The Chairmaker

I bought some pork baby back ribs from Hook 'n' Block. They describe them as "a pack of 1 larger or 2 smaller racks of baby back ribs with a pack weight of 1.1kg.". https://www.hooknblock.co.uk/pork-loin-baby-back-ribs What I actually got was this in two out of three packs: They added what I regard as scrap ends in to make up the weight. These bits are only fit in for the bin. Not good at all and I'll be avoiding this lot in the future.

A cooling charcoal BBQ is a great place to season cast iron. Stick the pot or pan on, let it get hot and then use a high-smoking point oil (I use ghee) to lightly oil the surfaces. Rub all over with a bit of kitchen roll, you only need the thinnest coating of oil. Bung it back in the BBQ, close all the vents and leave it until the morning.

That looks delicious!

It sounds like the Weber is perfect then. But then again, shiny new toys! 😁 What was the thinking for getting a Kamado?

Keep it. The Weber will find good work doing steaks and quicker cooks. You can get the food much nearer the coals for searing. You could also pick up a rotisserie kit and use it for that. The best rib-eye roasts and chicken that I've even cooked was on the rotisserie. Well worth £100 (I have the stainless version if this one) https://www.amazon.co.uk/onlyfire-BRK-6025-Enamelled-Rotisserie-Charcoal/dp/B0757HLNF1/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=rotisserie+ring+57cm+stainless+steel&qid=1594567468&s=outdoors&sr=1-1 The Kamado will excel at low and slow.

You will need to add some starch as a binder. Cornstarch will do the job.

Probably bad form to quote oneself, but heyho! I had the pork ribs from Cornvale...they were a bit skinny to be honest. Their T-Bones were good for the price, but not a patch on the Davidson extra-matured Scottish T-Bones. Perfectly acceptable, but lacking the same "density" of flavour. Put it this way.....I used plenty of home-made chimmichurri on the Cornvale T-Bones, whereas with the Davison's it felt like sacrilege putting anything other than salt and pepper on. The Cornvale rib steaks were fair enough. A bit skinny for my liking, but a perfectly acceptable mid-week steak. Tonight I had some of the Davidson St Louis ribs. Way too much for us two, so plenty saved for lunch tomorrow. 3.5 hours smoking, spritzed with a mix of water, red wine vinegar and soy sauce, then wrapped for about 45 minutes. Finished off unwrapped for about 20 mins and sauced with the juices from the tin-foil reduced down with tomato paste, kecap manis and vinegar. I apologise for sounding like a Davidson fanboi...I promise that I'm not (and I'm not getting paid!). I just find that their quality is consistent and very high. I've been buying off them for a couple of years and am yet to be disappointed with any order from them.

Agreed! I found that on the Weber it needed a LOT of air, however on the kamado it was brilliant. I did some ribs today and the smoke ring was exceptional (had 3 chunks of chestnut in there). The smoke flavour was the best that I've had on ribs with the smoke ring being a generous 1/4 at its narrowest. The Fogon has massive chunks in there too...too big for the Weber. Some of them were about 8 inches across. Perfect for kamado smoking! I'll be buying this stuff again!

I've not tried it in the kamado yet, to be honest. Nice big lumps in the bag and seems to burn OK in the Weber. Needs more air than I'm used to though. Hopefully the weather improves again as I've got some ribs that I want to smoke at the weekend.

Ive cooked one of those and it was fine. A bit over-trimmed out of the bag to be honest and a little light on the marbling. I injected it with beef stock, especially in the flat and it turned out perfectly respectably. Very good flavour.

Yeah, you'll need to line it with firebrick and use fire cement. https://www.vitcas.com/prd/cty/firebricks

Is that on an outside wall? You might want to check your home insurance if it's inside..... I'd also be asking someone in the know about the flue dimensions and opening sizes. Burning charcoal inside without proper extraction is a great way to get carbon monoxide poisoning.

Kamados always work better with lumpwood, especially for long cooks. The lumpwood produces far less ash, it burns cleaner and hotter too.

Burning or heating (to high temps) galvanised steel is a no-no. Zinc fever isn't that nice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_fume_fever#Cause Once it burns off all you are left with is mild-steel, so you might as well use that in the first place. Stainless steel is the only choice for anything near food.

I've used them too. The olive wood is really nice...lovely on pork. You don't need much either as it's so hard and dense. I tried cutting a couple of the larger pieces and gave up quickly. It's like trying to cut iron!

Its ready when it's ready! 😁 Once it hits the stall then the Texas Crutch (wrap it in tinfoil) will help it speed through the stall. Or you could do a Harry Soo fast brisket and cook it at much higher temps. Either way, the real test is to let it hit about 91C and then start probing for doneness. It's done when the probe feels like it's going into room temperature butter.

For anyone in north west Lancashire, Cornvale have opened an online ordering system. Ie've got some steaks arriving tomorrow to try them out. Delivery is free in the local area. https://cornvalefoods.co.uk/shop/

I use a butane powered weed burner. I use a chimney on the Weber and in the kamado I just fire the flames directly at the charcoal. Both methods get the charcoal lit in no time at all. You can pick them up for about £20 including 4 cans of butane. 5 Cans lasts me about 2 years! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trendi-BURNER-BLOWTORCH-OUTDOOR-CANISTERS/dp/B07RL8LDDQ/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=weed+burner&qid=1591538925&s=outdoors&sr=1-7

Waiting until all probes show 56 is guaranteed to overcook. Especially for a big piece you need to take it off at about 50~C and allow it to rest. The heat will continue to penetrate (follow-on cooking) and the temp can rise by another 5C, easily. If it's a big hunk of meat wrapping it loosely in grease-proof or butcher paper and letting it rest in a cooler for 30 minutes (or even longer) will allow the follow on cooking to penetrate deeply. Dont soak the wood chips, all you are doing is reducing the heat of the fire, especially if you chuck them directly on the hot charcoal.

Morrison's can be a bit hit and miss. Sometimes my local have some great pork ribs, other times not so good. Occasionally my local will have beautiful matured rib roasts and rib steaks, though I haven't seen any for a while. Check out the fish counter too. They are usually very good. I picked up a lovely whole tilapia for £3.60 yesterday, which was delicious charred on the grill. Who said that good food is expensive? A poxy scutter-burger 🤪 from McDonalds would be more than that! All in all, Morrisons has about the best butchers of the big chains though. Their fishmonger is head and shoulders above.

Cooked over searing hot lumpwood charcoal on a Weber kettle to internal 46C and then rested. Served with chimmichurri and pan-fried chestnut mushrooms. The chimmichuri was finely diced parsley (about a handful of leaves), three cloves of pressed garlic, olive oil and vinegar. I had run out of red wine vinegar, so made do with a mix of balsamic and malt. The winning touch was some finely grated Parmesan cheese to give it a nutty umami undertone. The meat was sourced from here: https://www.johndavidsons.com/pitmaster-bbq/beef/hanger-steak

I buy a fair bit from Johndavidsons.com. All of the meat is supplied blast frozen and I've always had good quality from them. The extra mature T-bones are absolutely delicious. I've had their ribs, briskets and pork and all has been spot on. Recommendations? The suckling pig cochinella is delicious. Also, the Black Market Denver steaks are something else...they don't always have them, but grab them once they are availible. The Creekstone Denvers are also very good.

Tough would tend to indicate under-done. What temperature were you cooking at? I never marinate ribs, I just put the run on before smoking and put the ribs on when tacky.

Long time lurker, first time caller. I've been BBQing for donkeys years. Been running a Costco Kamado for a few years alongside a 20 year old trusty Weber kettle. My favourite things to smoke are probably pork ribs and then briskets (I'm the idiot out on Christmas morning at 4AM lighting the kamado in the rain to smoke a brisket for Christmas dinner!) Anyway, hello to all. Happy smoking!

Long time lurker, first time caller. 😁 Charcoal prices have gone through the roof with he world and it's brother BBQing like mad in lockdown. My local supplier (Logsdirect.co.uk) usually charge between £10 and £12 for the blue bag 12Kg so-called restaurant charcoal.I've been using it for years and it's pretty good, though I have had the odd bag that was hit-and-miss. I'm giving this one a go: https://www.fogonuk.co.uk/#shop £32 for 20kg. Will report back on what it's like. It'll be mainly used for long smokes in a kamado smoker.