Firemonkey

I wanted to try grilling some vegetables, other than the usual players (zucchini, squash, peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc) and without using a foil pouch. I picked up a couple stainless grill woks at BJs wholesale on the cheap (<$10). They are pretty heavy, but Im not sure of the grade of stainless because I noticed yesterday that my magnetic grill light grabbed a hold of it Anyway, I grilled some green beans and they were great. I tossed the beans in just enough olive oil to give them a light sheen and salted them with kosher salt. I had a hot fire (450-500 dome) going because I was going to blacken some salmon. I put the wok on the grill, let it heat for about 15-20 seconds, and tossed the beans on. Stir fried them for a few minutes, and removed the wok from the grill. The beans continued to cook on the hot metal, like fajitas, while I tended to the fish. I put the fish on the grill, and cooked it over a hot fire; About 6-7 minutes a side with the lid closed, then moved it to the side while I put the wok back over the hot fire to finish off the beans. Worked like a champ. My only caution is that I was using LOTS of oak wood in the grill (oak fired salmon is awesome) but I didnt care for the smoke flavor on the beans. The smokiness was light though because they were cooked with the dome open. Next time, I will do the beans, add some wood, do the fish and finish the beans after the wood burns off. Were I not using so much wood, would have had no complaints. I owe hotsauce a recipe for blackened salmon, from a previous request but I had cheated and used pre-packaged frozen salmon. This time, I used fresh salmon, which is infinitely better than the frozen stuff. Though the recipe is still pretty quick and dirty. I had a large bottle of Tone's Cajun Spices (in a big shaker from Sams club) in the cabinet, so I heavily coated the fish with it, and cooked as above. One hint, especially if you have little ones, like my 2 year old who doesnt like spicy stuff yet. Trim the thin strip from the side of the fillet and dust it with a general BBQ rub. Cook it off to the side of the grill, and everyone is happy. You can see a small piece of this strip in the second picture. The little guy even asked for more! A super quick and easy meal, 30 minutes from fridge to table. Its even healthy enough for Majestik - see the brown rice

Paul, I wont even eat something that looks like that when its atthe bottom of a tequila bottle ...not even if i have just finished consuming the tequila!

What did you do there, Majestik? Did you grill that chicken before adding it to the pan?

I'm not reversing tack here...but reviewing Dennis' explanation that there is actually "meat" and not just "goo" in them does add a little encouragement. I liken our reaction to these things to the way my oldest son views things like shrimp, crawfish, or (my favorite as a native Marylander) crabs. To the uninitiated all of the above have a certain degree of shock factor Maybe they are good eating....y'all go first, though

Is 'roo good eating? If you have had it, how would you describe it? what kind of conventional meat would you compare it to?

I would be one hungry M/F'er first! I have well over a half-million frequent flier miles, and have been trying to decide where to go. When you travel the US for a living, any EXTRA travel has to be somewhere particularly cool. I was thinking about the Intercontinental (even more points there) on Bora Bora, or a similar destination in your neighborhood. I can get the air and accomodations for free, but it looks like I better pack a couple of jars of peanut butter and jelly to bring with us

Yep...that definitely goes beyond the realm of good taste! BTW, how does one harvest those things - hunt them with a shotgun, like geese?! Speaking of grills, I sure would like to have one!

MUCH more efficient.

Central Pork, I have a MexiK, and am in the process of acquiring a KK. There are suggestions on the other forum to back off the dome top after shutting down, especially when the weather is cold. I think it stems from the POSK's tendency to have the cheap acme bolt damper tops get stuck in the closed position. The theory is that if you close it whiile hot, and it then cools and contracts, it will get stuck or break something loose. Nevermind that they rust solid anyway Just take a look at the repairs our own Majestik had to do on his mexi-krap!

Working fine for me, too...and I am even in your area (Midtown) right now!

I have occasionally seen that kind of action, too. But I would have never thought to go take a picture of it I am always too busy dancing because it is burning my feet! Its the Florida thing...shorts and barefeet all year round

Hotsauce, Im not aware of a pit monitor or themometer out there that can withstand searing temps. Most are rated to 400-450* range. Not even DJs super modified fiberglass sleeves will do much good in a sear! Cooking a steak is not as temperature critical as say a 18 hour low and slow. That is, you will be standing nearby the entire time, so mistakes are hard to make - unless you walk away and forget your steak When searing, its typically just for a couple of minutes a side, depending on how much crust you are looking for. You will want to let the grill sit at temperature for a while before adding the meat, so there is enough residual heat to release in the dwell period. After shutting down, and dwelling, there are a couple of techniques you can use to check for doneness. You could use an instant read thermometer, or you can press on the meat and see how firm it is. The latter takes a bit of practice to learn exactly what steak at each temperature feels like, but once you have it figured out, its pretty reliable. Meat will tighten and get firmer as it cooks, once you find your perfect feel, you can just press on the meat and see if its done. If you go the thermometer route, Thermapen makes some really nice instant read units, with a very narrow probe so your juices dont run out. I saw a special on their website that they had some sort of deal on a IR (surface temp) and remote instant read going on.

Sanny is correct...with one exception. The other guy in Mexico rarely actually ships product, and instead simply collects the money and hopes you forget you ordered I have one of the inferior tiled cookers on my patio right now, complete with the other manufacturers trademark cracks, loose tiles and discolored stainless. I had to haul it from Sarasota to Clermont, where I live. For those keeping score, I am performing all manner of due diligence to get my KK on its way- I promise!

You dont need a big truck, or even really a truck at all. You can rent a little uhaul box trailer for about $20/day for local use. I have a tall (not big) Jeep, and this is how I carried my POSK home to Clermont from Sarasota.

A week or two to get it built, almost a month on the water if you are going to have it shipped by land from the west coast. A couple weeks more on the water if you are having it shipped to Florida so you can just pick it up. Last I heard, Lake Wales was the location of Dennis' cargo partner in FL.

Maybe the entire imageshack domain is blocked? BTW porkchop, I cant decide what is worse, that pig or the naked pseudo-Gerard in the teapot

Its common when pulling meat form the grill to wrap it in foil to let it rest, and redistribute the juices. If you were to cut it immediately, much of the juice runs out all over the plate. Depending on how long you want to hold the meat before serving, you can also wrap it in a towel - after wrapping it in foil - to help it stay warm. Consider it a blanket for your meat. Its not uncommon to remove a pork shoulder from the grill, wrap it in foil, and towels, and place it in a cooler for up to several hours before pulling it. Edit: Make that a tri-fecta of an answer...at least we all concur

Bobkat...Gerard is our resident veterinary professional. Between the talk of inverted stomachs and erectile tissue...you got him all excited!

Hey Bobkat, welcome aboard. You will be amazed by your cooker when it arrives. As for your question about lump charcoal, you have a pretty good source in your general vicinity. There is an outdoor kitchen store about 3-4 blocks off of Dale Mabry in Tampa that stocks lump charcoal and a variety of smoke woods year round. They are a little more expensive, but its there whenever you need it.

No problem hotsauce, this will be the quickest recipe ever! The Salmon was frozen and pre-seasoned. Got it at Sams or BJs, There are about 6 of them individually vac-packed in a bag. Just thaw in cold water for about 20 minutes, unwrap them, and grill them like a burger...about 400* direct for maybe 4-6 minutes a side until it flakes. I like to make some Jalepeno butter to go with mine. Just finely blend a jalepeno (no seeds of veins) add some softened butter and a few drops of lime juice. Whip it all together and chill.

The joints do not (at least to begin with) go all the way through the first layer. Typically, an expansion joint is simply a groove that will become "the weakest link" when the material gets to the point of needing to crack. This way, rather than having hairline cracks running freeform around the dome, they will be constrained to the grooves provided. So there is no gap to allow heat to seep out. You have to remember that the cracks these joints are intended to counter only appear when the material is hot and has expanded. When the material cools, everything contracts again and they tighten up. There is reinforcing material inside of the substrate to keep everything held together.

Hey...are you holding back? How about some pics of the new Heat Deflector with SS plate, Pizza stone with SS plate, and SS drip pan that come with this monster!

Finally...a stainless spring cover!