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With the Covid craziness happening, I figured it was time to get back to my KJ that has been getting some neglect. I've been slowly working it back to life, but then with the chance to compete in the COVID-19 challenge, it was time to really knock the rust off. Today's cook (actually it was on Memorial day) is Fire Roasted Tomato Pie with Cold Smoked Southern Fried Chicken. I started by pulling out a really cool box that my wife found at the 127 sale in Kentucky a year or two ago. It is an old 1901 style steamer box that apparently made food "more nourishing" and also helped with your digestion and removed indigestion to physicians! - Ohio Steam Cooker Ad The cool part is because of the hole in the back, and the hole in the top, this works as an absolutely perfect cold smoker! Really wishing I had busted this thing out sooner. I lit up some hickory pellets, stuck them in the bottom near the inlet, placed the rack on top with some foil to catch any drips, and I cold smoked some cheddar for my Tomato Pie for about an hour, and my chicken for a little over 2 hours. Next, it was time to roast up the tomatoes. I got the KJ nice and hot and after moving them around for a bit, they were perfectly roasted. After pulling them off, I gave the pie crust a good 10 minute bake to firm up the crust. Nothing worse than a soggy crust on your tomato pie. After the chicken was nicely smoked, it was time for them to take a bath in some buttermilk and spices and rest in the fridge for a few hours. Once it was time to bake the pie, we took the smoked cheese and shredded it up. To that we added some mayo, garlic powder, corn starch, salt and pepper, and a bunch of freshly chopped basil. I forgot to take pictures of the layering process, but we started with tomatoes, then a layer of the cheese mix, a few leaves of fresh basil and repeat until everything is in the pie. The biggest key to this whole process is to leach out as much liquid as possible from the tomatoes. A nice sprinkle of salt and a lot of paper towels really helps reduce the moisture. After throwing it in a 400 degree smoker for about a half an hour, we had a perfect looking pie! You can't eat a tomato pie hot out of the oven, so it had to go rest to get back to room temperature. In the meantime, we started the dredge and fry process of the chicken. It went straight from the buttermilk marinade straight into a large pile of flour mixed with paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder and franks red hot powder. Here's a hot tip for you the next time you want proper fried chicken. Dip the fingers of your "wet hand" into the buttermilk and then drizzle some of the liquid into the flour. Then, add your piece of chicken and press the flour over every surface. By sprinkling the marinade into the flour, it creates those awesome little crispy bits you get on a nicely fried piece of chicken. I didn't figure you needed to see pictures of how to fry chicken, I'm sure ya'll know how to do that. While that was frying, and I still had some heat on the smoker, I threw on some fresh shucked corn just to complete the southern meal. Covering with a thyme and garlic butter will make this the best corn on the cob you can get! Put all of this together on a plate, and you've got a Slap Yo' Momma type of meal! The subtle smoke flavor of the cheddar cheese and roasted tomatoes added an awesome improvement to such an amazing and simple item. I can also tell you, if you've never had cold smoked and then fried chicken, you are really missing out. Once we got through that super crunchy batter and got into that juicy chicken, there was an awesome light smoke flavor that you really need to experience. Sorry for the terrible money shot photo. As soon as we started trying to plate it, storm clouds rolled in fast and wrecked any kind of natural light so we were fighting shadows and crappy yellow lighting. We were also kind of starving, so spending a lot of time to get the perfect photo just wasn't meant to happen. Typically people would think that the pie could be a side with Fried Chicken, but to me, this pie was so good that in my opinion, the chicken was a side dish to the pie. I really encourage you all to give this a shot this summer.

Alright - enough slacking and time to get in gear and post a challenge cook... with a good several hours to spare, I might add. Couldn’t decide what to do and was running out of time. Decided on a farmers casserole. I’ve made this a number of times at home and at work, but pretty sure I haven’t done it on a kamado. It’s always a hit and you can change up the ingredients to suit what you have on hand. Hash browns, farm fresh eggs from a coworker, evaporated milk, cheese, ham, bacon, Anaheim, jalapeño, sweet peppers, mushrooms and a shallot that missed the photo shoot were today’s cast of characters. Also some salt, pepper garlic of course... Fired up Big Joe for the first time since last fall. Cleaned it up and left the lump in and it sat covered outside all winter. Was hoping this wouldn’t bite me in the back side and cause issues getting to temp, but was willing to gamble. At least Wyoming dry climate is good for something.... No mold issues like some of you have. Chopped up everything and put a light sauté on it in cast iron on a butane burner outside. Wind blowing 20+ and blowing out the burner... that was fun. Took that in and tossed the hash browns with a bag of shredded pepper jack and then added in the veggies and ham and some seasoning. Then spread that out in the pan. I usually just layer things in, which works fine too. Then whisked about 9 eggs and a can of evaporated milk together with a little more seasoning. And poured it over and added more cheese. Then on to the grill about 375. And baked indirect for about an hour - or a little more. Made up some pico in the meantime. Let it cool for a bit after pulling and then cut it up. I go with uneven pieces (about 1/3 and 2/3) - the larger side is pieces for Mr. KK and the smaller side is pieces for me. And plated it up. This reheats really well and will be a quick and easy breakfast for most of the week here.

Inihaw Na Manok, AKA Filipino Chicken, AKA Lemon-Lime Lacquered Grilled Chicken

I've been looking forward to trying this recipe for a while. Our local fishmonger opened up again last week and we managed to snag a beautiful whole turbot. At just over 4lb it was a little larger than we needed for two but we were having date night and the sun was shining so no harm done! The recipe I'd read about on Serious Eats was for a Basque-style preparation: the fish is simply well seasoned with salt then grilled for around 4 minutes, flipped and basted with a simple vinaigrette then flipped and basted a couple more times. In total it got 8 minutes on the thicker, dark side and 4 on the paler underside. As the fish was a bit bigger than the recipe it wasn't quite cooked through so I let it come up to temp in a very low oven - the grill was far too hot to allow this so it had to come indoors. I aimed for 127F internal temp. Looking like a Neapolitan pizza base! Straight off the grill... ...and into the oven. The remaining vinaigrette from the baste is spooned over the finished fish, as I carved it I mixed the juice from the turbot with the this to make a gorgeous silky sauce. We served it with some cauliflower "bravas" - florets dredged in some paprika spiced flour and fried, topped with a smoke roasted tomato sauce and some alioli. All I can say is, WOW! A really memorable meal and probably the best fish I've ever cooked on my Joe... Maybe even the best fish I've cooked ever.

So we have been busy over the past few months since we got her home. first thing we added all of our exterior trim, emblems, bumpers, mirrors, a second antenna as the first one was installed incorrect and we broke it. this car did not come with a stereo when it was built in 68 so we added an original 68 stereo and speaker. the wiring was a total mess. We ended up with a new panel, switches and relays and we were chasing wires for weeks until everything was finally sorted out. We had alignment issues with the front hood as it was after market and we spent a great deal of time getting it set. Still a work in progress, however; it locks now and latches. installed the dashboard and all components and we have a working radio finally. we added tar sound proofing kit to the floor and trunk. And this week we started putting the interior trunk together. we should have all of the carpet installed shortly and we will be installing the seats. They could be resorted, however; dad wants to keep them as is for now. We have an appointment with an interior upholstery guy in a few weeks to patch a few parts. we spent the past two weeks looking for a passenger foot rest that needed to be installed prior to the carpet installation. We found one finally so we can proceed with the rest of the carpet kit.

Paid 19 bucks for the chicken, more than I have ever paid for one in the past, however, what a great result. Flavor was delicate but distinctive, flesh was consistently moist, firm and white meat was alabaster white while the dark meat was a rose color. When I broke down the chicken after dinner the meat was firm but just felt like silk, never had one like this before. The clerk at the meat co told me French Red Farm Chicken is a specific breed, the ones they sell are bred and raised in the US. Place called Joyce farms. Cage free, veggie diet only, no growth hormones. Gotta say best chicken I have ever had. Dinner was delicious. The addition of smoked paprika to my Simon and Garfunkel, really produced a nice pleasing color. On the fire restrictions: I know they sound harsh, but I live in the heart of wild fire country, and it has been really hot and dry following a exceptionally wet winter. That means lots of grass, tree, and plant growth that was green this Winter but dry and highly flammable now. We are the town that lost 19 hot shots; all killed in one terrible moment during the Yarnell fire. So we, unfortunately know how severe the consequences of a wildfire can be. Nobody really likes fire restrictions, but absolutely nobody who lives here complains. Just part of living in the Rural Urban Interface. On the grill veggie pan Plated

Totally almost forgot to post my challenge cook even though I well documented 2 cooks just in case lol..... I made it. Alright, so I have been using my koko kamado quite a bit during Quarantine but this has to be one of my favorites. I only do it a few times per year, and every time I wonder why I don't do it more often. First, I've been making sourdough just like everyone and their mother. Then I got to making some delicious meatballs. I like them with a fair amount of sausage in them. Then I throw them on koko to get a bit of smoke on them. Meanwhile, I get a delicious sauce going. San marzano of course. After its cooked a bit, I use an immersion blender to have the smooth consistency I prefer for a meatball sub. After that has come together, I combine them so the meatballs can finish cooking in the sauce. I thought .. Why not make a pineapple upside down cake?... Did not use koko here. Annnnyway, after the meatballs were done assembly was a cinch and man are these good. I highly recommend trying this. The hint of smoke is a game changer.

I sent my new portable smoker/grill to the folks at Amazingribs.com for a review and they were impressed. The Kamado-Go held 225 degrees steady for 16 hours with one load of charcoal. Full review here https://amazingribs.com/grill-smoker-combination-grill-smoker-tailgater/bbqube-kamado-go-275 I learned everything from Meathead and his Amazingribs.com. So this award is a nod to one of their students who just won't settle for what's out there.

I haven't posted a cook in an pretty long while. Seems like I don't ever remember to take pictures until I'm finished cooking or, more often, finished eating. But yesterday I managed to think ahead and document my pork butt cook. It's kind of inconvenient to do my job from home, but boys howdy is it nice to be working about 20 yards away from the Big Joe! 9.7 lb. picnic, rubbed the night before, bagged and refrigerated overnight Into the smoke at 8:50 am; KJ lump with 2 chunks of cherry I was aiming for 300º, but it settled in just under 320º Around 1:15pm I was measuring ITs from 155º - 170º in different spots. Placed it in a pan & covered it in foil. By 3:00pm my dome temp had crept up to 350º (direct hot sunlight), but the meat probed like butter After resting in a cooler with towels, I shredded it at 5:00pm Served at 6:00 with some roasted veggies and store-brand mac & cheese

I ordered a Breeo 19 inch X series during their Memorial Day sale, it came with a free lid on the grill combos. after using it as a firepit and s’more maker, I finally tested out the cooking capabilities. This was fun!

Keeping things simple around here with both ingredients and cooks, but I at least did this and took pictures of it in May! It is still easy to get whole chickens so we are having whole chickens quite a bit. Using the rotisserie much more than usual. One nice thing about working from home is it is easy to do early afternoon preheats. Whole chicken goes on and back to work: Then green beans covered in honey, soy, and chili pepper: Everything ready for dinner: And then the rest of the chicken went into quesadillas for dinner the next night:

Hey Folks, I'm back after a few years off! My poor Big Steel Keg was in forced retirement whilst I moved into an apartment with a 'no bbq' rule.But I'm happy to report that after sitting outside,unused and unloved getting battered by the damp humid weather in Houston for years my BSK cleaned up pretty nice on its return to CA. it actually held upr pretty well although the dome temp gauge needed a little recalibration as it thought it was 200deg outside! I ordered a load of ostrich meat online last week and was itching to try something, decided to try smoking the 4lb thigh with a fairly simple black pepper & coriander rub. Its flat but pretty thin so I should have known it was gonna cook a heck of a lot faster than I expected, I put it on at 225° with some apple wood chunks 4hrs before dinner.... unfortunately....my internet research suggested it would cook kinda like a brisket but after 1.5hrs at 225° the internal temp was already at 155, a full 5° over what I was aiming for. After a bit of a rest, it was salvageable although, bordering on overcooked :( But still went down pretty well on top of an arugula salad so I guess I learned to keep a better eye on the temp when cooking Ostrich and maybe roll and tie a thin piece like that next time! Looking forward to cooking the rib rack next week!!

Don't have a lot of room. Just work with what I have.

Never tried this one before, only chuck roasts. Was wondering if it would turn out tender or not. Did the typical chuck roast method, seasoned and on the grill for an hour then in the Dutch oven with a can of beef broth, potatoes and carrots. Added a pack of brown gravy mix too. Total cook time 3.5 hours. Came out great and really tender. I’ll do this again!

Smoked over apple wood for just over 5 hours. This is going on pizza tomorrow night! damn this was good!!

I'll start, the name keeperovdeflame, came from my niece and her husband at a Fathers / Uncles day BBQ years and years ago. Prior to the BBQ my loving niece sent me this card. At the BBQ after a number of adult libations, along with 4 racks of ribs, roasted Mexican street corn on the cob , and cowboy beans with hatch chilis, not to mention a couple of deviled eggs, her husband uttered keeperovdeflame in rap time and a deep Barry White voice, much to the enjoyment and laughter of all. Hence the name was born and ever shall be. . All my nieces and their husbands (2) got me a custom carved handle for my Egg for Christmas one year. If da shoe fits wear it.

Howdy. It has been a while since I checked in, but I am still using the grill when I get a chance. Last weekend I saw a nice rack of spare ribs at the market and decided to grab them. I just used an ad-hoc rub with stuff in the cabinet and smoked them with cherry and beech for just under 7 hours at roughly 240F. I wrapped them for about 45 minutes once they hit the stall and then finished on the grate. Here they are about ready to be pulled. Today I ground the trimmings and made a nice pot of chili. Thanks for looking.

Well being my first brisket not much of my own to compare it to. But I must say it was truly delicious. Can't say it was a good as what I had in Austin at Franklins, but at the same time it was pretty darn close. Both the flat and point were way juicy and delicious. Any fat that clung to meat just pulled right away. Flavor was truly amazing. My wife asked be if had it flown in from Austin. Just the tip of the flat was a bit hard and crusty and not as tender as the rest. other than that, I am very satisfied. I finished right when I thought I would at 3:30 in the afternoon. I used pink butcher paper and it kept the bark in tact during that part of the cook. Tip of the flat

It’s been about 17-18 months since I’ve been active on the KG forum, and all social media for that as well. I hope you will take me back Here’s the May Kamado challenge…. Asian pork burgers with Asian coleslaw. Here’s the burger recipe: 1 1/2 pounds ground pork 2 scallions, thinly sliced 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger ¼ cup chopped cilantro 1 T oyster sauce 1 large garlic clove, minced 1 1/2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 4 hamburger buns, split 2 cups coleslaw mix For the slaw… 6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 6 tablespoons vegetable oil 5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter 3 tablespoons soy sauce 3 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 bag broccoli slaw 1 bag red cabbage 6 green onions, chopped 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro I had my in-laws over for dinner, and my daughter and her fiancé as well, everyone loved the Asian pork burgers and slaw.. This recipe it definitely a keeper for future cooks.

I got a silver! Full review here https://amazingribs.com/grill-smoker-combination-grill-smoker-tailgater/bbqube-kamado-go-275 cheehee!

Mrs philpom picked this up for me about a week ago. Today was looking like a perfect day so I trimmed it up, cut off the flat and tossed it on the Primo this morning. The flat will come off at around 190°f. I'll chill it and slice it up nicely. The point will go until probe tender and will be shredded. This is my favorite way to do the whole packers. I hit this with a generous helping of course black pepper and smoked salt. I tossed in hickory wood chunks for the fire. The primo is cruising along at about 240°f. I'll guess that I'm 1/3 through this cook. It was 13.4 pounds before being trimmed. Got it for $1.67/lbs. Oh man, I remember when these cost me $0.49/lbs but that was another time!

It's done. The flat is chilling to be sliced tomorrow. The point was pulled and is dinner tonight.

I had a idea for a last entry possibility for this month's challenge, but a key ingredient could not be found. So on to plan B. I got a package of Caputo 00 Americana pizza flour Wednesday, just in time to put together a batch of Forkish's 48-72 dough for a Saturday cook. I got the Joe up to 650 with the pizza stone in place before stretching a dough ball for a 11" pie and topping it with basic tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil leaves and dollops of a mixture of Ricotta, Pecorino Romano and lemon zest. Baked that at 650 for about 3-1/2 minutes and then topped it with 6 very thin slices of Prosciutto. I liked how the heat of the pizza made the Prosciutto almost melt into the pie. For a plan B that was pretty darn good pizza!

Work is shutting down, so started to ferry home some of my grill kit that I kept out there (after I smoothed things over with Mr. KK... he wasn’t fully aware of what all I had out there... actually went over better than I expected...). In any case, Big Joe made a new friend today. Big Joe meet Ivory MasterTouch Weber Kettle... Ivory MasterTouch Weber Kettle meet Big Joe... I expect you two to play nice.... (heard a faint “but mom, do we have to????” in the background as I said that). There will be another meet and greet (or two or three) in the coming weeks...

After you take your brisket or boston butt off the grill to let it rest, whip up a batch of these Tropical Thunder BBQ Baked Beans to bathe in the smoke while your bbq meat is resting! These are a perfect side for any BBQ meal so you ware gonna want to have leftovers! Here's the recipe: 1 yellow onion, finely chopped 2T olive oil 1 #10 can of Bush's Original Baked Beans, drained 2 cups of your favorite BBQ Sauce 1 15oz can diced peaches, drained 1 15oz can diced mangos, drained 1/4c bourbon 3T of your favorite sweet BBQ rub 1T brown sugar 1T honey Preheat your smoker to 300°F. Place a dutch oven over medium heat. Add olive oil and saute onions for about 5 minutes until they start to become translucent. Turn off the heat. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Place dutch oven on the smoker. After about an hour when the beans start to simmer, reduce the smoker temp to 250 (not absolutely required) and stir the beans every 30 minutes or so until they thicken. This takes 3 to 4 hours. Enjoy!

Need some comfort nowadays and had some ground meat that had to be used so I whipped up a meatloaf. 2 lb of ground meat and a Jimmy Dean Sausage roll with onions, red and green bell peppers, an egg, bread crumbs, Worchestershire and bbq seasoning. I usually add some milk and ketchup but forgot this time. In the pan and the fridge overnight to set. Got the Classic up to 325 with a few Pecan chunks and draped the bacon over the loaf. An hour later, wonderment! Nice meal and leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches!

car looks amazing. @bosco if you name this car (or any of your kamodo's , kamados, or any other object that you own, i'll block you across all forms of media.

I have been wanting to make this dish for a while. Love the large area heat source the Kamado provides. The pan although fairly thin, was evenly hot with no hotspots. It turned out awsome! BTW, the fish heads are for the broth.

I haven’t updated this post in a while. We completed the body and paint work a few months ago. put on a new windshield and reinstalled all of our glass. fenders and running boards installed. we will have our hands filled with re-wiring the car. My dad has his electrical ticket so we plan on doing this ourselves. As you can see the wiring looks like a birds nest right now.

No formal conclusion was posted. Lump from South American hardwoods is superior to lump made from North American hardwoods. South American hardwood trees are denser wood to begin with. My top 3 lumps from South American hardwoods are: KJ Big Block Jealous Devil Fogo Quebracho

The dog had Big Joe’s back.... she wasn’t impressed at all with the intruder.... surprised she didn’t work herself into some sort of episode. It was pretty touch and go there for a few minutes.

ah you know i kept on thinking about it. gotta be a simple, cost effective and of course good looking solution. we have been so busy lately so i've been putting it off. now you said i'll give it a serious thought.

I have been looking, unsuccessfully, for a good sized capon to try a rotisserie spin on the Big Joe. Several weeks ago I brought home a pair of rather large 7.5 pound stewing hens from the local Wally World and decided to give it a try. After a 48 hour uncovered dry brine I brought big bird up to temp, applied a light dusting of a FODMAP friendly rub, and started her spinning at around 300 degrees with a bit of apple wood. Raised the temp a bit after 2 hours and began to apply some sauce. She spun for a little over 2.5 hours and here is the result. As expected, it was not tender, succulent chicken. Texture was more like a goose, particularly the dark meat. Not a failed experiment, but other one still in the freezer will definitely be Coq au vin.

Welcome back @In2Fish we've missed your cooks. No better time to come back than at start of a challenge series. Now if we could only get @KismetKamado (a challenge moderator) to come back.......... Anywho great cook and great entry. Stick around this is going to be an interesting challenge series.

Well, it seems the little fella is ok after all and his momma or big sis is alive and kicking as well. That is until she met an inquisitive El Paso boxer not used to seeing such animals. after an initial growl, seems she really just wanted to play. The deer in the other hand was all business and chased her around the yard a couple of times before I had to intervene to get the deer to back off.

Scum. Stealing is very low.

Stage 2 fire restrictions go into effect next Wednesday at 8pm. When that happens, I can no longer cook on any device that produces ash from a live fire. As a last meal before eating off the gasser for probably the next 2 1/2 months, I plan to roast a chicken over veggies this evening on my Egg, and cook a brisket on Monday on my Traeger. Once the restrictions go into effect I will most likely not be able to use either grill until late August if the monsoon rains come in good. There is a saying that most famous chefs, when they get a chance to cook for themselves and their families choose to cook roast chicken. Count me in with the same mind set. This chicken is different than the others I have cooked. Their is a new meat shop in town called "Prescott Meats", it is not a butcher shop, but sells prepacked beef, pork, lamb, pheasant, quail, chicken, duck, sausage and such mostly from the midwest. Everything is rrestaurant quality and of much higher grades than I can get in my small town grocery's. I have been hearing that these chickens are amazing, so I decided to give one a try. This particular bird is called Poulet Rouge Fermier or French Red Farm Chicken. It is supposed to have very fine thin skin much like parchment and is therefore supposed to crisp up really nicely. It is also supposed to possess excellent flavor. I am going to slather it with cold pressed Mexican lime extra virgin olive oil, and then dust it with fine kosher salt, Simon and Garfunkel spices, and Spanish smoked paprika.I am going to cook it over a pan of fingerling potatoes, large green onion bulbs, baby carrots, and celery. One of our favorite dinners at the homestead.Feel free to follow along if your interested.

Akorn temp was stabilized at 370, when I popped in two cold 3.3 lb chickens. 11 minutes later temp was in the 320's. I have read a lot here about you're "not supposed to touch the vents" when your temp drops from lots of cold meat poundage. What about chicken? My original goal was to start at 375 and raise to 425. I ended up opening vents to bring it up to 425, and the chicken tasted great. My guess: it probably doesn't matter too much, and the only issue is extra cook time. For next time, with that much cold chicken, I would start at 425, then bring it back up to 425 after the temp dropped. How to you all handle the temp drop when cooking lots of chicken? Being new to kamado, chickens are blowing my mind and improving my relationship with my wife. It literally is the best chicken we have ever had, direct grilled over charcoal at 400 to 370 breast IT with a dry brine/rub the night before. The entire neighborhood smells like a charcoal chicken joint (since I am not catching the drippings). Also, chicken is so affordable. This is life-changing stuff, folks.

There is someone here (she knows who she is) who has used a leaf blower to clean out her grill.

What is your case number with Kamado Joe? I will contact them personally for you and chase this down. I have a hard time believing they have any open cases that are two years old. But i'm willing to pull some strings to help you on this one.

As a child growing up in the PI at Clark AB (actually born there also) I am quite familiar with this dish. During my Navy time visited Subic an untold number of times. Used to order this dish at Nina Papagyos even though it was more famous for Mexican food. Your chicken looks spectacular. Fantastic job.

Judging by what I see here it needs white wine and Oregano to taste more like your mum’s...

++++ on CK's recommendation! That book by Chris Grove is worth it's weight in gold, for the novice kamado user. He does a great job f organizing everything in an easy to follow format, describes stuff, along with pictures, that will really teach you the basics. And it has some great recipes. There are some more advanced books that are good follow-up after reading the, but this one is really great. I've learned a lot from this forum as well, but always like to have a hard-copy of a book to hrab and reference on the fly.

If you are new to Kamado cooking I always recommend this book. 50+ different techniques along with recipes. Very easy to read and a lot of pictures. Yes all this information can be obtained on this forum but it would take a lot of searching. The book just compiles it all for you. Gives you a really good starting point. After that you can do more refined searches and ask more informed questions.