Paswesley

Re: Not much cooking going on Baba Booey back at cha! I have been cooking quite a bit, undiminished. I cooked two 10 pound picnics last weekend. I cooked 12 pounds of pork chops on Tuesday, the 26th. Today, I am going to install the super gasket and touch up a small repair I did to Mable's cap. It was no fault of Mable's, of course. I stuck her lid shut and then tried to force it open when the cap was still hot. Dumb, huh? It was a rookie mishap on the third day of ownership. I am just getting around to fixing it. Tomorrow, I will probably throw on whatever meat is for dinner. I intend to have Mable earn her keep throughout the winter. Happy cooking OTB Gang!

Re: Afire Natural Coconut Charcoal Correction: The Afire coconut charcoal that I bought is from Taiwan, not Thailand.

Re: Afire Natural Coconut Charcoal The one positive that I can report about the Afire charcoal is that they were expeditious. I ordered it on a Thursday evening, from Fred's Music and BBQ, and it was delivered less than 36 hours later. (Perhaps that is so you can't back out of the order!) At any rate, the charcoal arrived around noon on Saturday. I was already involved in a low and slow with Mable while she did wonderful things to two picnics (Rave reviews, by the way. I now have a fan club at my church.). So, I weighed the charcoal. It was 26 lbs. and 14 ozs. I won't squawk about the missing two ounces of charcoal. That is only about one briquet. This charcoal was not made in Viet Nam like the original review that Naked Whiz did back in January. This charcoal is made in Thailand.It appears to be of about the same quality, unfortunately. It is clearly very light in weight and it leaves very dark smudges on one's hands when it is handled. It appears to be incompletely carbonized. Also, it seems to be pressed together with only minimal pressure at best, because it is decidedly lacking in density. I lit four pieces in a charcoal chimney to see how they would burn. They were fairly easy to light with my propane torch, but it took a good while, about two minutes. There was a small amount of sparking and popping. Nothing major, but noticeable. My reference was one small piece of extruded that I had sneaked out of a Korean restaurant. This charcoal was in a table top burner that held several unlit pieces. The Korean charcoal was hard as stone and took forever to ignite, but it burned very hot, had a light coconut fragrance, and lasted about 3.5 hours. It left almost no ash. By contrast, the Afire charcoal did not smell very much like coconuts. It smelled more like burning wood, although the odor was rather faint. It produced a hot coal, but fairly quickly, after about twenty minutes, began to burn cooler. The Afire charcoal only burned for about 2.5 hours. It left a lot of taupe colored ashes. I had intended to cook my organic free range turkey using the coconut charcoal, but I will clearly have to alter my plans. Sorry to be so long-winded, but I wanted to give detailed, albeit unscientific feedback. Needless to say, I will NOT be purchasing any more Afire coconut charcoal. I wish that I could get a hold of some of that Korean charcoal, but alas, it is not to be.

I really appreciate the insights guys. I will let you know what happens. I am cooking a couple of fresh picnics for our church. I let them marinate for six hours in a homemade marinade which included apple cider vinegar and brandy, along with my special blend of I won't tell spices. I put them on at 12:15 AM for a twelve hour low and slow. I am using Royal Oak lump for the low and slow. Guess I'll turn in now, it's 1:25 AM.

Thanks, Whiz... I feel like saying "Gee, whiz!" I sure did get taken, huh? I have not received it yet. I sure hope that they have improved the product since your review back in January. Man, am I disappointed! If it had not already shipped, I would cancel the sale. Next time, I will check your excellent reviews before ordering. I have checked your site many times before. I don't know why I did not do it last night. Had a dumb attack, I guess. Thanks, again.

Forum Family: I have reached total frustration while waiting for the shipping magnates to decide to allow us to receive Dennis' charcoal. I have decided to try Afire brand coconut charcoal. It is pricy to buy just one 27 pound box: $53.00 including around $15.00 shipping and handling. That works out to around $1.44 per pound (just for the charcoal) or $1.96 per pound including shipping. As I said, a little pricy. But- I do not have any other access to coconut charcoal. Has anyone else tried Afire brand coconut charcoal and, if so, what were your findings, recommendations? Thanks

I agree with those members who have encouraged temperature, rather than time. I use a Redi-chek which serves me quite well. I have a very large home and have experienced none of the problems with dropped signal that others have complained about, even when I exceeded the recommended 100 foot distance between the transmitter and the receiver. On the other hand, I live in a low density sub-division, so there is probably no problem with radio frequency saturation in my area. Your results may not be as satisfactory as mine, depending on where you will be using the device. To return to the topic, I have had great success with turkeys in my K. I have cooked three since I got Mable in July. The most recent one, a twenty pounder, took about 6 hours. I used a fresh bird and left on the counter under cover. The first probe reading I got was 70 degrees, which lessened the cooking time a bit. I heat soaked Mable to 325 and cooked the bird until the probe read 150 in the thigh, at which point I raised the temp to 355 and cooked until the probe read 175. I used a rack and had the bird on the main cooking grill. The reflected heat off the dome and the convection from the indirect method produced a beautiful bird, indeed. I only opened her once, to remove the foil from the wings at the time that I raised Mable to 355. I used some Alder wood for smoke, laying several chunks atop the fire basket when the bird was put on. Yummy!

Dennis: I am in agreement with the other owners. I don't have any coconut charcoal at all, and i want some! We all are beneficiaries of your perfectionism. Yet, in the case of the extruded charcoal, we want whatever your best is under the circumstances. We know that whatever you put your name on will be the highest quality that you can produce. It will also be probably the best anywhere available. Anyway, the difference between 4% and 6% ash is very insignificant. If you ship, then I will buy.

Hey Dennis: if you're looking, I have a question. Of course, I don't want to void my warranty, so I want to check with you first. My potjie pot weighs around twenty-five pounds empty. By the time I add ingredients, it could conceivably weigh 40 pounds. Allow another ten pounds, in case the potjie is heavier than I think. Can the ceramic rim and the lower grill bear up under the weight? Do you think the grill will bend under the weight and de-form? Thanks, Paswesley

Thanks, Doc. I'll give it a try.

Thanks, Doc. Your explanation about why the round that I cooked came out so tough makes a lot of sense. I have a ten quart flat bottomed potjie pot that should be the perfect cast iron pot for the cook that you suggest. However, I am reluctant to use an acidic base because previously, whenever I have cooked anything acidic, it would destroy the seasoning on the interior of the pot. Do you think that a non-acidic soup/stew base would come out equally tender as an acidic base? Paswesley

@Mike: Thanks for the tip. I will try this. My wife and I bought four six plank packs, but I am always looking for a way to be frugal, where frugality is appropriate.

I am reluctant to try reusing planks. The literature included with mine (Kingsford brand purchased at BJs) says they can be cleaned and reused. Since washing them with soap imparts unwanted flavors to the next cook, I can't really get them clean, and I am concerned about bacteria. Has anyone figured out how to clean the planks without tainting the flavor of the next cook?

Yes, you are! But, I have all of the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs, oysters, scallops, and stripers that I can hold. I am blessed, too!

Hey, Cook_Shack, did you foil the round roast? I tried a round roast and it was my first failure. I did not foil it. It was around ten pounds. I cooked it at 220 for about twelve hours to an internal temp of 190. Most of the surface of the roast was hard as water buffalo horn. I had to throw away the entire surface of the roast down to about 1/2 inch. I was able to pull it and served it with BBQ sauce and everyone liked it, but since it did not turn out the way I wanted it to I count it as a failure. So, did you wrap it in foil, and if so, when did you remove the foil? If I was to cook another round the same way as before, except start out with foil, when would I remove the foil? Thanks, Paswesley

TRex, you ought to be ashamed. Here I am, sitting here watching my Baltimore Ravens stink up the Meadowlands, trying my best to ignore the growling in my stomach, and you have to post a scrumptious looking picture like that! I am being haunted around my waist by the ghosts of heavy meals past, so my wife has put me on a diet. While I have your attention, let me ask a question. About a month ago, you posted a picture of yourself holding up a very large fish. Was that a really big salmon, or a big lake trout. Steelhead?

Dennis, if you still make these, i'll take one.

@TRex: I have no doubt that the wild caught is delicious. I have certainly eaten wild salmon many times. In this case, it was the rich fatness of the farm raised fish and its tenderness, combined with the magic of Mable and the cherry wood smoke that conspired to make our meal sublime. I am certainly eager to compare the taste of a wild caught Chinook. Unfortunately, I know of no location nearby where I can get fresh wild caught Chinook salmon. If anyone knows where I can get some, then let me know. I have access to wild Atlantic salmon, but they are not as pleasing to my taste as the Pacific varieties. While I can drive a few minutes and catch wild stripers and blue crabs, I don't have access to wild salmon.

I tried cooking salmon on Kingsford wooden cooking boards today. The cooking boards, made of western cedar, were soaked in plain water for two hours before use. I cooked the salmon at 375 for 25 minutes. I used seasoned cherry chunks atop the coals for a nice smoky flavor. Honestly, it was the best salmon that I have ever eaten. My wife thought I had cooked it with butter, although I had not. It was a five pound piece of farm raised Chinook filet. Wow! My wife, who had strongly opposed the purchase initially, said that we don't need to go out anymore. She believes the food from the KK is better than the restaurant, and I agree with her. We will occasionally go out for romantic reasons, but never again for food that tastes better than home cooking. Mable has seen to that! Â

Does anybody know what creosote looks like? I do a lot of smokes using Cherry wood and hickory. I have noticed a shiny black coating on the inner sides and top, especially near the cap. Is that seasoning or flammable creosote buildup? Has anyone ever had the inside of their KK develop a creosote fire? Thanks

I just flip mine to the dirtiest side.

Congratulations on your KK. It almost feels like bringing home a pet, like a puppy, doesn't it? I guess the KK has contours that only a KK owner could love. My ultra cool twenty-three year old daughter promptly dubbed my Terra Blue KK, "The Smurf." She also smurfs up everything that I cook on it. I haven't told Mable what my daughter used to call her...

I am drooling You probably look me askance, but I am a pastor who loves bikes. I have never had one, for a number of reasons, but I am determined to get one before I kiss the mother dust. @Dennis: I know that the cost is unjustifiable, but can you imagine how sick a chopper built by the Teutels (Orange County Choppers) would look, tricked out as inspired by your kookers? I cannot imagine how it would look, but I know it would look incredible. I have no idea what a custom bike built by them costs, other than A LOT! Maybe it could be written off as a business expense... The national exposure on the show could more than pay for the chopper in increased business. Plus, it would fit your badboyness better than that crotch rocket. Just a thought...

The Zildjian cymbal artisans have a fairly high degree of automation in their factory and use a lot of specially made jigs to produce the large number of cymbals that they make daily. There is a certain amount of hand craftsmanship, but not the degree that Dennis is looking for. If I understand Dennis correctly, he is looking for a craftsman who can hammer the copper completely by hand. Dennis: two ideas. First, is it possible to visit the Zildjian factory to see their process firsthand and to brainstorm about how specialty jigs could be built to take some of the exacting craftsmanship out of the equation and allow for reproduction? Even with the jigs, there would be opportunities to preserve uniqueness in each KK. While there, you could pursue the possibility of having the jigs made by Zildjian and shipped to Indonesia. Second, is it possible to cast the copper cladding, by lost wax, for example, or by using a casting sand that I saw on the learning channel? Just some thoughts, which are probably without much merit, but I offered them anyway. Anton

@Mguerra: Oh, I see what you mean. Like Cook_Shack said, it makes it quicker and easier to get the food on and off. My hands are size XXXL, and it is difficult for me to get my fingers between the sides of the main grill and the body wall. When I have a mitt on, it is nearly impossible to do quickly, and the fire can begin to really wake up while I'm struggling. I have to reverse my hands, so that my palms are facing the body wall, in order to pick up the grill. I tipped it the wrong way as it fiddled with it once, and dropped two porterhouses off the back end of the lower grill. That taught me to be careful and think of ways that work for me... The T bars that came with the KK do not help, because one of them is too narrow to slide over the grill bars. BTW: my wife, who does not like brisket very much, ate two large helpings of Mable's brisket. She put a little A-1 on a bite and then decided that it tasted better plain. I had to agree with her. Anton