***** Official 2016 BBQ Thread - Chucking it Down: Proper British BBQ Weather *****

R.O.S.S.I said:
See i'm debating whether or not just a big kettle BBQ would be sufficient to dip my toe into the world of smoking as you can still smoke in them as opposed to buying a specific smoker like the ProQ Frontier.

The other downside to the ProQ Frontier is that if I wanted to use it solely as a BBQ rather than a smoker it would sit pretty low on the floor, whereas normal BBQ's tend to be a lot higher.
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You can do a fine job with a half-decent kettle BBQ so if that's a major concern then go for it.

If you want to make things easier for yourself on that front you can also just transfer the low and slow stuff you're cooking to the oven after it has had a few hours of smoke - the end result will be almost exactly the same.
 
FrenchTart said:
You can do a fine job with a half-decent kettle BBQ so if that's a major concern then go for it.

If you want to make things easier for yourself on that front you can also just transfer the low and slow stuff you're cooking to the oven after it has had a few hours of smoke - the end result will be almost exactly the same.
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Yeh I think i'm siding more into getting a kettle BBQ. Are Weber the place to go or are there other comparable brands? Spotted the 57cm Weber Compact for about £80 and the Original for £125 which may be worth a shout, I imagine the deeper Original version is better if I want to smoke etc in future as it is deeper but I can't justify the cost of the Premium version.
 
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I have a decent marinade if anyone's interested?

Zest of 1 orange
1 dried chilli (or Chilli flakes)
1 and a half heaped teaspoons smoked paprika
1 and a half teaspoon Dijon or English mustard
3 tablespoons honey
2-3 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt/pepper to taste

I've found this works well with chicken or pork.

I used this marinade for chicken kebabs at a BBQ on Monday which I'm happy to say were a huge success.
 
@Noakesy85 - looks nice :) Quite sweet so I can see why you'd suggest chicken/pork.

R.O.S.S.I said:
Yeh I think i'm siding more into getting a kettle BBQ. Are Weber the place to go or are there other comparable brands? Spotted the 57cm Weber Compact for about £80 and the Original for £125 which may be worth a shout, I imagine the deeper Original version is better if I want to smoke etc in future as it is deeper but I can't justify the cost of the Premium version.
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Can you get a One Touch? I'm not a Weber expert but from memory that's the way to go. I don't think that there are many alternatives to Weber with regards to decent kettle BBQs too (though I've smoked reasonably well on a B&Q £50 BBQ in the past).
 
FrenchTart said:
@Noakesy85 - looks nice :) Quite sweet so I can see why you'd suggest chicken/pork.



Can you get a One Touch? I'm not a Weber expert but from memory that's the way to go. I don't think that there are many alternatives to Weber with regards to decent kettle BBQs too (though I've smoked reasonably well on a B&Q £50 BBQ in the past).
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That's what I'm looking at I believe - http://www.bbqworld.co.uk/weber-barbecues/charcoal/weber-one-touch-original-57cm-black.asp I can't really justify another £50 on top for the Premium if that is what you are referring to!
 
First time trying pulled pork on out our new gas bbq. Using the Memphis Dust rub from amazingribs. Went on at 9am, set the alarm temp for 90degC. Hopefully done by 6pm. The bbq seemed to be between 200-250degF with 2 burners on low, so will see what happens. Didnt have any wood chips so no smoke this time, but got a smoke box and some hickory and oak chips on there way for next time.

gR5H0Hs.jpg
 
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@1pudding1

Looks good. Shame about the lack of wood chips (you could always rush out to go get some whilst it's cooking? If you get back within an hour or so it won't be too late :p).

R.O.S.S.I said:
That's what I'm looking at I believe - http://www.bbqworld.co.uk/weber-barbecues/charcoal/weber-one-touch-original-57cm-black.asp I can't really justify another £50 on top for the Premium if that is what you are referring to!
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Ah yes..looks like the One Touch and Premium are essentially the same thing. I thought they were different. The main difference is that the One Touch is a lot easier to clean.
 
R.O.S.S.I said:
That's what I'm looking at I believe - http://www.bbqworld.co.uk/weber-barbecues/charcoal/weber-one-touch-original-57cm-black.asp I can't really justify another £50 on top for the Premium if that is what you are referring to!
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Defi stump up the extra for the one touch as the ash pan is just brilliant, remember these webers last for 10-20 years so its not worth saving a few quid now!

I was all set for a smoker as I already had a gas bbq but ended up with a kettle, I don't use the gas one anymore and get great results on the weber - I am still tempted by a smoker but it would be alongside the kettle and not instead of for sure.

Are you anywhere near Norwich out of interest?
 
Shimmyhill said:
I used the slow n sear today, 6ish hours cook of a lamb shoulder and it worked a treat - once you get the temp settled it holds it really well - looks like an easy 8hours on the Weber briquettes as this is what was left after more than 6 hours..

Horrible weather today with rain and wind but the BBQ worked a treat, I did cover it with parasol and put the Maverick in a zip lock bag for extra protection - I think the slow n sear helped as there is an extra barrier to the wind so didn't seem to affect it as much as the snake method I've used before.

I also think the barrier between the coals and the indirect zone helped preventing the meat drying out - you could obv achieve the barrier much cheaper with foil/fire bricks etc but all in all I'm pleased with it on the first outing.
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Glad to see they work as well over here with our weather :p
Have just ordered a couple of the Mo's smoking pouches so I think I will have to test it out next week when I am at home. The lamb looks awesome and nice smoke ring.
 
Shimmyhill said:
Defi stump up the extra for the one touch as the ash pan is just brilliant, remember these webers last for 10-20 years so its not worth saving a few quid now!

I was all set for a smoker as I already had a gas bbq but ended up with a kettle, I don't use the gas one anymore and get great results on the weber - I am still tempted by a smoker but it would be alongside the kettle and not instead of for sure.

Are you anywhere near Norwich out of interest?
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The one in my link is a one-touch if the description is anything to go by so hopefully should be good to go!

Nope, i'm up in Greater Manchester area!
 
R.O.S.S.I said:
Finding it hard to justify nearly £50 extra for something that catches ash a bit better and hinged lid. The Original will be fine, i'm sure.
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Its your money so up to you of course, the ash catcher just makes it easier to clean up and you don't have ash blowing around - its hard to put a value on it but I wouldn't be without it having experienced both ways.

The hinged grill is grate :p but seriously - if you do indirect cooking it allows you to add coals/wood chunks without having to take the food and grill off - of no benefit to hot and fast BBQ of course. I can also see it being useful for my slow n sear as I could bank up more coals for an even longer cook but thats only of use if you ever get a slow n sear!!

Looking at this link http://www.riversidegardencentre.co.uk/blog/weber-57cm-barbecues-differences/ and it also looks like there are more beneficial things like stainless steel parts so it will last longer.
 
Ooooo I forgot the most important thing, you can mark up the vent settings for your low and slow smoking etc - well handy!

DSC00835bsr2-220x165-open.jpg
 
FrenchTart said:
@Noakesy85 - looks nice :) Quite sweet so I can see why you'd suggest chicken/pork.
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The first time I made it I used 3 teaspoons of ketchup and found it overpowered the other flavours. After that I just played about with the quantities until I found one that worked to my taste.

Yes it is a fairly sweet marinade, someone did ask if it was 'Sweet and Sour' :D

I need to invest in a decent BBQ seeing as the season is well and truly in swing here in Cyprus. Currently using an Outback Gas BBQ (purely for ease) but i was always brought up with coal. It feels like sacrilege to be using gas :(
 
Shimmyhill said:
Its your money so up to you of course, the ash catcher just makes it easier to clean up and you don't have ash blowing around - its hard to put a value on it but I wouldn't be without it having experienced both ways.

The hinged grill is grate :p but seriously - if you do indirect cooking it allows you to add coals/wood chunks without having to take the food and grill off - of no benefit to hot and fast BBQ of course. I can also see it being useful for my slow n sear as I could bank up more coals for an even longer cook but thats only of use if you ever get a slow n sear!!

Looking at this link http://www.riversidegardencentre.co.uk/blog/weber-57cm-barbecues-differences/ and it also looks like there are more beneficial things like stainless steel parts so it will last longer.
Click to expand...

Shimmyhill said:
Ooooo I forgot the most important thing, you can mark up the vent settings for your low and slow smoking etc - well handy!

DSC00835bsr2-220x165-open.jpg
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Fair shouts mate, to be honest I'd probably go for the Premium if I wasn't on a severe budget. The Mrs is already throwing shade at the idea haha "£125 on a BBQ, is that not a bit expensive?!" so its looking unlikely i'll be able to plump for the more expensive one. We have just got back off holiday and are fairly skint to boot so I can get what she is saying to a degree haha!

Also in terms of the ash collection, surely I could just hold a pan directly underneath and then pull the lever to let all the ash drop into that then deposit it in the bin?
 
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