Why isn't my bbq getting hot enough?

[BTB 500]

We have a gas barbeque at home and another small one for the caravan (which has an external gas point). Plus the pizza oven at home

 

[Swotty]

I also "jumped ship" years ago, now on my third gas BBQ - an Outback (not that I would recommend it - very uneven cooking) but bought a small charcoal BBQ last year for when we rented a caravan in Filey for a holiday last July.

Somehow, the whole palaver of lighting, poking and general faffing about does make it more of an event.

Back to Filey very shortly - but I wonder if it will be BBQ weather.

Aaah, Filey ..... I used to live in Staxton, on the A64 south of Scarborough ... and 'twas but a short trip across to Filey ... and Filey Brigg. Very bracing in the winter months!

You are doing well to light a charcoal bbq in those easterlies.

 

[ChrisEdu]

Had steaks from the bbq tonight, absolutely delicious!

 

[markjay]

The charcoal may need agitating / poking to get a high enough temperature, also you need to have enough charcoal and ensure that it is thoroughly lit throughout.

I have a well used Weber.

I advise for max temp, you need to leave the lid off. Lid on and it will always cool.

This is fine for what technically is barbequeing (which means lid on) but won't cut it for high temp things like pizza.

Don't put the lid on when there are flames.

Ideally buy a bbq chimney starter and don't use instant light bags. If you don't take the coals, the fuel soaked bag underneath won't burn and ruins food flavour (plus probably even more carcinogenic than a normal bbq).

As pizza is a quick 2-10 mins depending on pizza, get the temp up with lid off, put the pizza on and bang on the lid. Consider having the top vent closed.

As above - I also have the 57cm kettle and the lid is good for controlling temperature downwards

Use good quality briquettes and wood chips if you want

Well, this helps. At the next stretch of good weather... I'll try using more coal, keeping the lid open for the first 20 minutes, and poking (and fanning) the coal. Will report back....

 

[ChrisHGTV]

We’ve got a gas Broil King and pretty much bbq all year round (Christmas day one year we did 2 big chickens on the spit). I have noticed that the ambient temp does have an impact. It’s still quite chilly out so that might also be a contributing factor?

 

[whitenemesis]

I reckon your not using enough 5* on it.
Try V-Power for that extra clean burn!

 

[Petrol Pete]

OP , my guess is as BBQ season has not actually started for most of us yet the charcoal you bought was last seasons and could have been stored badly for the last 9 months and just dragged out of retirement for this season.

 

[markjay]

I reckon your not using enough 5* on it.
Try V-Power for that extra clean burn!

V-Power for the bbq? Now that's a silly idea. I don't want it going any faster, not with them winter tyres I put on it.

 

[alzieboy]

Stinking things !! well our neighbours one is .

 

[Deleted member 126251]

+1

I converted to gas 15 years ago and never looked back.

Legs of lamb, spit roasts, all cuts of meats and fish. Pizzas are a doddle. It's simply a superior grilling machine, plus an outside oven when you want. Sustained temperature, with a hood, of course!

No charcoal "anxiety" ... just have a spare gas bottle, just in case ..... but you can tell by hand-weighing it.

2 days ago, chicken kebabs; yesterday bbq spare ribs; today trout, baby potatoes and grilled tomatoes (pots done on side burner).

Tomorrow ... awaiting Mrs Swotty's instructions!

@MrGreedy BBQ is cooking with smoke, or over flames in an outdoor setting (lid or no lid).

I've been BBQing since the 1960s and back then it was always a facility without a lid using coals that had been produced by burning down a good hard wood. The challenge was to get the timing of lighting the fire (couple of hours ahead) in order to have good coals when it was time to cook. It was also when the first beer was opened . Good charcoal (made from a hardwood) was only used in an emergency when we could not get hard wood and briquettes were launched, they were really frowned on.

This malarky of BBQ with lids is a relatively recent idea. We got out first (new fangled BBQ with a lid) Weber kettle in the late 1980s and switched to briquettes much to the disgust of some of my friends. We later switched to gas (mainly as we'd got fed up with the crap charcoal & briquettes sold here) in 2000 (Weber Spirit Elite) and while it makes a good BBQ it is just cooking meat over gas and we use it like Swotty does.

Unless one has eaten meat cooked over a proper wood based fire (not gas, briquettes or the cheap charcoal) you do not know what properly BBQ'd meat tastes like.

 

[Dichtung]

Tired of sausages crisp on the outside, raw in the middle. Cook `em inside, eat `em outside. Simples.

 

[BTB 500]

Tired of sausages crisp on the outside, raw in the middle. Cook `em inside, eat `em outside. Simples.

Our BBQ is quite small so to speed things up we sometimes cook things inside then finish them off on the BBQ.

 

[markjay]

Our BBQ is quite small so to speed things up we sometimes cook things inside then finish them off on the BBQ.

That's the plan for our next pizza.... use already-baked pizza base, add tomato paste and toppings and finish it in the bbq. Then let our family members revel in the sight of a fresh pizza coming out of the makeshift pizza oven...

 

[BTB 500]

If you like pizza and are prepared to make your own dough (Mrs BTB says this is easy!) then a small pizza oven is worth considering, IMHO. It's pretty quick & easy to use, and the pizzas that come out are fantastic ... as good as any restaurant serves, at a fraction of the price. We have the smallest/cheapest wood pellet one here, which Mrs BTB got on special offer way below RRP:

Our Range of Pizza Ovens | Ooni Pizza Ovens

Cook pizza, veggies, meats and more in an Ooni pizza oven, fueled by wood, charcoal, gas or electricity. Explore our range of pizza ovens here.

uk.ooni.com

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Actually, I find meat cooked on my Weber gas bbq is nicer than meat cooked in the oven! We use the Weber all year round.

Must be those "flavouriser bars"......

 

[Deleted member 126251]

.......................

Then, as soon as a modicum of warm weather arrives many see the need to stand in front of a very hot piece of equipment in an attempt to try to produce food to a lower standard on a difficult to control external cooking source.

Because "It tastes better"

Speak for yourself .....my BBQ tastes at least as good as (and usually better than) food cooked on a kitchen appliance.

"Bad workmen blame the tools".

 

[DSM10000]

Speak for yourself .....my BBQ tastes at least as good as (and usually better than) food cooked on a kitchen appliance.

"Bad workmen blame the tools".

Top Chefs rarely use a BBQ

 

[Deleted member 126251]

If you like pizza and are prepared to make your own dough (Mrs BTB says this is easy!) then a small pizza oven is worth considering, IMHO. It's pretty quick & easy to use, and the pizzas that come out are fantastic ... as good as any restaurant serves, at a fraction of the price. We have the smallest/cheapest wood pellet one here, which Mrs BTB got on special offer way below RRP:

Our Range of Pizza Ovens | Ooni Pizza Ovens

Cook pizza, veggies, meats and more in an Ooni pizza oven, fueled by wood, charcoal, gas or electricity. Explore our range of pizza ovens here.

uk.ooni.com

I like those Ooni's but at a starting price of £250, you have to eat a hell of a lot of pizza to amortise the cost of one. I have a "Pizza Steel" and luckily a oven that goes to 300C which produces seriously good pizza. It is also very good for baking bread. The only down side is that it is slower than a Ooni (about 5 to 8 minutes/ batch) but, I can do 2 at a time if I want to.

I make sourdough so half the batch goes for 2 pizzas and the other half makes a small loaf for the two of us (we don't eat a lot of bread anyway). I've tried several pizza dough recipes (including 78-96 hour fermentation) and so far, the sourdough pizzas are the best.

The Pizza Steel - Europes #1 Baking Steel – Pizzasteel.com

Baking Steel made in Europe. Perfect pizzas, breads and baguettes in your home oven. Get The Pizza Steel today - It will last a lifetime!

pizzasteel.com

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Top Chefs rarely use a BBQ

Duuuuh....because they are not cooking BBQ (bit tricky doing a "sous vide", baked pudding or a souffle in a BBQ). When they do want those sort of flavours and textures, they all use a BBQ of some sort. Many modern kitchens have flame grillers as part of the equipment.

It is all about using the appropriate tool correctly .

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Tired of sausages crisp on the outside, raw in the middle. Cook `em inside, eat `em outside. Simples.

Sausages are not BBQ....and being the simplest thing in world to cook, it must be really bad cook that cannot cook a banger properly.