pmillen
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You wrote, "I prepare a very simple wet rub that consists of some olive oil, paprika, and some chopped dried herbs." Please add some specificity for me. What herbs? Quantity? Chopped to what degree? Yeah, I'm not an inventive cook.
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So you stacked the coals to one side and put one deflector plate over them? Did you catch the drippings or let them fall into the bottom? I guess I'm asking how you set up the Divide and Conquer System.
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Meathead Turkey Recipe - KJ Classic Setup
pmillen replied to SeaBrisket's topic in Kamado Cooking and Discussion
You may not need to catch drippings to make turkey gravy. Look for KJTerp’s comment on making gravy without drippings in the Let Rendered Turkey Fat Drip onto Coals? thread in this section. -
I get the fire going with the lid open. When it seems "healthy" I drop in my wood, close the lid, set the top to 50% or less and use my Rocks Stoker to precisely control the kamado's temperature and monitor the meat's internal temperature. I start cooking when the kamado's preheated. I want precise temperature control; not because I think it's necessary for a proper cook but because I think it's necessary for meeting a fixed serving time (the sides need to finish at the same time as the meat).
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Meathead Turkey Recipe - KJ Classic Setup
pmillen replied to SeaBrisket's topic in Kamado Cooking and Discussion
Yeah, the water was a heat sink. The water will be sucking up the heat your coals are making and it will never be above 212° so you're going to have a cold spot under the bird whose surface you're trying to heat to 325°. I think water in most pits is overrated. It's especially true in a quality kamado. You're just putting water vapor into your neighborhood. -
Let Rendered Turkey Fat Drip onto Coals?
pmillen replied to pmillen's topic in Kamado Cooking and Discussion
My spatchcocked 12-pounder came out of the brine, was dried and seasoned and went into the preheated 375° pit cold. It was at 160°/180° in an hour. Turkey grease on coals makes a lot of smoke. It was superb. -
Let Rendered Turkey Fat Drip onto Coals?
pmillen replied to pmillen's topic in Kamado Cooking and Discussion
Thank you, it sounds fantastic. I didn't read your post in time for the Thanksgiving cook but it'll be part of my next smoked turkey. -
Let Rendered Turkey Fat Drip onto Coals?
pmillen replied to pmillen's topic in Kamado Cooking and Discussion
Thanks to all of you who took the time to comment. For this cook, I'm going to let the bird drip on the coals. There'll be another 12-pounder in the kitchen oven so, hopefully, we'll still have gravy. -
Let Rendered Turkey Fat Drip onto Coals?
pmillen replied to pmillen's topic in Kamado Cooking and Discussion
Thanks for the rapid reply. I never had a flame-up in my drum. Do you suppose yours was due to the grease volume? The turkey may be slightly closer to the charcoal on the Kamado Joe, Big Joe, than my old drum. But it seems so similar that I'm thinking that it may be okay to set it up the same. -
In my drum smoker, I would just allow the rendered chicken or turkey fat to drip onto the charcoal coals and make smoke. It was, by far, better than those done on my Cookshack Fast Eddy PG500 pellet pit. Yet, every kamado discussion I read advises deflector plate or catch pan use. Has anyone just let the birds drip? How good was the result?
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I've had a Rock's Stoker for years. I used it on a drum smoker and now on my Kamado Joe. It provides remote control via a connection to the Internet, monitoring the KJ and meat temperatures and graphing of the entire cook.
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Can you trust the grill thermometer?
pmillen replied to Alpharetta_EggHead's topic in Kamado Cooking and Discussion
I agree for the most part. The exception for me is that temperature control helps me control finish time. I can plan for simultaneous sides' finishes when I know when the entrée will finish. -
The green handle? Matches my bright red Kamado Joe, Big Joe?
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How Low Can You Go? (Temperature-Wise)
pmillen replied to pmillen's topic in Kamado Cooking and Discussion
I suspect that you used an auxiliary smoke-generating device (e.g., a Smoke Daddy). I tried an A-Maze-N-Tube once. It made horrible yellow-white smoke, not the "airy" blue smoke I prefer. I took it out of the enclosure and haven't tried it or any other devices since. -
I'm going to smoke 2 lbs. of bottom round, sliced 3/16" thick, into jerky at 180°. I'll probably need to stack it on trays. Since fat renders at about 140° it's likely that grease will drip on the meat below. Is this a concern? Should I allow the grease to drip onto the charcoal? I'm thinking that it's not advisable.