Granettalia

As some of you may have read I am working with a proQ frontier. I am starting to wonder if I am maybe overloading it with fuel. I havent managed to source any smallish blocks of wood right now that are a reasonable price other than the ones people like ProQ themselves offer for sale but feel it may be a little more pricey than seasoned chunks of wood but i also feel I will get a better burn with them. My logic for a lot of this is there isnt really a lot of room in the bottom of the proQ once the water pan is in there so air circulation isnt ideal compared to having a separate fuel chamber. I am not sure if this is the same with the WSM but I would assume it is similar. I was starting to wonder if once I get the temp up on the smoker using pellets may be a more efficient wood fuel for the smoke flavours or even buying the chippings designed for a normal bbq... Or do I just stump up the cash for those nice little cubes the likes of ProQ offer... Dilemmas Dilemmas...

It did... not as pullable as I had hoped but tasted good

I have a proq frontier. I had a chicken and a small piece of ham on the go at the same time lol

Cooked a half shoulder of lamb with a generic seasoning rub I coated it in overnight. Scored the top surface a little to help the flavours soak in hence the lines in it. Struggled a little with the heat as still learning but still tastes good.

Cooked a small piece of belly pork on the proQ earlier. So pleased with how it came out. Maybe should have taken the skin off but now it has cooled I have sliced it and reheating in a hot pan which is crispening they skin up nicely.

Thank you for your feedback everyone. It is all a learning curve so I will get there eventually. Not buying expensive meat to put on it until I am feeling more confident

I am struggling to get hold of playpit sand with all the current complications... Would fine grade paving sand be sufficient?

Yeh I am guessing the pan just works as a heat deflector then. I know it ran out of water on saturday so the temp jumped up. My cheap electronic thermometer off amazon that has Bluetooth arrive today so I am now able to leave it alone and do its thing without stressing as much. I think I will order some heat beads off t'internet as they do seem to be the briquettes of choice.

So.... I am struggling to get a decent temp from my proq.... not sure if its the cheap briquettes I am having to use currently as thats all that is available or my technique but it smoked a chicken nicely which I finished in the oven to be safe. Its getting to about 80/90 on the top shelf but struggling to get higher... It could be having to use water as again sand is nowhere to be found right now in a shop anyway and everywhere online is expensive and slow delivery.

I was always taught having bone in helps flavour, moisture and even heat in a old fashioned roast... Plus the dog would enjoy it im sure. Chuck has just gone on I am just praying to the BBQ gods now that she turns out ok. Really think sand is the way forward looking at the various articles and the fact my pan is already low on water.

Chicken Spatchcocked and fire is lit hoping for a late lunch chuck. I think I may see if I cant find a bag of sand in the coming week on one of my shopping trips. They often have stuff like that in places still open around here. I suppose half the fun of something like this is experimenting and learning. Basic electronic thermometer ordered off amazon to make life easier as I am not convinced my current effort is accurate enough (like even close to right)... Have prewarned my local butcher and he has told me to phone and preorder anything. One question I do have - I like to slow roast on the bone pork shoulder in the oven but all the things I see on youtube etc (mainly american obviously) they are boned. Is cooking something like pork or even lamb normally done off the bone in something like a smoker or is on the bone ok?

Hey, Always had an interest in being able to cook properly and safely on bbq's but always got what I thought looked fun to buy but was often badly manufactured cheap supermarket that didnt last much more than 1/2 summers thinking it was an ok investment. With all this not working going on I have been watching too much youtube and online stuff and it convinced me that buying a good quality item which I can cook a piece of meat on every weekend where I can use my meat for a few days is the way I am going to live... So looking into smokers and knowing the space I have I have gone and ordered a ProQ frontier... which arrived extremely quick. Minor issue with one leg which I have already messaged them via their website but not expecting any response till after the bank holidays. It is however usable so I did light up a fire just to have a go and actually cooked some salmon fillets in it for my dinner... Tomorrow (if the weather holds) a chicken will be going in it. I am trying to decide if an electronic temperature controller is a worthwhile investment plus struggling to source good quality fuel/wood right now. Anyway I will keep you all updated on my future learning.