BBQ Charcoal - good buy

[Gryph]

Yes, I did too - used to use them for the kettle 'Q if just firing up a quick one for the pair of us. Just not the same this year so far.

The lumpwood worked well last night for some monkfish rosemary stick kebabs. Should have taken a pic, doh!

The BigK instant lighting bags used to be really good and dam convenient but when the recession hit they did seemed to get a bit light charcoal wise , i find the loose bricks a bugger to get running properly though .

[Gryph]

I do barbecues - we've had four already this year. I love the sound of that pulled pork.

My parents are thinking of buying a 'Q for this summer and I was going to make them something built-in, but your smoker has me thinking of a different angle. Gryph, can you do normal grill-style barbecues in your Weber or is it just for smoking?

Hmm. You could, as the main body of it has a slightly lower shelf - bit of a pain though!

It's perfect for long slow smokes, or if you up the temp, a faster smoke for the equivalent of roasting a chicken or some ribs. I've not tried pizza yet, but I hear it works well.

If you like BBQ food I can not recommend a WSM enough - but they are not cheap if only used once a year (http://www.bbqworld.co.uk/bbqworld/p...uctname=721001)!

The mid-large size weber kettle BBQs are very good(http://www.bbqworld.co.uk/bbqworld/p...ctname=1321004). Work well with direct or indirect heat, and if you position stuff right you could do a rack of ribs or chicken on one of those slowly (lid on, vents adjusted) to try the hand at the slower cooking... and if it is a success and liked, then head the WSM route.

[skins]

I've found the one below which says it grills too. Might be perfect for them?

http://www.thebbq.co.uk/Products/BBQ-Smokers/Product/_Name/Excel_20_Food_Smoker/78

[Lee Nub]

I found a recipe for a good pulled pork rub and basting sauce for a slow cooker. Going to try that as I don't have a bbq as of yet

I know it won't taste the same, I'm going to try and find a bottle of liquid smoken though its pretty hard to find in the uk
If not I will use one of the jack daniels sauces I brought back last year

[Gryph]

I've found the one below which says it grills too. Might be perfect for them?

http://www.thebbq.co.uk/Products/BBQ...Food_Smoker/78

I'm guessing the grill will sit just above the first lower door on that one - the charcoal sits in the base where you can see the vent. The only thing is, that's going to be quite low down height wise (bending over all the time) for grilling.

I dont have any experience with that brand, so can't give it the nod (or not)! My emphasis on Weber kettles/smoker is they really hold the heat well and consistently, which for smoking is critical so you can adjust the vents to get it at the right temp, and leave it knowing it will hold for xyz hours.

[Gryph]

I found a recipe for a good pulled pork rub and basting sauce for a slow cooker. Going to try that as I don't have a bbq as of yet

I know it won't taste the same, I'm going to try and find a bottle of liquid smoken though its pretty hard to find in the uk
If not I will use one of the jack daniels sauces I brought back last year

Crock pot pulled pork is meant to work very well indeed! Liquid smoke does the job apparently, I've only ever found that through online retailers in the UK.

In fact while I'm on the BBQ craze... who else indulges in insanely hot chilli sauces and chillis? I'm talking 600,000+ scoville units crazy?

[Lee Nub]

Yes, blairs are insane. I started collecting some from the states, Toad sweat and My mommas fat ass are 2 great one. There is an american food seller on ebay who I regularly buy from, she stocks loads of the obscure ones.

[Gryph]

Re: BBQ Charcoal - good buy

Blairs sauces rock! A bottle of
Megadeath used for livening up soups and working my way through a bottle of Smack My Ass and Call Me Sally to add to sandwiches.

Also keep a couple of MadDog sauces handy to foist on the unwary.

Not yet used them in BBQ...

[Pipe Dude]

Awesome info guys, thanks! I bought a smoker bbq last year but the instruction book was very badly translated from chinese and I didn't have a clue about the best way to use it. You've opened up a whole new world to me

[Gryph]

Re: BBQ Charcoal - good buy

Pop over to the virtual weber bullet website linked earlier... All the techniques/recipes apply regardless of brand.

Best thing I got was a candy thermometer, goes to 400f, stuck the spike through a cork and use that to seat it in an upper vent hole to monitor cooking temp. Ultimate geekery I'd love a wiress remote one I can somehow hook up to my computers and have a full temp Reading of the cook session.

Chimney lighting chambers help loads, very simple to set up a higher temp faster burn : one entire chimney of fuel lit and placed over full bowl of unlit fuel with wood chunks. Or a slower cook of 20 good sized pieces of fuel lit and placed over a full unlit bowl n chunks. Makes life easier if you want to add lit fuel to an ongoing session too.

[Pipe Dude]

Cool. Chimney starter is on the list for tomorrow's shopping trip, along with lots of rub ingredients.

Are there any find anywhere chain stores that sell woods for smoking? I particularly fancy hickory but I've only ever seen oak chips.

[Gryph]

Mostly DIY/garden centres have the hickory chips type bags. I have to say I dont know much about store purchased, as I've been using an old cherry tree that was chopped down in a garden nearby.

If there is anywhere nearby that has an orchard / fruit trees of some form, it's worth asking if they have chopped anything down recently.. you never know what you might pick up!

[Ryan]

Cool. Chimney starter is on the list for tomorrow's shopping trip, along with lots of rub ingredients.

Are there any find anywhere chain stores that sell woods for smoking? I particularly fancy hickory but I've only ever seen oak chips.

Try this site, I've used them for years and they're very good.

http://www.bbqworld.co.uk/bbqworld/weber-bbq-accessories.asp

scroll down the page for the wood chips.
?8 for 5lbs of hickory chunks isn't bad. That would last you a long time.

[Pipe Dude]

Thanks. I've just discovered that hickory chips are available at Homebase

[Gryph]

Oooh, that's a nice selection of wood chunks! I think it's time to plan a serious smoking session and finally nail making pastrami (http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pastrami.html).