Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff
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@Bones Ah cool.
Once you've made the decision to go to charcoal (which is the right option), the question is what to go. Frankly, I'd only point you in one of two ways
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Weber
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Kamado-style
Weber is common, well used, and frankly a bit shit. I started on a weber, but any weber-style grill is thin walled and will not allow you to do anything more than just grill stuff. You can hack it to smoke and slow cook, but it's jamming a square peg into a round hole, or playing a fullback at centre in the world cup. It kind of works, but ...
Kamado-style is the shit. My recommendation to people is to get an entry level kamado grill. The two main styles are insulated steel, or ceramic. My preference is steel - they are much lighter, and you can move them around. Ceramic is great, loses a bit more heat (so is controllable), but once they crack you're farked.
In NZ, these go for about six hundred bucks - so have a poke around.
Got to run - will write a bit more later, but there's a start.
Kamado twin beautifully with WeberQ - it's a great combo. watch this space soon
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@Bones no worries.
so a few other comments.
Offset smokers are equal parts awesome and horrific. They are classic, but absolutely eat charcoal and you have to spend the day sitting beside them tending the fire. Cheap ones are horrible - they leak air everywhere, don't have an even heat in the firebox, and generally suck. If you don't mind sitting beside a smouldering fire for hours, in the sun drinking, then go for it -- but a kamado has some real advantages I'll discuss later.
If you have good skills, consider building an ugly drum smoker. They are pretty straightforward - just google (or see sites like this https://smokingmeatgeeks.com/ugly-drum-smoker-plans-uds-build/). Very stable temperatures, and reaosnoably easy to operate. Plus you get to smoke on something you made!
So, pros and cons of Kamado and Weber. Weber get good build quality, adn will last indefinitely. As I said above though, they are thinwall steel, so you can't easily control temps,and you get big hot spots and cold spots. You can smoke on them -- it's how I started -- using the fuse or the minion method (google is your friend), but really they are a bodge. Great for grilling chicken. They eat charcoal though.
Well insulated Kamado cooking is a revelation. You control air flow, and therefore temp. Can smoke meat (I ran mine for more than 24 hours once, without refilling), roast chicken/lamb etc, or go really hot for pizza and steak. THe downside of insulated steel is twofold - they are very efficient on charcoal, so they don't use much air and therefore can't put a massive amoutn of smoke on things. They don't oversmoke, but you can't oversmoke. I've fooled around with hooking a UFO/cold smoker up to it, but haven't got enough confidence to run it yet.
The other downside is they are outstanding at retaining heat. So they don't cool down. If you overshoot your target temp, you're basically farked ... can take some time to get the temp back down. That said, the pros vastly outweigh the cons for me - particularly the fuel efficiency. When you're done cooking, you just choke off the fire and re-use it next time. Can easily get more than 15 cooks out of a 5kg bag ... which is a bit insane.
The efficiency is nice. I run a big steel keg (the original Bubba - has two bottle openers
) and will smoke up to 15kg of brisket for about 20-24 hours. Holds really well; now I'm used to it, I don't even wake up overnight, just leave it to run. You can't do that with an offset 
Ceramics are nice, and more user friendly. Basically they radiate a bit more heat, so can put more smoke on, and are a bit easier to get back down to target temperatures. Expensive though, can crack, and don't move easily.
In terms of tips, just go to www.amazingribs.com. The guy is amaazing - buy his book to supprot him if you like - but everything you need is there. Nice and simple, and pretty well explained. Read heaps, and be careful of trusting random people on the internet ... they can be very well meaning but not really know what is going on. If you have a physics background it helps to separate good oil and bad oil.
Finally, just get stuck in. Don't be scared, and don't be too proud to pull something and finish it in the oven if it's going wrong. The best thing to do is just cook shedloads. Briskets are scary, but the more you do the easier they get and the more confident you'll be. It's a fantastic hobby, family friendly, and almost as good as brewing your own beer
SO, good luck - feel free to pm me or reply with any questions. Sorry if I've gone out on a bit of a long post; I've wound up with a bit of knowledge over the years and tried a lot of different bbqs. A bit out of date now, but the basics don't change.
Finally, consider a small gas bbq to go with it. I have a wee Weber BabyQ. Great wee machine - I'm on my second; the first is 20 years old and with my dad, and still rolling. The build quality is outstanding, and I"ve cooked for 40 people on it. The perk of the weberQ is that all the cooking area is usable - on a lot of bbq there are things in the way, or brutal hot and cold spots.
Anyway, have fun!
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@nzzp said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@Bones Ah cool.
Once you've made the decision to go to charcoal (which is the right option), the question is what to go. Frankly, I'd only point you in one of two ways
-
Weber
-
Kamado-style
Weber is common, well used, and frankly a bit shit. I started on a weber, but any weber-style grill is thin walled and will not allow you to do anything more than just grill stuff. You can hack it to smoke and slow cook, but it's jamming a square peg into a round hole, or playing a fullback at centre in the world cup. It kind of works, but ...
Kamado-style is the shit. My recommendation to people is to get an entry level kamado grill. The two main styles are insulated steel, or ceramic. My preference is steel - they are much lighter, and you can move them around. Ceramic is great, loses a bit more heat (so is controllable), but once they crack you're farked.
In NZ, these go for about six hundred bucks - so have a poke around.
Got to run - will write a bit more later, but there's a start.
Kamado twin beautifully with WeberQ - it's a great combo. watch this space soon
Hard to argue with anything @nzzp has put here.
To be clear, I'm firmly in the Kamado camp with a Kamado Joe but I did my research before buying and certainly, if you are looking for a very good/great all round performer, then you can't go past any Kamado style BBQ.
In terms of Kamado's there are many variations but you want one with the best heat retention for those low and slow cooks. So look for double skin at a minimum or ceramic like the Kamado Joe.
And beware, once you start cooking on a Kamado, there is no going back.
Kamado, great for low & slow, hot and fast, pizza oven and even a tandoor.
I've done everything from beef, pork, lamb, fish and pizza on it and since I brought it, I barely use my gas BBQ and that is usually only to finish a reverse sear cook.
Cheers and good cooking!
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@Bones said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@nzzp bloody outstanding, certainly nothing to be sorry for! Thanks so much, think that's got me sorted!
Ziiiiip
Soooo much good info from NZZP!
I have the Weber kettle and I love it. It great for low and slow and hard and fast. Reverse sear steaks are simply incredible.
Reading all of NZZP posts makes me want to get a Kamodo though or the new Heston one that has auto adjust temp etc. They cost about $3k though I think?
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@Hooroo said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@Bones said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@nzzp bloody outstanding, certainly nothing to be sorry for! Thanks so much, think that's got me sorted!
Ziiiiip
Soooo much good info from NZZP!
I have the Weber kettle and I love it. It great for low and slow and hard and fast. Reverse sear steaks are simply incredible.
Reading all of NZZP posts makes me want to get a Kamodo though or the new Heston one that has auto adjust temp etc. They cost about $3k though I think?
Look at one of these as an entry level:
https://www.bunnings.co.nz/char-griller-akorn-charcoal-bbq_p03180332If you love the hobby, then you can spend on some glorious ones. I like the Caliber - it's an amazing stainless steel version (hard to get hold of though).
Ah, good times
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@Hooroo said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@nzzp In that style, if money wasn't a concern, what would you buy?
I have a soft spot for these - they cook really well, and have a rotisserie attachemnt for some different stuff.
these things just look amazingballs, but no idea how they cook
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@Hooroo said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@nzzp What's a good NZ link to view these mate? Only seeing Overseas ones
@Hooroo, sorry, but I genuinely don't know any more. BBQS and More used to stock them - but they changed owners a couple of years ago, and have completely changed their range.
High quality BBQs, Smokers, Indoor & Outdoor Heating - BBQ's and More
NZ's specialist outdoor grill/heating retail chain. Iconic brands such as Big Green EGG, Weber, Yoder, Lone Star Grillz, Bull, Saber, PK Grills, Titan, Louisiana Grills, Oklahoma Joe, Prime Grill, Ziegler & Brown, Grill Grates, Bromic Heating, Lumberjack, Borniak Smoker, OGR, UK Firepits, 500+ Rubs...
Both of those were stocked there - but don't seem to be imported into NZ at the moment. The Caliber had a fantastic build quality, and was an absolute pleasure to cook on. It just hit a temp quickly, and stayed rock solid for hours.
That said, there are a heap of new retailers selling smoking stuff now. Used to be just 4 seasons and BBQs and More -- now there seem to be a lot more. You can't go too far wrong with any of the major brands I don't think ... or take an excuse to get to the states.
EDIT: You feeling flush at the moment?
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I'm new to the reverse sear (only recently found out what it was) only have a dumb old Weber Gas BBQ...
suggestions for reverse searing on that?
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@nzzp said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@Hooroo said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@nzzp What's a good NZ link to view these mate? Only seeing Overseas ones
@Hooroo, sorry, but I genuinely don't know any more. BBQS and More used to stock them - but they changed owners a couple of years ago, and have completely changed their range.
NZ's specialist outdoor grill/heating retail chain. Iconic brands such as Big Green EGG, Weber, Yoder, Lone Star Grillz, Bull, Saber, PK Grills, Titan, Louisiana Grills, Oklahoma Joe, Prime Grill, Ziegler & Brown, Grill Grates, Bromic Heating, Lumberjack, Borniak Smoker, OGR, UK Firepits, 500+ Rubs...
Both of those were stocked there - but don't seem to be imported into NZ at the moment. The Caliber had a fantastic build quality, and was an absolute pleasure to cook on. It just hit a temp quickly, and stayed rock solid for hours.
That said, there are a heap of new retailers selling smoking stuff now. Used to be just 4 seasons and BBQs and More -- now there seem to be a lot more. You can't go too far wrong with any of the major brands I don't think ... or take an excuse to get to the states.
EDIT: You feeling flush at the moment?
Not really feeling flush per se, but there is always room for a tidy BBQ.
I have the smokey mountain which isn't used now and also the large weber kettle. They would go the way side.... well the mountain would
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@taniwharugby said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
I'm new to the reverse sear (only recently found out what it was) only have a dumb old Weber Gas BBQ...
suggestions for reverse searing on that?
Put a container of wood chip on one side and have the heat low enough the chips smoke but not hot hot. Place hunk of steak off the grill so it isn't affected on either site by the plate or grill (find something to keep it elevated)
Cook slowly until internal temp of 120f (or whatever Celsius is). Remove and crack up the heat. Sear on both sides and let rest.
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@Hooroo said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
Cook slowly until internal temp of 120f (or whatever Celsius is). Remove and crack up the heat. Sear on both sides and let rest.
You can always try the afterburner for the sear too - I did it, it's great fun
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@taniwharugby said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
I'm new to the reverse sear (only recently found out what it was) only have a dumb old Weber Gas BBQ...
suggestions for reverse searing on that?
@taniwharugby there is no way, or very very challenging, to do a reverse sear on any Gas BBQ due to temperature control.
The idea with reverse sear is to get the cooking temperature to a consistent temp of between 220-150 F (95-110 C) and then cook to an internal temperature (and this is where I say, the best investment when cooking this style of BBQ is a good thermometer or probe) gets to 120-125 F (45-47.5 C).
As a guide, internal temps of 120 F for rare, 125 F for medium rare.
The key is a consistent even cooking temperature and keeping an eye on internal temperatures.
Then onto a hot grill or gas BBQ to just give that final char/caramelisation.
One of the things is, you can actually do this with an oven at home with a reliable and stable temperature. I've done this a number of times due to living in an apartment where charcoal cooking is banned.
Put the meat into a preheated oven at the desired temperature. Keep monitoring internal temps. In the meantime, get the gas BBQ or even frying pan hot.
When they hit desired internal temp, take out and sprinkle lightly with salt and onto the hot surface and just leave it long enough to get colour and whatever you do, don't let it over cook as the longer on the hot surface, the more it will cook the internals and you will lose all that beautiful consistent rare/medium rare colouring and you'll get more grey meat.
And by the way, the "dry brine" method which Meathead espouses works brilliantly on stakes, chops and pretty much any smaller piece of meat, not just the bigger smoking cuts. 12-24 hrs before cooking or as long as possible, salt the piece of meat and then let it sit in the fridge. This allows the salt, which is the only molecule which can do so, to penetrate the surface and do its thing.
Other hints are to get the stake/meat to room temp before cooking.
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To y'all motherfuckers trying to lose weight
I just made my favorite pasta dish, prawns tomato and basil, using spiralised zucchini instead of pasta
Deadset one of the best things I've eaten in ages. Pasta is now dead to me
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I’ve been avoiding this thread for a while as I’ve been in an apartment so wasn’t able to use charcoal, so it’s been too much to take reading about what you pros have been cooking. But, I’m moving to a new place and will have a backyard again so can pick up where I left off a couple of years ago this summer 😄
I’m a total newbie at this, just have a Weber Kettle which I’ve done ribs and a Pork shoulder on after studying the amazingribs website.
@nzzp you’ve convinced me to get myself a Kamado for Christmas
me and the 6 year old boy had a look at some in the store today, he’s keen as mustard too. Appreciate the advice you and others like @canefan & @Hooroo have taken the time to post on here, no doubt I’ll have a few questions once the weather warms up and I get BBQing again.Can’t wait!
Char-Griller® AKORN® Kamado Charcoal Grill and Smoker with Cast Iron Grates, Warming Rack and Locking Lid with 445 Cooking Square Inches in Graphite, Model E16620 : Amazon.co.uk: Garden
