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

BUDFORCE said:
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Tomahawk steak.

Seasoned with just salt, pepper, mustard powder, and smoked with rosemary.
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Have always been a bit disappointed with Tomahawk's in the past, seem a touch style over substance. Decent T-Bone usually superior for me. :)

Though only ever done a handful so might have been luck of the draw/bad cut.
 
Got a dilemma, silly me didn't check the weather and it's raining most of today and I've got meat I was really looking forward to sticking on the BBQ.

I have a barrel BBQ, is it actually ok and possible to use it when it's raining?
 
PlacidCasual said:
Can anyone point me in the direction of a decent hot smoked pork shoulder recipe. There are so many out there. I'll be using a callow smoker with heat beads and soaked wood chips. I have two thermometers, one for the meat one for the gas temperature.
It's been nearly 18 months since I last did a proper shoulder and can't remember the temps, the time to wrap etc.
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I love my callow smoker though it barely gets used since I got a KJ Classic II.

Assuming 'gas temperature' is an error and you mean BBQ temp?

Below is rough timings for an evening meal with weight approx 2.5kg. For different meal time or shoulder size, adjust timings.

Night before:
Remove fat cap and dry brine the pork. Dry brining the night before really is worth it.

7am:
Add rub (I use pepper, paprika, cumin, cayenne or chili powder, brown sugar, garlic granules) and leave in fridge while you get bbq up to temp. Aim for BBQ temp of 250F.

Roughly 7:30, or when BBQ is up to temp (leave shoulder in fridge until then, I find you get best bark when the smoke interacts with the outside at lower temps so you want to extend this period):
Add to BBQ

Roughly midday, or whenever internal temp stalls for 20 minutes. Usually about 165F:
Wrap your meat

Roughly 5pm or whenever you hit 200F for 10 minutes:
Take meat off bbq and rest it, ideally in a cooler or if not, cover with towels to insulate, up to 2 hours. If you are struggling to get past 195F because smoker isn't that hot, then 30 mins at 195F is plenty of time to break collagen, so just as good as 10 mins at 200F I think.

Mealtime:
Pull and eat

Other tips:
  • Make sure you are careful with your wood chips to have them combusting fully for thin smoke (not thick smoke which will happen if they aren't at a high enough temperature). FWIW I think wood chip smoke doesn't actually add much compared to only charcoal, just a novelty. I'm probably a heretic.
  • Feel free to ramp bbq temperature up to 300F once wrapped if you are struggling to break the stall
  • With my callow smoker I struggled to get temp past 230F without several modifications, though mine was an early model. Can you hit 250/300F with no issues? It's all about getting enough airflow over your coals.
  • With callow smoker you may need a refuel. Plan accordingly, I think best to use minion method to start, and top up with a chimney starter as soon as you start to see temperature drop.
 
Ahgr, tried another BBQ and someone thought it looked like it was cooked on Chernobyl reactor No. 5.

I used instant light lumpwood charcoal, quick to get going and gave really good heat, if I put the lid down the temp was hitting nearly 300 C but didn't last long (long enough to cook plenty of food though)

Today I thought I'd go the normal route with briquettes, got some Zip coconut briquetted I think they were, arranged them one layer at a time, kinda like a small pile, stuck some fire lighter cubes in and lit, took a while, all food cooked, but it took much longer, the heat was lower, if I closed the lid (barrel BBQ), max tempt of 150 degrees. Lasted about 3 hours at that temp.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong, I'd like to be able to place cooked food to the indirect area to keep warm but it doesn't do very well.
 
willhub said:
Ahgr, tried another BBQ and someone thought it looked like it was cooked on Chernobyl reactor No. 5.

I used instant light lumpwood charcoal, quick to get going and gave really good heat, if I put the lid down the temp was hitting nearly 300 C but didn't last long (long enough to cook plenty of food though)

Today I thought I'd go the normal route with briquettes, got some Zip coconut briquetted I think they were, arranged them one layer at a time, kinda like a small pile, stuck some fire lighter cubes in and lit, took a while, all food cooked, but it took much longer, the heat was lower, if I closed the lid (barrel BBQ), max tempt of 150 degrees. Lasted about 3 hours at that temp.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong, I'd like to be able to place cooked food to the indirect area to keep warm but it doesn't do very well.
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Decent coals just lit with a chimney should last over two hours. Can always top up if you have a grill with an opening.
 
Everyone has their own preference and there’s no universal “best”. I’ve tried a ton of different charcoals and the ones I keep going back to are Weber briquettes, because they’re made entirely of wood (and potato starch), they last ages and they’re good value for money.
 
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thewanted said:
Everyone has their own preference and there’s no universal “best”. I’ve tried a ton of different charcoals and the ones I keep going back to are Weber briquettes, because they’re made entirely of wood (and potato starch), they last ages and they’re good value for money.
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I decided to have a look at getting a chimney starter, seems Weber ones are so popular they're out of stock.

Are Weber the best or are there any alternatives just as good?
 
willhub said:
I decided to have a look at getting a chimney starter, seems Weber ones are so popular they're out of stock.

Are Weber the best or are there any alternatives just as good?
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I paid £16 for mine and no complaints with it but it's not Weber, the Weber one is in stock on Amazon.
 
willhub said:
Which one do you have?

Is it a case putting fire lighters at the bottom and then filling it with briquettes and wait
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Mine is the Denmay brand but it's OOS, loads are the same just a diff brand.

Yeah just 3 or 4 firelighters underneath and fill it 3 quarters of briquettes.
 
I got the square one with the little grill you can put on top so if I just want to do a steak I get that fired up and cook on there, saves a shed load of charcoal Also folds up so have taken it camping with me a few times too.
 
willhub said:
Ahgr, tried another BBQ and someone thought it looked like it was cooked on Chernobyl reactor No. 5.

I used instant light lumpwood charcoal, quick to get going and gave really good heat, if I put the lid down the temp was hitting nearly 300 C but didn't last long (long enough to cook plenty of food though)

Today I thought I'd go the normal route with briquettes, got some Zip coconut briquetted I think they were, arranged them one layer at a time, kinda like a small pile, stuck some fire lighter cubes in and lit, took a while, all food cooked, but it took much longer, the heat was lower, if I closed the lid (barrel BBQ), max tempt of 150 degrees. Lasted about 3 hours at that temp.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong, I'd like to be able to place cooked food to the indirect area to keep warm but it doesn't do very well.
Click to expand...
Are you using the vents on your bbq? The key to cooking properly is all about the right level of direct or indirect heat.

For more heat, open your vents more. For less heat, close them up. For a set amount of charcoal, it will last shorter or longer based on how hot it burns. Those are the basics, and you just need to learn how to control your own bbq. Some charcoals will burn hotter than others with a given vent setting etc. Just keep an eye on those temps and adjust to suit.
 
I found this website to be a good reference. I too have had trouble controlling temps. Hoping it may be easier once I get around to using my new Aldi kamado.

Charcoal Amounts & Vent Settings for Weber Kettle Grill - Kettle Pitmaster BBQ

Charcoal Amounts and Vent Settings I use to control the temp on my Weber kettle grill using my setup. How Much Charcoal to Use When Grilling or Barbecuing
kettlepitmasterbbq.com
 
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