Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff
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@nzzp said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@canefan said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@nzzp I just use lump charcoal. It burns super clean long and hot. The akorn is a metal poor man's kamado
So do I ... but I find that it still ashes towards the end of the cook. Still, 18+ hours without reloading is usually no problem
Edit: also, the Akorn is great value for people. I point a lot of people that way - you can get that and a WeberQ for a thousand bucks adn you're basically sorted for almost all cooking yuo want to do.
Hey @nzzp, I also have a kamado, a Kamado Joe Classic Divide and Conquer.
I also use the best lump I can find and yes, I still find that the ash tends to accumulate and impact cooking temps. It tends to be worse if I use the smaller left over pieces from previous cooks or the bottom of the bag.
I've found after a few cooks that when I clean out the ash the next day, that pretty much all of the holes in the bottom are clogged up just leaving the ones on the side.
I think I would prefer to not use the provided bottom cover as I think the holes are too small and try to find something with larger holes to let the ash fall through better. I find that the little ash draw doesn't get much ash in it.
I'd rather have to clear that draw out more often than have the holes plug up and make the later stages of a cook more difficult.
I find it especially challenging when doing a large brisket that may enter "the stall" phase after 8 - 10 plus hours and sit there for another 6 plus hours before getting through the stall.
To be honest, I've never been able to let a brisket make it all the way through to the desired internal temp (204 F) without wrapping. Every time I've set out to let it just make it's way through naturally and every time I've given up waiting and wrapped to make sure the cook will be ready for the scheduled eating time.
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Yeah I've seen these and considering getting one.
A mate of mine who was the one who got me into this style of cooking recently invested in a Smobot (www.smobot.com).
A WiFi enabled (which is better than the Bluetooth found in products like the iGrill 2) robot which uploads the data to a website and via an app on your phone you can keep track of the cooking temps and get alerts.
A good video of it here...
Looks good but yes, quite expensive.
He likes it for the set and forget convenience especially for those overnight cooks or when he can put on something and go to work and not have to worry about grill temps.
Cheers
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Does anyone have the Weber Smokey Mountain?
I picked one up a couple of weeks ago and have some amazing successes but one massive fail (Crispy Chicken wings)
Be keen to hear what people use specifically has heat source for WSM. So far heat beads seem to be the ones that last longest and can maintain a steady heat.
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@hooroo said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
Does anyone have the Weber Smokey Mountain?
I picked one up a couple of weeks ago and have some amazing successes but one massive fail (Crispy Chicken wings)
Be keen to hear what people use specifically has heat source for WSM. So far heat beads seem to be the ones that last longest and can maintain a steady heat.
I don't have but heat briquettes are a must with those. If you want to cook for longer periods the snake method might help
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Saw this preview and wondered while people were comparing Canes and Chiefs halfbacks in this thread
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Anyone else got the sourdough bug?
Got given some starter by someone heading home a few months back and have eventually worked out a system/method that works well for me.
Have been doing a loaf every couple of days and hardly any goes to waste. Makes great toast and toasted sammies when a few days old too.
I am doing a no knead method with a high water % and very strong flour cooked in a dutch oven. Really easy and top results.
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@crucial - I've been seriously considering this after listening to a German baker on the radio whose bug is a century old. When he goes on holiday he gets a bug sitter! but haven't gotten around to it - because I'm trying to cut down on carbs (get enough from beer) and I wonder whether I will have the time for it
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Hey Crucial, You may be able to help me here.
I have moved from gas to wood/heatbead/charcoal weber.
I tried to do pork chops last night and, well, we had nice crackling..... Man oh man did I over cook the chop. After a couple of bites it all went to dogs (sans crackling) even they looked disappointed in my cooking effort.
Any tips for cooking pork chops where you don't over cook but still get good crackle?
Cheers
Rob
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@canefan said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@hooroo wasn't my question but I'd say you need lots of heat to get it crispy on the edges before it dries out in the middle
I hear ya canefan. and I think that was my downfall. Kind of had skin side to the coals and meat side offset. School boy error but I can't serve Pork Chops without crispy skin!
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@hooroo said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@canefan said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@hooroo wasn't my question but I'd say you need lots of heat to get it crispy on the edges before it dries out in the middle
I hear ya canefan. and I think that was my downfall. Kind of had skin side to the coals and meat side offset. School boy error but I can't serve Pork Chops without crispy skin!
A while back I tried to bbq a porchetta rolled pork belly roast indirect. Tastes good but no crispy skin. I reckon it needs direct cooking with medium heat. I remember watching whole pigs on spits being cooked over embers and they get crispy skin 🤔. Pork chops are a tough cut to get everything right
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@Hooroo its actually the opposite.
You need long low medium heats on the skin for crackle on something like a chop. Like crispy skin duck breast. Lots of salt and you need to render the fat below the surface.
I don't know that I'd even try for crackle on a chop, seems a lot of hard work. But if that's what you want then I can only suggest standing the chop on the skin over a medium heat then giving it a quick sear.
@dogmeat once you get a system going with the sourdough it becomes no hard work at all. You don't need to be that anal about feeding etc either. If you are not going to be using the starter just put it in the fridge and slow everything down.
I can explain what works for me but I read all sorts of contradictory stuff and eventually realised you need to do what suits you best once you understand a couple of basic concepts.
For example when people talk about tipping out half of your starter before feeding, what they mean is that you need to keep the ratio of old to new at a good level (otherwise the starter scoffs the new food really quickly and isn't very hungry.
I tend to feed the starter about 12 hours before use then use half in my bread and re feed the rest.
If you get it at that point where it is just hungry but hasn't given up it goes crazier than any yeast I have used.
Also plan for long slow cold dough rises. Eg Mix your dough at night (takes 5 minutes tops). In the morning shape a loaf and let it rise again before baking.
