New BBQ Gas or Charcoal

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Ian

Just back inside from cooking a great selection of food on my half-drum charcoal BBQ.

No lid, no faffing around - just multi-height grilling.

Get some kindling up and running below your charcoal and a sprinkling of hickory chips.

Once the flames die, lob your food on the grill and start cooking. Delicate stuff prepared in the oven then finished off on the BBQ.

Cold beer belongs in the fridge as a perfect accompaniment.

Gas BBQ's are for takeaways.

As a Scotsmen, we don't lardy about all summer for the perfect BBQ weather. If it's not raining - we cook outdoors in 20 mins :D
 
I want a Tandoor!
Or a Pizza oven.

I'm currently using a gas BBQ at home and a charcoal at the caravan
I prefer a large charcoal bbq as you get greater more even heat across the cooking surface.
If you set it up properly you give yourself a cooler area for meat to rest then you don't end up with burnt offerings.
All the gas ones I've had or used all have cold spots in the main cooking area so uneven temperatures.

I'm on the lookout for a tandoor as the cooking methods and recipes match what I want to cook
 
I converted to gas years ago for the convenience, got fed up with the hassle of getting charcoal lit. Have a Weber smoke chip holder so can get all sorts of lovely smoke flavours into the food, plus the benefits of a back burner for the rotisserie - that to me is the game changer. Also being able to have each of the 3 burners at different settings so I can have hot and cool areas as required.

Daughters' fiancee is a charcoal fiend - as is his father - so we bought them a Weber BBQ chimney - starts the charcoal in no time flat with no hassle, chemicals etc. Had I known about the chimney when I bought my first gas BBQ I might have stayed with charcoal, but now I know the benefits of the back burner for the rotisserie - and that I can do all the smoke flavours on gas - I would not go back to charcoal.
 
I converted to gas years ago for the convenience, got fed up with the hassle of getting charcoal lit. Have a Weber smoke chip holder so can get all sorts of lovely smoke flavours into the food, plus the benefits of a back burner for the rotisserie - that to me is the game changer. Also being able to have each of the 3 burners at different settings so I can have hot and cool areas as required.

Daughters' fiancee is a charcoal fiend - as is his father - so we bought them a Weber BBQ chimney - starts the charcoal in no time flat with no hassle, chemicals etc. Had I known about the chimney when I bought my first gas BBQ I might have stayed with charcoal, but now I know the benefits of the back burner for the rotisserie - and that I can do all the smoke flavours on gas - I would not go back to charcoal.

Which BBQ do you have I like the sound of the back burner for the rotisserie and the smoke box, this could fit my needs
 
I want a Tandoor!
Or a Pizza oven.

I'm currently using a gas BBQ at home and a charcoal at the caravan
I prefer a large charcoal bbq as you get greater more even heat across the cooking surface.
If you set it up properly you give yourself a cooler area for meat to rest then you don't end up with burnt offerings.
All the gas ones I've had or used all have cold spots in the main cooking area so uneven temperatures.

I'm on the lookout for a tandoor as the cooking methods and recipes match what I want to cook

You can buy tandoors off a restaurant supplier in London or I suspect elsewhere closer to home. They are brilliant for producing crisp and moist food. The problem is where to put them, leaving them outside is a problem here as water will get in and that will cause it to crack on heating.

You can make one relatively simply - a large earthenware pot, an oil drum and sand - you just have to work out a way of cutting the pot at the base so you get an airflow, place in drum and use the sand to insulate around the pot.
 
Which BBQ do you have I like the sound of the back burner for the rotisserie and the smoke box, this could fit my needs

It's a Redfyre 27 - full stainless, 3 main burners plus back and side burners - but I don't think it's available now. Bought it from Redfyre in the West country via eBay about 5 years ago, cost £650 then! there are quite a few around with similar spec these days, for half what I paid.

The smoke box is a Weber food smoker box like this : Weber Style BBQ Food Smoker Box - Weber Barbecue Tools and Accessories - Weber Barbecues and BBQ - Shop by Brand - Barbecues and Food Smokers

As an example, yesterday I rotisseried a full chicken, had hickory and mesquite chips in the smoke box across the back of the grill, catch tray under the chicken with water, white wine and herbs in it, painted the chicken with Nandos medium piri piri marinade while it was cooking. Middle burner on to get the wood smoking and the catch tray steaming, back burner on to cook the chicken, lid down unless checking - nothing left, 4 happy people!!
 
Have you considered Nuclear? Lots of cheap units based on used nuclear sub fuel rods genuine-- manufacturer in Murmansk. Environmentally sound Only one slight snag I can envisage?
fire-protection-suit-16508377.jpg
 
Have you considered Nuclear? Lots of cheap units based on used nuclear sub fuel rods genuine-- manufacturer in Murmansk. Environmentally sound Only one slight snag I can envisage?


That would work I've got good access to the fuel needed ;) I am nuclear source and radiation trained and have one of these

iranian-whistleblower-says-bushehr-nuclear-plant-will-end-in-a-tragic-disaster_zpsf8dc1870.jpg
 
We have a good gas BBQ, but it's sat in the garage for two years as we've gone back to charcoal. Cooked for 60-70 persons on Saturday using a couple of oil drum cookers, smoked on a combination of charcoal and oak - brisket, pork shoulder, whole chickens (with a beer can stuffed inside), lamb, and venison. Spent the last 15 mins doing sausages and burgers for the kids.

No way would it have worked with gas - wood chip tray or not - as you don't get the intensity of smokey flavour, or the long, slow cooking required for cuts likes brisket and shoulder.

Gas is great for grilling - which is different from "real" BBQ - but you can't beat charcoal and a starter chimney means it takes no longer to get going.
 
We have a good gas BBQ, but it's sat in the garage for two years as we've gone back to charcoal. Cooked for 60-70 persons on Saturday using a couple of oil drum cookers, smoked on a combination of charcoal and oak - brisket, pork shoulder, whole chickens (with a beer can stuffed inside), lamb, and venison. Spent the last 15 mins doing sausages and burgers for the kids.

No way would it have worked with gas - wood chip tray or not - as you don't get the intensity of smokey flavour, or the long, slow cooking required for cuts likes brisket and shoulder.

Gas is great for grilling - which is different from "real" BBQ - but you can't beat charcoal and a starter chimney means it takes no longer to get going.

Beer can Chicken a top invention :D I agree for a lot of people to be fed at the same time you can't beat the good old Oil drum :thumb:
 
This is how *real* petrolheads have a bbq ;) :D

[YOUTUBE]PGlGdChYwZo[/YOUTUBE]
 
Where do you live?

I live in north London with a smallish garden and getting rid of used charcoal is just more ballache then I personally want.

I challenge anyone to taste the difference on a short cook such as steak, burger or sausage cooked on gas vs charcoal, specially if no lid. Even on longer cooks like ribs, brisket etc most the smoke flavour doesn't come from the charcoal itself but from the added wood chips.

Charcoal or real wood is more fun though, and for larger parties easier to cook on. My gas barbi wasn't cheap but the temperature differences around the grilling area is massive you just don't get that problem on charcoal :)
 
You can buy tandoors off a restaurant supplier in London or I suspect elsewhere closer to home. They are brilliant for producing crisp and moist food. The problem is where to put them, leaving them outside is a problem here as water will get in and that will cause it to crack on heating.

You can make one relatively simply - a large earthenware pot, an oil drum and sand - you just have to work out a way of cutting the pot at the base so you get an airflow, place in drum and use the sand to insulate around the pot.


Hi Charles

I have seen the plantpot method video on Youtube but I fancy something more off the shelf.
There is an online supplier in Nottingham that does ready made Tandoors but if you look at how big they are they are a bit on the small side.
Restaurant or commercial models are a bit pricey so I’ll keep looking

Ta Steve
 
This is how *real* petrolheads have a bbq ;) :D

[YOUTUBE]PGlGdChYwZo[/YOUTUBE]

The answer to my problems, I'm having a new exhaust fitted Wednesday I'll call them get the design changed to side exit, redo the fuel maps so it pops back with flame, then attack the cylinder head with the hot spanner to open up some ports for the combustion flames to escape and there I have it not only a classic sports coupe but a mobile bbq too, brilliant and a great bit of research BTB500 :thumb:
 
LOL job done!

I saw that car (Brutus) at the Sinsheim museum in Germany and they were showing various videos of it in action there. I remembered there was a BBQ one and hoped it would be on YouTube :)
 
Well decision made, I've just been round next door as they were having a BBQ and asked if I could cook my nice piece of rump steak on their BBQ which is a charcoal Weber. Cheeky but as they say if you dont ask you don't get :D The steak was absolutely perfect I forgot how good charcoal was even cooking heat and the taste imparted into the food is far better than gas. So that's it tomorrows task a 57cm weber charcoal BBQ. I'm still toying with the idea of a small gas one too for convenience and last minute bbq's as that is still better than the electric health grill or griddle. Return to charcoal it is :thumb:
 

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