Skagg2000

I like to hot smoke my garlic after a cook using the remaining heat, bung on some oak on a indirect heat at about 150F for 90 minutes or so & it's lush. Won't keep as long as cold smoked as the cloves are a bit softer, but smells beautiful in the house. Better still, crush some up to make garlic butter. Grab a nice big spanish onion & stick that directly on the charcoal for an hour until it pops. fantastic with brisket in a sandwich...... Cheers n Gone Nick

We are actually further south than the map suggests. Thats the default location the map gave for Devon. We are in the southhams. We have the Devon Charcoal company and a few other local producers that all produce good charcoal for small burns. It's expensive, geared more towards the beach bbq I think. The trouble is here if you source the wood locally most of it is softwood so you don't get the density for a long hot burn. Enjoy the RnR Cheers n Gone Nick

Exactly what we do. Cleaning flour handprints from around the house for days after 😊

Now this looks worthy of further investigation 😋 Cheers n Gone Nick

Blimin eck, that was a lot harder than i expected. I gotta diamond disc from the local builders merchant, but it was still a bigger job than i expected. I'm exploring getting a mild steel plancha made up from a local business in Newton Abbot. It's mainly for my lad to play with as i won't let him loose on the ProQ or Fornetto yet! Either way the ceramic disc is an improvement on the enamel plate we used previously. Cheers n Gone Nick

Love our Bakerstone. Just rol sough dough pizza base is superb, especially when on 2 for a couple o quid at the supermarket. 4 / 5 minutes with a 180 turn mid way & the results are always top draw. Chicken & Pesto Ham & Mushroom Cheers n Gone Nick

Plus 1 for the Weber American BBQ Cookbook. It's a go to reference book, along with.......... Byron Smoking Meat DJ BBQ Fire Food DJ BBQ Burgers Cheers N Gone Nick

A decent sized trimmed full brisket is a challenge to come by I find it's amazing how many local butchers are unclear on what your looking for when explained to them. I have thankfully found a couple of butchers who are happy to talk you through what you want in front of the carcass. You just need to plan to get there at the beginning of the week when the carcass is butchered. There is still an issue when trying to get a 5/6kg trimmed meat. Most end up nearer 3kg which is really to small with an all but useless flat that ends up only good for burnt ends as its to thin. The feedback I've had from local butchers is the size of the carcase they order for both beef and pork is usually driven by the sales demand for a week. No point in oversized carcasses if you can't sell it through in a week. This can be seen with pork ribs, often tiny. The only way I can get great sized St Louis cut ribs is go directly to a pig farmer who sell their own meat. It's not easy but great locally sourced meat is out there. It just takes time to seek these butchers out. Cheers n Gone Nick

Hi ice I tried the blue bag Booker / Makro Charcoal in the early days. It wasn't a great experience for me, both bags full of mainly chips and dust. Perhaps I was just unlucky but I've never touched the stuff since!

Hi sotv Thanks for the welcome. I've used the ProQ coco shell in the past and agree it gives a good even temp however it didn't click with me. It felt to clinical & consistent if that makes sense! I've alway liked the Big K Lumpwood boxes BCH15 which have quality charcoal at good sizes for a Pro@ but my local supplier Outdoor Gourmet (Grakka) stopped doing it hence the search for an alternative. EBC on the bay and Amazon is a decent stop gap at just under 40 quid for 30kg Cheers n Gone Nick

Thought I'd check in and say hi. Been smoking stuff for a while now both hot & cold. Started out a few years back with a ProQ that I picked up from them in Bodmin after visiting Pengrille. Its still my go to bit of kit even though I recently added a Fornetto 22" Razzo to the collection along with one of the Lidl Mini Kamado which is what brought me to this forum seeking information. SWMBO states I stink of "bonfire" most weekends. I presume she is referring to my wood of choice used to provide her dinner later that day! Charcoal is a topical conversation for me at the moment & where to get good quality & quantity for a reasonable price. Their are many local charcoal producers but much of it isn't hardwood and therefore burns hot & quick I find. Currently using a mix of Kamado big block and olive Firewood Lumpwood which work well for those low and slow brisket. Cheers n Gone Nick

Hi Ice, I'll be interested on your method to achieve this. I bought a pizza stone yesterday with a view of cutting it down to a diameter of 190mm which proved harder than I thought with the Rotozip. I managed 75mm or so before i ran out of bits. It was seeking a solution that brought me to this forum! I'm currently using an enamel plate suspended on galviband partially filled with sand, it works but isn't ideal. The Lidl's mini Kamado is a nice little play thing, although it took 3 attempts to get one in one piece with no cracks from our local store. Cheers n Gone Nick