Lord Logs

I've got the new Big Joe (24") in red with the new hinge system and split grill area, but I'm yet to fire it up. I keep looking at it tho. I did have an XL BGE for a few years, but it got damaged at an event and then one-day 'ping' the green Humpty Dumpty broke into about 20 pieces, never to be fired again. One word or two of caution, the big eggs/joes/kamado's are beasts when at full tilt. Take your time and understand the power they can generate. I was running a number of BGE's this weekend for about 30 chef's and we still had "the fire-ball of purple gas" situation occurring. They're F U N but stay safe.

OOOooo thanks for the tip, I need a few for an event

W O W Welcome Matt.

Let's agree Quorn is challenging

The sausage is just the shape, not sure I've seen a sausage as I've watched a pig or cow being broken down by the butcher, or a burger for that matter. Both are basically industrial methods of getting a shape of something (possibly delicious) together into an edible form. Mind you Quorn is an odd one for me, it's a bit too industrialised. Personally, I like grilled or slow-cooked veg from the fire, that said they're often more naturalistic in shape, but I did have an amazing meat-free burger not so long ago.

I've got kitchen envy, are they chaffing dishes is see there?

Mr Monkey There's a speed limit in this country you know ?? Mind you I've managed 120 on the French Autoroute a 4 am in my VWT5

Holy moly, you're the geezer I get stuck behind ?? I love the downsizing bit.

Have you ever driven a motorhome? Jeez they're painful to use and drive, its no wonder once you arrive somewhere that you park up and go 'static' Whereas the BBQ has many possibilities and you can buy it outright. No finance needed, how clever is that.

I'd try and have an extra weber chimney so you can burn up two to start the process, and then have one loaded to fire at the 3 hr mark, that way you get to add hot coals at the heat drop off time, it's an easy and manageable way. Also, remember there's a huge amount of heat lost in a hobby/home smoker/BBQ as there's little to no insulation. Whereas the ceramic type Kamado, Egg's have a greater heat retention, so the coals last longer as greater efficiency is gained by the thermal mass and heat exchange within. But they are costly. I generally don't add raw fuel once I'm up and running as it has to go through the stage-one discharge process before ignition where it turns to coals/embers, and that early stage is where the powerful and often unwanted flavours are. Adding fuel that's been discharged/fired by way of a WCS gets you up there faster. One chimney is doable, but two makes life better.

Wood is where most of the flavour will come from, so apple, oak, and such likes. My advice is to find maybe 3 wood types and explore those first, then build up your 'aromatic library' in your mind and see where you want to take it. I tend to have a few dishes as my benchmarkers for flavour testing, a pork shoulder chop, lamb neck and a chicken thigh boned out to a lollypop style (bone exposed like a handle). The chicken I give a natural full-fat yoghurt marinade too, as it's a great way to trap flavour notes and often it helps the meat stay succulent and it protects it from burning (think tandoori chicken), then if left to cool overnight the flavour develops onwards. And often you'll know if the seasoning is correct when the food has been chilled and tasted cold from the fridge the next day. For rec's on products, there are guys like Dan 'Smokin Elk' Whitaker and Kung Fu BBQ that are worth a follow Instagram, these people cook outdoors way more than me these days. http://picbear.online/thesmokinelk

Briquette vs Lump-wood is a 'being better' challenge in some ways. In that lump is often more flavorsome but generally burns a bit faster, but briquettes are often more calorie driven, so lots of stable heat which is great when you add a chunk of wood on top or want you to create a burn chain or snake method. Lump wood for direct or indirect grilling seems to be preferable, tho in Kamado's I still prefer good lump + wood for a long low & slow. But, I'm also conscious as to what's 'in' the briquette or engineered charcoals as much like sausages; they're all the same shape, but it's what's inside that counts. So do look for the pure coconut ones and you'll be good. And lastly, the per kilo £ value should really be measured by what you get out of them, it's about burn-hours really. Mark

There are alternatives to use and I've seen the likes of Luca from Miss P's BBq in London who used WSM on a commercial basis for his street food stall. It's a charcoal based on the Japanese ogatan (sawdust /woodchip) style. It's long and hexagon shape. Method-wise you stack it really neatly into a Weber chimney starter and fire it from underneath with a few natural (nonparrafin) firelighters. I've used it a lot and a helpful #BBQhack is to sprinkle some lumpwood in the bottom end then load it, then a little on top of the 'engineered' charcoal. Once lit let it get a full glow on, much like the ar*e end of the Space Shuttle.

It's a product that I would consider distributing in the U.K. next year possibly. I've never been a 'briquette' man but when I used those I had a change of heart.

Mail order, most will ship UK wide

The big guns use J & R's from Mesquite in Texas The other types are Old Hickory's or Southern Pride. Both of these are either electric or gas + wood or wood and charcoal in the firebox. Mostly working on 3 phase power and pretty spot on for a scaled up operation.

If you can find Black Pearl brand coconut briquette then they're excellent. They make them for Weber Sweden as the Weber standard version didn't cut it in Scandinavia. My rule is to see how much dust and aggregate is left in the grill or appliance afterward. You do find quite a bit of filler in some of these products, often it's not only ash. Mark

Hello to Steve & the members of The Wood Smoke Forum I'm new to this forum, but not to the cooking-with-fire life we live I've been in the wood business for many many years, and for the last 7 years or so supplying many London restaurants and BBQ/Live-Fire events, enthusiasts with wood, charcoal, and kit. Plus sharing some of my thoughts on the whole subject. I make my full- time living from the fire & food world. Nice to meet you and hopefully have some fun and worthwhile discussion on the subject. Cheers Mark Lord Logs