New BBQAdvice Thread
Every year aldi releases its kamodos, the weather gets hotter and we have a flood of people land here asking for help. I wrote a post a few years back to aid in that and figured I'd bring it here as a main post to help people.. Hopefully the links all work still!!
Charcoal What to buy - buy the boxed stuff (rather than a bag) direct from https://bigkproducts.co.uk/ (or alternatives! Comments have a few other suggestions!)
Charcoal - Burns slower, lower heat, use this for low & slow BBQ on none kamodos.
Lumpwood - Burns faster higher heat (use this for cooking your steaks). This rule only applies if you're using a BBQ that isn't super heat efficient, if you decide to get a Kamodo then you can use Lump for everything. Never use briquettes or anything with chemicals in on your kamodo!
Light a single natural firelighter, put it in the middle of your lump and let it spread, that will give you plenty of heat and preserve your fuel - you'll be tempted to light loads but its only needed if you need more heat.
For non-kamodos consider a charcoal chimney for lighting, makes life loads easier. Fill the chimney, light a fire lighter on your grill and put the chimney on top. Wait for it to get white hot and dump it carefully into your bbq. Then add fresh fuel next to the hot fuel so it'll spread across over time. Do not use a chimney with a kamodo, you may shock the ceramic and cause a crack!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000WEOQV8/
Temperature control - Your biggest lesson is temperature control. You should get a multi-probe thermometer, the one in the hood of the BBQ will tell you how hot the hood is, not the grill. Inkbird are reasonably priced, on amazon and do multi-probe (some for your meat and one for your grill).
The wireless themometer spikes look great but they don't last an entire long cook as the batteries just arn't big enough. I'd go for something you can plug in for super long cooks. New Kamodo owners may want to consider something with a fan controller, it removes most of the pain of temp control and does the work for you. I'd suggest getting used to long cooks without it first.
You may also want to consider an instant read probe thermo for spot checking meat. Cant go wrong with a https://thermapen.co.uk/
What to cook first - I always suggest people start with a pork shoulder, its super forgiving. You can either cook it for slicing or pulling and it'll taste great either way! Get a large pork shoulder from a butcher (super markets are passable but they remove the bones terribly and it can ruin the cut), bone in is fine, or out if easier. Remove any butcher string. Remove all of the skin if it has any (ask the butcher to do this, your not cooking it hot so you wont be looking for crackling, this is just space that could have rub on it!). Remove some of the fat so its not swimming, but don't feel like you need to trim it all, it'll melt into gooey goodness. Follow instructions bellow on BBQ rub and above on lighting your BBQ. Cook at 250f until the internal temp of the meat hits 203f. COOK TO TEMP NOT TIME! NEVER COOK TO TIME!
Here are some handy images to help your butcher do an american style "Pork Butt" on a pork shoulder:
Rub - Rub is your friend, it makes bark, bark is flavour and is great. Get your meat. Apply some meat glue (mustard or oil if your allergic - you wont taste the mustard when the cook is done!). Throw as much rub on that bad boy as you can.. Then put on more.. Then when you think its silly, its too covered, you've gone mad - ADD MORE RUB! Loads of rub recipies out there but they mainly boil down to dark sugar, salt and spicies for flavour.
Heat proof gloves!!! God send - I use this style as they're easy to use and work great (but not these specific ones.. just an example) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CHP1XKSN/
What not to cook - British briskets! Sadly, we don't fatten our animals nearly enough to make our briskets ripe for low and slow bbq. They dry out quickly and are just not right for the task. Plenty of people try but there are far better meats out there which have the right fat content and similar flavour profiles - beef cheek is a particular favourite of mine that cook very well! If you must do a brisket, order an American style corn fed brisket from an online butcher, that will work well!
Good luck and come back to ask for help or advice! Hit me up if you have any questions :)