MadMedik

Re: Omaha Steaks iPad or iPhone STEAK TIME app Exactly what i thought. also, what i failed to mention is the Steak Time app does integrate with the remote iGrill Thermometer system. It uses Blue Tooth and they boast 200 feet reception. Using the App with iGrill, you can have it alert your iPhone or iPad when the meat is done to what you set it for. I already have 2 remote monitoring systems, so i likely wont do the iGrill one...but it may be good for others???

Have you ever wondered just how long to cook a steak....you must factor in the thickness of the meat and the desired "doneness" of the meat.....as well as how hot your fire is. Also, consider the fact that you may have several steaks that all have different "degrees of doneness". Some want it medium, medium rare, well done...etc. How do you go about cooking the steaks so they all come off the same time and be what your guest wants it to be. I found this app on the Omaha Steaks website and the app can of course be downloaded from the App Store. it is a free app. It is also an android app It works quite well. Basically, you add as many steaks as you want to the "program" and tell it the thickness and doneness of the steak. you can even name the steaks Dennis, Doc, Slu, Loquitor or whatever..... Then press GO, and it will tell you which steak to put on first...the one that will take the longest....then it will prompt you to add the 2nd, 3rd, and fourth steak. The end effect is you have all steaks finish at the same time with Custom Doneness for each guest. It sort of takes the guessing out of it all. I have tried this once, with 5 steaks, 3 degrees of doneness, and they all finished at same time and were all perfect. they also suggest cooking a steak 60% of the total time on first side, then 40% of the time on the second side. It will prompt you when to flip the steaks based on the 60/40% rule. The only missing factor in the whole equation is "how hot is your fire"...that can make a big difference of course. Since i was doing steaks, i tried to keep my fire between 500 and 520. Doing this, at the end, i "felt" like the steaks should cook just a bit longer...so i waited another minute then removed them. It has a "calibration" feature also....so that if you think the steaks need to cook a bit longer or less than what it suggests, you can can 'calibrate' by adding or subtracting more time.... I have not played with this. If you have the ipad, iphone, or android and are interested, please check it out. I would be curious to see what you all think the pit temperature should be to make the Omaha formula work correctly....too low of a pit temp, then it will cook a lot longer....too high a pit temp, then you will cook faster than the Timer suggests. Again, i tried to keep my pit temp around 510 or so, and I ended up cooking a bit longer than suggested time....maybe next time i will shoot for 520 to 540 temps...and see if this makes the timing correct....or keep at 510 and "calibrate" it ??? I did send an email to Omaha Steaks, mentioned this app, and asked them what the Pit Temperature should be to make this all work according to the timer....They declined to answer what the pit temp should be. this is what they said: "Unfortunately we do not have a specific grill temperature listed. We recommend internal temperatures of the products, but do not have listings for what temperature the grill needs to be to achieve that temperature." Here is link to Omaha steaks and it will link you to App page...or just go to app store and type in Omaha Steaks... http://www.omahasteaks.com/servlet/Onli ... ing?Dsp=64 Sorry for long post. I am bored, haven't cooked in 2 weeks...and need to do something related to the KK MadMedik

I have often wondered what temperature someone means when then say "cook on high" or "medium"... High or medium , or whatever, can mean a lot of different things to different people. So, i looked around a bit on the internet and found this web page. The author/site gives their interpretation of what degree "high", "Medium", "low" would be on your thermometer gauge. It seems reasonable to me. I thought it would be of interest perhaps to you all. Keep in mind, we do have a KK and it can get extremely high temps. I am mostly considering your average grill or bbq, and cooking temps on these devices also, not just the KK. link: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/gril ... -fish.html If link not work, here is summary: High: 450 to 650°F Medium High: 375 to 450 Medium Heat: 325 to 375 Medium Low Heat: 250 to 325 low: 225 to 250 Just a thought to consider... MadMedik

Re: What's everyone cooking this weekend (5/19/12)? The ribs look great. I have read about foiling ribs before but have never tried it. This gives me desire to give it a try. Good job.

Re: Roti option? I love the rotisserie . I originally got the 8" and the first time I used it for four Cornish game hens. It was too big and one hen fell to a fiery death! I did get the 6" later and it is perfect for smaller pieces of meat like the hens. Four fit perfectly. If i took better cAre with the 8" basket perhaps I could have been ok with just that size. However I now have both and that is fine by me. I have done a 4 bone rib roast in larger basket and it was perfect size and outcome was awesome. I think using a rotisserie in KK is very good. Have no experience with other rotisseries. You will be able to get crisp skin with KK.

I recently posted about getting a rib rack from Dennis. I got it within a few days and yesterday was my first use of the rib rack. I cooked 9 slabs of St Louis style pork ribs for everyone at work. I fed about 16 people, and still had about 3 slabs left over for take home. We had chili beans and italian green beans to go with the Ribs. Below are 2 pictures. First is 8 slabs of ribs fitting perfectly in the Rack I got from Dennis. Since my Costco Ribs were 3 packs, I had 9 slabs i needed to cook. It took the upper 'add on' grill from Dennis, and it just barely fit on top of the Rib rack. I put the 9th slab on top of this rack. n68477 n68478 Results were very good. I cooked at 250-270 degrees for 4 hours and 15 minutes. It was time to eat so i took them off. Absolutely done and cooked, but i think another hour may have allowed them to come off the bone a bit better. I used Mesquite and Frontier Lump, about 50/50, and ended up with a pretty smokey flavored cook. I have decided I don't particularly enjoy the mesquite flavor on PORK, but do like it on Beef. These ribs were enjoyed by everyone, but i will not use the mesquite next time. Just a personal preference. Also, since they not lay flat on the grill, I lost out on any semblance of "charred/burnt" edges that normally occur with ribs and grilling. I sort of missed that. Perhaps next time i would try to sear them at the end to get some burnt edges...again, i ran out of time so i did not attempt this on this cook. For large quantities of Ribs on the KK, this was a great tool to have. If i am going to cook 2 or 3 slabs I would lay flat on grill and not use the Rack. Perhaps if i wanted 4 or 5 slabs, i would alternate "slots on the rack' to allow more heat and air flow between the racks...(spread them out over the rack). Overall a good cook. Very moist and tender. If you are considering a Rib Rack then I would recommend Dennis' rack. It is very nice quality and fits the grill nicely. Have a great day!

Re: "Fuel Efficiency" Check with owner Dennis Linkletter. His warehouse in Long Beach most likely has some. Not sure if it is "open to the public" or not. Like my first post said, you can pickup and take home yourself...how cool would that be. No wait like the rest of us... There are probably other KK owners around too... good luck.. MadMedik

Re: Baby Backs and a Bird Looks very good!

Re: Hello From Long Beach,CA hello and welcome to forum. The results from the bubba keg smoker sound great. That can also be achieved and more with the KK from Dennis. There is lots of information to be learned from this forum that can still apply to your cooker as well. Should you ever decide to purchase a KK from Dennis, you can rest assured that you will get the Kooker and will have fabulous service. Since you are in Long Beach, you could drive over and pick one up this afternoon if you wanted Please continue to check this forum out. Also, if you visit the BBQ Bretheren forum, it is a huge forum and they have many many different types of smokers. Check it out at http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/ There is a lot of help there as well and there is tons to learn. Enjoy the bubba keg. Enjoy the KK forum. Keep Dennis and the KK in mind when you feel like owning a piece of art, heirloom, and cooker extraordinaire...

Re: Rib Rack: KK's rib rack vs. other racks I ordered one from Dennis. May have it tomorrow. Thanks all for feedback.

Re: Rib Rack: KK's rib rack vs. other racks That is funny!!!

Re: Rib Rack: KK's rib rack vs. other racks See Edit. My rack is 1 5/8" wide and slanted quite a bit. Dennis...i need a rack....

I have some questions about the use of rib racks on the KK. First, I know Dennis makes one and it looks very nice. I have an older rib rack i have had for years for my other bbq's (which i never used). I did not buy one from Dennis as i did not think i would need one. Now that i have used KK for about 1 year, i really want to be able to cook more ribs at one time...or , use a Rib Rack. The rack I have and have attempted to use a few times seems "too wide" between racks. What i mean is that as i put the rack on and then insert a slab of ribs (short ribs) they seem to almost fall through the rack. With the wire racks being too wide, they don't hold the slabs up vertical like I am thinking they should. Once I load 3 or 4 slabs in this older rack of mine, they are laying uneven, crooked...some almost laying flat on the grill surface...very chaotic and not uniformly upright/vertical ribs. There seems to be uneven gaps between the slabs. To me , it would seem the slabs would cook uneven. I have loaded ribs into my rack on a couple occasions, only to say forget it...and just lay them flat on the grill surface. So, my question i guess is: Am I overly concerned with the ribs laying even and and upright? Does the fact they don't lay even make a difference? Does Dennis' KK Rib Rack have narrow racks that will hold the slabs of ribs more verticle and not just fall through the racks? A few pictures I have seen on the forum show ribs that lay very nicely and upright...not like mine when i attempt using a rack with baby back ribs. Perhaps if I cooked larger St Louis style ribs they would lay better? Maybe even Beef Ribs would work ok since they are so much bigger. Can someone who has one of Dennis' newer racks measure the width of the gap the ribs sit in? This may be a weird request...so sorry. If i know the width I can compare that to my older rib rack i currently have. I am leaning toward and buying Dennis' rib racks if it will solve my problems. Anyway, any thoughts or suggestions on Rib Racks would be appreciated. EDIT: my rack is 1 5/8" wide, but they are slanted...perhaps my issue is the slant. Plus, it only holds 4 slabs of ribs, which i can almost lay flat and not even use: see photo....notice Tequilla Worm, Tequilla Calera Reposado Thanks MadMedik

Re: Small Slow Cooked Standing Rib Roast When I did my Prime Rib roast on the rotiserrie, I used the Thermometer i have had for years for oven use. Simply insert into meat, no wires of course, and then occasionally you can open lid and as the thermometer comes around you can see the meat's Internal Temp. You can still monitor, and not worry about wires...no problems. When i cooked mine, i ran the Pit Temp at about 375 degrees...takes a bit longer, but my thought was to not over cook or dry it out...if that is even possible in a KK

Re: Mesquite Charcoal I agree.

Re: Ribs and Pork Belly My wife's 2nd favorite KK cook is Beef Ribs. First being pulled pork, with the Chris Lilly Championship rub. Today i did the Beef Ribs. I cooked for 2 1/2 hours, temp at 300 indirect... I did not use the Stone itself, rather just the pan the deflector stones came in. I used the small pan. I lined the pan with foil for easy clean up, and then filled the pan with water. In the past, I used 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice. The liquid is " theoretically" for 'steam' and moisture. Some would say you don't need the added moisture due to the efficiencies of the KK. However, it seems to work fine for me. 2 1/2 hours , Indirect pan with water, and 300 pit temp is what i have ended up settling on. There are many many other variations of heat and time I am sure. I like 2 1/2 hours since it does not take all that long. When i take them off, I do foil them and let rest for at least 45 - 60 minutes. When we eat them they are very tender, moist, and don't fall off the bone....but do separate quite nicely from it. Generally, the bottom half of the bones (thinner section of bone) will be very clean. I have cooked longer and at lower temps and felt this was not necessary for the way we like them. We used a mild dry rub....Spade L Beef Rub if interested. It has lots of Brown Sugar in the mixture. WE LOVE it . It is made in either Selma or Sanger, California. They sell it over the internet. Just recently, it got picked up at our local Save Mart Grocery store. Of course it is the Beef Rub....as they also have it for Pork, Chicken , Fish... I actually like the Pork Rub too and will usually use this with pork ribs. As for wet sauce, i don't put any on it during the cook or at the end. Wife likes the taste with just the Rub...actually i do too. Generally, the more sauce the better for me....but with Spade L Beef, i use wet sauce sparingly and on the side, occasionally dipping the bone in the sauce. Anyway, keep at it. Almost all mistakes still taste pretty good on the KK. MadMedik

Re: Small Slow Cooked Standing Rib Roast You are correct....direct heat. Sorry about forgetting to mention that. Yes, it is nice to have it turning and not worry about 1 side getting over cooked. It was good.

Re: Small Slow Cooked Standing Rib Roast A few months back I had done a 2 bone Prime Rib on the KK. I had put it in a roasting pan with onions and potatoes, hoping to infuse some flavor of vegetables during the cook. When I was done, the meat was cooked, but did not have the dark bark/texture of nice seared meat. It was sort of anemic looking. Taste was okay, but i missed the seared/slightly charred look and taste. Next time I did the same size 2 bone Prime Rib on the Rotissere. I put the heat at about 300 degrees (EDIT: on direct heat, no deflector stone) and cooked to desired internal temp...about 134 degrees. The Rotisserie method was Wonderful. I got the dark / seared texture all the way around. It was still very moist and very tasty. In my mind, this is how I will do future Prime Rib roasts, particularly the smaller roasts. If get too big for the rotisserie, i will NOT use the roasting pan like i did the first time. I would probably do pit temp around 280 to 300 and divide the cooking time with bone side down and meat side down. Just a thought... Prime Rib on the rotisserie !!!!

Re: Set up for Spatchcocked Chicken I have done spatchcock chicken several times. I use the main/middle grill, Direct, and 375 on fire temp. Usually cook for about 60 to 70 minutes until breast is about 165 with Thermopen. I will cook first 30 minutes ribs/bone side down...then the last 30 minutes or so breast/skin side down so as to darken the skin. Otherwise, the skin is a bit rubbery... I would allow at least 30 minutes for skin side down....if it gets as done as you like, but still need to cook a bit to reach 165 IT, then turn back over... Spatchcock is very moist, tender, and easy to do.

Re: Easter - What's Cookin? Keeping it simple...Hamburgers and baked beans...

Re: Paella on the KK (NakedWhiz version) Thanks for replys. Dennis , this picture of Paella looks very nice... I can see the Paella pan is being used on the sear grill level, and not the main level that i did my Paella on. For those interested in the Paella cook, i would recommend trying to do the cook on the sear level as shown here. Loquitur and I had some discussions about heat temperature and regulation of the heat, and i have come to agree with Loquitur that using the lower grills (sear level) might indeed be easier when cooking on KK. I had a lot of challenge in trying to keep the right temp during the cook...and i am going to use the Searing level next time. I do think it will be easier to maintain desired temps. give it a try fellow KK'ers, it is fun and very tasty! MadMedik

Hello. I finally did the Paella cook on my KK. I basically followed the instructions of NakedWhiz for making Seafood Paella. Quick summary: it tasted AWESOME! However, i did have quite a few variations from what NakedWhiz posts on his website. Here are my thoughts and observations: RECIPE: as you can see, i loaded this up with lots of seafood and linquica. I used 2 fillets (talapia) fish, 15 large shrimp, 12 scallops, 4 squid (they are gross to handle), and about 20 "mini linguica" that were size of my pinkie finger...i quartered the linquica. Some might say this was too much 'meat', but my guests disagreed. It was ALL gone quickly. I did precook all the fish per Naked Whiz recommendation...added the last 20 minutes or so to 'reheat' I used Red Bell pepper and Green Beans to garnish a bit. Peppers are really good like this... here is link to Naked Whiz Paella Help: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/paella/paella.htm The pictures below show LOTS of meat, so not "picture perfect', but oh my, it was tasty. This served 5 adults and we all had plenty to eat...but there was none left. A six person probably could have had enough...we all sort of pigged out. The Paella pan is 13.5" pan....sticker on it said 4 to 6 people...Got it a Sur La Tab. They have several sizes... I lit the fire with Chimney Basket fire starter ....first time i have done this, as i usually use weed burner. This basket lit completely in about 10 minutes, 3 pieces of paper....very easy to do and would recommend this method for all lights. My biggest issue and concern with the whole cooking event is the heat of the KK and the Paella Pan itself. I saute'd all the fish in the paella pan, but just having the lid open and the bottom vent closed, which is what the Whiz site said to do (i think), I could not generate enough heat to adequately/quickly saute' the fish. It just was not hot enough. So I opened vent completely and pulled the whole front tray out just slightly to allow air flow around the tray. This got things going nicely, and actually got it VERY hot. I had to adjust the vent, tray, and close the lid at times to keep the fire hot, but not too hot....I would close the lid and open the top vent too and it would reach 550 degrees... I did not want this too hot so would then close up the bottom vents a bit.... Anyway, it was back and forth with vents, open/closed lid, and messing with temp in general. I was concerned i would run out of Lump coals due to fact i was keeping the heat pretty high so i actually dumped some more coals in , twice, during the cooking process. By the time the rice was added and I just wanted it to cook at 350 until done...I could not get the temp back down as KK was very much heat soaked. I completely shut down the airflow and could not get below about 420 degrees. My goal, per Whiz, was to baked it at 350. I added the seafood/meat when there was just a little liquid left. I removed the pan from KK actually, cause it was quite hot, and added all the meat. The meat was room temp when put in the pan. However, i put the Pan back into KK for about 20 minutes longer..maybe 30...and the meat/fish warmed up nicely...was actually hot when served. Over all the cook was good and interesting. Fire regulation for saute'ing and browning the onion/tomato base was the most difficult, but i managed. I can see doing this on the stove, or unit with more precise temperature control would be easier. By the way, the rice did not burn, and was just starting to "stick to pan" , which i believe is desired, when i took it off. My guests commented on how they liked the "crusty/hardend" parts of rice. Just the bottom got like this. I will try again at some point. It was fun,different, and shows how the KK can be used many ways. Thanks for checking this out. Sorry for the long post.

Hello, Just wanted let those know (in Central California for sure) that Lowe's has their Frontier Lump coal on sale for $5.00 a bag, normally sold for $7.69. I bought several bags on 3/31/2012. They are 10pound bags. I like the stuff, has been working well for me.

Re: Everyday Misc Cooking Photos w/ details I did it yesterday and about 5 other times. I shoot for 375 but 350 would be fine. I do on main grill, for about 70 minutes or close to 165 done temp. At about 30 to 35 minutes I put it skin/breast side down to darken the skin. You can alway flip back over if skin gets too dark. We love it. Moist and tender. Very easy to cook.

Re: Help with Temperature Please 1/4 to 1/2 turn on top and just less than 1/4 open on wheel at bottom will get u close to 250. It doesn't take much . When closed, turn the top by the metal tab/dog ear. 360 degrees is 1 turn. If dog ear at 9:00 and it is completely closed, turn it to 6:00 and you got 1/4 of a turn.