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

Shimmyhill said:
What would you suggest doing with a smaller piece, I have a couple of small bits that were bought to try a long cook with but they now sound problematic!?
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You can do it but you'll need to be a lot more careful. I'd generally suggest wrapping it earlier and taking it off earlier too. It can be tough though (no pun intended) as it's so easy to over do it.

timmeh said:
It looks like I can only get a point from the supermarket, not a full brisket, so maybe that caused it?
I cooked it between 225F and 250F. I can't remember the temp as it was aaages ago. I watched a lot of bbq pit boys and bbq with franklin before I did it.

I didn't put a water pan in there but have done on a few of my more recent cooks and it's turned out a lot better. I'll try that this time.
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Point is far better than flat imo - more intramuscular fat and connective tissue so when it's cooked properly it tends to come out juicier. BBQ pros seem to prefer the leaner flat though, and use the point for burnt ends. I don't get it if I'm honest.

You don't need a water pan to get the best results but it does make it easier to regulate temperature so if that works for you then go for it :)
 
You can get away with less than optimal charcoal to start with. It will just require more babysitting due to not lasting as long :)

Have you read through...like...every page on Amazing Ribs?
 
Ducky89 said:
I've been studying Amazing ribs! But it's knowing what to get hold of here, all the links are in 'murican. Aren't they?
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Yeah..it definitely features more stuff from across the pond. It took me ages to learn all the British equivalents for different cuts.

Shimmyhill said:
Quick question for all the pros on here...

I am tempted to try a small pulled pork say a 1kg supermarche bought piece just to see how to keep the kettle at 225ish - will a smaller bit take much less time to cook, how long should I be aiming for basically?
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I'd still give yourself something like 6 hours. It almost certainly won't take that long but it's far better to finish early and let the meat rest than to finish just on time or late.

Also try and make sure it's at least 1.5kg tbh.
 
Shimmyhill said:
Thanks, I will see what I can pick up - plan is to do it in the day tomms for dinner as family want some standard bbq fare for dinner - I can experiment with it and still have food if it does not go to plan!

Plus I can play Destiny all day while everyone thinks I have spent hours cooking ;)
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That's the best bit about low and slow :p
 
Shimmyhill said:
Sooooo, I ended up with a 1.8kg bit, trimmed the fat off and its 1.6kg - only problem is they had it tied with string and its now 3 pieces, 2 small and 1 big...

How do I go about doing this, placing it all together in one big 'lump' on the BBQ?

It has all had some rub applied and in the fridge now - should I aim for about 8 hours cooking?
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You could rescue the string and tie it all up again?

Alternatively, if the pieces are of roughly equal thickness you could cook it in separate bits until it develops a reasonable bark then wrap and see it through until 90C (ish). Then vent it for 30 minutes to bring the temp down...then re-wrap and rest.

I often have done something like the above and just arranged the meat so it ended up roughly the same thickness throughout. The only real issue is that rub stuck between pieces will tend to end up a bit grainy and blah. You can get around this be rearranging half way through though.

Allowing 8 hours is a good thing - always best to have too much time. Chances are with multiple smaller bits you'll finish cooking far in advance of that though :) Just follow the directions above and once you re-wrap place it within a million towels, an oven at 50C or a coolbox (obviously without ice packs in :p).
 
You'll want to use boiling water rather than tap water or you'll struggle to get to temp without burning a ridiculous amount of coal. Even better would be to fill the bowl with sand and cover the top with foil (to stop your sand become drenched in meat juices). Ideally add a tray on top with a little water to catch all the drippings.
 
If you do move from water to sand/whatever just be a bit careful about your tempts at first. You'll find that you can reach higher temps a *lot* easier so you need to be more careful about using your top vents to control the temperature.
 
There's a few people that have picked one up on the BBQ group I'm in. Not sure I'd bother personally but that's not because I think they'll be bad - more than you can get good results with your home oven if you use a cast iron pan/pizza steel and the grill :)
 
I imagine a ProQ Frontier will be leaps and bounds ahead of this for BBQ. You can still cook pizza on the Frontier with a decent stone too (though as I say, I think BBQ pizza is a bit of a gimmick).
 
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