*Charcoal* BBQ/Grilling

Brian?

The Nal wrote: »

Id butterfly that sucker, marinade it in strong flavours (vinegar, harissa, paprika, cumin, chili, fennel etc) and get it on a hot BBQ till medium rare. Some nice pitas with a lemon yoghurt sauce or something.

As would I.

Newtown90

Cloudio9 wrote: »

Does anyone know if any supermarket chains are stocking charcoal yet ? Couldn't find any in Tesco Extra who would normally stock it. I guess some product lines are impacted by C19.

I got some yesterday in a tesco. They were on the other side of the til next to a load of moss peat..

Ha Long Bay

Newtown90 wrote: »

Ordered charcoal and a few other bits from the weber store in the end on Sunday with the intention of it being here by Friday, haven't heard a dicky bird since the order from Weber so I panicked when I saw some tesco charcoal bags tonight and bought one just in case ��

I ordered from them on the 14th March, shipped on the 17th and delivered via DPD from Germany on the 23rd just to give you an idea of time.

km79

All the BBQs on buyitdirect that I’ve looked at have increased by at least 50 euro now .........and 81 euro delivery
So that’s a no

I am getting increasingly tempted by the lidl one at this stage . Did anyone buy their 3 burner version last year and can give feedback ?
Problem is nearest lidl is 20km away though !

neris

If anyone has a musgrave account you can get coals there

The chan chan man

MonsterMob wrote: »

Has anyone had any experience or even anythoughts on the new Masterbuilt Gravity Grill & Smokers? The initial reviews I have seen are quite positive and it's in a price range that I would be interested in but would love to know what others think?

https://www.masterbuilt.com/pages/gravity-series-560

Personally i dont like that much advanced technology when it comes to bbq. For me its meat and fire...and beer! I can see the advantage of set and forget of course, but wheres the fun in that?!

neris

The chan chan man wrote: »

Personally i dont like that much advanced technology when it comes to bbq. For me its meat and fire...and beer! I can see the advantage of set and forget of course, but wheres the fun in that?!

Im with you on that. If i want to set and forget i,ll stick it in the oven.

The Nal

Very much agree with not embracing tech too much. Instant read thermometer in one hand and a beer in the other hand. Anything more than that is overkill.

Just found an old Hibachi grill I bought for fiver in a flea market a few years ago. Like something from the 70s. Never used so giving it a clean up now for its maiden voyage later. A little bit excited.

FYI charcoal is running low. I got 2 x 2KG bags in Circle K.

fitz

neris wrote: »

Im with you on that. If i want to set and forget i,ll stick it in the oven.

Having gotten a Smobot recently for my Kamado, and enjoyed undisturbed nights sleep since on overnight cooks, I find this view on judicious use of technology to just be a bit silly.

You don't get extra points for having to get up at 3am to adjust a grate. I cook over charcoal and wood for the taste that you can't get from an oven cook. Writing off ways of making good barbeque a bit easier and more convenient doesn't make sense to me.

Having said that, I do see the value of learning how to control a fire manually before you get into the automated stuff. I just don't wanna have to do that if I don't have to any more!

The chan chan man

No fancy stuff tonight! Can’t beat old school saussies and burgers!

Bassfish

First bbq of the year tomorrow (Saturday). Was going to wait til Sunday but the weather isn't supposed to be great. I have lamb chops marinating in the fridge with garlic and herbs, destined for a pink ending! The burgers from the local butcher are incredible so I have the ready as well as some Italian sausages. Not sure who's going to eat all of it though. Its just me, the wife and the three year old who'll be eating!

winrowjones

All,

Got a new charcoal BBQ yesterday and looking for charcoal brand recommendations?

Also any butcher that sells quality BBQ cuts?

Cheers all

Cloudio9

winrowjones wrote: »

All,

Got a new charcoal BBQ yesterday and looking for charcoal brand recommendations?

Also any butcher that sells quality BBQ cuts?

Cheers all

Weber and big green egg charcoal are the best available in my area although very little choice at the moment as garden centres are closed.

Their lump wood has nice big pieces and If using briquettes the Weber ones burn clean, the cheap briquettes can smell bad.

bamayang

Asked for brisket over the phone at the butchers, got this...
Gonna smoke it anyway today and see how it goes!

winrowjones

Cloudio9 wrote: »

Weber and big green egg charcoal are the best available in my area although very little choice at the moment as garden centres are closed.

Their lump wood has nice big pieces and If using briquettes the Weber ones burn clean, the cheap briquettes can smell bad.

What’s better briquettes or lump wood? Sorry just getting into this. I’ve ordered some from Amazon along with temperature probes and wood chips. Takes a while but will get here eventually

Ha Long Bay

winrowjones wrote: »

What’s better briquettes or lump wood? Sorry just getting into this. I’ve ordered some from Amazon along with temperature probes and wood chips. Takes a while but will get here eventually

Here is a good ebook with lots of information to get you started. Its currently 99p on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B010Q1X63A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

budgemook

I have that book - it was in TK Maxx. It's good.

Spent some time testing / calibrating my thermometers today, just thought I'd share my results - I have a few different thermometers and I tested them all in a pot of boiling water.

1. Instant read thermometer I was given by someone who has a restaurant. Perfect first time - this probe has a sticker on it saying it was last calibrated in 2012 but it's still perfect. It only takes a few seconds to get the temp on the screen too.

2. Built in thermometer in kamado Joe. This was way off - reported around 65 degrees for boiling water. WAs very easy to calibrate it by turning the screw in the back counter clockwise.

3. Thermopro dual probe thermometer. I've had my suspicions about this for a while as the meat probe was disagreeing with my instant read thermometer and the grill probe was disagreeing with kamado Joe built in. Today the meat probe was fine but grill temp was way way off - 50 degrees for boiling water. I scrubbed both of the probes and eventually they both reported 100. I'm not convinced though and will be reading the instructions to see if they say anything about calibration and I'll be testing again before next cook. Was not aware of how important it is to keep the probes shiny clean (obviously I keep the meat one very clean).

I also have a Meater probe that was given to me as a gift but I have never used it as it's a bit techy. I keep meaning to give it a whirl!


What's your temp probe set up and how often do you test it?

davegilly

Just bought a 3lb Chuck roast. Was looking for a pork shoulder but none left so pulled beef it is!! Never done one of these before.

Any tips? Planning on smoking it with hickory at 225-250 tomorrow. Any favourite rubs? Advice?

doctorchopper

Made a copy of the smokenator 1000 for my weber, it worked really well, held the low temp better, and boils the water to keep moisture in. Did a set of ribs, 4 hrs total, 2.5 hrs unwrapped then the final 1.5 wrapped in tin foil.



https://www.amazon.co.uk/SMOKENATOR-1000-Kettle-Barbecue-Converter/dp/B00L9JCN8S

Brian?

davegilly wrote: »

Just bought a 3lb Chuck roast. Was looking for a pork shoulder but none left so pulled beef it is!! Never done one of these before.

Any tips? Planning on smoking it with hickory at 225-250 tomorrow. Any favourite rubs? Advice?

I wouldn't go for pulled beef. Chuck is perfect to smoke and slice like brisket.

I'd rub it in mustard, salt and pepper and smoke at 250f until it's done. Double wrap in foil when it stalls.

Or this:

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/beef-and-bison-recipes/smoked-and-sliced-beef-chuck-roast-recipe

The chan chan man

davegilly wrote: »

Just bought a 3lb Chuck roast. Was looking for a pork shoulder but none left so pulled beef it is!! Never done one of these before.

Any tips? Planning on smoking it with hickory at 225-250 tomorrow. Any favourite rubs? Advice?

I’ve never done that, not sure the chuck roast would have enough intramuscular fat to work well pulled? Would make a great roast on the rotisserie though covered with simple salt and pepper!

FCB1899

Had a WSM for quite a few years now but yesterday did beef short ribs and they were the best thing I've ever cooked on it.Rubbed with Angus and Oink The General + black pepper+ground coffee and smoked for 7 hrs with oak and Jameson cask.Spritzed regularly with water,worcester sauce+balsamic vinegar.For last hr glazed with a raspberry,chipotle sauce.Taken off when temp hit 90C. Great bark and smoke ring and as soft as butter.Yum yum

bamayang

bamayang wrote: »

Asked for brisket over the phone at the butchers, got this...
Gonna smoke it anyway today and see how it goes!

This was the meat after smoking. Really nice flavour and smoke ring, but a little tough. Wonder had I the heat too high?
It was 1kg, and went on for about 3.5 hours at around 225C.
My wife made Mac and cheese as a side dish, god I love it!!

bamayang

bamayang wrote: »

Asked for brisket over the phone at the butchers, got this...
Gonna smoke it anyway today and see how it goes!

This was the meat after smoking. Really nice flavour and smoke ring, but a little tough. Wonder had I the heat too high?
It was 1kg, and went on for about 3.5 hours at around 225C.

fitz

bamayang wrote: »

This was the meat after smoking. Really nice flavour and smoke ring, but a little tough. Wonder had I the heat too high?
It was 1kg, and went on for about 3.5 hours at around 225C.

225 C or 225 F?

the beer revolu

fitz wrote: »

225 C or 225 F?

I was wondering that too.
3 and a half hours at 225 c would cremate anything but the biggest cut.

fitz

the beer revolu wrote: »

I was wondering that too.
3 and a half hours at 225 c would cremate anything but the biggest cut.

And 3.5 hours at 225 F sounds way short.

BailMeOut

Two Skeaghanore ducks in my BGE

bamayang

fitz wrote: »

225 C or 225 F?

Sorry F, not C. I would have expected to have it on a little longer, but it was a small piece of meat. It came out nice flavour but tough enough.

Would it have got more tender the longer it had been left?

It was cooked through fully, so was afraid it would get burnt. Wrapped it for the last hour.

fitz

bamayang wrote: »

Sorry F, not C. I would have expected to have it on a little longer, but it was a small piece of meat. It came out nice flavour but tough enough.

Would it have got more tender the longer it had been left?

It was cooked through fully, so was afraid it would get burnt. Wrapped it for the last hour.

Did you check the internal temp?
It won't burn when cooking that low.
You need to cook brisket to about 200F internal to let the collagens in the meat break down fully, leaving the meat tender and juicy.
Below that, while the meat is cooked, it'll still be tough. If you don't have one, a thermometer with probes to monitor both grill temp and internal temp of your meat is absolutely essential for low and slow smoking. You're flying blind otherwise.

At the very least, get a Thermapen or something like that so you can get an internal temp reading.

Unfortunately, there are few low and slow cuts that you can get exact with predicting how long it'll take, and even when it looks like it's cooking at a particular rate and you think you can figure out how long the last few degrees are going to take, it can make a liar out of you. I've stopped guessing when it's going to be done, otherwise I end up with my wife complaining about the fact that she's starving and was expecting to be fed a couple of hours ago!