Outdoor cooking - Barbecues, Barbecue, BBQs, BBQ, Smokers, Grills. And Ribs.

It looks that way,

red line is target pit temp?

@TW

Yep

are you sure you don't have gremlins swapping probes around?

Someone forgot to calibrate the thermocouple correctly - the pit was showing a good 40°C below its actual temperature

Hopefully this is now fixed, and I can stop boiling ribs to death

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I was going to suggest this yesterday, but thought it might be too obvious

Daft question really, what do people think of the Pro Q smokers?

Oh TW!

Easy mistake to make, we just assume these gadgets are working correctly, glad it's resolved.

Hi all, I just got given a Char-Broil Big Easy gas powered smoker as a gift from work, but smoke flavours are not my thing. They retail at £300, I could do with moving it on, looking for £200 posted. BNIB, not even opened it. I might break the seal to send the regulator and flexi gas pipe with it.

Sorry for the spam, I hope it's relevant.

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I have a rickety old gas barbecue which i've recently found does very well on the lowest possible setting for big hunks of meat covered with a bit of foil. Did a marinated butterly shoulder of lamb two weekends ago. Success. Last weekend I did a slab of aged flatiron the size of a canteen lunch tray in the same way. It was great. I cooked it on low (still hot enough to make a crust) till the juices just started to become translucent and it felt about right when poked. It then rested for 20 mins before being sliced and served. It was perfect. No probes were employed.

I've got what sounds like a similar cheap rickety 2-burner gas BBQ and have also been experimenting slow cooking just on one burner on the lowest setting with the lid down, inspired by this thread. My question - to use foil or not to use foil?

Just ordered a shoulder of pork. I'm planning on sticking it in a bowl with tequila and lime, chucking it in the smoker, and bring it to 85° overnight.

have you now got your pit temperature under control?

I hope so - I'm going to run an extra food probe as a pit probe as backup, and have an alarm on it in case it gets too hot.

I may even get round to draft proofing the drum as well, but can't decide if I want the hassle of painting it in ultra-high temperature gloss first. Because shiny shiny.

Why tequilla and lime? Carnitas don't require no smoker.

I'm playing around

Experimenting....

How much meat do I need to feed 30 people?

5 loaves and 2 fish?

I'd budget 200g pp which is 6kg, not inc bones etc so depends on what cut.
Some will eat more, some less.
Worst case = leftovers

You can get nearly 30% weight loss when smoking meat, 200g seems a little paltry.

I'd expect one pork shoulder to feed 10-15 people (plus I like leftovers)

Ta for both of the above - a useful starting point for me.

In other news, I just lost a long post and I'm irked.

Summary:

Been given a Weber Compact 57 - rack is rusty and in need of a clean but seems generally pretty solid. Going to either pick up a second OR a Weber Original Kettle (or premium kettle). I then also have my go-anywhere charcoal and a spacious electric oven and gas hob to help out. That should do me for 25-30 people, right?

I assume for the two larger webers it's charcoal only? I.e. wood is only for dedicated smokers like the wsm/gmg?

If it's charcoal only are there recommended suppliers for online purchases? Not going to have time to get out and buy. Need it delivered by next Thurs.

Other stuff that I may or may not need:

Digital thermometer - I have a thermo with a dial but digital would be faster and more accurate? Any recommendations so I don't kill my guests?

Start chimney? My understanding is you fill these with charcoal and get it lit (just burning or white hot?) and pour into the main grill so you have even heat distribution. But can't you just stir the coals in the grill?

Any other clobber I'm likely to need? I've got various utensils.

Cooking beef (not sure what), chicken (not sure how) and vegetables.

@cyoa

buy aussie heat beads - best charcoal around

webers are not wood burners, they need charcoal, but wood is added for smoke

if you are using your weber as a bbq (not a grill) then a hard wood can be added for smoke flavour

you get what you pay for, the weber starter chimney is expensive compared to others but will last a lot longer

buy a digital probe from nisbets

chicken - buy legs and chop into drumsticks and thighs - marinade in hoisin, tomato ketchup, chili, garlic, ginger, peanut oil, soy sauce

cook indirectly (so bbq with the lid on) ideally have a pan of water underneath the chicken. it will take approx 45-50 minutes, when it is almost done finish it off over the coals so the skin caramalises and crisps a little

Just to clarify am I right in assuming - bbq = lid on (indirect), grill = lid off (direct)?

@cyoa

grilling involves having the items being cooked directly over the coals (lid on or off)

bbq would be like this with the meat over the pan of water in the indirect zone (so you can grill and bbq at the same time)