rwalters Posted May 13, 2014 Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 Love it!! But, are those briquettes I see in your KK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted May 13, 2014 Report Share Posted May 13, 2014 Love it!! But, are those briquettes I see in your KK? Yeah, I've never been very good at subscribing to conventional wisdom. These are hardwood briquettes from the Lazzari warehouse in South San Francisco. They're the same wood as their hardwood lump, same source. I'm not sure what they use for binder but it's unobtrusive. The lump on the other hand varies radically in size with a high proportion of crumbs too small to easily use. The lump burns smokier, and is far more likely to leave a sooty taste on food. The briquettes burn very predictably (their geometry induces a consistent "sphere packing" with nice airflow), which is what I need for high heat cooks such as bread, pizza, or chicken. I use exclusively KK extruded lump from Dennis for low cooks. I've priced better conventional lump charcoal for high cooks, and the conclusion is to either stick with what I'm doing, or to just buy charcoal from Dennis for everything. Even if the top Naked Whiz recommendations did ship to California (will this become an issue for Dennis?), they price out similar to buying from Dennis in quantity. To present my "fussy" credentials, my only low & slow smoke source is a "smoke pot" consisting of a two quart cast iron dutch oven with a few 1/8" holes in the bottom, filled with wood chips and chunks, and the lid sealed on each time with flour paste. I tried the REI stainless steel pot with clamping hardware, and I could taste the difference; I threw it out. Open wood tastes like a house fire to me. So if I claim that I prefer the taste and performance of a certain brand of briquette over their equivalent lump, ask yourself why you believe what you believe? BBQ is a religion, but one doesn't have to take all the scriptures literally. Honestly, I pride myself in always being able to take either side of a debate, but I can't even remember how the other side goes, anymore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted May 14, 2014 Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 Wicked Good Charcoal also makes a very good briquette. I use them in the baby Grill Dome (when I use it - rarely now), as they didn't clog up the air intake as bad as lump. Nothing inherently wrong with briquettes if they're made well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normstar Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 Unfortunately this was at a friends house, so my KK was not available. But thought y'all would like to see these steaks. Prime filets, very long dry ages Porterhouses, and the big marbled beauty is a Wagyu Sirloin Cap. FEAST! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted May 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 Wow.. those very long dry ages Porterhouses look really reduced in size and super dark. Did their flavor seem concentrated and dramatically stronger? Looks like the dried skin took quite a bit of their mass when trimmed off too. So when all was said and done do you feel the aging was worth the wait and loss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
normstar Posted May 25, 2014 Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 Hi Dennis, yes their flavor was very concentrated and nutty, more dried out and earthy as opposed to a juicy fresh steak. I prefer dry ages steaks, but maybe not THIS dry aged! They were a special treat for our Men of Meat Feast. I also get a great deal on them, so I enjoy trying anything. My friend found them in the back of the dry age room, so no telling how long they were in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveco Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 I tried your sauce and potatoes tonight: tasted great. did the potatoes in the oven, because i was doing babybacks in the kamado. I probably will use a covered skillet next time, though, because the potatoes wanted to be a bit dry without attention. Referring to Loquitur's post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 Yes, I generally foil the cast iron skillet for the Hasselback spuds and take it off with about 30 mins to go to reduce the liquid a bit and get a touch more smokiness on them. While Susan's recipe doesn't call for it, I like to finish off the sauce with half-n-half. Take the potatoes out of the skillet, add just enough half-n-half to form a sauce. The residual heat in the pan is enough. I've even used my immersion blender to cream it up a bit more, but leave some chunks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted June 27, 2014 Report Share Posted June 27, 2014 We fire up our KK as often for bread as anything. Always try to use what's left of the fire somehow; here, a great way to blacken a red pepper for bean soup. Tonight, a ribs snack to go with fresh corn and rocket pasta, with our neighbors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1 Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Fresh caught Mahi Mahi and sides.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Flap steak...marinated with fresh lime juice, EVO, garlic, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Great looking pics! We just got local sweet corn this weekend, so had to throw an ear on the grill. My favorite part of summer, along with homegrown tomatoes! I did a pork loin to go with, but didn't take any pics; struggled to get the cook done in between showers! Seems like the rain is unrelenting this summer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Just a couple nice simple pork chops coated with a little EVO and freshly ground fennel seed, crushed red pepper and kosher salt stuck to all surfaces...seared and then finished indirect over hardwood lump for me and the misses tonight I told her again, for the umpteenth time, tonight the KK has easily proven to be one of the best buying decisions I've made for anything I own! This and my Londinium LI lever espresso machine keep me in smiles on a daily basis! Thanks <again> Dennis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Nice use of the basket splitter for a simple, small, short cook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jclarkhpa Posted July 20, 2014 Report Share Posted July 20, 2014 My wife and I were having a few friends over for dinner, and we were also wanting to vacuum pack some meat to put in the freezer so we can reheat for dinner on a weeknight when we get home late from work or are too tired to make something. So, I had three packages of St. Louis cut ribs from Costco, and each package had 3 racks inside for a total of 9 rib racks. I didn't take as many photos as I should have, but it turned out great. I'll post what I have at the end if I can figure out how to do it. I used the BBQ with Franklin rib rub, very simple. 2 parts pepper to 1 part salt, throw in some granulated garlic and granulated onion, some chili powder, and paprika. I prepped all the ribs, the Kamado was chugging along at 250 degrees, so I put 8 racks in the rib rack, and laid the 9th on top of all of them. After two hours I foiled them with just a spritz of apple cider vinegar and left them there for 2 more hours. I could have pulled them earlier, some of the ribs were overcooked where the bones fell out of the meat. However, others were just right. I also made a chipotle BBQ sauce that was really quite tasty. My wife and I are on a Whole30 diet right now for the month of July and so this BBQ sauce doesn't have the usual suspects of Ketchup or sugar. Instead it's a sweet maui onion, minced garlic, tomato paste and crushed tomatoes, homemade date paste, ground ginger, nutmeg, fish sauce, lime juice, coconut aminos, liquid smoke, dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and some chipotle peppers (I might have forgotten an ingredient or two). I wasn't expecting it to taste as good as other BBQ sauces but I was extremely surprised at how good it was. It might become our go to recipe. We originally got the recipe here: http://thehealthyfoodie.com/smoky-hot-bbq-sauce/ I cut all the ribs down and after dinner we vacuum packed the rest to put in the freezer. One other thing I should mention. I normally clean the grill using grill floss and grill wizard. However, I bought The Ringer to clean my cast iron. It's a stainless steel chainmail that helps scrub off all the grit. It's work great for that, but I also used it to clean the rib rack after using it, since I know you should only used stainless steel on stainless steel. It worked great. It's easy to clean up after. I remember getting my Grill Wizard and Grill Floss based on recommendations from this forum, so I thought it might help someone else to hear of the Ringer too. I don't know the owner of The Ringer, and I don't own stock, I just liked the product after I bought it. Here's a link to Amazon to learn more: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ringer-Cleaner-Stainless-Chainmail/dp/B00FKBR1ZG Anyway, I'll try to add the few photos I did remember to take during the whole process. Here's the ribs right when I put them on and was about to close the lid. I did use peach wood. I just finished wrapping them to go for another two hours. After eating here's the pile of vacuum packed ribs. Here's a few jars of the homemade BBQ sauce. It was good. Here's a photo of The Ringer 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted July 20, 2014 Report Share Posted July 20, 2014 jclarkhpa, Thanks for the 411 on The Ringer! Just ordered several for me and friends. We need a "Thank You" button Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted July 20, 2014 Report Share Posted July 20, 2014 I'm a believer in foiling ribs but two hours is a long time unless you like them really soft. I like about 45 min - keeps them tender with still a little pull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 Just ordered my Ringer. Thanks for the tip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 We need a "Thank You" button Click on the green up arrow in the bottom right corner of his post. The counter says "1" now; that would be me. I did also order one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted July 21, 2014 Report Share Posted July 21, 2014 ^ Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
