MadMedik

Re: Uneven Burn of Coals Dennis, Thanks for calling me. I really appreciate the call and the advice. What great customer service !!! I think the next cook will be much better. I have NEVER used indirect cooking methods, so that is new. I did not realize that all slow cooks require the indirect stone. Shoot, I almost thought about telling you not to send one, I mean really, who needs an indirect stone deflector? Well apparently I do. So glad I got it and I will use it next time. As for JDBower's comment, that makes sense but I do not have the guru/stoker. As for lighting the coals, if only a small portion is actually going to light, should I just go ahead and concentrate my Torch Flame directly in to the center of the coals, and light this middle section, as opposed to having 1 side or another light. The thought being have the heat close to the middle of cooker as possible for even heat distribution. Or , perhaps light to one side, along with the heat deflector above it, would be better...the thought being move the heat source to a side area and then you would have the least amount of food directly over the heat source??? Interesting, will need to test these alternatives out, unless you all have figured it out already? thanks again, MadMedik

Re: Happy Camper in California... hey guys, very cool some Central California Cookers here. This sure is BBQing weather...got steaks for Wednesday, Pork Butt/Shoulder for Sunday, and a filet mignon "roast" for some time next week. I hear a pizza calling my name soon !!!! MedMedik

Hello all, I had a cook this past Sunday. Lit my fire with weed burner/torch, and was off and running. Reach 250 degrees and it stabilized in 30 minutes or so. No problems...all is good. I cooked pork and beef ribs and a tritip. Again, all seemed well except 1 of the 3 pork slabs was EXTREMELY dried out and not edible, the other 2 pork slabs were okay. I thought it odd that 1 slab....the 1 on the far left of my grill space was so dried out and over cooked. Anyway, food was good. This morning I took out the grills to see how much coal remains, and while there was a lot still there, the ONLY coals that burned were all on the left side of the coal basket. Apparently, when lighting i must have NOT got the coals in the middle or to the right side lit well, or at all really. So basically, the left side of my coal basket was white, and mostly all gone, while the middle and right side were not burned at all. Of course this makes sense now that the ribs on the left, over the fire that was also on the left, were over cooked. Basically, a sort of indirect cook for all the food but the 1 slab of ribs. I thought i lit all the coals together. Never thought this would be possible...remember, new to ceramic slow cooking and have never lit coals with a Weed Burner. One would think even if you did only light one side, it would naturally move over and ignite the rest of the coals...apparently not. So, any lighting tips for me? Something so obvious that i will probably feel stupid . I am used to briquettes and chiminey lighting with the Weber. I will definitely be more diligent next cook, but any suggestions would be appreciated. Oh, and I never thought to even look at the coals during the cook. I achieved my temps i wanted, it was smoking fine at top damper, and it is my impression that one should light the fire, insert food, and then let it go without looking at the food all of the time....just "trust the KK". So , i never saw the unequal burning of the coal box til the next day. Thanks, MadMedik

Re: Intro, My KK, and My first Cook Thanks for the replies and checking my first cook out. You hit on the spot, rubbering skin, not 'cooked' or dry like i am used to. When you say "finish temperature", i assume you mean to turn up the heat at the end, perhaps turn it skin side down for 5 or 10 minutes??? My cousin suggested turning it at the end? Seems to make sense I have NEVER cooked indirect before. What meats do you suggest using indirect? Thanks a lot. This is going to very fun...once it get it all figured out... MadMedik

Hello everyone...another happy Camper here. My name is MadMedik. Just got my KK on Wednesday. I posted intro on the Forum Members page. See link (hope it works) below: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4127 Thanks, MadMedik

Hello All KK members... MadMedik here....Hello everyone. I am glad to finally be here and able to post. I have been reading alot of your posts here on the KK forum. What a great site, and a great Cooker to be sure. I live in Central California, Madera to be exact, and had the occasion to be in Canada back in the beginning of February. My Cousin, known as Hephaestus here on the Forum, showed me his Komodo and I immediately fell in love...gotta have it. He then cooked an awesome Filet Mignon, potatoes, and great wine...and the deal was done. I read everything I could, watched all the videos, researched other cookers to be sure, then made the deal with Dennis when I got back home. After a long and agonizing wait, I got my KK on Wednesday morning of this week. Unboxed it...with help of friends that I now owe a BBQ dinner to, and proceeded that night to "season" it as Dennis has suggested. Here she is I easily got it to 600+ degrees over a very long, slow process and got some of moisture out of it as is recommended. I could not cook Thursday, but Friday night it was on. Cousin Hephaestus suggested spatchcock chicken as a first, easy cook. 350 degrees for about an hour our more was what I was going for. My hunting around on forums lead me to the idea of layering bacon over the breast meat, which I did, then decided to do only half with bacon. I want to have the bacon, but also wanted to see what the skin would look like not covered with something. Here are the results of my first cook: Using a wireless meat thermometer, I watched until breast was 180 and I took it off. This was about 1 hour, 5 minutes cook time. The meat was so tender, never had such tender and moist chicken breast before. The texture seemed foreign in my mouth. It was almost like it was not even cooked...raw feeling...but obviously it was done. It was a different BBQ chicken experience for sure. I found it extremely easy to control the heat. Easy to light with my newly acquired "weed burner," and shut down was simple. I gave my self a 10 on texture and moisture of the meat, however only a 7 on taste ...no fault of the KK. The rub I used was not good, and I will not use it again. Next time I do this chicken I will turn up the heat a bit and go for a more cooked, darker skin. The skin on this was not that dark. The underside did not char/burn at all. I am thinking I need to go a bit hotter??? My next cook is Sunday and I am going all out...3 slabs of St Louis style ribs, 1 rack of Beef Ribs, and just for the heck of it will throw on 1 tri-tip. Not sure how I am going to do this yet, but a little more research here and I will do it... ! Here she is in her resting place on the patio: Thanks for reading my long first post. Thanks to Cousin H for showing me the way, the light, and the truth of BBQing.... Oh yeah, my wife says I spent more time and took more pictures of my KK when it got home than I did when my child was brought home from the hospital....I can't believe that...!!!! Happy queing... MadMedik