normstar

Re: New to Kamados....start at the top! Welcome! And enjoy the ride...

Re: Amusement Park Turkey Legs Great post! We always see those at Disneyland, only tried theirs once since it was super salty! I can't wait to try this. Now if only Larry can figure out how to make those Disneyland Corn Dogs on the KK!!!

Re: Ribeye Looks great! I'm a former pellet grill user as well. They are great for convenience, but the KK brings out these primal feelings of man, meat and fire like none other. I love it, and even though it is more user intensive it is so extremely intuitive and easy to use. I still enjoy the "process" of getting it ready: cleaning it out, precisely placing the lump, and firing up the flamethrower (JT850) to light it. Low the sound of that torch... I gave my pellet grill to my father-in-law last year.

Re: Steak Tips I'm enjoying reading everyone's techniques and ideas, thank you all for chiming in! As far as cooking with the lid open, one of the greatest attributes of the KK is the all-over uniform cooking that it gives once it is heat soaked. This is similar to a sous vide machine, and with steaks that is what I like. Also like a sous vide, you want to brown the crust for flavor and to seal in the moisture. I prefer a nice crust for flavor and texture, but not at the expense of burning and drying out the outer layer of the steak in order to get to medium-rare. I think I'll try the "time method" and cook more instinctually, understanding that it will continue to cook more after I pull it off - more than any other cooking method that I've used. And not sevod guess myself with the darn Thermapen! I'll also shoot for a lower done temp, maybe around 350-400, knowing that at the sear-grate level it could be as hot as 600.

Re: Steak Tips Doc, you're a genius! That is an excellent idea. Very much like sous vide as well, slow even cooking with a quick hot sear at the end to for the Maillard reaction and some tasty crust. I'm gonna try that very soon and will post pics

Re: Steak Tips Those look great Loq! Med-Rare and very uniformly cooked and the outside edges are not overly cooked either. The reason I gravitate to the ultra-hot lower sear grill method is my pre-KK steak technique was a crazy hot cast-iron skillet finished in the oven, and the hot skillet combined with a little fat (olive oil and/or butter) gave the steaks a very nice crust. Id like to get a nice crust on my steak in the KK, perhaps ill try the middle or main grate next time for constant direct heat and will add some oil to the meat before it goes on. I've seen recipes where they constantly baste the steak in butter but I want to refrains from opening the lid too much.

Re: Steak Tips Thanks Loquitor! I think you're right, the intense heat of the lower sear grill must make the steak surface so incredibly hot that it continues cooking rapidly even after removed from the grill. Even though I moved the steak to the other side away from the coals, the residual heat from the sear combined with the 500-degree KK caused it to cook very quick. And 2 minutes in that environment, as I now know, is a lifetime! Mguerra: Do you still get a nice crust/sear that way, cooking on the main grate? Im assuming your cooking direct heat the entire time as well?

Hi all, Last night I cooked a 2lb Wagyu Tri-tip and a 16oz prime NY - pic is below, sorry I didnt get an After pic due to wine and company! My setup was the basket splitter installed and full of Cocochar (6-7 pieces split in half). KK was heat soaked at about 350-400, then before putting in the steaks I raised it to 500 or slightly higher. I seared Tri-tip 3 mins per side ten moved to the indirect side; after a while I did the same for the NY. Lid was diwn during cooking. My question is: while monitoring the steaks they both seemed very Rare, perhaps just below the rare point and I was afraid to pull them off since we had guests over and dust want them "too rare." So I closed the lid and then, only 2 minutes later, they felt Medium-Rare Plus! Measured about 130 on the thermapen. After the rest there were some medium-rare pieces, but most of it was medium to medium-well - overcooked! Is the KK so efficient that it just cooks beef faster? I haven't had this happen with other proteins as of yet. I usually cook by feel, and I knew I should have pulled them at the "too rare" point but I second guessed myself with the thermapen since I'm still learning the KK. I've read all about the reverse-sear method, but I prefer searing first - at least for now. Was I cooking too hot at 500-550 degrees, or once beef gets to around 115 degrees does it cook faster in the KK? Appreciate any and all tips!

Re: How much ECC for 18 hour cook? Just to chime in with what I've even doing with Coco Char for small cooks. I've been lighting just one whole piece of Coco to get the KK to about 220-250 to smoke some fish for 2-3 hours. It is amazing how much heat you get from just one piece! Don't use the heavy ceramic heat-deflector though, as that will absorb most of the heat. I either use no deflector and put te fish up high in the dome it next time I'm going to try the steel deflector. Ie also use the basket splitter, which works well and is a great tool to have in your KK arsenal. Happy smoking!

Re: Bacon Taco? Dang that'd be a rich tasting taco. How bout bacon and halibut!?

Re: KK & Korin Konro... That Korin is the same grill that they use at Totoraku in Los Angeles - google it, one of the best restaurants in LA but its private. They set it on a wood board of some kind right in the middle of the table. Hot as heck and has those airflow adjusters that slide open.

Re: Updated: Brisket going on soon/Done Bump for Hepaestus's cooking details!

Re: Brisket going on soon! Nice! What are the cooking details? Temp, wood, etc!

Re: Johnnyboy Cover color for Cobalt Blue KK I like my Black. Looks like Darth Vader is holding court in the yard.

Re: Is the Benzomatic JT850 the best? Thought I'd resurrect this old thread cuz I just got an JT850 this week on amazon. MY GOODNESS it lights the coals faster. This is a revolution in coal lighting. I've been using fire starters and/or a small handheld propane torch. it completely makes it possible to just "quickly fire up the KK" for a small weeknight protein searing session. Plus, it's so much fun to use that I'm gonna get that other torch from harbor freight as well! Lastly, if I ever need to storm any bunkers and torch them, I've got that covered too.

Re: Everyday Misc Cooking Photos w/ details Scottish Salmon smoked today. Did a quick brine of kosher salt and brown sugar for 30 mins, then let the air dry about 20 minutes next to the window. Smoked at 240-250 for an hour, a few (4-5) tiny pieces of used Coco and 1/2 piece of fresh Coco and a piece of Pecan, and they were perfect! Still learning to bait long enough for the white smoke from the smoking wood to dissipate. I put these on about 10 minutes too early, but the smoke flavor was still very nice and not overpowering.

Re: Rye Whiskey Recommendations Masterson's is very good as well. They even have it at Costco here in SoCal.

Re: KK Coming to WI Welcome to the club Randy!

Re: Nueske's Meats / Usinger's Meats I've also heard they make the best bacon. Thx for the tip!

Re: Pizza Stone - direct or indirect? Another tip, let the pizza stone heat up for an hour if possible. Hotter the better. I only gave it 30 mins and the crust got better and better as it heated up.

n74437 I continue to be amazed at how well the KK performs. We had a late family Xmas dinner the other night and got a nice 8.2lb 4-bone dry aged prime rib. My initial plan was to try one of the low temperature-reverse sear recipes but unfortunately I had to go to work for a bit and didn't even start the fire until 3pm. So I decided to sear first on the lower grate (not the sear grate as I had a basket stuffed full of CoCo). Anyway, could not get the temp below 375 or so, so I put the KK heat deflector on the basket and put the Meat on the mail grill. 2 hours later I pulled it at 122 degrees and let rest for 40 mins while the other fixins' were finished (caught us a bit off guard how fast it cooked). It ended up about Medium, in hindsight I shoulda pulled at 115 or a few degrees less to end up at medium-rare, but I was amazed at how perfectly even it was cooked. It was medium from end to end, even the tasty crusty end cuts were medium inside (sliced them about 3/4" thick). My father in law, who fancies himself a prime rib expert, thought it was going to be overlooked and dry due to the higher temp of 375. But he had no clue about the Magic of the KK! Definitely the best prime rib I've ever made, going to have to try another one soon when I can dedicate a whole afternoon! Thanks again Dennis

Re: I was robbed again.. ;-( Sorry to hear Dennis. How about adding a couple big dogs to the family?

Re: Pizza Stone - direct or indirect? It was excellent!!! Pizza Stone on the main grill, no heat deflector, with a 600 dome temp and 7-8 minutes cook time was the sweet spot. It got up to 700 at one point, but the top burned before the bottom was done as Dennis said.

Hi All - Gearing up to make some pizza's tonight and I've got one question - do you suggest putting the heat deflector on the basket and the pizza stone on the top grill? Or just put the pizza stone on the top grill and let it absorb the direct heat? Thanks and Happy New Year!!!! andy manhattan beach, ca

Re: Christmas Pork Costco is having a great sale on liquor right now, I got a bottle of Laguvallin 16 for $55!