Can you recommend a charcoal BBQ ?

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PK99

Legendary Member
Location
SW19
[QUOTE 4780120, member: 259"]Ooh, I want one of those! I just missed a barely used 57cm one that went for next to nothing and I'm still kicking myself for not putting a higher bid in.

I've borrowed a cheaper lookalike smoker and it was OK, but the temperature was up and down like a yoyo.[/QUOTE]

Weber bullet holds steady all night at just below boiling point. brisket pulled pork and cedar plank salmon are to die for.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
True story, we have all seen the BBQ made out of a 45 gallon drum, how about one of the guys at a garage I do work for loading an old barrel into his car to take home and make a BBQ out of, should we have told him plastic does not work well.
 

dodgy

Guest
Quite partial to a BBQ, but not cleaning them. Consequently we just buy the £1 or £2 disposables. Easy, effective (enough).

So many people buy expensive BBQs with good intentions, 2 years later they're taking them to the tip ;)
 

screenman

Legendary Member
Quite partial to a BBQ, but not cleaning them. Consequently we just buy the £1 or £2 disposables. Easy, effective (enough).

So many people buy expensive BBQs with good intentions, 2 years later they're taking them to the tip ;)

Maybe they enjoy spending money and helping create jobs.
 

dodgy

Guest
IME they need lots of cleaning, you'll not convince me. Do you want to recruit me into some kind of BBQ club or something ;)
 

NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
Right, I'll admit to having bought one of those "oil drum" ones from Argos that the OP has linked to at the top of the thread.
Actually it was a few years ago and the BBQ was silver in colour, not black, but otherwise looked identical.

It was a faff to put together. The instructions were rudimentary and a fair few "adjustments" were required to get all the parts to fit together, but once it was assembled it was solid enough.
It swallowed charcoal for fun - look at the size of it. A 7kg bag wouldn't fill it, meaning that it needed a couple of seats of fire to get it started and it took a while to get ready to cook. But once it got hot, by heck did it stay hot! The 'adjustable' charcoal tray seems a good idea, but it wasn't really sensible trying to shift it once the BBQ was lit, so it was a bit trial and error.
You could cook a lot of food on it at one go. Although this isn't necessarily the advantage you might think (try flipping 20 quarter pound burgers at a time) with the searing heat coming off it.
Did I mention it stayed hot? Hot enough still to cook on 5 or 6 hours after the meal? To the point where the remaining embers were still glowing the next morning? Yes, that hot.

Plus the sheer size of the thing meant it had to stay outside and even with a decent cover we only got two summers out of it.

I'd recommend going for the Weber. :okay:
 
OP
OP
pubrunner

pubrunner

Legendary Member
[QUOTE 4780445, member: 259"]

Yes, we meet at dusk. Knock thrice at the sign of blind Ali, and bring only a piece of flint and a dead warthog!

[/QUOTE]

. . . . . . . and the £100 quid membership fee.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
Make one, a few bricks, a grill and booze.
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
[QUOTE 4779806, member: 259"]With Webers you can shut out the air once you've finished cooking and that means you can reuse charcoal,.[/QUOTE]
You can with that drum one.

It's what we have . 6 years old now . Needs a paint as heat has removed paint . Easy to clean . We didn't pay that much tho....
 

Debade

Über Member
Location
Connecticut, USA
You learn something new every day. Today I've learned that some people clean barbeques.

I do a lot of indirect cooking. Probably hot enough to sterilize but not hot enough to burn off the grease. I like the temp to be about 250F so meats can cook for hours (turkey, leg of lamb, pork ribs). Having said this, I do not really clean it but I do need to remove the ashes for even heat distribution.
 
That's the one I have, ideal for when it's just me and the Mrs having a BBQ. Spatchcocked a chicken on it last week.

View attachment 349787
Yum.

in South Africa, where they have a braai, that would be called a "flattie"

And they are very serious about their flesh in S.A. "I'm Sarah and I'll be your waiter tonight. The fish of the day is line caught ling, and the venison of the day is ostrich"
 

Debade

Über Member
Location
Connecticut, USA
Yum.

in South Africa, where they have a braai, that would be called a "flattie"

And they are very serious about their flesh in S.A. "I'm Sarah and I'll be your waiter tonight. The fish of the day is line caught ling, and the venison of the day is ostrich"
I miss the braai and the biltong!
 
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