Barbecues are bloody brilliant Part 3

Kristian

It was a success .  Everyone was impressed, especially me .  Meat was cooked from 08:15 to 16:30 and it looked and tasted great.  The temps were a bit up and down (lid thermometer was 190C for a start and then between 150C and 120C for the rest of the day) whilst I worked out how to do things.

Looking forward to more bbq from now on.  Thanks for the help and inspiration.

sheriffwoody

can you really do beer can chicken on those weber premiums? they don't look like they would give enough clearance without the lid resting on the chicken

cram

Depends on the size of the chicken. As mentioned I've done them by removing the grill grate then sitting the chicken on the same level as the coals. It works, chicken cooks a little bit faster

balidey

Is there any relationship between hood temperature and food temp?
I see many people on here talking about meat cooking temps and using meat thermometers, but can you use the built in hood thermometer as a 'guide'?
I've never used on for BBQ cooking, or any cooking, and not really sure if its needed, or one of those things that helps, but is not 100% necessary.

cram

Couple of things. The therms in the lids are not typically that accurate. They can be a significant amount out. Some people have reported by as much as 50 degrees f. It varies from cooker to cooker. Secondly even if they are correct the temp at the lid isn't the same as the temp at the cooking grate.

Now having said that the majority of time I do cook using the temp on the lid. That's because I've learned over time that if the lid says a certain figure (or is roughly there or there abouts) then I will get the results I am looking for. Most foods can be cooked at a variety of temps. If I'm cooking pork shoulder for pulled pork I'm generally not too bothered if the cooker is running at 225f or 280f, I will still get a decent result. I am however bothered if the temp is at 350f. Likewise if I'm roasting a chicken then anything between 330f and 410f if fine.

I do use a meat thermometer before removing the meat from the BBQ (exception is Ribs). If you are not going to use a meat thermometer you need to ask yourself how will you know when something is cooked? Time and temp is only ever a guide you do need to check the food.

IronGiant

If the needle is fully clockwise you have a fat fire, if it is fully anticlockwise the coals have gone out/run out.  A lid thermometer is useful to allow you to check for these things without having to lift the lid.  

balidey

Thanks, in that case I'll look at adding one to my 'wanted' list.

boulders

Pork turned out ok, I was a little impatient as I was hungry... so I only let it go to 185 instead of my usual 190-195.  I Also went a bit to light on the wood smoke (forgot to put more in until it was too late really)



Heres it pulled, I pulled them with my Bear paws



Finally in a bun



Was still pretty tasty, but definately not one of my best!

WeegyAVLover

Thanks for this guys.

Is a Weber a good/better model than the B&Q Blooma model? never heard of Weber (not that know much about BBQs).

Interesting, I will maybe stop into my local BBQ and check it out.

Thanks
Col

IronGiant

Weber are generally considered the best made and longest lasting kettle BBQs and anything else is a rip off/copy.

There are arguably some that are as well made or even better, (cadacs spring to mind) but as a rule of thumb any DIY shed branded model will be a cheap asian import built to a budget.

Although there have been concerns that Weber are out sourcing the manufacture of (some/all ?) parts to China, they are still up there with anything else.