2016 Smokin' Grillin' and BBQ Thread

[Ribsandwhitebread]

I've only done pizza maybe a dozen times, and its never turned out the same. Got discouraged and havent tried it in awhile. Tasted ok, I guess- not sure what I was expecting, but it wasnt the magical experience I hoped for. I know ive thrown away more dough than i've ended up using.

Picked up the small Egg from Anths over the weekend imp:. Gonna give it a run on friday i suppose. Pretty excited about not having to get a running start in order to open the lid. I/ve been pouring over 2-egg table plans, but will have to wait until we move into the new house before building anything. If we are renovating another house, we'll have some scrap wood and probably leftover granite i'll be able to poach from.

 

[BBdK]

Hmm...

Some of those pics of the finished pies look legit.

 

[awf]

Not sure what Get Buckets is going for, but a domed brick Wood Burning Pizza Oven is probably my #1 bucket list item as far as food toys go. Bad ***.

...an imported Stefano Ferrara if anyone is buying, but would settle for just about anything.



Pics?


-----> :fire::fire::fire: http://www.eater.com/2014/3/31/6254697/inside-the-world-of-stefano-ferrara-pizza-ovens

I looked at a bunch of factory made/designed ovens. I have about 6K in mine. If I was to build another one I would change the design somewhat which would pare the cost down considerably.
I used more of the refractory mortar than was necessary. Mostly due to me not being an actual mason. (Master carpenter by trade) I should have held my joints tighter. Beyond that I am very happy with the end product.

 

[BBdK]

Shew, that's dope.

Learn how to post a pic and I'll respect you more. Doesn't show up.

 

[awf]

This dude seems to have made his life mission to perfect pizza at home, a great read if you have an hour or two. It's Kenji style in terms of ridiculous detail & experimentation.

Jeff Varasano: http://www.varasanos.com/pizzarecipe.htm

Thanks for the link. To date most of my studying has been on the construction of the oven it's self. I will definitely check this out. We started tinkering with making pizza dough when we first started on the oven three years ago.

 

[awf]

Thanks for the link. To date most of my studying has been on the construction of the oven it's self. I will definitely check this out. We started tinkering with making pizza dough when we first started on the oven three years ago.

When I right click on the IM box it allows me to open the picture? I am better with a bunch of tools than I am with a computer.

 

[Ribsandwhitebread]

 

[AthensCatFan]

I tend to burn the bottom of my crust when I do a pizza on my Primo. We just buy the pre-made (not pre-cooked) crusts from the Publix bakery and when I don't over cook them they are great.

Did some ribs yesterday and they were great, probably my best batch yet.

 

[anthonys735]

Cornmeal is what we use to avoid burning the crust.

 

[BBdK]

Cornmeal works, but is a bit tricky and easy to overdo, imo. I don't like feeling/tasting that on my pizza, would much prefer it without once I master the art of not having to use it.

Bonnie & Clydes, for example, would be damn near perfect tavern style thin crust if they didn't use, imo. Still good tho.

 

[AthensCatFan]

Yeah, I use cornmeal and it still burns. I guess that just leaves the grill being too hot or too many toppings on the pizza.

 

[anthonys735]

Too many toppings and too thick crust was my issues.

 

[awf]

Thanks for fixing this for me.

 

[awf]

Too many toppings and too thick crust was my issues.

Too many toppings on the pizza is one of my problems. We use semolina flour on the peelers. I would like to be able to just use the peeler but I am
missing something. The dough sticks to the peelers without the semolina flour. I used parchment paper to cook the crustatas. They
browned very well on the bottom. The next time I fire the oven up I am going to try the parchment paper on one of the pizzas.

 

[Get Buckets]

Too many toppings on the pizza is one of my problems. We use semolina flour on the peelers. I would like to be able to just use the peeler but I am
missing something. The dough sticks to the peelers without the semolina flour. I used parchment paper to cook the crustatas. They
browned very well on the bottom. The next time I fire the oven up I am going to try the parchment paper on one of the pizzas.

I use parchment to get it off the peel. Once it cooks for a little bit I pull the parchment paper.

 

[awf]

I use parchment to get it off the peel. Once it cooks for a little bit I pull the parchment paper.

Thanks, I'll try that. When the oven is really hot the semolina burns on contact. Maybe there needs to be a thread about cooking pizza in wood ovens?

 

[awf]

The tub in the front left is my cotton candy machine. My grand children love that as much as they do fresh pizza.

 

[anthonys735]

Cotton Candy Machine [laughing] That's pretty dope for a grandpa. I'm sure Mom loves that.

Cool documentary on Netflix called "Cooked" with a guy taking a historic look at cooking. First episode is all about fire. Worth the time.

 

[weused2luvhim2]

Going to buy an Old Country Wrangler model offset next month from Academy Sports. Anybody have any experience with these? It's 3/8 thick so I would suspect it should hold heat pretty well.

 

[Wrong]

The great thing about a Kamado is that it does not seem to use hardly any lump at all. I'm amazed when I open it to start a new cook.

Purchased a Pitmaster IQ 110 for temp control and that thing works like a champ. Not sure why I didn't buy one for my cheap offset smoker. That would have solved a bunch of headaches. But it does feel like you are cheating.

 

[Kooky Kats]

Gotta try pizza again...haven't in 3 years.

Last time I went to a local pizzeria that I respect and I bought two bolles of fresh proofed dough.

Second time I used my new Egg. My first two pies were good, not great. I got discouraged midway thru process...

The Egg was cruising on temp and I forgot to burp it and I singed every arm hair and right eyebrow when it backdrafted violently. You make that mistake once.

 

[Kooky Kats]

I've been following Malcom Reed vids on YouTube.... He's less fancy/James Beard hipster than Aaron Franklin and offers real tricks down home redneck style.

I love that guy.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Dad got a new Weber Smoker for Christmas. Not sure of the model, but one of the more generic ones, nothing fancy. His birthday is this weekend, and normally we just go out for Dinner and a night of father/son drinking and bonding. Shopping for him has proven difficult.

Any ideas of Smoker accessories to buy? Must have items that a novice would need? I'm thinking a book, some tools, a thermometer, maybe a few rubs or bags of woodchips?

Link any ideas if you can.

 

[Get Buckets]

Dad got a new Weber Smoker for Christmas. Not sure of the model, but one of the more generic ones, nothing fancy. His birthday is this weekend, and normally we just go out for Dinner and a night of father/son drinking and bonding. Shopping for him has proven difficult.

Any ideas of Smoker accessories to buy? Must have items that a novice would need? I'm thinking a book, some tools, a thermometer, maybe a few rubs or bags of woodchips?

Link any ideas if you can.

Not sure about accessories for that particular grill but a thermapen would be a nice gift.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Awesome, any good brands or models you'd recommend? I'm thinking generic stuff that encompasses all smoking.

I saw something that holds all the coals in a cylinder for easy igniting and faster heating? Stuff like that...

 

[UK_ Alum_02]

Thermoworks MK4.

Could set him up with the mailbox mod on his smoker. Hear good things about it, but I don't really know what it is/does since I don't have a smoker.

 

[anthonys735]

I just replaced my Thermopen with the $24 version off Amazon by lavatools and so far so good. It was recommended in this thread. Maybe a second slower than the Thermopen but at $75 cheaper.

I love my thermopen but seems like a no brainer.

 

[Rock_Cat78]

I just replaced my Thermopen with the $24 version off Amazon by lavatools and so far so good. It was recommended in this thread. Maybe a second slower than the Thermopen but at $75 cheaper.

I love my thermopen but seems like a no brainer.

Just ordered one of these myself a few minutes ago. Glad to see it getting a positive review.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Awesome. Read reviews of the Javelin and it appears to be a great buy.

Any good Smoking books? Maybe something easy to read and vast, such as the BBQ bible? He doesn't need some in-depth 3-day long recipe book where the meats are to be purchased from overseas or something.. Beginner to intermediate.

 

[weused2luvhim2]

Awesome. Read reviews of the Javelin and it appears to be a great buy.

Any good Smoking books? Maybe something easy to read and vast, such as the BBQ bible? He doesn't need some in-depth 3-day long recipe book where the meats are to be purchased from overseas or something.. Beginner to intermediate.

Myron Mixon's book has some great recipes and tips in it. I use a variation of his rubs on my ribs, chicken, and butts.

 

[Wrong]

I just replaced my Thermopen with the $24 version off Amazon by lavatools and so far so good. It was recommended in this thread. Maybe a second slower than the Thermopen but at $75 cheaper.

I love my thermopen but seems like a no brainer.

I've got a thermopop which is made by the same company as thermopen. It's also about 3-5 seconds slower but does the trick.

 

[BBdK]

Just got the one linked above in the mail last night...the one I had was pathetic, and 5 years old. 2-3 seconds is fine, but this one would move for 15. Not a good situation when the Egg is blazing...

Assuming this one will be much better, plan to bust it out tomorrow.

 

[WettCat]

Have been wanting to grill some oysters but kept putting it off because I didn't want to learn how to/hassle with shucking them myself. Talked to a guy this morning at a seafood store who said you could simply leave them in the shell and once cooked, they would pop open on their own. Said they were better if already shucked but that it wasn't that big of a difference.

Anyone with any experience? Suggestions?

TIA.

 

[RacerX.ksr]

How to shuck oysters:
1. Shuck an oyster.

2. There you go.

 

[BBdK]

Lol, pretty much. Just buy the tool they sell right there by the seafood counter. There is a learning curve at first, and some can be tough, but just take your time and it's pretty self explanatory. Find the gap, wiggle the tool in there, pop open.

Otherwise, learn YouTube.

 

[RacerX.ksr]

 

[WettCat]

Ymmot and BBdK, looks easy when demonstrated by a seasoned professional, but have always heard it's a lot harder than it looks. And several have laughed and simply said it's not worth the effort. Have either of you actually done it and, if so....was it that easy, how quickly did you catch on to it and is it worth the effort.

 

[RacerX.ksr]

I haven't shucked any since the mid 90's but I would assume they're still the same. Some are going to be easier because there is a gap. Some will take more effort. You know how to do it already, you just haven't done it. I never had a mesh glove and just used a towel to protect my hand. This is not smart. Get a glove because some of them are very hard to get into and you will apply enough pressure to push the knife through your hand if it slips.

 

[BBdK]

Yes, I've done it a handful of times, and posted my experience/method above.

It's not that hard...just don't expect to shuck them like the pros. Take your time.

 

[PuffyNips]

I just replaced my Thermopen with the $24 version off Amazon by lavatools and so far so good. It was recommended in this thread. Maybe a second slower than the Thermopen but at $75 cheaper.

I love my thermopen but seems like a no brainer.

Is your thermopen broken?

If not, why would you buy a cheaper one when you already have the more expensive one that is a little bit faster?