dstr8 Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Celebrated NYE with friends in Sacramento. Anytime we're in/near Sacto stopping at Corti Brothers Italian grocery is a must do. They're the only place I can find prime grade in most cuts...including chuck and tri-tip. Santa Cruz Chili Powder is another must have in my pantry. I've been all over the chile and chile powder world but unless you've tasted/used SC chili powder you can't relate http://www.santacruzchili.com/products.htm Yesterday I thoroughly rubbed the prime grade beautiful fat capped tri-tip roast with the SC chile powder, kosher salt and liberal grind of black pepper. Tonight over Royal Oak and 2 nice chunks of Red Oak filets I put the tri-tip on the rotisserie. About 40-minutes later at an average dome temp of 375* I pulled it and let it rest about 15-minutes. Crazy good. Sorry no photos...you'll just have to put your imagination to work Cheers and Happy New Year folks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk1 Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 I can almost imagine it...... I love Corti Brothers.....Daryl Corti is a major dessert wine expert....everything there is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Santa Cruz Chili Powder is another must have in my pantry. I've been all over the chile and chile powder world but unless you've tasted/used SC chili powder you can't relate http://www.santacruzchili.com/products.htm Will definitely give them a try. Here's my favorite source for good chile powder - http://www.penderys.com/ Been buying theirs for at least 20 years, if not longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted February 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 I'm a big fan of Chef Judy Rogers. For those of you outside the San Francisco Bay area she was the owner/chef at the long-tenured SF hallmark: Zuni Cafe. Sad day we lost her last year from a brain aneurism. She was all about simplicity and reverence for the product; her simple roast chicken was no different. She was adamant about getting the bird's carcass, inside and out, thoroughly dried before seasoning. And although I didn't have her recommended 2-day rest in the fridge and salted exterior I found her advice spot on! A couple hours before going to the KK with the small fryer I washed and thoroughly dried the whole chicken. This definitely was the first time I soaked up every last molecule, or so it seemed, of moisture from the bird...especially the skin side. I placed, again per Judy's instructions, a sprig of fresh garden rosemary under the skin on each side of the breast and a sprig of fresh marjoram, using the same method, under the skin of each thigh. No oil or butter is required but instead a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper all over the exterior and interior of the bird...including under each wing, behind each leg, etc. I decided to roast this bird using the rotisserie attachment on the KK. Built a fire using some Lazzari mesquite lump and several large chunks of pecan for additional smoke and flavor. I let the bird sit out at room temp for about an hour before moving it to the 500*F KK. I let the bird roast for about 20-minutes at 500*F and then damped the temp down to about 400*F for the remainder of the roasting period; 1-1/4 hours total cooking time to 175* thigh temp. A 20-minute rest under a loose foil tent before carving and this roast chicken was flat out the best I've ever made. similarly thought it was the best she'd tasted too. Stealing yet another roast bird tip, this time from Thomas Keller, I opted to remove the wishbone during the raw bird prep stage. This makes it super easy to remove each breast when its time for carving. I have to say this simple tip will be apart of my prep for all birds from here on out. A pic of the KK chugging along...and the roti'd bird on the front side of the roasting process. Sorry...no pics of the finished bird but save to say it looked as delicious as I described above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted February 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2014 ^ I must be still 1/2 asleep as I meant for this to go under the Chicken and/or Accessory thread... Mod: Feel free to move it as you see fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Great shot of that style rotisserie basket in action. What do you think of it in terms of setup, general use and clean up? What was the skin like on the bird after that long of a highish temp cook? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 I have approximately 10 or so roti sessions on the Performer Basket you see above. Sometimes I spray the basket with oil (sunflower, safflower, etc.) before placing the meat in the basket and sometimes laziness takes over I am happy with the basket...no gripes. Generally, cleaning it thoroughly is a two step process for me: After the roti session and after the basket system has cooled down I'll pry the leftover small protein globs off the basket tines...if any exist. Then it goes in the dishwasher using "power scrub". If the roti session was a lower temp spin then it usually is 99% clean coming out of the dishwasher. OTOH if the roti session was done at higher heat (~350*F+) then I usually have to do a little light/easy scrub in the sink to remove/clean the remaining char film from the basket system. All in all its not a big deal to clean up. BTW: This basket is the 100% stainless variant. Like the KK roti cradle I like the fact the piercing tines have been eliminated. The meat stays much more moist compared to my former fork tine style roti on our former grill. Unfortunately and now regrettably I didn't snap a pic of the finished bird. But save to say it was a beautiful golden brown with a perfectly crisped skin! I really believe, having done too many roast chickens in my lifetime to count, the big difference is being super OCD about removing moisture from the inside/outside of the carcass. And liberal dose of salt all over the inside/outside of the bird. Next time I will cook the chicken in the identical manner...except I will try Judy Roger's tip about prepping the bird, including salting (not brining though) and leaving it in the fridge for her recommended 2-days prior to cooking. FWIW: Her roast chicken recipe didn't use or mention using a rotisserie...that was my own doing and I will continue to roast my birds using the roti. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted March 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 Ok...I thawed the 3.15lb prime grade boneless tied chuck roast out a couple days ago and slathered it with Steven Raichlen's Coffee-Cardamom rub/sauce recipe and then gave it 24-hours to get happy in the fridge. This was my first experiment with the coffee-cardamom sauce marinade and probably won't be my last Then, using KK cocochar and the full basket I heat soaked the KK for about 90-minutes before adding hickory chunks in the MSR pot, for the smoke, and brought the temp down to 200*F. The slathered chuck went from fridge to KK where it stayed for the next 11-hours(!). I was surprised, given the relatively small size of roast it was, it plateaued at 154*F for hours before I gave in and wrapped it in foil. I removed it from the KK at 203*F after 11-hour smoke session! Again, I was very surprised how long it took to get to pulling temp given the roast's small size. Once off the KK I wrapped the foiled roast in towels and let it sit for 2-hours before pulling it. Given how late it was...it will be tomorrow night's dinner fare instead of tonight's! Shows to go ya! Given it was so late when it finally 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokydave Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 I see you have the BlueTherm Duo. I have one too. How do you like yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5698k Posted March 6, 2014 Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 This is why time per pound doesn't work. When a four pound roast takes roughly as long as an eight pounder, the math doesn't work. This has been my experience also. Sounds like you're doing great, keep grillin!! <br /> <br /> <br /> Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted March 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 I see you have the BlueTherm Duo. I have one too. How do you like yours? I don't. Let me qualify that: Bluetooth for this application IMHO is anemic; I just e-mailed Thermoworks yesterday to inquire if they might be working on a similarly affordable wifi version; no reply as of this morning. Whether its the low E filter on our house windows or something else...but even with a 20 foot direct line of site between the BlueTherm Duo and my iPhone (5s) it will only stay connected for about 20-minutes on average. Also, albeit its not a huge issue, it would be nice to not have the red flashing LED and "<ERROR> cycling on/off when only using one thermocouple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstr8 Posted March 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2014 5698k, agree about each roast's time variance. I've had similarly sized chuck roasts from the same butcher, with similar KK temp, etc., take only 6-hours. I think the secret, to stay out of the hot seat, is to prepare these slow and long sessions at least a day before your party/dinner event 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokydave Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Agreed. Some quirky things. Too bad because it really seems like a nice piece. I have BT problems from 10-15 feet away, through a wall. I would definitely buy it again if it was wifi. I had a problem with a probe and they replaced it promptly and their customer service seems first rate. I never waited more than a day for a response. The battery lasts forever between charges and I would certainly give some of that up for a better signal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
