1st cook in New Orleans!

[stevemurphy4]

My KK arrived on 12/26. Uncrated it and then realized that this puppy weighed in at 550 lbs and it was going to need more than 2 good people to get it off the pallet. Finally help arrived on 1/2 and did my first cook on it. ( sorry, no pictures but I am working on that). I decided to chicken so that I can control the temp and also so it cooks fairly quickly to help my KK break in. As Dennis has mentioned before, he does kiln dry the KK to extract moisture as I understand it but there is always a certain amount of moisture that remains that must be "vacated" by cooking on it.

Must admit there is definitely a different learning curve on the Komodo. I have cooked and owned the fire clay primo, the fire clay BGE, the ceramic BGE, and the Kamado (rj) and this guy is different. Let me explain>>>

The ceramic BGE I still own one and I do like it. It heats up very quickly, the "body" of the cooker radiates a fair amount of heat so you can "feel" it heating up. It maintains the temp fairly well and I find that it cooks rather quickly in that it deserves a fair amount of attention while it is cooking. Good for cooking hot dogs, hamburgers, and I have done some slow cooking on it but not enough to compare it to the Kamado(RJ).

The kamado (RJ) is is one of the reasons why we own or wish to own a Komodo. I know Richard and I believe that his ideas in regard to "ceramic" cooking were truly revolutionary in his time for the Kamado. His inspirations led us to a radically re-designed "kamado" from Japan. I have used the kamado since 1998 ( I was a regional dealer at the time) and have been enthustically pleased with the results that it produces. The kamado when fired up needs time to heat the body of the cooker up to maintain temps; I have found that it is easy to over-correct for temps. once they have achieved the temp that you want it is difficult to lower the temp because of the body retaining heat. But that is one of the pluses of the Kamado over the BGE... more mass. Unfortunately there are inherent problems with the kamado that have not been corrected and there does not seem to be any resolution in the near future. These problems are well known and there is no need to go into them at this time.

Fire Clay cookers BGE, Primo. I have bought them also years ago and basically they are not worth any way near the money they were purchased for years ago. Soft clay, cannot handle the temps we "americanos" use in cooking our foods. We want to be able to slow cook and yet "sear" tenderloins all on the same cooker and that is not possible on a "fire clay" cooker. I had fun with them and then they were trashed.

The Komodo......yes! What an animal! Right from the moment it came out the crate it was a beast!!! ( I am quoting my 18 year old step-son). The detail compared to ALL the other "ceramic" cookers is mind boggling! I finally got to use it tonight and I must admit it was definitely a learning experience! I fired up the lump charcoal and it was a red, glowing blaze in 10 minutes using an electric charcoal starter ( one from BGE as it is the only one that has an element that is at an angle) Tried to achieve the "usual" body temp that I generally get on the BGE as the internal temp starts to rise but I am not able to feel it. Whats going on???] Got my thermometer in ( borrowed it from the kamado; waiting for mine to arrive from Atlanta) and the temps are slowly rising. Look inside and there is a raging fire coming from the fire box below the ceramic plate. Open the top damper. OK, things are looking good. Open the lower damper a little more. temps rising...325....350.......375..... ok stop. Close lower damper. Top damper open a good bit. Temps maintaining at 350... cook for 20 minutes at 350.....done!!!

The Komodo has an incredible ability to maintain temps. It is definitely different from any other ceramic cooker that I have cooked on. There is literally no heat transfer to the outer shell when cooking. The BGE and the Kamado you could put your hands on the outside and it would be hot to the touch; the Komodo was cool the entire time ( maybe on a long overnight slow cook it would heat up but on the first cook it was not)

The ability to maintain a specific temps on the Komodo was truly impressive. This is something that I have not been able to truly achieve on any of the other cookers that I have owned.

Thanks Dennis!

Steve

[PaulR]

Thanks for your post Steve, it really explains some more things for me (just have a couple of Weber's including a WSM) since I haven't cooked on a ceramic yet.

Did you notice anything about the taste of what you cooked? (juicier/drier?).

Look forward to seeing pictures.

I'm assuming that when I order one and they deliver they will have enough people (or a crane on the truck?) to get it of the truck?

Regards, Paul

[Curly]

The outside will definately heat up on longer cooks, similar to the mexi-K. But even a 7 hr cook at 325 and you can touch it without burning your hand...but you still don't wanna hold your hand on it long.

[ThreeDJ16]

Thanks for your post Steve, it really explains some more things for me (just have a couple of Weber's including a WSM) since I haven't cooked on a ceramic yet.

Did you notice anything about the taste of what you cooked? (juicier/drier?).

Look forward to seeing pictures.

I'm assuming that when I order one and they deliver they will have enough people (or a crane on the truck?) to get it of the truck?

Regards, Paul

Ceramic is definitely juicier cooking! And on the delivery thing, not sure how it works over there, but here in the states you request a lift gate truck to make a home delivery (unless you have a way of removing it or plan on picking it up from the terminal yourself).

-=Jasen=-

[Curly]

I thought we all owned fork lifts....or was that just LeadDog

[PaulR]

I'll make sure I'll ask Dennis to confirm that they can actually deliver it to my place and get it of the truck;

I have to get it "around" the back of the house and the access is shocking about 90 cm clearance past some rock...should be fun (or maybe through the house...)

I'll make pictures when it gets here ...

BUT I NEED TO ORDER ONE FIRST!

Question; is it hard to bring the tempreature down???

I have a WSM and a guru and the temp comes down quite easily. But since it's not a ceramic it doesn't hold the temperature in it's walls (which would cause it to cools down slower????)

[Curly]

I cooked a 23 lb turkey Christmas for about 7 hours at about 325. 2 hours after taking the turkey out it was still about 275. It holds the temps good.

With my other ceramic cooker I learned to approach the desired temp slowing from the bottom, because if I let it get away and get to high...yes, it took awhile to come back down. Nothing like a metal that will drop quickly. But you learn that too and it becomes a plus, not a negative.

[aameduri]

Steve,

Great post! What part of New Orleans are you in? We moved to the Rochester area in 2003 from Gretna because my wife was afraid of hurricanes. Smart woman. Our offices were on General Pershing St. next to Memorial Hospital ( still Baptist to me ) and on Old Spanish Trail up in Slidell. Both offices gone now. I used to do little cooking in the summer due to the heat. Here we cook all year long as long as we dress for the winter.

Your comments suggest to me that a Komodo Kamado has the most stable temps of all ceramics. I have got to see one!

I can not obtain crawfish up here. We subsitute crab for crawfish for our boils.

Our daughters marched in Grela on the West Bank. Nobody know anything about Mardi Gras up here.

Go Saints.

Dr. A

[stevemurphy4]

I live in metairie right by Lakeside and the causeway. We had no water in out house thank god, we were some of the lucky ones!

Crawfish that far away are going to be both expensive and generally awful! Chinese crawfish have hit the market here pretty bad, the price is 1/2 the price of local crawfish but they are truely tasteless.

If you are looking for a little taste of new orleans, haydels bakery,

www.haydelbakery.com/cakes.htm will ship kingcakes nationwide. They are definately the best in the area. Also Jacobs www.cajunsausage.com, out of LaPlace will ship andouille, smoked chicken, tasso and much more. i feel they offer the best product and the most reasonable prices.

Hope this brings back some good memories!

Steve in New orleans!

GO SAINTS!!!!!!

[aameduri]

Steve,

Thanks for the info. I will order from Haydels Bakery a king cake for the kids who miss them. I used to go to Bay ST.Louis where Capt. Andy was selling the 5 ounce shrimp he caught in the Gulf. We would fillet these and stuff them with crab meat, and then put them on the grill. Never heard how he did with Katrina. We will scape the ice off our outdoor table and grill and do some ribs this weekend.

I am glad you told me that they are selling Chinese crawfish. The few people who had crawfish up here complained about them. This probably explains why.

Dr. A

[ThreeDJ16]

aameduri, just for info, I can vouch for the sausage at Jacobs. Steve pointed me in that direction months ago and they were great (huge but great). Matter of fact, there is a pic of the sausage in my Red Beans and Rice thread in the recipe/sides section.

-=Jasen=-

[stevemurphy4]

The one reason I can't leave New Orleans is the FOOD!!! I am sooo spoiled! Last nite my step-son was going back to LSU so I cooked him fried soft shell crab with garlic-rosemary roasted potatoes and a ceasers salad ( from scratch--not that bottled dressing!). Life IS good! Tonite it is cream of garlic soup ( thanks susan spicer of Bayonas), smothered cabbage with creole sausage. and pecan encrusted fresh flounder fillets with a lemon/caper sauce.

Ya Baby!!!

Steve

[ThreeDJ16]

Hey, can I come for dinner?

-=Jasen=-

[stevemurphy4]

sure. come on down. There's plenty of leftovers!

steve