***** Official 2014 BBQ Thread - Sun is out, time to grill!! *****

Capt Doufos said:
Why are they horrible?
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Heat and nasty horrible ash, if theres any wind forget Webber and the crape copies ash they leave behind which is also far stronger tasting than other ash.
More of it, finer, lighter so gets blown around far easier.

Webber choral really is brand over quality.

Stuff Tesco was selling last year was both cheap and extremely good surprisingly. with just as good heat times as the more expensive brands.
 
Capt Doufos said:
The ash can get blown if it is very windy true, although most of it is the corn starch binder that seems to get blown around. Never had any issues with it flavouring the meat. What else is cheaper and burns for as long?
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high end you have Australian heat beads, which are same price and don't have stupid ash.
Low end the stuff Tesco was selling last year might of been big-k burnt with similar times, far cheaper and no need to mail order.

No other charcoal has the stupid issue as Webber stuff.
 
Too be fair, even using lumpwood charcoal you get lightweight ash that can be blown back up. Briquettes are ashy by their nature as they have binders to hold all the left over products they are made from together. At least the weber ones are natural or no additives.

I did try BigK and couldn't get the same burn time myself, I like lumpwood but it's harder to deal with being quite larger and irregular shapes making each burn different.
 
0The ash on any other charcoal or lumpwood, is nothing like Webber, is much much lighter and as such blows up far easier, it really is one of the worst charcoals I've used. Other than really cheap stuff, that lasts about 30mins.

If you're including starch as natural, then lots of charcoal is natural as most contain food starch as a binder. Just far better stuff than Webber, for BBQ purposes.
 
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I might try something else next time a restock, but I have been using it for years with good consistent results. The ash just isn't an issue for me, not whilst smoking anyway. If I am just doing more traditional BBQ I use restaurant grade lumpwood as I don't need the burn time, and as you say with the lid off briquettes binder can get blown everywhere.
 
bsoltan said:
The Pro-Q for £280 seems like a good buy as a smoker, I just want to check the functionality of using it as a normal grill. From reading back over some threads a few people have used one, would you recommend?
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Definitely. I managed to get mine (ProQ Excel 20) majorly reduced as part of a deal at a Grillstock event, but even at full price I'd grab the same Smoker again.

As a grill, it works well too. Either take out the water bath and keep the stackers on to give an ambient grill, or remove all the stackers and use it simply as a kettle grill.
 
I use Supagrill Lumpwood and briquettes, buy in bulk from CPL. I find the lumpwood great fir shorter burns like burgers and steaks and the briquettes for long smoking.
 
Hey everyone

Well, the weather looks fantastic this weekend so I'm gonna get my ProQ Excel out and try smoking something again. Last year I used it once and it all went wrong, ended up wasting a pork shoulder but I know exactly why and aim to do it properly and better this time. I had a faulty electric thermometer and it wasn't reading the temps properly at all. So I thought it was all good but eventually realised something was very wrong. I also didn't realise that I needed to calibrate the thermometer on the top of the Excel. So I plan on rectifying all of that this time.

Anyway, I have a question for the other smokers on here. What's a good cut of meat to smoke as a first timer? Shall I go with another pork shoulder and get it right this time? Or something different? Part of me thinks I should do another shoulder of pork so that when I do get it right I'll know for sure that I've done things properly and can then get on with enjoying smoking. At the moment I'm quite nervous of things not going well and I need to get past that somehow.

If not a shoulder of pork, then I'll need something which is fairly forgiving so I can build up some confidence and abilities with using the smoker. So what are your suggestions?
 
Go for pork shoulder. Brisket is another good cut but it can be a little tougher to get right.

Best tip: Start the smoking process as early as possible. If you finish early you can always keep the meat warm.
 
Well I couldn't get a pork shoulder as my butcher had none. Instead I went for a pork leg (rear) which is also quite fatty and a bit tough like a shoulder so hopefully it'll work similarly. Sadly I won't be smoking this weekend as I am going out tomorrow, I haven't had a chance to rub the pork or get it going this morning, and I don't fancy leaving the smoker unattended whilst I'm out tomorrow.

I am, however, looking at getting one of these today for normal BBQs in the future:

http://www.johnlewis.com/weber-mast...ecue-with-gourmet-grills-57cm/p721702#default

It's to replace my 10yr old Weber Bar B Kettle. It has seen loads of good use but I am very interested with the features of the MasterTouch. What do you guys reckon?
 
lookitsjonno said:
I bought a Weber One Touch Premium last year, but i'm now after upgrading my gas BBQ. I'm considering shelling £439 on a Weber Spirit 310, does anyone have this BBQ and do they recommend it?
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Just curious why you'd want to go from charcoal to gas? It's a genuine question, I'm not trolling :)
 
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