*Charcoal* BBQ/Grilling

tonc76

In the market for a wifi thermometer and have narrowed it down to either:

inkbird ibbq-4t

or

meater +

Obviously the inkbird has 3/4 probes rather than the meaters 1/2 but they cost approx the same.

Anyone in a position to recommend one over the other or an alternative?

Thanks

afatbollix

I have a few meaters, I think it's great. I love the estimated cook via the app.

I also like that its wireless so when you are turning you don't have to worry about cables getting the way or getting tingled.

MonsterMob

tonc76 wrote: »

In the market for a wifi thermometer and have narrowed it down to either:

inkbird ibbq-4t

or

meater +

Obviously the inkbird has 3/4 probes rather than the meaters 1/2 but they cost approx the same.

Anyone in a position to recommend one over the other or an alternative?

Thanks

I have the meater+ and am pretty happy with it. The wireless aspect of it is very useful especially when you are turning steak, chicken or whatever you have it inserted into. I found my previous wired thermometre awkward when I was flipping food as the bend in the prode would get stuck in the grate and fall out or hit off the other probes and knock them out. The only issue is that I still have to use another thermometre when starting my BBQ and bringing it up to temperature (when it has no meat in the kettle). The max temperature range on the part of the meater which should be inserted into the food is not as high as the ambient thermometre part of the device so can't be used.

Brian?

fitz wrote: »

+1.

I think if there's one thing I'd like in a separate thread, it's be the "buying a BBQ - what grill/smoker/kamado should I get?" stuff... A different thread for recommendations and discussion of what type of bbq suits people's needs/budget would keep this thread about the actual bbqing.

I think that's a good idea. 1 thread for buying BBQs and one for cooking topics

Brian?

Ribs from the WSM yesterday. Used apple tree trimmings for smoke, turned out great.

One rack with peach habanero sauce and one with a South Carolina style mustard and vinegar sauce. I was surprised the Carolina sauce was the bigger hit with family and guests.*


*I don't live in Ireland. I'm allowed guests.

Brian?

Ribs from the WSM yesterday. Used apple tree trimmings for smoke, turned out great.

One rack with peach habanero sauce and one with a South Carolina style mustard and vinegar sauce. I was surprised the Carolina sauce was the bigger hit with family and guests.*


*I don't live in Ireland. I'm allowed guests.


I can't get my pictures to attach. Any tips? Says they're too big.

Gloomtastic!

Brian? wrote: »

Ribs from the WSM yesterday. Used apple tree trimmings for smoke, turned out great.

One rack with peach habanero sauce and one with a South Carolina style mustard and vinegar sauce. I was surprised the Carolina sauce was the bigger hit with family and guests.*


*I don't live in Ireland. I'm allowed guests.


I can't get my pictures to attach. Any tips? Says they're too big.

Have you used an image hosting site? I use https://postimages.org/ Just Choose Images, then when it's uploaded, Click on Image and Share > Hotlink for Forums

Hope that helps, I'm drooling already!

Brian?

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Have you used an image hosting site? I use https://postimages.org/ Just Choose Images, then when it's uploaded, Click on Image and Share > Hotlink for Forums

Hope that helps, I'm drooling already!

Cheers. I’ll give it a go.

Brian?

Let's see if this works:

SachaJ

I added a small metal gland to the spare kettle yesterday to pass the probes through. 16mm and works fine for my Inkbird probes. I'll do the Mastertouch during the week.

dingbat

Sidford wrote: »

I joined this thread about 8 weeks ago when looking to buy first charcoal BBQ and Ive said it several times since then that the help and lack of snobbery on here has been brilliant. Everyone here recognises that people need help starting out and also want to share tips so that people can replicate what went well and avoid mistakes they made.
I for one really like the format it is now, so many topics get covered in it that you pick up stuff you didn't even know you should have a clue about. While it's a busy thread it doesn't move 20 pages a week so you can keep up with it.

Hope this thread stays the same both in terms of sound members will to help out others and also in relation to it's format.

Yeah exactly. This is *not* a fast moving thread, and the very nature of barbecuing and grilling is that many of the topics are related.

Honestly it's one of the few threads I've ever "Followed" that I've kept an interest in over time.

Smurts

This may be a stupid question but would the Thermometer cables get damaged if you just run them out under the lid of the kettle?

Johnny_Fontane

tonc76 wrote: »

In the market for a wifi thermometer and have narrowed it down to either:

inkbird ibbq-4t

or

meater +

Obviously the inkbird has 3/4 probes rather than the meaters 1/2 but they cost approx the same.

Anyone in a position to recommend one over the other or an alternative?

Thanks

I got the two probe bluetooth inkbird from Amazon for €25 and its great. Not sure why you might need more than 2 probes, but maybe you're planning all sorts of diff cooks at one temp!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01MG7KLCI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

SachaJ

Smurts wrote: »

This may be a stupid question but would the Thermometer cables get damaged if you just run them out under the lid of the kettle?

I've seem people mention cables getting pinched etc. Don't know does it actually do damage.

eeepaulo

SachaJ wrote: »

I added a small metal gland to the spare kettle yesterday to pass the probes through. 16mm and works fine for my Inkbird probes. I'll do the Mastertouch during the week.

Looks like a tidy solution, so if i buy a 16mm metal gland is 16mm the max aperture and you can screw it down to 0 as required?

SachaJ

Yes, I needed to drill a 16mm hole.

I can lock it down to within 1mm or 2mm so the hole is very small. I might use a bolt to fill it either

heroics

tonc76 wrote: »

In the market for a wifi thermometer and have narrowed it down to either:

inkbird ibbq-4t

or

meater +

Obviously the inkbird has 3/4 probes rather than the meaters 1/2 but they cost approx the same.

Anyone in a position to recommend one over the other or an alternative?

Thanks

I have the meater+ About a month now and the app is great. No wires is dead handy and being able to track cooks etc is great. Also the temp seems pretty accurate as I’ve been comparing it to the thermopro pen and it’s nearly identical.

Only downside for me is the range is brutal. I’ve had to start leaving the repeater part beside the Weber kettle outside as even though it’s beside my back door I can’t even get connected inside the door. This is grand except when it raining. It also limits the range inside the house.

the repeater is like a bamboo box and the back cover won’t stay on. Had to use tape.

Mantis Toboggan

Anyone use grill mats?
If so are they recommended?

mossym

Smurts wrote: »

This may be a stupid question but would the Thermometer cables get damaged if you just run them out under the lid of the kettle?

no. i've run mine under the lid of a weber for years, and now through the gasket of a Kamado Joe and it's never been an issue. same thermometer all the time

The Nal

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

Anyone use grill mats?
If so are they recommended?

I use them for pizza, indirect heat. Works out great.

elvisn

Hi All,



I'm looking to buy a charcoal BBQ, and after reading through about 50pages of this thread I think I've settled on a 57cm Weber Master-Touch. Is there much of a difference between this and the MT-Premium?


I've a couple of other questions:

• Is this large enough for entertaining purposes (catering to ~15guests)?
• Are there any must-have accessories for a newbie to get? eg I've seen reference to different plates, chimneys, thermometers etc.
• Whats the start up time like to get it ready for cooking? (Do many use them in the evening after work?)
• Are they easy to clean? Should I get specialized cleaning equipment and products?
• Is a cover necessary and if so which to get?

My original budget was €250, but I've scaled that to €299 for the MT already, and probably can creep it to €400 hence the question on the MT-Premium.



If accessories are needed, which would be the ones needed from day 1 vs purchases that could be bought at a later stage.



Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Quin_Dub

elvisn wrote: »

Hi All,



I'm looking to buy a charcoal BBQ, and after reading through about 50pages of this thread I think I've settled on a 57cm Weber Master-Touch. Is there much of a difference between this and the MT-Premium?


I've a couple of other questions:

• Is this large enough for entertaining purposes (catering to ~15guests)?
  
  You'll struggle to get one that would cook for 15 people in a single go , but you'll get 8-10 Burgers or the like on to the Weber in one go and then keep them warm or whatever
  
• Are there any must-have accessories for a newbie to get? eg I've seen reference to different plates, chimneys, thermometers etc.
  
  The only "must haves" to start with are a Chimney starter and an instant read thermometer , more advanced Thermometers or smoker kits etc. are things you can get over time as you get more advanced in your cooking.
  
• Whats the start up time like to get it ready for cooking? (Do many use them in the evening after work?)
  
  Typically you are looking at about 30-40 minutes from start to "ready to cook" with a Chimney starter
  
• Are they easy to clean? Should I get specialized cleaning equipment and products?
  
  Cleaning it handy enough , get a wire-brush and scrub down the grill while it's still hot after you are finished cooking
  
• Is a cover necessary and if so which to get?
  
  Depends on where you are planning to keep the BBQ , if you are going to put into a shed/garage for the winter then you probably don't need a cover , but if it's going to be outside in Ireland , you definitely need one. The cheaper Weber cover is pretty poor quality so go for the more expensive one.
  

My original budget was €250, but I've scaled that to €299 for the MT already, and probably can creep it to €400 hence the question on the MT-Premium.


If accessories are needed, which would be the ones needed from day 1 vs purchases that could be bought at a later stage.


Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

See my comments above

elvisn

Quin_Dub wrote: »

See my comments above

That's great info thanks.

Any idea on what the difference between the MT and MT-Premium is? Is it worth the extra €80?

Quin_Dub

elvisn wrote: »

That's great info thanks.

Any idea on what the difference between the MT and MT-Premium is? Is it worth the extra €80?

As far as I know the main difference is that you get a hinged lid with the Premium and a few extra accessories which are good for "low and slow" cooking.

I have a standard Master-touch and it does everything I need tbh.

A few people here have bought the newer model and might have more insight.

Planet X

FixitFelix wrote: »

I agree most of these accessories and mods are unnecessary, but make life easier, I've just picked up the Cajun bandit door and firedial for my wsm 47cm.
Firedial gets rid of water pan, if your ever had an accident with grease and water pan these are the way to go:)

....same here, Cajun Bandit door arrived this morning from USA. Nice upgrade. I like it.
47cm WSM

What's a Firedial?

elvisn

Quin_Dub wrote: »

As far as I know the main difference is that you get a hinged lid with the Premium and a few extra accessories which are good for "low and slow" cooking.

I have a standard Master-touch and it does everything I need tbh.

A few people here have bought the newer model and might have more insight.

Can you smoke effectively on your MT? I notice on the Weber site it calls out that the MT-Premium has a "3 in1 Barbecuing system for Grill - Roast - Smoke"

Captain Red Beard

elvisn wrote: »

Can you smoke effectively on your MT? I notice on the Weber site it calls out that the MT-Premium has a "3 in1 Barbecuing system for Grill - Roast - Smoke"

You can.

Debub

Brian? wrote: »

Are you mixing up F and C? 170 to 200 is really, really low.

thanks for the quick responses, it was the probes (the grill one) going wonky, it jumped up n down a bit and then most of the time was HHH... Its the Thermo Pro dual probe - and I have only use it 3 times!!! Thats poor reliability I must say. The ribs turned out very nice (tho I had forgotten to take the upper fat layer off). Also did some Chicken legs and beef kebabs (Aged Sirloin cut up into cubes) and marinated overnight.

Mantis Toboggan

Do I need a thermometer if all I'll be doing is burgers, sausages and steaks? Surely the same as just cooking on the pan?

Quin_Dub

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

Do I need a thermometer if all I'll be doing is burgers, sausages and steaks? Surely the same as just cooking on the pan?

Probably not , but if you ever wanted to cook up a chicken or something larger than a steak an instant read thermometer is a must .

They are about 15 quid on Amazon.