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The BBQ thread: 2019 thread bump p.9

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:48 am
by Poser
My garden is still just a pile of earth, but my mind is turning to BBQs. I've only ever farted around with small, cheap wobbly BBQs before, but now I want to get serious, and I want your hints, tips, preferences, etc.

As I look at my options, I've found it's a minefield. I'm fortunate now in that storage and space are not an issue, so I want a big one capable of catering for lots of people.

But I do also consider myself to be a bit of a foodie, so I want it to be flexible enough to cook a variety of stuff. I never serve just sausages and burgers.

There's the shape:

Kettle:

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Barrel:

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Flat:

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And there's the heat source:

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Or, do I build one myself:

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Thoughts? What works, what doesn't, what should I take into account.

Also, what food do you like on a BBQ? What marinades, what side dishes? What preparation methods do you prefer?


Go!

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:52 am
by Moggy
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Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 10:57 am
by SandyCoin
Get one with a smoker :wub:

I didn't really have any last year. I think maybe one? Need to change that this year if it's good weather.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:00 am
by bear
From what I have read it seems that Kamado style cookers are the creme de la creme as they offer the most flexibility but they are seriously dear.
http://shop.cdsf.co.uk/product-category/outdoor-living/kamado-joe-clay-ovens/

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:04 am
by Poser
bear wrote:From what I have read it seems that Kamado style cookers are the creme de la creme as they offer the most flexibility but they are seriously dear.
http://shop.cdsf.co.uk/product-category/outdoor-living/kamado-joe-clay-ovens/


:shock: Holy crap. They look great, but a bit steep for me.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:09 am
by Lagamorph
If you get gas then you're nothing but scum.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:22 am
by bear
ProPoser wrote:
bear wrote:From what I have read it seems that Kamado style cookers are the creme de la creme as they offer the most flexibility but they are seriously dear.
http://shop.cdsf.co.uk/product-category/outdoor-living/kamado-joe-clay-ovens/


:shock: Holy crap. They look great, but a bit steep for me.


Yeah its right up there with a Kenwood Cooking Chef as something I want but wouldn't get enough use to justify the expense. If I could use it all year round then maybe but not just as a summer time cooker.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:33 am
by KK
If you buy a gas 'barbecue' then it deserves to explode & blow up your back garden quite frankly.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:41 am
by Rax
A simple barrel or flat BBQ should do you fine, just remember to have a hot and a cool zone when you get the coals going, so you can get a good sear on the hot side then move them to the cool side to finish cooking, especially important for chicken.

My favourite are ribs, which can be cooked in a conventional oven and finished in a bbq if you dont fancy tending the coals all day, slathered in sauce to get them all sticky but nice and tender so they fall off the bone, perfect. I always make pulled pork when I do a big BBQ but I do that in a conventional oven, I aint got the time or equipment to properly smoke it all day but the oven and a good rub does the job just fine. I also make my own sauce, much better than anything you can buy and I can tailor it to what Im cooking, I also use an apple cider vinegar when Im making my pulled pork sauce for example, goes really well. Sides are pink coleslaw and mustardy potato salad and I always like to finish with some grilled pineapple to cleanse the palette.

Ive already BBQed 3 times this year, Im getting drafted in to man the grill for a communion next month and Im planning my birthday BBQ, (which will feature a pig on a spit) for later in the summer as well. I will take any opportunity to BBQ. :D

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 11:41 am
by Poser
Well, I've always been a charcoal man, but I included gas for the sake of completion.

Edit: @ Rax - good shout with the 'cooking first' thing. I'm thinking that's got ot be the way forward this summer. Maybe for chicken, too.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 12:10 pm
by SandyCoin
http://shop.biggreenegg.co.uk/

These are supposed to be very good. I know a fair few restaurants use them too.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 12:11 pm
by Rax
As long as youre not cooking a whole chicken then there should be no need to precook it, just make sure to move the pieces to the cool zone to let them cook through without them becoming hunks of carbon. I would recommend it for ribs though, get them all tender and perfect in the oven, lash on some extra sauce and a few minutes on the grill to get a nice char going.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 12:15 pm
by SandyCoin
Rax wrote:As long as youre not cooking a whole chicken then there should be no need to precook it, just make sure to move the pieces to the cool zone to let them cook through without them becoming hunks of carbon. I would recommend it for ribs though, get them all tender and perfect in the oven, lash on some extra sauce and a few minutes on the grill to get a nice char going.


Good for brisket too as I doubt many can be arsed to cook that for 6 hours on a bbq.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 12:32 pm
by Rax
Briskets a good shout too, never cooked it myself but I think Ill have to give it a go sometime this summer, always love it when I try it in restaurants.

The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 1:16 pm
by mrspax
Barrel, gas fuelled for maximum lazies, and to fend off the charcoal snobs, get a tray for putting bbq wood chips in. Perfect. Most people extol the virtues of the 'smokiness' of charcoal, when really it just smells of paraffin. Wood chips are where it's at. The comment about a smoker is spot on - a barrelled gas bbq can also act as a hot smoker.

Safe to say that a cheap BBQ is a false economy (it will rust). Look to spend a couple of hundred at least and buy a good cover. 'Winterise' it by degreasing it fully in early sept and it will be grand for ten years.

Oh and a great recipe here. We had it for Xmas while the rest of the country chomped down on their over fattened dry bird.

It's easy and is simply sublime.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/beef_bbq_ribs_24916

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 1:24 pm
by Poser
mrspax wrote:Barrel, gas fuelled for maximum lazies, and to fend off the charcoal snobs, get a tray for putting bbq wood chips in. Perfect.

Safe to say that a cheap bBQ is a false economy. Look to spend a couple of hundred at least and buy a good cover. 'Winterise' it by degreasing it fully in early sept and it will be grand for ten years.

Oh and a great recipe here. We had it for Xmas while the rest of the country chomped down on their over fattened dry bird.

It's easy and is simply sublime.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/beef_bbq_ribs_24916


Where does the tray of wood chips go? Genuine question. I agree on the false economy thing. I'm on about my third BBQ in recent years (or I was before I decided not to bring it when we moved) and that money could have been spent on half of a £200 effort.

That recipe looks mint as well. I can never understand why any recipe would come without a picture, but I can, of course, imagine what 'delicious ribs' look like, so I guess I can put the pieces together there.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 1:48 pm
by Lagamorph
mrspax wrote:Barrel, gas fuelled for maximum lazies


Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:03 pm
by Bunni
We had one that was an oil drum with a quarter cut out and the side of a shopping trolley on top. Fill that gooseberry fool with coal, did the job.

The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 2:11 pm
by mrspax
ProPoser wrote:
mrspax wrote:Barrel, gas fuelled for maximum lazies, and to fend off the charcoal snobs, get a tray for putting bbq wood chips in. Perfect.

Safe to say that a cheap bBQ is a false economy. Look to spend a couple of hundred at least and buy a good cover. 'Winterise' it by degreasing it fully in early sept and it will be grand for ten years.

Oh and a great recipe here. We had it for Xmas while the rest of the country chomped down on their over fattened dry bird.

It's easy and is simply sublime.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/beef_bbq_ribs_24916


Where does the tray of wood chips go? Genuine question. I agree on the false economy thing. I'm on about my third BBQ in recent years (or I was before I decided not to bring it when we moved) and that money could have been spent on half of a £200 effort.

That recipe looks mint as well. I can never understand why any recipe would come without a picture, but I can, of course, imagine what 'delicious ribs' look like, so I guess I can put the pieces together there.


It was on one of his shows so a google may get a clip. But yeah you're right! Think huge lump of cow with deep brown sticky goodness (that actually sounds like it could be something horrid!!!)

You will need to ask a butcher for a jacobs ladder as its a fairly specialist cut. Its basically forerib but with the top chopped off to make it look like a massive rack of pork rib. I got big props from the butcher when I ordered it though as it is considered a bit good :)

As for smoker, just a foil tray that goes on the heat. Damp down the chips (buy online for cheaps) and pop em in. No technical wizardy needed! You can get all sorts of jazzy types of wood. I love the whisky barrel ones.

If you do this recipe for a group, I promise you will be a god (and as it's piss easy it makes it extra special). Only issue is that it takes a lot of pre-cooking.

Re: The big barbecue thread

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2015 3:56 pm
by mrspax
Lagamorph wrote:
mrspax wrote:Barrel, gas fuelled for maximum lazies



:slol: :slol:

Pipe down Laga. The experts are talking.