*Charcoal* BBQ/Grilling

Busman Paddy Lasty

Need to do a smokey mountain cook. Haven't used it since Christmas.

Initially balked at the price of weber briquettes but they're reliable.

squonk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121826242#Comment_121826242

I know what you mean. They’re great. Pricey though. Provided we get some half decent weather this summer I want to try and get grilling more so was hoping to find some decent but good value alternatives. Think I want to just get a lot more grill experience.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121826463#Comment_121826463

Ignore the weather and cook outdoors anyway.

For long cooks I always use weber briquettes, predictability is all I want. For grilling, I use whatever lumpwood I can find.

Any cheap briquettes I’ve tried are useless

blue note

I've never warmed to the briquettes (and yes, I have used the weber ones). I just prefer the lumpwood and have no issues with it for long cooks. If I load up the grill, I can get 4-5 hours out of the bbq (a weber kettle) at about 120 before I need to refuel.

I think the next thing I'll do on the bbq is a pulled pork. I've never done one on it and I love pulled pork! I'm guessing you'd be talking about 8 hours for it? Or more?

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121827819#Comment_121827819

Depends on what else you have in there, how many times you open the BBQ etc. Ive done loads and it takes anywhere from 6-10 hours. Finishing it off in the oven for the last couple of hours seems to get good results for me.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121827819#Comment_121827819

Plan for 8 hours.

Options

1. Wrap it when it hits 160f and you’ll likely have it rested and pulled inside the 8 hours.
2. Don’t wrap and you’ll have to plan for 10, but likely it’s cooked in 8. Plus wresting and pulling. But maybe take the full 10 to cook.

The other thing I like to do is inject it with a brine made of apple juice, water and salt.

As for the charcoal type. It doesn’t really matter a damn what you use if you’ve no temp control issues. I just find that temp control easier with briquettes. If you don’t, lumpwood is fine. But isn’t it more expensive per kg?

wersal gummage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121827819#Comment_121827819

I did 2.6kg pork shoulder last week at 110 and it took about 16 hours (didn't wrap it up), I was aiming for 93 degrees and it got to 87 in fairly linear fashion but those last 6 degrees took about 5 hours

lisij

any good recommendations for Lumpwood Charcoal?

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121827819#Comment_121827819

You could cheat and do most of the cooking in the oven first and then onto the BBQ-

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121857962#Comment_121857962

If you are going to cheat better to do it the other way around.

The 1st few hours on the BBQ to get the smoky flavour and then finish it in the oven.

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121858002#Comment_121858002

I find oven at end just takes away all of the flavour of the BBQ

squonk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121857949#Comment_121857949

I got some blue bag lump wood last year. Secure wood do it I believe but lots of places do. It’s restaurant grade. I’ve been very happy with it.

lisij

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121858956#Comment_121858956

Was it from sure firewood? Was looking in to that, also want to try their quebracho and Marabu charcoal, heard some good reviews on the last one, besides it will end up cheaper slightly comparing € to kg than blue bag

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121841083#Comment_121841083

That’s called “the stall”. 5 hours is unusually high though.

The reason to wrap is to avoid the stall completely

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121858279#Comment_121858279

Don’t put it in the oven at all then. Simply wrap it to avoid the stall. I must have done 100 shoulders by now and none have ever seen the inside of an oven.

squonk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121859395#Comment_121859395

Sorry, yes, surefire. Damn keyboard. I was interested in the marabou too but didn’t get around to buying any. I might grab a few bags this summer if the weather is half decent.

Iguarantee

I’ve bought from here before with good results; quick shipping and decent prices.

https://aroomoutside.ie/collections/bbq-fuel-charcoal-lumpwood

I’ve used the Kamado Joe XL lumpwood which was very good, the pieces in the bag are massive compared to other brands.

The Weber Lumpwood is good but don’t buy it from the bottom of the pallet; it gets smashed to dust and it’s unusable (CoOp superstores I’m looking at you!).

blue note

Thanks for all the replies lads. I feel under a bit of pressure to do a pulled pork now!

I get to do so much less bbq'ing now with 2 young kids. You just can't keep an eye on it in the same way. You could light it and not get out to close the vents when you need to and suddenly it takes an extra half hour to come back down to temp. Or the cook runs on and you've to put the kids down and suddenly you're reading stories for an hour and a half wondering what temp the bbq is at or is the meat drying out.

I'll do one over the next couple of months anyway. And no oven - I'll wrap it instead.

I also want to slow cook a rib of beef. I think the wife might consider it wasted though when it's so nice cooked at around 180.

AmpMan

March 22 vs march 24.

45% increase in price from surefire.ie

They can keep it

lisij

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121860300#Comment_121860300

Still not bad 23€ per bag, dont think you can get it cheaper anywhere else at the moment

squonk

Maybe we need a Good Charcoal Bargain Alerts thread? Everything has gone up. I wouldn’t mind buying in bulk like you @AmpMan but don’t have the room for 20 bags. €23 isn’t bad. It’s a fair bag of charcoal.

lisij

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121861672#Comment_121861672

i would buy 3-5 bags of those 20 of the order :)

AmpMan

I usually split with a few people in work but at 24e I don't think I'll get the numbers.

Might as well buy in B&Q as you go at that price (saying that I haven't seen B&Q prices in a while....)

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121861672#Comment_121861672

I got dogs abuse when I suggested a separate charcoal thread a few years ago 🤣.

squonk

lol! I think it’s a valid point though. Charcoal seems to have shot ip in price over the last while. Not to the extent the ‘fine weekend’ outdoor grilled will notice too much but if you’re buying a few big bags of lump wood in for regular cooks it is starting to turn into an kind of expensive hobby.

lisij

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121864433#Comment_121864433

Well, it always was an expensive hobby. Gear, charcoal, prime cuts, beer, time etc etc

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121865168#Comment_121865168

Real, oldschool Bbq is about the opposite of “prime cuts”.

Rib, shoulders, briskets and so on were the cast off meats that the rich plantation owners threw down to the slaves. The slaves made it edible through long cooking and care. Anyone can grill and eat a steak. It used to take a lot care and attention to get ribs edible. Nowadays we have electronic probes that make life simple.

when I started bbqing, I had a cheap kettle and an analogue thermometer. I don’t produce better food today, but it’s much easier to do.

The Nal

Ate in Lewis Barbecue in Charleston in South Carolina this week. Holy moly. Best Ive ever had.

Pics never do it justice but this was the brisket

the beer revolu

Nah, brisket is supposed to be dry! I know this from the vast majority of people's pics 😜