MadMedik

Re: First Pizza Looks nice. I have done only a few pizzas on KK, but have found the 500 to 520 range nice for cooking it. About 9 to 10 minute cook. Good job.

I just recently got Rock's Stoker power draft system. I know nothing of the competitor's product (bbq guru), so i speak only of the Stoker. It worked very well and was quite accurate. I lit the fire an hour before i wanted to cook so i could play with the Temp Settings on the Stoker. Got the hang of it, and then set it for 260 and began my cook... it was an overnight 14 hour cook for the pork butt. It regulated the Pit Temp quite well. I noticed that the Pit Temp was at 260, and the Dome temp was close to 240 most of the night....close to 250 when i woke up in the morning. A few hours later, the Dome temp was 280, so i turned the Stoker Pit temp down to 250, and the Dome Temp did come down a bit. It was a relaxing night of sleep knowing my fire temp was being regulated with the Stoker. Definitely worth the price of it. The temperature i set it for, 260, was accurate all night within +/- 2 degrees all night. I did get it networked so i could view the chart/graph of the cook via the internet. Stoker has a 3rd party application you can download that has a very cool way to control your temps, see the Pit and Food temps, and see also when the fan is turning on.... below is a screen shot of this for those who have never seen this before. It will mark/indicate when you started the cook, when you opened the lid, when the fan turned on, and will show you your Pit Temps and Food Temp continuously. It is really cool...unless you don't like gadgets..... The only "confusing" part of using the Stoker is Pit Temp (where your food is placed) versus the Dome Temp (the TruTel Thermometer that Dennis supplies). I had to decide if i wanted to cook on the Dome Temp...which is what i am used to...or the Pit Temp....which is different than the Dome Temps. The two Temps are not the same. At first i thought Dome was about 20 degrees less than the actual Pit Temp, but as the cooked progressed, the Dome PIt actually got hotter than the Pit Temp....but this was in the 12th to 13th hour of the cook before it exceeded the Pit.. Gotta think about this difference for future cooks... ??? It was very cool seeing this Stoker in action. quite easy to use. Fairly easy set up. If you ever wished you could control your heat more easily, or monitor the temps while away from your home, this is the way to go. I have read the BBQ guru works well, but without remote/internet monitoring... Either way, you probably cannot go wrong. Thanks for reading....come on people, get out there and cook something !!! MadMedik

Hello all, Well, I had a wonderful KK weekend. Lots of cooking. An AWESOME dessert on the KK...gotta try it. First, the best news: Molten Lava Cake (Chocolate Bomb) : I found a recipe in a BBQ book, BGE Cookbook, for this Lava Cake. I did it last night and it was awesome. It is a Chocolate Cake/Cup Cake that is in Individual sizes cakes. You bake it , but not completely, and then when serve it oozes / flows with chocolate liquid/batter/syrup...or what ever you want to call it. And it was great. I cooked on the KK at 450 degrees, with the heat deflector stone on the main grill....next time i will raise to upper grill. Follow the recipe as posted below...it said cook 6 to 8 minutes....i had to go to 15 minutes. I took out, put a cookie sheet over the top of the baking pan, flipped over...and all 6 cakes fell out cleanly...sprinkle with powder sugar, add whipped cream, vanilla ice cream , and some fresh strawberries...oh my god! here is recipe: ? Molten Lava Cake for Komodo Kamado Chocolate cake with rich, saucy center for spectacular presentation and taste Serve hot before liquid center congeals Ingredients: Granulated sugar for dusting, about 1 cup 1 cup unsalted butter 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips 4 large eggs 4 large egg yolks 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups confectioners sugar 2/3 cup all purpose flour 2 cups heavy cream, whipped Cook indirect, 450 degrees (main grill) Metal baking cups, 8 ounce, makes 10 Spray the baking cups with cooking spray and dust the entire inside with the granulated sugar. Set aside. Place the butter and chocolate in a saucepan on the stovetop over low heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate is melted. Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes. Place the eggs and egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes, until light and ribbony. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat for 1 minute more. Slowly add the melted chocolate and beat for 1 minute, then add the flour and beat for 1 more minute, or until just incorporated. Fill each baking cup three quarters full. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. Place the cups on grill and close the lid of KK. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, until slightly firms to the touch. The cakes should be firm but not cooked all the way through. Immediately turn out onto individual plates and serve with whipped cream. Serves 10 My pan was for 6 cakes....like twice the size of standard muffins... Next time, i will put on upper grill with indirect as i had 2 of the cakes on the outer edge that were overcooked/burned lightly...too hot on outside of fire i guess. Anyway, if you want a dessert on the KK, this is the way to do it. It suggest putting the batter in refrigerator for 30 minutes up to 24 hours. make it in the afternoon, put if frig, then cook after your main dinner...easy peasy !!!!! Mine was in frig for about 6 hours before cooking. Gotta try this !!! As for the rest of my cooking this weekend, i fed my guest (before the Lava Cake) an 8 1/2 pound pork butt, 14 hours at 250 with Chris Lilly rub...put in ice chest to REST for about 5 hours....very moist and tasty... 8 pnd butt.jpg[/attachment:263p02z1] Also for my non-pork eating guest, i did 4 Cornish Game hens, 350 degrees, direct heat, for about 1 hour. Turned out great, but for 1 of the Hens falling in to the charcoal basket. I was using my 8" Rotisserie basket....TOO BIG....and the poor little hens were just not secure enough...after about 4 turns on the Rotisserie I heard one fall...what an agonizing scream it made...LOL... and i opened the lid and a second was hanging by a leg...literally, and i just barely saved it from a firey death... I went to fathers house, got his 6 inch rotiss basket and repositioned the remaining 3 Hens in this...and they made to a tasty , delicious death...LOL. So 3 out of 4 was not bad...boy was i pissed. Anyway, be sure you have the right size basket for Rotisserie cooks... Gotta love this KK kooking...learn something almost every time. Loved the Lava Bomb Cake.... !!!! Give it a try. Sorry for long post. Enjoy the recipe. MadMedik

Re: First Butt and Ribs on the KK ditto

So I thought, if I can pull pork, why not beef on the KK. Read on "another forum" ...(sorry, i cheated on you all)....where a guy slow cooked on a weber smoker... Used a Chuck Roast, 4 pounds, cooked at 250 til IT of 160 degrees, then wrapped it in foil, cooked more until 195 IT temp...and rested , then pulled and said it was good. Total cook time of about 4 1/2 hours..........DITTO.... that is what i did. It was not easy to pull....in fact it was difficult to pull. the meat was moist but kind of rubbery/chewy and did not 'melt in the mouth' or anything close to that. It had several 'strips of fat' throughout the roast that held on hard to the meat attached to it...i could not really even break apart this fat strip. Kind of had to pull it out in strips... anyway, not what i expected. Question: Is there a better cut of meat /roast to used for pulled beef , other than Chuck Roast? Did I cook too fast/too hot...maybe turn down to 225 or so....take longer to cook and thereby break down all the fatty connective tissue more? Is it not possible to do pulled pork... i am thinking it is definitely possible....just gotta figure out the technique! Thanks MadMedik

Re: First Rotisserie Cook: Very nice Exactly.....they have a burn pattern to them once they get lit. My problem was that the burn pattern went to the right side of basket, 3 , 4, and 5 oclock position, with just a small amount around the 7 oclock...hence my chicken on right was more cooked/browned. Both were absolutely done, only the the skin was more crisp on right side I think for the higher temps, like the 350 for my cook, lighting then stirring around abit a few times before adding food sounds like the solution. I will try that. i like the concept of the "other" baskets or "wok" contraptions... To use the Weber Char Baskets and light 2 of them...sounds interesting, but the KK only wants so much fuel burning based on the air flow we allow, so what is to say one side or the other won't burn out completely...while the other basket is sufficient to do the desired temp....the key would be to get both sides to burn evenly in their own little basket...that could be problematic. The forum here is great. I appreciate EVERYONES thoughts and suggestions and ideas. This is really COOL! Perhaps going higher than 350 temp, cooking longer, and using heat deflector would do the trick?????? MadMedik

Re: Latest Happy Camper Congrats. I too am a relatively newbie to KK kooking with a Harvest Gold KK which is similar ro yours. She is named Kahlan. Sounds like you took to her like a duck to water!

Hello All, First, Happy Memorial Day Weekend ! God Bless our service men and women...past, current, and future ! Well, I finally had the chance to do my first Rotisserie Chicken cook. All in all, it went well. I tried two different rubs/marinades. On the left is Big Bob Gibson "white sauce," which I did not like at all...I won't do that again. The chicken on right is a "good ol boy" rub from a local bbq store....can't recall the name now. But, it was very good and I most definitely will use it again. The right chicken was more "done," due to fact the charcoal lit more on the right side of the KK and more heat then on right side....left chicken, less heat, not as done. I did the cook at 350 degrees, no heat stone and no drip pan. This is the 8" Rotisserie basket. I do not have the 6" basket. My father does and I will try that someday, but for these 5+ pound chickens, this basket was perfect. Cook time was projected at 1 1/2 hours based on feedback from forum, but the birds were 5 3/4 pounds each, and I thought I may need more cook time. I took them off at 1 hour, 50minutes. Probably could have gone less, but still good, moist and tasty. Only thing to do different would be no White Sauce on the one chicken, and try to get more even heat distribution so both chickens look like the one on the right. Keep in mind too, the rub on right was dark with lots of paprika, so it got darker because of the type of rub. Anyone with any thoughts on how to get even fire/heat distribution? I don't want to use heat stone...want the dark, crisp skin. For first Rotisserie cook, I am very pleased. n68183 here is close up, just one half: n68184

Re: First Cook That looks great. I have never tried Flank Steak....looks like i must give it a try.

Re: First Butt and Ribs on the KK Good job on the cook. Looks tasty. It is so easy it is almost like not BBQing...almost feel guilty...NOT !

Hello All, Well , my wife enjoys beef ribs. Have cooked a lot on regular BBQ (gas and weber). I wanted to do some Ribs with the KK but most recipes called for low and slow at least 4 hours. Well, i did not have that time so I wanted to try a cook with a shorter duration. My goal was for "about 2 hours" at a temp that would not burn the ribs or require constant turning and watching, like a tradition Weber grill. So I decided to have KK at 310-320, use the "smaller" pan that came with the KK as a deflector, but more of a Steam Tray.... i put about 5 to 6 cups of apple juice and water (half and half) in the pan, set the pan on the handles of coal basket which barely fit (more later) and then put 3 small slabs of beef ribs on highest rack, 2 small slabs on the main grill. I fired her up, smoked it with some apple chunks, and they came out beautiful looking, tasting, soft, moist, and were very satisfying. Total cook time was 1 1/2 hours at the 320ish temp range with steam. Now the rest of the story... About 30 minutes in to the cook, my first chunk of wood burned out so i wanted to add another fairly large chunk of apple wood. I opened the lid, lift the "moveable portion" of the man grill, and dropped the wood chunk in to hopefully rest in the hot coals....no problem, right? Well, as it would happen, the chunk hit the "Steam Pan/Deflector" that was very full and precariously sitting on the handles of the coal basket. And i do mean precariously, as any movement or shaking of grill would likely cause it to fall off and spill its contents.... YUP, the chunk hits pan, pan spilled just over half of it contents....about 3 cups or so....an immediate STEAM Cloud erupted, warmed me to say the least, and then spilled out from the lower vent and ash vent and spilled on to patio. I thought OH MY GOD, i just put out the fire and ruined my dinner. The pan only shifted about 10 to 20 degrees thus allowing most of liquid out, not all of it. It was hanging on the lip of the pan now, not the bottom. So what to do....? Do i remove the food, check fire, remove steam, get the larger pan and put liquid in it and continue....or leave everything as is and see if fire goes out or not.... ....i chose to watch and wait....the smoking started and continues with new wood added, heat temp start rising and all appeared ok. I then heard the boiling and bubbling of the liquid in pan, lots of steam coming out of the top with the smoke, and the cook continued.... Food was fine, the pan was completely empty and the sugarish apple juice had burned and charred and left quite a mess in pan...Obviously, did not plan for THIS. KK was resilient, recovered, and cook was good. Would attempt this all again, only using bigger PAN, or put the heat stone on first then the small steam pan. I did not really want lots of deflection , rather i wanted the steam. Thought having the stone would make the cook cooler than i wanted....remember, i wanted it done in up to 2 hours... Anyway, all is good. Got to check the ceramic to be sure not cracks from sudden water/steam/cooling.... MadMedik

Re: New owner in Dublin, CA Welcome from Madera, CA. You will love the KK. It is quite different than traditional bbqing. Lot of good info on forum. Hey TNT, I went to Santa Clara University, go Broncos!

Re: BBQ BROWNIES All I can say to that is they told me it was oregano and parsley and we all know you BBQ with those 'spices'.

Today I cooked some Baby Back ribs, they were "extra meaty" per the packaging...and they were VERY meaty. I was excited and could not wait. My temperature goal was 250, but i had to leave after it was started and i think it made it up to 260 for a least an hour and a half before it got turned back down to 240/250 range. They were on the grill at 12:30, but heat not up to 250 until just before 1pm. I got home at 5:10, basted them w/wet sauce, then 15 minutes later put in foil on the grill for about 30 minutes longer. Took them off at 6:00 exactly. Ate them 5 minutes later. Total time on grill, from 12:30ish to 6pm, 5 and 1/2 hours. I used indirect stone and placed meat on main grill. Impression: Not moist and tender like I anticipated they would be. Meat did NOT separate from bone when grabbing one end of slab and 'shaking' lightly. From reading forum i thought 4 to 5 hours was a given, and with them being extra thick, i really did not think 5 1/2 hours would dry out or overcook them. To look at them, they looked perfect and were not burned, or blackened at all. As I ate them, there was TONS of meat, little fat really, and absolutely they were cooked. It just seemed that they were not moist at all. Thoughts: 1) did i just freaking over cook them? 2) Did eating them 5 minutes off the grill not allow for the meat to "rest" and moisten up (more on this in a second) 3) Are the extra Thick/Meaty Baby back ribs harder or different to cook than your "normal" rack....as in don't cook them so long...cook them longer (not!), or what? "Resting of the meat": My father came by and took half of 1 slab home to eat. I told him basically what i have written here. I was not real pleased with my efforts. He has now called me twice, first saying his first rib is good, not seem dry.... then calls back again saying I should come over and try them again, he thinks they are fine and not dry... I am too full to go over and try them. Is it possible the 'resting' period of 40-50 minutes or so still in the foil while at my house made them moisten up? I still have most of 1 rack left and will eat them tomorrow, perhaps those will change my mind on this post. I am just too full to eat another bite....have you ever felt like that ? Well, i know i will figure this stuff out. Perhaps 'resting' the meat is the key. But man, they sure seemed dry to me... MadMedik

Re: Happy Easter from all of us at KOmodo Kamado Happy Easter and best wishes to your family.

Yes, that is correct. I decided to try baking something on the KK, so i went with Brownies. Bought a box from the store and followed directions. Used approx 11 x 7 glass baking dish, cooked at 350 degrees. I used Cococnut Extruded coals for the very first time. Nearly no smoke output, smelled "different" , but good. It did take a LONG time to reach my 350 temp. I had to pull out the lower vent and "partially" closed the lid (did not clamp it down tight) before getting the temp of 350. Once there it maintained, and i closed everything down like you would expect. Anyway, baked for total of 35 minutes, on the Upper most grill with NO heat deflector stone. After 25 minutes, they looked great, but gooey sticky on the toothpick inserted. 10 minutes later, perfecto. They tasted awesome. My wife loves Brownies and she thought they were unbelievably delicious. Was surprised i could do this on the KK. Here is a picture right after coming out of KK: Photo1.jpg[/attachment:1u44htwd] Next dessert I will try....Pineapple Upside Down Cake.... Basic yellow cake, melted butter , walnuts, on bottom of pan. Slices of pineapple that i will "sear" or cook on the grill before putting on bottom of cake pan....place Merichino Cherries in he hole of pineapple slices, add Cake Batter, cook for 40 to 45 minutes on top shelf/grill, let rest 15 minutes and flip pan over so pineapple is now on top......no heat stone...and i think it will be awsome. Dang, this thing bakes as good as is BBQs....

Re: Pork Butt: cook time by hour per pound??? Okay, update to my first Pork Butt cook: Overall it went very well. Ultimately, I got to eat it! Yum. I cooked indirect with a drip pan, cooked at 250 degrees, with total cook time of 10 hour and 10 minutes. Weight was about 6.2 pounds We were all sitting around the temp gauge waiting for it to hit 195...because that was my goal, and when it hit we jumped up and ate it....well, we wrapped for about 15 minutes in foil, then could wait no longer. It was late and we really were starving. It was VERY tasty, not as moist as i was hoping, but perhaps more time in the foil and sealed chest will help moisten it up. I did add a trip tip and stuffed chicken breast about 3 hours in to the cook. those took about 2 hours or so to cook and i did "peak" at these additions a few times so I am sure i lost heat a few times and messed up the "cycle" by opening and closing the KK.... next time, nothing else will go in and it will stay shut. The additional food turned out good though. I used Chris Lilly's recipe Dry Rub and injection juice. Very good. I injected from the sides and top. After injecting from side and later seeing "juice" come out of the holes i had just poked in it, i have decided to only inject from the top of the meat, down in to the center, thereby making it more difficult for the juice to run out of freshly made holes. Maybe this will help...i shall see next time. I plan to try another this weekend. But will start it late in the evening and let it cook all night, and take it off in the morning. I figure in the future should i want this for a dinner party, i would have to get up very early to have it done by dinner time.... by trying the over night , off before noon scenario, i will be able to be done cooking for sure well before guests arrive, have it sit in foil/container for several hours, and amaze my guests....?? sounds good anyway. Thanks for checking this out. MadMedik

Re: Pork Butt: cook time by hour per pound??? Update to my pork butt cook: I am at plateau now it would seem. At 184/185 for an hour now. What the heck? I can smell it and I am starving! Parents coming over to try and they keep calling. So impatient we are! Almost 9 hours total cook time and 185 degrees...still going of course. I was hoping for a 9 hour cook time. Looks to go beyond that. Will update later

Re: New owner of KK in Mendocino County, Ca Congrats on new KK. Got mine a week or so ago. Love it. Pork butt cooking as I type. My dad is ordering one now too! What color?

Re: Pork Butt: cook time by hour per pound??? Got it , Thanks, and I can't wait !!

Re: Pork Butt: cook time by hour per pound??? Wow thanks, that was quick. One other thing, I assume most cooks will be on the middle, main grill and that is where I will put the pork butt. Other than when I have too much meat for just the main grill, when do you choose to put the meat on the upper grill? Perhaps with small, thinner cuts of meat? Never? Do you consider cooking on the main for awhile, then move up to higher grill later in the cook? Can't wait to try the pork butt!

Hello, My plan is to try my first pork butt this weekend. I have seen Chris Lilly's recipe and will try that. It mentions a 15 pound piece of meat and cooking for up to 16 hours. I don't plan to have a 15 pound pork butt. I know one should cooked to desired internal temp (190 or so), but as a general rule, is there a formula of hours per pound to cook.... ie: 1 hour per pound, 6 pound pork butt would then cook for 6 hours??? could it be so simple? This would a least give someone a general idea of when to start the cook so that you don't under shoot or in particular, over shoot you desired eat time. Thanks a lot, MadMedik

Re: First Pork Shoulder Looks great. Going to my first shoulder on Sunday!

Re: HAPPY DAY TO ME !! I feel your joy. Just got mine last week also!! 2 cooks completed, 3rd tonght, 2 more this weekend. My wife is VERY happy since I am doing most of the cooking now.... not sure how long that will last...

Re: Intro, My KK, and My first Cook Thanks again guys. i have seen the Thermapen adds and threads around. Sounds good, but have not gotten one yet. I do have a remote , dual probe, thermometer. I noticed on Sunday the transmitter ready 152 at one point, and the receiver in the house was 139.... i was a bit concerned. Ran to the store, came back, and they had synchronized at the higher temps and i was ok. Not sure why they go so 'unsynced". I did my chicken to 180 and it was very good...probably safer to go with the higher range of 180. I most likely will get the Thermapen. Tonight i will do 2 porterhouse steaks, about 1 1/4 inch thickness. Plan to cook around 600, 5 minutes on 1 side, 5 on the other and hope done at medium. I guess i can use remote sensor, but with such a quick and hot cook the Thermapen would probably be better. My KK is the Harverst Gold color. Fell in love with it while in Canada at cousins. Very pleased with it. People are surprised by it and the look. My initial thoughts were "it looks like a big turtle", and i have since heard that a few times. The delivery truck driver said all the guys in receiving saw it and all decided it must be a big "yard turtle", which of course i told him it was a BBQ. He laughed, said he would look it up. Have a good day. MadMedik