Roll Call

[wade]

The first trials on a new smoker can be quite nerve wracking - don't forget to post lots of photos 

 

[haloodieefoodie]

Hi Everybody

Im a keen hot smoker from North London, I  started Smoking meat around 2 years ago, its an art that hasn't really taken off in the UK.

I've smoked Beef, Lamb, Chicken and have even delved into curing and smoking homemade Beef Bacon. Yummy it was too! 


I also run a successful Halal Food blog! http://haloodiefoodie.com/

Recently, I smoked 3 Briskets for a total of 18 hours!! 12am to 6pm. The internal temp only hit around 190F, but it was amazingly juicy!!
I used dry aged high end Aberdeen Angus Beef at £14/Kg. 
Here are some pics of the final product

wp-1485717635618.jpg

• haloodieefoodie
• Feb 8, 2017

16298502_1682851305340818_5662126107738914078_n.jp

• haloodieefoodie
• Feb 8, 2017

I hope to engage with the UK's finest smoker  fraternity!

 

[steve johnson]

That looks awesome bud welcome to the group

 

[wade]

They look good HF. 

 

[haloodieefoodie]

That looks awesome bud welcome to the group

Thanks Steve!!

 

[haloodieefoodie]

 
They look good HF. 

Thanks Wade!!

 

[smokin monkey]

That looks great!

Everyone gets hooked up on IT, it's a good guide, but the tooth pick test is a good guide. When it goes in like a hot knife in butter, it's done!!!

 

[haloodieefoodie]

That looks great!

Everyone gets hooked up on IT, it's a good guide, but the tooth pick test is a good guide. When it goes in like a hot knife in butter, it's done!!!

Yep.. I think the US breed is fed differently!!
I'm gonna use the toothpick guide!! 

Thanks again Smokin Monkey

 

[wade]

IT by itself is not the most important thing as it also depends on how long it has remained at that temperature. This is why many of us foil and place in an insulated box to keep it warm for several hours after it has been in the smoker.

 

[sotv]

Hi my name is Steve and I live in South Staffs.

I have been smoking using a Brinkmann Smoker that has served me well for 2 years and now looking to move onto something else.

I have been trawling the net looking for another model and for a UK forum that is friendly and offers advice freely and readily.

I have a budget of around £350 and have been looking at the Bullet Smokers mainly either the WSM 47cm or ProQ Frontier series. Both appeal, but having difficulty deciding. Any users of these models that can help on here?

Something else though has cropped up and that is a Drum Smoker made by the Pit Barrel Company, after speaking to them via email recently, they are hoping to sell these in the Uk in the next 4-8 weeks although now price announced as yet. I am super tempted to choose this, but having no experience of using a barrel smoker. A little uncertain whether to wait and choose this over a bullet smoker.

Having a good look around the threads for hints and tips. Can't add much at the moment, but this may be of use to some West Midlands Smokers perhaps? Who like to use this brand of Restaurant Charcoal

lumpwood-charcoal-restaurnt_1.jpg

• sotv
• Feb 11, 2017

I purchase mine from  http://www.cheap-coal.co.uk/restaurant-charcoal-12kg.html  works out at £8.99 for a £12kg  bag delivered with a minimum order of £50 (6 bags) decent chunks of charcoal, burns for a long time and very little dust in my experience. I usually use 4-5 bags in a summer so split the rest of the order with family to get the free delivery amount.

Anyway bookmarked the site, and hope to be a contributer in the summer and hopefully may get some recommendations of what to choose for my next smoker.

 

[smokin monkey]

Hi my name is Steve and I live in South Staffs.

I have been smoking using a Brinkmann Smoker that has served me well for 2 years and now looking to move onto something else.

I have been trawling the net looking for another model and for a UK forum that is friendly and offers advice freely and readily.

I have a budget of around £350 and have been looking at the Bullet Smokers mainly either the WSM 47cm or ProQ Frontier series. Both appeal, but having difficulty deciding. Any users of these models that can help on here?

Something else though has cropped up and that is a Drum Smoker made by the Pit Barrel Company, after speaking to them via email recently, they are hoping to sell these in the Uk in the next 4-8 weeks although now price announced as yet. I am super tempted to choose this, but having no experience of using a barrel smoker. A little uncertain whether to wait and choose this over a bullet smoker.

Hi Steve , Welcome to our "Family" and "Addiction"

Plenty of good folk on here, ask any questions you can think of, and you will get your answers.

The UK Smokers Group Is where UK members can ask and share information that is unique to smoking and curing in the UK and does not obviously fit into any of the main forum categories.

We have had our 3rd UK Smokes weekend, where members attend and cooked over the weekend, planing has are already in place for 2017. Please use the link below to view the website.

http://www.uk-smf.co.uk

Plenty of people use the Bullet Smokers and they are widely used in the competition circuit.

Barrel Smokers (UDS) are also very good. Company already selling them is Bristol Drum Smokers.

http://bristoldrumsmokers.co.uk/[/URL Smokin Monkey

 

[sotv]

Thanks for the kind welcome.

The smoking weekend looks fun, probably not doable for me this year, but something to consider in the future!

The link for the Bristol Drum Smoker looks interesting and in my budget. The only thing against it is the extras, personally at £350 I would have thought an ash collector and 2nd level grate would have been the standard. But still pretty new to researching smokers for my upgrade and maybe I am expecting a little much for my money perhaps?

sotv

 

[wade]

 
Hi my name is Steve and I live in South Staffs.

I have a budget of around £350 and have been looking at the Bullet Smokers mainly either the WSM 47cm or ProQ Frontier series. Both appeal, but having difficulty deciding. Any users of these models that can help on here?

Something else though has cropped up and that is a Drum Smoker made by the Pit Barrel Company, after speaking to them via email recently, they are hoping to sell these in the Uk in the next 4-8 weeks although now price announced as yet. I am super tempted to choose this, but having no experience of using a barrel smoker. A little uncertain whether to wait and choose this over a bullet smoker.

Hi Steve and welcome to the forum. I see Steve (Smokin Monkey) has already pointed you towards the UK group on here. Feel free to post in there and in the main forum as appropriate.

I use both the WSM and the ProQ. Both are good. The WSM has the edge when it comes to build quality but the ProQ has the edge on usability. The main advantage of the ProQ is the 2 section body - which makes accessing both cooking racks very easy. The main disadvantage is the quality of the vents. They work as well as on the WSM but the metal is thinner.

If I was to buy another one tomorrow I would probably go for the ProQ.

UDS smokers are fun to build - or you could buy one ready made or in a kit. They are quite simple to build if you have the time. Here is a link to another UK member who has made one. This link takes you to the part of the thread where he puts it together - but look further back in the thread to see more of the background

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/170535/uds-burnout-question/20

The Brinkmann and a higher end bullet smoker are two different animals and you will have to adapt to their differences in operation. The Brinkmann has very little temperature control and without modification is designed to hot roast for short periods and grill. The WSM/ProQ are designed to give you very fine temperature control over many hours. You may be smoking ribs for ~6 hours or pork shoulder or brisket for 8 hours plus at ~110 C.

The fine temperature control is best achieved by using a fuel that burns hot and evenly. By controlling the lower air vents you then turn this into a low extended burn where a single batch of fuel can last 12+ hours. For this it is best to use high quality briquettes (rather than lump charcoal) and use wood chunks or pellets on top to give the desired smoke flavour. One of the best brands available in the UK are Heat Beads. They may initially appear more expensive but a single 4 Kg bag can last for 10-12 hours plus.

 

[sotv]

Hi Wade

I am a fair-weather smoker, so won't be needing one till around Easter time, but some good advice on the merits of the ProQ and WSM, thanks for that.

Definitely a more straight out of the box and ready to go, than a self build Drum Smoker type of person.. Although I did do the mods for better airflow and ash collecting on the Brinkman. But I like the idea of the meat cooking by hanging by hooks and cooking by this means and the Pit barrel Cooker seems to do this very well.

I agree the Brinkman is hard work, but for my learning curve it proved invaluable. I certainly would have hated to spend £200-300 on a smoker and not actually took to it, A sub £100 device after mods was a great way to see if this style of cooking and the actual finished food suited me and my family and there is something quite cathartic about phaffing over a smoker every 60 minutes for 8-12 hours, worrying the temperature is going to drop below 215-225F and I have a feeling I am not going to get that with a Weber or ProQ as it seems mainly get it up to temperature and leave. I have one of those Maverick ET-73 probes so except for occasional basting of the meat, it should certainly be easier, but I will have to see, as only ever cooked with the Brinkman, but hopefully it will still be just as enjoyable?

Edit, I will keep an eye out for the Heat Beads, never used them before, are they readily available at Supermarkets or Large DIY stores, or is it more of an online retail type purchase?

 

[wade]

You can buy them in some garden centres but you will pay through the nose for them. They are usually best bought online.

The last place I bought mine from was BBQWorld and I see that they have 4 x 4 Kg (16 Kg) for £23.75 + £4.95 p+p. Spend over £50 though and delivery is free. 8 x 4 Kg Bags cost a total of £52.50 inc P+P

http://www.bbqworld.co.uk/weber-barbecues/accessories/4-x-australian-heat-beads.asp

Another good place to buy them is WowBBQ. They sell the 4 Kg bags individually at £6.99 however their shipping is free over £40. In comparison, 8 x 4 Kg cost a total of £55.92 - so slightly more expensive.

http://www.wowbbq.co.uk/products/aussie-heat-beads-4kg--1009.html

If you only want 6 bags then WowBBQ are cheaper - £41.94, as compared with £46.89 at BBQWorld.

 

[smokin monkey]

You can get Heat Beads from The Range, when in stock. Think their price is £6.99 a bag.

 

[agent75]

Hi folks

Having been directed here, I thought I'd post a quick introduction.

I'm a married stay at home Dad to 2 girls, and live on the west coast of Scotland. I have just received my first BBQ/smoker today. I can't wait to get stuck in, just buying the necessary equipment. I have a digital thermometer on the way, already have a charcoal chimney, just need the wood and charcoal which I've read up about on this forum.

The smoker itself is a cheap one, but hopefully it will allow me to learn the basics and become more proficient at cooking yummy meat. Here's a wee pic of the unit I bought, any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm probably going to start with a chicken to get to grips with the device, once I've seasoned it.

.

IMG_6853.JPG

• agent75
• Feb 13, 2017

I look forward to sharing my journey with you lot, and hope to get to know you better.

Cheers

Keith.

 

[smokin monkey]

HI Keith, welcome to the group, and the start of your Smoking Journey.

People tend to start off with your type of smoker, it's a good entry level smoker, but I think you might have temperature control problems.

Temperature is normally controlled by the amount of air that feeds the charcoal, low air flow, low burning, low temperatures. High air flow, high burning, high temperatures etc.

I got hold of a very similar unit very cheap, and found it a struggle. I used an old air vent, similar to the one on the chimney and fitted to the bottom of the ash pan, with a lever attached so I could regulate the air flow.

image.jpeg

• smokin monkey
• Feb 14, 2017

 

[steve johnson]

Hi Keith I started off with some thing similar steves spot on with what he says but they're a good tool for starting with. If you go on YouTube and look up brinkman smoker mods there's a few mods you can try to improve it. You will become addicted to it. All the guys on here will give advice to ease your smoking journey

 

[wade]

Hi Keith

I think that you will be able to use that smoker without a problem to learn the techniques. As Steve (Smokin Monkey) mentioned, you may have to work on controlling the temperature but you will soon get to know how to tame the beast. Could you post up some more photos - the air vents and inside with the lid off would be helpful. Does it have a water pan or is the bottom grate directly over the coals?

What brand/model is it. Do you have a link to their site?

Cheers

Wade