Firemonkey

On 10/12/2023 at 1:03 AM, David Chang said:

i don't even think i can use a smoking pot, there's no clearance for this in the 19..

 

In my smaller grills I’ve had good results putting the wood underneath the fire basket.    The distance to the fire is close enough to burn the wood, and the smoke burns cleaner since  it has to travel through the entirety of the basket.    It’s not quite the same as using the pot, but it’s definitely better than mixing it in the basket.   And you can add more through the vent door if you need to, which is handy.  

On 10/11/2023 at 11:50 AM, tony b said:

You're set for wood for a while now. 

Once I  got a Breeo smokeless insert for my firepit, I realized there’s no such thing as being set for wood.    That would be gone in a couple months at most😁

Despite what my wife may say, theres no such thing as too much wood.  
FIREWOOD!   As a bonus I haven’t bought lump in a long time.  I harvest coals to fill the grills when I’m done with the fire. 

Give it a try.  

I can tell you that after a few hrs over an open fire, there’s plenty of flavor imparted.    No, you won’t have a smoke ring, but you’ll have some damn good brisket.   I’ve done it over the fire pit as well as in the grill (direct heat) and both are good.  
 

One benefit is that after the water bath you can chill the meat, still in the bag, and then finish it at your leisure.  Pull the bag, put it on fire for a few hours, and it’s golden.  

To your point about not taking flavor here is what Kenji Lopez-alt had to say about it on serious eats:

Is it better to apply that smoke before or after cooking sous vide? Well, according to folks like Meathead Goldwyn, author of the eponymous book Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling at Amazon, the flavorful compounds in smoke will adhere to and penetrate raw meat much better than they will cooked meat. This is true, but I find that the amount of smoke flavor I get out of a post–sous vide session in the smoker is plenty for my taste buds, and smoking at the end makes the process so much more efficient. I'll stick to the post–sous vide smoke.
 

https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vide-barbecue-smoked-bbq-brisket-texas-recipe#toc-to-smoke-or-not-to-smoke

They also suggest a little pink salt in the bag during the sous vide to get the “smoke” ring, but that juice isn’t worth the squeeze, IMHO.  

On 2/4/2023 at 12:08 PM, jeffshoaf said:

The very long hold would also open up the possibility of doing a hot and fast cook ask during daylight hours the day before using a stick burner. I have a bad itch for a stick burner but really don't want to stay up all night feeding one and wouldn't want to do a hot and fast cook the day of the gathering with all the prep work and grilling as well. 

Why not go the other direction?   Sous vide the brisket first, then put over a fire to build the bark and add smoke?   I do this sometimes over my fire pit, and it’s OMG good.   
 

 

 

 

 

Not so shiny anymore...

 

@tekoboHere where I live the only thing the neighbors would find offensive about that smoke is that they didnt get any of the ribs.   once that smoke gets on the wind it makes people hungry.

I concur that smoke that far into the burn is likely fat dripping

@PenultimateGriller use your nose.   What’s the smoke smell like.   Fat burning and a nasty chunk of not fully carbonized lump will smell very different.   It’s also ok to open the grill and look down in there to see what’s going on.  

since you say it’s not fat, getting pieces of lump that aren’t fully carbonized does happen.   Royal oak seems to make it their trademark sometimes.   

@tony b Lowes and home depot both carry KJ Big Block.   If your local stores don't stock it you should still be able to get free ship to store on their websites.

 

Rockwood is good as well, but the cost was a little higher when I tried it.    Since you mentioned Wicked Good, JD does remind me some of Wicked Good competition blend.   I had a stash of some WG competition blend and weekend warrior years ago and there are some definite similarities in how it burns.   Its definitely more dense than RO, burns much longer and after a hot cook, there is noticeable more left in the basket.

I just stopped at Walmart to get some cheap charcoal, and to my surprise they had Jealous Devil for not much more than RO.   $23 for 20lb bag of JD.   Roughly $1/lb for the RO.    Nice to have more sources for some good charcoal opening up. 

it had some issues (since corrected in manufacturing) and needed to be replaced.  My old kk was a very early model.   There’s been lots of evolution in the manufacture since it was made.  

 

I’ve been rather impressed with JD as well.   The local tractor supply put the remainder of their stock on sale several months ago (nobody told them WINTER is grilling season here in FL) and I bought a few hundred pounds.  
 

Still have about half of it because I have a fire in my fire pit almost every night through the winter and just harvest big chunks of charcoal from the fire to refill the grills.  Toss some nice chunks in the grills, close them up and let them snuff.  Free oak charcoal.  
 

… and yes - cowboy is the one of the worst charcoals I’ve used over the last 20-some years.  

I was thinking like briquettes 🤣.  Which is why I wasn’t really planning to cook on it during that time.   
 

I’m also in sort of a unique situation - this grill has been in the warehouse for years.   The grout is fully cured and completely dry so there won’t be any pressing of tiles back into place if it vents.    So I’m thinking I will burn it for a day at 325 just as insurance to try and dry out any humidity it’s absorbed. then maybe gradually work it up to higher temps over several hours.    
 

And then….  I’ll commence with getting  it greasy in there to help seal it up.   I’m considering putting some oil in a spray bottle and seasoning the walls just because.  

I want to get some cheap charcoal and give it a nice long break in burn before I start cooking.   But before I do that I need to seal this cold smoker port install.  Some fresh grout should be here tomorrow and then if the weather gods agree, fire will happen.  

Ive got this shiny new toy, and I need some fresh inspiration to get it dirty.   Is it okay if I hang out in this playground for a while?

I considered putting together a time lapse of a hundred pictures or so, but it wouldn't be very entertaining because my KK still looks pretty much like it did when new.  So I'll just leave these here.    There should be tons of even older pictures in my post history.

Tag number:

.

 

2013 (oldest picture I have on my phone):

 

Most recent picture:

Man, I’m late to this thread but just wanted to point out that you’re still using the same China pattern DJ 😁

Thats what I was hoping on the brisket. I'm with you on the ribs, I like a good bark and slight chew. Tried foil once and hated the mush.

Grill floss is the extent of effort I put into cleaning grates. Scrape before use, and beyond that I burn them clean. Not with a raging fire specifically for the purpose, but just by taking advantage of any higher temp cooks I do. I'll put any greasy grates that won't be in my way into the grill and just let them clean themselves as I cook. Doesn't hurt to have extra grates down below as long as you aren't going to need to add fuel or wood or something.

I decided to try the pink paper wrap trick 2/3 of the way through the roast/smoke (pecan chips).

What was your verdict on the paper wrap? I'm doing a brisket flat tomorrow, and planning to try wrapping in paper when it hits the stall. Going to try the paper just for something different, but will use a grocery bag with the bottom cut out to see if it's worthwhile before I order a big roll of paper.

I think the takeaway here is that you need to be careful with what you entrust to Harbor Freight. 

The weed burner was serious overkill for lighting the grill, but the convenience of propane/mapp cant be beat.  I've used just a propane torch that goes on the 1# canisters for years (it's also from harbor freight ).  MUCH lower output than the weed burners.  Between the grill and fire pit I go through gas canisters often enough that I bought some certified and refillable 1# tanks and a 30# forklift tank so I can refill them from bulk.  Works out to about $0.50 per fill, and I don't have to worry about the recycling guy complaining about the canisters.

@CeramicChef - Is that attachment narrow and long enough that you could insert it through the blower port to light the underside of the basket?   Lighting with gas from the top always causes sparks, and there are even a few times where I'd prefer not to stand over the fire and get smokey.  My old POSK had a small gas burner that was attached to the draft door, and I really enjoyed the ease of lighting the basket from underneath using that burner, then shutting off the gas to cook with lump.   That burner was built like a stainless hockey puck on the end of a tube, with about 20 holes around the vertical circumference, and a flat rim around the top that stuck out an inch or so to cover the flame jets.  When lit, it was like 20 scripto grill lighters on full blast, configured in a ring held under your lump.   You could light the burner, slide it in, let it run for a minute, shut off the gas, and because it was up so high off the floor, and had the protrusion over the jets, you could leave it in place and it never got ash inside of it.  It's about the only thing I miss about that grill.  

I'd love to have something similar for the KK.  A gas ignition that ran off 1# tanks and plugged into the blower port would be cool, but if that wand of yours is long enough reach under the basket it could serve as a handheld version?

Just booked this year's trip...If anyone else is going to be in Cabo the first couple weeks of October this year, let me know.

There's a groove on the thermometer stem that indicates how much of the thermometer needs to be inserted for an accurate reading.  So the length from that marking to the tip is used for reading temps.  Any extra length is just for fun.  

The only cleaning mine has ever gotten is to slide it in and out a few times.  And extra crust gets knocked off by the friction on the way out and back in.  

Here's a picture of the groove, in case anyone forgot we are talking about grill thermometers here.    You can see the groove about 1/3 of the way down the stem from right to left - near where it crosses the corner of a tile.  

 

Been a while since I made some pizza... Made a few tonight with various combinations of toppings:

home-ground Italian sausage, store bought pepperoni, and lots of things from the garden - basil, roasted eggplant, black cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, green onions

Get better!  

Didn't we have an ophthalmologist around here?