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

Great, thank you @HatBeard. Your BBQ posts over the last year played a large part in our decision to purchase.

Did you need the billows Kamado adapter plate and damper vent thing too?

https://thermapen.co.uk/billows-accessories/147-kamado-mounting-plates-for-billows.html

https://thermapen.co.uk/billows-accessories/175-billows-damper.html

Yes, you need the mounting plate. The billows has a spring clip in the nozzle that holds it in place. This works as is with the vent hole on a webber kettle but you need the mounting plate to reduce the size of the vent hole on a kamado in order for it to attach.

This set up looks great - if you wanted to achieve the same cheaper, could have a look at the inkbird pro (which I have and rate) - £130 on eBay and comes with the fan, mounting plate etc.

Biggest downside is that it wants mains power but there maybe a bodge for that if you can find a cable from a battery pack?

I'm not sure what mounting plate i'm using but i have picked up both accessories, i have the damper fitted on mine but I couldn't say if it was 100% necessary or not.

The damper is new to me, I don't think it existed when I bought mine. I get bang on results without it but there's so many sizes of kamados and vents that it can't hurt to have another control point.

I have my top vent pretty much fully closed and if I open it a mm or 2 I get 10 degree jumps in temp so I only ever adjust the fan temp for low and slow.

Biggest downside is that it wants mains power but there maybe a bodge for that if you can find a cable from a battery pack?

There are lots of 12v battery packs out there. This kind of thing
https://amzn.eu/d/1fkSwTn

Interesting, although i never know how to check the plug will be the right size!

I didn’t expect there to be so many different options of ‘restaurant grade charcoal’, are egg owners using briquettes or just normal shizz?

I use big k restaurant grade charcoal (the one that comes in cardboard boxes) for low and slow and just the standard red bag big k for grilling.

The restaurant grade stuff burns for a lot longer than normal lump wood so it's great for long cooks, for grilling it doesn't really mater so there's no point spending a shit ton on charcoal you're going to burn through.

Briquettes tended to have chemicals in them to help burning so they got a bad rep but you can get natural ones now so it shouldn't be an issue. I use lump wood because I always have and everything works so I just stick with what I know. Briquettes are supposed to be easier for long cooks though but I honestly don't think it matters

Cheers. My thinking was briquettes would burn more consistently than odd shaped bits of lump wood charcoal but like you said, there’s no need to over think this. #belessDammit

Yeah, as long as there aren't any chemicals for easy lighting and burning then I don't think it matters, with the restaurant Big K it's aways lasted the whole cook (think the longest was 20 hours) so it's something I never worry about.

this is what i use. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Socal-Restaurant-Lumpwood-Charcoal-Firelighters/dp/B094JZ6PMX/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=big+k+restaurant+grade+charcoal&qid=1676289975&sprefix=big+k+%2Caps%2C80&sr=8-11

ocado also do the woodies £4.50/bag with buy 2 get 20% off if you're a snobby online foodshopper like me.

So, some mad bargains at local Morrison’s tonight, for a kilo of topside and 1.3kg of silverside for absolutely nothing.

Figure I need to get busy with the Aldi egg on the weekend. Under the circumstances, a bit more up for experimenting than usual - any tips or recommendations?

Aldi Kamados have 20% off at the moment:

https://www.aldi.co.uk/gardenline-kamado-ceramic-egg-bbq/p/710081596330401?utm_source=Aldi&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=gardenline-kamado-ceramic-egg-bbq&utm_campaign

Arse, I really expected them to sell out quicker. Ah well, mine’s cured now so I’ll be off to the butcher this weekend.

Are you pleased with it?

Yeah I’m happy. Quality isn’t Big Egg but it’s a grand cheaper and perfect to cut my teeth on with the whole BBQ nerd thing. Bring on the decent weather.

Last weekend - some ribs done on a shorter scale: an hour on the smoker and then finished in the oven.

I used a Carolina style mustard-based BBQ sauce and rub. Very, very good.

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Aldi mini Kamado bbq has 40% off, £76 delivered at the moment.

https://www.aldi.co.uk/gardenline-mini-kamado-bbq/p/710257597550500

At the other end of the scale, wondering what a UK smoker I saw on YouTube costs and the answer is £15,000

https://smokeyoakbarbecue.co.uk/products/500-gallon-offset-smoker?pr_prod_strat=use_description&pr_rec_id=b162cb8c8&pr_rec_pid=7280814293144&pr_ref_pid=6650968801432&pr_seq=uniform

the bbq equivalent of a car that gets 4mpg for how much fuel it would take to run.

I wonder if you have to pay extra for the LLL level decals.

For £15k that thing had better be more airtight than a beavers butthole. And I would expect to see internal airflow modelling output too.

I need to get an Argentine grill for my BBQ anyone seen a nice buy not pricey one? Big, maybe 60*40 cm. Or more