tony b

@MacKenzie @CeramicChef - you two been living under a rock? Breakfast pizza has been around for a long time.

@bosco - you said it, buddy! Like handing Jacques Pipin a cast iron skillet and a non-stick pan, then asking which one he'd rather use for making a fritatta. Tell me it's the cook and not the equipment then!

First off, nice looking Surf-n-Turf. $5 each. Hell, I'd be eating those everynight! As the saying goes, "Any port in a storm."

Interesting challenge. I am assuming that it's suppose to test everyone's BBQ skills, by cooking "blind." But how will it be judged? It will be hard to tell how well (or not) food comes out by just looking at pictures. It's all about texture and moisture. Example, you could do a brisket and show the plated sandwich, which could be made to look good, but the brisket could actually be very tough (under cooked) or very dry (over cooked). Seems like a pointless exercise. Just saying.

Nicely done. Love the pink flamingo glass, too! Do you have a good recipe for the tandoori? Would you mind sharing it?

I vote pork butt. Super easy, very forgiving cook, always comes out tasty!

Yeah, a pallet load of charcoal boxes is more than you think!!

OK, so here's the koji rice steak aging experiment results. Here's the setup - a Trader Joe's strip steak (moderately tender cut) and the koji rice. Ground up some of the rice and rubbed all over the steak. Into the fridge on the rack. Here's what it looked like after one day. Things are starting to happen. Here's the result after 2 days. The grid marks are from turning the steak over after the first day. Rinsed, dried, and simple rub of Trader Joe's Steak rub (coffee based) and some Sucklebuster's SPG (salt, pepper, garlic). Onto the KK, direct @ 325F, bourbon barrel chunk, with some corn. 5 minutes on each side. (Note: corn had been on for 30 minutes already) Finished on the sear grate. 2 minutes on each side. Plated with some parsley potatoes w/black truffle oil, cooked SV @ 183F for 35 minutes. Some sauteed mushrooms on the side. And, don't forget that corn on the cob! So, what was the outcome? Will definitely try this again to see if first impressions hold. Steak was slightly more tender, but not dramatically so. I chose this rub combo, as I have used it on the same steak cut before, so I knew what it should taste like. There was a slightly noticeable taste difference this time - slightly sweet/malty, especially on the fatty outer layer. Not a bad thing, but different. Maybe next time, I'll keep it super simple and just use the SPG alone, to see if I still notice this sweetness. I might also go 3 days in the fridge, to see if that further improves the texture/aging. All in all, fun with food! My favorite hobby!

He is the Yoda of pizza here on the Forum.

Make sure that you order the maximum number of cocochar and/or coffee char boxes that will fit on the pallet. It's the cheapest shipping per box you will ever pay! Cover is a great accessory, depending on your climate. You will need to order a second charcoal basket to go with the basket splitter. Makes things sooooo much easier. Just swap out baskets. No assembly required.

I don't own a 32", but when I ordered my basket splitter, I ordered a second charcoal basket for it. It's a must do! When you order, send them an email with the order number and specify that you also want a second charcoal basket.

They look like stuffed crust pizzas? Or were they just that poofie?

Nice pics. Good luck in the Challenge!

YUMMY

@Geo - where in Iowa are you headed? I'm in Cedar Rapids.

Ceramic Chef, International Man of Mystery!

dstr8 is correct, extended time in the SV bath can lead to mushy texture as the meat fibers will eventually start to break down. If you look at the time/temp chart above, you'll see that there is a recommended max time in the bath. The best part is that the min/max window is usually hours, so you have a lot of flexibility in timing your cooks.

You'd better enter that!

Sounds like an excellent plan for the burn-in.

This might not be the best example, but I did a SV steak where I seared it on the KK first, then finished it in the SV bath (probably in the 125F - 130F bath temp).

That's the thing about SV cooking - the temperature is essentially the same throughout the meat. There is no gradient between the outside and inside, once you reach thermal equilibrium. There are charts for time versus temperature to make sure that the meat is safe to eat. So, yes, it is cooked at 124F, provided you do it long enough. One picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. Here's the time/temp chart. ChefSteps-SousVideReference - Time & Temp.pdf

I typically do my SV steaks at 125F for 3 - 4 hours, then a fast sear on the KK sear grate (typically 4 turns of 30 seconds each).

Just as miserable here, Ken. Today's a tad cooler, but back into the 90s over the weekend. Still planning to grill though. Cold beverages, indeed. Gin & Tonic weather, I call it!

@dstr8 Yeah, what he said!

Excellent. Love that color!