Majestik

I dunno... kinda looks pink to me too. hehe he

Hey, I just threw together a batch of that tomatoey Dixie Chick sauce to throw on the chuck roll sandwiches. Suh-WEET! Thx, J. --Mike

I am quite pleased, thank you. I'll be making this in... oh, however long it takes to eat 6 quart-size ziplocs full of chuck roll.

Ummmm... maybe? I used to kamado's webmaster back in the day...

Holy cow, Steve!? Welcome to the forum, man! How are you? Long time no see! --Mike

2nd Chuck Roll.... Another success... this 18lb roast went on the k at 10pm last night. When I went to bed at 11:30, the temp was at 250F, which seemed pretty good. I had just barely cracked the bottom draft, and had the plant dish damper fully "closed". Pulled the roast this morning at 7am... 9 hours... and the temp this morning was 350F as often happens. Still, the roast was tender, and flavorful. The middle 25% of the roast could have used another 3 hours I think... while juicy/tender, the center had to be chopped instead of pulled. But overall... fabulous roast. Look at that flap just peeling back like that... mmm.... So now the fridge & freezer are packed with meat... Looks like I'll be eating lunch in all week next week. --Mike

Curly-- North Carolina... we have BJ's, Sam's Club, and Costco. BJ's is a bit weak compared to the big guys, but it's closest to me. leejp-- Yeah, go figure! The temp was at around 350... and in 7 hrs it pulled so tender and juicy... sometimes the whole "low and slow" thing makes me wonder....

I went to BJ's tonight and picked up another Chuck Roll. I was eyeing the "Beef Shoulder" at 7lbs, but the butcher came out and said, no, that's not the same... the chuck roll is more tender... then he went in the back and pulled out a nice 18 pounder.... for $1.79/lb... can't wait. I think I'll do it overnight.

The link Porkchop gave mentioned something like 12 to 15lb sizes... we kept a lot in ziplock bags and the leftovers were as good as the "fresh" Q. I think I'll do another on my own cooker this weekend.

Oh yeah, and don't forget the Creole Cajun beans recipe. Thx, Mike

Thanks, Drunk J, Regarding the mustard sauce... is that strictly an "after the grill" item? What makes South Carolina style different, aside from the sauce?

Hey man, look again, there's pics in dem dar hills.... Except none of my charcoal ribs. There you got me beat fair n square.

As luck would have it my dadinlaw had picked up a mason jar of someone's home recipe... it was more tomato and sugar-sweet than I'd usually prefer, but still yards ahead of anything at the grocery. The meal really was phenomenal. Thanks again.

Ok... interesting... I will try that... oops... I don't have a top damper right now. So when you're doing a low and slow... how open or closed are your dampers, top and bottom? Thx, Mike

Do we really need to ask? Yes, please.

You know, I was one of the pioneers of the ol' silicon gasket... I've gotten my K locked up tight. Not currently, but in the past. I had just never had a lot of luck keeping the temp down... I think it's that draft door... seems like if it's cracked slightly, it may as well be wide open. I dunno. When I get around to cleaning up and/or repairing my current #7, I will start over with all the seals and see what I can do... regardless of the problem, I still pull some sweet grub outta that thing. But what? too much lump in there or something? What do you do, if in the setup for a cook, your temp gets too high? How do you bring it down without putting it out? Sigh. I mean, I'm exaggerating a little... I have gotten a decent temp from time to time... but it's not from anything I'm doing on purpose.

So I've got this unused #5 mexi-K sitting there and just pulled off an amazing Chuck Roll... what better follow-up that two racks sweet pork spare ribs? Ha! Well, this K had some very common flaws that led to my demise. First, the bands leaked BAD. If I closed the top damper, smoke would POUR out from the bands. Second, the bottom draft didn't seal and/or failed to regulate air flow. I put some ribs on over a full firebox of lump and hickory chunks with a heat deflector. Put 'em on around 10 or 11ish. The fire was slow to build... it was hovering around 180F when I decided to barely... just BARELY... crack the bottom draft door. Then I went about my day, satisfied with the soft puffs of hickory smoke wafting up the sides (had the top closed). Came back about 6 hours later to find the K at 400F!!! The draft was all but closed, and the top was closed, but the smoke was rolling out through the bands. By that time there was nothing I could do... the ribs were burnt to a crisp. Out of two racks I was able to scrape out maybe 2 handfuls of sweet edible flesh... the rest was like burn jerky. How embarrasing. So what gives? I have this problem on my mexi-K. And it happened with the Chuck Roll but didn't seem to harm that project. I cannot, and have never been able to, get a decent solid maintained low temperature around 225-250F. I've gotten 275... but usually 300 to 325. How do you guys with Mexi-K's do it? I mean, after 8 years I would think I had a clue... but nope. It's really depressing. And the KOMODO... does the new bottom draft help alleviate this problem? Really, I want to know how to get that low and slow temp... it's maddening. Am I putting too much fuel in or something? I thought I would have to maintain through the long haul.... I just don't get it. And once that temp pops up over 300... just try getting it back down. Aaarg! (So you see, Drunk_J, I can't come back being all smug and snooty... bah!)

I think they might have started to use it if they hadn't seen the disaster that followed two days later... I'll write it up in another post...

So there I was on vacation in the wasteland known as Texas.... I vowed to give the ol' chuck roll a try at Porkchop's urging. And I had to find a way to cook in a ceramic while on vacation just to spite ceramic-less Drunk_J. For the record: Drunk_J-- your 'Joe cooks looked amazing. And could you please post that cajun beans recipe in a separate thread for me? Despite some of the cretinous bluster about it, I thought it looked wonderful. Anyway, my inlaws had purchased a #5 mexi-K from a dealer some 5 or 6 years ago, and my father-in-law hadn't used it hardly at all. Don't understand why, but that's not my place. Anyway, this green #5 has just been there sitting fallow on the deck overlooking Lake Texoma for quite awhile. I was happily surprised to find everything in good working order. The spin top spun just fine, the spring operated properly. No apparent cracks or tile loss. Quite surprising, actually. Oh, the green grout had somehow turned yellow, but that's about it. It was just kinda ugly, but workable. Except... inside were 2 colonies of mud-daubers and 3 colonies of paper wasps... the crowning glory being a cantaloupe size paper wasp colony hanging in the middle of the dome. My fatherinlaw flushed 'em out and I spent the morning saturday flushing the K thoroughly with a hose, cleaning grills, clearing firebox holes and such. Filled the unit to the lip with oak wood and set it ablaze... I let go all day full bore, open top and drafts to "sterilize" it. The wasps were persistent though.. we had to combat wasp-scouts returning to the K for the next few days. But it was worth it. So I went to Sam's Club and couldn't find a chuck roll. Asked the butcher and he went in back and brought me one all sealed in cryovac plastic. It was a monster-- 18 lbs! This is hands down the largest hunk of meat I have ever attempted. Sunday morning I rubbed it down with a good dry rub, got the #5 sputtering away with a heat deflector in place and threw the "beast" on the grill... it barely fit in the #5: Side note: I also did up these ABTs which came out fantastic: Anyway, the chuck roll was in there with a full load of royal-oak lump and several large chunks of hickory. The little K puffed away for about 7 hours. The temp stayed at about 350F, actually. Not what I intended, but a subject for a different, more melancholy post to come later... So it was on at 11ish-am and pulled at about 6:30pm. It was truly spectacular. It looks like it lost almost a 3rd of its mass in drippings. I hope these photos can convey the sheer juicy sweetness that was this roast: I took this beautiful hunk of flesh inside and proceeded to easily pull it apart with a fork and knife. It was truly succulent. Everyone raved. Absolute perfection in beef. The sandwiches were unbelieveable. It really did pull like a fine pork roast. And it was hands down the best thing I've ever pulled out of a kamado: For scale, that green dish is approximately 18" x 14", and that is a giant fork stuck in the roast. So I am really doubtful that I will ever do a brisket again. There is simply no comparison. You have GOT to try it. We had a dozen folks gorging on this for 2 days. I am so pleased that Pork Chop turned me on to this, that I removed the picture of him wearing Fanny Bush underwear.

Naw man, I wanna make it myself!!!

Can someone give me a recipe for a SC style mustard-based Q? Been hearing about and want to give it a try. Thx, Mike

Hey, just got back... working on it.... So, uh, what gives? I leave and y'all flip out? It's like Animal House in here!

Seriously, though, PC, I will be doing a chuckroll next. It might have to wait til I get back from Dallas next week. Although my in-laws DO have a #5 laying fallow on their back deck... maybe I'll clean that up and see what I can do with it. Color me intrigued. --Mike

Too late, Gerard, I got your number.

Now y'all are REALLY starting to scare me. [NOTE: PICTURE REMOVED OUT OF SHEER GRATITUDE TO PORKCHOP]