Barbecue

The problem with the Weber, or any of those kettle barbecues, is that they are too small for a proper braai….. the type where you have a few good friends over. I like to time it all so that everything comes off at the same time. The Kettle Braai is just too small for that…

I don’t know, if I cook strips I can do four good sized ones at once, with room for shrimp skewers once they move to indirect heat. But most of the time it’s just me and the wife, so the grill is more than big enough.

Has anybody got any unusual barbecue recipe’s like “wot SOC sed”?

Not unusual, but here’s how I make steak. Start with a porterhouse around an inch and a half thick. Cook it for two minutes on each side over direct heat, then cook it for six minutes per side over indirect heat. It’ll come out done medium, you can mess with the six minutes per side bit a little to get it more towards either rare or well done if you like. I use dry seasoning applied right before cooking, I’m not a big fan of the marinades. A lot of the time I use a simple Montreal steak seasoning, but more often I’ve been messing about with my own ideas. One that was pretty good was garlic powder, sea salt, black pepper, and seasoned salt. There’s also this Hungarian stuff I find around here that works well when combined with one or two other things as well. Also, the Montreal steak seasoning, when combined in a skillet with butter, makes for cooking up some great mushrooms to go with your steak.

… I’ve got this weird idea of getting a syringe and injecting the crab with drawn butter and lemon before grilling as well to see what it does 😀

I once did a similar thing with pineapple juice and a leg of pork.

The results were delicious. 🙂

Still in the search for the perfect mildenhall burger.

Don’t forget the Polish sausage either.

Which reminds me, did anyone go to the 4th of July USAF Independance Day bash at Feltwell, not only was it open to the public, but I gather that barbecues were involved, presumably cooked on those old Mildenhall oil drums, what a missed opportunity.

Still in the search for the perfect mildenhall burger.

If I can get it sorted out right, my intention is to be able to grill steak and crab for the same meal. I’ve got this weird idea of getting a syringe and injecting the crab with drawn butter and lemon before grilling as well to see what it does 😀

Yes. Yes I see what you mean with that butter/lemon/syringe thingy…..:)

The problem with the Weber, or any of those kettle barbecues, is that they are too small for a proper braai….. the type where you have a few good friends over. I like to time it all so that everything comes off at the same time. The Kettle Braai is just too small for that…

Has anybody got any unusual barbecue recipe’s like “wot SOC sed”?

Charcoal all the way. My grilling skillset has improved to the point where I can’t eat steak at a restaurant anymore. I’d much rather get a 24 ounce porterhouse and cook it myself. I’ve got a basic Weber kettle grill, I can fit two gigantoid porterhouses or four big New York strips on it with ease. I could fit more meat on there, but then you are not taking proper advantage of the indirect heating method! We grill once a week almost year-round. As long as the temperature is at least 40 degrees F, I’ll fire it up and cook.

I’ve got one of the Weber lighting tubes but I haven’t tried it yet. I find that it might mess up my direct/indirect cooking concept I have going on. I like a little bit of flame still coming off the coals when I start the steak on direct heat to sear the meat, then by the time the steak gets transferred to the indirect heat the coals are just fine.

So far I’ve managed to grill sausage, steak, chicken, and shrimp. My next project is to grill Alaskan King Crab legs. If I can get it sorted out right, my intention is to be able to grill steak and crab for the same meal. I’ve got this weird idea of getting a syringe and injecting the crab with drawn butter and lemon before grilling as well to see what it does 😀

I’ve got a huge barbecue that I bought from B&Q last year in a sale for next to nothing. No doubt, along with previous examples that I’ve bought over the years, it will eventually suffer rust syndrome and end up down the local tip, but at the price, it was worth it.
I also have a portable stainless steel model, it’s circular and folds out to provide 2 grill areas, great for the beach and virtually indestructable, not very expensive either.
I tend to use charcoal briquettes on the main barbie and charcoal on the portable.
This Weber lighting tube is incredible for briquettes, I reckon you could smelt steel in it!
With the weather as it is in East Anglia at the moment, we barbecue at least a couple of times a week, long may it last.

I would always use charcoal. Ive done lots of cooking in fields-bike rallies, festivals , big parties etc,and its charcoal every time
I once had to use the organisers supplied gas thing, the cheapest piece of crap gas grill that HSS do, and it only had two settings, volcano or off. Charcoal can be set up with a temperature gradient,hottest to fairly cool. I usually have the hottest on the left,trailing down as you go across. The gas ones had random,fluctuating hot spots,made consistancy impossible to achieve

We call it a Braai in my neck of the woods. I would not dream of braaing with gas…. what is the point? Why bother leaving the kitchen?

The best barbecue (braai) is made from wood, with charcoal being the second choice in my opinion. Certain woods make for better coals and taste than others. But there is a skill to it with regards to when to put the meat on. With a wood braai you may also sear/seal a good steak whilst there is still flame.

The wood method also allows a little fire-side banter between friends whilst enjoying your favourite poison …… but NEVER EVER criticize the hosts fire making or barbecueing skills.

In summer we braai at least once a week, often twice. I have braaied 5 or 6 times this winter already. Most people will have a purpose made built-in braai outside which normally features a covered seating and/or braai area. Like most people I have a Weber, but only really use it for chicken.

We braai steak, chops, ribs, chicken, sausage etc, but never hamburgers. Non meat food items will be potatoes or butternut wrapped in foil and chucked straight on the coals, garlic bread, corn etc…

Google “braai” for a better description of this laid back activity…

Had some BBQ’d Barramundi on the weekend..it was superbly cooked on a wood fired BBQ in the winter sunshine

So, charcoal for flavour and gas for convenience then.
Kind of what I thought.
The one I have at the moment is charcoal and I do like all the pottering about with it-but it seems the shops are more and more just having the gas ‘uns.
Might just get one of them to go along with the charcoal one so Ive got the option.

Gas barbies are a cheat, the fun of barbecuing is to use your own skill at working out the temperature etc of the charcoal and applying that knowledge to the situation, use gas and you may as well cook in your oven indoors.
Buy yourself a Weber ignition tube, a wonderful piece of kit that really gets the thing going very quickly.
The best barbie I ever did was 1000ft up a mountain in the Lake District with the Scouts. I dug a trench in the ground, found some dead oak branches, let them burn for a while then put a grid over the top and cooked over their red hot embers, everything tasted delicious, it’s the cooking medium that does it.
There are a few dead oak branches around at the back of our house, I intend to do that again sometime.

Barbie time eh ,:diablo::diablo:

I would always say charcoal , but seeing your location :eek:, I would suggest anything with a lid !!!!:D:D

spike

Personally, I think its best to have both. Gas is great because its a simple, on demand system that with some practice can lead to some very good slow cooked foods.

Charcoal on the other hand takes time to prepare and light and whatnot, its not quite as easy as striking the match per say. And I think its harder to master its BTU output compared to gas.

But charcoal taste soooooo much better. Recently, I went out and bought a Weber charcoal grill for camping and whatnot, its easier to transport than a huge gas grill. But, itll still cook 10-12 steaks depending on their size, so its still very useful. Since I bought the Weber, the gas grill has been used exactly once.

I guess the question is, is this a bbq that will only be used in the backyard, or one that you would like to transport places. Also, how much do you plan to cook on it regularly.

You cant go wrong with either, thats why I recommend both 😀