorrow I will grill it indirect at 275 until 120 degrees. Then switch to direct heat and sear it at high heat for a couple of minutes. This is the reverse sear method much discussed elsewhere on this forum. You can do a variation of this with chicken as well.

Re: Happy Camper in California... Welcome! Central California is gettin crowded! We'll have to have a convention.

Re: First Pork Shoulder That looks great! What time is dinner?

Re: Suckling Pig I don't have the slightest idea. Pulled it off a website that offers avatar photos. It made me laugh, so I chose it! BTW, I'm not laughing at the apparent obesity; just the fact that it's so damned politically incorrect. If he's comfortable in his skin, then more power to him!

Re: Suckling Pig

Re: Suckling Pig Your wife was indeed correct. Good choice!

Re: Suckling Pig Actualy Doc, my stomach is even thinner than the guy sewing the pig! That being said, my brother-in-law is the one doing the suturing, and in real life he is an equine veterinarian. Naturally, I let him do the stitching!

Re: Suckling Pig Continuing the Photos:

Re: Suckling Pig One suckling pig + one Komodo Kamado = SWEET EATS! The pig weighed 19 pounds Cook time was 5 1/2 hours Cook temperature was 250 for 5 hours and 350 for 30 minutes Charcoal was Kamodo 2003 Extruded Coconut Charcoal and Halls Hill Hickory Charcoal

Re: Hickory Charcoal I see the Naked Whiz has done a review. http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpdatabase/lumpbag99.htm

Re: Suckling Pig I begin thawing the piglet tomorrow. It will roast next Saturday, and I have decided to just do it low and slow, likely at 250 till done. The size of the party has grown a bit, so I thought I would throw a pork butt on the upper sear rack as well. I figure the drippings from the butt will baste the pig below. I'll take photos, and this time I will remember to put the memory card in the camera!

Re: Tru Tel Options** You need an R&D model with heat sensors built into the layer between the thermal mass and tiles!!

Re: Tru Tel Options** Dennis, that's very useful information. Let me ask this: for a person who would bake pizza once a week, what would be the maximum temperature at which you would fire the pizza without doing damage to the KK? I didn't acquire a KK to bake pizza; it's a happy coincidence that it does such a fine job with it. However, since I plan on being buried in it, I want the KK to last a long time!!

Re: Tru Tel Options** If I were using a pizza oven, I'd bake the pies at 800 degrees. Do you think the KK could routinely handle a heat sink at that temperature? This is not a criticism; I operate on the "do no harm" principle. What do you think?

Re: Tru Tel Options** When heat sinking the KK for a pizza bake, I usually do it in two steps. Using Kingsford Competion Charcoal, I'll bring the KK up to 550 to 600; then I usually need to add more charcoal to bump it up to the 700 range. Adding lump charcoal for the boost seems to work particularly well. Ten pounds of charcoal, in toto, is sufficient. Prior to purchasing one of Dennis' new pizza stones, I used a 16" round, 5/8" thick kiln shelf; it worked great and did not crack. (I have not fired the new KK pizza stone yet.) You can omit the diffuser, but be prepared to bake for only 2 minutes, and adjust the toppings accordingly; however I still recommend its use. Mike, I have a friend who is an accomplished home baker (he even built his own wood fired oven), and he utilizes the same method when baking pizza in his electric oven. Preheating the stone with the broiler seems to do the trick. I'll have to give it a try! Cheers, Peter

Re: Pro Joe - New Ultimate Contender? With my KK baking stone up on the upper I've never made crust that cooked fast enough at 750º Plus dome not to burn the cheese before the crust was ready.. Anybody done pizza at 750º successfully? If so, was it a super thin crust pizza? I believe the appropriate temperature range for your pizza stone is 725-750 degrees. I get a little worried when I take the KK up to this temperature and let it heat sink for an hour. Moreover, I utilize a heat deflector on the large grill so that the stone on the dome grill is heated evenly and indirectly. At the 700 degree range, I can crank out a pizza about every 2-3 minutes, baked just about perfectly. That said, traditional Italian pizzas have a thin crust, and toppings are applied sparsely. When baking at this temperature range, the moisture in the dough vaporizes, and this allows for a very light but crisp crust. Ultimately it's a matter of personal preference, but if you are trying to replicate the pizzas baked in the wood fired Italian ovens, you need the higher temperatures. Jeff Varasano's web page, sited elsewhere on this forum, is immensely helpful and informative. http://www.varasanos.com/PizzaRecipe.htm I have always intended to build a wood fired oven. You can purchase kits through Mugnaini http://www.mugnaini.com or build it yourself using plans that are included in The Bread Builders, http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Builders-He ... 1890132055 Only once has the temp in the KK gone over 750 due to my inattentiveness; thankfully I have yet to wind it! I have some hairline fractures but nothing with which to be concerned. Thanks for the tip on the Tel-Tru. I'll get one for the 1000 degrees, just so I can keep the KK accurate at 700-750.

Re: Hickory Charcoal [@Chris and Peter.. Is that charcoal easily light and does off-gas and burn with a flame when first lit.. or is it hard to light and have no flames at first? Just curious if it's high in the volatiles and has a very obvious Hickory smoke profile or well carbonized with less flavor.. Dennis, I just pulled this off the Halls Hill Website: http://www.charcoalcompany.com/cart.html "Our Premium quality charcoal is processed between 800 to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. At these temps, the yield is 30% and carbon content is 87%. So in other words, 1000 pounds of wood will yield 300 pounds of charcoal. The charcoal is 87% carbon and 13% volatile compounds." Apparently, if they take the carbon content any highr, then the charcoal will be too brittle. It's a consequence of the density of the hickory. Peter