Spec me a Barbecue

Rojin · 8 Jun 2013 at 21:42

I've just been through all this, and bought the Weber One Touch Premium. It's awesome

I smoked ribs on it today, I ran out of time for really tender (needed at least another hour) but the smoke ring was great

Capt Doufos · 8 Jun 2013 at 22:00

I often run out of space on my 57cm unless you want to be putting things on to of the coals. Even the typical English stuff, 3 or 4 burgers, couple of sausages and some wings and you are out of space. You need the room to rotate stuff.

Tomorrow I hope to get 2 racks of ribs 2 turkey legs, going to try some bbq beans, and that will be a push to squeeze it on.

Raymond Lin · 9 Jun 2013 at 22:19

Glaucus said:
It can't be to big, you need space for indirect grilling, and even if direct grilling, you need space for a cool area to pull stuff of.

If you are going to do rubbish English bbq then save the money and buy a £20 bbq with no lid or anything else. If your interested in bbq then get a 57cm kettle.
It doesn't mean you have to fill the whole thing up with charcoal.

And as said you can bbq all year round. BBQing doesn't mean you have to sit outside.

It can't be too big like a manion can't be too big for 1 person to live in. I live by myself so I would say 90% of the time using it will be just for me. The other 10% of the time it may be 4 people.

47cm will work perfectly for me, I really think it is a waste of money getting the 57cm one.

FrenchTart · 9 Jun 2013 at 22:26

Raymond Lin said:
It can't be too big like a manion can't be too big for 1 person to live in. I live by myself so I would say 90% of the time using it will be just for me. The other 10% of the time it may be 4 people.

47cm will work perfectly for me, I really think it is a waste of money getting the 57cm one.

You'll probably be fine with the 47cm - especially as you're coming from disposable BBQs.

That said, once you start to experiment with other cooking methods you'll probably very quickly regret limiting yourself with the 47 as you'll have to faff around more to make sure that you're not directly cooking your food. It's really not likely to be that big a deal though.

Raymond Lin · 9 Jun 2013 at 22:27

At most I think is roasting something like a chicken perhaps, it won't be a chicken and something else...how much can a man eat? lol

FrenchTart · 9 Jun 2013 at 22:29

Raymond Lin said:
At most I think is roasting something like a chicken perhaps, it won't be a chicken and something else...how much can a man eat? lol

The point I'm badly trying to make is that more of a gap between the coals and the food will give you more options/better results for "low and slow" cooking. But also..you're unlikely to care for a good while

Raymond Lin · 9 Jun 2013 at 22:30

I understand that, I guess I'll see tomorrow when I am back in B&Q.

Or just get this,

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3450808.htm

It's cheap enough that I don't care about the size as much lol

Rich_L · 9 Jun 2013 at 22:40

That Argos one will be totally fine for what you are talking about. Pick up the cover for 9 quid and a chimney starter and you're sorted for around 60 quid total.

Personally I prefer the 39.99 barrel BBQ (http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3451041.htm) which is outstanding value given the versatility it allows you to cook in all sorts of ways but as you want something smaller the one you linked will do everything you need it to.

FrenchTart · 9 Jun 2013 at 22:45

For that kind of price I'd be more tempted by the barrel BBQ too (the one with a top is a must).

Raymond Lin · 9 Jun 2013 at 22:52

Like this ? http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3451041.htm

FrenchTart · 9 Jun 2013 at 22:54

Raymond Lin said:
Like this ? http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3451041.htm

Yeah. As cheap BBQs go that is a very good one to choose. The build quality isn't exactly superb but it will do you well enough.

Raymond Lin · 9 Jun 2013 at 23:03

The only concern about the quality for me is that it would rust over the winter but then for the money, I can buy a new one every year for the next 5 years and still break even against a Weber 57cm one.

FrenchTart · 9 Jun 2013 at 23:06

Raymond Lin said:
The only concern about the quality for me is that it would rust over the winter but then for the money, I can buy a new one every year for the next 5 years and still break even against a Weber 57cm one.

Yeah. Another alternative is that you use it for a year then decide that you want something better. Once again not a huge deal as you'll still have had a year's worth of okay BBQing

Raymond Lin · 9 Jun 2013 at 23:14

That settles it then.

Don't have time to go to Argos tomorrow but will see if B&Q have something similar and pick up all the bits first.

What do I need?

Charcoal
Chimney starter
Oven thermometer
Meat thermometer
Wire brush?
Lighter fluid or fire starter?

FrenchTart · 9 Jun 2013 at 23:17

Raymond Lin said:
That settles it then.

Don't have time to go to Argos tomorrow but will see if B&Q have something similar and pick up all the bits first.

What do I need?

Charcoal
Chimney starter
Oven thermometer
Meat thermometer
Wire brush?
Lighter fluid or fire starter?

Don't bother with lighter fluid or starter stuff. If you have the chimney starter you can just use scrunched up paper (and it works really well).

Aside from that, all looks good. I would heartily recommend some really heavy-duty tongs too. You want something that can easily grip a few kg of meat without bending or requiring you to hold them too close to the heat.

Raymond Lin · 9 Jun 2013 at 23:24

Just light some paper under it and it will light the coal first time? its that easy ?!

Glaucus · 9 Jun 2013 at 23:28

Ah the tongs I have snapped so many clean in half and that includes metal ones. Now got a very beefy set of part wood part metal and they have lasted so far, no idea where I got them from. But before these and went through a set most BBQs.

Raymond Lin · 9 Jun 2013 at 23:31

Tongues ?

You mean tongs?

Glaucus · 9 Jun 2013 at 23:35

Yes yes I do.

FrenchTart · 9 Jun 2013 at 23:50

Raymond Lin said:
Just light some paper under it and it will light the coal first time? its that easy ?!

Yup. It's that easy. Make sure you use a fair bit of paper. I tend to use the top 1/3rd of the thick paper that makes up a bag of charcoal briquettes. If you are concerned about it not working then simply try with a small batch. The first ten minutes you won't see much action once the flames go out but as long as there's a bit of residual heat the bottom coals are lit and within 20 mins it should have lit most of the bucket.

Glaucus said:
Ah the tongs I have snapped so many clean in half and that includes metal ones. Now got a very beefy set of part wood part metal and they have lasted so far, no idea where I got them from. But before these and went through a set most BBQs.

Lol, yeah. I've got some pretty decent ones at the moment and I've found myself using them more and more for cooking even outside of the BBQ. Bacon is so much easier with them