*****Official BBQ Thread - Suns out, Buns out!*****

[Psymonkee]

2015 Thread
2016 Thread

So it's a nice dry, sunny day here north of the border so I decided it'd be a good day to get the smoker out and get some practice in for the summer! Sadly I hadn't cleaned my BBQ since last year but it wasn't as bad as I feared - 20 mins and all sorted!




The smoker in its Sunday best and naked!



2.3kg Pork Shoulder. Dry rub underneath, oil and salt on top



A quick peek around 2pm (~6 hours in) while I grabbed the chicken off the grill. Just waiting for serving time now, 6.30pm or so and sitting at 171F right now! Around about a 10 hour cook today! Results to follow!

What do you have in mind for this year?

 

[Psymonkee]

The weather did me over last year so any day it's dry and calm I plan on grilling something! Probably low and slow until I get some smaller charcoal baskets for the weber kettle!

 

[Psymonkee]

The finished product and then plated with some veg!

Despite constant 225F+ for 6+ hours the meat still only hit 171F on the inside. Sliceable but not suitable for pulling! Still tasted alright though!

 

[Psymonkee]

ooo I forgot all about cold smoking!

 

[Psymonkee]

Any advice on getting a longer burn on the smoker? (ProQ Frontier Elite)

I set up the charcoal basket with a snake 2 wide, 3 high circling nearly the whole basket leaving enough space to drop a few lit coals in to get it going and this gets me a burn time of approx 12 hours after allowing time for the BBQ to get up to temp.

With a 2.5kg pork shoulder on it and minimal peeking the highest internal temperature I have managed on both this and a brisket is 173F which is enough to cook it but not good enough for pulling!

Grill temp is usually 220F - 260F so no problems there. I realise I could go all Texas crutch (foil wrap) and cheat my way to pulling temp but I'd like to manage it legit if possible. Both the brisket and shoulder were done on cold days (sub 10c) which may not be helping.

Any ideas/advice?

 

[Psymonkee]

Snake is more for kettles, minion method for smokers will give loads more time - I do a version of minion in my kettle with low n sear and can get 10 hours easily, a mate of mine has done 16ish hours in a WSM with minion setup!

Might give it another try then. My previous supply of charcoal was awful and produced far too much ash and blocked the vents!

 

[Psymonkee]

I'd aim for 225 - 250F for the grill!

Internal for pulling at least everyone bangs on about 203F but honestly each cut is different so it's done when it's done is more the way. Stick a fork in it and see how easy it is to wiggle about.

Snake method is the best - very easy to do as well! What charcoal are you using and do you have a chimney?

 

[Psymonkee]

I've only used Big K briquettes (awful) and Aussie Heat Beads which were awesome! Don't worry about it not catching - if you set it up right out should run for 12 hours no worries!

At least 2 wide, at least 3 high and dump*5 - 10 hot coals at one end - easy! I got mine from BBQ world iirc.

 

[Psymonkee]

Took heed of your advice and whacked an order in for the following on BBQ World earlier......

1 x Weber® Rapidfire™ Chimney Starter
1 x Weber® Lighter Cubes - White
1 x Weber® Hickory Wood Chips
4 x 4KG Australian Heat Beads
1 x Heat Beads Refillable Gas Lighter

Just need some meat, some time and a fair day! Looking forward to testing

\o/ Enjoy!

Look up a few guides on how to setup the snake and I'll see if I remembered to take any photos the last time I did mine to give you something to aim for!

 

[Psymonkee]

Did you mean briquettes rather than lumpwood perhaps?

 

[Psymonkee]

Ordered a bunch of accessories and some more heat beads so I'm all set for the upcoming season!

Gonna take a crack at doing some ribs - any tips?

 

[Psymonkee]

No idea! Just whatever I can get from work (Morrisons) as the pork here is pretty good.

 

[Psymonkee]

Wouldn't be too small but would limit what sort of size briskets etc you'd get on there. I got a 2kg brisket on my 47cm smoker but it was a tight fit.

If you're looking at the Weber BBQ's bare in mind you can get charcoal fuel baskets which will hold a small amount of fuel in one spot making it more efficient for smaller cooking jobs!

 

[Psymonkee]

get the version with the ash catcher! Best Justin ever!

 

[Psymonkee]

Went to go and fix the loose feet on the smoker today only to discover a nut had gone missing in the ash and a bolt had fallen out! Naturally enough I managed to lose the nut and the local shop I use for such things was closed so I'll be getting that fixed tomorrow. Might throw some pork on to celebrate

 

[Psymonkee]

Been far too windy today to actually use the BBQ but I did get new nuts and washers installed to make sure it stays standing up

Maybe this weekend if the wind dies down?

 

[Psymonkee]

So I'm just going to use standard charcoal and/or briquettes for the first couple of uses, because just getting used to it, and no multiple hour cooks. However, any recommendations for better charcoal going forwards? And are higher priced charcoal starter chimneys actually better than budget DIY center ones?

I'll throw in a recommendation for Aussie Heat Beads - they seem to burn very efficiently leaving not too much ash behind! I used to use the Big K stuff from Morrisons (I get discount too ) but it didn't play nicely in the smoker as the ash blocked the vents. Either do the job nicely.

As for chimneys - any will do - mine is Weber branded but it's really just a rolled sheet of metal with a wire rack and a handle from what I can tell!

 

[Psymonkee]

All my go to sources say grill temp 225 - 250F and internal temp of meat 190 - 203F but judge it more on feel.

I did a 2kg brisket which went on at ~7am, pulled off at 7pm. Final internal temp was about 173F but I wasn't home to monitor it all day. Still tasted good though

 

[Psymonkee]

I only left mine that long as I was at work all day. No idea on the temps when I was away but yes a good smoke can take half a day or more!

 

[Psymonkee]

Got some ribs on the go at last! Grill temp is holding nicely but the meat temp is way off - just over an hour of cooking and it's at 171F

Pics to follow (no befores because I is dumb! )