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Hi and welcome @Jesta. Plenty of good advice and recipes here. Though it sounds like you've a great wee setup for BBQ and the like. Where in Scotland? I'm near Glasgow.

Personally I'm quite partial to Scottish sausages 🤓. But yeah sausage are a great first cook. Depends on thickness and temp of smoker but usually 60-90 mins. They get a great smoke ring, take the flavour well, usually juicy and can be quite forgiving if you overcook them. But as @pittmab says I'd second cooking to temp over worrying about the time. If you haven't already get yourself a Temperature probe for food. I'd recommend both an instant read and one you can leave in.

You could say local is if it's in your group 😁 Though that might be a wee bit of cheating especially for us Scots and Welsh. I agree if it's within your local council/Shire or neighbouring one. Obviously for some that would be bigger than others. Personally I don't really have a hard rule as long as it's within the spirit of the competition. The only thing is, can I get an extension to Julys competition as Summer doesn't start up here in Glasgow for another month and only lasts a couple days.

You could try and light some in the Weber either using the wee baskets or just bank coals at the side. That way by the time the chimney is up to temp they should either be at temp or almost there and you could dump the chimney in the middle. Alternatively you could get a second chimney and light twice as much fuel if you feel that one isn't enough for a full kettle. Are you using briquettes or lump? I think Lump wood be better fuel choice for a more direct cooking.

this looks fantastic. How is the front end when it is raining? Does the rain/wind blow in? I've shown this to my Project Director to see if She'll approve me of something similar in the near future.

I think it looks good, It sorta compliments the new temp gauge so doesn't look too out of place. You could hit it with some high heat paint but I don't think that will last as you slide the vent open and closed etc.

Plenty of them in stock at Glasgow store. C'mon up and I'll give you a hand to carry it home 🤣. But jokes aside you may be able to get it in a local store.

I may be wrong but I didn't think a lower temp for cold smoking would be an issue. Due to time of year I'd expect it to be lower. I smoked some Cheese last week because the weather dropped to 0-4c meant the cheese would stay chilled. I'd imagine a lower temp would be beneficial for Salmon as it would reduce the risk of unwanted bacteria growth. The longer the salmon is exposed to smoke I'd imagine a stronger flavour and could potentially make it over smoked/bitter. But I've never done cold salmon only hot smoked it. As you say best to get someone to test it. worst case scenario you can always make more. I'm not an expert, but it would be my way of thinking.

Nice, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. You may find the manufacturer recommends doing a burn with just fuel to cure the ceramic and seals. (I think most do) So make sure you have planned that in before first cook. Plus gives you a chance to fiddle with vents etc and get a feel for it. you could do a cook after but I'd recommend letting it cool down and do it the next day. For a first cook I'd say pork or chicken. Pork is very forgiving particularly pulled pork. Chicken is easy to do and comes out great. Can do whole or thighs/Drumsticks. I'd also throw in sausages as a first cook, very easy to do 60-90 min cook depending on dome temp. They are cheap take smoke flavour great even if it's just charcoal. For charcoal get a good quality Lumpwood if you can (no instant light). Unfortunately this is the off season so B&Q etc won't have in stock. But plenty of online suppliers. Some have said Bookers carry it. Or look at any local Cash & Carry or restaurant suppliers. As for wood I'd go with Chunks Can use chips but I find they burn a bit too quick though I do have some that I'm using myself. I've bought from Smoke wood shack in the past and was happy. I prefer Oak/Hickory for my woods but I also drink very peaty Whisky. Cherry or apple is a nice milder flavour especially at the start so you don't over smoke the food. If you don't already get a Instant read thermometer and a wired one. Saves you opening the lid all the time. Might be worth looking into a better rain cover. I'm in Scotland and some that come with BBQs aren't up to keeping the rain out. Enjoy your cooking and post pictures. We like those.

I know you said you have a budget of £400 but the Pitboss is on offer from Costco. Though I just looked and the one at appliances direct is on offer and you could bump up to the 22" for £429. A few deals may be had with BF.

That would do the job as it's Stainless Steel. I'd stay away from Galvanised due to the fumes it produces at higher heats. You can get the restaurant grade lumpwood charcoal at some B&Qs. I got a bag last week and its been good so far in both Aldi Kamado and the wee Lidl one.

A second grate turned 90 Degrees on top of original one so the gap is smaller. I'm assuming your using a Bullet/Kettle.

Hi I would normally keep an inch or two distance and you'll be fine. Air is great at dissipating the heat. I built a wee shack a few years ago and used it many times without any fear of burning anything down including overnight cooks. You don't need to do fireproof the wood. If you are worried about burning a table then put down some slabs etc. As you said there's many examples of online tables/shacks that are made of wood and they hold up fine. I'm in the middles of building a temp shack till I get the garden done. It's made of treated CLS and fence boards.

Hi and , Just had a look on the Charbroil site. Looks a good bit of kit. You'll need to let us know how it runs.

Hi and , I've had my AK for a couple of months and it's been great to use. I have the smaller one too from a couple of years ago. I have no idea why you aren't getting to see posts. The search is working for me, But I'm not affiliated with the site. Hopefully you get it sorted.

Yeah I've been very happy ordering from them. Food is packed fantastic considering it's being transported overnight. But they can be a little pricey but as you say the quality is there.

Hello and from Glasgow. Have you tried John Davidsons Butcher? They are based at Inverurie and do great BBQ cuts.

Hello and from a surprisingly sunny Glasgow. Have you tried John Davidsons Butcher? They are based at Inverurie and do great BBQ cuts.

I think it was a company called Fastly, they are a content delivery network CDN they had an outage but I think it's being fixed.

Hi if money isn't an issue I'd go for the S2. Mainly because the bigger cooking capacity but also the wheels. It looks like it has a couple of heavier duty wheels that may make it easier to move around if needed. The hot plate can be added later such as laying cast iron grate over the firebox (I'd do it inside). plus it's in stock so you'd at least get it quicker I'm not sure about other brands. But it might be worth speaking to a metal fabrication company as they might be able to do one cheaper without any import costs. Plus can get it to your specs.

HI and . I have a WSM which is also porcelain enamelled. I went with the route of not bothering to "season it". I just got it to temp let it burn a little longer and threw on some chicken and Ribs. Seasoning is more for bare metal smokers due to manufacturing process. Usually its a longer process and higher heat. https://www.weber.com/US/en/blog/burning-questions/i-got-a-new-grill-now-what/weber-30912.html You could also go the route of a good wash with warm soapy water to get rid of any chemicals. then a quick heat. Though many will say set it up get it to a high heat for 30 mins then play with vents to learn control. I prefer to just cook first. If it was bare metal like a carbon steel wok I'd defo season first though.

Hi and . I like the BBQ table. Look like a sturdy and useful build.

HI and . I'll second Smokewoodshack. I've used in the past and like their service/product.

I'm able to regularly get mine to 350c for searing steaks. I've done this with crappy Tesco Lump and also KJ Big Block. Also used a mix of fresh and new. I find the best way is to place two or three firelighters in the bowl spread out as you want the whole bowl lit up to achieve these temps. Also having both vents open max.

I'd second this. Mines has often dropped out of connection even though its the other side of the wall. I have the + model and often sacrifice a old device so I can maintain a connection and us the cloud to monitor. I'd also add that properly cleaning it makes a difference. You may think its clean but a good scrub can improve connection I just wish that it was more rounded so it was easier to clean. That being said I do enjoy using it and Love the estimated time to finish. Makes it great for planning a meal.