Paswesley

BTW: Just to be clear. I was not speaking, in my earlier post, about cleaning the grills at 800 in the KK. I was following up on T-Rex's suggestion that a regular household (kitchen) oven could be used to clean the grills. It was in the context of using my kitchen oven's self clean cycle that I made the comments about the steel possibly becoming brittle and so forth. I just don't want to be misunderstood.

Thanks for clearing things up, Dennis. I have a question. Dennis Wrote: When I ran Mable up to 560 (I stopped because I began to smell acrylic, and I understand that we must allow this to evaporate slowly, rather than bubble out.), I let her stay there for about twenty minutes, and then I closed the draft completely. I wanted to put out the fire and let the heat sink slowly cool. I turned down the cap to just touching the gasket, and then opened it one eighth turn. I was afraid that the cap would seize shut once the KK cooled down, so I opened it that one eighth turn. Well, the KK stayed right at 560 for the next 7 hours, and did not cool down until the coal basket was empty. The draft door was tightly closed. The lid was locked. That solid steel door to the back right of the draft door was tightly shut. The temp probe opening was sealed with the rubber grommet. Do you think that I have an air leak somewhere? Should I have closed the cap until the gasket touched the cap? What if it gets stuck again? I don't mean to whine. I just want to do this right and not hurt my investment. Thanks, Anton

Hey, T-Rex. I have given some thought to that method. Of course, the high heat (around 800 degrees in our oven) will render to powder all debris that is on the grill. It will darken the steel, but that is probably of no consequence. Of greater consequence will be what happens at the molecular level. I cannot speak to this, because I lack the expertise. 800 degrees may not be hot enough to change the alignment of the molecules in the grill's steel. The heat may cause the steel to become brittle. Yet, it may not. The coal basket, for example, is regularly subjected to much higher temps than 800 degrees. Apparently, the continual heatings and coolings don't seem to hurt the steel of the coal basket. Is the steel of the coal basket the same formulation as the steel of the grills? It stands to reason that the steel of the coal basket has a different chemical formulation than the steel of the cooking grills. I think that the real answer to this question lies with the chemical make-up of the steel that is used in the grills. That is a question that Dennis may answer, if he thinks he should share that info. I have ordered a Grillfloss, and I will not be subjecting my grills to heats above 650 unless I get a definitive answer on the effect of very hi temps on the grill steel.

At this point, I don't really have a particular food item in mind. Being just a bit anal about some things, especially my new toys, I want to clean Mable. That enormous cook I did over the weekend (56 pounds of pork butts, 25 pounds of chicken) left Mable fairly messy, and want to crank her a bit to get her clean. I popped the cooking grids and heat deflector into my 75000 Btu gas grill, but it couldn't get truly hot enough to turn all of that black goop into white powder. I have been talking directly to Dennis over the last couple of days, and he told me how to proceed. Thanks

Thanks for the appetizer. Can't wait for the main course!

Thanks for the answers, guys!

I forgot to mention, I have the square tiles, not the pebble type. Paswesley

Forum Family: I need to know when it is safe to do a high temp kook. My KK is very recently acquired. I have used it at 150-255 for 13 hours, and at 350-425 for 9 hours. (It was at 425 for less than an hour.) This is a total of 22 hours. Is this a long enough break-in period? Or, do I need to kook at lower temps for a while longer? If it is too soon to go 700-800 temps, when will it be safe to do so? Also, how long may a temp of 700-800 be maintained, without doing harm to the tiles, or grout, or any other KK component? Please answer soon, if you can. Thanks, Paswesley

My KK's Name Is... It's funny that you should ask. When I got up today and was thinking about her, suddenly she seemed to be Mable. I have no explanation, but my KK is definitely a girl and her name is Mable. I thought you would think I was off my rocker to tell you I had named her. Thanks for bringing it up. What is your KK's name?

The Boss says that I can send her some pork or chicken, but the KK stays here! She was a hard sell for the KK. Once she makes up her mind, it's hard to change it, especially when it involves personal sacrifice. This year, it was either the KK or a trip to Maui to visit with relatives. I talk her out of her trip to Maui and then give the KK away to the lady next door?!!! I don' want my head broken!

Thanks, back to you, Cook_Shack. Just got up. The last guests left at 1:45 AM, and we didn't get into bed until 4:00. I think I'll let myself and my KK rest today. We earned it. I think I will throw some beef or fish on her tomorrow and see what comes of that. My next door neighbor told my wife (woman to woman), "Tell your husband to put an extra butt on for me whenever he cooks one." I'm going to have to do that. She also told me that if I ever get tired of the KK, I can bring it over to her house.

Post Party Report I have received rave reviews. I have cooked food for guests for over thirty years. I can certify that this was the best received food that I have ever offered. Following Cook_Shack's advice, it was almost easy. The kooker did all of the work. I cooked six pork bone-in butts, a total of over fifty-eight pounds, along with six butterflied fryers. I have never tasted pork and chicken that was this moist, tender, flavorful, and just plan delightful. "Outstanding" and "Superb" were accolades that I heard over and over. The greatest compliment is the fact that every morsel was consumed, down to even gnawing on the bones. When you see people gnawing and sucking on bones, then you know that food was simply scrumptious. If I thought that I had done anything, I would be ashamed of this boasting. But, the KK did the work, so I am boasting about it. Cook_Shack, you were a great help, and I deeply thank you. I frankly suspected that some of what I was reading was hype. I now know that the half has not been told. If I can get results this well when I just got the KK, what kind of results will I be able to achieve once I become truly expert in it's use? Happy kooking, all!

Hi, there

Thanks, Joe. At 12:50, the fire is holding at 255, and the meat is 185. Like I said earlier, I don't think I will hit the target of 225 and get the chicken done too. So, I will probably wind up taking them off at around 200 degrees. Joe, I did take a peek about half an hour ago. They are beautiful! What I noticed, though, is that a grease fire started up right away. What I will do is choke off the fire around ten minutes from now, and then let them cook with the heat sink for another half hour. Hopefully, the fire will be out when I open the lid to take them off. Then, I'll start the KK right back up and stabilize it at 350 for the chicken.

Will do for the pics. I will do a write up also. I have not looked yet, but it is tempting. I am so nervous about upsetting the KK. I have not learned her ways yet. At 11:47, the KK temp is 255, and the meat temp is 165. It looks like I will get her up to pull apart done in time. But, I have a blessing there. Most of my guests are going to be Asian- Filipino and Korean. They love roast pork, the Filipinos call it Lechon. I am not sure what Koreans call it. Anyway, so long as I get the temp up past 170/175, and I clearly will, they will be happy. I am starting to see the short rows, but I'm not back at the barn yet! Thanks for all your help.

Thanks, Cook_Stove. I will turn down the cap. I guess it's due to the meat volume, or the drippings, or both, but I can't get it past 250. BTW, the meat temp is 145, so I am approaching that plateau that you spoke of. After all of your help, it's a shame I can't get you a bite.

Sorry about that. I was exhausted from all the preparations. I don't have the energy at 54 that I once had. Between the errands and the cooking and the honeydos I sacked out around 2:00 AM. When I awoke at 8:30, I realized that the temp of 150 that I had after the rain was genuine. It was still sitting at 150 and the meat was 123. I immediately opened the draft and the temp began to slowly rise. The temp of the Gen. iI is 200 now, but the meat is only 125. I intend to let my heat build to 280 to 285, and let her go so the meat can heat up. I need to get those chickens on by 2:00- 2:30. I am amazed that the KK held at 150 for 7 hours. Try that in a gas grill.

I just got back in from checking on the meat after the thunderstorm. The kooker was cool to the touch, and the tru-temp probe stood at 150, so I wondered if the fire had gone out. Then, I noticed a curl of smoke coming out of the cap. So, I have once again suppressed my impulse to mess with the drafts. As Cook_Shack would say, I am going to trust the heat sink. The meat's temp is 105, which I thought was a bit strange. It was 51 when I put it on 1:45 min. ago. Should it increase that quickly when the kooker is only 238 degrees? I think I am going to trust the big girl and get some shuteye.

To Anyone Out There at 1:15 AM I put the six butts on an hour ago- twice. The first time, I forgot to put the heat deflector in. So, I had to take it all out and start again. While this was going on, the fire began to spread fairly quickly from coal to coal, but I resisted the temptation to mess with the draft and damper. I did not move it from where it was set when I put the meat on. I just let the Maverick probe hang down, because a thunderstorm was approaching. I will reattach the probe once the storm passes. It is still raining right now. I hope the KK is still lit and doing ok. I will check once it stops. I have cleaned the chickens and they are going to marinate overnight. They will go on once the butts come off. Stay tuned...

Cook_Shack, you are a friend in need. Right now, I am monitoring the kooker temp remotely by the Maverick probe. It has been hanging at 237, so I went outside and I just barely touched the bottom draft. It just went up one degree to 238 as I typed. I was trying to make it go down. Should I try to tease out those last few degrees, down to 225, or should I let her set at 238 or so? Thanks, Paswesley

Thanks for the words of experience. I am going out to fire her up now. So, that is how you do it!

Thanks, Cook_Shack. The family, including my future son-in-law, thought that the roast picnic was fantastic! I did not even have time to marinate it. I just did a dry rub and threw it on. This kooker is extremely forgiving! It was tender and juicy and done to the bone. Everyone got seconds. Thanks for the great advice. I have the butts marinating in my secret sauce. I plan to put them on around 12:00 to 1:00 and slow cook them to perfection. I kooked the picnic with some Cowboy lump that I had from my Weber days. However, I got some Royal Oak that I am going to kook the butts and chicken in. I hope to be able to get the fire stable within the first hour. I am confident that I will get the hang of this, even if only because I am so stubborn. Again, thanks for the great, timely feedback. Paswesley

In an earlier post, I mentioned an Engagement Party for our daughter tomorrow, for which I am cooking 6 pork butts and six chickens. As a warm-up, I tried my first cook today. I cooked a 9 pound fresh picnic. I noticed right away that there is an art to using this baby- it's not exactly a science. What I mean is, I discovered the suggested settings are just that- suggestions based on average conditions. It was 99 degrees in Severn when I put the picnic on. I wanted to roast it at about 350 for about three hours and call it a day. At the same time, Sweetie has a long list of honeydos that I am ticking off while I cook the roast pork. I set the damper and draft, got the temp up to 350, put on the picnic, and patted myself on the back. When I checked it 20 minutes later, the temp was 430! I had failed to account for the effect of the 99 degree weather and afternoon sun beaming directly onto the KK! Well, I also discovered that it truly is a heat sink, and I spent an hour or so slowly fiddling with the draft and cap until I got it to 350. Once the sun began to go down, the temp slid as well, but only down to 325. I am frankly scared of the low and slow that I have to start tonight. But, I am hoping that the relatively stable night temp, lack of sun and knowledge gained from the first cook, will combine with beginner's luck and give me something tomorrow that is at least fit to eat. I am going to take this pork off and see what it tastes like. Too hectic to take any pics. Maybe tomorrow.

I can't even begin to imagine all you can eat lobsters, scallops, wet bar, blue crabs, etc. I would want to be like a cow, except I would not do the ruminating piece. I would just fill up each stomach. A stomach for lobster and blue crabs, and a stomach for scallops, raw oysters, and dessert! I just finished a late dinner from a place called Hellas. I love crab cakes. They have the best crab cakes that I have eaten anywhere. Huge jumbo lumps are held together with claw meat and just a little corn meal binder. Has anyone ever used the kooker to do something like a clam bake? You know, layer the items with some seaweed? Do you think that is doable, like, if you use the lower grill to support the pile and cook it low and slow with the deflector?

Otter, you are a man after my own heart. BTW, next chance that you get, go by Captain George's Seafood restaurant and eat until you have the blind staggers. Do that for me. I would if I could!