First time smoker!

[somapop]

Hi folks - new here!

I'm currently going through a slow, costly, time consuming refurb of our house.
Total rewire, networking (ceiling downs, walls channeled out...the works). The 'garden' when we moved in two years ago was just a network of paving slabs...on top of paving slabs...on top of another set of paving slabs (think we pulled 200 up in the end). To cut a long story short, we've created a greener garden now (turfed and planted a few hundred plants/shrubs/trees etc) and a later phase of the project is to create some kind of outdoor cooking area. I built a brick BBQ in our last property - nothing too special (using the kits you can buy anywhere), but looked the part and was ok for grilling. We couldn't afford to start it this year so to tie us over (well, just me really!) I picked up a v cheap kettle grill (the £20 ones doing the rounds). Initially just for grilling, I got diverted a couple of weeks back online and fell into smoking discussions...

Many hours of late night reading up and I'm hooked. Even at this early stage before I build something more substantial (and pick up the tools to aid the processes) I at least want a bit of a summer to pick up some techniques (and hopefully make some cracking food).

The grill is only 41cm (cooking area) but has both the bottom ash vent and the top vent (both adjustable). I've picked up some local lump wood in Manchester (from a vegan supermarket - I believe it's delivered by a forester up in Lancashire) and also some briquettes (they seem better than ones I've had in the past...no really evident chemical smells).
I've found the lump wood burns pretty quickly, but the briquettes create a lot of ash which often clogs up the bottom vent (it can be manoeuvred to open/close to shift some ash out).

I was going to make a chimney starter (conscious of spending much at this stage) but picked one up for £7 - cheaper than I could probably make given I didn't have much lying around to create one). This works great.

Last weekend I create my first smoked pork shoulder. Made rub, placed in fridge for 24 hours then fired up the kettle early sunday morning. A week before I tried the snake method, but this seemed to keep going out. This time I just lay a fairly tight mix of lump wood and briquettes on one side of the BBQ, then placed hot coals from the chimney directly onto these (with the idea of just topping up throughout the day). Separated the coals from the foil drip tray (filled with hot water) then placed the pork shoulder over that (once the temp inside seemed pretty hot and stable).
Also placed a few oak/cherry chunks (online supplier again in Lancashire) on top of the coals.

Ok - the smoke smell was fantastic and you could see it streaming out of the top vent (over the meat). However, I think the 5lb joint was too big for this BBQ. The top of the meat squashed against the lid and it took nearly half the space of the grill up. I'm mentioning this because I'm having trouble keeping the coals burning...they kept on dying out. I had to lift the lid up by around 5mm to get more air in - this worked but I'm guessing it would affect the temperature inside somewhat. There is no thermometer on the BBQ itself, but I'm considering picking up a cheap one online to tie me over this year (found one for around £4 with favourable reviews - hopefully it can be calibrated). I've also ordered a thermopen (needed one for other cooking purposed anyway) so I can at least be confident the meat it safe.

We finally sat down to eat the pork some 10 hours after it went into the grill (rested for one hour out of grill). Excellent pink smoke ring (had to convince other members of the family it wasn't that type of pink i.e uncooked!) and amazing flavour. However, much of it was overcooked - quite tough and stringy, although still tasty.

This has to be down to the fact I didn't have a stable temperature throughout the day.
Do you think this was down to the grill itself? Might I be better just cooking smaller items (ribs/chicken - hope I can smoke these meats?) - even cutting a 5lb piece of shoulder in half and cooking a 2.5lb piece?

I'm struggling to see where I'm going wrong, so should I just put it down to the small, cheap BBQ kettle and get by till I upgrade next year? At least when the thermopen arrives I can check the meat is at least safe to eat...rather it overcooked at this stage.

Sorry about the long post!

Many thanks.

[Scantily]

Being able to measure the temperature of both the BBQ and meat is fairly crucial, otherwise you're completely in the dark.

The pork shoulder could have been undercooked considering your difficulties with keeping the BBQ lit, I will start checking for doneness at around 90 celcius, but meat temp could need to go as high as 96. The temperature alone doesn't tell you if it's cooked, it's just an indicator. To judge whether it is cooked or not you need to probe with a cocktail stick or something similar, when there's little resistance and it's like soft butter then it's ready.

How were you controlling the fire? As a rule of thumb the top vent should be kept fully open and positioned over the meat to draw smoke over the top. And you should just use the bottom vent to adjust the BBQ temp. If your coals kept on going out then it sounds like you had your vents closed down too much.
Also if the meat is touching the lid of the BBQ then that's not ideal, you want air and smoke to be able to circulate for even cooking and good bark.

[somapop]

Thanks Skantily.

TBH - the centre was very soft and moist...I'd call it Pulled Pork from experience of eating it before (although I've never had it smoked). But further out (towards the bark - which was more like a deep black crust) the meat had started to dry out...a few bits were more akin to beed jerk (hence believing it was over cooked rather than under cooked). Hopefully the thermopen will turn up over the next day or two and I'll also pick up that oven thermometer. I'm sure this will help quite a bit!

I will start checking for doneness at around 90 celcius, but meat temp could need to go as high as 96

So if I probed with the thermopen I should hope (after so many hours) for the centre to be around that temp?)

Both vents were fully open (the bottom one needs attending to as the ash collects in the holes (don't suppose there is a hack/work around for that?). The top vent was just to the side of the meat (couldn't get it directly over the meat as the meat as simply too big for the kettle.

I guess I'm going to have to do smaller portions (cut a 5lb shoulder in half and look into smoking chicken and ribs, at least till I upgrade to a larger set up in the future.
Even though I was against it (and a bit 'in the dark' as you say) the results were good - good enough to carry on and develop the methods further.

Many thanks.

[Scantily]

Thanks Skantily.

TBH - the centre was very soft and moist...I'd call it Pulled Pork from experience of eating it before (although I've never had it smoked). But further out (towards the bark - which was more like a deep black crust) the meat had started to dry out...a few bits were more akin to beed jerk (hence believing it was over cooked rather than under cooked). Hopefully the thermopen will turn up over the next day or two and I'll also pick up that oven thermometer. I'm sure this will help quite a bit!

I will start checking for doneness at around 90 celcius, but meat temp could need to go as high as 96

So if I probed with the thermopen I should hope (after so many hours) for the centre to be around that temp?)

Both vents were fully open (the bottom one needs attending to as the ash collects in the holes (don't suppose there is a hack/work around for that?). The top vent was just to the side of the meat (couldn't get it directly over the meat as the meat as simply too big for the kettle.

I guess I'm going to have to do smaller portions (cut a 5lb shoulder in half and look into smoking chicken and ribs, at least till I upgrade to a larger set up in the future.
Even though I was against it (and a bit 'in the dark' as you say) the results were good - good enough to carry on and develop the methods further.

Many thanks.

Yes I'd start probing for tenderness when the centre measures about 90, if not ready then I'll check again after it's risen by a degree and so forth until tender enough. By your description it does sound like it was over cooked a little, you want decent bark but not dryness.

You've made a wise choice with the thermapen, I still need to buy one. Another bbq tool I'd recommend is the maverick ET732/733. It has two probes, one for the meat and one for the bbq grate, the wireless receiver means you can keep an eye on your bbq from the comfort of your sofa, you can also program separate alarms for bbq low/high temperature and for the meat.

As for the issues with your coals extinguishing, it must be due to ash clogging the vents and reducing air flow, poor design on a bbq really, but then it was only £20. To avoid it, could you maybe find a tubular bit of metal/ceramic etc roughly the same size as the vent and stick it over the top? Difficult to advise without seeing your bbq, post a pic up if you're not sure. Lumpwood also creates much less ash than briquettes which may help.

The best advice I can give is that you explore and read all you can on these two sites:
http://virtualweberbullet.com
http://amazingribs.com/index.html

There is an absolute wealth of information on both, recipes, techniques etc.

[somapop]

Thanks Skantily - just the advice I was after. I might hack the BBQ to be honest - the bottom vents do indeed get clogged up (I was having to poke from below to shift some of the ash).
I could drill some more vent holes slightly to the side off centre or (as you mention, place some kind of tubing in/over the existing vents...I'll find a way). I'll post a pic later tonight.
I think that and the size of the kettle is going to limit me. Not a biggy - I'll just have to cook smaller portions whilst practicing this year.
Ideally I could get to the point where I could confidentially leave it to cook on it's own (either minion or snake methods). Currently this is impossible due to the clogging vents issue. I'll try lump wood only this weekend and see if that's any better (tend to burn out much quicker however).

Pen has actually been delivered today. I picked one up (super fast version) for £36 - some of the more 'obvious' colours were £50 plus (mine is teal). Heard nothing but good reviews about them (I make home made burgers and have always worried about them being fully cooked in the past).

I've seen the 'ET732/733' mentioned quite a bit recently during research so I'm they'll be on the list next year.
Not sure at this stage whether to purchase a bullet type BBQ, a better (and bigger) kettle (weber perhaps), build one (may discount this now I'm more into smoking rather than grilling) or even gas (?!).
I'll hold those thoughts for a year though. Need room to add a cold smoker also (I'll hack/construct one up from a few ideas I have knocking around - those little tea light trays look good enough).

I was reading (perhaps US sites) to cook until around 190 F - 90 degrees C is about the same then (might be an obvious question but do the Brits tend to discuss in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit, or is it just a personal thing)?

Many thanks for the links - I'll get reading them

BTW - might try smoked chicken thighs this weekend - will fit better, but also less cooking time. Saw a video on here which helped.

Cheers.

[somapop]

A few pics which might help determine whether the bottom vents may be an issue (and need adjusting).









And I've placed one of those cake rings (?) over the vents and it seems to fit just about right. I haven't secured it yet and may need to play around with it (and replace a new one in the kitchen!) but it might help keep much of the ash from the vents. Perhaps a welding kit can be popped onto Santa's list next xmas



Thoughts? I'm almost convinced now that the coals going out are down to this issue rather than poor lump wood & briquettes (are they also referred to as heat beads?)

Many thanks,

[Scantily]

Thanks Skantily - just the advice I was after. I might hack the BBQ to be honest - the bottom vents do indeed get clogged up (I was having to poke from below to shift some of the ash).
I could drill some more vent holes slightly to the side off centre or (as you mention, place some kind of tubing in/over the existing vents...I'll find a way). I'll post a pic later tonight.
I think that and the size of the kettle is going to limit me. Not a biggy - I'll just have to cook smaller portions whilst practicing this year.
Ideally I could get to the point where I could confidentially leave it to cook on it's own (either minion or snake methods). Currently this is impossible due to the clogging vents issue. I'll try lump wood only this weekend and see if that's any better (tend to burn out much quicker however).

Pen has actually been delivered today. I picked one up (super fast version) for £36 - some of the more 'obvious' colours were £50 plus (mine is teal). Heard nothing but good reviews about them (I make home made burgers and have always worried about them being fully cooked in the past).

I've seen the 'ET732/733' mentioned quite a bit recently during research so I'm they'll be on the list next year.
Not sure at this stage whether to purchase a bullet type BBQ, a better (and bigger) kettle (weber perhaps), build one (may discount this now I'm more into smoking rather than grilling) or even gas (?!).
I'll hold those thoughts for a year though. Need room to add a cold smoker also (I'll hack/construct one up from a few ideas I have knocking around - those little tea light trays look good enough).

I was reading (perhaps US sites) to cook until around 190 F - 90 degrees C is about the same then (might be an obvious question but do the Brits tend to discuss in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit, or is it just a personal thing)?

Many thanks for the links - I'll get reading them

BTW - might try smoked chicken thighs this weekend - will fit better, but also less cooking time. Saw a video on here which helped.

Cheers.

I read a lot of US sites so tend to use Fahrenheit on forums, but have all my temp probes set to Celsius. It's just important to remember not to cook to temperature, but to tenderness.

I'd avoid drilling any extra holes in the base unless you have some way of covering them to control airflow, as long as the the bottom vent can be kept clogged free it should provide more than enough airflow to sustain most temps with some adjustment. Just as an example, on my weber OTG I open the bottom vents only a fraction if I'm aiming for 225-250 with the top vent wide open. The snake method and an aluminium pan full of hot water positioned underneath the meat adds much needed temp stability.

As for what bbq to buy next, it depends on how much you are into smoking, if you're loving it and are happy with your current grill, then I'd recommend a proper smoker, either a proQ model, or a weber smokey mountain 37/47/57cm. If you just want to smoke occasionally and grill on the same bbq then I'd recommend a 57cm weber OTG or equivalent, big enough to grill a lot of food, but also large enough to smoke big meats low n slow.

That metal ring looks a perfect size, let us know whether it fixes your problem, if it does work you could always fix it in place with some metal glue. Personally I'd just use your current bbq to practice on and decide whether you want to invest in something better.

Also, one last tip, if you're going to be using lumpwood charcoal then I'd recommend cutting out a round piece of mesh the same size as your charcoal grate and putting it on top to stop smaller pieces falling through, I've done this on my grill and smoker. The holes shouldn't be too small as they will clog with ash.

[somapop]

Thanks scantily.
Definitely love it already (having only 'got into' it over the last couple of weeks). That pulled pork, even in it's overdone state convinced me it's worth pursuing.

I tried some chicken thighs on the current set up at the weekend: same thing happened...heat loss, coals cooling though I think I may have overloaded it again (10 thighs on that small grill). The other half looked after it a while whilst I was out, but when I came back she's managed to close the bottom vents...not her fault really.
Bit frustrating though. However, that mesh idea is ace...I'll pick some up this week and cut to shape. Could do with some anyway so I can separate the coals from the rest of the bottom grate (they cascade into the other half and end up under the meat I'm trying to cook non direct.

Really like those WSM's...very tempted to put that forward as the contender next year. Plan is to build up a small 'outdoor kitchen' area next year (building a pergola but will extend that over a cooking area). Trying to find a way to hack those pergolas with the 'roof pulley' for when it rains, but keeping it quite natural (tanalised wood and climbing plants)...but that's another story.

I do want to grill but definitely low and slow smoking...I presume you can grill on the WSM too? I may build a grill (brick and stone and kit type) or may consider gas one (thoughts?)...but that would eat up the budget so may go down the WSM and brick grill route. Couple of stone work tops and small section for cold smoking (mainly cheese using one of those Pro Q tea light smokers)...wood burring stove would be great too, but that's might be much further down the road.

I'll try and glue that metal ring in plus fit the smaller grate this week and post up pics.

Huge thanks for the advice.

[Scantily]

Thanks scantily.
Definitely love it already (having only 'got into' it over the last couple of weeks). That pulled pork, even in it's overdone state convinced me it's worth pursuing.

I tried some chicken thighs on the current set up at the weekend: same thing happened...heat loss, coals cooling though I think I may have overloaded it again (10 thighs on that small grill). The other half looked after it a while whilst I was out, but when I came back she's managed to close the bottom vents...not her fault really.
Bit frustrating though. However, that mesh idea is ace...I'll pick some up this week and cut to shape. Could do with some anyway so I can separate the coals from the rest of the bottom grate (they cascade into the other half and end up under the meat I'm trying to cook non direct.

Really like those WSM's...very tempted to put that forward as the contender next year. Plan is to build up a small 'outdoor kitchen' area next year (building a pergola but will extend that over a cooking area). Trying to find a way to hack those pergolas with the 'roof pulley' for when it rains, but keeping it quite natural (tanalised wood and climbing plants)...but that's another story.

I do want to grill but definitely low and slow smoking...I presume you can grill on the WSM too? I may build a grill (brick and stone and kit type) or may consider gas one (thoughts?)...but that would eat up the budget so may go down the WSM and brick grill route. Couple of stone work tops and small section for cold smoking (mainly cheese using one of those Pro Q tea light smokers)...wood burring stove would be great too, but that's might be much further down the road.

I'll try and glue that metal ring in plus fit the smaller grate this week and post up pics.

Huge thanks for the advice.

No problem buddy, just trying to share what little knowledge I have.

You can't really grill on the wsm, you can do it in a fashion by removing the water bowl, but then your meats are quite a distance from the coals, or you could remove the centre section and put the grate on top of the charcoal ring. But neither solutions are ideal or especially convenient if you want to grill properly, they're designed for indirect cooking at low temperatures and are very good at it. A weber 57cm one touch premium is capable of smoking low n slow and is big enough to hold a fair bit of meat, if you wanted one bbq that could do both that is. But doesn't have as good temperature control or anywhere near the capacity of a WSM.
Don't really know anything about gas bbqs so can't advise on that front I'm afraid, I did use to have one a few years back, but that was when I thought BBQ was the traditional English sausages and burgers etc.

Regarding your chicken, were you trying to smoke it or just grill? Whenever I smoke chicken I get the Wsm nice and hot and don't use water in the pan, all air vents open, around 150-180 celcius so that I don't end up with rubbery skin.

Just to clarify, the mesh is to go on top of the grate, I'm sure that was your intention, but I just didn't want you trying to balance a load of hot coals on a bit of flimsy mesh. Also, it's still best to use the snake method with lump wood, although not as easy compared to briquettes, it's still the best way of controlling temperature on a grill.

[BRUN]

ive done steaks on my WSM by just putting the top cooking grill on top of the coal ring, its a bit low down but does the job just fine