Bbq lover looking to do more low ‘n slow

[Welsh Dan]

Hello all,

I’m a (IMO) seasoned standard BBQer but looking to practice and get better and do more low ‘n slow cooking. 

Currently have a standard bbq from the range, decent size with smoke stack and coal door but is difficult to maintain low temperature on it for long cooking as it lets in air like a sieve and I believe the kid thermometer is very in-accurate (just ordered a wireless temperature probe to be able to test/verify it). Recently did a small brisket and pork shoulder on it which both came out okay but I fear temp was slightly too hot for the duration of the cook. 

Ive seen you guys do a lot of mods to improve existing grills but would like to buy a proper smoker, looking at bullet/barrel or offset. Having read some advise it would seem that given I already have a decent bbq I may as well get a bullet/barrel smoker as opposed to offset as I don’t really need the additional grill space?

If my above assumption is correct then my next question is what budget/entry level one should I go for? I’ve seen a few which I’m considering but would like to know some more opinions:

Napoleon 3 in 1 smoker either 200(41cm) or 300(48cm). I believe it’s just grill diameter is the difference. £252/£332

Weber smokey mountain smoker 37/47cm - £296/£359

Kamado joe - joe junior  (34cm cooking diameter) currently with 23% off at £459  a bit more than I was looking to spend but seems a good deal at from what I understand a bit of kit that should last...

Sorry for the long initial post but keen to have opinions. Especially as she’s not happy about me buying another bbq 😬
 

 

[Simon]

Hi and welcome to the group. I would say if you had the money go Kamado Joe, but if it’s too expensive then look into the Weber Smokey Mountain or even the ProQ. 

[AdamG]

I can recommend kamado's ability from personal experience, but I would only recommend buying one if you have your heart set on one  and you want to cook all different kinds of stuff.

There is also a very small risk of wanting a bigger one once you have used the smaller one🙂

[Dave Littlewood]

HI, just joined the group!

I've just tried to do brisket on my Weber 57 using the snake method of charcoal.

I had to persuade my butcher to give me a flat brisket (was complaining that he wouldn't be able to sell the rest of if as I only took 1.5 kg??).

Used the Weber Bluetooth temp for meat and BBQ temps.

1 -  I could only find some lump wood from the local petrol station - utter rubbish.  Massive variation in the size of the lumps.  Basically didn't burn well enough to burn round the snake so I had to manually re-stock the fire manually

2 - I unwrapped the brisket when it got to 85C as I thought it wasn't getting to the magic 91C because it was sat in it's own juices - IDIOT.  The internal temp dropped down to 75C so I re-wrapped it and then it got back up to 91C in about 30 minutes.

 

I'm about to but some Australian heat beads  - give 'em a go as I usually use Weber.

 

Any tips on trying to get a good cut from a UK butcher?  I'm not sure that the UK butchers use the same terminology as the USA for bracket, point and flat etc?

Also, what do you think is the minimum size to smoke a brisket?  I got 1.1kg once I'd trimmed it and I think it was too small.

Edited April 27, 2020 by Dave Littlewood

[AdamG]

Hi Dave,

You are correct about uk butchers using different cuts to the americans. My butcher hates doing baby back ribs because of the wasted meat he cannot sell.

I have got to know my butcher and now he will do certain cuts, but I order it a week before hand so he has chance to get it ready. Also I get him to cut me baby back ribs and I also purchase the wasted part and make burnt ends with them.

Our pork shoulders (for pulled pork) are not the same either but I find the uk cut works just fine, I always ask for 'bone in pork shoulder'....if you ask for ribs make sure you ask for a rack. Last time i bought some i only asked for pork ribs, got distracted, and then noticed he had cut them seperately lol.👍

[Welsh Dan]

I’ve got in touch with my local butcher and asked them about it. Said they could over text message but that remains to be seen... I tried to be specific asking for the whole cut i.e point and flat end (packer cut I think they call it in the US. He said they could do that at £6.50 a kg so if that is the right cut then pretty good compared to what I’ve seen online. Out of interest anyone else who’s got a whole cut what did you pay per kilo?

[hoogl]

HI and , Would it be possible to show/send your butcher some pics/vids of the american cut? that would give them an indication of what part you are looking for. There are some nice images you can find both pre and cooked. 

[Welsh Dan]

Yeah I was thinking that actually but was worried it would come across as badgering if I kept on about it. After all they are the ‘experts’. They are pretty good up there to be fair and worst case I’ll still have a joint of meat I can cook either on the bbq or oven. 

[hoogl]

I think it is all part of building the relationship. Obviously easier to do in person as sometimes text can come across as rude etc even when you don't intend it to be but with the lock down it's not always possible to do face to face atm. 

I don't think it would hurt, the butcher I spoke to was happy to look at pics as they wanted to guarantee there are providing the right product as a happy customer is a repeat customer. PLus mine said If I order a week before he could get the meat in tues, if I wasn't happy he would get another delivery on fri for a second chance.