Search the Community

I had in mind to smoke a couple of pork butts low and slow. I had not cooked on Mable in about a year, due to a number of factors. I had not cleaned her since the last cook, nor had I done any routine spring maintenance this year. To make a long story short, Mable remained true to her pedigree, all the fault was mine. I first became aware of an issue when I could not stabilize her temperature. After seven years of set and forget simplicity, I was not expecting her temp to continue to climb. I knew that air was getting in somewhere, though. I discovered the problem was the knob on the back door. it was loose and unable to be tightened with fire in the cooker. I MacGuyvered a quick fix using some Gorilla tape. Fortunately, Mable had not stabilized at 300. After the improvised repair, I was able to slowly back down the temp to 210 over the course of the next two hours. The problem started around 2:00 am, and by 4:30 am I was able to get some shuteye. As I type this, the temp is about 240 and the meat is 163 degrees. I anticipate a delicious pulled pork dinner, thanks to the incredible engineering that goes into these cookers. They are engineered to be airtight, but it does take some routine maintenance to keep it that way. Once the air leak was sealed, Mable was as happy as a clam at high tide. I am posting a few photos to support the verbiage. I will post a finished product pic or two. Note: I just went out and took pics 7 and 8. Internal is 168. I will foil at 175.

Let's hear your all time favorite go to recipe with photos if you have them for your KK? Also looking to do duel pork butts on my first cook on my new KK and suggestions or killer recipes you might have?

One of the cooks the other day inspired me to do some baby backs with chimichurri. I decided to compare it against one of my favorite pre-made rubs - slap yo daddy all purpose rub. My BIL made a fresh batch of chimichurri last night and we added to the ribs, wrapped them and put them in the fridge overnight. I got up this morning around 7 to fire up the grill. Started the day at 32 degrees outside with a nice frost on the kk By 9, the kk was humming along at 275 and I added the 4 racks; two with my rub and 2 with the chimichurri. Nice combination of smoke and steam coming out of the kk. the smoke pot had been going for about 20 minutes with chunks of applewood. this pic (below) was after about an hour and a half. They got their first spritzing with a apple cider vinegar/apple juice combination. We are about half way into the cook with the pic below. At this point, I wanted to hit the chimichurri ribs with more sauce so I moved everything to the racks. Just before pulling in the pic below. It took about 6.5 hours to get to this point where they passed the "bend" test. Getting ready to cut: This batch may have been my favorite. I really like the chimichurri on the BBR's.

I've been wanting to try this one for a while. I saw the recipe on the slap yo daddy's web site. I threw it on my already heat soaked kk at about 7am this morning. I put the rub on last night which consisted of worcestershire sauce on the butt for adhesive properties for the rub. Wanting to stay close to authentic, I used some Hawaiian red sea salt mixed with bbq rub and chicken bouillion powder. I wrapped it in plastic and refrigerated overnight. I wanted to use a bone-in Boston Butt but my local grocer only had a boneless one and I wasn't too picky. CyberQ in my weatherproof container holding solid at 250. It took about 5 hours or so to reach 160 when it was ready for the banana leaf wrap. My banana plants just got wracked by tropical storm Hermine but I found some good candidates on the bottom leaves. Even found my banana crop is coming in. Ready to come off the grill. Here is a shot of the banana leaf on a sheet of foil. I can't believe I forgot to take a pic of the butt wrapped in the leaves but I did. I placed the butt on the leaf shown, covered it with a paste made from crushed pineapple, brown sugar, and melted butter. Another leaf went on top and I wrapped it tightly with 2 sheets of foil and back in the grill. King Oanha Moa Drinki can barely contain himself. 3 hours later, the butt hit 200 but still felt a little resistance when probing. I let it go another 5 degrees and it was ready to pull. This pic is the after shot of the banana leaf wrap. Finished product. Plated with some rice and summer squash. I also had one serving on a Hawaiian sweet roll. This was a little different from pulled pork that I usually do but it is a keeper recipe.

Ok, please no hate mail or bad reputation on this post, but my it's just my wife and I tonight and I have been preparing for a big brew day tomorrow so there wasn't much time. She brought home some pork tenderloins tonight and I felt I had to treat, just one, right. We've done this recipe countless times with chicken and pork tenderloin and it's among my very favorites. But because it was a small cook, I decided to use my original Japanese mushi Kamado that I've been cooking on for about 30 years. I know this is a KK site and I love mine too, but tonight I decided to spark my first love. She's petite by comparison and perfect for this dinner. I hope you don't mind and still enjoy the pics. The exterior of the Kamado was refurbished by me about 10 years ago with Rust Oleum grill paints and lots of tender loving care. She has had probably a thousand hours of cooking already but was looking pale from being weathered in the great Northwest without so much as a cover. I'm fond of her, if you can't tell. I crafted the table in which she's mounted as part of the refurbishing project. The tenderloin was marinated in a freshly made salsa with a number of additions, including soy sauce, sriracha, honey, scallions, etc. My wife hasn't divulged the complete recipe, but you get the idea. The magic of this cook is not just getting the meat done just right, but getting the smoke flavor into the salsa and keeping it on the meat during the cook. It's served tonight with a variant of sesame noodles that is infused with fresh squeezed orange and zest of the fruit. So now for the pics. Start your engines! A home-brewed wit beer and some oak ready to be added to the Lazzari mesquite lump charcoal. No, I drink the beer and don't add it to the fire unless things get really out of hand. Another one... Closeup of the tenderloin in the marinate. The tail of the tenderloin has been folded and skewered to allow for an even cook throughout. Placed on the Kamado I can't read Japanese, but a friend of mine who knows nothing about Kamados told me it said "mushi kamado", although she didn't know what that means. Rustic? Placing the marinate over the tenderloin while it cooks is key. If you're not comfortable doing this you can reserve marinate for this purpose but I'm always careful to make sure it it cooks though before the meat is done. The smokey salsa makes you want to dance. Closeup of the tenderloin during the sear Anther one, better centered . It looks like a huge chicken breast, but it's not. However, I highly recommend this recipe for chicken breasts too! After the sear, I shut down the Kamado and let the meat dwell, checking the internal temperature until it reaches 135 F, about 20 minutes. Onto the cutting board (note the skewer)... While it rested, I refilled my beer. I let it rest only 10 minutes because it cools quickly and my wife and I are really hungry now. It's in no danger of drying out, trust me. Closer. These pics are high resolution so if you're patient you can click on them, then click <<FULL SIZE>> and see it so close you can almost smell it. Well, I guess I should be polite and slice it, egh? Plated with the sesame orange noodles Thanks for viewing!

I had hoped to write this in installments as I smoked overnight from the 3rd to the 4th, but I must be toxic to the Forum system. It was down all day for me. So, this is in retrospect. I decided to do a couple of Boston Blade roasts overnight Sunday, to be ready for some family on the Fourth. For good measure, I also did some Beef Plate Short Ribs. This was my first long-term smoke using the CoCo charcoal and my CyberQ unit. I learned some stuff along the way. First, as all of you have warned me, it's hard to get the temp back down once it's up! I managed to overshoot the 225 target (kept it below 300, though) by keeping the top vent open too much. "Too much" was less than a whole turn open, but I soon discovered that I needed to keep the sliding vent on the fan at 50% or less, and the top barely 1/4 turn open from totally shut! I suspect the top vent was probably more important than the CyberQ or the lower opening. The CoCo burned nicely, but I was surprised that after 12 hours it was pretty well depleted and needed to be replenished. Next time I'm trying BGE which, although probably not as good as the CoCo, will be a little more economical. Took me 15+hours to get the meat to 195. After that, I wrapped it in foil, stuck it in a Coleman, and put the beef plates on. I bought these from Snake River Farms. Supposedly American Wagyu, and for the price I think next time I will get some beef short ribs from my butcher. The things were really fatty. I took them to 190 and people were starting to grumble about being hungry, so perhaps a little more time to get them to 200 might have helped the fattiness. I did try one new thing. This has probably been described, but I haven't seen it. For smoking, I love the articles on using a drilled-out cast iron stockpot, couldn't find one in town so Amazon is bringing one. I decided to try 2-3 chunks of pecan double-wrapped in heavy-duty foil, then sticking a knife blade through the foil in a couple locations. I then slid this into the very bottom of the unit, by opening the ash-removal door and putting it in there. I figured, the volatile smoke fragments would get consumed by the fire right above it, and this would still smoke slowly. Seemed to work very well. I love pecan smoke! The shoulder was great (I've been doing shoulder for 40 years, the last 10 on a pellet smoker (Cookshack Fast Eddy FEC100) but for my first time on the KK, I think it went well. NEXT time I'm going to set the CyberQ at 200, make sure it's holding there, and then dial it up. I know, the KK does hold steady temps by itself, but I like to sleep without worrying. 20 years ago, babysitting it with a beer in hand was a lot of fun. At age 67, think I'll choose sleep. Here are a few photos. Time to heat up some leftovers...

Here is a recipe I adapted for the KK that was originally obtained from Sunset magazine (Oct. 1997). This is my first recipe post that I decided to do to get experience with this editor. I've had challenges managing pictures with prior posts but I hope to get that worked out today. I prepared this dish on my 23 inch KK for Cinco de Mayo 2016. The attachment is a CPAP machine that I'm using as a billows to get the fire going quicker. Preheat your KK to about 325 degrees. This supplies about the right amount of heat to obtain a simmer. Ingredients: 2 pounds pork shoulder or butt 1 onion 3 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons cumin seed 1 cup chicken broth (or water) 2 can (19 oz. each) red chili or enchilada sauce 2 or 3 canned chipotle chilies 1 bag (1 pound) frozen corn 1 red bell pepper (3/4 pound), stemmed, seeded, and chopped 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro salt - to taste 8 flout tortillas (10 inches diameter) 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend 1 cup (about 5 ounces) crumbled cotija or feta cheese 1 firm, ripe avocado (about 6 oz.) cilantro sprigs (for presentation) Trim and discard excess fat from pork. Cut pork into 1/2 inch cubes. Alternative: It's much easier to cook the pork whole and then trim the fat. Target 165 degrees (F) internal temperature because we're not aiming for pulled pork yet, it will become fork tender when it simmers. In a large dutch oven, combine pork, onion, garlic, cumin seed and 1/2 cup broth to boil for 10 minutes. Then boil, uncovered, stirring often as liquid evaporates and a brown film form on the dutch oven bottom, 5-12 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup broth and repeat. Add 1 can red chili sauce and stir browned bits free and then reduce heat to simmering. Finely chop the chipotle chilies. Add the corn and red pepper and stir the chilies to taste. Move to the preheated KK at 300-325 degrees (F), uncovered. I placed the dutch oven on a kiln shelf placed on the lower rack after adding mesquite wood chunks. The wire rack between the kiln shelf (heat deflector) creates an air gap provide more even heating around the dutch oven, and to prevent the mixture from burning to the bottom in the event the heat deflector gets too hot. Let the mixture simmer for about 75 minutes, then stir and add chopped cilantro. Grill the tortillas on the lower rack of the KK and set to the side when done. Assembly: Remove the mixture from the KK. Pour the remaining chili (enchilada) sauce into a rimmed pan at least 10 inches in diameter. Dip 1 tortilla in in the sauce and place in a round dish, 12-14 inch diameter, that suitable for the KK. Cover tortilla with about 1/7 of the pork sauce, Mexican cheese blend and cotija (or feta) cheese. Repeat with remaining tortillas, ending with a tortilla on top. Place the pie on the KK at 350 degrees (F) until the internal temperature reaches at least 140 degrees (F) - about 25 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining Mexican cheese blend on the top and cook until melted - about 5 minutes. Remove from the KK. Peel, pit and slice the avocado. Also heat the remaining chili (enchilada) sauce and drizzle about 1/4 cup over the pie and garnish with the avocado slices and cilantro sprigs. Cut into wedges and serve. Notes: Any oven-safe item is safe in the KK when using a heat deflector, but I like to wrap mine in foil to make cleanup easy and and my wife happy. I found that I didn't need as many flavor wood chunks as I used due to the long cooking time. Of course it tasted great when done, after a long day breathing the smoke, but the smokiness was much more evident the day after (we had a guest cancel so there was a slice left). Next time I'll only add flavor wood for the final bake of the pie and rely on the great natural charcoal flavor for simmering the mixture. The consistency of the mixture should be like a thick chili when ready for assembly. Vary the liquid additions and simmer times to achieve this. You may need more broth or water because we're simmering with the lid off, but we don't loose much moisture in the KK anyhow and we're after flavor. When assembling the pie, try to keep it level for each layer and bias the amounts added toward the perimeter of the tortillas. This will help prevent sagging at the edges and loss of filling. Well, that wasn't so bad! I figured out how to place the pictures but also, more importantly, I found out how to delete them. The "Remove this attachment" icon in the uploaded pictures (Uploaded Images pane) wasn't visible in the photo in previous posts, so I didn't know how to delete them. I see that option shows up as hover-text. Hope you enjoyed the post!

Ok with some trepidation I tried my first low and slow yesterday. Took Dennis's advice for low and slow and started with just a tennis ball sized piece of smoldering lump. Had it settled at 230 within an hour - and left it there for another 3 (I'd left myself plenty of leeway), due to all the good guidance here I got the top and bottom settings right almost off the bat. I added hickory wood to smoke 30 minutes before adding the ribs and then did the 3-2-1 method.. Was pretty happy with the outcome but I felt they were a little over done, so I may need to just double check my thermometer - but any other suggestions I'm happy to here. I'm not sure about all this smoke 'ring' stuff and I could barely detect it on the ribs - was very subtle (got it more after I'd eaten them than during. Anyway all our American guests were more than happy with the outcome. they did just fall apart, and the Asian style rub I did worked out great - I made it myself with fresh ginger and garlic, a little miso, fennel, black pepper, kosher salt, cardamon, cinnamon, and dried chilli flakes. Basted it with apple juice at 3 and 4 hours and then with a hoisin sirriachi ginger and manuka honey (had to I'm a Kiwi) sauce. Interested in thoughts on the smoke - did I not use enough chips - smoke was coming out the whole time - I did have the drip tray under the ribs and I wonder if that deflected too much smoke away??? the rub: The ribs ready to rumble.. On the grill - I was amazed how it could stay at 225 for 11 hours straight... The final result - looking good - really fall apart... does this look right? Have I overcooked??? Ribs are not in my DNA!! All served up with broccolini in ginger and orange sauce with toasted almonds, woked bok choy with fresh scallions and coriander, my eggplant miso and rice... I forgot to photograph desert (sticky toffee pudding) so here's a close up of the broccolini...

Tonight's dinner: - 23" KK: Grilled Carrots Over Ricotta Toast With Fresh Oregano And Lemon Zest - 23" KK: Roasted Red Seedless Grapes with Brown Sugar - 19" KK: Pork Chops with Fresh Thyme Oil, Salt and Pepper

I have some pork shanks with no cure on them that I need to cook at some point soon. I was on a kick because our football bar sold "pork wings" and I tried to re-create it with a different batch a while back. Fast forward, I would like to do a combo SV-KK cook with these and am looking for advice. I have done 70+ hour short ribs before but for some reason this one is stumping me. Some thoughts are do do a 48-60 hour slow cook, then a hard sear on the KK followed by a broth-veggie braise in the KK in cast iron. I am open to any suggestions-

I thought it was a picnic roast. Frankly, I do not remember. Only thing that is for sure is that I ordered this slab custom from a local meat packer. Turns out pork is almost never sold in these parts with the skin on. The butcher told me he would have to "scald" one for me which sounded interesting. I placed my order on a post-it note that got stuck to some well seasoned trim surrounding the picture window in the butchers office. About 6 weeks after leaving the cryptic order, I got the call. "Yep- we got those pork roasts with the skin the way you wanted em... how did you want em again"? They cut a couple of these on the band saw in front of me and away I went. I believe the piggy was slaughtered and parted out into primal that same day, and I was pretty stoked. The meat went on at 250 for about 8 or 9 hours until it hit 198F. Then I jacked the heat to over 500F to get the skin to crisp and bubble up. Unfortunately, SWMBO despises pulled pork, but I predict this will be done again. thanks for looking! P-

This has become one of my favorite cooks. I am lucky to have butchers nearby where I can order 2" thick chops and they cut them the day the piggies get butchered. Concept is simple. Pour an entire cocktail in with your chops, add some garlic salt, and allow to brine. Warming things up with some corn in the husk Getting the reverse sear on Re-warming back up the corn and rendering some pork fat Just prior to plating. Came out fantastic! Recipe was so good, it is going in my book! Thanks for looking! Cheers-

Organised a barbecue yesterday and got a little out of hand. Ended up with 30 people round today so sadly picture taking was v limited. On the menu were beef and pork ribs, chicken, burgers, a joint of sirloin and the obligatory sides. 1of the guests had a thermal imaging camera for his phone so thought worth sharing some cool pics of the grill. Started cook at 9am with beef ribs at 150. Added pork at 10 and took heat up to 200 as beef wasn't really cooking. Took everything out and foiled at 1.30 then another 30min at 300. Whilst doing chicken sweet corn etc. which by then I was far too busy to photo! The ribs could have done with a tad longer. Then did a tonne of burgers before adding a sirloin joint to the mix (indirect with drip pan). Best dish of the day was a sirloin roast done at 200 for 1 hour. Was incredible. Sadly no pics but I WILL be doing that again. Now need a rest.

I have made this before from scratch to the best of what research I had available. This time, I grabbed a few packets of Char Siu marinade from the big W that looked Asian and somewhat authentic. Taking 2.5# of tenderloin and slicing it into long, thin strips was all I did other than adding the marinade powder to the zip top bag. It rested overnight. Then- raised direct at about 375F Getting some char-color Switched to direct and opened the vents and a couple of plated pics- Instant classic at my place- Thanks for looking! P-