tony b

I'll ditto MacKenzie and DaveyR. I tried them but wasn't Wow'ed. They didn't last very long/wear down quickly. I'm a Grill Floss guy now.

Cold, MacKenzie, seriously cold!

Syz, that's just too damned funny!

So, MacKenzie, you've moved from Canada, eh, to Wisconsin, you betcha!

You're missing the point. One of the beauties of SV cooking is that it is so forgiving; you don't have to set a timer and wait for the bell to go off to say "Done," then scramble to prevent it from overcooking. You have a range of time, which allows flexibility to plan the dinner on most foods. Some things are a bit more precise, such as seafood and eggs, where the time does matter more, but for almost all meats, you can just set it up and serve it when you're ready. Hence, the ranges given in the book for the Flank Steak. (btw - those are 4 different cooking options - pick 1.) How many BBQ cooks have you done where you think you know how long it will take to get done, work backwards to a "start time," only to get to suppertime and it's not done yet? That's why most of us have learned to start way early and hold food by wrapping in towels and putting it in coolers until serving time. SV cooking is doing the same thing, it's holding the temp for you until you're ready to serve it; +/- an hour or two doesn't usually matter at all. Can you say that about cooking in a conventional oven or BBQ grill? NO, you can't. Why? Because you are cooking the food at 2 to 3 times the temperature that you want the food to finish at, so time is very important, otherwise you severely overcook the food if you don't remove it from the heat source promptly. As far as KK cooking goes, there is a lot of flexibility in cooking temperatures and we don't cook primarily based on time, but final internal temperature of the meat. For example on beef briskets - some folks like lo & slo (which is actually a range of temps and not a precise value), while others do hot & fast, or go Texas Crutch. There's no one "right answer." There are just too many variables involved in BBQing for scientific precision - meat quality (fat and moisture content, toughness), food shape/thickness, environmental conditions (windy, wet, cold), energy content of the charcoal, etc. That's why great BBQ is such an art, not a science. I'm an engineer, and will always think like one, but it's not essential to my being a good cook. At least, in my not so humble opinion!

From my SV cookbook tables for Flank Steak: Medium Rare: 131F for 2 - 12 hours Medium Rare (tender): 131F for 1 - 2 days Medium; 140F for 2 - 12 hours Medium (tender): 140F for 1 - 2 days So, based upon the above, it seems clear that the extra time is to alter texture and not doneness.

Another cookbook quality picture spread, MacKenzie. You have serious photog talents!

Your theory is spot on. That's why it's important to heat soak the KK, especially for cooks on the upper grate, like pizza. Heat Transfer 101: Conduction is the most efficient means of heat transfer. Occurs when an object (food in our case) is placed in physical contact with a hot solid object (grates) (or a water bath in Sous Vide). Next comes convection, the heat transfer to the food from the flowing hot gases (or steam). Finally, is radiative heat transfer. Least efficient of the three. Requires a very large temperature differential between heat source and object (food). Think the broiler in your oven. Believe it or not, color/reflectivitiy is important here, too. Shiny and/or light colored surfaces reflect heat, conversely, dark/dull surfaces absorb heat. No suprises there, we wear light colored clothes in the summer, and darker colors in the winter. Works exactly the same for cooking. That's why aluminum foil has a shiny side and a dull side.

Yummy looking salmon and I'm a sucker for crispy salmon skin! I'll give the coal stirring thing a try on my next high temp cook.

Well there goes my diet!

Hey, they don't call burnt ends, Meat Candy, for nothing!! Doesn't get much better than that. Your IT finishing temps seem OK to me, especially since you were grinding up into burgers. I always shoot for 200F - 205F for briskets, chuck roasts, etc. I've always thought that at 195F they are a tad chewy. YMMV. Interesting looking cocktail.

My pancreas already hates you! You folks are gonna have me on Metformin before long!!

Nothing particularly tricky about making tandoori chicken, other than it cooks at a higher temp than you'd normally roast chicken at (550F vs 375F), so it cooks faster (20 minutes vs an hour). Good posts in the Chicken section of the Forum. Don't be afraid to jump into the deep end of the pool!

Nice job, sir! Yeah, 150F is like for cold smoking salmon and cheese. Need higher temps to BBQ meats.

Gotta make a batch of wings soon. These posts are kiling me!!

Great job, MacKenzie. Nice rare beef, nothing better!! Did you sear it first or reverse sear? What was the seasoning?

Nice job, Wilbur!! I'd take that smoke ring any day, son!

Just a word of caution. What Tinyfish says is true - for lower temperature cooks. If you crank the dome temperature up over 400F, the outside of the dome WILL get hot after it heat soaks (>30 minutes). I did tandoori chicken on Friday at a dome temperature of 550F. Trust me, the outside of the dome was damned hot!!

Did some tandoori chicken on Friday, but let the time slip up on me and I didn't have time to try to make Naan. There are a couple of good threads in the "Bread" section of the Forum. I was going to use the Cookina mat, but this sounds intriguing. But, like he said, if you don't have a good zip saw (and I don't), this can be a PITA.

How ironic - I am putting a chuck roast on the KK in about an hour! One of my favs, as it has all the beefy qualities that I like in brisket, but doesn't take nearly as long to smoke and I don't end up with a shit-ton of leftovers to freeze.

Gorgeous! That's what I'm talking about! Puree the bulbs in the processor (or blender) with just a bit of the oil to make a paste that looks like peanut butter. Put into a jar and keep in the fridge. Will keep for weeks (IF it lasts that long!) Bottle up the rest of that beautiful garlic oil and you've got something special in your pantry! Enjoy!!!

Great advice from Robert, It's super easy to hold temperature in a KK, but really hard to bring it back down, if you overshoot too far.

As the song goes, "I like big butts and I cannot lie!"

Welcome to the obsession! Trust me, after your first couple of cooks, you'll completely understand what I'm saying! The Forum is a wealth of great info, but don't be afraid to ask any and all questions. That's why the Forum exists - to share this great love of Kamado cooking!!! Don't forget to post pics of the grand unveiling and that all important virgin cook! Since you said that you weren't a fan of pork butt, I'd suggest a whole chicken (intact or spatchcocked, either way). You will be simply amazed at how great it comes out. I think they're the single cook that sets ceramic grills, in general, apart from the rest of the BBQ grill community - charcoal or gas. Have fun with your new toy. Don't be intimidated, just takes a bit of practice to get the hang of adjusting the upper and lower dampers to control the temperature. You'll be very surprised to learn how little they need to be open to reach most cooking temperatures. But, the nice thing about BBQing is that precise temperatures aren't critical to outstanding results. So, if you're off by 25F or so, in either direction, no worries. Biggest mistake rookies make is what I call "chasing the temperature," constantly tweaking the vents open and closed trying to hit an exact temperature. A lot of frustration over nothing. Relax, fire that baby up, have an adult beverage, and get ready for a great adventure!

Not tried onions before. Let me know how it works out, MacKenzie.