Wade

Before we recently replaced our oven we checked with Which to see which had the most consistent temperature. It was surprising how variable many of them were.

We will have to look to see if we can make it more of a challenge to register. We may also look at adding some additional moderators if it becomes more of a prolonged issue.

Most smoker Boxes will work well but they have to be directly over a lit burner to be effective. Here is a video that shows a number of options

The temperature gages on the outside of almost all BBQs are notoriously inaccurate. I tested a range of them when I was helping a company redesign its bullet smoker products. Even the Weber thermometers have an indication of the actual temperaure at best. The Inkbird products are great value and do the job. Whichever multi-probe thermometer you have you cannot go too far wrong. When you cook remember to trust the thermometer... When someone asks how long something will take to cook just say "as long as it takes for it to get up to xx Dec C/F"). Dont forget that the thermometer is not just for use in the BBQ/Smoker - it is great to use in your kitchen oven too. Not all ovens are the same and you will be surprised how big the temperature cycle is in some ovens. It will also take the guysswork out of when the chicken/turkey is cooked. As soon as it reaches ~80C it is done. Any longer and you are just drying it out.

I have not tried either however the American Worcestershire sauces are very different to the one we are used to in the UK. They do vary alot between brands however the US versions are usually a lot sweeter than ours and also they can be more like a ketchup. The Meat Mitch Whomp will be very sweet (18g of sugar per 35g serving) and so if you like particularly sweet sauce then it may be worth giving it a try. It will depend on how well they have balanced the sweetness with the spice blend. If you do try either then be sure to let us know what you think 👍

I have deleted a lot of the spam users that had registered over the past few days. Hopefully this will give us some respite.

Hi Tina Yes the ambient temperature was too high for the cheese. At the moment the outside temperature is already high, if you have it in the sun it will be even higher - and the smoke maze will also increase the temperature. Firstly try to find a shady place to set up the smoker and in a place where there is a breeze if you can. Certainly avoid placing it anywhere it will receive direct sunshine. When it is hot - like it has been recently - smoke it in the early morning or later in the evening when it is cooler. Alternatively place a tray of ice inside the smoker chamber to help keep it cool. The cheddar cheese cut into ~250g chunks and oak dust will be a good combination - though I tend to use Hickory. Dont smoke it for too long - 4 hours in a light smoke is usually more than sufficient. Once smoked have patience... Place it in a ziplock bag in the fridge and leave it for at least a week before tasting. The time will give the smoke a chance to infuse and the raw smoke flavour will mellow.

Thanks Bryce. I did check again in Bookers last week to prepare a quote for a catering job and they have come down again to £45. I think that the price hike may have been due to supply and transport problems from Europe at that time.

Hi @Slip Digby. As Bryce has mentioned a week or so in the fridge to allow the flavour to infuse is fine. Depending on how much you smoked and the rate you use it, once you have let it diffuse you can then freeze it for later use. Wade

I agree that they do take much longer for the moisture to be lost. I tried them with some success when I was first introduced to them, but like you, I reverted back to using my traditional muslin.

That is great Dave. Happy to help. If you need some cure#1 (Nitrite only - you do not need Nitrate when making bacon) to make your next batches of bacon completely from scratch please let me know in pm and I will pop some in the post to you. That way you can also vary the salt content as you will not be reliant on the commercial pre-mixed cures. As I am now retired from Woodchuch Smokery and it is no longer commercial for me and am happy to support others who are just starting out on their curing journey 👍

They have gone up in price since lockdown and are now £50.99 for 10Kg. At the beginning of lockdown (and maybe before Brexit?) they were £39.00. You can also get them from sweettalkonline.com for £47.99 but you would need to add shipping.

Hi Dave The requirement is to get all of the curing salts that you have weighed out diffused into the meat you are curing (or as close to all as you can). It is important that you ensure that the salts (including any that dissolve in water the salt is drawing out of the meat to form a brine) remain in contact with the surface of the meat throughout the curing time. By allowing the brine to run off you risk severely under-curing the bacon and it is likely to spoil. You need to get all/most of that that 150mg/Kg of Sodium Nitrite that is in the Supacure to be absorbed by the meat. The Nitrite has three important roles (1) It inhibits the growth of spoilage bacteria (2) it slows down the rancidification rate of the fat (3) It gives the meat that "bacon" flavour. I would suggest that you take the bacon that you are currently curing and place it in a ziplock bag and pour all of the brine that is in the bottom of the dish into the bag. Remove as much of the air as you can and continue the curing time turning daily- but extend it for a further 5 days. Within reason you cannot overcure the meat when you dry cure. You must keep as much of that brine in contact with the surface of the meat as you can throughout the curing - basting daily will not do this. The different method of curing The term "Dry Cure" refers to the fact that you are applying the curing salt in its dry state onto the surface of the meat - rather than diluting it into an immersion brine or for injection. When you cure using an immersion brine the meat is fully imersed in a diluted curing brine. Althouth the ingredients of the cure are the same the caculations for creating the immersion brine are different than the ones you have just used. The concentration of the immersion brine needs to be the same as the desired concentration in the final bacon as the brine diffises into the meat itself. Along with the cure the meat also typically absorbs about 10% of its weight in water. When you cure using an injection brine you use the same cure calculations that you have made for your dry cure - you then take all of that cure and dissolve it all in a volume of water that is 10% of the weight of the meat. You then inject all of it into your meat - this is the way that normal bacon is produced commercially. As with the immersion cured bacon the weight of the meat is increased by 10% due to the amount of additional water that is injected. When you are dry curing it is not the aim to remove as much of the natural water content of the meat as you can (as you would when making Parma Ham or pork Jerky) but to get the required amount of cure into the meat without introducing any more water than is naturally occuring in the meat itself. I have attached a copy of the instructions that I include in my bacon making kits. Ignore the cure calculations in the document (as they are for when using the cure that is included in the kit) but the instructions will give you photos of the curing process itself.. I hope this helps Wade Dry Cure Bacon (WoodSmoke) - Step by step - 25g seasoning.pdf

Hi Dave The amount of cure that you add is actually quite small and it is dictated by the curing salt (Nitrite) that needs to be added to the meat. Firstly, where did you get the cure from - as this will determine the amount of curing salt that is in the mix. A number of products are available with similar names to Supacure and all are slightly different concentrations. From your description is would appear that you are using the Weschenfelder Supacure that has 0.6% Sodium Nitrite and 0.6% Potassium Nitrate. It is good to see that they are now recommending its use at 3% of the weight of the meat - they used to recommend 6% which made the bacon incerdibly salty and also added nearly twice the recommended maximum cure to the meat. If your meat ia 1.5 Kg then at 3% yes you will only need to add 45 grams of the Supacure and only at the beginning. To get a balanced flavour I would recommend that you also add 50% of the cure weight in sugar - this helps to reduce the saltiness of the final bacon. You could also add 1/4 of the weight of cure in flavouring (e.g. Black pepper or lemon pepper). This will give you a final mix of cure that looks more substantial. 45g Supacure 26g Caster Sugar - brown sugar is good too and will give a deeper flavour 13g Flavouting - blacl pepper or lemon pepper Total added to meat - 84g. This is still the same amout of curing salt but the amount of combined salts/sugars/flavour that you add to the meat will look much more substantial. Rub the cure mixture all over the surface of the meat and place the meat into your plastic ziplock bag. ADD ALL OF THE REMAINING SALT MIX INTO THE BAG TOO. It is the curing salt to meat ratio that is important and this will give you exactly the right amount. Do not add more and do not drain off any of the liquid/brine that may be formed while it is curing in the fridge. Every day turn the bag over to allow any brine to come in contact with the other side of the meat. Once you have lerft it for the curing period (I would leave it for up to 10 days rather than just 5) the curing salts, sugar and flavour will have diffused throughout the meat and the bacon is cured. Wash off any brine under cold running water before slicing or smoking. I hope this helps Wade

You are welcome Wendy. The cooler damp weather can make them more difficult to keep alight. Making sure your sawdust is dry using the microwave and pressing it down help to keep the dust just in front of the burn hotter and it stays alight. In the warm dry weather you should avoid doing this if you can as ut will result in the dust burning significantly faster.

@Justin The insulation around the smoke chamber should not be a problem as the fire is quote a way from the chamber. The only risk would be of embers/sparks from the fire possibly entering the wooden chamber but that is highly unlikely. It may be worthwhile placing some non flammable covering on the floor though when the smoker is being used for hot smoking - just some tinfoil would suffice. You make a good point regarding the wood. @MikeM Justin makes a good point about the wood. Using wood alone will not give you the heat that you need with such a long pipe. As suggested use some high calorific briquettes as a base for your heat and then place some wood chunks/splits/pellets on top of that that for the smoke. Any good quality briquettes should do the trick - Heat Beads, Weber, Pro-Q etc. Restaurant grade charcoal should do the trick too but it is less convenient as you need the larger chunks to give you the most heat. Briquettes are nice even shaped lozenges and can be used at a higher density in the fire box.

I can thoroughly recommend smokewood shack. https://www.smokewoodshack.com/ He stocks a large selection of smoking wood and he supplies many large restaurants. Phone James and let him know what you want to do and he will give you good advice as to what you need.

Yes you can. You do not need to buy a complete packer. Ask your butcher for what you want. Alternatively go to your wholesaler (e.g. Booker) and look at one they have flat or rolled. You can tell from the end of the roll the thickness of the brisket.

Hi Robin and welcome to the forum It looks as if you have a good range of BBQ/Smokers there and you are set to tackle anything. Tell your wife that I have said a pizza oven is the only thing missing from her life and it will make her life complete Cold smoking and curing at home is something that we are here to promote. It isn't rocket science and we hope to demystify the process and give people the confidence to try. What are you looking to cold smoke? A lot start with cheese, salt and veg. Are you looking at curing/smoking things like salmon, bacon, charcuterie etc.? Wade

I am not sure that I agree with some of your comments - however I admire your enthusiasm. All I will say again is that before rushing headlong into organising a new start-up competition I strongly suggest that you attend and watch several other competition formats before you commit too heavily. Organising a KCBS competition is very different to organising a tail-gate.

You do not need to feed the teams - SOTW is almost unique in this respect. It adds to the cost and also adds to the complexity. You would be better considering an open event in a venue that would also attract the public who would pay an entrance fee. Brew 'n Q did it this way. Personally, I am more interested in raising the awareness of competition BBQ with the general public rather than closing down the event as if it were a secret society. I am also not keen as a judge to be asked to pay for the "privilege" of judging. After the costs of certifying with KCBS, travel to and from the event, paying for overnight accommodation and other incidentals, being a judge should at least entitle you to free entry. SOTW has been the only event that I have been asked to pay to attend. I strongly suggest that you wait, attend and watch several other competitions before you decide on the best format for a new start-up competition.

Do not underestimate the amount of effort and cost it takes to organise an event like that. Finding a suitable venue would be the first challenge. The competition calendar also gets quite full during the season and it would be important to choose a date so it doesn't clash with other UK or European competitions. If it is a KCBS event there are KCBS rules regarding the minimum requirements and the expenses of the Reps and prizes needs to be covered - many events use a combination of team entry fees, sponsorship and public ticketing to cover these. Certainly possible, but anyone thinking about organising such an event would need to go in with their eyes wide open.

Hi Justin - with it being pushed back I cannot make it this year - my birthday and the family has plans. It is also probably a good idea to let things settle down a bit regarding travel too. Next year should see the competition world begin again in earnest.

That would work but would take up quite a lot of potential charcoal space. I was thinking more of just placing an old saucer on the grate.

Unfortunately this is a design flaw of BBQs that have air vents in the centre at the bottom. The first, and easiest, thing to try is to place a disk on the fire basket that is slightly bigger in diameter than the air intake holes. This will cause the ash to fall around the vent holes and not directly over them. The disk can be metal, an old ceramic plate or flowerpot base, a disk of thick tinfoil etc. The next thing to also try are briquettes/charcoal that produce less ash.