Firemonkey

Re: Almost Baltimore style pit beef

It won't take long... Probably an hour or less. I'd use the upper grill placed on the main grill, and do it direct at about 500 dome.

Re: KK in NY Times

You guys are circling your wagons like the guy actually thinks his business is a pyramid? Or do you doubt that the overwhelming majority are sold by word of mouth and friendly demonstration, which was the analogy the guy was trying to make?

I know of four people over the last several years who have acquired a ceramic grill in large part due to my evangelism - one just bought a BGE last month. They can't all justify the cost of a KK, but they still knew they needed a ceramic grill after experiencing a few meals from one.

Re: New to Kamados....start at the top!

Last night we had a piece of marinaded steak and a chicken breast, along with 2 ears of corn, they were amazing....what will food taste like when I actually prepare it well?

Better

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Re: KK in NY Times

The grills sell themselves. Invite guests for dinner, and unless they know someone else with a ceramic grill, they will be amazed at the difference in the flavors. While not a literal pyramid scheme, ceramic grills (of any variety) are sold by the evangelist owners, not showrooms, or big advertising campaigns.

Going back to 2006 and even earlier, the growth of KK is the same way.

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Re: Nathans Famous Hotdogs

I can almost remember what it was like to have a shiny grate

Nathan's are pretty good, but now I'm a fan of the ball park angus beef. I'll still buy Nathan's or Hebrew national for a change. Much different flavor.

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Re: Everyday Misc Cooking Photos w/ details

Firemonkey - you gotta be lovin' that slicer - beautiful job!!!

Indeed I am. I have sliced probably 20 pounds of meat through it already. 6-7 pounds of raw ribeye for cheesesteaks, another 6-7 pounds of pit beef (Baltimore style roast beef), and this pastrami.

It does take a bit of real estate to store, and it's heavy to move (not so bad since I store it with the meat carriage off), but there are just some things you can't do without it - and I seem to like them all!

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Re: Everyday Misc Cooking Photos w/ details

Made some pastrami again... ** I love pastrami, and call it blasphemy If you must, but I really like the leaner stuff rather than the traditional brisket or belly. *Like the big roasts of pastrami in the deli case. * So, to cured this 5-6 pound center round roast for about a week, seasoned for a couple days, smoked it yesterday, chilled it and sliced it tonight for the best Reuben sandwiches ever. *

Re: Meat slicer advice

I know you do your jerky in the oven with a spoon in the door. Is it a convection oven?

Conodos posts above had me considering a batch of jerky, and I even considered doing it in the oven - I think it may dry faster than the KK. It will be tough to get the airflow rolling while keeping temps down with the summer heat and sun.

Only thing is, my convect instantly shuts off as soon as the seal on the door breaks. Maybe I can find the switch and rig it to blow .

Does it make the while house smell like jerky? That would be fine for a few hours, but I don't want to smell like that whenever I leave the house all week.

BTW... Today I'm breaking out my slicer and making pit beef. I'll take some pictures.

Re: Meat slicer advice

Oh no... I though about it on and off for years! It was the wife's preemptive complaining about where to store it that always made me star thinking about other stuff instead.

I still spent a solid month searching and researching before getting this one!

Re: Meat slicer advice

Are you back on the pain meds?

About 3-4 posts ago we started discussing the Berkel (12") that I got, and used, and was warned about bouncing blades chopping feet... And you even commented!

Re: KK & Korin Konro...

Looks to me like the $240 one is ceramic. Maybe it won't get blazing hot and burn your table down like a cast iron one? Or maybe the difference is more along the same line as what's a KK do that a BGE won't? It's a difference we all appreciate, but sometimes it's hard to convey to others.

Re: Meat slicer advice

You know, if I was going to make jerky tomorrow, I might just grab a knife. I never really considered it for that task, only for thin slicing, like under a quarter inch or so. Of course, now I have to try it just because!

Why does cheese have such a different duty cycle rating on a slicer? It it because it's denser/firmer than meat? Grabs the spinning blade more? I noticed while researching slicers the cheese rating was usually downgraded by almost 1/4 horsepower equivalent compared to meats.

Re: Meat slicer advice

Thanks for all the advice. I found a decent deal on a used Berkel 827A. It's a 12 inch blade, and weighs in at something like 67 pounds. A bit bigger than I originally anticipated. But the price was lower than the smaller units I was considering and I ended up with more machine.

I brought it home and completely disassembled everything, except removing the motor assembly and the cam assembly that moves the cut thickness. I gave everything a good cleaning and scrubbing and relubricated all the parts that needed it with mineral oil. The person I got it from was clueless, and had been lubricating with 3 in 1 oil. It is now just like new, runs nice and quiet, and slides perfectly.

I went out and got a small (6.5 pound) COV rib eye roast yesterday, and proceeded to slice the whole thing, about the thickness of business card stock. No half freezing or other nonsense. Just removed from plastic, rinsed, and sliced. I've had the best cheesesteaks ever the last two nights

It all comes apart easily, though the size of the product tray assembly is a little big for my sink. This was raw meat, and it was being shaved thin, so it took about 15-20 minutes to clean it up. The only thing that was a pain was all the little bits around the blade guard, which isn't intended to come off for cleaning. You have to use a wrench under the machine to remove it.

I was impressed that I was able to slice something as soft and wet as a raw ribeye roast, and make it prosciutto thin so easily.

Re: New KK landing on the Redneck Riviera (Florida Panhandle

Ah, yes. The florabama... That's a fun time.

Re: Where is the smoke ?

I don't think the tube thing is made to use in the fire, like we are talking about with the pot. The flat maze shaped device just allows a channel of sawdust to smolder and burn. It sits on a grate on the grill. I think the tube is made to work similarly; full it with pellets/sawdust and light one end. The contents burn to produce smoke, but it is full combustion, and it happens outside of the fire basket. Otherwise, it would all burn at once.

Re: Where is the smoke ?

The pot looks as big as the fire basket...just how much charcoal can you actually use? It would seem the duration of the cooks would be short??

I also thought a 2qt pot sounded huge, but it's really about the smallest you would want to go to be able to fit enough wood in it. It's actually not that big. You dont put it down inside the charcoal basket, I just nestle it on top of the lump after i fill thrbasket as usual. Occasionally, the HD might rest on top of the little handle on the lid for a while, but as the fire burns it sinks down onto the basket handles where it belongs.

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Re: Where is the smoke ?

I need to ask' date=' why the holes in the bottom of the dutch oven and not the top?[/quote']

Positioning the holes in the bottom, and the reason for sealing the lid airtight with flour paste, is to force all the smoke back down into the fire. This will further refine the smoke by burning off more of the volatiles as it leaves the vessel.

I know this method sounds crazy, but I built a pot exactly as szygies described and gave it a try. It's definitely different - it's a smoother, milder, smoke flavor. It is especially noticeable when you use a cleaner charcoal, like the extruded coconut.

I don't know why, but I don't use the pot as much anymore. Probably because I'm just lazy, and toss wood in the fire. But on special occasions, when I want something with a distinct fruitwood profile, without overpowering smoke (think Thanksgiving turkey) I will break out the smoke pot.

One nice bonus; when you open up the pot, you have some nice fruitwood lump charcoal in there to use for your next cook.

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Re: Smoking wood

I have also had good results with wood from chigger creek. They offer chunks in a couple sizes, and even logs.

http://chiggercreekproductsmo.com/

They are in Missouri - when shipping is involved, it's worth having a few options to find the closest source. I brought home about 100 pounds of wood chunks as luggage in the airplane at one point.

Re: Meat slicer advice

The 10 inch blade doesn't have the 45 degree angle, it's the lower angle like the 9 inch. From a plain size perspective, the 9" is probably sufficient.

It's definitely a 1-3 times a month tool, but like you said, if it's a pain to clean it would quickly become a 1-3 times a year item. I think I'll at least give the avantco a closer look.

I hear you on the wings deal. I just use a gallon sized countertop fryer, but there's no way I use it inside. I take it out on the patio.

Re: Meat slicer advice

That was my thinking, too. Berkel or Hobart, but I haven't seen anything but the full sized beasts from Hobart.

The Berkels have a few different sized blades within each model class, and I am wavering between the 823 with a 9 inch blade, or the bigger 827 with a 12" blade. Not for the size difference (I'd prefer the smaller) but because the bigger one has a 45 degree carriage. I think the higher angle will help with a more consistent feed, but it doubles the price. I'm not sure it's worth a $600 premium, and an additional 25-30 pounds of machine to move around?

The store listed above also offers their knockoff brand, which looks like a chinese clone for half the price. I wonder if those are worth consideration?

Greetings Brethren-

I want to get a meat slicer, and I know some of you must have one. Does anyone have any recommendations for or against any particular brand/model? I want a good one; I tried a department store model a while back, and I knew was going back as soon as I turned it on. And that was before it made a mess of my roast beef!

Requirements:

Ability to slice cooked meats as thin as possible

Very occasional cheese

Easy cleanup- the easier the better, and I'll pay a premium for this feature if needed

Occasionally maybe slicing some raw meat- like rib eye for cheesesteaks

Size matters (despite what you have heard) I don't want to undersize, but I need to be able to move and store it

I was considering a small Berkel unit, duty rated at an hour a day, which is plenty since I will only be using it an hour a month if I really try. Something like this:

http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/berkel/823e/p358501.aspx

Anyone have experience with the Berkel units? Are they worth the premium? $500-$600 is about the top of my market for as much as I will use it. One interesting thing I noticed with Berkel- I read on one merchants store that Berkel only warrants their products in a commercial environment. There is no warranty if shipped to or used in a residential setting. That didn't do much for my confidence in buying this thing online... If it arrives DOA and they say too bad, I would be on the warpath!

Thanks for any input you have-

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Re: Fruit Cove Florida (Jacksonville area)

That is a sweet planter. Was that recent discovery/were there any others there?

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Re: Steam for Bread

Stainless chain does exist, I bought some by the foot at either Lowes or HD to use for hanging my hammock. Marine stores will also carry it. You might also search amazon for stainless steel ball bearings, there all many sizes available up to about 1" if you just wanted to increase the metal mass in your water vessel.

I'm am all about repurposing... What about dropping the ice (or feeding water via a tube) into your drilled smoke pot, which is positioned above your new skillet? Once the heat capacity of the smoke pot is diminished, the water will drip down to a nice, hot and dry skillet to immediately evaporate? Or maybe just plug a couple of the holes to find the best rate to dispense the water to the skillet below?

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Re: Vacation - Bali it is!

Nope. No secret handshake or anything. Just a few more guaranteed upgrades with each million, but even those expire after a year. I already get upgraded anyway, which is why I was giving some upgrades away last month.

Re: Vacation - Bali it is!

Million was years ago... I'd be at two now but they changed the way they account for million mile perks last year.

In the scheme of things a couple million is not much - I've met people with double digit millions. Mine are all butt in seat miles, though. I don't use their credit cards or other ways to accumulate them, and since I'm always going somewhere for work, I seldom spend them. When i have down time, staying home sounds like a perfect plan!