*Charcoal* BBQ/Grilling

davegilly

The Nal wrote: »

I find the Bar-Be-Quick lumpwood or charcoal fine, as are all of the standard hardware store charcoals I've tried. Same as anything expensive. No difference whatsoever.

Granted, I must not have tried some of the cheaper stuff as I've never experienced dirty smoke etc.

That and the cheaper stuff is glorified dust?

You cant seriously have used the blue bag stuff if you think they are all the same, there is no comparison.

If you are happy with the BBQuick then stick with it but its not even related to the blue bag when it comes to lumpwood.

davegilly

the_galway_fry wrote: »

Anyone help here, really struggling to get the blue bag stuff to take off just lit the chimney for the 3rd time. Never had to do anything like that before.
I am using the leftover coals from previous cooks mixed in with new bits, is that the issue?
Generally just using bunched up piece of paper with a couple of the lidl firestarters

Break up a few chunks of lumpwood into smaller pieces and put these at the bottom. You dont want huge lumps of coal, if they are too big then just break them up with an axe or a hammer. Put the old/used coal then at the top. The whole lot will be lit in 15 mins.

The Nal

davegilly wrote: »

That and the cheaper stuff is glorified dust?

You cant seriously have used the blue bag stuff if you think they are all the same, there is no comparison.

If you are happy with the BBQuick then stick with it but its not even related to the blue bag when it comes to lumpwood.

Why? Sell it to me.

I've done 15 hours smokes with a variety of the cheaper - but not nasty cheap stuff - and its the exact same.

When I have partially burnt charcoal left over I chuck in with some fresh stuff in the chimney the next time round.

Nothing wrong with this I assume?

blue note

ronoc wrote: »

When I have partially burnt charcoal left over I chuck in with some fresh stuff in the chimney the next time round.

Nothing wrong with this I assume?

No. You'd be dim to waste it.

mossym

id put the fresh stuff around whatever you are using to light it. the partially burnt, especially if it is briquettes, can be a bit harder to get going.

Brian?

The Nal wrote: »

Why? Sell it to me.

I've done 15 hours smokes with a variety of the cheaper - but not nasty cheap stuff - and its the exact same.

There are definitely differences between charcoals when it comes to heat and longevity.

This notion that it influences taste bamboozles me.

budgemook

Brian? wrote: »

There are definitely differences between charcoals when it comes to heat and longevity.

This notion that it influences taste bamboozles me.

I always assumed that the cheap briquettes have chemicals in them that can have an effect on the taste of the food.

neris

I think some of the cheaper briquettes in america are full of crap and chemicals, EU laws have their benefits for us when it comes to food.

Brian?

budgemook wrote: »

I always assumed that the cheap briquettes have chemicals in them that can have an effect on the taste of the food.

Why would you add chemicals to them? Anything you add us going to more expensive than charcoal, it's a dirt cheap product. They may use different types of wood to make the charcoal, but i can't think of anything you'd add.

The exception being "instant light" charcoal. That's soaked in parafin I think.

davegilly

The Nal wrote: »

Why? Sell it to me.

I've done 15 hours smokes with a variety of the cheaper - but not nasty cheap stuff - and its the exact same.

Like I said, if you are happy with what you use then stick with it. No need to sell it to you

budgemook

Brian? wrote: »

Why would you add chemicals to them? Anything you add us going to more expensive than charcoal, it's a dirt cheap product. They may use different types of wood to make the charcoal, but i can't think of anything you'd add.

The exception being "instant light" charcoal. That's soaked in parafin I think.

i mean the briquettes and to bind them together.

Cheap lumpwood is just too small and burns too quick.

Brian?

budgemook wrote: »

i mean the briquettes and to bind them together.

Cheap lumpwood is just too small and burns too quick.

I know you mean briquttes. Why would you need chemicals to bind them? I'm pretty sure they're bound by presure with some corn starch.

Debub

The Nal wrote: »

Yeah agree. Let the meat be meat.

That said, I'm not adverse to a light rub of garlic, rosemary, butter and salt for a touch of extra flavour.

What I do is - put a little more than required salt on the steaks and keep in the fridge maybe n hour or 2 before I put them on the BBQ. Have the serving plates ready smeared with butter mixed with crushed smoked garlic (from earlier cooks) and Oregano. Steaks go straight from the BBQ to the buttered plates. when doing thinner steaks, alternate it with a shallow plate with Soya sauce, smoked garlic, chilli flakes, toasted sesame oil - dunk the steaks in that before serving - can use different combinations. I did try the Reverse Sear with a couple of 'Irish' Wagyu steaks and they turned out really nice as well, you need to be more careful and vigilant while doing reverse Sear.

Johnny_Fontane

Interesting the chat about cheap fuels.

I put in some briquettes from a bag that has been lying in my shed unopened. Not sure how long they are there, but really struggled to get any heat out of them.

Somehow managed to get the kettle to 350f with the vents fully opened and cook the chicken. It turned out proper brilliant, but by the end (about 90 minutes), was down under 300f and really struggled to do any direct heat cooking at the end.

Lesson learned with old briquettes.......

Quin_Dub

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

Interesting the chat about cheap fuels.

I put in some briquettes from a bag that has been lying in my shed unopened. Not sure how long they are there, but really struggled to get any heat out of them.

Somehow managed to get the kettle to 350f with the vents fully opened and cook the chicken. It turned out proper brilliant, but by the end (about 90 minutes), was down under 300f and really struggled to do any direct heat cooking at the end.

Lesson learned with old briquettes.......

Yeah.. my 1st cook of the year recently was from a bag of fuel that had been in the shed for a few months , similar story took for ever to heat up - I assume they got a little damp.

Johnny_Fontane

Quin_Dub wrote: »

Yeah.. my 1st cook of the year recently was from a bag of fuel that had been in the shed for a few months , similar story took for ever to heat up - I assume they got a little damp.

I can imagine that bag of briquettes has been in there about 5 years, maybe longer :eek::eek:

budgemook

Have a hankering for a steak this weekend. Torn between a double thick rib-eye for the 2 of us or a pair of nice striploins. Decisions decisions.

EDIT - just as I typed it I realised it's obviously double thick rib-eye!

Johnny_Fontane

budgemook wrote: »

Have a hankering for a steak this weekend. Torn between a double thick rib-eye for the 2 of us or a pair of nice striploins. Decisions decisions.

EDIT - just as I typed it I realised it's obviously double thick rib-eye!

11.78 a kg in Supervalu again this week (cowboy steak)

Muahahaha

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

11.78 a kg in Supervalu again this week (cowboy steak)

Just got three of them in Supervalue today, great big hunks of meat with good marbling. Their fillet steaks are half price too till next Thursday but they were sold out when I was in

budgemook

I might go have a look in SuperValu so. Thanks

thereitisgone

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Baby backs really really good, smoked for 3 hours then small brush of apple bbq sauce and a minute or two on gas grill

Planet X

Charcoal Briquettes online/delivery Dublin anyone?
Cheers.

No worries.....just ordered off "A Room Outside"

Newtown90

Stocked up on Weber Charcoal and Lumpwood this morning finally from the local hardware store.... They can lock us down now again as I'm sorted for the summer!

Regret not spending more to get a Master Touch when buying my weber a few months ago.

budgemook

Picked up a lovely looking lump of ribeye there this morning from the butcher and am really looking forward to it.

Question, maybe for Kamado people, I’m planning to reverse sear the steak. If I use the cast iron plate as a heat deflector will it be okay or should I use the ceramic one? Want to get the cast iron good and hot for onions but worried it will transfer heat up and overcook the underside of the steak.

Planet X

The Nal wrote: »

Actually you may be right. I was thinking of the next size down from the 57, which is the 47cm yeah. 37cm could be a tight squeeze.

The 57cm is massive alright yeah but great for cooking for groups or batch cooking.

Thinking 47 now after a bit of homework.

Brian?

Planet X wrote: »

Thinking 47 now after a bit of homework.

The 47 is the way to go.

SachaJ

Any offers on Weber briquettes around? Woodies have 4kg bags for €8.99 each. Weber website is €15.99 for 8kg bags (minimum order of 3 bags) which is about as cheap as anywhere and delivered.

SachaJ

I'm thinking of changing my Homebase kettle for a Weber Mastertouch Premium in the next few weeks. What's the difference between the 5770 in The Orchard and the 5775 on the Weber website? Is it just the 5775 has a stainless steel grate and worth the extra €20?

Ryath

Both have stainless steel GBS grate. The 5775 incudes the cast iron sear grate insert so it's probably worth the extra 20 for that. It also has a rubber sleeve on the ash vent handle don't think that's worth it! Don't think there's any other difference's.