*Ceramic* BBQ/Grilling

The Nal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120664928#Comment_120664928

Off, ok thanks, thats a no go so

MarryLurphy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120665005#Comment_120665005

They are really just a nice looking mini charcoal BBQ grill. Save your money and get a larger one.

I've a big one and a small aldi one. Probably use the small one more than the big one but you can't really do a long cook on a small one.

But i'm sure the experts will be along shortly to tell me im wrong!

the beer revolu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120664928#Comment_120664928

Surely, the diameter you'd need to fit 2 burgers would fit a small/medium chicken?

awec

IMO, the main benefit of getting a ceramic BBQ is for long cooking of bigger cuts.

The small ones are pointless, just buy a normal BBQ.

MarryLurphy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120665524#Comment_120665524

Exactly .

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120665508#Comment_120665508

You could ram a turkey in if you really wanted to but that doesn't make it fit.

awec

I’ve a 1kg brisket to smoke tomorrow, what do people reckon time wise? I’m pretty sure it’s just the flat part, no point.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677520#Comment_120677520

For future reference it took about 4.5 hours to get to 95degrees, cooking at 130. Still just leaving it on for as long as possible though.

Wrap at 70 degrees, with some beer in with it as unlike the US juiced beef, irish briskets are fairly lean

blue note

3 beef ribs (1 piece). Any thoughts on how long they'll need to cook for and at what temp? And what interal temp would you be aiming for?

wersal gummage

Thinking of moving from the webber kettle to a ceramic. Have my head wrecked watching Americans on YouTube!

I'd appreciate any clarity on :

How much charcoal is required for a shorter cook? At moment I might use 2/3rds of a chimney say, could I get away with similar?

Second, how long does the ceramic bbq take to get up to temp? Currently it's about 15mins for the charcoal to burn off in the chimney, then about 10 to 15 for the bbq to get up to temp, so around 30 mins is what I'm used to before any food goes on. I'm finding the weber very temperamental to external temps and any strong wind or drizzle or colder temps has a big impact.

I understand that the main purpose of a ceramic is the longer cooks, which I will do, but at least 50% of the time I'll just be doing sweetcorn /burgers / veg and other such stuff that is usually only on for about 20 mins or so.

Thanks for any input

budgemook

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120739682#Comment_120739682

I would say 30 mins would get ceramic up to temp easily enough. I don’t really measure how much charcoal I put in, I just fill it up. Plenty of it does be still there for next time so I just top it up a little each time. Kamado Joe / lump wood user.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120739682#Comment_120739682

IMO the time to get to temperature depends on what you're cooking.

If you want it hot for burgers and stuff it'll be fairly fast, similar to your weber. If you want to do low and slow cooking you need to bring it up to temp a lot slower, cause if you shoot past the temp you want it's very hard to get it back down. If I was slow cooking ribs for example I'd give myself about an hour to get it to temp.

In terms of charcoal, ceramic bbqs are very efficient. You will get more than one cook from a fill of charcoal. Would you get away from 2/3 of a chimney? Probably not, but purely because the ceramic bbqs are much deeper than a kettle, and if you put in very little charcoal the embers would be too far away from your cooking grill to properly grill or sear meat. I'd half fill it, cook and then close it down, and you'd have loads of charcoal left after it cools.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120712673#Comment_120712673

Cook them at about 120 (doesn't need to be exact).

You want a cooked temp of about 96, this is when the fat etc gets soft.

How long it will take is really hard to judge. I'd probably allow for about 6 hours. The videos on youtube will say longer but they are generally for meat in the US from juiced animals.

afatbollix

Just did short ribs at the weekend, I did it overnight, Put it on at 11pm, Kept at 100c over night and took off at 1pm to rest for 2 hours in the cool box.

Was lovely and such a bargain for what they cost. Best meat for me!

blue note

Cheers - they're well cooked at this stage though! Did them at about 130, to 95 internal. They took 7 hours or so and were fantastic. Crazy cost though - €30 in Smyth's portmarnock. I think I'll stop using that butchers, everything there is far more expensive than anywhere else. Not marginally, far more.

On the ceramic question - I'm curious as to how much better a ceramic would be than my kettle too. That 7 hour cook on the kettle required 1 (albeit very large) piece of charcoal to be added. The temp remained very steady throughout, I barely touched the vents. I hear the ceramics are far better for low and slow, but I find the kettle great. And for direct / partly direct cooking the kettle is great because you've a 57cm grill to split. I'd often do things on it indirect and just crisp them up at the end over the coals. With the ceramic you typically have much smaller grill for that if I'm not mistaken? And then if you're cooking for a lot of people, the 57cm for direct cooking means you can have everyone fed in no time.

I dunno, I really want a ceramic, but I don't understand how it's hands and shoulders better than a kettle.

wersal gummage

Blue note,

I'm similar but have decided I'll be getting a bigger ceramic, have gotten very used to the size of the webber kettle and couldn't do with something much smaller. Just need to figure out the measurements and whether it'll fit through doors of the house!

Unlike you, I'm having issues with holding steady temp on mine, it took a bad fall in a bit of wind one night and I think this has not helped, it was never very well sealed but very noticeable smoke escaping now, I mean as much smoke coming out the sides /where top joins, as there is coming out of the top vent

blue note

My reservation with the bigger ceramics is that they're huge! Not in cooking area, but in appearance. And surely they'll take longer to heat up.

The other BBQ I'd consider is a smokin soul one. They look fantastic and anything I hear about them is they're great. The everyman looks a reasonable size, very good for direct and plenty of room for indirect.

To be honest though, I hardly get to cook on the kettle at all these days anyway. A newborn and a two year old in the house limit my time doing anything else.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120743641#Comment_120743641

I have the biggest size Kamado, the 24/25" or whatever it is.

It actually doesn't take that long to heat up. If you want to go hot to cook burgers and stuff there wouldn't be much difference from a kettle, you could still use a chimney to speed it up (obviously no lighter fluid) and cook on the lower grill position.

If you want to keep the temp down, you need to raise the temp slowly and it would take about an hour to get to about 120.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120712673#Comment_120712673

250f and 7 hours. I don’t measure internal temp, I use a tooth pick to check for doneness.

budgemook

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120757177#Comment_120757177

A temperature probe has many of the same features as a toothpick, but also tells you the temperature 😉

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120757890#Comment_120757890

You can use it to poke as well. But with any ribs, the texture isn’t linear with the temperature.

So fine, take a temperature probe and test your ribs for doneness, but it’s the texture that matters and not the temperature. Check out Aaron Franklin’s beef rib video on YouTube. He doesn’t take the temperature at all. It makes sense to me and I’ve been doing it that way for years.

Sidford

Anyone got a Kamado Joe Kettle Joe? It's right at outer edge of what I could spend on another BBQ. Have a Weber MT and looking for another grill to help with family BBQs and also want to do more long cooks which ceramic would be perfect for.

Any advice much appreciated

Housefree

The mini Kamado is now €59.99 in Aldi, got one there.

budgemook

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758103#Comment_120758103

Ah yes, I was joking to be honest. With pork ribs I wouldn't use a thermometer but with beef ribs I always do and it has not let me down.

Sidford

Reading through this thread has been brilliant much like the charcoal thread it's full of people giving honest and full answers to newbies who want to improve and get into long cooks etc.

Definitely seems to have slowed down a lot since lockdown, are people not using the eggs as much?

Pretty much settled on getting the kamado bono media at €849. Raging I didn't buy one in 2021 when no doubt they were closer to 500 odd but got an ooni at that stage for close to half what they cost now so swings and roundabouts and all that. At 52cm it's big enough for anything I want to do as have a kettle for direct cooks.

davegilly

Have you had a look at the Weber Summit E6?

Was in the same dilemma are you and after a lot of research went for the Weber a few months ago. Now I can't compare it to a Ceramic as I never had one but my first slow cook (shoulder of lamb) on the Summit, the temperature fluctuated by 1 degree F over a 5 hour period which is insane control.

Would highly recommend it. Cooking grate is huge on it. Simple to regulate temperature and uses waaay less charcoal than my old Weber Kettle both slow and fast cooking. Plus it's light, so simple to move around

The one con I have so far is the cost, it's a similar or even a little higher price to the Ceramics like the Egg and Joe. But the cooking area is much much bigger so kinda justifies the cost. So I told my wife anyway :) I sold the kettle as well, no need for it now with this thing as it covers everything.

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

Sidford

Cheers mate but I'd never get 1.5k ish by the missus. 800-900 be max. Does look a serious piece of kit and I do love my Weber MT but between that and Ooni it would have to be below 1k.

hargo

Playing with Fathers Day rotisserie for Bono Minimo! Happy with first cook and looking forward to fun and games.

Sidford

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120775150#Comment_120775150

That looks Immense

wersal gummage

Any strong recommendations for lumpwood?

Have been using weber last few years and it's always a very inconsistent mix of big lumps and maybe a third to half the bag is just broken up bits and dust, perhaps that's normal but want to try a different brand.

Spotted a link here somewhere a long time ago to some restaurant style lump that was recommended, possibly in NI, but it was out of stock every time I clicked on the link

wersal gummage

Just to add, I've always had great success with the weber briquettes, but unanimous opinion seems to be not to use them in a ceramic.

Just curious as to why? Some of what I'm reading suggests it's to do with briquettes having some unpleasant ingredients. The weber ones are clearly advertised as:

"100% natural with no added chemicals... These long-lasting, 100 percent natural charcoal briquettes are made from dense carbonised wood, starch, and water..."