*Charcoal* BBQ/Grilling

paska wrote: »

Anyone got a good homemade rub receipt?

What are you rubbing?

budgemook wrote: »

Ah feck!

Yeah the 4cm thick granite seems to be the right job. Base and top cooked at same time and no cracking. Weighs a lot though!

I think the top temperature is dictated by the bbq. As soon as you lift the lid, whoosh heat is gone.

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

I think the top temperature is dictated by the bbq. As soon as you lift the lid, whoosh heat is gone.

I cook on a Kamado which is fairly good for keeping the heat.

Masala wrote: »

Off topic.... what should I cook tonight after this great day of sunshine. ???

I can shop in Tesco, Aldi or Lidl where I live. What would you suggest???

I am thinking of the Aldi Steak burgers and buns etc. That's my 'go to' BBQ favourite but am getting tired if that. Looking to try something new for family of 4 adults!!

What your best BBQ menu ?

Thoughts...

Going for a spatchcock chicken myself with Asian marinade. Was between that and chicken thighs.

Quick smoke on the WSM tonight, chicken thighs and wings rubbed with Angus and Oinks The General cooked over charcoal and apple wood for 2 hrs. Water pan removed and used residual heat to crisp the skin, then tossed in Alabama white sauce and some in BBQ sauce. Delish.

I don't know much about this stuff - more of a lurker here - but I did see a fair amount of wood blocks and wood chips (all branded Weber I think) in Jones garden centre in Donabate just this weekend.

I wouldn't be a fan of the lidl charcoal, used it recently for a quick cook and there was a funny smell off it.

The crowd in Trim, is that woodfuel.ie? The oak they have is firewood so too big unless you want to chop it up but they do have great charcoal.

I get charcoal and smoking wood off a lad who drives up to Dublin from Galway. He advertises by contacting people on a BBQ forum on Facebook or at least that's how I found him / he found me. It's 24 euros for a good big bag but it's great stuff that can be used over and over. He has good smoking wood too. Before him I got plenty of smoking wood off Amazon - Dealz and places like that tend to have chips but you want chunks.

All that said most of the big hardware's stock Weber charcoal and it's good stuff too.

VinylJunkie wrote: »

Hey all, bought a Weber Master touch after getting addicted to watching american youtubers smoking everything over the last few months. I have a few questions if people could help;

1 - What charcoal should I be using? I bought the cheap Lidl bags which seem to be working fine so far but is there an upgrade?

2 - I can only find applewood chips in Dealz - is there a source for chunks of oak or applewood for smoking? I contacted a place in Trim who can sell me kiln dried oak which Im considering for beef cooks.

If you are going to go for long cooks / smoking, Weber Briquettes are one of the best and they have bags of smoking wood chunks as well. Charcoal I have found (in my limited experience) is very good for grilling - high heat intense grilling like steaks / burgers etc, but for low n slow long smokes - briquettes works best

VinylJunkie wrote: »

2 - I can only find applewood chips in Dealz - is there a source for chunks of oak or applewood for smoking? I contacted a place in Trim who can sell me kiln dried oak which Im considering for beef cooks.

I buy bags of oak from woodfuel.ie (assume that's the place you're on about) for my low and slow cooking. They now supply it well chopped, ideal for most BBQ purposes, but I think it would still be too bulky for your Weber master touch.

Do what I did - invest in an axe!

VinylJunkie wrote: »

How about rib cuts, is there anywhere in Dublin you can recommend as a supplier? What Ive gotten so far haven't had a lot of meat on the bones or Ive been given belly rib.

Racks of spare ribs are not universal here. Baby backs much more common. Either way you want meat on them. A baby back with meat is SO MUCH BETTER than the pathetic little things one often sees where it's really just a light veneer of meat on top of an all-too-visible bone.

A good move for a decent rack of spare ribs might be to go to your butcher and ask him to bring out the entire rib rack and belly. The whole thing. Skin on. Get them to trim it how you like. You can then get as much meat left on the ribs as you want. They might ask you to buy the whole thing, but that's not a problem. Just means lots of skin and belly meat to be frozen (they both freeze excellently) or used for other barbecue deliciousness.

And then your butcher will know what you're looking for next time :-)

This is the link to it
https://www.homestoreandmore.ie/charcoal-barbecue/mastercook-bbq-smoker/069904.html

VinylJunkie wrote: »

1 - What charcoal should I be using? I bought the cheap Lidl bags which seem to be working fine so far but is there an upgrade?

this https://www.nisbets.ie/big-k-lumpwood-charcoal-10kg/cm826

davegilly wrote: »

No - It leaks smoke everywhere and the metal is too thin to hold any heat.

If you want to bbq properly then you need to invest in a good model. It will last you a lifetime if you look after it so well worth the investment.

Thanks dave, is there any recommendations for beginners or do i need to go and do ny own research?

the_galway_fry wrote: »

Thanks dave, is there any recommendations for beginners or do i need to go and do ny own research?

Yea, Weber really is the best, by a long way when it comes to kettle charcoal BBQs. There are various others like Kamados etc which are superior but at castle higher prices.
Another good brand, especially if you want a smoker is a ProQ. Get the big one and you can use it as a BBQ as well when you remove the stackers.

I have a Broil King Monarch 320 (Gas), a Weber Mastertouch (Kettle BBQ) and a ProQ Frontier (Smoker) - The gas BBQ hasn't been turned on in well over a year and might never again be turned on. The Weber is used a few times a week and the ProQ is used about once every 6 weeks. If I had my time over again I would but a Kamado type ceramic grill which is the best of the lot and does everything the others do combined.