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What charcoal do all you master chef’s use?
Generic supermarket stuff, use indirect heat (cook off the flame) and add a bit of apple wood to generate some smoke. I finish it off with a burst over the coals to get a nice char.
What charcoal do all you master chef’s use?
I recently tried Weber briquettes for the first time. They're expensive but last ages, so I reckon the cost per use is probably about the same as standard charcoal. I throw on a few handfuls of oak and beech for smoke (same as I use in my smoker).
Never had a gas from underneath cooker in my kitchen but hey ho….
what you use an open grill over your hobs? What a strange idea...
Anyway time to move on, gas works well, cooks loads of amazing good BBQ food for people all over who have just learnt that gas does what ever you want from it
Anyway time to move on, gas works well
You're absolutely right, it works a treat in my kitchen.
Late to this but my 2p
Gas for convenience, I can have it started and ready to cook in 10 mins, and then shut off after cooking straight after too, and the results are comparable IMHO with a charcoal grill. Weber 300 here for what it's worth. Exception is steak done how I like, but more later.
I can then do low and slow with the addition of wood chips in a smoker for a deeper cooking experience, but that takes a bit more time and prep.
A chimney starter is a revelation for those that can't get their coals going (or for convenience). I view them a bit like fitting a SFN or a headset with a mallet and a bit of wood. Sure, it's manly to be able to do it and everyone worthy of calling themselves an expert should be able to do it, but then go and get the right tool and enjoy the shortcut. And as above, if you want searing heat for a Pittsburgh medium steak (black outside, rare in the middle) just get the chimney going, lob the steak over it on a grill and blow gently into the base for turbo.
* Steaks done how I like - either the chimney as above, or to get the proper charred outside without buggering the inside on a gas grill - cook it on the gas grill but then set to on the outside just before serving with a plumber's blowtorch. I saw a chef do it once, must be OK.
Lastly; BBQ by gas or coal is so passe**; you need a portable pizza oven like an Uuni or a Roccbox. I have the former (Uuni 3) and with wood pellets it can be a bit faffy too, getting it started and up to temp is OK using the aforementioned blowtorch but then once going if you don't keep careful control you can run low on pellets mid cook, and adding more the oven often goes into New Pope mode blowing great clouds of smoke out of the chimney and your pizza goes all sooty. So i also bought the gas attachment for that, which is far more controllable and results are virtually the same. And then you can also do other stuff; steaks are great and you do get the black outer / pink inner (or precook in a very low oven if you want it done more in the middle), chicken wings, blackened fish / salmon, vegetables....all can be loaded onto a cast iron pan and whacked in the Uuni.
** it isn't - ALL outdoor cooking is brilliant. Too much choice now......
What charcoal do all you master chef’s use?
Whatever briquettes are going at the shop round the corner. The flavour comes from the different woods I use for smoking. I get the weber branded stuff because it's just what's available and lasts forever anyway.
What charcoal do all you master chef’s use?
Big K Restaurant grade lumpwood charcoal bought in 12kg bags.
And a chminey thing - brilliant thing.
I used to think briquettes were wrong. But now they're what I use most. I got a big bag of Weber, plus their lighters and they last so well I won't look elsewhere.
The instant lighting stuff can be good if you don't have anything else and only have a couple of things to cook. It has a real short lifespan. 20 mins max.
I never used to like bbq, too faffy and bad burgers, however I then took in a south African lodger. He went basic for his brai, a beach bucket style BBQ from Sainsbury's for about £20. It seemed easy to store and fetch, cheap to use and with his efforts it cooked ok. I don't have the lodger but I do have my own beach bucket bbq and find it ideal for the half a dozen times a year I use it. Most often now I roast a joint or chicken on it by putting the joint in an old roasting dish. I put half an empty coke or bean can in the middle of the coals with an inch or 2 of water in it and that boils away managing the temp and stops the joint from burning on the underside. I balance 4 house bricks around the edge of the roasting tin and an old wok goes over the top as a lid. It's all basic and makeshift but actually does a decent BBQ joint and needs next to no tending while it's going. I'm sure those of you that BBQ more often are much much better, but I'm not sure you need a posh BBQ to do it.
Oh and it's easy to move even when hot so once the cooking is done you can place it on the patio by anyone feeling the evening chill and keep them warm.
Better late than never... If you are looking at Weber gas grills then take a look at Broil King. The build quality is nearly as good, the functionality often a bit better for similar pitched models and loads cheaper. I'd convinced myself I needed to spend a fortune on a high up model Weber, then saw the Broil King range. 2 years on and I'm still very happy with it. I can get it really hot for great steaks and equally control the temp for everything else.
I have to say, I do like the look of the Weber Q2200
We started with an OutBack Omega. Lasted a few years before the burner, lid and grill all rusted badly.
Weber Q200 well over 10 years old and still going strong. A few spots of paint on the cover have bubbled for some reason but it's alu so shouldn't corrode too quickly. Burner is s/s, griddle cast iron. Lives outside all years with a cover over winter.
recommended. Much less faff than charcoal and no clearing up afterwards. Charcoal is great if you're cooking a load of food for a party but to quickly cook some fish, sausages or burgers midweek (or even a whole chicken as we did the other night) with no smells in the house or clearing up afterwards can't be beat.
...no smells in the house or clearing up afterwards can’t be beat.
How is there no cleaning up afterwards then? Cleaning up the grilly gratey bit afterwards is one of the things that puts me off from having a swift barbecue. Do you just not clean it every time? Or do you burn off the crud? Curious - because I like the idea of not scrubbing the burnt on black bits of crud...!
And a chminey thing – brilliant thing.
So much this - fill with charcoal and light with a single wax/paper firelighter (they don't smell of paraffin - I detest the smell that comes from normal cheapo firelighters) then go off and prepare food. 15 minutes later it's ready to go.
next time you use bbq you heat it up and use the stainless steel wirebrush to scrape the crud off......
no bacteria there to poison you because its 300 plus in there 😀
Or do you burn off the crud? Curious – because I like the idea of not scrubbing the burnt on black bits of crud…!
Burn it off the next time you use it, give it a quick scrub with the wire brush and ready to go. Proper "scrape out the inside, wash the griddle" clean before winter. maybe.
Totally agreed. Couple of quid on a wire brush to get the big bits off and lid on at the end to burn it all to carbon anyway. All part of the flavour!
Wipe it down before it cools down, not when it's cold. Much easier to clean.
Bloody poms. No clue. We don’t have time to fk about with coals and risking setting the whole bloody place on fire. You’d soon get tired of coals if you did more than one bbq per year! :p
This. Get over yourselves, get a gas BBQ, and get cooking. Simples.
Thanks again for all the advice. Despite being tempted by a charcoal burner I don’t think I’m good enough for that at the moment. Maybe a small portable in the future.
Got tempted by a Weber but it seems production moved to China on the “cheaper” models a few years back, and they are still not cheap, which led me on to the Broil King (thanks Sam_underhill for the suggestion). Went to a local shop for local people in Leatherhead that stocked them (grill’n’gear - grate (sic) place), liked the quality, the price, the warranty and the fact they are made in North America (Trump would approve) so picked up a gem 320.
Will be trying it out tonight, in the rain.
Cheers.
Sam
My landmann rexon turned up yesterday, took about an hour to assemble, seems fine in terms of quality, but time will tell whether it lasts, if I get 5-7 years out of it that'll do for the price.
It will be kept outside under a cover when not in use.
Holy s***.
Thread completed with niche expert advice taken, consensus listened to be decided against, 2 out of 10 bickering at best, and a follow up by the OP.
Happy BBQing/outdoor grilling!
My landmann rexon turned up yesterday, took about an hour to assemble, seems fine in terms of quality, but time will tell whether it lasts, if I get 5-7 years out of it that’ll do for the price.
So it's you we need to blame for the weather.
Thinking of popping down to the local Homebase and picking up one of these today. Any particularly good reasons not to.
I already have a charcoal bbq but looking for a more convenient "cheap" one to use more often.
https://www.homebase.co.uk/outback-hooded-3-burner-gas-bbq_p406427
Other half had what looks like one of them. Not branded homebase but I assume it's a re-badged generic one anyway.
It was ok, but didn't have any "coals" or substantial grill plate so ended up being a bit like grilling on a gas hob. Actually worked better when I put a baking tray on it and turned it into a griddle.
we are 3 years in with our Weber using it all year round 2/3/4 times a week . basically any time there is meat to be cooked as its just nicer cooked on the BBQ – even a cast iron Griddle doesnt come close
Same here. We have a Weber - spirit 3 burner. It's massive and I didn't want it but after around 60 uses a year I'm a convert. Great for steaks in the winter and doesn't stink/fog the house up.
I prefer gas but more importantly the quality of the meat and how you cook are the real factors.
Lot of money and a pig to put together. Still a bit of a pain to clean though.
Weber q had mine 5 yr superb, worth every penny, sometimes in life you got to speculate to accumulate (it’s a saying)
BBQs are shit and ruin perfectly good meat you bunch of cave men.