Cooking

Thanks kindly, Shelton.

It took me several attempts to perfect it, so here are a few things that I learnt along the way.

No. I start off with a full chimney starter of charcoal briquettes. I don’t put them in the Weber until they are almost fully ashed over. I set the Weber up for indirect heat (briquettes on both sides) with a tray in the middle filled with water. Place the lid on and keep the top & bottom vents fully open (I cook a 7kg turkey every year, so the vents stay fully open at all times). Allow the internal temp in the Weber to rise before putting the turkey in. The key is to keep the temperature consistent. To achieve that, I light another full chimney starter of briquettes 30 mins after the turkey has gone in, they ash over in about 20 mins. I then remove the lid and add the second round of charcoal (it has been almost an hour, so that is the time to add the second chimney starter of briquettes before the temp starts dropping). Fill up your centre tray with water again. I repeat this process (adding every hour). This year, it took me 4.5 hours to cook the turkey, so I used around 5 chimney starters worth of briquettes in total. The lid was removed around 4-5 times in this time.

In terms of turkey prep. A turkey that big requires a full 4 days to defrost in the fridge. Out early in the morning on Xmas Day. I make small incisions and insert butter under the skin. On the outside, it is covered in olive oil and seasonings and then wrapped in prosciutto. It is placed in an aluminium tray with the potatoes, carrots, and other veggies and wrapped in foil (as Aaron said). This allows it to cook evenly. Every hour, when I take the lid off to add the next batch of charcoal, I remove the foil and completely baste it with a brush using the juices. This is very important to stop it drying out. Add the foil again and continue cooking. After 2-3 hours, I remove the foil completely and pick off the prosciutto for a snack. Baste it again and again. Once the foil is off, you obviously get the colour.

As Aaron said, into the thigh. I remove it once it hits 72 degrees. Into the kitchen, wrap again in foil and throw a few tea towels on top. I let it rest for an hour (allowing the internal temp to ramp up to its highest point).

Absolutely. Cooked right through. I also stuffed the bird with balled pork mince (panko breadcrumbs and sage, etc) and Japanese yuzu halves prior to cooking. The stuffing slows the cooking down, though, so keep that in mind.

That looks great, dude. I haven’t smoked much meat before, but am keen to get into it. I threw some cherry wood chips on the charcoal when grilling my turkey and they gave it a nice flavour. What smoker type do you use?

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Thanks JR. Yours looked pretty damn good too.

I’ve got an offset smoker for Xmas in 2017. Before that I was doing the occasional smoke on a weber kettle, but the offset has a larger cook space so I can do more meat/bigger cuts.

It’s good fun, and there’s something Primal about cooking with and poking at a fire all day.

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Awesome, man.

Am looking forward to your future cooking pics.

I might invest in a mini-smoker for when my family & I go camping. Cheers.

I’m not made of money, but the next chance I get to treat myself, there’s some wagyu steaks at Costco. Come in between $80-$180 a kilo.

Anyone have any experience cooking wagyu?

I’d be too scared to at that price, Fkn hell!! :no_mouth:

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Once a week for 10+ years.

The key is not to overcook it, so you can appreciate the marbling. Season with salt & pepper & go for your life.

Scroll up & you can see Robin’s pics. He cooks a mean wagyu steak.

I also marinate them overnight occasionally in a blue cheese sauce. Bit of olive oil, garlic, crumbled blue cheese, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, etc. Also, tastes magnif.

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Yes I normally cook sher Wagyu. See :

Cooking

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That’s what I’m afraid of. Plenty more I could do with the money that I’d get more value out of.

But it’s weird, seeing high end butchers and just staring at the great cuts, the dry aged hunks of meat.

No doubt being vego is the better option if you want to retire early.

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I’d rather work until I’m 100 than not eat meat. The good news is that because I eat red meat I most likely won’t make it to that age so I don’t need to worry.

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I’m onboard that carnivore bus, Klawdy.

“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” (R.I.P Anthony Bourdain)

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Considering dementia is every chance of cracking in in your eighties, why would you give up meat so you can live to 100.

As the guy said to the journalist “i’ve never drunk alcohol, smoked or cavorted with loose woman, and today I celebrate my 100th birthday “, and the journalist said “how?”

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Having my first crack at bbq ribs today. Just put them on a little while ago.

Will settle in for some cricket & beers.

Hope I don’t stuff this up, otherwise the Mrs will crucify me. She has gone to the movies with our girl, so dinner & the boys are my responsibility.

No time to sort out a plan b, living on the edge, should be fun.

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Gas bbq? Saucy or dry rub? Talk us through it.

Charcoal. Both I suppose.

Just had a casualty, one rack fell in the fire. No one saw, picked it up & dusted it off.

Finishing up now. Lesson learned to watch them carefully towards the end & be gentler when mopping them.

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Make sure take lots of pics!!!

Hahaha. You’re not cooking over coals if you don’t get a bit of ash on them.

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All done and polished off.

Came up alright in the end after a lot of improv, maybe a bit overdone. This bbq cooks a bit quicker, so it takes a few runs to get used to each cut, which makes me nervous.

Cooked both with a basic store bought rub, then finished one with a home made tomato sauce base & one with a bbq sauce base (for the kids).

Sweet & savory.

Tomato one was shmick.

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Made a batch of Coconut Yoghurt this last week.
Ridiculously easy and tastes amazing, along with the health benefits.

You do need a Yoghurt Maker which will maintain a temp of 38-42C degrees for at least 10 hours to ensure proper fermentation.
A Dehydrator would probably work as well, but for $25-$30, a dedicated Yoghurt Maker is worth it.

RECIPE

2 x 400ml cans of Ayam Coconut Cream
I use this brand as it’s 100% Coconut Kernel Extract.
No water, preservs, additives.

1 - 1.5 teaspoons of Gelatin
Use a high quality one from a health food store.

Yoghurt starter
OR
Probiotic powder will do.

Place contents of 2 Cans in Yoghurt Maker and turn it on.
Wait approx 1hr for the cream to heat up a little, then sprinkle in the Gelatin slowly whilst stirring till well combined.

The starter or Probiotic can be stirred in soon after.
9 or so hours later, the Yoghurt is ready for Refridgeration which will thicken it further.

It’s so good even on its own, but if you must sweeten it a little, I highly recommend a dash of Manuka honey.
Wowee…that’s a nice combo !

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the salami making yogurt.

interesting.

Home alone tonight, so get to indulge myself with a quick, easy, simple food pleasure for me.

Pasta aglio e olio topped with handful of prawns and chilli.

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