Hello from Washington state USA

[bingo1912]

Good morning to you all
I am 56 and a member of the PNWBA (Pacific Northwest Barbecue Association) A certified judge, and owner and Operator of "Garys BBQ Supplies". We have been having a lively ongoing discussion about the merits of splits (natural wood) vs. "Mojo Bricks" a compressed wood product. Someone from England chimed in that he thought it was a "brilliant" product, so I am here to see if any of you fellows from across the pons might have an opinion on the matter.
Here is the link. We wood welcome your input!

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showt ... p?t=106224

Thanks
Gary

P.S
I'm very excited to meet all of you, it never occurred to me that there might be BBQ on th other side of the planet!

[Swindon_Ed]

Hi Gary,

Good to have you on here.

Just had a look on your website and it's good to know somewhere that i can get both grill grates and a rib-o-lator from, as getting both from the same place will save me on the shipping costs.

I've got a question about the Rib-o-lator which i'm not sure if you'll be able to answer for me but if you could it will be a great help. Are you familiar with the Smokenator and do you know of anyone using a Rib-o-lator in a Weber kettle with a Smokenator fitted?

Thanks,

Ed

[Swindon_Ed]

I'm good thanks Al, Just working on my final tests before the comp' at the end of this month.

I just saw a video of a Rib-o-lator / Smokenator combo it look very cool, and people are saying good things about the way it cooks.

I think these will be added onto my shopping list for after the comp'

[bingo1912]

Thanks for the welcome! I'm working on figuring out shipping to the UK. I know it won't be fast, but it'll get there.
Yes the Smokenator and the Ribolater work well together. Seems like there are some educated gents here. What I don't know is. are you guys REALLY using Heat Beads for cooking?

[British BBQ Society]

Thanks for the welcome! I'm working on figuring out shipping to the UK. I know it won't be fast, but it'll get there.
Yes the Smokenator and the Ribolater work well together. Seems like there are some educated gents here. What I don't know is. are you guys REALLY using Heat Beads for cooking?

Hi Gary, welcome to the forum! Heat Beads are the best briquette available over here by far, which is why I made contact with them a couple of years ago to sponsor the charcoal for British BBQ Society competitions. The more sponsors we can bring on board to reduce competition costs for teams the better for eveyone.

Here is a copy of the forum guidelines to help out
http://www.bbbqs.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3 and look forward to reading to your hints and tips in other threads.
Cheers

Toby

[Steve]

are you guys REALLY using Heat Beads for cooking?

Surprised at the shock. Are heat beads the same thing in the US?

Got to admit I'm a lump guy and only ever use briquettes for open grilling but when I do heat beads are stonkingly good. We used to get a different brand of cocoshell briquettes a couple of years back that were brilliant. But the guy has stopped importing them, I think Adie had the last pallet and it's long since been burned the CPL stuff we get now isn't as good which is a shame really.

[bingo1912]

I have a stick burner as well, are there sources of fruit wood there?
We have a product called "Matchlight" that comes in a bag pre-saturated with lighter fluid. Here lighter fluid is shunned! I will always use a weed-burner to start my coals. Lately I have stopped using store bought charcoal completely. I hate the idea of cooking my food over coal,glue,ect and made my own lump.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showt ... 269&page=2
I have removed some of the pics because I was running out of room in my account. I had a hard time getting the barrel to seal, but in the end it was worthwhile to get a product I can trust. I wood recommend a new barrel and a way to really seal it up for best results.
What are your options for woods? Being from the USA I have little knowledge of what is available in Europe.
Thanks for your time
Gary

[Steve]

I have a friend who owns his own wood where he has oak, beech, apple and cherry trees. That's where I get most of my wood. I mainly use oak and cherry but our oak is different to American. I also use a bit of hickory but that's imported.