The bbq photo & recipe thread

Author
Discussion

BRISTOL86

1,097 posts

104 months

Friday 8th June 2018
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Hi Guys

I’m a beginner barbecuer and I only have a gas grill at present. I know it’s not really any different to cooking indoors but I still enjoy being outside and cooking.

Having a few people round in a couple of weeks and it’ll be the first time I’ve catered for more than just me and the missus.

Any tips or particular favourite stuff to cook (that would be easily transferable to gas) that’s different to the usual burgers and sausages. I’m going to do some chicken wings and pork belly and maybe some shish kebabs but any other suggestions most welcomed!

Cheers

tomsugden

2,232 posts

227 months

Friday 8th June 2018
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Home made burgers with a mozzarella ball in the middle, and bacon wrapped around the outside of the burger mix.

Jambo85

3,311 posts

87 months

Friday 8th June 2018
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As above home made burgers are fantastic, and if you cook them properly it will still be different to 99% of BBQs smile Figuring out how to cook indirectly in a controlled manner is the key.

tedmus

1,883 posts

134 months

Friday 8th June 2018
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These are really easy and so tasty, I use thighs and put a bit of fish sauce and tamarind paste into the marinade and finish with with squeeze of lime then sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped coriander.

https://www.flavourandsavour.com/easy-thai-chicken...

BRISTOL86

1,097 posts

104 months

Friday 8th June 2018
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Cheers all!

escargot

Original Poster:

17,110 posts

216 months

Saturday 9th June 2018
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Pork tenderloin/fillet in a char siu rub. Do a couple of them and slice into thin medallions at the table.

Chorizo and mushroom skewers. Pre-dinner beer snacks.

escargot

Original Poster:

17,110 posts

216 months

Sunday 10th June 2018
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Grilled a 1/2lb farmison burger today. Simple but bloody good.

xupheus

15 posts

108 months

Monday 11th June 2018
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Can I join in!

3kg rib of beef slow cooked for 4.5 hours, rested for 1 then blitzed at high heat on all sides.
I love my new BBQ!


Tony Angelino

1,970 posts

112 months

Monday 11th June 2018
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xupheus said:
Can I join in!

3kg rib of beef slow cooked for 4.5 hours, rested for 1 then blitzed at high heat on all sides.
I love my new BBQ!

Kamado's are awesome. Love mine now I've got to grips with it.

Harry Flashman

19,282 posts

241 months

Monday 11th June 2018
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Lady F just bought me this to complement with my (14 year old) Weber Kettle. I went on a grill course recently, and they were using gas and charcoal barbecues for direct comparison taste tests. Once a smoke box was used in a gas burner, frankly we managed to replicate much of the taste.

So I've gone to gas, as putting it on quickly in the evenings to do something tasty is easy. Charcoal kettle will be repurposed as a smoker, and for weekend use.

New toy:


HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Tuesday 12th June 2018
quotequote all
Why PH, why?

I bought a £50 coal BBQ from Argos for my upcoming birthday thing. Came in here to pick up some tips and now feel so inadequate!

Maybe you lot can help me make the best of it?

Ingredients so far are Argos barrel BBQ which I chose over other cheapies because the height of the grate is adjustable, plus lumpwood charcoal.

Ambition is to feed a dosen or so drunk people with the usual BBQ staples of burgers and sausages plus I might do a big bowl of tzatziki or cucumber raita which will need minted lamb or marinaded chicken?

General cooking tips for my cheap setup appreciated, never really done charcoal before?

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Tuesday 12th June 2018
quotequote all
P.S. I’m off to google ‘indirect’ method

escargot said:
Chorizo and mushroom skewers. Pre-dinner beer snacks.
This sounds good

richatnort

3,018 posts

130 months

Tuesday 12th June 2018
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HustleRussell said:
Why PH, why?

I bought a £50 coal BBQ from Argos for my upcoming birthday thing. Came in here to pick up some tips and now feel so inadequate!

Maybe you lot can help me make the best of it?

Ingredients so far are Argos barrel BBQ which I chose over other cheapies because the height of the grate is adjustable, plus lumpwood charcoal.

Ambition is to feed a dosen or so drunk people with the usual BBQ staples of burgers and sausages plus I might do a big bowl of tzatziki or cucumber raita which will need minted lamb or marinaded chicken?

General cooking tips for my cheap setup appreciated, never really done charcoal before?
Haha welcome to the party. The best website i have found for everything is this

https://amazingribs.com/more-technique-and-science...

It has starting methods, tools, receipes and explains indirect cooking.

I have a webber at the moment and am already thinking of getting something else as trying to get a steady temperature for long slow cooks is really difficult I've found.

Harry Flashman

19,282 posts

241 months

Tuesday 12th June 2018
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
Why PH, why?

I bought a £50 coal BBQ from Argos for my upcoming birthday thing. Came in here to pick up some tips and now feel so inadequate!

Maybe you lot can help me make the best of it?

Ingredients so far are Argos barrel BBQ which I chose over other cheapies because the height of the grate is adjustable, plus lumpwood charcoal.

Ambition is to feed a dosen or so drunk people with the usual BBQ staples of burgers and sausages plus I might do a big bowl of tzatziki or cucumber raita which will need minted lamb or marinaded chicken?

General cooking tips for my cheap setup appreciated, never really done charcoal before?
It's a slippery slope. I started with a B&Q special that my mates and I used to wheel to Clapham Common from our rented place and hide in the trees so we wouldn't be told off for barbecuing. My parents then gave me a Weber Kettle as my housewarming gift when I bought my first flat. 14 years later I'm moving onto a far too expensive gas rig, indirect cooking, smoker boxes etc. And buying meat from overly too expensive butchers, searching for that elusive perfect dish.

Yep. Slippery slope.

escargot

Original Poster:

17,110 posts

216 months

Tuesday 12th June 2018
quotequote all
Indeed.

I started out with a little Weber go anywhere (which I still have and gets used regularly) and rapidly upgraded to a 57cm Weber one touch. I'm considering getting a WSM soon too. Just because.

Barbecuing is a beautiful thing and once you've got the bug you'll never shake it.

Re catering for a dozen people, burgers/sauces/pork belly etc is all straight forward enough. The key is twofold when grilling 1) timings and 2) coal temperature.

Sounds obvious but if you want everything to be ready at the same time, you need to put the stuff that takes longest to cook on first.

Coal temperature is also important. Too hot and too close to the coals and you'll burn the meat without cooking it through, too low and it'll take forever and you won't get a decent maillard reaction. The general rule of thumb is to wait for the coal to turn white and then crack on.

For direct grilling, use good quality lumpwood. Sounds ott but restaurant grade big k is good. For indirect, charcoal briquettes provide a more consistent heat over a longer period. Weber's own or Aussie heatbeads are the best. Don't use pre-soaked or instant light bags of lumpwood. The pieces are tiny and you'll only get about 20 minutes of cooking time before they burn out.

Buy yourself a chimney starter. It makes getting it going so easy and negates any time benefit of using gas (takes 20 mins from lighting to cooking).

Above all though, as long as you use a bit of common senseit's pretty simple and most of the fun is in experimenting!

richatnort

3,018 posts

130 months

Tuesday 12th June 2018
quotequote all
escargot said:
Indeed.

I started out with a little Weber go anywhere (which I still have and gets used regularly) and rapidly upgraded to a 57cm Weber one touch. I'm considering getting a WSM soon too. Just because.

Barbecuing is a beautiful thing and once you've got the bug you'll never shake it.

Re catering for a dozen people, burgers/sauces/pork belly etc is all straight forward enough. The key is twofold when grilling 1) timings and 2) coal temperature.

Sounds obvious but if you want everything to be ready at the same time, you need to put the stuff that takes longest to cook on first.

Coal temperature is also important. Too hot and too close to the coals and you'll burn the meat without cooking it through, too low and it'll take forever and you won't get a decent maillard reaction. The general rule of thumb is to wait for the coal to turn white and then crack on.

For direct grilling, use good quality lumpwood. Sounds ott but restaurant grade big k is good. For indirect, charcoal briquettes provide a more consistent heat over a longer period. Weber's own or Aussie heatbeads are the best. Don't use pre-soaked or instant light bags of lumpwood. The pieces are tiny and you'll only get about 20 minutes of cooking time before they burn out.

Buy yourself a chimney starter. It makes getting it going so easy and negates any time benefit of using gas (takes 20 mins from lighting to cooking).

Above all though, as long as you use a bit of common senseit's pretty simple and most of the fun is in experimenting!
Yep pretty sound advice this. I also bought restaurant grade charcoal from Amazon which does cost a fair bit more but goes in no time and a good constant heat. When I get my garden landscaped I'd like to get a table with the bbq built into it on wheels haha.

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Tuesday 12th June 2018
quotequote all
Thanks all

Bought 8kg bar-be-quick ‘restaurant grade’ lumpwood

Funnily enough found the amazingribs website earlier and did some reading before scuttling off to look at thermometers and chimney starters

HustleRussell

24,602 posts

159 months

Wednesday 13th June 2018
quotequote all
Specific tips for chicken thighs?

BBQ is barrel type so thinking to confine the coals to one side and put the chicken on the other side to avoid the standard charred outside / raw inside scenario

How many points would I lose for starting the chicken in the oven?

tedmus

1,883 posts

134 months

Wednesday 13th June 2018
quotequote all
HustleRussell said:
Specific tips for chicken thighs?

BBQ is barrel type so thinking to confine the coals to one side and put the chicken on the other side to avoid the standard charred outside / raw inside scenario

How many points would I lose for starting the chicken in the oven?
If you're cooking them indirect with a 2 zone set up you wont need to, the BBQ acts as an oven. Get them up to near cooked temp then crisp them up over the coals to finish.

Aldi may still have some chimney starters in stock, they had some in the other week for a fiver and they are really good, large size and well made.

As for thermometers if you can stretch to it I can't recommend a Thermapen enough, Amazon regularly knock them out in odd colours for £30.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SuperFast-Thermapen-profe...

Otherwise there are plenty of decent enough ones you can pick up for about a tenner.

Edited by tedmus on Wednesday 13th June 12:37

tuffer

8,849 posts

266 months

Wednesday 13th June 2018
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Herbed rack of Lamb, couple of weeks back but it was super tender and juicy so I am going to do a couple more this weekend for some guests: