MacKenzie Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 12 hours ago, tekobo said: I thought I read somewhere that you can quench binchotan in cold water and re-use it. That is one of the factors that convinced me to add a bag of binchotan to my konro order. We must have been reading or watching the same thing as I thought I also read or heard that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 I would be interested to know which flavour of binchotan all y’all are using. White is prohibitively expensive, but the other types on the Korin site are reasonable and look like they would do the job. I have several more months to noodle the binchotan part of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 I have not been able to locate the genuine product in Canada but I some coco and coffee lump from Dennis for now. I haven't tried to get the product from Korin yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 @Pequod, I have some binchotan briquettes that I bought last year. Have not used them yet, waiting for the konro due September at the earliest. Along with the konro I ordered a box of Kamitosa White Binchotan (Maru). I read a number of sites before placing the order and this sounded like good stuff. I also asked the Korin customer service people for more info and this is what they came back with a couple of months ago: "The Kamitosa white binchotan for both items you have listed have the same weight and are both from Japan but the Komaru type have thinner pieces than the Maru. Unfortunately, due to high demand for the kishu binchotan, the manufacturer has reached its capacity and we do not have an ETA for this item at the moment." Keen to hear if you find out anything more/interesting about the different types of Binchotan as there is plenty of time to change my order if I need to. I don't expect to be buying this more than this once and I am looking forward to the experience of trying it out. I also did a quick search on the internet and found a number of sites that talk about quenching the binchotan either using water or in a cast iron pot. I am hoping this will indeed turn out to be an economical choice if I can eke out my supply by re-using the logs a few times. Who am I kidding? Binchotan, economical?? 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 tekobo - "Who am I kidding? Binchotan, economical??" You must have seen the box of 20 sticks for almost $500 US. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 38 minutes ago, MacKenzie said: tekobo - "Who am I kidding? Binchotan, economical??" You must have seen the box of 20 sticks for almost $500 US. I got the bargain $249.50 box. Now, I'd better get back to work to earn that money back! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pearson Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 Does the Binchotan impart a particular flavor to the cooks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 Just the opposite, Bruce. It's revered for imparting almost no flavor, just like Dennis' cocochar. That's why his stuff is a good substitute for the binchotan. @Pequod - I'm trying the stuff from the Korin website - Aramaru and the Sumi, as they are affordable. The Sumi is very much like Dennis' cocochar, extruded with a hole in the middle. The Aramaru is like lump, but more "stick like." Once lit (which takes some doing!), they both burned quite steady, produced good heat, little or no smoke (except when meat juices dripped on it) and lasted a long time. Had I been using the super premium white stuff, like tekobo ordered, I'd sure as hell be trying to learn how to snuff it out at the end of a cook!!! 2 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 12, 2018 Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 Did a Costco run today and what did I spot on the shelves? Yes, the peanut butter powder! So, if the rest of you want to try and make your own suya pepper spice, go to Costco and get the PB Fit powder. Or, be like me and buy it off Amazon and pay $3.50 more for it!! Still playing around with the recipe. Today I experimented with Black Cardamom, Curry Powder, and Urfa Biber (Turkish pepper). There's just something in the one tekobo sent me that I just can't put my finger on - the "je ne sais quoi?" I have a couple more things I'm going to try. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 7 hours ago, tony b said: There's just something in the one tekobo sent me that I just can't put my finger on - the "je ne sais quoi?" I have a couple more things I'm going to try This made me laugh. You are demonstrating just how obsessive us KK folk can be when it comes to getting the result we are looking for. I look forward to the results of your experiments. My mother is due here with recipe and ingredients next month. I suspect it will be for yet another variant on the same theme. All good fun. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 12, 2018 Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 I hope to have some of my final product ready to send you by then, so you can do your own comparison with the stuff your Mom's bringing. I did a quick experiment last night. I was cooking some pork chops, which were fairly thin and boneless, so I took one and pounded it out even thinner and skewered it with both your rub and my latest incarnation. I guess that I was a bit too light on the rub, as neither was really spicy. I just wanted to see if pork worked as well as beef with the rubs. Jury is still out I'm afraid due to my wimpy seasoning. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 Oooh. I was not expecting a return parcel. That will be fun. I don't want a replica though. Every suya spot has it's own secret rub. Need to be able to detect a @tony b signature. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 12, 2018 Report Share Posted July 12, 2018 No doubt it will have my own spin on it; if nothing else, it will have Purple Crack in it - LOL! I'm just intrigued by whatever it is in the one you sent me that I can't put my finger on? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Ora Posted July 14, 2018 Report Share Posted July 14, 2018 Oooh. I was not expecting a return parcel. That will be fun. I don't want a replica though. Every suya spot has it's own secret rub. Need to be able to detect a [mention=975]tony b[/mention] signature. Tony has sent me a care package it on its way now with some of his suya rub looking forward to itOutback kamado Bar and Grill 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrus Posted July 14, 2018 Report Share Posted July 14, 2018 On 7/2/2018 at 9:41 PM, MacKenzie said: Tony, this one is for you, a DIPA. I risked this shot just for folks who would appreciate it. A nice well balanced Brew. Cheers too you 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted July 14, 2018 Report Share Posted July 14, 2018 This is a Tale of Two Suyas. It was the best of cooks, it was the worst of cooks... For this cook, I wanted to compare the Nigerian original by way of @tekobo with the Suya Spice sold by Bazaar Spices in nearby Washington, DC. My original plan was to compare these with the version by Milk Street, but the pinky test suggested these were very similar to each other and nothing like the Milk Street version (good in its own right, but different). The Nigerian version is on the left and Bazaar version on the right. After dry brining strips of flank steak for an hour, I divided in half. That’s 12 oz of steak in each bowl. The one on the left is rubbed with 1.5 Tbsp of Nigerian spice, and on the right is the same amount of Bazaar. Onto the skewers: Onto the sear grate of the 32 with some ears of corn: Resting on the cutting board. Bazaar version on the left, Nigerian on the right. I had shakers on the table of each for extra spice on the plate. My daughter the food critic gave me her opinion, which matched my own. The underlying flavors of each are the same, but the Nigerian version has a bit more heat. Both are very different from the Milk Street version. We agreed that the Bazaar version could easily be tailored by adding cayenne. Finally, she said to me: It is a far, far better thing that I eat, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better plate that I go to than I have ever known. (apologies to Charles Dickens ) 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Ora Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 Looks tastyOutback kamado Bar and Grill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 23 hours ago, Aussie Ora said: Tony has sent me a care package it on its way now with some of his suya rub looking forward to it Tee hee I love the idea of Nigerian suya crossing the ocean from the USA to Oz. I would like to say that you are not allowed to try one of your mad combos, like pineapple rub over suya. But.... I know that you will come up with something that tastes fab that I'd never have thought of so experiment away.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted July 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 Belated Happy Bastille Day @Pequod. Your cook looks really good. Question for you. Your daughter loved the Milk Street version. Did she love these more "authentic" versions or does she prefer the modified recipe from Milk Street? I plan to try it myself sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Ora Posted July 15, 2018 Report Share Posted July 15, 2018 Tee hee I love the idea of Nigerian suya crossing the ocean from the USA to Oz. I would like to say that you are not allowed to try one of your mad combos, like pineapple rub over suya. But.... I know that you will come up with something that tastes fab that I'd never have thought of so experiment away.... Me not experiment and just go with the norm calm down lol I will be using it straight hopefully my taste buds can handle tonys heat lol Outback kamado Bar and Grill 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
