The bbq photo & recipe thread

[don4l]

boobles said:

don4l said:

I recently purchased this:-



It is available in some Costco stores for £455.00.

I am seriously impressed with the quality. I had read that the hinge was often loose. It certainly is not loose on mine, and I fail to see how it could be loose on any other.

Learning to use a ceramic BBQ is turning out to be a bit of an experience.

Last weekend I did a hot smoked chicken. I took me ages ( one and a half hours) to get the thing up to temperature. There is a huge amount of ceramic to heat up. However, once it is at temperature, it really holds it. You can raise the lid to inspect your food, or to add charcoal, and it will return to the set temperature within a couple of minutes.

This weekend I did a slow cooked pork shoulder. I decided to use some twigs to get the thing up to temperature quickly. However, it got to 180C, and I had to wait for it to cool down. I will probably use some twigs in future because it will save me an hour, and the twigs cost nothing.

If anybody is thinking of buying one of these, do not go alone to the shop. It weighs 110Kg. You will need two strong people and a transit van.

There is one small niggle. There are two grilling racks. The supports for the top one are a few inches in from the edge. This means that you cannot put a drip tray near the back. The supports for the top rack are in the way. I had to add charcoal a couple of times yesterday, and each time I had to move the pork so that I could raise the hinged sections of the racks. This was annoying, so I will have to modify my upper rack, or find something to replace it with. If I haven't explained myself clearly, just ask and I will take photos to show what I mean.

I have a question. Do I need a heat deflector? I did the pork yesterday without a deflector and it turned out fantastic. I don't see why I would need a deflector.

Here is a picture of the pork:-

£455 for an Aston, that is impressive!

Only while stocks last!

[SpydieNut]

A first try of pizzas on our new BBQ - tasty as



A bit thicker than some on here like it and not quite golden on top, but the base was crisp and lovely

[Tony Angelino]

Tony Angelino said:

Output Flange said:

A thousand times ::this::

Looks fantastic. Might have to wait till next week to do this one as I don't have any boneless leg - what chance of this working with breast do you reckon? Potentially too dry maybe?

Right, 2kg of boneless skinless chicken leg bought from Asian supermarket (£2.50/kg, bargain) all marinaded up and sat in the fridge waiting for tomorrow. Patio cleaner and paintbrush in garage where picture taken before putting in spare fridge, not in kitchen where prep done..... Will update tomorrow.

[tuffer]

Bit of Porterhouse Steak last night:

[Sway]

Holy stballs Tuffer, that steak looks superb.

Indirect first, then sear? Only way I can imagine getting any temp into the middle.

Need to have a chat with my butcher...

[Tony Angelino]

Was tricky to load the skewers, perhaps could be easier without the rotisserie but it might not be the same cooked 'normally'.

Final pic doesn't do it justice (phone camera in full sun). Nice maillard effect on the edges, middle tender and tasty. Spice mix very nice, although using olive oil was;t ideal, drip pan was spitting noisily after 30 mins or so so I put an inch or 2 of water in there and that stopped it. Next time I would use a different oil with higher cooking point.

Will certainly have another bash at this one.

[tuffer]

Sway said:

Holy stballs Tuffer, that steak looks superb.

Indirect first, then sear? Only way I can imagine getting any temp into the middle.

Need to have a chat with my butcher...

Thanks, actually just a straight sear on the grill, if anything I just overcooked it. No pink but was super tasty and tender, I was worried about it being too rare so maybe left it on a little longer than intended. Picked it up in Waitrose, they have Porterhouse and Cote De Bouef in shrink wrap on the prepared meat counter, great steaks.

[Chicken Chaser]

I love my Weber Go Anywhere, only bought it a few weeks ago and had about 8 cooks on it already. Because there's only 2.5 of us, its the perfect size for tea and it's made the Weber one touch redundant.

Anyone recommend a reasonably priced set of thermometers? I was thinking of something wireless, which either link with a phone or a separate device. I want to be doing bigger cuts of meat rather than just a bit of direct cooking for steaks and kebabs.

[richatnort]

Chicken Chaser said:

I love my Weber Go Anywhere, only bought it a few weeks ago and had about 8 cooks on it already. Because there's only 2.5 of us, its the perfect size for tea and it's made the Weber one touch redundant.

Anyone recommend a reasonably priced set of thermometers? I was thinking of something wireless, which either link with a phone or a separate device. I want to be doing bigger cuts of meat rather than just a bit of direct cooking for steaks and kebabs.

Honestly I was sceptical of the pride but got one and it's amazing lol http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maverick-ET732-Wireless-Sm...

[V5Ade]

richatnort said:

Honestly I was sceptical of the pride but got one and it's amazing lol http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maverick-ET732-Wireless-Sm...

I've had this exact model since last year and it's great. So much easier than having to stand out and watch the temps.

[richatnort]

V5Ade said:

richatnort said:

Honestly I was sceptical of the pride but got one and it's amazing lol http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maverick-ET732-Wireless-Sm...

I've had this exact model since last year and it's great. So much easier than having to stand out and watch the temps.

The only thing that annoyed me with it is that i wish there was a OK shut up i know the temperature has dipped i'm sorting it out without having to turn the monitoring off and on again.

[85Carrera]

Anyone done baked potatoes on the barbecue?

Am doing pulled pork on Saturday and am thinking of doing some baked potatoes as a side. Am thinking about 3 hours should see them done?

[HarryFlatters]

85Carrera said:

Anyone done baked potatoes on the barbecue?

Am doing pulled pork on Saturday and am thinking of doing some baked potatoes as a side. Am thinking about 3 hours should see them done?

I've wrapped them in foil and put them directly onto the coals before, they're done in about an hour and weren't completely burned to a crisp

[opieoilman]

That works well for the potatoes, or microwave them for ten minutes (decent sized baking potatoes) and then in tinfoil and onto/into the coals for about half an hour is a good time saver.

[thebraketester]

85Carrera said:

Anyone done baked potatoes on the barbecue?

Am doing pulled pork on Saturday and am thinking of doing some baked potatoes as a side. Am thinking about 3 hours should see them done?

Ive done hassleback potatoes on the BBQ too.... delicious. Took about 1 hr

[opieoilman]

This has probably been asked before, but I haven't seen it recently. Any recommendations for well priced, easy to get hold of charcoal? I had a couple of bags of Tesco lumpwood stuff and it was fine heatwise, just burned out very quickly as it was small chunks. Aldi had a deal on 5kg of briquettes for £1.89, so I used those and they were fine, generating a good amount of heat (although less than lumpwood) and lasted a long time. Aldi didn't have any more left, so got some from Lidl and spent about an hour swearing at my pathetic bbq last night. It took ages to get going and then the heat was minimal. I was going to get some catering charcoal, but it seems that places around here (west Cornwall) don't have it and delivery can make it too expensive. Are any of the supermarket charcoals good or shall I just pay up for delivery on catering charcoal?

[thebraketester]

I used these last time and they seemed ok.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/charcoal-b...


The weber ones are good too, but usually a bit more expensive and hard to get hold of.

[SVX]

Three sets of baby back ribs:



Turned into this:



Would personally preferred to use a wood/charcoal fire, but you work with the tools you are given :/

[Sway]

opieoilman said:

This has probably been asked before, but I haven't seen it recently. Any recommendations for well priced, easy to get hold of charcoal? I had a couple of bags of Tesco lumpwood stuff and it was fine heatwise, just burned out very quickly as it was small chunks. Aldi had a deal on 5kg of briquettes for £1.89, so I used those and they were fine, generating a good amount of heat (although less than lumpwood) and lasted a long time. Aldi didn't have any more left, so got some from Lidl and spent about an hour swearing at my pathetic bbq last night. It took ages to get going and then the heat was minimal. I was going to get some catering charcoal, but it seems that places around here (west Cornwall) don't have it and delivery can make it too expensive. Are any of the supermarket charcoals good or shall I just pay up for delivery on catering charcoal?

Iirc, you're down the South West? Check out farm shops/similar for a locally produced lump wood. I get mine from a chap who produces it in the New Forest (via my local farmshop) - big chunky pieces that are great for hot grilling and last ages with the vents turned down for low n slow...

[Chicken Chaser]

I've been using the Weber briquettes which aren't cheap but they're up to temps reasonably quickly and they don't seem to smell whereas the bag of Aldi briquettes I've just bought really do smell. I heated them up using a gas stove and chimney starter yesterday so can't comment on time to warm up but they did seem to last a good while.