tony b

Re: Covering your KK Eagerly awaiting my cover from John (I'm scheduled for the first weekend in Feb.), as today we had a freezing rain that covered the KK in a nice "glaze." I wanted to cook some boneless beef ribs, so undeterred, I decided to see if I could get it open. It did open, but there was a 6" tall wall of ice rising up from the bottom lip of the grill about a 1/4 of the way around the perimeter. However, it was thin and was easily thumped off. The top damper was another story. Wouldn't budge a millimeter, even after knocking off the icicles. So, fired up the grill anyway and pulled the temperature probe plug out of the side of the grill for outflow. Temps came up and settled out right at 220F. After about an hour, I could finally open the top damper. Ribs are happily cooking on the grill right now @ 350F. They say that necessity is the mother of invention!

Re: Murray's Cheese Shop Hey, you're in the middle of the Hudson Valley cheese makers, so I'd say you're OK. I'll toss another fav into the mix - Humboldt Fog (Cypress Grove).

Re: Murray's Cheese Shop You nailed it. It's a sensual experience. Another favorite cheese, but will be hard to find is Robiola Di Mia Nonna, made by Reichart's Dairy Aire (cute name) here in Iowa. Iowa might be developing a name for itself in artisanal cheese production with help from another famous cheese - Maytag blue.

Re: Pulled Lamb Since you're already talking about using a Tagine, then stick with Moroccan and use Ras El Hanout for your spice blend. It's one of my "go to" spice blends for lamb. http://www.zamourispices.com/raselhanout.html

Re: Murray's Cheese Shop You hit "the sweet spot" when you mentioned St. Agur. My absolute favorite blue cheese. Amazing actually! I once blew some friends away with sprinkling it on pomme frites with fresh rosemary. They claimed they were the best fries they'd ever eaten!

Re: Thermoworks probes I have to wiggle my Redi-Chek meat probe (90 degree bend) some, but I can get it through the hole. I can't go the opposite way and push the plug end through from the inside.

Re: berkshire vs. commercial butts I had the opposite problem with Berkshire (Kurabuto) pork. I did ribs and they were so fatty that I had flare-ups (I normally don't use a drip pan for ribs) and burnt the outsides before the interior fat had rendered out. A friend has done 2 butts and had problems; they cooked much faster than regular pork. It cooks differently for sure.

Re: Ribeye Roast cook Kudos to Doc for all his great advice! 1500 posts - WOW! Alton Brown does a steak cook using just a chimney in one of his Good Eats shows (it's in one of his books, too.)

Re: First cook on KK - RIBS - Need advice As noted, ribs are bite tender when the tips of the bones are showing about 1/4". Also second the suggestion to move to the main grill level to improve smoke contact.

Re: New KK in Hawai'i Welcome from another dark autumn nebulae owner. It is really spectacular when the morning sun hits it! You're gonna love cooking on it.

Re: Christmas Pork I have a set of the Reidel Scotch glasses - http://www.amazon.com/Riedel-Vinum-Single-Whiskey-Glasses/dp/B000MYFXG0/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1356130170&sr=1-1&keywords=riedel+scotch A bit pricier than Michael's stemless ones. But, I may have to pick up a set of the stemless after the holidays, as they do look really cool.

Re: Christmas Pork Didn't you see the tweek in his signature "(just to see if anyone's payin attention)" dub was just messin' wid us!

Re: KOSHER SALT VS. SEA SALT Yes it is, Dub, yes it is! Pushing $30/lb for the "good stuff!"

Re: Christmas Pork Another single malt fan here. I was schooled by a buddy who was stationed in Scotland in the Navy. My fav is Bruichladdich (kind of hard to find some places). Partial to most Islays - Bunnahabhain, Bowmore, Lagavulin, as well as Speysides - Craigganmore (had some after dinner last evening!), Balvenie, Macallan.

Re: New here Don't forget to post pics of the Virgin Cook. Enjoy that 1st cook and Happy Holidays!

Re: KOSHER SALT VS. SEA SALT Those proportions sound about right between Kosher, Sea, and Table salt for measuring volumes. Also, depending on the source for the sea salt, it could have enough trace minerals in it to alter the flavor profile (e.g., Himalayan, Alaea, etc.) Here's a good source to check it out: http ://www. saltworks .us / gourmet-sea-salt . asp I buy salts from them all the time.

Re: SNAKE RIVER FARMS Whole Bone-In Pork Shoulder I talked to my butcher where I got the ribs. He agreed that they should be cooked low and slow, and indirect with drip pan. Will give them another shot over the holidays.

Re: KK in Perth, Australia Beauty!

Re: SNAKE RIVER FARMS Whole Bone-In Pork Shoulder DISASTER. This heritage pork stuff is going to cause me to rethink all my cooking experiences. Did the rack of St. Louis ribs tonight. Not use to using a drip pan w/ribs - first mistake! All the fat in this pork caused flareups. Temp shot up to about 410F. Pretty much had to close down everything to get the dome temp back to the 325F I initially set it at. As noted by my buddy's experience cooking butts, cooked faster than I had planned (partially due to overshooting temp). The exterior layer was way overcooked, but still had a significant fat layer left in the middle. The meat down by the bone was excellent, for what little of it there was. Overall, not a happy camper.

Re: Lid open or closed? I hear ya, Dub. I generally prefer my steak to still have some MOO left in it, but this one was still cold in the middle. Hey, but that's the fun of this right?! If it didn't come out perfect, try again! DAMN, I hate when I have to keep cooking big, thick, very juicy, steaks until I get the technique dialed in!!!

Re: Portuguese Chicken Looks tasty! Swap out the lemon juice for blood orange and it's Mojo chicken (Cuban). Or alternately, add regular orange juice to the lemon (equal parts) to simulate blood orange (maybe, even a splash of grapefruit juice too!) Been doing mojo chicken and pork for years, weird for a mid-westerner!

Re: Lid open or closed? Depends on the thickness of the steak, as to which method is better, IMHO. I did a 1 1/2" thick porterhouse last night. Upper grill inverted on the basket, pulled the thermometer out of the grill at 700F (to avoid overranging and recalibration), so the sear grill was probably 900F+. 5 mins on each side, then put on the main grill and roasted for another 15 minutes with all the vents closed off, pulled off and rested for another 10 minutes. Still a bit too rare in the middle (shooting for medium rare). I would have left it on longer, but all the sides were ready. I know, should'ah checked it with a meat probe before pulling it off the grill. Still pretty damn yummy nonetheless! Next time, with a steak this thick, I'll reverse sear it and see if I get more predictable results. And yes, I'll use a meat probe to check the internal temps before searing.

Re: SNAKE RIVER FARMS Whole Bone-In Pork Shoulder Kick-starting this old thread because we now have a local butcher that gets kurobuta pork, so I'm looking for feedback on it. In particular, do these heritage pigs cook differently that "standard" pigs? I have a buddy who's now done 2 bone-in butts and they have both cooked much faster than expected: 10 - 11 lbs, bone-in, smoker @ 225F, butt finished @ 200F in only 8 - 10 hours. I'm going to throw on a rack of St. Louis ribs tomorrow for my first try at kurobuta, so just looking for advice on cooking times.

Re: Happy Thanksgiving Beautiful color on that bird!

Re: Turkey Temperature drop? Since you lowered the grill temperature below that of the bird, the heat transfer reversed and that's why the thigh temp dropped. Heat is like water, wants to flow "downhill" - from high to low.