Firemonkey

This is the setup I use in the POSK anytime I am using a baking stone - bread, pizza, etc. In the KK I put the HD on the basket, and the pizza stone on the upper grill.

Just the lower bracket...with nothing on it...but its broken now, too The HD that Johnson-Kamado ships is too large when placed on the lower bracket, and therefore causes the grill to crack (per RJs email to me). So my baking setup has been to place the HD on the main grid, and then some sort of spacer between the HD and a pizza stone. I find that the HD below the stone keeps the stone from getting so hot that it burns the bottom crust before the rest is cooked. I used to use some 1" aluminum spacers but have since gone to using an inverted grill-wok. Principle is the same, but the wok puts the stone higher up in the dome, which is good.

You know, dry ice is prohibited in the cabin, so it has to not only be in your checked baggage, but declared and a form filled out, too. That is such a hassle. I think it would be better if you just went ahead and made one there, and I will try some and tell you if you did it right

I'm not even sure there is much chance of it lasting until this weekend!

Nah...I have a call into the manufacturer. Im waiting for him to call me back about my warranty claim.

Baked a few calzones last week. A nice easy dinner if you plan ahead long enough to let the dough rise. I made these with a batch of standard pizza dough, stuffed with ricotta, spinach, Italian blend pizza cheese, sweet Italian sausage, peppers, onions, and pepperoni. Bake them at about 400 degrees until golden and give a solid hollow thud when tapped. I cooked these on the inferior cooker, but I wont be doing that again anytime soon. The fire ring broke into four pieces during the cook I guess thats what happens when one actually uses one of those things

Pastrami is my favorite deli meat. I love all sorts of pastrami, even the turkey variety when I am trying to be healthy I have been thinking about trying to make my own for quite some time. With my work schedule having me home 2 full weeks in a row, coinciding with the start of football season, and the local market having a nice sale on meat it was the perfect combination of events to motivate me. I know pastrami is typically brisket, but I was looking for something a bit leaner. I picked up a small cut of london broil (this particular piece was top round) to use as an experiment before going all out with a much bigger roast. I went with a dry rub cure, using what I had on hand which was Morton Tender Quick, and a few other spices. I followed the amount of Tender Quick per pound from the instructions on the package, and adjusted my other amounts accordingly. As this was a smaller cut, It cured for 3 days in a ziploc in the fridge. I turned the bag over once or twice a day, and then after about 3 days I rinsed the meat off, and allowed it to soak in ice water for a few hours, changing the water every 90 minutes or so. I wanted to draw out as much of the salt as possible. After soaking, i gave it the traditional black pepper and coriander crust, wrapped it in plastic wrap and back into the fridge until the next day when I would fire up the KK and smoke it. I smoked it at 250 over light hickory smoke for about 3 hours, until it was 160*. Then I sliced of a tiny nibble, wrapped it in foil and let it rest an hour before refrigerating it. Today, I sliced it and had one of the best pastrami and swiss on rye sandwiches ever for lunch. The recipes I used were just minor variations on recipes widely available on the net. My specific mix is below. A "unit" is whatever amount of Tender Quick you need to use, based on the weight of your meat. CURE: 1 Unit Tender Quick 1 Unit dark brown sugar 1 Unit black pepper 1/2 Unit granulated garlic 1/2 Unit ground coriander 1/2 Unit onion powder Mix all ingredients and thoroughly coat he meat on all sides. Use all of the rub, do not shake off excess, and seal the meat in a ziploc bag. Refrigerate several days, turning periodically. Spice Crust: 3 parts whole black peppercorns 1 part whole coriander 1/2 part garlic powder 1/2 part thyme leaves Mix all parts, and grind coarsely. I toss it all in the magic bullet and give it a few 3-4 second bursts. Coat meat with rub, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to smoke. This experiment was an absolute success. I will definitely be trying this with a larger cut. I will make one modification though, and that will be to reduce the amount of black pepper in the spice crust to maybe 1.5 or 2 parts. I went with the higher amount this time in case I needed to steam the leaner cut of meat to get some tenderness. I expected I would lose some crust if I steamed it, but in this case it wasn't necessary. If you enjoy pastrami, I definitely encourage you to try making it yourself!

Congratulations JD! I would advise the KK not go inside that enclosure. I have mine located just outside a similar enclosure, and I can tell you that lingering 'que smoke is NOT AT ALL as pleasant the next day, or even just a few hours afterwards. Especially in the spring and fall when the cool evening air settles in and seems to make the smoke heavier, so it lingers longer. Put the KK outside so you can sit out there and enjoy the evening! My sunroom has removable windows, so when the wind is going to be filling the room with smoke, I try to make sure the nearby windows are closed because once the smoke is in there, it likes to linger. I dont think you will have an issue with the smoke discoloring the paint, any more than you will with just normal dirt you stir up with the lawn mower getting things out there dusty. Your bigger problem will be any kind of cushioned furniture you put out there absorbing the smoke if you try to grill in there.

If you are reading 800 on the tru-tel, which is up on the dome, you probably already have 1000 down close to the coals on the sear grill.

I am curious, is EZ Que reselling Viking product in their packages, or is Viking selling EZ Que baskets under their own brand?

Burgers had jalapeño, onion, worcestershire in them. Then some coarse ground pepper and thyme on the outside. Not well done, just medium

I saw the same item, listed on the search results as "FROM 77.00" But like you, when I click on it, the price is $150.

Nothing special, didnt have a lot of time, so just a few burgers. I had to go with the POSK as the grill of choice today

Did Turtle PM with an additional order? His post says 8 boxes, but the tally looks like you have him at 15?

Raise me to 15... I assume we will all be getting invoices per Dennis' post?

Do we have enough to get the 1000/lb pallet? The pallet itself is 45 pounds, so that leaves 955# or 44 boxes to reach the 1000# threshold, and reduced shipping. That is 12.10 plus 4.62 shipping/box plus 1 pound of shipping (.21) for the pallet weight = $16.93 box .63 per box for shrink wrap .17/box in/out fees (is that 7.50 each way, or total. If each, double the amount) So that looks like 17.73/box grand total if we go for 44 boxes - slightly less per box if we get more. 12 boxes is no problem here, and maybe a few more if necessary. Anyone else interested in upping their volume? I emailed a couple of others who may join in, too. BTW, if anyone else wants to get involved, i think Dennis said the max pallet was like 2000 pounds!

I may. Worst case, we pick it up at the terminal in Orlando.

Whoodle, The Administrator decided that only people who buy charcoal should be allowed to post in the charcoal feedback area. viewtopic.php?t=2569 I saw some charcoal stacked on top of your KK crate while you were moving it on the tractor, so I think you fit the description. Only thing is, I saw a message from Drunk_j that said he was on hiatus for a while. I dont have the credentials to add you to the allowed list, so you may want to drop a PM to Dennis about it. In the meantime, the general charcoal discussion area is open to everyone.

Sure does, Tucker. I think we have the 600# covered. Lets see if anyone else wants in while they can.

I guess that depends on whether or not you get a permit Its not like its going to be landing in your neighbors yard after the next windstorm, so as long as you share the pizza and bread with your immediate neighbors, you'll be fine

What?! You had to thaw the m/f'er out to figure out it was a rubber suit?! I thought it was pretty clear from the picture

I might be a player at the lower prices. Of course, the shipping is still going to be as much as the charcoal... Dennis, what the shipping to Orlando for 600 and 1000#

Re: New Side Cabinets

Ive seen a picture of Gerard, maybe he *IS* related to bigfoot?? Hmm...nothing like scientific evidence presented by impartial bodies