It’s Canada day here, cooks all weekend hopefully

[Darryl - swazies]

Coming from the “ what are you cooking for July 4rth “ thread I hope to cook all 3 days.
Today already has lots of cocktails so we will see if we can survive until a Sunday cook.
We went to a local brewery today for lunch and had pitchers of beer and delicious lunches. Grilled cheese and corned beef on a bun.
They make good grub.
Came home and started sides right away.
Got the Q going, and fire roasted all the veggies for a salsa verde.
I added red Romas’ for more flavour and fluid......still came out as a verde salsa.
Made 3 jars, gave my new neighbours one, instant hit.......seen them about 30 minutes later outside and they were thanking me a lot.
They told me they were having quesadillas and I said this is perfect timing for you guys.
They opened it up right after I left apparently and started dipping in nacho chips in it.
I said to get the sour cream going and the salsa ( spicy ) going and it will be a good time for their dinner.
Anyways....pics of salsa prep, guacamole, and got the marinade started at 4 for the flank.
The flank is 1 pound and very wide so I cut it the right way in half, so we will see 2 flanks at the end....going to fit tacos better.
It’s one of those weird rainy days when it rains for 5 minutes every hour.
We got the salsa made n the performer but the flanks are getting cooked on the JJ in the garage where we are currently rednecking it up in lawn chairs with Neil Young rocking with our cocktails.

 

[ChuckO]

Off to a great start Darryl. This one is for you

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Man you guys read me like a book........that album there is fabulous......
Cortez in any version...especially a 15 minute live cut is fabulous.
Thanks Chuck.
Going for the simple taco tonight I hope.....I missed out on getting that white Mexican cheese but I may substitute with a crumbly 5 year old white cheddar I have but not sure if that is going to cut it.
So I have flank......verde....guacamole.....white onion.....and a red hot sauce.......Valentina’s......we will see if anything happens with cheese.
These are going to be great.

 

[Tim Campbell]

Off to a great start Darryl. This one is for you

So, so good.

This cook looks outstanding.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

No temps.... here we go.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Top shelf flank tacos......
Went with street taco style shells.
Everything came together.
Possible best tacos so far...JJ is winning.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Seriously satisfied, lets Hope tomorrow is a good cook to follow that cook.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Cheers to all those Canadian Mexicans! You did them proud, a!

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Thanks for looking folks.
My really old iPad takes bad enough pictures without me drinking.........sorry about a few of those last ones....pretty rough pictures.
Simple as they look, that was what I was looking for.......a few simple well made ingredients.

Been working on tonight’s dinner over the day.
Pizza is the call...I have bee avoiding it as I didn’t want to wreck a dinner.
I have messed up pizza before just using an oven.
Dough is made, I have a few toppings but keeping it simple again, especially after watching previous pizza threads here
Pepperoni, bacon, mushroom, hot peppers, jalapeños, and the left over taco ingredients.
Going to try a few different pizzas and maybe one called taco with the flank left overs and drizzle it with verde and guacamole on the side.
Made 3 little round balls of dough just like we used to when I worked in the pizza shop as a young one.
Also pictures of the heat setup.....I have 4 charcoal baskets so I plan on using them all for space and to get that pizza stone up near the lid......I have 2 lower charcoal grates you can see so fire on the bottom and the second grate holding up the first set of baskets..........I have flour and cornmeal and a pizza peel that is steel and new.
Let me know what you think....I was thinking about 500 degrees and cooking it until it looks good thru the top vent.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Cheers to all those Canadian Mexicans! You did them proud, a!

Here we go again EH!

 

[Darryl - swazies]

The only way I can see getting the pizza raw to the stone is cornmeal on the peel and trying my best to slide it on he stone in similar shape as a pizza would be.....I don’t want to do this but is there any better way?
I’m working with what I seen you go with mostly Dan.......any tips would be great.
I know a few others here have done it too.

https://tvwbb.com/members/danhoo.47704/

 

[DanHoo]

The only way I can see getting the pizza raw to the stone is cornmeal on the peel and trying my best to slide it on he stone in similar shape as a pizza would be.....I don’t want to do this but is there any better way?
I’m working with what I seen you go with mostly Dan.......any tips would be great.
I know a few others here have done it too.

https://tvwbb.com/members/danhoo.47704/

@Rich G @Brett-EDH might have input. I've followed their pizza cooks.

I usually use cornmeal under the the peel. I use a wood peel to launch the pizza, and stainless steel to take it off.

One of my kids doesn't like cornmeal under the crust so I'll use parchment paper, but the paper will burn if left on too long.

at 650F, I'll pull the paper out from under the pizza and turn it 90 degrees after after two minutes.

It 750F it has to come out in about one minute.

I've found my fire isn't always even and sometimes is hotter on one side so no matter what I'll turn the pizza 90 + degrees after a couple of mins.

 

[DanHoo]

@Darryl - swazies I suggest removing the heat deflector completely. I've found you want direct heat to the stone. I hadn't thought of using the char baskets. I think I would turn them upside down so more heat can get up inside the char b's closer to the stone. Maybe move the char b's out a bit closer to the edge.

 

[Rich G]

The only way I can see getting the pizza raw to the stone is cornmeal on the peel and trying my best to slide it on he stone in similar shape as a pizza would be.....I don’t want to do this but is there any better way?
I’m working with what I seen you go with mostly Dan.......any tips would be great.
I know a few others here have done it too.

https://tvwbb.com/members/danhoo.47704/

If you are going to go with a 500° stone temp, you may be able to use parchment paper under the pie without issue (most are rated up to 450-500, some more.) If you go that route, I'd pull the paper out from under the pie once the skin sets a bit (a minute or two) to promote even browning on the bottom crust.

I use semolina (somewhat coarsely ground durum wheat) on my peel to prevent sticking. I also give the peel a little shake a few times during the topping process to make sure the pizza will still slide. If you get a pie that's stuck, one potential fix is to hold up one "corner" (I know, it's round) and blow air under the pizza.....this can frequently be enough to get it unstuck, especially if you launch it immediately after.

Like lots of things we do on our grills, this one just takes practice to master and come up with the routine that works for you.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

R

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Gentlemen.....these tips are giving me a boat load more confidence.
500 was just a first time guess...still open to best suggestions.
I have 3 Pie’s going in...going to start with the parchment attack first.
Going to aim at that 650 temps Dan....
Both tips give me confidence

 

[DanHoo]

@Darryl - swazies I'm still experimenting with coal setup, but my last pizza cook on fathers day, I had coals on the lower layer and lots of them good and hot. I removed the middle layer ring and set it aside and used char B's on each end as book ends and loaded up the coal in the middle. This was how Brett suggested and it seems to work.

Last time I went for about 600 to 650F ( lid temp gauge) and that was a good temp for me.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

Sold.
3 different pies....
650.
Removing the diffuser.
Using parchment.
Feeling confident.
Cooking in about an hour...still have to check the dough, doesn’t seem to be rising......
Pics incoming.
Cannot thank you guys enough.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Lightly flour a wooden peel. Place your shaped pie shell onto floured peel.

Gently shake peel to shimmy the pie to ensure it’s not sticking.

Top the pie with desired toppings.

When done, shimmy pie again to ensure it’s not sticking.

When at your stone/steel, do a light shimmy to build mental confidence that your pie is not sticking.

Gently launch/slide the pie onto the stone/steel. Peel will be at an angle to ensure pie comes off peel.

Just make sure your pie lands in your stone/steel. You’ll build more and more confidence each time. The multiple shimmy trick and a nicely floured wooden peel is the magic.

You’ll do just fine. We believe in you

 

[Darryl - swazies]

We already going bud......
Appreciate the tips.
Pics incoming.

 

[Brett-EDH]

We already going bud......
Appreciate the tips.
Pics incoming.

Was on a mission. Just got back from it.