Wade

My first bit of advice would be to stick mainly with relatively medium to hot chillies. It is oh-so-very-tempting to put in a mass of Bhut Jalokias or Carolina Reapers but they are actually way too hot to be used in most cooking and they give almost no flavour. By all means grow a couple of these but treat them as " I grew them because I can" chillies.

A good staple in the Jalapeno as it gives a good amount of heat that is easily quantified. Mix these with some Birds Eye chillies if you need extra heat. Both are very prolific. You can smoke the Jalapeno peppers to make Chipotle.
Another good one for drying is Cayenne. There are several varieties and they are all prolific. If you get the long variety (Long John or Long Slip) then you get mote chillie mass per plant.

You must grow one or two for flavour. Scotch Bonnet and Habenero give good flavour and heat. I like growing "Lemon Drop" or "Orange Drop" as they have a good citrus flavour. Hungarian Hot Wax has good flavout too - it is mild and can be used raw in salads.

A few of the chillies we grow we use as attractive annual garden plants - with the chillie crop being a bonus. "Vampire" or "Nosferatu" are a lovely purple varieties. Some of the small milti-colour chillies look great in pots on the patio.

16 hours ago, smash said:

I’ve literally just been to a garden centre near me called Ruxley Manor

My old stomping ground. I was brought up in Joydens Wood, Bexley and once had a girlfriend who lived in Foots Cray. All seems so long ago... Probably because it was !!

It all depends on your cooking method and the amount of fat on the meat. If you are using the 3-2-1 method for your ribs then they will not need sprizing or mopping though if you are cooking them straight then you may need to spritz/mop a couple of times. 

You don't want your ribs to dry out however they usually have plenty of fat attached and effectively self bast. Also any sauce applied will add moisture too. With the 3-2-1 method, for the "2" part they are wrapped in foil and so they steam in their own juices and little or no moisture is lost.

Mmmm - looks really good 

10 hours ago, sotv said:

Level basket of briquettes and half a chimney of lit ones poured over them, first time the lump settled at 250F and held that for the 3 hours I required it for the cook and would have gone on longer. The Briquettes were all over the place though. I know most people recommend them wondering if theirs a trick to it, I'm missing?

You mention that you used a level basket of briquettes and then poured half a chimney of lit ones over the top. This can lead to uneven burning which then requires constant monitoring. You should try using the Minion method as this will provide a more even heat source throughout the cook.

By having the lit coals in the centre it produces a hotter, but smaller, heat source that is more easily controlled through the bottom vents. Leave the top vents open at all times and do not be tempted to close them or the results can be unpredictable. Under normal circumstances the top vents should only be closed once the cook has finished and you want to extinguish the remaining coals.

With this method, as the cook progresses the burn will move slowly outwards. The heat will remain more focused and easier to control. You will see from the photo below that the smoking wood is placed on top of the unlit coals and this gives more constant smoke over the duration of the cook. If you were to start by having lit coals over the entire fire basket all of the smoking wood will burn at the start of the cook and be consumed in the early stages. 

The information below is taken from a previous post - https://www.woodsmokeforum.uk/topic/2684-hallo/?tab=comments#comment-19387

A couple of tips to try to get the temperature up and stable.

• Use the Minion method for your charcoal. Below is a photo of it in a ProQ. As you are having a little difficulty getting the temperature up make the centre well of lit briquettes larger - but beware that the temperature may quickly overshoot. The mix of wood chunk and pellets is just to show that you can use either - just choose one type.
• Place the smoker in a sheltered place. A cool breeze will quickly cool the smoker.
• Open both the bottom AND THE TOP vents fully. The temperature is reliant on the flow of air through the smoker. With the top vents even partially closed the air flow will be restricted and the temperature will not rise - or may even drop. Some people think that by closing down the top vent it will keep more heat in - but it actually has the opposite effect. Once you have got the temperature control mastered then you can then start to use the top vents to fine tune.
• As has been said above, Do not use water in the bowl. Water is fine but it also absorbs energy as the water evaporates and turns to steam. If you want to use water in the bowl, limit it to low-and-slow cooks where you are trying to maintain a temperature of ~110-120 C.
  Sand is best as it absorbs the heat spikes and smooths the heat troughs. If you cannot find play pit sand then you can use well washed sharp sand. Alternatively you can use the empty bowl - lining it with foil is usually a good idea to help with cleaning afterwards.
• Monitor the temperature regularly and when it gets to about 3/4 of target temperature begin to close down the bottom vents in stages until the desired temerature is reached and has stabilised.

4 hours ago, Korin said:

although now I’m struggling to keep it under 300 😂 ahh to work a pit ay!

That could be because you may have started off with too many lit coals and it overshot. It is harder to bring the temperature back down than it is to raise it.

If you completely close the bottom vents does the temperature begin to drop? It may take a few minutes to see any effect. With the vents fully closed the temperature should continue to reduce until the charcoal almost goes out.

If the temperature does not start to decrease with the vents closed then the vents may not be sealing sufficiently. If that is the case apply a little high temperature grease between the body and vent cover to help seal.

Yes, my great grandfather used to mention it 🤣

SNSFU was also made famous in the classic Sci-fi film Dark Star.

56 minutes ago, martin_b said:

Ops.. After doing dozens of sides of cold smoked salmon over the years Ive made my first major screw up.

 ALl my fault I used a weber kettle instead of my smoking box, as I hadnt cleaned it from last year. Then I used my big pro q as I couldnt find the small one, next i didnt check the pro q has lit correctly, it had in two diferent places, and then finnaly not checking how things were going. the result a side of hot smoked salmon!

not sure what to do with it now?  it tastes OK if a bit salty, maybe flake it and use it in fish pies? any other suggestions?

If you are using the big ProQ cold smoke generator place it underneath the Weber (between the wheels). Leave all of the vents fully open and wrap some card or black plastic bags around the legs (like a skirt) to direct the smoke upwards. I used to use this method when using my A-maze-n Pellet smoke generator with my Weber. It gives the heat time to dissipate before coming in contact with the fish.

Yes keep it. It will be great in fish pies.

Heat beads are my go-to briquettes. They take a little longer to light but burn hot and long with little Ash. I do have stocks of other briquettes from several burn comparisons I have done. Most are actually fine but there are a few that I avoid.

Take it slow and be patient. Are you cooking on or off the bone?

5 hours ago, martin_b said:

When cureing the salmon do I really need to cover the salmon with cling film? ( as I've run out!) I can leave on its own it in a separate fridge so the odour isnt a problem.

It is always best to cover raw meat/fish when in a fridge. I am not sure what type of fridge you have but many cool by circulating cold air around the inside of the food chamber and this can easily spread bacteria onto ready-to-eat food. If it is alone in a separate fridge then that would be OK. What container are you curing it in? Do you have a roasting tray or glass dish that you could place over the top instead of the clingfilm.

If you are going to cold smoke your salmon fillets from the hanging bars then it is wise to give the fillets some additional support to stop the hooks from tearing the fillet due to its weight. The photos below are for a split salmon with the gill collar still in place however the technique can be adapted for a shop bought salmon fillet.

Simply run a skewer through the  width of the thickest end of the fillet to spread the load. Pushing it through the skin at either side will give it even more support. You can then either loop some butchers string either side of the fillet or sew it through as a loop underneath the skewer. If you don't want to use the string then just use the hanging hooks in the smoker to support each end of the skewer.

I have just been in contact with Harry Havinga and it looks as if the Tony Stone will be happening in Hoofddorp (near Amsterdam) in October. The exact weekend is still tba but it is a great competition to put in the diary. They usually hold both KCBS and Steak Cookoff Association competitions. A weekend of sheer carnivore delight...

In case you haven't noticed, the Smoke & Fire British Open BBQ Championship is still being planned for the weekend of the 20-22nd August in Colchester. Judges are being asked to apply here https://www.smokeandfirefestival.com/british-open-bbq-championship-judge/

If you just want to join in the fun then tickets are available here https://www.smokeandfirefestival.com/bbq-festival-east/

See you there 

The UDS barrel smokers run very well on restaurant grade lumpwood charcoal. The size of the lumps are not too important and at the competitions you often see very large lumps of charcoal in the fire basket. How many cooking grates does your pit barrel smoker have and does it have a baffle plate that sits above the fire basket.  If not then you may find that the addition of a second cooking grate and a baffle are mods you may want to consider in the future.

Hi Jonboy.

As has been mentioned, before you compete it would be a good idea to attend at least one competition to see how they work. You do not need a lot of special equipment to enter and potentially do well, though you will need to have sufficient BBQ/smoker capacity to be able to cook all the required competition meats, and also a sufficiently equipped kitchen area that meets the required food hygiene regulations. You will usually also need a gazebo of some kind. Team entry costs vary, depending on the competition, but expect the entry fee to be £250+ per team. Sometimes the entry cost includes the meat - but sometimes it is additional.

Some examples of typical team competition areas:

This gives you some idea of the types of smoker that the teams use and also the typical size of each teams pitch. Here the gazebo was provided by the organiser - though that is not the norm.

Some teams bring along a fully equipped outside kitchen - but this isn't necessary.

Above is Emma who runs the Bunch Of Swines BBQ team and who is usually among the winners at UK BBQ competitions. They rank highly in the European competitions too and they won the The American Royal invitational in 2018. You can see that their preparation area is compact and that you do not need an over-elaborate set-up in order to win.

The secret with any BBQ competition (KCBS especially) is to cook to the judges defined scoring criteria - and not what you consider to be your favourite at home. Highly spiced brisket or fall-off-the-bone ribs may be just what you want to eat with friends and family, but they would not score well in a competition.

As has been mentioned above, it could also be a good idea to attend a KCBS judging course. Not only do you learn exactly what the judges are looking for but you also get to eat lots of fantastic BBQ. In the meantime you may want to experiment at home with developing your rubs and marinades flavour combinations are equally as important as the way the meat is cooked.

Go for it I say. The pandemic has hit the core BBQ competition fraternity hard and I expect that a good number of the regular competition teams may not be returning once this is over. It could be a good time for the new up-and-coming stars.

Cheers, Wade

Over time you will find that the wood above the BBQ will discolour, but then the colour of the whole of the wooden structure will change with age. I don't think that a chimney would be particularly effective. I would suggest getting a sheet of stainless steel or aluminium and screw it to the ceiling directly above the BBQ. If you do get cooking residue on it, it will be easy to wipe off. It is easy to find online - here is one I found by searching for "stainless steel sheet"

https://www.metals4u.co.uk/materials/stainless-steel/stainless-steel-splashback/2922-p

My first Rubens was 25+ ago at the Carnegie Deli in New York (sadly no longer there). I had never seen so much meat all in one sandwich before 🥴

On 3/10/2021 at 9:05 AM, Garland said:

Hi Ice....well my better half bought me an upright basic smoker and my latest adventure was to cure and cold smoke a large fillet of trout. The smoking process was about 12 hours  and I was blown away by the results! Next project is salmon and some cured pork hocks and s in the future home bacon etc.. and take it from there. Next time I shall upload pics failures or otherwise..what are your  adventures?

Trout and salmon can be smoked in the same way and, as you found, can give very good results with relatively little effort. Just be a little careful about the amount of salt and how long it is in contact with the salmon/trout as it is easy for it to turn out too salty.

White fish (cod/haddock) need a different cure process to oily fish (salmon/trout). Ice's method for the cod is good so follow his advice. 5 hours is fine though there would be nothing wrong with leaving it in the smoker overnight - especially this time of year.

Not sure yet but will pick up something today. I may just get some brisket or Wagu and make some burgers. Sometimes simple can be just what is needed 

Welcome to the forum 

11 hours ago, Eddie said:

Any recommended meat hooks?

Weschenfelder are a good source of bacon/sausage making bits and pieces. They have hooks of all different shapes and sizes.

https://www.weschenfelder.co.uk/butchers-sundries/hooks-gambrels/1-box-of-10-meat-hooks-by-fischer-bargoin-14cm.html

Hi Eddie - give me a call and I will drop the bacon making kit over to you this weekend. Are you around this afternoon?

Cheers, Wade 

The Cosmogrill XXL looks like a feature rich grill but I am not sure how easy it would be to control the temperature sufficiently to make it easy to use as a smoker. How is the bottom air flow managed?

Hi Eddie and welcome to the forum. We can certainly help you to get started with your curing. It isn't rocket science and you will soon get the confidence to experiment with your own flavours.

Cheers, Wade