tony b

OK, so I did another experiment with the koji rice. Like I said before, this time I did some sirloin (fortunately on sale at the local market). Two similar sized pieces - one rubbed with the koji rice and the other with flaked Kosher salt. Air dried/aged in the fridge for 3 days. Here they are right out of the fridge after the 3rd day. Koji rice on the left and salt rubbed on the right. The salt rubbed steak is quite dry/firm on the surface, but pliable. Washed off the koji rice and dried with a paper towel. You'll notice the similarity now in surface textures. Rub mix is Dizzy Pig Raising the Steaks and Cow Lick. I oiled the steaks lightly and then applied the rub. Onto the KK on the sear grate. Dome temp at 500F, with a small chunk of mesquite. Toothpick is in the salted one. After a couple of flips (about 30 seconds per) Done. Rested and sliced open. You can see that there's some textural differences between them. Koji on the left, Salted on the right. Plated, with a nice ear of corn and a twice baked potato, and some sauteed mushrooms for the steaks. OK, for the results. There were very noticeable differences between the two steaks. The salted one was drier (less moist), but had a more intense beefy flavor. A tad salty too. (Note: I didn't rinse it before applying the rub.) The koji steak was softer and had a hint of that malty flavor I picked up the first time. This time I made sure to rinse the steak thoroughly and rubbed it well with a paper towel to remove as much of the rice as I could before applying the rub. Both were very tasty steaks, just different. I leaned toward the salted one, as I liked the more intense beefy flavor. Next time, I'll rinse it before applying the rub and may only go 2 days of air drying in the fridge. So, in conclusion, I didn't find that the koji rice rub accelerated the aging process any more than just a good Kosher salt rub. It was a tad moister and a bit softer than the salted one. I think if the salted one had only be dried for 2 days, that they would be more similar in texture. I did prefer the beefier taste of the salted one. I still have about 1/2 a bag of the koji rice left, so I might try it again with a tougher cut, like a flank steak.

HOMERUN, dude! both the pork and the burnt ends looks spectacular! The party will be a Paar-taay!

I'm sure you'll suss it out, proper!

Don't sweat it, mate. Do as Ken suggested and turbo finish those ribs. They'll be great, since they've gotten all the smoke that they're going to absorb by now anyway, so you're not sacrificing any flavor by wrapping them.

Rock on, baby! So jealous of that pool right now. Heat index here today is 103F. Thought I was gonna melt walking the dogs. Ain't leaving the house until time to fire up the KK for dinner.

Syz, the basket splitter is the sniz! (Couldn't help myself, )

Historically, it's been the only troublesome item on the KK. A lot of it had to do with the motor supplier changing things, so the motor bracket's would fit anymore, the shaft length was off, etc. Dennis has compensated over the years and is finally gotten most of the issues fixed by modifying things on his end - like the new adjustable mounting bracket for the motor and adjustable motor shafts. The cotter pins are should be the final fix. I solved my un-screwing problems by using Loctite on the motor shaft, once I got the adjustment correct, reversing the motor spin, and figuring out the left/right configuration on the basket shafts. I've label the basket with permanent marker - "spring" and "motor," so I know which shaft goes in which end.

SWEET! Have the credit card in hand and ready!!

We all can't wait either! Pictures, mate, pictures!

After watching Raichlen doing jerk with the pimento leaves, berries, and wood, I went and ordered some. Have the leaves, but the wood takes a while to ship. Can't wait to do it more traditional. I've been doing jerk chicken, pork, and seafood for a very long time, since my first trip to Jamaica back in the late 80s, where I first tasted jerk chicken at a roadside stand. I had just assumed we didn't import the wood into this country. Silly me!

Excellent. Well Done!

Nice gazebo. Can't wait to see the finished outdoor kitchen and KK setup. While it won't hurt the KK or likely the mounting bracket to leave the motor on, I'd take it off to be on the safe side. It's an easy on/off operation. Plus, I don't like leaving electrical equipment out in the elements if it's not built for it.

Gorgeous looking bread, Syz! I'm like you, more cooking "toys" than I have room for. Will need to think hard about these pots, as like you, I own a couple of tagines and several enameled and bare CI dutch ovens.

Perfect pizza in a perfect setting, MacKenzie! We are so jealous of that view. Wonderful!

Sorry, don't have any "how to" pictures of the basket splitter. It's fairly intuitive - look at the pictures in the Store on the main website. The main divider just drops into the middle of the basket and hooks onto the sides. From there, it's what you're trying to accomplish, as there are several different configurations. Most common is to put the half moon shield piece on one side of the basket in between the basket rungs. This gives you the classic two-zone cooking arrangement. Depending on which size grill you have, you can orient the basket to be left/right or front/back zones. It also "turbo's" the airflow throw the half with charcoal, for getting up to searing temperature quickly. There are other variations - full basket, half depth = two half moon grates in the middle of the basket (with or without the splitter, doesn't matter). Gives full grill coverage, but only uses half the charcoal in the basket. There's the quarter basket arrangement - half moon shield piece on one side of the basket in between the basket rungs and one of the half moon grates on the other. Never seen anyone post that they've used that one. It would have to be for a very short cook (e.g., fish, shrimp, etc.) Hope this helps?

Please do! Can't wait to hear what you come up with and how it turns out!

Too bad!

It's a set of 4, so perfect - one for you, one for the Mrs, and 2 for the boy! Or you could get him his own. Is this one big enough? https://smile.amazon.com/Bakeware-Porcelain-Recrangle-Ramekin-Baker/dp/B0091RYJYG

Welcome to the KK Family! If you want to do high temperature searing, you use the smallest grate (upper grate), flip it over, the legs become the handles and set it on top of the charcoal basket handles. I have both very long tongs, and insulated mitts that come up to my elbows. Essential if you want to keep the hair on your arms.

From the juices on the cutting board, they looked pretty juicy from here. Like the idea of "planking" the chops with the pineapple. I think you're on the right track to marinate them first, then put them on the pineapple "boards". Can't wait to hear how "round 2" comes out.

Sad, indeed. Maybe you could downsize to a small table top unit in the new home?

So close, but ... We all feel sorry for you and know how much you wanted to impress your guests with the KK. Life is like that sometimes. And Bosco is right, once it arrives and you start cooking on it, all this will fade into the background noise because you will be so in love with your KK at that point. Hang in there!

Charles, you need to show Susan some videos on how SV works. It's not exactly "boiling the food in water." It's just the medium we used to transfer heat into the food and has zero impact on how the food tastes. It's what's inside the bag that counts!

Definitely do some SV - sushi rare. It will be amazing. Trust me! Sous Vide Tuna Times and Temperatures 'Sushi', Rare: 100ºF for 10 to 20 Minutes (37.8ºC) 'Sushi', Medium Rare: 129ºF for 10 to 30 Minutes (53.9ºC) Medium Rare: 132ºF for 10 to 30 Minutes (55.6ºC) Tuna belly needs to be seared at high heat to get all that yummy fat happy! Just be careful and don't overcook it. Depending on thickness, probably only 15 - 20 seconds a side on the KK sear grate (or cast iron skillet).

@dstr8 - excellent. I've had clams on pizza before, but never as chowdah! Sounds great. @MacKenzie - sounds like a great plan for the SV fish broth!