*Charcoal* BBQ/Grilling

Johnny_Fontane

The Nal wrote: »

Honestly the best advice I can give is to keep is real simple. The cooking temp and the time is what makes it and keeps it juicy. Concentrate 99% on that. A simple bit of seasoning, some water in a foil pan or whatever and watch the temp.

This is great advice, lets see how it goes. Will keep it simple.

tonc76

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

Never had a problem keeping it low.
I use the snake method (kind of). which is lighting 2/3 coals with the chimney starter and adding to the edge of a bunch of coals ((like maybe 40). I have the bottom completely closed and regulate the heat with the top vent. You only have the top vent open a small amount like maybe 1/5th and work it from there. I have two temp guages hooked up to my bluetooth thermo, one for the rack, the second for the meat. Works a charm

This guy is droll, but spot on.
https://youtu.be/AIXsgPHxt6M

Re the snake ... do you do this with the diffuser and ring? does that not defeat the purpose?

Johnny_Fontane

tonc76 wrote: »

Re the snake ... do you do this with the diffuser and ring? does that not defeat the purpose?

The ring keeps everything in situ and allows you to place the diffuser plate on top, meaning you get an even heat (through the holes in the ring). I've successfully used them to get a good low and slow temp. So maybe what I am describing is not the snake method exactly, but basically, what I do is light a couple of coals to one side/end of the 40 or so coals, meaning it burns through them at a slow rate rather than putting the lit coals in the middle of a pile that will burn more quickly (i.e. more heat).

kjm3

Has anyone had much experience with the Proq Frontier Elite? Thinking of picking one up but wondering would I better spending more to get 47cm Weber Smokey Mountain.....

FixitFelix

kjm3 wrote: »

Has anyone had much experience with the Proq Frontier Elite? Thinking of picking one up but wondering would I better spending more to get 47cm Weber Smokey Mountain.....

I have the 47cm WSM and can honestly say its excellent, if you can afford to get one I'd say get it, you won't look back.

Padraig Mor

kjm3 wrote: »

Has anyone had much experience with the Proq Frontier Elite? Thinking of picking one up but wondering would I better spending more to get 47cm Weber Smokey Mountain.....

I got one recently. Only used it a few times so far but seems well built. One thing I would say is that the several reviews I saw saying that it was difficult to get it up to temp with water in the bowl were correct - water basically has to boil off first unless you're going very low. Of course with nothing in the bowl it's then quite hard to manage the temp - but note I'm saying that as a novice. Haven't tried sand / bricks. Have only done a few dishes so far but the standout was a brisket - gorgeous and melt in your mouth.

Mince arrived slightly damaged and I have to acknowledge the lengths ProQ went to to get me sorted. I had ordered via Parcel Wizard (because UK price cheaper) yet they went out of their way to send the replacement directly to me here and arrange collection of the original - it's a big, heavy box so can't have been cheap.

BTW just before ordering I came across a discount code for ProQ (10% I think) - can pull it out if you need.

neris

kjm3 wrote: »

Has anyone had much experience with the Proq Frontier Elite? Thinking of picking one up but wondering would I better spending more to get 47cm Weber Smokey Mountain.....

I have one and its a mix bag. The water pan has a big effect on temps and keeps it at low temps for a good while so youll find it takes longer to cook on a long cook. There is good space though on the 2 racks and you can pack in a fair bit. The hanging lid is good for ribs but awkward to use if you want to sauce or lift the lid off. As a grill its fine and just as good as a weber. if your only looking for something for smoking on lump of meat or a few ribs at a time you could look at a weber kettle with a slow n sear

neris

Have weber stopped shipping from their website to Ireland?

nialldinho

neris wrote: »

Have weber stopped shipping from their website to Ireland?

Their store says it’s due to COVID restrictions.

neris

nialldinho wrote: »

Their store says it’s due to COVID restrictions.

That's what i was seeing but could have sworn 2 weeks ago i was able to put stuff in the basket. Can the items i want from Irish stockists but need to go to 2 of them and between them they don't have everything i want either

Ryath

Did the Turkey on the BBQ for the first this year. Snake method with hickory chips. Cooked way quicker than expected. 6kg, 2.5 hrs at a fairly steady 150℃ to get to 74℃ internal, thought it would take more like 3.5. So the turkey ended up resting for nearly 2 hrs before I had everything else ready. Was quite good. Not much smoke in the breast meat bar the first slice and the edges but the legs were very good tender with a lightly smoked flavour. In hind site I should have thrown in the ham too.



Had to back for seconds as it wouldn't all fit on the plate.

paddylonglegs

Ryath wrote: »

Did the Turkey on the BBQ for the first this year. Snake method with hickory chips. Cooked way quicker than expected. 6kg, 2.5 hrs at a fairly steady 150℃ to get to 74℃ internal, thought it would take more like 3.5. So the turkey ended up resting for nearly 2 hrs before I had everything else ready. Was quite good. Not much smoke in the breast meat bar the first slice and the edges but the legs were very good tender with a lightly smoked flavour. In hind site I should have thrown in the ham too.



Had to back for seconds as it wouldn't all fit on the plate.

You’re going to need a bigger plate good job cooking the turkey. Was wondering if many were going to do any Christmas cooks on the bbq.

griffdaddy

I did a shoulder of pork on Christmas Eve into Christmas Morning and then a smaller prime rib roast on Christmas Day. Brought the rib roast up to 115f and then had it resting for a couple of hours. Reverse seared it on a high heat then and sliced out smaller cuts to cook for a couple of minutes more on direct heat depending on how people wanted it. Was delicious. Forgot to get pics because I was so busy preparing everything else. Roasted a chicken marinaded in Nandos hot sauce on Stephen's Day, that was just for me :-)

Brian?

Ryath wrote: »

Did the Turkey on the BBQ for the first this year. Snake method with hickory chips. Cooked way quicker than expected. 6kg, 2.5 hrs at a fairly steady 150℃ to get to 74℃ internal, thought it would take more like 3.5. So the turkey ended up resting for nearly 2 hrs before I had everything else ready. Was quite good. Not much smoke in the breast meat bar the first slice and the edges but the legs were very good tender with a lightly smoked flavour. In hind site I should have thrown in the ham too.



Had to back for seconds as it wouldn't all fit on the plate.

You need to buy bigger plates!

Ryath

Brian? wrote: »

You need to buy bigger plates!

They're 26cm so not that small! Handy enough to go back for seconds of pork stuffing and veg. Had plenty of meat on the leg the whole thigh is under there somewhere. I'll eat of a serving platter next year!

blue note

Why didn't my pulled pork pull apart more easily?

I'm looking for opinions. I bbqd a 1.5kg pork shoulder. The temp held very steady at around 110 for 6 hours. That got the temp of the pork up to 80. Then I wrapped it and allowed the temp of the bbq to climb to about 150 for the end of the cook and took off the pork at 88 internal temp.

I reckon not wrapping it was the problem. I went with a weber book I got which didn't suggest wrapping it so I said I'd try it. But I think that probably took a lot of the moisture out of it.

It still pulled apart mostly and was very tasty. But certainly not perfect.

Brian?

blue note wrote: »

Why didn't my pulled pork pull apart more easily?

I'm looking for opinions. I bbqd a 1.5kg pork shoulder. The temp held very steady at around 110 for 6 hours. That got the temp of the pork up to 80. Then I wrapped it and allowed the temp of the bbq to climb to about 150 for the end of the cook and took off the pork at 88 internal temp.

I reckon not wrapping it was the problem. I went with a weber book I got which didn't suggest wrapping it so I said I'd try it. But I think that probably took a lot of the moisture out of it.

It still pulled apart mostly and was very tasty. But certainly not perfect.

The wrapping 100% was not the problem. Every shoulder is different, this one may have needed to be cooked longer.

How long did you rest it before trying to pull?

Edit: you only cooked it to 80c. Try going over 90 next time.

SachaJ

I cook at around 110 up until it hits 96 degrees. It can take anything from 9-12 hours. That said, 1.5kg sounds like a smaller cut of meat as I'd usually do 2-3kgs.

Pork/Boston Butt might be softer also although I have cooked neck and shoulder. Probably the particular cut of meat.

blue note

Brian? wrote: »

The wrapping 100% was not the problem. Every shoulder is different, this one may have needed to be cooked longer.

How long did you rest it before trying to pull?

Edit: you only cooked it to 80c. Try going over 90 next time.

Rested for half an hour after I took it off. And I went to 88 degrees. I wrapped at 80 degrees, and let the bbq temp go higher (about 150), and took it off at 88. So it got about 45 minute wrapped at the higher temp. Was that the problem?

Thanks for the response btw.

heroics

blue note wrote: »

Rested for half an hour after I took it off. And I went to 88 degrees. I wrapped at 80 degrees, and let the bbq temp go higher (about 150), and took it off at 88. So it got about 45 minute wrapped at the higher temp. Was that the problem?

Thanks for the response btw.

I just checked my last one and I got it to 205 Fahrenheit and it pulled apart really easy.

blue note

Hmm. I could have taken it off too soon by the sounds of it. And it could have been the cut. I'm sure letting the temp go higher at the end didn't help.

What are your thoughts on wrapping by the way? Unrelated to how easily it pulls apart. To me I'd have thought it would help keep it moist at least. I thought it odd that the book didn't recommend it.

Brian?

blue note wrote: »

Rested for half an hour after I took it off. And I went to 88 degrees. I wrapped at 80 degrees, and let the bbq temp go higher (about 150), and took it off at 88. So it got about 45 minute wrapped at the higher temp. Was that the problem?

Thanks for the response btw.

Yeah, you tool it off to early. You should go over 90, as high as 96 depending on the shoulder itself.

deckie27

blue note wrote: »

Hmm. I could have taken it off too soon by the sounds of it. And it could have been the cut. I'm sure letting the temp go higher at the end didn't help.

What are your thoughts on wrapping by the way? Unrelated to how easily it pulls apart. To me I'd have thought it would help keep it moist at least. I thought it odd that the book didn't recommend it.

Disclaimer.
I'm one cooking low and slow 6 months

I have cooked many shoulders, butts, necks and I found they cook much better with no wrapping.
Can take 12--16 hours but there worth it.
I always bring them to 95c.
The fat starts to render (melt) at about 80c
It can take a few hours to get the last few degrees but this is when all the fat is breaking down..

The Nal

blue note wrote: »

Hmm. I could have taken it off too soon by the sounds of it. And it could have been the cut. I'm sure letting the temp go higher at the end didn't help.

What are your thoughts on wrapping by the way? Unrelated to how easily it pulls apart. To me I'd have thought it would help keep it moist at least. I thought it odd that the book didn't recommend it.

Were you opening and closing it, checking it etc a lot? Always best to leave it alone for as long as possible.

blue note

deckie27 wrote: »

Disclaimer.
I'm one cooking low and slow 6 months .

6 months!? That's taking low and slow to a whole new level!

blue note

The Nal wrote: »

Were you opening and closing it, checking it etc a lot? Always best to leave it alone for as long as possible.

Not at all. I only opened the lid to refuel. So 3 times in just under 7 hours.

Brian?

blue note wrote: »

Not at all. I only opened the lid to refuel. So 3 times in just under 7 hours.

I'd also wrap it a lot earlier too. I'd wrap it at 160f/70c as that's normally where it stalls.

deckie27

blue note wrote: »

6 months!? That's taking low and slow to a whole new level!

It's gonna be mega tender ... I hope.. 😋🀪

davegilly

blue note wrote: »

Why didn't my pulled pork pull apart more easily?

I reckon not wrapping it was the problem.

Nope, 88 degrees was the problem. You need to take it to about 94c/202f before taking it off in my experience. Should fall apart in your hands at this temp after an hour or two rest.

hurleronditch

Has anyone ever smoked a Christmas spiced beef?

Would the smoke crossed with the unusual spice mix make it too much flavour confusion?


I got a smallish piece before Christmas that I froze. Due to home renovations my KJ is under wraps for a few weeks but wondering if I should save then beef for when it’s back out or just boil it like normal