tony b

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.

Re: Pork Ribs Classic 3-2-1. Have heard about the honey treatment in foil before, but never tried it. I'm more of a savory over sweet kind of guy. I mostly just CYM and dry rub. Spritz with apple juice/water every hour when they start to brown. Rarely wet sauce my ribs; only when guests ask for it. I only foil wrap if I'm going to hold them for awhile before eating. About your experiment with wet mopping sauce hourly, do you plan to cook those indirect then to avoid burning the sugars, since you won't be wrapping in foil?

Re: Happy Thanksgiving I've had my BBQ Guru (DigiQ-II) for quite awhile now and can't imagine doing any kind of low/slow without it. Used it with the Turkey, even though it was a short cook (2.5 hrs) at slightly higher temps (375F), because it was very windy and I was afraid of runaway temps without it. Worked like a Champ, as always. Brine was a basic - 1 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup candied ginger, 1 Tbl whole black peppercorns, handful of whole green cardamom pods, and 1 gal of water. Placed bird in small picnic cooler, added brine to cover, added 2 cups of ice cubes. Put the cooler in the garage overnight (temps in the mid-upper 30's F. Removed next morning (~14 hours brining), patted dry, put back uncovered in the fridge for another day to dry. Cooking day - stuffed cavity with one red apple, one yellow onion (both quartered), 2 cloves garlic (smashed), 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, and one sprig fresh tarragon. Outside of the bird was brushed with olive oil and liberal dusting of sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Re: Pork Ribs What's the scoop in Picture 3 with the butter? and other stuff? Looks interesting.

Re: She's in Cali HURRAY!! Such patience, most of us couldn't have taken it. I had to wait less than a week with mine in the garage before my buddies could come over and help me move it onto the deck and I was almost climbing the walls by then

Re: New here My KK is my 3rd ceramic grill. It is hands down the best of the 3, no question! Sounds like you've done your share of Q'ing, so I can tell you this thing smokes like a dream, plus the added bennie of being able to righteously sear a steak at 800+ degrees F. Quality and craftsmanship set this one apart from all the others by head and shoulders. Dennis is awesome for customer service - legendary in fact. It's well worth the money, so pounce at the current price before it goes up!! You won't regret it for a second.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Here's some shots of today's turkey cook. Turkey was brined overnight Tuesday, went into the fridge to air dry all day Wednesday, cooked today - grill at 375F, breast to 160F, over peach wood. n68626 n68627 n68628 n68629

Re: Boneless Beef Short Ribs Saw this post and was inspired to try some beef ribs (boneless). Did as suggested, 6 hours @ 220F, indirect, with mesquite. Split batch - half w/Dizzy Pig Raising the Steaks (used a bit too much, will cut back next time) and half wet marinade - Asian inspired - light soy sauce, garlic, ginger, szechuan peppercorns, sesame oil, orange oil, and Gochujang (Korean fermented soy/chili paste). Marinated for about 4 hours in the fridge. Will definitely be doing this one again soon - YUMMY!

Re: Beer Can Chicken Anxiety Forgot to mention that if you use a metal vertical roaster like this, spray it first with PAM (or similar) to help remove it after the cooking is finished. Helps with cleaning the roaster too!

Re: Peach wood chunks You got that right, Pimp Chimp (aka Firemonkey). No question as to that priority!

Re: Smoked Pork Belly Peppered Bacon I've had maple syrup glazed bacon - killer! Cook the bacon (however you like to cook your bacon) until almost crisp. Degrease with paper towels. Dunk the bacon in real maple syrup. Place on a wire rack on a sheet pan. Place in a 350F preheated oven until crispy and the syrup has carmelized. AWESOME! A variation is to take your peppermill on medium grind and sprinkle black pepper on the maple syrup coating before going into the oven. Another WINNER!

Re: First cook! - Lamb Shoulder Up here in the States too! I just did a couple of lamb sirloin chops for dinner tonight, except not low/slow, but a nice hot (500F) sear on the lower grill. Dry rubbed with Ras El Hanout (Moroccan spice blend). Yummy!

Re: How did you find Komodo Kamado Owned a POSK for about 8 years before it started to crack and shed tiles. Stumbled upon the Kamado Fraud forum and lurked about there for a couple of years, picking up repair tips. That's where I learned about Dennis and the KK. Scoped out the Forum here and lusted over the KK for about a year. When the POSK was finally on its last legs, I took the plunge and replace it with my gorgeous KK (Dark Autumn Nebula!) Couldn't be happier!!

Re: Beer Can Chicken Anxiety I am a firm believer that the ceramics (even my old POSK) do chicken better than anything else. A good high quality metal smoker can turn out as good a brisket or pork butt, but not chicken, it comes out too dry. Learned about spatchcocking chicken on the old K forum (back in the day when it was fun and helpful) and I still prefer it to beer can, even before reading these posts about bad side effects. If I don't spatchcock it, I have a vertical roasting stand that works well (spanek). n67340

Re: Bourbon-brined, Maple Smoked Turkey Yes, there is enough residual heat if you wrap it up right away, that the temperature of the meat should go up another 5 - 10F. This is generally true for any meat, so always factor that in if you plan to do this. For example, I take my pork butts off the grill @ 190F, wrap in HD foil, beach towel and place in the cooler for a couple of hours. When I take it out to pull it, it will still almost burn your hands when you first start, it's still that warm!