AdamG

4 hours ago, sotv said:

With lockdown still in force and no chance to cook for family friends for many of us, on what would have been a large scale celebratory weekend . I thought an Imaginary BBQ/Smoker get together this weekend for your family and friend to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day on the Bank Holiday Weekend was in order.

With the equipment you own what would you have cooked and done as mains & sides for say 6-10 people and you were allowed free reign on what to serve up 

I thought I would go with a small bone in pork shoulder with some pit beans underneath for the drippings as well on my ProQ and on the Smokefire 2 x Jacobs ladders, a Kellybab and 2 x racks of Spicy Ribs with a tray of @Mick Mac&Cheese and some homemade smoked scotch eggs.  For the sides some homemade Chipotle Slaw  and maybe some roasted cherry tomatoes in balsamic vinegar.

 

I wouldnt be serving anything....i would be round yours with all those tasty meals to try!😁 never had homemade scotch eggs before or even smoked one, so thats a double win👍 

Im curious with jacobs ladders and kellybab though?

9 minutes ago, flearider said:

slice them in half  take a teaspoon out of each side put garlic butter in and wrap in tinfoil tight  ..  omg it is wonderful 

Friday is the day im gonna do that🤤

2 minutes ago, James Garbett said:

Has anyone bothered replacing the grill with something cast iron rather than the stainless steel supplied?

I have cast iron griddles, great as an alternative to burgers, chicken breasts and steaks and they get a great sear on them. I would say they are a good addition that complements the stainless grids quite nicely🙂

4 hours ago, Icefever said:

I find they go rubbery,  not nice...😝

 

Ice.

im not keen anymore even though I always did it lol. I once saw someone put some food grade stainless steel nails into them, apparently it helps cook the middle quicker so you can do them completely in the bbq in slightly less time...

I have never tried it though.

I have also seen a jacket cored (not all the way through), stuffed with butter and then the core put back in just before baking....next time I may try this😋

Looks good! i love jackets on the bbq, i used to do them in the microwave....never again lol

Also having the top daisy wheel off is not essential for those temps but it does help, it might depend on how good the lumpwood is maybe?

If you want to get temps over 300C then 2 things can help:-

1, leave the top daisy wheel off.

2, hand load the charcoal only using the biggest pieces, these burn hotter and allow more airflow.

I usually take big chunks out when I load my firebox and keep them seperate for pizza cooks🙂

2 minutes ago, James Garbett said:

Just a question - when people talk about the lower vent being fully open - do they mean wide open without the perforated section visible - or with the perforated section visible but with all holes revealed?

thats a good question, I always assumed without but thats probably because my kamado does not have a perforated section.

so.....was it a long day in work knowing your kamado was waiting?😉

what you said in the 1st paragraph is pretty much it!👍

yes the top will be almost closed (surprising how little it can be without snuffing the fire out), if you need to adjust the bottom then try to adjust the top or bottom at once so you can see how much each adjustment makes🙂 

thats all based on my experience but i have only had mine for 10 months now so others may have better advice👍

not done lamb myself yet so I look forward to the pics😋 

Preheat your racks and drip trays while you bring it upto temp to avoid chasing temps (I personally find it easier this way). I usually put my racks etc in once my dome thermometer needle gets to the minimum reading (mine is 150F).

(optional) Aim for around 100C and then raise it to your temps with the top vent. This is just to get used to using your kamado and reduces the chance of overshooting. Reducing temps can be difficult and a lengthy process due to the kamado's efficiency (big overshoots)🙂

Once it stops at your desired temp then leave it at least 30 mins (ideally 1 hour) so the temp is stable...it makes temp control easier later in the cook.

Once you put the lamb in and it reads about 80C just leave it alone....it will seem to use voodoo magic, raise the temp and then stop at your previous stable temp (usually bang on!)😉

Hopefully this is helpful👍

Thanks for the great comments everyone, finally great to share my hobby with others👍

If only there was no lockdown Ice...

🍮📦🚚🤤👍

4 minutes ago, TrulySNAFU said:

From the book "Hot coals" "We like to have a glow in one or more spots"

And youtube says:
https://youtu.be/NCBHIOk4lRk

and how he starts this "Miniature Kamado"
https://youtu.be/ohmig_HBXTQ?t=509

 

Sorry I should have worded it better. I make a bigger spot for high temp cooks like pizza if its indirect only so I can keep the heat travelling from the centre up and around the plates as evenly as possible. Thats just what I prefer for indirect🙂

what you said is pretty much right!

indirect does take longer due to indirect and the ceramic plates themselves soaking some of that heat to begin with.

in terms of lighting I tend to try and light a little spot (roughly same size everytime) for low and medium temps and a slightly bigger spot for high and very high temps. Although for direct med/high i like to do 2 small spots opposite each other to try and get a slightly more even heat distribution for burgers, sausages etc.

You will find your own way of doing things and it looks and sounds like your on the right track👍

19 minutes ago, Kentish Man said:

Cooked a spatchcock chicken on it yesterday afternoon - wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but came out great!

Lit the bbq and gave it an hour to make sure I had temp under control (165c ish), then cooked the chicken with direct heat, skin up, and just left it while monitoring the temp using thermopro.

I made one mistake, when I opened the grill to put the chicken in, the temp inside dropped, obviously, and I adjusted the settings to try and get back up to temp, presumably i should have just left it given I’d already stabilised the temp while pre heating? A bit of impatience while the temp slowly came back up.

I’d recommend this as a first thing to cook while making sure you’ve got the hang of temp control 👍

It is very tempting to open the vents because its dropped in temp. But you are right to leave it. It will get back to your stable temp as if by magic😁

thanks Wispy, they turned out pretty good. First time I have done suet puddings aswell so I was holding my breath when lifting the cases off lol🙂 

yeah, I was originally from Lancashire, but moved to cheshire 11 years ago.

2 minutes ago, David said:

Yeah,  I’m not a huge offal fan. I might try a suet jam roly poly in the Summit.

that sounds great, roly poly the leftovers down to me heh heh👍

41 minutes ago, David said:

They look really nice -  can’t beat a bit of suet pastry.

suet is probably my favourite pastry, the kidney in the traditional ones are just a small compromise for earning the suet prize😁

28 minutes ago, sotv said:

Man they look great, got me right in the mood for some steak and kidney pudding and thick gravy...............

So you noticed i made 10 but only steamed 2.....if only there was no lockdown👍

great idea to used diced brisket and minced beef, love that😋

Im sorry for drooling on the side of the plate🤤🤤....that looks amazingly good! 

good job!👍

Decided to stuff some Black Pepper Brisket into suet puddings and it turned out great!😋😋 

Yesterday I started by poaching the beef brisket for around 4 hours in star anise, black peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves and sugar.

Then pulled and chopped it up for different textures and then glazed the meat with some of the poaching liquid, black pepper sauce and soy sauce.

Today I made the suet pastry, stuffed em with the beef and then fastened parchment/foil and string to them.

And then steamed them for an hour in the kamado.

This was mainly a test to see how quick and slow water boils and simmers in different configurations and to gain an idea of vent settings for the wok stand at boiling, simmering and poaching.

Thanks for looking👍

I have always suspected (based on pork shoulder) that uk meat maybe a little more lean than the american meats. Reason why I say this is I usually end up having to do add a little more moisture (through basting or spraying) than recommended, but end up with just the right moisture.

This is mere guesswork though and I have never looked for evidence to support it. It just works so I always do it now lol👍 

when should I expect my portion to arrive?😜

15 minutes ago, WispyWales said:

Cheers guys, really appreciate the steers! Looks like chicken for a first go then, hopefully with all this lockdown biz I should be able to get my cooks in pretty regularly (read as: every day 😂)

Is it worth getting one of those ceramic chicken stand things? I've read that spatchcock is the best way to go for a chicken, never done that before but doesn't sound difficult!

Just spotted there's a home brew forum on here too... planning to bottle some homemade cider this evening, my first batch using fresh cold-pressed Russet apple juice instead of AJ from concentrate - will post up some pics if I remember 🍏🥃

 

sounds great! put some aside for a pulled pork spray or injection🤤😋 and dont forget the pics👍