tekobo Posted June 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2023 Sorry to be late to the party. I hope you had a VERY Happy Birthday @Bruce Pearson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted June 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2023 (edited) Had a blast with my 16KK in Italy and then had an 18hr journey home. 6:20am start in Italy and arrived home at 11:35pm in the UK. I didn't have a working indoor oven and so most of my cooking was done on the KK. Here are my cooking highlights from our stay in Italy: Asparagus mimosa from Plenty by Ottolenghi Sticky sweet and sour plums and sausages from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love except I used apricots instead. Pan was on limit of its capacity. Excuse to go shopping. Best roast potatoes in the world according to our friend Francesco Cooked a couple of these beef ribs in quick succession. Top right is the Castellucio lentils with tomatoes and Gorgonzola dish from the "Plenty" book, made with orzo/pot barley in place of lentils. It worked really well. Bottom left is the roasted potatoes with aioli and buttered pine nuts from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love. Francesco's opinion was that I had ruined the previously perfect roast potatoes by dousing them in aioli. I quite liked it! This dentice or bream was deeelicious. Served us for two meals. I didn't cook it as recommended which was a) to leave the scales on and peel off the skin when cooked and b) to cut a shallow incision on either side of the spine and use the colour of the flesh there to indicate doneness. I hadn't read the recipe when I chose the fish at the fishmongers and so had them take the scales off. The mat that I bought meant that the skin did not stick AND was crispy and tasty to eat. Our local butcher is a magician. From left to right - chicken wrapped in bacon (the best lollipop ever), mixed veal, pork and turkey kebab, lamb kebab and a "carpaccio" kebab which was beef wrapped with lardo. I was given strict instructions for cooking times, from 20 minutes down to 5 minutes. I staggered the timings for putting the kebabs on and they all came out beautifully. Except perhaps for the lamb which I would have had rarer. New pan and spatcocked, practically boneless chicken (dissosato). I omitted to take a photo of the finished product but can assure you that our friend Francesco declared it the "best chicken ever". He has been rude about my chicken cooks in the past but that was because I was cooking with crappy indoor equipment in Airbnbs. He was astounded by the juiciness of the chicken breast. KK magic. Day before our long road trip. Kebabs on a bed of summer courgette with tomatoes and ricotta (I substituted feta) from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love Plus yummy fresh strawberries. Easy to pop in your mouth as you are driving along. Peaches and plums were banned, too dribbly. I have referred to this Ottolenghi book and the other one that I have in Italy called Plenty because I have been using them to explore veg cooking. It is easy to get stuck in a rut with veg and so I forced myself to try new recipes with the great produce available from our local market. It was a real success and I would recommend this and his other books. There can be lots of chopping sometimes but it's worth it. Edited June 16, 2023 by tekobo 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonj Posted June 16, 2023 Report Share Posted June 16, 2023 What a wonderful bunch of cooks, @tekobo! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted June 16, 2023 Report Share Posted June 16, 2023 Wow, everything is mouthwatering, looks perfectly delicious. I wish I had been there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted June 16, 2023 Report Share Posted June 16, 2023 Yer killin' me, @tekobo! I'm so effing hungry now after looking at all those amazing dishes. You're amazing! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted June 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2023 Thanks for all your kind comments. We ate(and drank) well. I now need a drying out period with a fair bit of exercise to recover! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrus Posted June 18, 2023 Report Share Posted June 18, 2023 Yes, a lovely gathering of dishes you have there, Tekebo. I would remark what a lot of work that was, but as you know it can't be considered work if you love to do it. You must be saying, "I'm chuffed to bits." 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted June 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2023 Hey @Tyrus. You're right, it was fun and it wasn't that much work. That is just a selection of meals over a period of two weeks and I used the KK because I didn't have an indoor oven. The rest of the time we lived on cichetti (Venetian equivalent of tapas) in the bars we frequented. Back home sweet home, Italian chicken cooked on my 23KK. Could have been crispier but I now know, from my cooking in the 16KK without my usual clay dish, that I should leave clay top off for all or most of the cook. Next time it will be perfect. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 It was freezing cold in Italy this last week but I hadn't used my 16 since November and thought I ought to heat it through. I didn't have high hopes for being able to fit our dinner on it in one go but it cooked all 20 wings or so in a one'er. Brawny Bambino indeed! I have been meaning to ask Dennis if he can make a better/more stable top rack. Do others who own a 16 think that could work or is there just too little space to be worth it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 why is the top rack not stable? i thought top racks are all the same, standing on its handles, but scaled to size.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 The 16 doesn't really have a separate upper grate. Others turn the lower grate upside down on top of the main grate. It's not a very stable arrangement and it's pretty confined. I was going to bug Dennis about making something but there is not much point if others don't see the point, hence my question. I am back in the UK now and so can't pop out to take a photo to illustrate the problem. I'm not sad about that, given how cold it's been out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 i'm not sure if this can help you. they make a swivel post for an upper grate that bolts to the main grate. but you'll need to cut off the upper grate handles so it can clear the food on the main grate level. https://smokeware.com/products/grate-stacker?_pos=2&_sid=c1f00d43b&_ss=r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 It should be easy to turn that top rack into one that is adjustable up and down. If one was really clever perhaps it could be made to turn the whole thing upside down and have that smaller rack on the botton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 I use my 16 inch a lot because it is so easy for me in the winter to roll it right in front of the sliding glass door. I can tend it without putting on a jacket or even stepping outside. Love it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 1 hour ago, tekobo said: The 16 doesn't really have a separate upper grate. Others turn the lower grate upside down on top of the main grate. It's not a very stable arrangement and it's pretty confined. I was going to bug Dennis about making something but there is not much point if others don't see the point, hence my question. I am back in the UK now and so can't pop out to take a photo to illustrate the problem. I'm not sad about that, given how cold it's been out! I usually have to put a rolled up ball of aluminum foil or two to keep it stable when I'm using it above the main grill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted January 26 Author Report Share Posted January 26 18 hours ago, David Chang said: i'm not sure if this can help you. they make a swivel post for an upper grate that bolts to the main grate. but you'll need to cut off the upper grate handles so it can clear the food on the main grate level. https://smokeware.com/products/grate-stacker?_pos=2&_sid=c1f00d43b&_ss=r Thanks David. This does look interesting as an option. My only question is whether the rotating top rack would hit the open KK lid very early in its rotation. One to pass to the Big D to consider methinks! Dennis did try to stop selling the 16 but there was enough demand to get him keep it. Now we have got to convince him that we like it enough for him to tinker with it some more. I of course love my 32 best but the 16 brings the quality experience of cooking on a KK to very small spaces and that is a massive bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted January 26 Report Share Posted January 26 i cant answer the clearance question but another way like mac does it is to use a prop. i have ceramic ones i’ve used before to prop a rack up 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted January 27 Author Report Share Posted January 27 I would try using spacers to experiment @David Chang but my end game is a less fiddly solution. Spacers will take up real estate on what is already a relatively small grate and there is a good chance they will need cleaning depending on how they are positioned relative to the food. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 26 Author Report Share Posted July 26 I am still amazed by how little fuel a KK uses to do its job. This is my 16KK fire basket after 12 hours of cooking low and slow. A 3kg lump of pig. The capocollo - pig neck and shoulder. Closest US cut is a pork butt. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 26 Report Share Posted July 26 Tekobo, you have a nice smoke ring on your meat. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
