ExclusiveBBQ

A quick update regarding battery life: I've used it for around 20 hours total now and it's still on full bars. Suspect that I won't be replacing batteries that often.

That's interesting, I'm going to have to check out some more options I think. The majority of my experience has been with wood chips and I've found them lackluster or giving off too much smoke. What I found with these bigger chunks is that they gave off a consistent, 'clean' looking stream of smoke which is 100% what I was after. The oak imparted a nice flavour too but I'm keen on trying some Apple or Hickory chunks too.

Hey Gary, welcome! I just went to search for you on Insta and realised that I'm already following you (@ExclusiveBBQ) and had left a comment on some delicious-looking chicken you made about 10 minutes ago! Looking forward to seeing more.

Welcome to the forums! I always envy people with a butchering background of some sort - I'd love to learn more about meat and the various cuts at some point. Look forward to seeing some of your cooking.

Welcome! I'm just beginning my journey and I'd love to get a kamado one day - they're a very capable bit of kit. I love the sound of an outside kitchen too however Birmingham (where I am at the moment) and perhaps the wider UK landscape isn't exactly known for its ideal outdoor cooking conditions... I'm a huge fan of Hickory's Smokehouse in Castle Bromwich - it's what started me back on my quest to achieve American-style BBQ at home!

That seems controversial - but I've not had Wagyu either so I can't disagree either! I suppose part of the experience is the 'mouth feel' too...

Appreciate the kind words, thank you! I find that the meat tends to have a slather of something on it pre-rub so I'm not too worried about moisture until some time into the cook. Then, as the bark starts to form, it does start to look a bit dry so I'll spray it with something (usually water and vinegar). I've read that the moisture helps the smoke 'cling' and better adhere to the meat. I've chopped a few of these chunks in two and can't actually notice a difference with the amount of smoke flavour I get, but I may need to experiment more. I suspect that the type of smoker comes into consideration as well - these bigger chunks have been fantastic for my kettle barbecue.

That seems to be the point... The majority of USA beef comes from cows fed on grain because that's the quickest way to fatten them up. The resulting meat has a high fat content (measured by the marbling) and therefore gets graded highly by the USDA. From what I can tell, this message gets 'lost in translation' because it's thought that a piece of meat with a high amount of fat = the cow lived a generally good life, but that's not always the case. So I guess my next question is: is it possible for British beef to have the same sort of marbling (specifically the brisket) as an American cow that's pumped full of corn and steroids? 😂

I didn't want to quote the whole thing but thanks so much for writing that out. It's fascinating stuff and answers a lot of questions I had - definitely gives the vibe that British meat, especially beef, has its advantages. Would love to be able to try them side by side as well, it sounds like there's a huge difference!

Welcome! That's a stonking project you've got on the go. Good luck with everything.

Would be really interested in seeing that section!

Oh damn, that's a shame. The brisket I had was honestly superb but then I've got nothing better to compare it to...

It defies logic I suppose. Whilst I've yet to buy any foreign imported meat, I'll be surprised if the stuff we get over here is as suitable to low-and-slow BBQ when compared to offerings in USA, Canada and Australia etc. You could argue that the fact that there's a market for it defies logic as well, but it also speaks volumes about the type of customers that most butchers are catering to. I'll be contacting local butchers soon to get a good run down of what's out there and will keep everyone updated. I've got my first brisket coming from Essex later this week and, it could be amazing - we'll see!

Fully agree about quality, and I suspect that we're quite proud of using British produce and thinking we're the best but it wouldn't surprise me if the Australian, Canadian or USA stuff is just better for low-and-slow. And I still need to visit the dining club - annoyingly, I was in Birmingham on Saturday with the wife and it didn't even cross my mind!

Oh yeah, definitely. I've had a few barbecues and tested friends ones and none of them were within 5 degrees of an actual probe - they varied wildly and the worst I saw was out by a good 20 degrees! I've just learned not to trust them. But then the placement of the thermometer itself isn't optimal to measure ambient temperature - unless you're sticking your ribs to the lid of your BBQ, in which case you need to let me know about that technique!

Damn that looks great! Got any more planned?

I realise now, from reading this, that my goals are perhaps a bit different to most. I want to be able to replicate the ultimate low-and-slow, Texas-style brisket that you'd only find by going over there yourself. The funny thing is that I've never been over there and the closest I've gotten is eating at Hickory's Smokehouse in Castle Bromwich - which served up some of the best meat I've ever eaten and was the inspiration for my quest.

Hi all, I have a bunch of recipes that I've stocked up on over the years and am now in the process of trying out. This one was one of the more successful ones so I thought I'd share it! It goes really well with pork and beef as the mustard and vinegar really offset some fattier cuts of meat nicely. Ingredients 3/4 Cup Yellow Mustard Any brand will do, but if you want to be authentic then look for 'French's' or anything that originally came from USA. 3/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar 1/2 Cup White Sugar Granulated or caster sugar will do fine here. 3 tbsp Brown Sugar 2 tbsp Butter 2 tsp Salt 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce 1/2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce 1/2 tsp Tobasco 2 tsp Ground Black Pepper 1 tsp White Pepper Instructions Measure all of the ingredients into a saucepan. Place the saucepan on a medium-low heat and stir whilst bringing to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, remove from the heat and transfer to a clean container – we used an old pickle jar! Let cool before storing in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. You can also check it out on my website here.

Hi Jamie - welcome to the forum! Sounds like you're well ahead of me but I've trying to post as much information as I can as I learn what to do/not to do and also recipes along the way so take a look at my profile if you're interested. Would love to see some pics of what you've been up to!

From a newbie's point of view, I fully agree with sentiment that you should never trust a lid thermometer unless it's one that you've installed and upgraded yourself. I use this one and it's been immensely good so far - I even used it to calibrate my oven! I've never modded a barbecue either but you're certainly not alone with having a 'leaky' smoker - search or ask around and I'm sure you'll find a ton of cheap solutions to fix that. Welcome to the world of smoking and welcome to the forum!

Hey Gavin, welcome to the group! I'm getting started myself - on a cheap kettle BBQ! If you're interested in seeing how I got on, check the posts I've created from my profile - you may learn a bit from all the mistakes I made... It sounds like you're well setup though - I almost upgraded to a WSM after hearing great things about it. What sort of things have you been smoking? Got any pics?

Really interesting stuff there, Phil. Establishing rapport with a local butcher who sources his own carcasses is definitely the long-term plan. Although I'm aiming to cook American-style brisket, it would be nice to be able to use meat from British cattle so I may have to do some digging into how they're farmed and what makes them different. Whilst a foreign brisket might be more forgiving, I'm throwing myself in at the deep end! And if I overcook it, there's always the classic tactic of smothering them in BBQ sauces and calling them 'burnt ends'. From all my reading and watching, I agree that the fat content is going to make things easier and have an impact on the final product. Alternatively, I bet the pitmasters of the USA would have little difficulty in producing an amazing product using UK meat if they needed to!

Oh yeah for sure, but it'd be interesting to see the difference. I doubt that it'd be 'better' than anything you can get from the UK but is more likely to be similar to a competition-style brisket - my findings so far have suggested that it's going to be difficult to get my hands on a consistent supply of packer cut brisket that isn't rolled/trimmed to hell.

I just thought I'd add in that Bobs Family Butchers are quick to respond on Twitter and do have a great-looking selection. Unfortunately, the delivery price is rather steep for me but maybe if this YouTube stuff takes off I can use some of that residual income to do a video on Canadian/Australian brisket! 😊

Wouldn't work - I'm definitely the spending addict in the relationship!