Off Topic Thread 5.0

Squidgy Black

Stheno wrote: »

Lads any recommendations for a bbq for a couple who are bbq novices?

Will never need to cook for more than 4 people

Any of the Weber kettles are great, but in saying that they're charcoal so a bit more work than a gas bbq.

Dave_The_Sheep

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Any of the Weber kettles are great, but in saying that they're charcoal so a bit more work than a gas bbq.

Have one of these, not sure which model, am not an expert, have never had any problems with them.

Stheno

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Any of the Weber kettles are great, but in saying that they're charcoal so a bit more work than a gas bbq.

I was looking at those earlier!

I like the idea of charcoal over gas tbh

Bazzo

Stheno wrote: »

I was looking at those earlier!

I like the idea of charcoal over gas tbh

Charcoal is more work but well worth it for the flavour. Can't go wrong with a Weber.

Squidgy Black

Stheno wrote: »

I was looking at those earlier!

I like the idea of charcoal over gas tbh

Yeah I much prefer charcoal personally, we've had a couple of gas ones over the years because my aul fella was too lazy for a charcoal but I got a weber kettle two years ago and it's been quality. Decent build quality and it's handy to get replacement bits for them if you need it

hold my beer

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Any of the Weber kettles are great, but in saying that they're charcoal so a bit more work than a gas bbq.

I've a Gas Weber over 13 years and it's still going strong.

mfceiling

I have a gas BBQ and i use it 12 months of the year. I refuse to cook any meat on the cooker now.
Nothing beats the taste of meat cooked on a flame. (Obviously charcoal is superior but it's the hassle of setting it up that would kill me).

awec

We bought a Kamado last week. Top job.

Currently sitting in the garden with a beer waiting for it to heat up to do pizzas.

awec

mfceiling wrote: »

So how fit are you? Or should I say unfit?

Went for a 5k walk in Barnaslingan forest park yesterday with herself and was feeling pretty good about my base level of fitness.

Watched Sherpa last night and proudly stated to herself "I could do that hike to Everest base camp handy enough".

So this morning at 7 we decided we'd do the trail walk at tick nock. The first 2 Kms is an uphill traipse before you hit the rocky pathway. I would say after about 5 minutes walking I was looking for a place for the air ambulance to land.

I am seriously unfit....I mean ridiculously unfit. This is going to have to be a work in progress. I'm in pain now.

I did the walk at Glendalough that involves climbing those stairs and it destroyed me.

Podge_irl

I yo-yo between being fairly fit and grossly unfit far too frequently. During the summer I have many mountains near me so I can hike/cycle a lot and its great. During winter months its mostly just skiing, eating ****loads of cheese and drinking so I tend to have to start from scratch every spring.

swiwi_

If I had a spare €10’000 the new Zenith Chronomaster Sport is a stunning watch.

https://www.ablogtowatch.com/zenith-chronomaster-sport-el-primero-3600-calibre/

For BBQ we are a charcoal family. Just tastes better than gas. The time to cook, well you spend drinking beer. Not. Rocket. Science.

stephen_n

mfceiling wrote: »

Jesus fair play man. 35k is a savage distance to cover!!

Walked from Stephen’s Green to Bray today to get pizza. So worth the walk, though there was no way I was walking back :pac:

Stheno

Bought https://thegardenhouse.ie/product/shop/bbqs-at-the-garden-house/weber-master-touch-gbs-bbq-57cm/

My friend has one

Had the best steaks ever from it at his last year

Lost Ormond

Podge_irl wrote: »

I yo-yo between being fairly fit and grossly unfit far too frequently. During the summer I have many mountains near me so I can hike/cycle a lot and its great. During winter months its mostly just skiing, eating ****loads of cheese and drinking so I tend to have to start from scratch every spring.

I do as well. No rugby and no concerts for past 12 months has stopped me binging as working all these events normally means 2-3 days a week of looking after diet, fitness, gym etc and 2-3 days of doing nothing like that....

hold my beer

Really can't wait for the gym to open again. So much easier.

Podge_irl

swiwi_ wrote: »

If I had a spare €10’000 the new Zenith Chronomaster Sport is a stunning watch.

https://www.ablogtowatch.com/zenith-chronomaster-sport-el-primero-3600-calibre/

For BBQ we are a charcoal family. Just tastes better than gas. The time to cook, well you spend drinking beer. Not. Rocket. Science.

I just don't get expensive watches. I quite like Breitlings, but I'm not paying 5-10 feckin grand for one.

swiwi_

Podge_irl wrote: »

I just don't get expensive watches. I quite like Breitlings, but I'm not paying 5-10 feckin grand for one.

Ah yeah I don’t have that sort of money to throw around. I do reckon there is a noticeable difference though between <2000 and 2000 to 5000.

You can get certain Breitlings for less than 4000.

Better to invest in a charcoal bbq though.

Podge_irl

swiwi_ wrote: »

Ah yeah I don’t have that sort of money to throw around. I do reckon there is a noticeable difference though between <2000 and 2000 to 5000.

Oh for sure. Either spend <500 or >5000 CHF is generally my view. And I have never spent the latter! I'm happy enough just with my Garmin watch...

I just don't get it though. I feel like only watch aficionados would even understand how good a watch it is so its just some kind of weird circle jerk thing.

Stheno

Podge_irl wrote: »

I just don't get expensive watches. I quite like Breitlings, but I'm not paying 5-10 feckin grand for one.

Oh no even though I am female watches are my favourite jewellery

I'm hoping to finalise a divorce soon and it will be marked with a Cartier Tank

jacothelad

swiwi_ wrote: »

If I had a spare €10’000 the new Zenith Chronomaster Sport is a stunning watch.

https://www.ablogtowatch.com/zenith-chronomaster-sport-el-primero-3600-calibre/

For BBQ we are a charcoal family. Just tastes better than gas. The time to cook, well you spend drinking beer. Not. Rocket. Science.

I have a nice collection of watches. I bought my Breitling Navitimer in St Helier in 1969. Of course I didn't keep the paperwork, box etc. I had just come in to some money and also bought a second hand 1950s Fender Tele. I wish I'd sold the watch and kept the Tele.:eek: It would be worth A LOT MORE THAN THE WATCH.

OldRio

Stheno wrote: »

Oh no even though I am female watches are my favourite jewellery

I'm hoping to finalise a divorce soon and it will be marked with a Cartier Tank[.

The Carter Tank is absolutely gorgeous. A classic.

swiwi_

jacothelad wrote: »

I have a nice collection of watches. I bought my Breitling Navitimer in St Helier in 1969. Of course I didn't keep the paperwork, box etc. I had just come in to some money and also bought a second hand 1950s Fender Tele. I wish I'd sold the watch and kept the Tele.:eek: It would be worth A LOT MORE THAN THE WATCH.

May I be so indiscreet as to ask what other watches grace your collection jaco?

For some reason it's a tradition in my family to be gifted a watch for communion and confirmation. All it did was instill a hatred for watches in me. I wanted cash like my friends. Why would I want to know the time. I'm eight. Neither survived the test of time nor an ungrateful child.

swiwi_

[Deleted User] wrote: »

For some reason it's a tradition in my family to be gifted a watch for communion and confirmation. All it did was instill a hatred for watches in me. I wanted cash like my friends. Why would I want to know the time. I'm eight. Neither survived the test of time nor an ungrateful child.

I feel your pain young man. On the bright side, your knowledge of rugby is well-developed for an 8 year old.

b.gud

Stheno wrote: »

Lads any recommendations for a bbq for a couple who are bbq novices?

Will never need to cook for more than 4 people

I know you got your BBQ but for what it's worth here's my 2 cents on BBQs

So a charcoal BBQ gives beautiful flavour that you simply won't get from gas and if you are just wanting a few BBQs during the summer when the weather is good then I definitely think they are the way to go. I'd definitely go with a Weber kettle BBQ they are really well made and though they will cost a bit more than a generic kettle BBQ but it's definitely worth it. An essential buy in my opinion for a charcoal BBQ is a chimney starter it really improves the ease and time required to get the BBQ going.

On gas I think that they really come into their own if you want to a lot of outdoor cooking. It still gets you some of the flavour of open flame cooking but with much greater convenience. It also has lots of benefits like more flexibility. For instance in my BBQ I have a griddle plate that gets lots of use so I can make Smash burgers, caramelized onions and fried potatoes as part of the BBQ. With a side burner you can also use it to do some fried chicken or other fried foods without worrying about stinking up the house.

I switched to a gas BBQ last year and while there is the odd day I miss the smell and taste of charcoal but overall I don't regret it

Whatever BBQ you get put a few quid into a decent cover to protect it from the elements

awec

You could just do what I do and have one of each. Charcoal for when I want to take my time or I'm doing a big cut of something. Gas when all I want to do is a few burgers or sausages.

Gas is very handy if you have kids. You can light it, cook, cool it and put away in an hour or so.

aloooof

Pizza ovens for the garden seem to be getting pretty popular as well, anyone get on recommendations on them?

awec

aloooof wrote: »

Pizza ovens for the garden seem to be getting pretty popular as well, anyone get on recommendations on them?

The Ooni ones seem to be very popular.

b.gud

awec wrote: »

You could just do what I do and have one of each. Charcoal for when I want to take my time or I'm doing a big cut of something. Gas when all I want to do is a few burgers or sausages.

Gas is very handy if you have kids. You can light it, cook, cool it and put away in an hour or so.

Yep definitely agree but I reckon for most people it will be one or the other. Space is also an issue for some people as they may not have space for both

aloooof wrote: »

Pizza ovens for the garden seem to be getting pretty popular as well, anyone get on recommendations on them?

If I was getting one, and if I had the money I definitely would , I'd go for the Onni Koda 16. From what I've read the difference in flavour between gas and wood fired for pizza ovens is not nearly as great as it is for BBQs. The idea of a wood fired is really nice but with the heat that one of these ovens produces your pizza will be cooking so quickly that the wood won't impart a huge flavour difference

Zzippy

b.gud wrote: »

Yep definitely agree but I reckon for most people it will be one or the other. Space is also an issue for some people as they may not have space for both



If I was getting one, and if I had the money I definitely would , I'd go for the Onni Koda 16. From what I've read the difference in flavour between gas and wood fired for pizza ovens is not nearly as great as it is for BBQs. The idea of a wood fired is really nice but with the heat that one of these ovens produces your pizza will be cooking so quickly that the wood won't impart a huge flavour difference

Getting good pizza is all about the temperature. Wood-fired won't get much hotter than gas, if at all, and you don't get any flabour from the wood IMO. The best pizza I've ever eaten was in Luzzos in Manhattan, one of the few remaining coal-fired ovens in NY. Gets much hotter, cooks much faster, and the dough gets much crisper on the outside while still nice and tender inside.