Southwest Discada Cooking Plow Disks


 
E

Ernie D

TVWBB Pro
Thank you for the suggestion, Jim Lampe!

After reading, and seeing how awesome this thing is from Jim's posts. I ordered one today. This thing is literally a plow disk like those used for farming. 22 pounds. 22 inches. It will fit right on my kettle. Photos to come. With Weber no longer making their wok widely available... This is definitely the best thing I have found. Good price too. Starting under 50 bucks.

Check out their site:

www.southwestdisk.com

Action photos to come. Can't wait. Thanks again Jim. I will pass this thing on to my grandkids, then on to theirs. It should last about 500 yrs.
 
My Southwest Discada arrived Thursday at my doorstep.
It was purchased over the previous weekend, so I was very happy with the fast delivery.

Here is my first look and first cook.

I included a pic of the Disk on my RED HEAD. Enjoy!

Overall, I am very impressed with the quick delivery and concept of the Plow Disk Discada. It was a lot of fun to cook on, and I plan on doing a lot of cooking with this thing in the future. It is not a precision piece of cookware, but a big heavy piece of farm equipment.... that works great for cooking. The handles are definitely there to stay... Not just a couple of spot welds. The wood handles are nothing special. They don't appear to be any sort of fine hardwood, but should hold up. They are easy to grab, and stay very cool while cooking.

You can see on the pictures, placing the disk directly on the 22" kettle leaves a small gap for air flow. It is more ventillation than the four holes on the top vent of the kettle lid, and did not choke my fire at all. The fire burned great, with steady heat throughout the cook. Others have propped it up for more air flow. For more precise heat control, a turkey fryer burner would probably work best.

I like it on the kettle over coals.
 
Ernie,

I've looked at these but worried about the air flow. It appears you are setting the wok on your grill grate. Is that so? And if so, does it not wobble while you cook on it? I've been trying to think of some kind of contraption I could make to hold it above the edges of the grill and keep it from wobbling. Thanks for any insights and great pictures on the cooking!
 
The handles are welded under the disk, and provide just enough clearance to keep the fire going nicely. I took my grate out, and put it on the actual kettle lip. Check the thread by Jim Lampe in "grilling"... "Take a Wok on the Tilapia Side". There are a few ideas to adjust the height. So far, after only one use, I am going to just put it on the kettle with no grate. This thing is way to flat and heavy to wobble much even if you put it on the grate. I almost did it that way, but thought it would eventually make my grate sag in the middle.

You will love it.
 
Originally posted by T Bounds:I've looked at these but worried about the air flow. I've been trying to think of some kind of contraption I could make to hold it above the edges of the grill and keep it from wobbling.
Click to expand...
This is what i did... found some O&Es laying around and came up with this:
DSCN2137.jpg

made three of these things and placed them strategically in a triangle on the edge of the kettle...
DSCN2136.jpg

As you can see in the photo above, the two parts are bolted together and slotted to raise the el bracket if need be...
With the three brackets/risers in place, set the Discada Plow Disk on the three points...
DSCN2134.jpg

...then fire up the 22" Weber kettle of your choice and get ready to "wok" as long as you want to!
DSCN2132.jpg

By no means is this fancy, butt if you do not want to waste time and energy comin' up with a way to lift the DPD off the kettle, simply use 3/4" or 1 inch angle iron at a length of approximately 12-15 inches and place one on each side of your kettle. This will also work with a 18" Weber kettle.
Good Luck and "Take a WOK on The Wild Side"
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Jim,

That's perfect! I tend to procrastinate badly until I have some idea of exactly what I want to do. This gives me the idea. I see a woking disk in my future! Thank you for the idea and encouragement. Happy Memorial Day.
 
Thanks for the pics, Jim.

I couldn't picture how you made it adjustable... Very cool. I need to do something like that. It looks perfect. Small and easy too.
 
Originally posted by Jim Lampe:
Click to expand...
This is what i did... found some O&Es laying around
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[/QUOTE]
guess I should check for O&E in the garage too--but yours look better<lol>
 
I have had the chance to use my discada two more times. I love it... But more importantly, everyone eating the food has been blown away.

Here is my second stir fry cook.
We had some med rare sirloin steaks left over from the night before. I sliced them very thin and mixed them in.

My son was interested in the big metal utensils.

Finally some Mexican food!
I cut up some chuck steaks into small pieces, and added it to the medium hot discada. After browning the chuck, I added some....
Diced Onions, Peppers, Garlic, Tomato, Lime Juice, and Spices.

I kept adding water and cooking it down until the meat became very tender and everything was the same brown color. Then I pushed it off to the sides of the discada and heated up a bunch of corn and flour tortillas for some nice soft tacos. Everything was a lot of fun, and I forgot to take any more pics. Just a great dinner with family. This thing was a big hit... very entertaining and delicious.
 
Thanks Jim

I found some burlap... It is very nice to use for cleaning. Do you have a preference on the oil you are using.

I have used sunflower oil after reading some interesting articles about seasoning cast iron. It was on sale at Dollar General for 50 cents a bottle too. I also bought a can of that High Temp Pam cooking spray for grilling. It is mostly cottonseed oil, and is pretty nice before that last wipe as I am putting it away.

I don't like getting too technical, just curious what has been working for you because I really liked the sear you got on those scallops. Everybody is pretty different when it comes to seasoning cookware.
 
actually Ernie, i use canola oil and very little at that.
when i see it needs more during the quick cook, i jus add a few drips or drops. Just enought to get by.
butt then, i'm pretty cheap
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when making eggs, i use the fat from the bacon that was cooked'up first. Say, that disk will hold ALOTTA eggs!
 
In the 30 plus years that I have been going to Sonora Mexico, I have always seen these plow disc's being used to deep fry the fresh fish for fish tacos. The only difference is that they also weld a 2 or 3 inch rim around the outside to make it safer for deep frying over an open propane flame. They call this method "Al disco" It makes for some VERY VERY tastey fish tacos!
 
That sounds really good. Fish tacos are awesome. I have been tossing around the idea of frying some fresh tortillas to make big puffy tacos. I would only use a small pool of oil in the middle, but might be easier and cleaner in my fry-daddy.... It would be more FUN in the discada.... That counts for something.
 
Mike,

That looks really cool. I definitely want a propane burner with telescoping legs.

Used the disk today to make some tacos. Cooked on top of a OTS. Ground chuck with some diced chuck, onions, peppers, garlic, and some seasoning. Turned out great with lots leftover for this week.



Here is some sliced sirloin, chicken, and shrimp. They are seasoned with fajita seasoning, lemon pepper, lime juice, and Ring of fire original hot sauce. I also added diced onion, pepper, and tomato. We had my parents over for dinner.... We all loved it. I can't get enough of it. Oh, I almost forgot... I used my new performer... RED, 1999, Stainless... I'm in love.
 
That looks really really good. Thanks for the photos. I bought the 24' big and heavy. I cooked for the first time and fajitas came out great. Looking to rig something to control heat better. Might be a simple as adjusting the bottom heat vents. Don't know. Thanks for the inspiration.
 
Greeeeaaaaat... another new thing to buy.

Okay... you got me.. what are O&E brackets? I'm sure I'm gonna feel stupid in about 5 minutes.

Is there any advantage to getting one handle style over another or size?
 
what are O&E brackets?
Click to expand...
well, Chris, O&E's stand for odds and ends... just junk I got laying around the garage.
and if there is an advantage with one style of handle over another, i would not know...
I simply bought the wood handle for it's looks.
Mark, i raised the disk a little to get more air inside the Weber, i felt doing so got my fire hotter than just setting the wok on the rim of the kettle.
And WELCOME to the forum!
I'm tellin' ya, if you like wok cookin' and grillin' ~ You Will LOVE This Disk!
Good Luck!
 
Thanks Jim! O&E - Got it. Any yes... I had one of the forehead slapping moments. duh.

I think I'm going to order the 22 with the spring handles. The larger one seems to have more of a flat bottomm with angled sides as opposed to the gentle sweep... essentially flatter 22".

I can't wait to get this. I love cooking on surfaces like that where you can get a little willy nilly and move things around.

Our next house will have an island with one of those big stainless griddles like you see in the Japanese steak houses. I love that stuff.

Once the disc gets nice and seasoned it'll be perfect for Sunday morning breakfast. Can't wait.
 
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