*Charcoal* BBQ/Grilling

BarryNumber1

neris wrote: »

Have had it years and spent a bit on it aswell buying accesorirs and replacement parts. Only bought a sear grate, rotisserie and charcoal grate after new year but will be buying the same model again. A great bbq

Have similar myself... bottom vent gone. I just cover some of them with tin foil if smoking and use the top vent to try and regulate temps. Seems to work ok.

Blisterman

Iguarantee wrote: »

I have the 37cm/14" smokey mountain and I only use lumpwood with it (because that's pretty much the only fuel I buy).

I like it, but I did some research first, this guy has an excellent range of videos on the smokey mountain, he makes a point of saying the type of smoker/grill used is pretty much irrelevant if you set it up right:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOctn85Y-nk

I don't use blocks of wood to smoke, I just have a bag of Weber chips which I mix in with the lumpwood.

Results are good.

Thanks. I'll have to watch those videos.
I tried a pork shoulder with lumpwood over the weekend.
Went well generally, but it did burn very quickly. Had to refill it every 2 hours. Ended up using an entire 30L bag for an 8 hour smoke.
Ordered some Weber briquettes, so I'll see how I get on with that.

willabur

Blisterman wrote: »

Thanks. I'll have to watch those videos.
I tried a pork shoulder with lumpwood over the weekend.
Went well generally, but it did burn very quickly. Had to refill it every 2 hours. Ended up using an entire 30L bag for an 8 hour smoke.
Ordered some Weber briquettes, so I'll see how I get on with that.

that is ALOT of charcoal for an 8 hour cook. Would suggest that your smoker is not efficient at keeping in heat

Iguarantee

Blisterman wrote: »

Thanks. I'll have to watch those videos.
I tried a pork shoulder with lumpwood over the weekend.
Went well generally, but it did burn very quickly. Had to refill it every 2 hours. Ended up using an entire 30L bag for an 8 hour smoke.
Ordered some Weber briquettes, so I'll see how I get on with that.

I did a pork shoulder yesterday. Got to 160F internal and had to take it off because the wind and rain were making the heat difficult to maintain, but on regular or sunny days a single load of lump wood will burn for 7 hours no problem.

I filled it once (equivalent to 1.5 starter chimneys of charcoal) and it burned for 5+ hours, that was less than I’d expected or hoped but it was cold and windy outside which has an effect.

I’ve burned a single load of lump wood charcoal on the WSM for 7 hours and it was still at 225F at the end, had to shut the vents to kill the fire once I’d the food taken off.

The “minion” method is the recommended way to set up the burn, seems popular enough and it’s quite effective in my experience.

Kamikaze Kamado

budgemook wrote: »

Tried another set up on the KJ for pizza today. This time I was able to get it really hot and the pizza turned out pretty awesome. Any more than 3 or 4 pizzas though and I'd say the bottom would start burning, it's a fine art to get it right! I've come to the conclusion that you can definitely get similar results to an Ooni on the KJ but it takes a fair bit of effort and charcoal to get it just right. I have been Googling the Ooni a bit recently so now I'm seeing ads for them everywhere and will probably find it hard to resist!

That pizza looks great.

budgemook

Kamikaze Kamado wrote: »

That pizza looks great.

Thanks, yeah it was definitely the best batch yet. I do have a bit of a dilemma though - the last couple of attempts my setup had me at 370c temp in the dome so I wasn't getting the high heat / spotting - the pizzas took around 4 minutes to cook and I'd say I could have cooked a good few more than 4 without issue. They tasted great. With the most recent setup the temperature was up at 470 and I would definitely say the pizzas were a little bit better - the high heat / spotting gave it this slightly bitter taste that wasn't there before however by the 4th pizza I was pretty close t burning the bottom, a 5th pizza would have burnt underneath before the top was done for sure. I don't think my gasket was too happy about the whole situation either :pac:

So I think I'll probably go back to the previous setup for now and I might just swallow my pride and get an Ooni as I get more interested in pizza making, especially as my wife and mother both offered to get me one for a big birthday this year

Holy Diver

First attempt at ribs today.

Used the 3-2-1 method but adapted it on the fly to 3-1.5-.5 - 5 hours total

Turned out really good although I may reduce by 30 min next time as some of the thinner parts were drying out a little

thejaguar

budgemook wrote: »

So I think I'll probably go back to the previous setup for now and I might just swallow my pride and get an Ooni as I get more interested in pizza making, especially as my wife and mother both offered to get me one for a big birthday this year

I've just recently picked up an Ooni for a big birthday - I'm amazed buy it. I would recommend it very highly.

Kamikaze Kamado

budgemook wrote: »

Thanks, yeah it was definitely the best batch yet. I do have a bit of a dilemma though - the last couple of attempts my setup had me at 370c temp in the dome so I wasn't getting the high heat / spotting - the pizzas took around 4 minutes to cook and I'd say I could have cooked a good few more than 4 without issue. They tasted great. With the most recent setup the temperature was up at 470 and I would definitely say the pizzas were a little bit better - the high heat / spotting gave it this slightly bitter taste that wasn't there before however by the 4th pizza I was pretty close t burning the bottom, a 5th pizza would have burnt underneath before the top was done for sure. I don't think my gasket was too happy about the whole situation either :pac:

So I think I'll probably go back to the previous setup for now and I might just swallow my pride and get an Ooni as I get more interested in pizza making, especially as my wife and mother both offered to get me one for a big birthday this year

I'm in a similar dilemma: keep trying to perfect my Neapolitan pizza on the kamado or bite the bullet and either make or buy a pizza oven.

The high heat deffo works for this style of pizza. I've invested in an infrared thermometer and I'm getting similar temps as you and similar leoparding on the base but not the crust. I'm actually gonna try and use a blow torch to crisp the crust once the base is cooked on the pizza stone - it's basically the same as what the gas fueled Ooni does, expose the crust to direct flame. It'll be an interesting one for sure.

budgemook

Kamikaze Kamado wrote: »

I'm in a similar dilemma: keep trying to perfect my Neapolitan pizza on the kamado or bite the bullet and either make or buy a pizza oven.

The high heat deffo works for this style of pizza. I've invested in an infrared thermometer and I'm getting similar temps as you and similar leoparding on the base but not the crust. I'm actually gonna try and use a blow torch to crisp the crust once the base is cooked on the pizza stone - it's basically the same as what the gas fueled Ooni does, expose the crust to direct flame. It'll be an interesting one for sure.

Oh yeah I was getting it on the base for a while but to get it on the crust I set up like this on KJ:

1 - grill plates high position
2 - expander rack
3 - deflector plates on top of expander rack (this was the latest change I made that got the heat going again)
4 - 4 metal nuts
5 - pizza stone

so the pizza stone is pretty close to the dome where the heat is and the defelctor plates are as high as they can be letting the heat rage below. Like I said though, it was starting to get too hot. I'll probably try again and see if I can slightly lower the heat but honestly I think it will be accept 370 or so and have a nice stable heat for plenty of pizzas or go 470 and get the pizzas in and out as fast as possible!

squonk

Anyone tried the small bags of charcoal briquettes in ALDI at the moment. Can’t remember the brand but the bag just about fills a chimney. They seem to be pretty poor. I did a cook earlier with some spuds and vegetables that were going fir about an hour or a bit longer. By the time I got round to steaks there wasn’t much heat left. Certainly not enough to sear the meat.

Wondering if it’s the briquettes or myself! Normally with the Aldi stuff I’d throw them into either the charcoal baskets or a vortex and that seems to get a bit more mileage out of them but this evening I used a basket as a divider and just poured the chimney onto the fire grate. The kettle held a fairly constant temp fir the hour or hour and a half but I feel I really should have restocked for the steaks. Ah well.

There seemed to be heaps of ash even half way through.

bigjoe

squonk wrote: »

Anyone tried the small bags of charcoal briquettes in ALDI at the moment. Can’t remember the brand but the bag just about fills a chimney. They seem to be pretty poor. I did a cook earlier with some spuds and vegetables that were going fir about an hour or a bit longer. By the time I got round to steaks there wasn’t much heat left. Certainly not enough to sear the meat.

Wondering if it’s the briquettes or myself! Normally with the Aldi stuff I’d throw them into either the charcoal baskets or a vortex and that seems to get a bit more mileage out of them but this evening I used a basket as a divider and just poured the chimney onto the fire grate. The kettle held a fairly constant temp fir the hour or hour and a half but I feel I really should have restocked for the steaks. Ah well.

There seemed to be heaps of ash even half way through.

It is not just you, in my opinion they are rubbish. They may be OK for someone to just doing a burgers or a steak over heat but for noting longer or needing a lot of heat.

Brian?

squonk wrote: »

Anyone tried the small bags of charcoal briquettes in ALDI at the moment. Can’t remember the brand but the bag just about fills a chimney. They seem to be pretty poor. I did a cook earlier with some spuds and vegetables that were going fir about an hour or a bit longer. By the time I got round to steaks there wasn’t much heat left. Certainly not enough to sear the meat.

Wondering if it’s the briquettes or myself! Normally with the Aldi stuff I’d throw them into either the charcoal baskets or a vortex and that seems to get a bit more mileage out of them but this evening I used a basket as a divider and just poured the chimney onto the fire grate. The kettle held a fairly constant temp fir the hour or hour and a half but I feel I really should have restocked for the steaks. Ah well.

There seemed to be heaps of ash even half way through.

I tried them a few years ago. Burned way too quick.

heroics

Just a quick one on the charcoal. Bought the blue bags on the deal mentioned a couple of pages ago and tbh they are great. Been using them all week for steak/burgers/vortex etc

Blue bags have decent size pieces and burns well. I’ll still use the Weber briquettes for the long cooks as I’ve gotten the timings/temp control pretty good with them now but for the vortex and steaks etc I’ll use the blue bag

The Nal

Did a bavette steak yesterday. Tastiest beef I've ever had. A little chewier than the main cuts but way more taste. and really cheap. Just did a marinade of soy, garlic, honey etc.

Forgot to take pics was gone too quickly.

Brian?

The Nal wrote: »

Did a bavette steak yesterday. Tastiest beef I've ever had. A little chewier than the main cuts but way more taste. and really cheap. Just did a marinade of soy, garlic, honey etc.

Forgot to take pics was gone too quickly.

I eat Bavette once a week, never marinate it. Dry rub of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Reverse sear until medium rare.

The real key is to slice it across the grain. If you do that you have perfect tenderness and flavour.

The Nal

Brian? wrote: »

I eat Bavette once a week, never marinate it. Dry rub of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Reverse sear until medium rare.

The real key is to slice it across the grain. If you do that you have perfect tenderness and flavour.

Just had the rest in a sambo. Off the chart taste. Will be doing another net week.

Brian?

The Nal wrote: »

Just had the rest in a sambo. Off the chart taste. Will be doing another net week.

Next week make chimmichurri and have it in sandwiches on a nice baguette. It’s fantastic

The Nal

Brian? wrote: »

Next week make chimmichurri and have it in sandwiches on a nice baguette. It’s fantastic

I had chimmichurri with it the first night. Did it on the Hibachi grill. Incredible flavour from it all. Cant wait till next week! Will try a simple dry rub this time.

Will be keeping an eye out for similar cuts. Hanger steak etc.

Brian?

The Nal wrote: »

I had chimmichurri with it the first night. Did it on the Hibachi grill. Incredible flavour from it all. Cant wait till next week! Will try a simple dry rub this time.

Will be keeping an eye out for similar cuts. Hanger steak etc.

Skirt is wonderful stuff as well.

I used to get flank all the time in Ireland. Some people call that bavette sometimes but it’s a different cut. Flank and bavette are my favourite steaks.

I really can’t emphasis how important it is to slice them the right way though!

budgemook

Brian? wrote: »

Skirt is wonderful stuff as well.

I used to get flank all the time in Ireland. Some people call that bavette sometimes but it’s a different cut. Flank and bavette are my favourite steaks.

I really can’t emphasis how important it is to slice them the right way though!

The say the direction of the cut of picanha is really important too, probably for similar reasons? Must pick up some bavette and check it out.

Brian?

budgemook wrote: »

The say the direction of the cut of picanha is really important too, probably for similar reasons? Must pick up some bavette and check it out.

Yep, exactly the same reason. But picanha is more forgiving because it's more tender in the first place.

squonk

bigjoe wrote: »

It is not just you, in my opinion they are rubbish. They may be OK for someone to just doing a burgers or a steak over heat but for noting longer or needing a lot of heat.

Thanks. I won’t be rushing to use the ALDI briquettes again in a hurry but I did order 2 of the blue bags of charcoal from Surefire based on you guys talking about it here. Still have to try it out. Next weekend hopefully.

I’d appreciate any tips with this stuff. Like, do I need to fill up a chimney with the blue bag charcoal like the briquettes? I’ve heard the real stuff burns hitter and for nit as long as briquettes. What kind of burn time would I get? I struggled with the Aldi stuff to get 2 hours once I cleared the ash.

Generally I’d be looking to do vegetables first and get them roasted, then finally cook steak or something else reasonably quick. What kind of amount of the blue bag stuff would I need for this?

bamayang

Just did beer can chicken in Webber. Came out really nice and tasty. Kept the heat around 175c for 1hr 10. Put some baked potatoes on also, which were lovely.
It was shprisingly easy to keep the temp around the right mark.

Carb

I've procrastinated for 12 months at this stage and finally about to pull the trigger on one of these:
https://www.weber.com/IE/en/barbecues/charcoal-barbecues/performer-series/15501004.html?cgid=219#start=1

Anyone have this model or any views on whether it's a worthwhile purchase. It's clearly expensive versus their other kettles but I like the side table and gas ignition.

Any must have accessories?

squonk

bamayang wrote: »

Just did beer can chicken in Webber. Came out really nice and tasty. Kept the heat around 175c for 1hr 10. Put some baked potatoes on also, which were lovely.
It was shprisingly easy to keep the temp around the right mark.

That looks really great! I’m working up to beercan chicken

bamayang

squonk wrote: »

That looks really great! I’m working up to beercan chicken

I’m pretty new to it all and was very nervous about temps and also of the chicken falling over!! But it was actually very easy.

Also, got the Webber fire starters for the charcoal chimney from recommendation here and they work great.

squonk

bamayang wrote: »

I’m pretty new to it all and was very nervous about temps and also of the chicken falling over!! But it was actually very easy.

Also, got the Webber fire starters for the charcoal chimney from recommendation here and they work great.

What did you put on the outside? Salt, pepper etc?

The chan chan man

bamayang wrote: »

Just did beer can chicken in Webber. Came out really nice and tasty. Kept the heat around 175c for 1hr 10. Put some baked potatoes on also, which were lovely.
It was shprisingly easy to keep the temp around the right mark.

Top marks... well.. minus 1 for even having budweiser in the house..

higster

Carb wrote: »

I've procrastinated for 12 months at this stage and finally about to pull the trigger on one of these:
https://www.weber.com/IE/en/barbecues/charcoal-barbecues/performer-series/15501004.html?cgid=219#start=1

Anyone have this model or any views on whether it's a worthwhile purchase. It's clearly expensive versus their other kettles but I like the side table and gas ignition.

I had an older version. Only difference I see is the table top (mine was not metal). Yeah I would recommend, lasted a good 10years with very little looking after and the table I miss BIG time on my new one (Weber summit). Probably already thought of it but get the chimney.