# Roll Call



## smokewood

Welcome to the UK Smokers, you might have already said your hello's  on the main Forum Roll Call, but it is worth saying them again for all our UK Smokers.

Tell us a bit about yourself, what your skill level is, what part of the UK you are from, and anything you want to share with us.

It is also great to tell us what smoker you are using, that way if you ask a question, we'll have a better idea how to answer you. 

Thank's for joining the UK Smokers, and remember there is no such thing as a stupid question, just questions that need answering to make you a better smoker.

Good Luck

UK Smokers


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## gav iscon

Evening all,

I was pointed here by kiska95 so I thought I better introduce myself. Finally took the plunge and bought a Proq smoker and finally got to try it yesterday with a chicken as my first attempt. I'm looking forward to trying out more things on it and I'm sure to be picking the brains on here.

Regards

Stu


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## smokewood

hiya Gav,

Welcome to the group and we are really pleased that you have chosen the UK Smokers.  I am sure Kiska has filled you in on the smaller details, but basically ask as many questions as you feel you need to and don't forget to post your photo's.

The Pro Q is an excellent Smoker, which model have you got?

Which part of the UK are you from, do you live near Kiska?

I am sure the other members will be along shortly to welcome you to the group 

Regards

Smokewood


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## wade

Hi Stu - Welcome to the forum and to the UK group.

You should do well with the ProQ. They are used a lot in competitions alongside the WSM's. I used one several years ago and got on well with it. What have you tried in it so far and how did it turn out?

I am not sure if Kiska mentioned the second annual UK SMF meet near Lincoln in a couple of weeks time. If you are free you would be very welcome to come along.

Cheers

Wade


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## smokin monkey

Hi Stu, welcome to our "Family" and "Adiction"

I can not comment on the smoker you have, but I hope you enjoy it, and all the good tasting food you cook on it.

Please ask as many questions as you can think of!

Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]


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## smokin monkey

Hi I am Steve aka Smokin Monkey. Member for 2 years and Group Lead.

I am a Refrigeration Engineer and also run a Refrigeration hire company supplying Coldstores for events.

At the weekends I am a Hog Roast Caterer.

I live in North Nottingham.

Steve


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## wade

Hi - I am Wade from Woodchurch in Kent, I have been on here for 2 years and I am also a Group Lead.

My day job is running the IT Services at a local Independent School and I also have a smoking company that I am building up as part of my retirement plan.

I have a selection of BBQ/Smokers, some I have imported from the US (New Braunfels, Fast Eddy, Weber), some purchased in the UK (Mainly Weber charcoal and Gas) and some I have had made locally. I use predominantly briquettes, charcoal and pellets but have been known to use gas from time to time as well.

I enjoy all kinds of hot smoking, cold smoking and curing.


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## kiska95

Hi Stu

Just an official welcome from me from Sunny Sunderland (working in Hartlepool) not!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






I am sure you will have some great Fun getting to know the characters on this forum, I know I have and they are brilliant at keeping you on track even in the middle of a Smoke!

Cooking on Green Mountain Grill Daniel Boone, 2 x UDS, Napoleon Rodeo Pro and a Weber Smokey Joe. Love Lump and Aussie heat beads

Yes I am going to the SMF weekend too so if you fancy a trip down to Woodhall Country Park you wont feel alone amongst "hall these folk whet speak funny like! A divnt na hinnee but y might hev a gan et seein a reel propa American gadgee!!!


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## gav iscon

Thank you for the kind welcome. I should have pointed out that I live in sunny Whitley Bay so yes another Northerner. Happily retired early last year and i enjoy a bit sailing.  BBQ-ed for years (although curry is probably my first love) although nothing to exciting. Best effort was a 33lb whole pork loin on a homemade rotisserie over charcoal in a field in France. The Proq is an Excel Elite along with a maverick 732. I've had the proq cold smoker for a couple of years now and done cheese, garlic, eggs etc with it. Had a first attempt at a chicken the other day and apart from a few schollboy errors, it came out quite well. Woodhall would be lovely but alas I am pre-booked for the weekend. I'm planning a home BBQ for about 20 people so I will be after some advice as I intend to do ribs, pork and brisket plus a few things in the tandoor. Anyway heres the chicken from the other day. 

Kind regards

Stu













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__ gav iscon
__ Jul 20, 2015


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## wade

Brian (Kiska) will be able to give you the benefit of his "meatfest" experience from last weekend 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





When you are starting to think seriously about the planning just drop us a post and we will help out where we can.

We can also organise a left-over BBQ meat disposal service


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## kc5tpy

Hello Stu.  Welcome to the "Family".  I am in Newark-on-Trent.  Originally from Texas.  Sorry you can't make the weekend but I hope the party goes well.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## smokin monkey

Hi Stu, good looking Chicken!

Tandoor, now you are talking my language! I have one in my garden, and I have built another one from a Beer Keg. That will be accompanying me to the Weekend meet.

Looking to add a spit to it to cook a whole chicken, and making a holder for a Pizza Stone, so I can make Brian's wife a Pizza as promised!

Smokin Monkey


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## gav iscon

Smokin Monkey said:


> Tandoor, now you are talking my language! I


Hi Steve,

Thanks for the welcome. I bought a gas tandoor a few months ago. It has a steel liner (great for naans) as it was supposed to go to France this year but didn't and I was a bit wary about transporting a clay one. I had 3 small chickens ready to go in a couple of weeks ago and it started to lash down so they ended up in the oven. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





    I'm off back to the indian shop this week to re-supply.

I also have a Weber Q200 which I don't like and an old broil king gas grill which once tidied up will be going to my daughters.

Stu

First chicken tikka I did with no colouring













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__ gav iscon
__ Jul 20, 2015






And my Loin of Pork on my homemade rotisserie

.













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__ gav iscon
__ Jul 20, 2015


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## smokin monkey

Good looking Chicken Tikka, and that Pork Loin and Crackling looks mouth watering.


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## kc5tpy

Hello.  GREAT looking pork Stu.  OLD SCHOOL!  Fantastic!  GREAT job!  Make fire, cook meat!  Simple!  Well done!  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## kiska95

Like the Pork Stu looks superb


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## gav iscon

33lb in wieght. 5 blokes stood and stared for 6 hours, beers in hand.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Rotisserie was home made using a 2rpm kebab machine motor from ebay turning a stainess spit which ran on bearings. Worked a treat but would have been better with a counter balance.


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## wade

Gav Iscon said:


> 33lb in wieght. 5 blokes stood and stared for 6 hours, beers in hand.


Yep! Real BBQ


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## resurrected

Hi Gav and welcome aboard.

I was an honourary Geordie for many years, having been married to a gal from Fenham. Although when I met her she lived in Bedlington. No wonder she escaped to Birmingham with me :biggrin:.

I see you love curry, very much like me. Well I am from the home of the balti after all.

http://www.balti-birmingham.co.uk

The guys on here have a wealth of knowledge and are well worth listening too. Well most of them :yahoo:

I also have a ProQ, having acquired one a couple of months back. I'm still getting to grips with it and am looking forward to learning a lot at the weekend away at the end of the month.


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## resurrected

The weekend isn't far off now.

Is the SMF site still being monitored and updated, I ask as I filled in the menu template at least two weeks ago and still nothing has been updated on the site http://www.uk-smf.co.uk/Index.html


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## smokewood

I spoke to Smokin Monkey & Wade tonight and he is going to update it as soon as possible, so we all know who is doing what.


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## bigdan110

Hi guys already said hi in the other roll call but thought it good to pop in and say hi here as well.


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## wade

Hi Dan. Welcome to the forum. I see that you finally managed to post in the group. What was the problem before?

Where in the UK are you from?


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## bigdan110

For some reason i needed to join the uk group on the full website as the mobile site didn't have the link to join. Im in southampton btw :)


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## wade

Yes, I have tried using the mobile app and have had a few challenges with it. I just use the main site on my phone browser now.

Welcome


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## resurrected

Talking of issues does anyone have a problem posting to the site using an ipad?


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## smokin monkey

Posted on my iPad. Always use it, but only just started using mobile


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## resurrected

I can reply to topics via ipad (I'm typing this ).

However if I attempt to post a new thread, or access a PM or subscription then when I hit the relevant button and it opens the further button to press, the second button just does not work.

I have no problem with my Android phone it only occurs on the ipad.


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## wade

It may be Safari - Have you tried it in the iPAD with the Chrome browser?


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## bigdan110

1437583697759.jpg



__ bigdan110
__ Jul 22, 2015





time to season; )


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## smokewood

Glad you got managed to get sorted bigdan


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## resurrected

Wade said:


> It may be Safari - Have you tried it in the iPAD with the Chrome browser?



First thing I did, Wade. Chrome is the same.

That drop down link just will not work. So damn frustrating.













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__ resurrected
__ Jul 26, 2015


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## ukcommando

hi all i posted in the main US section and was pointed here,

Nice to be here!! im up in cunbria and new to smoking, however looking at some of the UDS builds ive already started making one at work, ill get some photos tonight and give you all a look, also im wanting some advice on the stack (chimmney) well thats my intro catch you all soon.

lee


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## kiska95

Hi Mr Commando,

Welcome aboard

Built 2 UDS but used 3/4 brass nipples from screwfix in the lid as an exhaust


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## ukcommando

kiska95 said:


> Hi Mr Commando,
> 
> Welcome aboard
> 
> Built 2 UDS but used 3/4 brass nipples from screwfix in the lid as an exhaust


cool, i have at the moment used a 3/4 hex nipple but was wondering if it would be enough of a draw?, i have 3 1/2 gate valve on the drum bottom, but my build is slightly smaller than a normal 55 gal drum, i have used two smaller drums stacked on top of each other, the internal area is smaller so i down sized the bottom vent to 1/2 ill put up some pictures and that might explain better!!

lee


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## kiska95

Hi

Used 3 x 3/4 hex nipples in the bottom and one gate valve (thats so I can fix a BBQ guru to it) and did 8 x 3/4 hex nipples around the lid. I put 2 small holes at the top grate area with Silicone bungs to accommodate my Temp probes. I have 3 grates, one just above the coals for a diffuser (Pizza Tray) then a top grate and another a few inches underneath for drip trays or to use for bigger items.


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## resurrected

I think I started it by asking about issues with the forum and taking things off topic. 

This thread is now going way off topic.

:hijack: :sausage:


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## kc5tpy

Hello Lee and welcome to the Family.  Hope you can make the Smoking Weekend although it is short notice.  Any questions you have just start a new thread and folks will be along to offer help.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## smokewood

Welcome to the UK Smokers UKcommando glad you have joined us.  If you start a new thread that would be fantastic, then all your questions and replies will be in one place.

I look forward to your thread.


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## jockaneezer

Hi Lee, glad to get another Cumbria on board. I'm just outside Carlisle but thinking you must be out west or Barrow way if you're working at a paper mill ? Your UDS looks good, looks about the size of one of those Weber Smokey Joe / tamales pot conversions they use for tailgating in the states. Have a look at the Weber Minis section in groups.


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## wade

Great to see you in the UK group lee. Welcome


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## ukcommando

Hi jock,

down south lakes mate where we still make good mint cake!!!

ill look through the section to see if i can get any more ideas

lee


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## ianplant

Hello everyone. My name is Ian and I'm based in Wythenshawe, Manchester. I am a complete newbie to BBQ/Grilling/smoking I have done the usual burgers but also tried a duck (Spatchcock) and a couple of chickens (Beer Can) which came out good, also done chicken sticks wrapped in bacon and potato bombs (BBQPitBoys)













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__ ianplant
__ Aug 3, 2015


















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__ ianplant
__ Aug 3, 2015


















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__ ianplant
__ Aug 3, 2015


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## smokin monkey

Hi Ian, welcome to the group, some good looking food there!


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## resurrected

Hi Ian,

Welcome to UK SMF. 


There is plenty of information and experience on the forum, so have a browse through to see if any of your questions have been answered and ask anything you wish.


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## kc5tpy

HEY!  Looks good to me!  Do you deliver?  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## kiska95

Welcome Ian

Great Start mate your off the blocks and running!!!!


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## smokewood

Great looking food Ian, glad to have to on the Forum,


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## indianagarner

Hi, thanks for allowing me to join, I have been looking at smoking for a few years now and never took it in properly, I like a lot of British people seemed to think BBQ was get a steak on the gas grill, 10 minutes later, on your plate and done, pack it all away till the next bit of sunshine.

Reading through a few pages about smoking and using the smokers like a conventional oven is a whole new world and fantastic way of cooking, I am looking forward to tips and such.

A bit about me, I am a HGV driver, love a laugh and a pint, my other half is Julie and we have 2 grown up sons, Grandson on the way, Julie called me Indianagarner because I was always going on adventures, I get older but never grow up.

As I get more and more into this I might change my name.

So til we meet again.

Cheerz

Andy


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## smokewood

nice one Andy, welcome to the UK Forum, 

 I am sure some of the other members will be along shortly to introduce themselves.

Smokewood


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## wade

Hi Andy and welcome to the SMF Forum and to the UK Group. Where in the UK are you from?

We all started somewhere and I first started by burning the occasional sausage on a little Hibachi. I then discovered the versatility of BBQ smoking whilst working in the USA. You can actually smoke reasonably well on some gas BBQs and there are a lot of people who also use gas and electric smokers. Most smoking is done though using wood or charcoal smokers.

What type of BBQ/smoker do you have? Yes you are right, the smoker can be used as an extension to the kitchen oven and many are almost as temperature controllable. For many years now I have not cooked meat joints in the kitchen oven as they are just as easy to cook on the Weber or pellet smoker. Our Christmas turkey always gets cooked on the Weber.

As you are adventurous and once you have started to master your smoker for meat you may want to try some cold smoking (fish, cheese, vegetables etc.) and then maybe curing your own bacon. Whatever you want to try in these areas you will find lots of help and experience on here.

Looking forward to seeing your smokes - we like lots of pictures on here. Please don't be afraid to ask what you may think of as a too basic question. If you want to know then there are likely be others out there who also want to know too. The only silly question is the one that is _not_ asked.

Cheers

Wade


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## kiska95

Hi Andy and welcome to the Q Club (old night club in Sunderland! LOL)

Yep we are the same, well I am, in my 50's but in my 30's in the head and I just love to travel and have adventures.

Sounded more like a line on a dating site


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## resurrected

Welcome to the asylum.

Like you, I was the typical UK outdoor sausage and burgers bbqer, then whilst looking to buy a new bbq I came across smoking.

The research started and a ProQ was delivered in early June. 

They guys on here are very informative and certainly know how to Q. Just shout up with any questions.


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## thenegativeone

Welcome to the group Andy. 
I hope you have plenty of free time because this hobby will take over your life ;)
Get that Q fired up and get smoking :)


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## kc5tpy

Hi Andy.  Welcome to the "Family".  Anything we can do to help don't hesitate to ask.  We are here to help.  Glad to have you.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## indianagarner

Hi Wade, The smoker I have is called the American charcoal smoker BBQ, as pictured, just thought it would be a good starter unit and upgrade as I progress, I live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

Cold smoking sounds a challenge.

Andy


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## gaz edwards

Hi All,

My name is Gaz and I live in Glossop - between Manchester & Sheffield. 

My bbq story started when I spent time in South Africa and learnt to braai. Following a couple of trips to the US, I started smoking and experimenting with larger pieces of meat. 

Firmly believe that the skill of the griller is more important than the kit used (that and the fact that the Mrs would go mental if I spent a fortune!). I have an old weber kettle and a basic barrell bbq. 

I love playing around with new recipes and flavours. Still very much learning. 

Last year I entered a local competition at our local rugby club and managed to win. It is approaching again this year so looking to gain some tips, advice and recipe ideas. 

Look forward to getting involved on here. 

Cheers

Gaz


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## smokin monkey

Welcome Gaz[emoji]128077[/emoji][emoji]128077[/emoji][emoji]128077[/emoji]


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## smokewood

Nice to see that you have finally arrived.  Lots of folk on here with loads of good advice ( did I just sound like Danny!).


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## kc5tpy

What??  Now your are taking tha piss before I even GET here??  GEEZ!!

Hello Gaz.  Welcome to the "Family".  All info you can give us will help if you have a question.  Pictures are almost a must have.  Also we LOVE to see picts of food cooking!  I wipe the drool off the keyboard daily.  Anything I can help you with please feel free to PM me.  Usually if you ask a question you will get more answers than you need.  Great folks here who WANT to help.  Even smokewwod contributes when he finds time.  I hear he makes a MEAN green salad!  Glad to have you with us.  Look forward to yur contributions.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## wade

indianagarner said:


> Hi Wade, The smoker I have is called the American charcoal smoker BBQ, as pictured, just thought it would be a good starter unit and upgrade as I progress, I live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
> 
> Cold smoking sounds a challenge.
> 
> Andy


From what I can see online it looks as if will make a fine grill and could also be used as a square kettle smoker. It may be possible to set it up for indirect heat using a snake or Minion of briquettes at one end and - in a similar way to using a Weber. The challenge though may be the fine control of the air to manage the temperature - it is not clear from the photos how effective the front air vents would be fir fine tuning but sticking some heat resistant aluminium tape over two of the vent holes would probably help.

Don't be afraid of cold smoking. If you want to catch the bug then start with something simple and effective like cheese. Once you have smoked your own cheese you will want to try more things. When you get to cold smoking meat though tio ensure that what you produce is safe you will need to do some reading on the subject and/or ask for advice on here.


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## wade

Gaz Edwards said:


> Hi All,
> 
> My name is Gaz and I live in Glossop - between Manchester & Sheffield.
> 
> My bbq story started when I spent time in South Africa and learnt to braai. Following a couple of trips to the US, I started smoking and experimenting with larger pieces of meat.
> 
> Firmly believe that the skill of the griller is more important than the kit used (that and the fact that the Mrs would go mental if I spent a fortune!). I have an old weber kettle and a basic barrell bbq.
> 
> I love playing around with new recipes and flavours. Still very much learning.
> 
> Last year I entered a local competition at our local rugby club and managed to win. It is approaching again this year so looking to gain some tips, advice and recipe ideas.
> 
> Look forward to getting involved on here.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Gaz


Hi Gaz and welcome to the UK Group.  It sounds as if you had some good experiences to get you started and am sure that you will be able to feed back some of that diverse experience to us on here. It is always good to see how others have adapted the different techniques they have learned and we are all keen to try out new ideas. Between the Weber and the barrel I expect you can smoke pretty much anything you set your mind to.

Looking forward to your posts and seeing lots of photos


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## steve44

hi all i am new to this site have been into bbqs for years, now smoking and made my own. cook every week snow ,rain  i live in Braintree essex have a small engineering company so being outside cooking is a release for me  

my house has just been finished the deck is all done and the pond all done so its all set for the bbqs have a big one one on bank hols really looking forward to it catching up with friends . i think the site is well good and loads more info than i thought there would be. hope to learn a lot more    

please have a look at my bbq i made it over a year ago but it cooks great

regards

steve 

HAVE A BIG BBQ BANK HOLS ,will post pics, had a trial run with scotch egg in bacon wrap sausage meat spiced up to the hilt it was mind blowing also baked potatoes cored and stuffed with mushroom onion garlic herbs slow cooked and in bacon, just building new deck for the bbq to go so all good


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## smokin monkey

Hi Steve, welcome to our "Family" and "Adiction"

We have plenty of good members on here that can offer advice.

Good looking BBQ there, like the shy Stella!

Ask all the question you can think of.

You have Wade in your neck of the woods, and I am sure he will be of great help to you.

Don't forget Pictures, Pictures and more Pictures.

We recently had our UK Get together at the beginning of the month.

These photos were taken their. also might help to put a face to the name.
http://www.uk-smf.co.uk/members.html


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## steve44

hi Thank you for the comments on my smoker the stella is a great extra :) and a must i will post pics of the bbq in action and our bbq bank hols

the smoking side is new so need to learn lots i am sure i will get the help here

many thanks 

steve


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## wade

Welcome to the forum and the UK Group Steve. There are a growing number of us from the UK and you are helping to balance the geographical spread - we southerners need to stick together to defend ourselves from the hoards up north 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





The smoker looks great - What have you cooked in it so far? You will find a lot of good advice from people on here, both from the UK and the USA, and it sounds as if others on here will be able to benefit from your experiences too.

Looking forward to seeing the photos


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## kc5tpy

Hi Steve.  Not much more left to say other than Welcome to the "Family".  Glad to have you.  Look forward to your contributions.

Danny


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## kiska95

Welcome Gaz to this insane but beautiful world that is Q


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## jonty

Hi guys

Thought I would introduce myself on the UK forums. So my name is Jonty and i currently live in London. I have a small patio which has been taken over by my smoker :)

Fell in love with the food whilst spending time working in America. I will never forget the ribs at Fat Matts Rib Shack. 

I bought the ProQ excel a few months ago and have so far smoked a couple of racks of baby back ribs, chicken wings and last weekend a brisket. 

Anyway this has been harder to type on a phone than i thought so stopping there :)

Jonty


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## smokin monkey

Hi Jonty, once again welcome to the UK Forum of SMF. I f you need any help,or advice, just start a new thread and members will only be too happy to help.

Quick question, how did you find SMF?


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## jonty

Hey Smokin

Cheers for the welcome.

I found the site from google searches.  I spent quite a bit of time reading up before purchasing my smoker and also on recipes etc and came across this site.  The forums looked really helpful and the main site pointed me to the UK forums.

Jonty


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## nick80

Evening,

As many others, I have been reading the posts for a while and thought I should introduce myself.  I'm in Kent and have been smoking for a while now, but have only got a cheapo WSM type smoker.  I like what I have been making, but really struggle to keep the temperature consistent - it's one of the smokers where there are no vents on the bottom, it's just open - I think I am right in saying that the vents at the bottom would help me to regulate the temperature?

I have had a lot of BBQ in the states and would love to be able to recreate it here.  I am looking to buy/make a new smoker, but don't know what one would be best.  I was thinking about making an UDS, but don't know whether I should buy a better water smoker, or look for a offset smoker.  The only offset smokers I can find are either Landmann - and I've read a few poor reviews, or really expensive ones from the uk or usa. 

Any advice would be appreciated.  Also, anyone know anything about meatopia?  Its on in September in docklands and I'm thinking of going.

Thanks,

Nick


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## smokin monkey

Hi Nick, welcome to our "Family" and "Adiction"

Plenty of good folk on here with all the advice you need for either building or purchasing a smoker.

Looks like there is a growing number of smokers down in Kent.


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## jonty

Hi Nick

I have a friend who cooked down at meatopia last year and by all accounts he had a great time.  I can't go this year but from what I have heard you won't be disappointed however that is from 1 person :)

I am a relative novice but the ProQ I am using holds temperature brilliantly.  I tend to use the minion method with Australia heat beads with the 3 bottom vents half open.  This usually holds a temp of around 230 - 250 for 9-10 hours with the water pan full.  I don't think its the best you can get but it certainly works for me.

Jonty


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## wade

Hi Jonty - welcome to the forum. It is always good to see others from the South on here. Which part are you from?

I too was introduced to smoking meat when I worked in the USA about 20 years ago. It is good to see that it is finally gaining popularity over here. Some of those out of the way BBQ shacks are amazing aren't they. Once tasted never forgotten.

The ProQ is a good smoker and I bet you are now producing some fine smoked food with it. It can take a while to master the fine temperature control but once you have done that you are on a roll. Are you using a separate digital thermometer or are you relying on the one in the lid. The one in the lid is not usually very accurate - from experience it can show 30 deg F higher than the temperature at the cooking grate.

Looking forward to seeing photos from your next smoke


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## smokewood

Hiya Jonty Welcome to the forum.

I have not been to meatopia, I have only heard good things about it. If it is local it is not to much hassle to nip down and check it out that way you will now for sure.


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## jonty

Wade said:


> Hi Jonty - welcome to the forum. It is always good to see others from the South on here. Which part are you from?
> 
> I too was introduced to smoking meat when I worked in the USA about 20 years ago. It is good to see that it is finally gaining popularity over here. Some of those out of the way BBQ shacks are amazing aren't they. Once tasted never forgotten.
> 
> The ProQ is a good smoker and I bet you are now producing some fine smoked food with it. It can take a while to master the fine temperature control but once you have done that you are on a roll. Are you using a separate digital thermometer or are you relying on the one in the lid. The one in the lid is not usually very accurate - from experience it can show 30 deg F higher than the temperature at the cooking grate.
> 
> Looking forward to seeing photos from your next smoke


Hi Wade,

I live in central(ish) London at the moment, around Hammersmith but plan to move out a little bit soon.  I am getting married next year and we want to move back to Hertfordshire so hopefully that will make things a little easier, it seems half the forum are from Kent :P  Supplies and space are my current issue but I have an award winning butcher 10 minutes down the road and have to use website to deliver supplies to me.

Do you guys have any recommendation on good online butchers or sites that provide supplies? The current butchers is great but don't always have what I want.

I found that on the ProQ as well so I bought a digital remote thermometer earlier this year so I could experiment a little bit more.  Also, I noticed it was showing around 40-50 F when it was sat in shade on a cold day so figured something was wrong :)  First used it the temperature fluctuated a lot and it lost a lot of smoke out the sides, after a few uses (seasoning?) this has stopped and is now working a lot better, it was pretty frustrating at first.

I finally have another free weekend and plan to smoke some beef short ribs on Saturday for me and the fiance and then on Sunday smoke a whole chicken to eat during the week.  I saw a recipe (on here I think) for a smoked maple bbq chicken which looked amazing.  Do you guys have any tips on the beef short ribs?

I will put some pics up after the weekend assuming I haven't completely messed it up but for now I have loaded a pic of my smoker. It actually looks quite clean so I obviously got it in a good light :)













Jontys Smoker.jpg



__ jonty
__ Aug 18, 2015






Sorry for another wall of text.

Jonty


----------



## wade

Hi Nick - Where in Kent are you? -  I am from just south of Ashford.

Yes the fine control of air over the burning charcoal is essential to manage the temperature. Having a smoker with an open bottom will result in the charcoal always burning at or near full heat. You may have some adjustment with the top vent but this is likely to be limited.

The choice of smoker will really depend on what you are looking to smoke and in what quantities. I started off with a Weber Kettle 57cm almost 20 years ago and still use them regularly for small quantities of ribs, pork brisket etc. A bullet smoker (Pro-Q or WSM) are good general purpose smokers too (my preference is for the 57cm versions of these too). With any of these you will be able to finely tune the internal temperatures and produce excellent food. A UDS is really a home made variant of a bullet smoker. Many on here make theirs from scratch but you can also buy some good kits to get you started.

Although offset smokers are the ones most people associate with American style BBQ they are also often the most difficult ones to finely manage the temperature throughout the cooking chamber. This is especially difficult with the cheap DIY store bought units. You usually end up with a significant temperature gradient along the short cooking chamber and they tend to be quite leaky. If going for an offset smoker you usually get what you pay for and so should really go for one that is a reasonable size and a one that is not too cheap. There are also offset vertical smokers (I have an old New Braunfels Bandera) which are also very effective.

If you are going to cold smoke too then the offset or larger bullets are better. You need the volume inside to try to prevent the heat from the smoke generator from warming up the smoker. 

Great to see you here and we are looking forward to your posts


----------



## molove

Nick80 said:


> The only offset smokers I can find are either Landmann - and I've read a few poor reviews, or really expensive ones from the uk or usa.
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Nick


Hi Nick

If you want a modified Landmann offset smoker for free, I've got one you can have if you can pick from SE London/Kent borders.

For photos and description see this thread http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/232589/free-to-a-good-home

Let me know if you are interested else I'll put it on freecycle.

Piers


----------



## kiska95

WOW it seems I am a bit late to the party!!!!! Could be because things travel a bit slower up here in the barren NORTH!!!! 

Remember Wade the last bugger from down there got one in the eye when he thought he was gathering a gang to be king of the hill
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





So here goes,

*Welcome Jonty* lovely to have you on board. Could you not get to Smithfields or Borough market for any meat, Ginger pig is in Borough Market and his meat is from North Yorkshire? T & G get their meat from North Yorks too.

*Welcome Nick80* great to have you here. I have a couple of UDS, one for cold smoking and one for hot and I think they are great a doddle to build so let me know if you need any help

*Welcome Steve44  *Welcome on board what a Lovely looking smoker, and you built that yourself? Impressive!!!!! Are you producing them for sale?


----------



## resurrected

kiska95 said:


> WOW it seems I am a bit late to the party!!!!! Could be because things travel a bit slower up here in the barren NORTH!!!!
> 
> Remember Wade the last bugger from down there got one in the eye when he thought he was gathering a gang to be king of the hill:yahoo:
> 
> So here goes,
> 
> *Welcome Jonty* lovely to have you on board. Could you not get to Smithfields or Borough market for any meat, Ginger pig is in Borough Market and his meat is from North Yorkshire? T & G get their meat from North Yorks too.
> 
> *Welcome Nick80* great to have you here. I have a couple of UDS, one for cold smoking and one for hot and I think they are great a doddle to build so let me know if you need any help
> 
> 
> *Welcome Steve44 * Welcome on board what a Lovely looking smoker, and you built that yourself? Impressive!!!!! Are you producing them for sale?



You can count on the Brummie to be a little bit later. My excuse is a long weekend tasting the delights of Belgian beer [emoji]127867[/emoji].

Welcome to the asylum guys.


----------



## nick80

Hi Wade,

I'm in Boughton, near Canterbury.  I'll mainly be cooking ribs, chicken, pork - possibly brisket or short ribs, but I've not cooked them before, and I'll be cooking for 10 people max.

Thanks to everyone for the offers of help and assistance.  

A couple of questions:

I have smoked quite a few ribs recently, when I put the rub on I don't put mustard on before the rub.  Is the mustard purely to help the rub stick?  Is there a strong mustard taste once smoked?

Does anyone use a brinkman smoker? Are they any good?  

Thanks,

Nick


----------



## resurrected

Nick80 said:


> Hi Wade,
> 
> 
> 
> A couple of questions:
> 
> I have smoked quite a few ribs recently, when I put the rub on I don't put mustard on before the rub.  Is the mustard purely to help the rub stick?  Is there a strong mustard taste once smoked?
> 
> Does anyone use a brinkman smoker? Are they any good?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Nick



Hi Nick,

I use mustard and smother my ribs, pork, beef etc in it prior to putting on my rub. I use it to make sure that the rub coats the joints completely.

This is what I use and you cannot taste it once the meat is cooked.

:grilling_smilie:













image.jpg



__ resurrected
__ Aug 18, 2015


----------



## smokin monkey

Ressy has you covered with the Mustard. It acts as a glue only and you can not taste it.


----------



## smokewood

I use a Brinkmann special edition, it's big & heavy and it might not be the most cost effective and easiest smoker to use, but I wouldn't swap it for anything.  I use the firebox for grilling and also to  cold smoke, and for low & slow I use the whole thing.













smoker.jpg



__ smokewood
__ Aug 18, 2015


----------



## kc5tpy

This one I will answer next year.  Mustard and rub.

Danny


----------



## smokin monkey

KC5TPY said:


> This one I will answer next year.  Mustard and rub.
> Danny


 ?


----------



## resurrected

KC5TPY said:


> This one I will answer next year.  Mustard and rub.
> Danny



Nothing like a long wait :biggrin:


----------



## kiska95

I think Danny is going to do a demo at next years meet! Mustard n Rubs. Am I right Dano!


----------



## wade

Nick80 said:


> A couple of questions:
> 
> I have smoked quite a few ribs recently, when I put the rub on I don't put mustard on before the rub. Is the mustard purely to help the rub stick? Is there a strong mustard taste once smoked?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Nick


Hi Nick. Some use mustard as a glue for the rub however I have not found it to be necessary. Whether you use it or not is not right or wrong but just shows differences in technique. If you use the mustard then you may be able to get a thicker "bark" on the ribs however this is not something that I want.

You will get more than enough rub on your ribs to give it flavour without using the mustard - especially if you leave them to marinate overnight in the fridge. The only real way to tell which way you prefer though is to try one of each.

Wade


----------



## resurrected

Delete.


----------



## trenchcoat

Hi Smokin Monkey and thanks for the welcome in the main forum. As requested I am saying hi here too.

I am from South East London in the UK. I have been grilling for many years but I am fairly new to BBQ and smoking. I was recently given a ProQ bullet smoker by a friend who had bought herself a new one but I have tried to smoke a few things on it (a pork shoulder and beef rib roast) but they seemed to be overcooked and a bit dry. Maybe I am using the wrong charcoal or maybe I should be using wood? Trying to find out what I am doing wrong and Google has pointed me to you guys. Having read through some of the posts here i am hoping to get some good advice before I give up with it and go back to gas. Any advice gratefully received

Thanks


----------



## kiska95

Welcome trench coat......................Please don't go back to GAS
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Just use the search bar at the top and that will sort you out or ask specifics here and we will sort you out.

Now tell us what you did temps etc. to get a dry bit of meat so we can help you out and spot any potential problems???????


----------



## sam darby

Hi Guys, I am Sam from Lancashire. i have posted on the main forum page and followrd the link to here.

I have been bbqing for a couple of years cooking the usual burgers chicken and have just done some ribs which came out ok but could have been better.   After watching the bbq champ programme i thought it would be good to try some of  different cuts of meat. I have a gas bbq and also a cheap kettle bbq.  I have just bought aaron franklins book which is great. i have just ordered a temprature probe from amazon

cheers Sam


----------



## jockaneezer

Hi Sam, good to have another Northerner on here, place has been getting top heavy with shandy drinkers lately [emoji]128512[/emoji] If you're happy with your cheap kettle, stick with it, if not, this time last year there were a few big stores selling off Webers  (B&Q) which will cope with most of your smoking needs. Someone put a link on here to a butcher in Bury market that was offering good cuts of meat and he speaks BBQ too apparently.
Graeme.


----------



## kc5tpy

Hello Sam.  Glad to have in the "Family".  Anything I can do to help you feel free to PM me.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## smokewood

Hiya Sam, Welcome to the UK Forum and pleased that you have joined us from the main forum. Ask any questions and you will have loads of different answers.


----------



## resurrected

Welcome to the UK group. 

As someone who was new to the Q/smoking scene earlier this year, I can recommend this group completely. 

There are some great guys here and a wealth of experience.


----------



## kiska95

Welcome Sam happy to have you aboard

The butcher in Bury is Albert Matthews, ask for Chris and mention me/us

Keep the gas for warming stuff up and follow Jock and get a weber (57cm) as a starting point as they do everything you will need. B & Q selling off for £80


----------



## oldfella

Left London in the 70s with my young Daughter after the wife at the time did a Runner, ended up many years later living the good life next door to the family in an old Farm house surrounded old Oak tree's,

          As I live alone now, and have always been partial  to a  barbecue, and having plenty of Oakwood  I decided to buy myself a Offset  Smoker which arrived a few weeks back., and this is where the rub come's in" no pun intended,"  when I started to investigate, I found  all the Smoker experts  were referring  to Rub and Marinades recipes were made to feed the five Thousand, and none for 81 Oldfella living on his own  in the sticks,

       I also cook Vegetables in my smoker, well at the moment I'v smoked some runner beans which turned out OK but like to know if any of you folk have tried this and with what results .       

Oldfella


----------



## kiska95

Welcome Mr Oldfella,

Yeah we make our rubs n stuff just for small numbers so you have come to the right place. I just do enough to put in a small mason jar and top up when needed. Check out the UK recipe pages that should help as we are starting to put together some stuff with the help of our US arm. But try the search bar at the top that has helped me clone a few things

What type of offset have you got and where in the sticks are you


----------



## sam darby

KC5TPY said:


> Hello Sam.  Glad to have in the "Family".  Anything I can do to help you feel free to PM me.  Keep Smokin!
> 
> Danny


Hi Danny thats great thanks for the offer


----------



## sam darby

Thanks everyone  for the warm welcome. it's a bit of a minefield so I am just reading a lot of previouse posts to understand it more like ribs there are people who cooks them 321 and then there is 221 foil or unfoil.

gettin there slowly


----------



## kiska95

Hi Sam,

Just shout out if you need info, we were newbies too at the start of the summer but now we feel part of a great big family. You also got our US brothers chipping in to help too so where better to learn proper BBQ from the experts

If you feel you may have a daft question send me a PM cos I will have already asked it
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Once you get the feel for posting it becomes an obsession and at least on this site you are not waiting for posts or answers, Its GREAT!!!!!


----------



## resurrected

kiska95 said:


> Hi Sam,
> 
> Just shout out if you need info, we were newbies too at the start of the summer but now we feel part of a great big family. You also got our US brothers chipping in to help too so where better to learn proper BBQ from the experts
> 
> If you feel you may have a daft question send me a PM cos I AM DAFT :yahoo: Once you get the feel for posting it becomes an obsession and at least on this site you are not waiting for posts or answers, Its GREAT!!!!!



I agree you are lol


----------



## hatmcmannis

Hi there guys,

Let me just quickly introduce myself. My name is Mitch Rogers, 21 years old from Driebergen (The Netherlands). After living and working abroad (The Carribean and France) for a couple of years I have ended up back in Holland.

I have always loved the hospitality business and have worked in several businesses from the age of 14, from café's to resorts. Not forget to mention that I studied Hospitality/Entrepreneurialism for 2 years at university and of course obtaining the degree! . I have just come back after 1.5 years of living in Nice (Cote D'azur) working as a project manager in renovations, even though I enjoyed the job thoroughly I moved back because I want more joy in my work.

As I'm a major fan of American Food I have recently been looking into the bbq smoking business, the way of smoking and the passion that goes into it is truly fantastic.

When on holiday a good year ago I visited the annual Food Truck Festival in Amsterdam to only find 1?!!! Bbq smoking catering crew called 'Smokey Goodness', after tasting the pulled pork, ribs, beef, sausages etc. you name it, I fell in love with the smoking concept completely.

For these reasons I have decided to start smoking as a hobby and gradually start hiring myself out to cater for special occasions. That's where I hear you thinking 'What on earth is he thinking, he's got no experience whatsoever...' EXACTLY! That's why I have joined this forum to learn from others and meet people who could help me make smoking big in the Netherlands.

I would love to hop onto a plane and fly over to the UK to work for free with someone who could teach me all the do's and don'ts, so if you know anyone or if you are that person who owns/runs a smoking business,caters for others or even someone who just does it for fun and be willing to take 2/3 weeks of his/her time and teach a young lad all about the beauty of smoking I would be extremely grateful.

This is just a little introduction, feel free to ask me any other questions.

Hope to speak soon!
Mitch


----------



## kc5tpy

Hello Mitch.  Welcome to the "Family".  If I can help in any way please feel to PM me.

Interesting idea.  BUT!  I have been doing this off and on for about 40 yrs. and I STILL learn from these guys.  I could give you a couple names but then you would just gain the knowledge they have.  And in 2-3 weeks only part of their knowledge.  If you start reading in the forum, asking questions and buy your own smoker you will learn FAR more.  You will find MANY ways to smoke the same thing.  IF you are having a problem many folks will be glad to offer advice.  You mentioned sausage; where do you plan to get a sausage that will make you stand out from the crowd?  Many good recipes here.  As another example: many folks use rubs and sauces.  I prefer not to.  Not that either are wrong but why not experience it all?  When you find that taste you are looking for you will be ready for business.  Below is a link that you can start with.  It gives you an idea of different methods and the help folks are willing to give.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/181613/lets-talk-brisket


----------



## wade

hatmcmannis said:


> For these reasons I have decided to start smoking as a hobby and gradually start hiring myself out to cater for special occasions. That's where I hear you thinking 'What on earth is he thinking, he's got no experience whatsoever...' EXACTLY! That's why I have joined this forum to learn from others and meet people who could help me make smoking big in the Netherlands.


Hi Mitch

A few of us started that way. I do the occasional event but there are others here in the UK that do them regularly as a main business.

There is a big difference though between smoking for yourself (and family/friends) and expanding it into a commercial concern. There are the obvious Food Standards and other trading requirements, but it is also difficult to scale up from a single pork shoulder or couple of racks of ribs to catering for a large event whilst using the same home methods.

I would advise that (as you suggest above) you start by perfecting your home smoking and then see where it leads. Your existing experience in catering should help you to make the jump to commercial when you feel you are ready.

The first thing to decide is the type of smoker to buy (or make). This will depend on budget - but for what you are trying to do you will probably be best looking at a Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) or a ProQ Frontier (57cm). Either of these will give you good temperature control and will enable you to develop your skills. If they are too expensive to begin with then a Weber Kettle is what many of us start out with. I still use my Weber Kettles regularly.

You will get a lot of good advice on here but I would suggest you start with something forgiving, like pork ribs, and then progress on to pork shoulder and brisket as you feel more comfortable.

Once you decide - or need help deciding - then don't hesitate to post questions and we will help you in any way we can.

Wade


----------



## countrywoodsmk

Hi Folks,

Never realised there was a UK part to the forum until pointed here by Smokewood.

I've been BBQing a while now, and I love creating recipes and taking photos of BBQ.

What started off as a hobby, has grown arms and legs, I'm passionate about BBQ, love to share what I know already, and eager to learn what I don't yet know.

Look forward to chatting with you all.

Cheers

Marcus


----------



## smokin monkey

countrywoodsmk said:


> Hi Folks,
> Never realised there was a UK part to the forum until pointed here by Smokewood.
> I've been BBQing a while now, and I love creating recipes and taking photos of BBQ.
> What started off as a hobby, has grown arms and legs, I'm passionate about BBQ, love to share what I know already, and eager to learn what I don't yet know.
> Look forward to chatting with you all.
> Cheers
> Marcus



Hi Marcus, welcome to our "Family" and "Addiction"

The group leads always check the main Roll Call for new UK Memebers, then point them in this direction!

Smokewood has spotted you and pointed you in the right direction.
Members use both the main forum and the UK forum, as you can appreciate the USA have differant cuts of meat and differant taste in rubs etc. On the UK forum you can get advise on UK Cuts of meat, rubs and where to get equipment etc.

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

We have had our 2nd UK Smokes weekend, where members attend and cooked over the weekend, dates and plans are already in place for 2016, 22-23-24 July 2016. Please use the link below to view the website.

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

Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]


----------



## countrywoodsmk

Nice one :) thanks for welcome.

Cheers

Marcus


----------



## kc5tpy

Hello Marcus.  Sorry I am late to the party.  Welcome to the "Family".  smokewood, Smokin Monkey and I are Group Leads.  I am sure Wade will be along soon.  If you need any help and don't find an answer feel free to PM any of us.  I feel sure one of us will see your question but sometimes the question slips by.  The Group is getting larger.  We also have many members with loads of experience who love to help out.  Have fun.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## antics

Good Morning Guys, 

Richard here from Dublin,  

I was directed over here from the U.S website by Danny

I am a novice smoker using a 57cm Weber Smokey Mountain which I purchased about 4 months ago. To date I have smoked beef & pork ribs, pork shoulders (butts) chickens.  I also smoked a small 2KG piece of brisket and out turned out pretty well.

I also have a standard Weber 57cm kettle grill

I would consider myself a master on the kettle grills so I am now looking forward to the challenge of mastering the WSM over the next couple of years.

I am looking forward to up-skilling on the WSM & getting some helpful tips from you guys along the way and hopefully I can offer some advice on my experiences also.

Cheers.


----------



## wade

Hi Richard. The UK group is fully part of the US forum and so please do not think you are posting on separate sites. When you post into the UK Group your posts will be seen by the guys in the USA (and beyond) and many of them actively contribute in the UK group.

The Weber 57cm is a good all purpose smoker and was what I first started off with. It is good that you have managed to master the temperature control on the Kettle and this experience will give you good grounding for the WSM. Don't neglect the kettle though as there will still be situations where it will be better to use it than the WSM.

On here advice and experience flows both ways. You should be able to get a lot of advice from people on here but there are things that you do that will be of interest to others too. We like pictures of what you are doing so please don't be shy to post them.

Here is a recent thread thread about using a WSM that you may find interesting. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/238856/hiall-from-london-wsm-14-5-and-zip-experience#post_1497741

Looking forward to reading your posts.

Wade


----------



## kc5tpy

Hello Richard.  Glad you joined us.  As Wade said, post some pictures of what you are doing and if we can help with anything feel free to ask as many questions as you need.  Welcome to the "family".  Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## peter s

Morning All,

Peter from Kent (at the moment!) here, just had the pleasure of pm'ing Steve (Smokin Monkey) for some info and he suggested I introduce myself so, well, here I am :).
My main interest I have to say is the cold smoking and Dry curing but the family do think I smoke a mean rib as well!, I want to get more into the polish style smoked sausage and that is why I was in contact with Steve as he has just acquired a Borniak electric smoker, so if anyone else has one I'd really appreciate any feedback on what you think of them as I'm seriously thinking of getting one.
Look forward to the interaction :)
Peter


----------



## wade

Hi Peter - Welcome to the group. Where in Kent are you? I am from just south of Ashford. I have been known to do a little cold smoking and curing too and it would be good to share experiences.

We are also currently working with Morrit to convert a fridge into a salami curing cabinet so if you are interested in making one yourself we can include you in the discussions.

What have you been smoking / curing to date?

Regards

Wade


----------



## peter s

Thanks for the welcome Wade, I live near Tunbridge Wells at the mom, but as mentioned in my intro moves are very much afoot so have had to close down any dry curing activity, I already have a curing chamber in which I have successfully produced many types of Salumi including salami, whole muscle projects like lomo, lonzino, capacollo, bresaola, pancetta, Guanciale, Lardo lamb prosciutto and several other things, both smoked and unsmoked, oh and of course BACON, nom nom :), so I hope that I can contribute as well ask questions?, so, onward and upward :)


----------



## smokin monkey

Peter S said:


> Thanks for the welcome Wade, I live near Tunbridge Wells at the mom, but as mentioned in my intro moves are very much afoot so have had to close down any dry curing activity, I already have a curing chamber in which I have successfully produced many types of Salumi including salami, whole muscle projects like lomo, lonzino, capacollo, bresaola, pancetta, Guanciale, Lardo lamb prosciutto and several other things, both smoked and unsmoked, oh and of course BACON, nom nom :), so I hope that I can contribute as well ask questions?, so, onward and upward :)


 Check Sniper from Merseyside out, he into similar curing as you. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/u/93925/sniper7990


----------



## crispyferret

Hi,
I'm located in Peterborough Cambrigeshire And have been bbq'ing for years but only really learnt to do it properly in the last year or so.
Has been a load of fun, thanks to the bbq pit boys  :grilling_smilie:  did a nice pork joint roast 2 days before xmas, much to neighbours amusement, turned out top notch :sausage:

Having a problem with rubs and injections, trouble is that i really like doing them but the Dr has told me to watch the 'ol sugar and salt intake.
Just wondering on ideas of what people use that restrict the use of said problems and without using strong flavours that overpower the meat.

Saying that, the brined and injected Turkey this year was the best we have ever done...so good the mrs wants another one for easter, gonna be tough to get that again without the forbidden ingredients me thinks. 

I also brew my own beer which comes in handy for cooking pit beans :drool

Cheers


----------



## smokin monkey

Crispyferret said:


> Hi,
> I'm located in Peterborough Cambrigeshire And have been bbq'ing for years but only really learnt to do it properly in the last year or so.
> Has been a load of fun, thanks to the bbq pit boys  :grilling_smilie:  did a nice pork joint roast 2 days before xmas, much to neighbours amusement, turned out top notch :sausage:
> 
> Having a problem with rubs and injections, trouble is that i really like doing them but the Dr has told me to watch the 'ol sugar and salt intake.
> Just wondering on ideas of what people use that restrict the use of said problems and without using strong flavours that overpower the meat.
> 
> Saying that, the brined and injected Turkey this year was the best we have ever done...so good the mrs wants another one for easter, gonna be tough to get that again without the forbidden ingredients me thinks.
> 
> I also brew my own beer which comes in handy for cooking pit beans :drool
> 
> Cheers



Hi Crispy, 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.


We have had our 2nd UK Smokes weekend, where members attend and cooked over the weekend, dates and plans are already in place for 2016.  Please use the link below to view the website.

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

Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]


----------



## wade

Hi Crispyferret and welcome to SMF.

There are a growing number of fellow UK BBQ/smoking enthusiasts on the forum and we also have the benefit of the vast experience of our friends from the USA and elsewhere. The forum is all about sharing knowledge and experiences and from your introduction I think you will be able to contribute positively right from the start. Although there is a lot of discussion about BBQ hot smoking here there are also a lot of other passions - like cold smoking and sous vide. You will also get a lot of good advice on food safety here. The forum follows the USDA guidelines, however they are very similar in most respects to the UK.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask and please do not be afraid to share your experience with other where you think it will help. We do like photos on here so don't forget to include them regularly.


----------



## smokewood

Hiya Crispyferret, welcome to the forum.  

There are other substitutes that you can use instead of salt & sugar, Lo Salt is one of the alternatives and has a lot less sodium in than regular salt.  As for sugar you want to use sweeteners from the Stevia plant, the product is called Truvia and you can cook and bake with it.  Both products mentioned above can be found in your local supermarkets.

hope this helps


----------



## crispyferret

Hi, and thanks for the welcomes.

I have seen the lo-salt and plastic sugars but out of the ones i have attempted to try none have been close to acceptable..(plastic sugar anyway) not tried plastic salt yet. I just cannot stand the taste at all.
Looking for alternative recipies that avoid salt and sugar if possible, I love garlic but it can overpower the meat if over used.
Guessing no salt butter injections will be fine, but what to put in with it..
Previously I was using various fruit juices and beer but this is not gonna go down well with the Dr.

On another note...I often freeze my meat with the rubs applied and then defrost, I find it draws the rub deep into the meat. Never seen mention of this method in the places I have looked...either that or I'm blind, am I doing something wrong here?
I know some say frozen meat is not the same as fresh, but with the flavours and other gubbins applied I can't say it has made any difference to me as long as it's quality meat to begin with.

Cheers


----------



## smokin monkey

Crispyferret said:


> Hi, and thanks for the welcomes.
> 
> I have seen the lo-salt and plastic sugars but out of the ones i have attempted to try none have been close to acceptable..(plastic sugar anyway) not tried plastic salt yet. I just cannot stand the taste at all.
> Looking for alternative recipies that avoid salt and sugar if possible, I love garlic but it can overpower the meat if over used.
> Guessing no salt butter injections will be fine, but what to put in with it..
> Previously I was using various fruit juices and beer but this is not gonna go down well with the Dr.
> 
> On another note...I often freeze my meat with the rubs applied and then defrost, I find it draws the rub deep into the meat. Never seen mention of this method in the places I have looked...either that or I'm blind, am I doing something wrong here?
> I know some say frozen meat is not the same as fresh, but with the flavours and other gubbins applied I can't say it has made any difference to me as long as it's quality meat to begin with.
> 
> Cheers



Hi Crispy, had a quick search on net for natural sugars, http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9825/the-5-best-natural-substitutes-for-sugar.html

Never tried flavouring meat then freezing to see if the flavours intensifies, but if salt is added, it would act like curing as the salt is absorb into the meat, taking any added flavours with it.


----------



## baz senior

HI Crispyferret, welcome to the forum.

It might be worth trying a vac packer, apparently you have to be careful about how much spice/salt/sugar you put on a product, as it is drawn into it. That might reduce the amount you need to use without compromising on flavour.


----------



## primer

Hi Guys

Just dropping in from Somerset UK
 
Been grilling on a combination of Weber kettle, Weber Q120, Go Anywhere charcoal and a 5 burner gas and god knows how many other bbqs over the last 15-20 years also built my own Tandoor oven a couple of years ago.

Did a couple of the Weber day courses a few years back (Thrill of the grill part 1 & 2)  and now looking into venturing into smoking a bit more in depth than I have been doing on the Weber so I will be pestering people for some advice. I'm doing the (River cottage smoking and curing course in a couple of weeks time, hoping that will give me a bit more knowledge on traditional cold smoking.

I spent my younger years in catering, started working in a pub at 14, then to a 4 star hotel then  went on to study Btec national diploma in hotel and catering operations and spent 14 or so years before I'd had enough of long hours and poor pay, then I was an auditor in the hotel and licensed trade for 7 years, pay was much better but hours ended up worse than catering, now got a nice desk job.

Anyway I'm just trying to decide on what type of smoker to get, due to time constraints I'm looking for almost a set and forget smoker that I don't have to continually tend to so I can get on with other stuff (chores etc) and I was almost sold on the idea of a Bradley 4 shelf until I came across the GMG DB wood pellet grill, I will be looking to do both hot and cold smoking of the usual ribs, pork, brisket, chicken etc and cold smoking my own bacon, salmon and haddock etc,  so any advice greatfully received in helping me with my decision.

Cheers

Simon


----------



## smokin monkey

Primer said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> Just dropping in from Somerset UK
> 
> Been grilling on a combination of Weber kettle, Weber Q120, Go Anywhere charcoal and a 5 burner gas and god knows how many other bbqs over the last 15-20 years also built my own Tandoor oven a couple of years ago.
> 
> Did a couple of the Weber day courses a few years back (Thrill of the grill part 1 & 2)  and now looking into venturing into smoking a bit more in depth than I have been doing on the Weber so I will be pestering people for some advice. I'm doing the (River cottage smoking and curing course in a couple of weeks time, hoping that will give me a bit more knowledge on traditional cold smoking.
> 
> I spent my younger years in catering, started working in a pub at 14, then to a 4 star hotel then  went on to study Btec national diploma in hotel and catering operations and spent 14 or so years before I'd had enough of long hours and poor pay, then I was an auditor in the hotel and licensed trade for 7 years, pay was much better but hours ended up worse than catering, now got a nice desk job.
> 
> Anyway I'm just trying to decide on what type of smoker to get, due to time constraints I'm looking for almost a set and forget smoker that I don't have to continually tend to so I can get on with other stuff (chores etc) and I was almost sold on the idea of a Bradley 4 shelf until I came across the GMG DB wood pellet grill, I will be looking to do both hot and cold smoking of the usual ribs, pork, brisket, chicken etc and cold smoking my own bacon, salmon and haddock etc,  so any advice greatfully received in helping me with my decision.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Simon



Hi Simon, once again welcome to the forum and especially the UK side. I am sure Wade & Kiska will give you their views on the GMG machines.


----------



## wade

Hi Simon - I have started a new thread for you here with some information to consider

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/241254/welcome-primer

Cheers

Wade


----------



## kiska95

Hey Crispy try ANCHOVIES as an alternative to salt!


----------



## baz senior

It might be wise to have a look at what the stated sodium content is for the Anchovies you are using, it looks like some of them are extremely high for the canned ones.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/526038-nutrition-facts-for-anchovy-fillets-in-oil/


----------



## crispyferret

Thanks for the suggestions Thumbs Up 

I want to try to avoid using salt and sugar altogether if possible, but i guess a little lo-salt might be ok-ish, never been a salt fan anyway.

After going through some of the threads on the main site I have found a couple of rubs from people with the same issue so will be trying, and adapting those to see how things go.

Kids are not over excited though, as they like my cola pork :drool

On the plus side..since dumping sugar I have droped a stone..happy days :yahoo:


----------



## wade

Just be careful about using some of the artificial sweeteners as they can leave quite a bitter taste when they are used in cooking. Try them first on something that does not matter too much.


----------



## crispyferret

You'll never catch me using plastic sweetener in anything, can't touch the stuff at all, amazes me how anyone can drink/eat that crap and say it's nice.


----------



## smokin monkey

Crispyferret said:


> You'll never catch me using plastic sweetener in anything, can't touch the stuff at all, amazes me how anyone can drink/eat that crap and say it's nice.


Hi Crispy, you might be intrested in this, I read it on a Nutrition Website.
*While all the sugars listed above are best avoided, NONE of them are as bad or toxic as artificial sweeteners. I don’t say this lightly and took two years out of my life to carefully research this topic for my bestselling book on the topic – Sweet Deception. So if you must have soda, regular is superior to diet for all the reasons I discuss on the site and in my book.

Many people ask about Splenda, Equal or Nutrasweet (Aspartame). These artificial sweeteners need to be eliminated. There are more adverse reactions to Nutrasweet reported to the FDA than all other foods and additives combined. In certain individuals, it can have devastating consequences. You should also avoid artificial chemicals like MSG.

If you are healthy you can use a few teaspoons of succanat, or better yet, dextrose (pure glucose with no fructose) intermittently. Natural Stevia is also a safe, natural alternative. It is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar and has virtually no calories. Some don’t like its taste, but other than that it is nearly the ideal sweetener.*


----------



## crispyferret

Thanks for your interest in this 'ere sugar dilemma I am in Smokin Monkey Thumbs Up

Always knew that plastic stuff was no good, I'm thankful that I cannot stomach it at all.
I've seen that stevia stuff in the shops but looking at the price of it, that's where it's staying :biggrin:  I have been messing about in the kitchen trying come up with alternatives, been fun. 
Did a pork joint a few days ago using an injection I mixed up with ingredients from the local chinese supermarket, also a rub of olive oil plus a few herbs and spices worked wonders, the only salt/sugar was from a small splash of light soy sauce and rice wine.

Who needs the sticky stuff :yahoo:


----------



## baz senior

I was going to suggest Agave Nectar, until I read this.

http://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/the-skinny-on-agave-syrup#1

But it does put Stevia in a better light if you can deal with the taste, at least it's natural.


----------



## davey6

Hey all,

Just figuring out how to build my own UDS!

Probably will get a pit controller at some stage too!


----------



## smokin monkey

Hi Davey, use the search option for "UDS Build" plenty of people have built them.

You will not go wrong with one of these, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/bbq-autom...109850?hash=item3ab9d9019a:g:wUUAAOSwkZhWRDqU


----------



## davey6

Thanks!

I also stuck up a post about pit controllers and got a list of ones to look at...

Cannot wait for some decent Q!


----------



## wabby

Hi

Im from North Lincolnshire and am a noob when it comes to smoking. Done 3 on my current BBQ and hooked so building me a UDS. 

Bit of a techie so already built myself a 3 probe remote thermometer using a raspberry pi so I can check temps from anywhere in the world. (ie. The beer aisle in tesco). 

Will have many questions.


----------



## thenegativeone

Wabby said:


> Hi
> 
> Im from North Lincolnshire and am a noob when it comes to smoking. Done 3 on my current BBQ and hooked so building me a UDS.
> 
> Bit of a techie so already built myself a 3 probe remote thermometer using a raspberry pi so I can check temps from anywhere in the world. (ie. The beer aisle in tesco).
> 
> Will have many questions.



Hi Wabby, great to have you on board, you'll find plenty of help here!

Whereabouts in North Lincs are you from? there are a few of us here from Lincs/north Lincs.

Looking forward to seeing some of your smokes.


----------



## davey6

Wabby said:


> Hi
> 
> Im from North Lincolnshire and am a noob when it comes to smoking. Done 3 on my current BBQ and hooked so building me a UDS.
> 
> Bit of a techie so already built myself a 3 probe remote thermometer using a raspberry pi so I can check temps from anywhere in the world. (ie. The beer aisle in tesco).
> 
> Will have many questions.


Oooh details on the rasperry pi temp probe?


----------



## smokin monkey

Once again Wabby, welcome to the family.

We have a our Annual Smoking Weekend in July, held at Woodhall Spa, so not to far away.

You have certainly got folks attention with the Raspberry PI.


----------



## wabby

I'm in Scunthorpe :)

Details of the Pi Project that I followed for the 3 probe wifi temp sensors can be found here: http://pibbqmonitor.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/three-probe-temperature-monitor-for.html

With a few tweaks, and the addition of a power pack for charging mobiles, it is now fully 'cable free' for power and runs for about 20 hours on a charge :)


----------



## steve johnson

Hi wabby welcome to the forum everybody on here will help if they can there's a wealth of knowledge on here,I'm a newbie too.if you can make it the woodhal spa weekend is fantastic I learnt loads last year. If you need hands on help I'm in Burton stather


----------



## euromir

Wabby said:


> Hi
> 
> Im from North Lincolnshire and am a noob when it comes to smoking. Done 3 on my current BBQ and hooked so building me a UDS.
> 
> Bit of a techie so already built myself a 3 probe remote thermometer using a raspberry pi so I can check temps from anywhere in the world. (ie. The beer aisle in tesco).
> 
> Will have many questions.


I was just wondering what i can do next with my Raspberry Pi, plans please? lol


----------



## wabby

http://pibbqmonitor.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/three-probe-temperature-monitor-for.html


----------



## euromir

Wasnt expecting that, lol awesome i may play! Thanks


----------



## smokeymondays

Wabby said:


> I'm in Scunthorpe :)
> 
> Details of the Pi Project that I followed for the 3 probe wifi temp sensors can be found here: http://pibbqmonitor.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/three-probe-temperature-monitor-for.html
> 
> With a few tweaks, and the addition of a power pack for charging mobiles, it is now fully 'cable free' for power and runs for about 20 hours on a charge :)


That looks awesome!  Good idea using the mobile charge; cant wait to get started on this one...


----------



## davey6

Where did people who built their own UDS get the expanded steel make the charcoal bucket?

Everywhere B&Q, WIckes, Homebase only seem to sell galvanised steel.

Currently recuperating after ankle surgery so I've had to resort to online shopping only for a few weeks.


----------



## smokin monkey

I reckon Ebay would be a good start.


----------



## davey6

Yeah my only concern is it's not what they say it is, I've had a google and I can get it from wholesalers...but obviously not super cheap!


----------



## wabby

Could always use an old washing machine drum ;)


----------



## smokewood

Wabby said:


> http://pibbqmonitor.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/three-probe-temperature-monitor-for.html


Way over my head that one, I will stick to my Maverick.

Welcome to the forum, if in doubt just ask, and you will receive all the answers you need.


----------



## kiska95

Get a replacement ProQ  coal basket and bolt on the base of a cheap BBQ (£12 eBay) to use as a ash catcher, then you can play with different coal methods, minion etc. Also the air intakes gets to the coals more evenly and control is better. Lot easier than mucking about with expanded metal. All credit to Miss Piggy BBQ go to her website and there's one on show


----------



## leoric

Hello all,

I was pointed here from the US forum as I'm posting some shots of a brick smoker im building in my garden which you can see here:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/243967/my-brick-build#post_1546599

New to all this but hoping to get the smoker finish and get started smoking some things!


----------



## smokin monkey

Hi Leoric, welcome to the family!


----------



## wade

Hi Leoric

Welcome to the forum. There are a growing number of Brits on here - I am from Kent so not too far from you. The UK group is fully integrated into the whole forum and is seen by all members and many of our US colleagues are active contributors. We do, however try to tackle some of the challenges that are more specific to the UK. A good start to the smoker. What are your plans for the top? Do you have a concept already or ae you going to play it by ear? Don't forget we like lots of photos on here


----------



## leoric

Thanks Wade,

I do have a plan for the top - I'm going to cast a concrete top with a central duct to vent the smoke.  I did some rough plans before starting so I had something to work to.  Hope to get up another 9 or 10 courses and get the lintels in for the doors this weekend, will update with some photos!


----------



## wrinklymedic

Hello,

I'm new to Smoking having had a little previous experience 'assisting' my father-in-law. Living in Hampshire, UK, I have inherited two Smokers. One is a home built wooden Cold Smoking (CS) cabinet and the other is a Meco Charcoal Water Smoker for Hot Smoking (HS). The CS was originally fed smoke through a wooden channel, but that used to catch fire.

I have set up the CS cabinet to be fed smoke from the firebox through a flexible metal venting duct to cool the smoke. The HS is next to it and has a bowl for the charcoal fire, a bowl above for the wood chips/shavings/sawdust/water and two racks above for food.

Having installed them next to our BBQ, I fired them up over the Easter weekend to try out my installations and have got pleasing results from both. 

Cold Smoked Cheddar Cheese, Red Leicester Cheese, Cashew Nuts, Salmon (dry brined) and garlics. I started to CS the sausages, but decided to hot smoke them to be safe.

If it is helpful to anyone thinking of building a Cold Smoker, I have put some video of the day on YouTube at: www.youtube.com/wrinklymedic. 

  

Now the adventure begins !!!


----------



## smokin monkey

Glad to have you on board.

Great video of your Easter Smokes.

One little concern, is the Wickes mess used in your cold smoke generator. Was it galvanised? If it is, that is potentially dangerous, giving off harmful gases. I would A, use something else or B, burn the coating off with a good blow torch.

There is a growing Army of Southern Smokers now, Wade will be along shortly to welcome you. He is into cold smoking in a big way, Salmon etc, so can offer advice. He too is a Southern Smoker!


----------



## slimjimuk

Morning folks!

This is all very new to me. My wife bought me a smoker (and a cold smoker set) out of the blue!

Pretty basic but a step in the right direction. If I end up using it properly, I will upgrade.

Just trying to work out how to do any of it. will post some more in the main forum. :)


----------



## wade

Hi WrinklyMedic. Welcome to the forum. That is a good video showing off the two smokers - thanks for sharing 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






. 

A few observations that may help...

The cold smoker looks just the job and it is good to see that the snake in the smoke generator is going transverse as this helps to make the burn more reliable.

Do you find that you need to use the ice bags to cool the smoke? I would have thought that a simple fan keeping the air moving underneath would do the job. If cooling the smoke is a problem then you may want to replace the reflective metallic duct with a thinner one to allow more heat loss. Maybe I read the video wrong and the ice bags were to cool the chamber. If the ambient temperature outside is too hot to smoke then the ice would probably be more efficient if you put it inside the smoking chamber while you are smoking. With the smoker in the shade I find that it is only during the hottest summer days that it really gets too hot. When that happens I just smoke overnight when it is cooler.

On the hot smoker you may want to change your thermometers. I am not sure what the thermometer at the bottom of the unit is doing - it is way too close to the coals to be of much use and the "Warm - Ideal - Hot" on the top one does not let you know what the temperature is. You may want to invest about £50 on a dual probe digital thermometer (like a Maverick ET-732 or 733) that you can clip onto the cooking grate.

You will probably not need the additional screen. There is a reasonably gap between the two units and heat rises and will quickly dissipate. Even if you do get a slight warming effect into the cold smoker, how often are you likely to be using them both at the same time?

One thing I would seriously urge you to consider is to replace the hot smoker completely. A quote from another smoking forum... "_Meco is a badly designed water smoker, with some mods it maybe useable but that smoker has caused a lot of folks to give up trying to cook Q_."

If you want to try to do any serious low and slow smoking then the lack of air control on the Meco smoker makes temperature control very difficult without serious modifications. If you intend keeping it take a look at the ECB threads on here for the kinds of modifications that you can make to help. Alternatively you could invest in a Weber WSM or one of the ProQ smoker ranges to take its place.

Things like sausages and chicken you will probably find will be fine in this but trying to cook brisket, pulled pork or even ribs is likely to be more hit and miss.

The cold smoked fish looks good. As you dry brined (cured) it before you smoked you do not need to keep it chilled in the smoker. The three main ways that curing and smoking preserves the fish are 1-Increase the salt levels, 2-reduce the free water content, 3-the smoke acts as a mild antibacterial. Smoking for 24 hours at a temperature of around 25 C will help remove the water faster and will actually do more to preserve the fish. To do this though you do first need to start removing the water with the cure. Things like shellfish though do need to be kept cool when being smoked.

Cheese will be great in your cold smoker. Don't forget that the cheese will improve over several weeks after it has has been smoked. It takes 2-3 weeks for the harsh smoke flavours to mellow.

It is not a good idea to cold smoke shop bought sausages. You were right to hot smoke them.

I am looking forward to seeing more of what you are smoking. Please keep posting photos.

Wade


----------



## wade

Hi Jim. Welcome to the forum. The UK group is fully integrated into the whole forum and is seen by all members and many of our US colleagues are active contributors. We do, however try to tackle some of the challenges that are more specific to the UK. 

What a great present - what type of smoker did she buy you? Can we see photos? 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. We all have to start somewhere and your smoker may not be as basic as you think. Let us have a little more information and we will see what help and advice we can give you.

Wade


----------



## nullmind

Hi Everybody

My name is Carlos, I split my time between London, UK and the Azores, PT

I just bought me a grill thats ( supposedly ) made in the same chinese factory as the Char Griller 5050, dimensions are the same (even takes the same cover) but does have some interesting bits I likes, the smoker box looks to be better fitter to the grill and overall a little sturdier, will be using it in the Azores for the occasional BBQ and Smoke

For now, in London I use a OutdoorChef AMBRI 480 G for the occasional BBQ, it's just a Gas grill, but living in London as you know, space is at a premium and no place to have a nice big BBQ/Smoker !

I joined because all my experience is mostly with Gas grills, and I wish to learn more on how to cook with coal/wood and smoke :)

Here is the new Grill, in all honestly I still have it in the box and will be setting it up soon













Captura de ecrã 2016-04-09, às 13.27.43.png



__ nullmind
__ Apr 14, 2016


----------



## wade

Hi Carlos.

There are a growing number of Brits on here - I am from Kent so not too far from you. The UK group is fully integrated into the whole forum and is seen by all members and many of our US colleagues are active contributors. We do, however try to tackle some of the challenges that are more specific to the UK. A good looking smoker - it seems to have the best of both worlds. We like photos on here please take some as you are unpacking it and post up your first smoke.

Cheers Wade


----------



## kc5tpy

Hello Carlos and Welcome!  Want to learn more about cooking with coal/wood and smoke.  OK.  Here it is: build fire, throw on meat and when done remove the meat.  SIMPLE!    OK.  Maybe a BIT more to it but it ain't rocket science.  Ask all the questions you need and   we will offer all the help we can.  As Wade has said; we like pictures.  Sometimes it is just some little insignificant" little detail that we can spot from the photo that makes GREAT changes.  Also write everything down; at least at the start.  EVERYTHING you can think of.  Outside temp."  Windy or no breeze at all?  Meat prep ( step by step).  Internal smoker temp..  Temp. drops and or rises.  It will all help with any questions and also for you to recreate a successful smoke.Good luck.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## suyasmoke

Hey folks,

Im from Romford Essex. i have not long bought a Pit Barrel Cooker and I'm keen to learn as much as i can about smoking/curing etc.













Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 01.00.16.png



__ suyasmoke
__ Apr 19, 2016






thanks 

suyasmoke


----------



## smokin monkey

Hi Suya, gland you have found us.

Good looking smoker you have.

Plenty of good folk on here with lots of Experiance in all aspects of BBQ, from Low & Slow to Charcuterie.

Ask plenty of questions as someone will have an answer for you.

Kiska has two Pit Barrel Cookers (UDS) so he can give advice on how to hot & cold smoke.


----------



## wade

Hi Suya - It is good to see you on board. We are almost neighbours 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  ... My sister lives not too far from you... Being from the South is great as it seems that most of the Brits on here are from the north !!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Great looking Pit Barrel - that should certainly get you off to a good start with both hot and cold smoking.

Having a looked at the advertising and also the reviews it seems to come with most things you need - however it does not appear to come with a thermometer. This is not a major problem however as the basics of hot smoking really revolve around managing the temperature within your smoker you will really need to invest in a good digital thermometer. Something like a Maverick ET-732 or 733 would be ideal for your smoker.

Take some time to get used to finely managing the temperature. Time taken to do this at the start will pay dividends later. Learning to get a good controlled burn of your charcoal / briquettes is key and the better quality briquettes you buy the longer and slower they will burn. Take the time to look up the "minion method" on YouTube as this will really help you get started.

I was a little surprised to see that they are hanging most meats on hooks on the two rods at the top, however I think that you may quickly learn that you need to use the racks - especially for ribs - to avoid them collapsing into the bottom of the smoker. You may also want to add a water/sand bath just above the burning charcoal to buffer the heat spikes from the fire from reaching the meat.

When you next get the smoker going don't forget to take photos and post them up - we love photos here 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. Also if you find difficulty getting that temperature under control please don't be afraid to shout on here and we can give you some pointers.

Please check out the summer meet too and maybe bring it along. We are just a bunch of "guys" with similar interests who drag their families with them for a fun weekend of BBQ cooking. No competition, no judging - just cooking what we feel comfortable preparing and allowing others to enjoy it too.

Cheers

Wade


----------



## suyasmoke

Hey @Wade, I'm glad to be on the board. There is so much great info on here

I do have a thermometer. Ive go the following from Amazon:













Screen Shot 2016-04-22 at 10.58.40.png



__ suyasmoke
__ Apr 22, 2016






Properly not the greatest but does the job.

I haven't yet monitored the temp within the smoker itself. Maybe i will purchase another thermometer for that purpose. I remember reading a trick on the ecourse, where you secure the monitoring thermometer by pushing it though a potato.

I bought the PBC, because of the hanging feature. You can comfortably hang 8 racks of ribs on the PBC. The technique is to push the hook though two rib bones down! I also smoked a couple of lamb shoulders over the last weekend

View media item 465172
In the picture you will see that i used 3 hooks "chained" together to secure the shoulder. You can also see the probe form my thermometer sticking out the right side of the shoulder.

Regarding the heat spikes. i done some research on this before purchasing PBC, and the general consensus is that this isn't an issue - I'm not quite sure of the science behind it. I haven't had any issue with this on my 3 cooks so far. i will definitely take more pics next time

The summer meet sounds great, i will definitely look into it

Warm regards

SuyaSmoke


----------



## smokin monkey

Good looking Lamb!


----------



## bungle

Hi everyone. Based in Aylesbury, Bucks. I've been into bbq for a long time. Family holidays, sitting with my dad next to our little cast iron bbq cooking steak or fish are some of my fondest memories. I got my first bbq about 6 years ago as a birthday present, a landmann tennesee. I only started using it properly, smoking low and slow etc, last year when I discovered the british bbq society and country woodsmoke forums on facebook. My knowledge and experience have come on leaps and bounds since then and I have 2 more bbqs. A small stacker and a homemade oil drum grill. I'm looking forward to sharing our mutual passion and getting some great ideas and advice. Cheers.


----------



## wade

Hi Bungle and welcome to the forum and the UK group. It is great that your enthusiasm has continued to grow and that your BBQ/smokers are multiplying. What have you  been smoking so far? Are you primarily grilling and hot smoking or are you cold smoking too.

Cheers

Wade


----------



## kc5tpy

Hello Bungle.  Welcome.  I hope you can make it to the Bbq weekend in July.  We look forward to your contributions.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## smokin monkey

Welcome to the UK Group Stuart. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience on this site. Use the search bar to research topics, or simply ask the question.


----------



## bungle

Hi Wade, little bit of everything really! Have done low and slow, pulled pork and ribs, hot and fast, butterflied lamb leg, inderct, direct, reverse sear. I've got a proq cold smoke generator and have got my wife hooked on smoked cheese and butter. Also have had 2 succesfull attempts at home made bacon! Second was better as I managed to get a good smoke on it! Kc5tpy, I wont be able to make the meat up this year as I'm going to grillstock and on a bit of a budget as we are expecting twins! I'm very interested in it though and may be able to go next year!


----------



## wade

Bungle said:


> Hi Wade, little bit of everything really! Have done low and slow, pulled pork and ribs, hot and fast, butterflied lamb leg, inderct, direct, reverse sear. I've got a proq cold smoke generator and have got my wife hooked on smoked cheese and butter. Also have had 2 succesfull attempts at home made bacon! Second was better as I managed to get a good smoke on it! Kc5tpy, I wont be able to make the meat up this year as I'm going to grillstock and on a bit of a budget as we are expecting twins! I'm very interested in it though and may be able to go next year!


That is great - a good mix. It is good to see that someone else also smokes butter 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/156589/smoked-butter-q-view

James (Smokewood) and I are both heading to Grillstock this year too. Are you there for both days?


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## bungle

Yes Wade, myself and my son are there saturday and sunday. Also picking up a member of country woodsmoke, Mel Rhodes, as he can't drivr due to disability. Really looking forward to it!


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## wade

I will be heading there Friday night and am staying in the Bristol Marriott. It was a good event last year 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






. Hopefully see you all there.


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## delboy

Hello all.  I'm Del and I'm from Falkirk in Scotland.  I have absolutely no experience or knowledge of smoking meats, except how they have tasted when I have cooked other people's work!  I'm keen to learn, though, and I've been looking at these forums on and off for a while now.  I've got a little GMG Davy Crockett arriving at my house tomorrow and I'm hoping that it will do as a starting point while I learn.  As I said on the main roll call page, my main concerns when starting out (other than my complete lack of any smoking experience) are the wildly fluctuating temperatures and winds in this part of the country and sourcing good meat, especially while I'm learning.

I'll let you all know when I make my first attempt on the GMG and how it turns out.  I'd expect the word disaster to be used somewhere in the update!


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## kc5tpy

Hello Del.  Welcome to the fun or addiction; depending.  I don't have a GMG but I know a few folks have them here and they seem happy with them.  Good Luck.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## smash

Hi Everyone,

I am Ashley, I joined the SMF and was sent this way by Smokin Monkey.

I am a total beginner to smoking, I bought a barrel a year or so ago with the intention to do a build but only got as far as the burn out and my holes drilled. Today I began sanding/rubbing down with my grinder and probably manage a quarter before being rained off.

Are there any go to guides to use for the build on here?

Thanks


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## smokin monkey

Hi Ashley, use the search bar and look for UDS builds there is hundreds of them.

Kiska95 has built two UDS and knows the best place to buy parts for them. I will send him a PM over and I am sure he will be only to happy to help.


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## sweatysock

Hi, I'm Duncan from London. I'm new to smoking. I have a very cheap charcoal Landmann but really struggle to keep temperatures stable enough to do anything; did get a couple of good chickens and a side of salmon though. Going to invest in an electric Bradley Original (Costco seem to be doing good prices) but would be interested in anyone thoughts on an alternative.

Love BBQ’ing, have done a couple of Christmas dinners on that.

Looking for tips on curing; would love to try a pork belly bacon.


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## smokin monkey

Hi Duncan, welcome to the "Family"

If you can describe you step by step set up on the Landmann, (with pictures) people can identify any faults that's causing you problems.

Do not rush into buying a new smoker just yet. £300-£400 on a Bradley is a big spend and the pucks are expensive as well.  I would look at the Pit Boss Kamado (I have one).

Steve


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## sweatysock

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Steve,

Thanks. Not sure if I am supposed to respond on this thread or not...

The big issue with the Landmann is that it is open at the bottom so any form of draught (or wind round here) fluxuates the temp hugely. Will have a look at the Pit Boss Kamado.

Can you point me in the direction for any recipes for a bacon cure? The ones I have found so far require US ingredients that I will struggle to source. That said, I work with some guys from the States who travel back and forth a lot so could probably sort something out. The other recipes I have seen refer to Salt Petre which is also difficult to source.


----------



## smokin monkey

This was my first attempt at Bacon.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/158480/first-attempt-at-bacon#post_1142261

Get a good set of Jewlers scales with a scale of Grams. 

Use Cure #1, can get it from EBay.


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## wade

Hi Duncan - It is great that you found the UK group - Welcome


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## sweatysock

Smokin Monkey, that looked awesome. I was going to try using pork belly but think I will use a pork loin for my first attempt now, from the look of yours it will go down a treat. Just gotta get me an AMNPS...

One question, you use a slicer for your bacon, how hard is it to slice with a knife? I've heard that it you freeze it for 30 minutes or so first it firms up enough to make life a little easier (not as easy as a slicer...).


----------



## wade

Hi Duncan - when making bacon in any quantity a slicer is usually required in order to get the slices thin and even enough. They do not need to be expensive though

http://www.studio.co.uk/shop/en/stu...ceref=Google_Properties&tmclickref=Google_PLA


http://www.studio.co.uk/shop/en/stu...ceref=Google_Properties&tmclickref=Google_PLA


----------



## sweatysock

LOL, will need to remortgage soon ... Just bought the A-MAZE-N with pellets, hopefully here soon. Also purchased a blowtorch. Will do a small batch of bacon first and then see about the slicer but thanks. That said, just looked and the prices are pretty good... Just wonder if I can ditch some of the wife's bits from the kitchen so I have somewhere to store it...


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## smokin monkey

Hi Duncan, a slicer is not essential, just makes it easier if you are producing a lot. I have heard of people freezing for 30 minutes to make it easier to slice.


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## wade

SweatySock said:


> Just wonder if I can ditch some of the wife's bits from the kitchen so I have somewhere to store it...


Now that is a challenge I am not even going to attempt to offer advice on


----------



## dogs

Hi

I am from N Devon and am very new to this in knowledge although I have dabbled for a few years, I have a West Country smoker and have just added an external smoke generator. I smoke all sorts but need to up my game for the coming shooting season as I smoke a lot of game birds and am starting to smoke trout. I will need help so 'thanks' in advance.

Geoff


----------



## lampie73

Hi all Uk smokers ( I admit that sounds a bit odd in this day and age ;) ),

I am new to smoking, I did a hand of pork the other weekend on my new un-modded ECB and will start modding tomorrow to be ready for my first shoulder of lamb on Saturday.

I am based in Market Harborough (East Midlands) and can't wait to smoke more.

Florian


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## kc5tpy

Hello Florian.  Welcome to the family.  I am sorry you have not had a reply but we have all been busy preparing for our annual smoking weekend.  Glad to have you with us.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## lampie73

@KC5TPY  not to worry, just looked at some of the pictures, looks fantastic

I made most of the mods to my ECB and did a bit of smoking myself this weekend. Shoulder of lamb for 6h with cherry wood chips..... lush.... Unfortunately I only have pictures of it going on. Friends and family could not wait for me to take pictures.....













IMG_20160723_082158.jpg



__ lampie73
__ Jul 24, 2016


















IMG_20160722_164226.jpg



__ lampie73
__ Jul 24, 2016


















IMG_20160722_164000.jpg



__ lampie73
__ Jul 24, 2016


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## kc5tpy

Hello.  Hope to see you at our next weekend.  Glad the lamb turn out for you.  Most times I forget to take pictures ( BAD )!  We want pictures!  






You can't just tell us "there it is".  Please start a new thread in the UK Group forum and tell us about the preparation.  The rub.  The smoking temp..  Was it the left shoulder or the right shoulder?  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Just poking fun.  Tell us everything about how the smoke went in a new thread please.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## mymatejim

Hi all,

Directed this way by Smokin Monkey on the main roll call forum where I've just signed up.

Smoking newbie here looking forward to a new world of BBQ!  I have been a big BBQ for fan for a long time now (I'm a typical UK griller having to be somewhat hardy against the rain, and only really experienced direct grilling as opposed to indirect smoking). 

I came across this forum after ordering my first smoker (Char-Broil Oklahoma Joe Highland Smoker) which arrives tomorrow and when looking on the internet about it I found a load of threads about mods and other tips...then got sucked into this place and getting excited about all the possibilities!  Needless to say I've got some high temp sealant on order and have left a message with my metal work friend to give me a call about a baffle plate...

Being a complete newcomer I am going to have a hunt around for threads on the heat source, i.e. charcoal, wood, wood and charcoal etc etc so if any of you can point me in the right direction then that would be great.

Looking forward to chatting with you experts and learning as much as possible.

*additional info for you UK people; northern-based griller in East Yorkshire - so plenty of the afore mentioned rain!  Completely geen to all things smoking so apologies in advance for any daft questions!

James


----------



## smokin monkey

Hi James, welcome to the UK Group of Smoking Meat Forums.

We have a growing number of smokers here, with plenty of knowledge between us, and we also have the backing of the main forum. What you paste in the UK forum, can be seen in the main forum.

When you see an memeber that you like the look of what they are doing, or have given you good information, click on the Avatar, it will take you to there page and click on follow. Then you will be altered to there post.

For wood, try James, http://www.smokingmeatforums.comhtt...
Please do not use easy lite Charcoal.

Steve


----------



## wade

Hi James. I am glad you found us and said Hi


----------



## schminky

Hi folks,

My name is Yosh and I'm a new food smoker in North London.

I went on a one day course with Turan of coldsmoking.co.uk and have just bought my first kettle bbq to start experimenting with hot smoking. I'm also starting to cure (bacon) and really get into more traditional food preparations in general. Other things I've made are salt beef, gala pie, slow-baked beans, all from the DIY Cook by Tim Hayward. I've got my giant cardboard box ready to take a proQ cold smoke generator, too!

Would love to hear from anyone local, especially other women into smoking!

Cheers,

Yosh.


----------



## wade

Hi Yosh. I have just welcomed you in the main forum. It is great that you have now found your way to the UK group too.

There are a growing number of us on here in the UK that both hot and cold smoke and some of us make our own bacon too. We are very happy to share our experiences and help you to develop your skills further in this area and look forward to learning from your experiences too. Have you tried smoking salmon or cheese yet?

Not many women in the group I am afraid, but the UK BBQ community does have some very talented female competition smokers. They are still in the minority though so it is great that you are trying to even up the numbers 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Do you have any photos of your bacon so far? We love photos on here. Also photos of the creation of your cardboard box smoker would be great as we are trying to promote all forms of smoking and educate people that you don't need to buy specialist, expensive equipment in order to produce fantastic smoked foods.


----------



## schminky

Thanks Wade! I've posted some photos here of various beef and pork experimenting:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/g/a/300437/default/

As soon as I get the smokers up and running I'll be posting photos - I'm very much about the low budget with a bit of creativity.

Cheers!


----------



## wade

The photos are great thanks - How did the bacon taste? Will you smoke the next batch?

I see you are using Surfy's cure. I have had some of his cure#1 lab tested and it was right on the mark. Some you buy online is not what it claims to be. Another good source for cure is Weschenfelder.

I have just dropped you a PM about including photos in the threads themselves as it will make them easier for people to see.


----------



## steve hicks

Good to join up with people that like smoke& fire

I am a gas engineer domestic and lpg and i have just got a electric smoker.

Bradley Original. 

Where is the best way to start chicken breast maybe, like some help please

Steve Hicks in Suffolk

P/S where can i find a list of local events


----------



## thenegativeone

Hi Steve, welcome to the group! I can't help too much with your question as I don't have any experience with electric smokers but I know some of our more seasoned smokers have and I'm sure they'll be allowed my soon to offer their advice.

In regards to the chicken question, chicken is a good meat to start with as it's cheap and therefore you don't have to worry to much incase you mess it up, the first thing I ever smoked was a whole chicken and it turned out great. I would advise trying a whole chicken over breasts as the price difference is negligible and breasts have a tendency to dry out on their own. 

As for the local events I'm afraid I can't help with that either but someone else may be able to.

I'm sure someone more useful will be along soon, and remember, get smoking and post pics!


----------



## smokin monkey

Steve Hicks said:


> Good to join up with people that like smoke& fire
> I am a gas engineer domestic and lpg and i have just got a electric smoker.
> Bradley Original.
> Where is the best way to start chicken breast maybe, like some help please
> Steve Hicks in Suffolk
> P/S where can i find a list of local events



Hi Steve welcome to the forum. To get a better response, please start a new thread either in the main forum, or the UK Group, that way it keeps the welcome page free for welcoming new Memebers and all responses to "your" thread will be in one place.


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## kc5tpy

Hello Steve.  Glad to have you buddy.  As Smokin Monkey said start a thread of your own; ask all the questions you wish and you will get all sorts of information.  We try to keep RollCall as just a "Hello" and introduction page.  We look forward to your contributions.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## willsuffolkuk

Hi All

Just joined. Thought I'd follow the rules and introduce myself! I found the forum when researching whether a Landmann Kentucky Smoker is worth the money. 

Since doing some reading, it sounds like I can do a lot more with my Weber Kettle BBQ than I currently am, I'll start a new thread on that specifically whether I need to bother spending the extra money.

BBQ'd alot, but only recently started smoking, had a go at some brisket, didn't cook it for long enough, but still tasted good. some chicken pieces, really happy with these, smoked with some mesquite wood shavings from weber. And some veg, Corn on the cob worked really well and added to the flavour.

After spending a few days reading on here, I'm clearly a novice, already learnt a lot. 

Cheers

Will


----------



## smokin monkey

WillSuffolkUK said:


> Hi All
> 
> Just joined. Thought I'd follow the rules and introduce myself!
> 
> After spending a few days reading on here, I'm clearly a novice, already learnt a lot.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Will



Hi Will  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.

Its great that you have found the UK Smokers Forum. There are a growing number of Smokers in the UK and Ireland and our group is growing all the time.

We have had our 3rd UK Smokes weekend, where members attend and cooked over the weekend, planning for 2017 will start shortly. Please use the link below to view the website.

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

Wade will be along shortly to welcome you and he will give you some of the best advice you can get, to get the most out of your Weber.

Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]


----------



## wade

WillSuffolkUK said:


> Hi All
> 
> Since doing some reading, it sounds like I can do a lot more with my Weber Kettle BBQ than I currently am, I'll start a new thread on that specifically whether I need to bother spending the extra money.
> 
> BBQ'd alot, but only recently started smoking, had a go at some brisket, didn't cook it for long enough, but still tasted good. some chicken pieces, really happy with these, smoked with some mesquite wood shavings from weber. And some veg, Corn on the cob worked really well and added to the flavour.
> 
> After spending a few days reading on here, I'm clearly a novice, already learnt a lot.


Hi Will and welcome to the forum. I use a variety of smokers however the Weber Kettles are my "go-to" BBQ smoker for day to day smoking. They are very versatile and you can smoke very successfully on them. What size Weber do you have? It is easier to get the longer smokes on the 57 cm but the 47 cm is fine too - albeit more restrictive on cooking grate space. The important thing to remember when smoking on the Weber is that the quality of the briquettes you use is critical. Using premium briquettes like "Heat Beads" or "Nature" you can get a good smoke without taste taints for up to 8-9 hours on just a single load of couple of Kg.

This thread will give you some pointers as to how this can be achieved http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/171812/coconut-briquettes

Below are a selection of photos that help show the versatility of the Weber Kettle.













smokers2.jpg



__ wade
__ Sep 1, 2016


















RibsSmoker1.jpg



__ wade
__ Sep 1, 2016


















FattyChicken1.jpg



__ wade
__ Sep 1, 2016


















FattyCooked2.jpg



__ wade
__ Sep 1, 2016


















Cooked Chicken Maple.jpg



__ wade
__ Sep 1, 2016


















Nature Pork1.jpg



__ wade
__ Sep 1, 2016


----------



## matt c

Hello, 

I am Matt and I live in the Portsmouth area down on the south coast. A novice at smoking, but I have been grilling for a little while on a kettle grill inherited from my sister in law who was taking it to the tip. After taking it apart and cleaning it up it has served us well so far.

There is already another post on my decision to buy a cheap offset, so enough said about that particular unit!













IMG_20160912_105333.jpg



__ matt c
__ Sep 15, 2016


----------



## wade

Hi Matt - I found this post after responding to your other thread.

From the handles it looks a bit like a Weber clone which is very promising. What are the air vents underneath and on the lid like?


----------



## matt c

Both lid and underneath vents are the same. The top vent seems pretty smooth but the bottom has a slightly loose feel to it but doesn't look too bad.













IMG_20160916_171906.jpg



__ matt c
__ Sep 16, 2016





  













IMG_20160916_171945.jpg



__ matt c
__ Sep 16, 2016






The grill is 52 cm in diameter so not quite as large as the Weber (except the 47 cm of course). Room for a chicken although I had real trouble keeping the temp up when smoking one a couple of days ago, but that I think is most likely the briquettes I used. I have some Heat Beads for the next cook.

Got to 207 c with bottom vent half closed and top vent maybe 3/4 open at a quarter of an hour after putting the coals in. Put the Chicken in and struggled to get to 150 c with both vents fully open. Had to finish in the oven for ten minutes to get to 80 c in the meat. Tasted good with apple wood smoke, but would have been nice to get a complete cook in the kettle.













IMG_20160915_161546.jpg



__ matt c
__ Sep 16, 2016


----------



## dirtyd89

Hi there I'm Joe.

I've recently bought the 'Grillstock BBQ Book' and now I'm hooked on cooking. I've been cooking everything inside on a gas hob and fan assisted oven as I didn't have a smoker.
MASSIVE SIN RIGHT THERE I KNOW... I'm Sorry!

I've just ordered myself a Brinkmann 810-5301-C Smoke-N-Grill Charcoal Smoker and Grill which will be arriving today along with a new temp gauge and a chimney smoker.
Any advice on mods I'll need to make so I can cook some bad ass meat?

Let the addiction begin.

JD
Bristol


----------



## smokin monkey

Welcome Joe, to the UK Forum.


----------



## steve johnson

Hi joe & welcome there's plenty of videos on you tube with mod ideas for brinkman smokers. Enjoy


----------



## dirtyd89

Steve Johnson said:


> Hi joe & welcome there's plenty of videos on you tube with mod ideas for brinkman smokers. Enjoy



Cheers Steve. I'll have a gander!


----------



## steve johnson

I started out with a cheap tec take one off amazon had some good results wit a few mods. Be sure to use heat beads and get one of these


----------



## ecocottagewales

Hi there, I am a smallholder in West Wales who has been keen to try cold smoking for some time. Have built a hanging chamber in an old galvanised metal dustbin and am looking to do my first burn this weekend. Have cured a loin of pork and purchased the little Pro Q cold smoke generator so fingers crossed!


----------



## smokin monkey

Hi welcome to the UK Forum, I have posted a welcome on the main forum Roll Call.

Just a little bit concerned about the Galvanised Dustbin! Are you Cold Smoking with it? or Hot Smoking? 

You have to be really careful heating Galvanised and Zinc, as it gives of harmful gases.

Al little bit more information and pictures, (we love pictures) of your set up would be great.


----------



## molove

It looks like it would have to be very, very hot smoking  for zinc to give off fumes. According to the following web page - around 900º C

http://periodictable.com/ZincSafety.html

Which says:

"When zinc is raised to a high temperature (at or above its boiling point around 900C), it burns and forms zinc oxide smoke. Like any kind of smoke, zinc oxide will irritate the lungs, leading to difficulty breathing: This is not a dangerous situation and it clears up immediately when you move away from the source of the fumes. People exposed to high concentrations of zinc oxide over a prolonged period of time can also develop a condition known as the "zinc chills", "metal fume fever", "brass-founders ague", or a number of other colorful terms. This involves fever, tremors, and other unpleasant symptoms."

Disclaimer - I have no prior knowlege of the subject and cannot verify the validity of this website, so best to do your own research.

BTW I have used a galvanised incinerator bin in the past and saw no evidence of fumes being given off during it's use and you would have thought they would have been banned if they gave off dangerous fumes during normal use.


----------



## wade

There is a lot of paranoia about using zinc in smokers/BBQs and it is something that is often quoted on forums as being a dangerous thing to do. When you try to find evidence of any potential danger or any official food safety guidelines it becomes evident that most of what is posted is actually urban myth and usually only re-posts of other peoples posts.

The only official guidelines I have managed to find regarding the use of zinc in is that it should not come in direct contact with the food or be where liquids can splash onto it and then drip back onto the food.

You do need to ensure that the racks that you place the food on are not zinc plated and, especially when cold smoking, ensure that there is no galvanised metal directly above the food where moisture from the smoke could condense and then drip onto the food below.


----------



## kc5tpy

Hello Wade.  Nope!  You knew I would see this buddy.  I gotta disagree as you know.  We have been here before.  I agree TOTALLY with your facts.  You can find NO evidence, etc..  Then you start the disclaimers: "You do need to ensure that the racks that you place the food on are not zinc plated and, especially when cold smoking, ensure that there is no galvanised metal directly above the food where moisture from the smoke could condense and then drip onto the food below."   My response remains the same: IF  I have to make sure of x,y,z.  IF   I shouldn't use it on a Tuesday;  WHY would I put it in my smoker AT ALL??  Why take that chance with family and friends?

I'll give you an example of my argument that supports your position; believe it or not:  I'll bet you and many other U.K. members would be *HORRIFIED* to learn that all the while my 2 children were growing up I kept 2  fully loaded guns in my house AT ALL TIMES.  OUT IN THE OPEN.  1 was under my mattress.  The other hung above our bed.  ( BTW; don't mess with my EX.  She could shoot you in the eye at 20 meters with a handgun; with a rifle, you weren't safe at 300 meters if she could see you. 







  )  Now I can quote you disclaimers but many of you will NEVER agree that I was doing a right thing.  Just to say; there were precautions and those were EXTREMELY tested. Just sayin.

The argument works the same in both our minds; WHY TAKE THE RISK?  Just my opinion.  NO / ZERO scientific fact.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## wade

Hi Danny -  There are no disclaimers in my post - I am just stating what the official documentation on the subject supports. The only official limitation of the use of zinc is that it should not be used on utensils or surfaces that will come into direct contact with the foods or can drip onto the foods.

If someone can come up with good evidence that using galvanised metal on non food contact surfaces in a smoker is hazardous then I will happily review my position on it, however the fears people express here (and on some other forums) currently appears to be mostly urban myth. You ask "Why take the risk?" and I counter that with "What risk?"

We cannot recommend avoiding the use of something in a smoker just because we cannot find anything that says it IS safe. If so we would ban a lot of things that we currently routinely use today. On the other hand there is evidence out there that the smoke itself is hazardous. A good example of this is in the US National Library of Medicine - Smoked food and cancer https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7447916. Should we therefore also recommend that people do not use smoke in their smokers? Search in Google and you will find any number of credible sources that warn of the hazards of smoking and curing but there is very little when it comes to the hazards associated with the use of galvanised components in smokers or ovens.

If the use of galvanised material was hazardous enough for us to be that concerned over then you would expect that there would be a lot of official information out there warning us about it. Unfortunately that does not appear to be the case. In fact there is a lot of documentation regarding where it IS used with food

The FDA's own documentation talks about the use of galvanised surfaces in food production and describes the limitations for its use as 

_"4-101.15 Galvanized Metal, Use Limitation._

_Galvanized means iron or steel coated with zinc, a heavy metal that may be leached from galvanized containers into foods that are high in water content. The risk of leaching increases with increased acidity of foods contacting the galvanized container."_

http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/ucm189212.htm

In the Association of Food and Drug Officials.  2002.  Food Code: Pocket Guide for Regulators, the use of galvanised metal is described as being limited to certain foodstuffs only

_"Materials for Construction and Repair – Galvanized Metal (4-101.15)
•    Galvanized metal may not be used for utensils or food-contact surfaces or equipment that are used for beverages, moist food, hygroscopic food, and contact with acidic foods."_

The American National Standard/NSF International Standard have the following to say about coated metals in their document on "Food Equipment Materials" http://standards.nsf.org/apps/group_public/download.php/3941/nsf51-97.pdf

_"4.2 Food zone materials shall not contain lead, arsenic, cadmium, or mercury as intentional ingredients, except where brass and bronze are specifically permitted for use under 7.3.2._

_4.3 Coatings containing lead as an intentional ingredient shall not be used on food equipment surfaces, including splash zones and nonfood zones. Coatings with an unintentional lead content (lead impurity) greater than 0.06% shall not be used. Materials shall be corrosion resistant in the intended end use environment. Protective coatings may be used to render a material corrosion resistant, except as prohibited in 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6. Protective coatings shall remain intact under use conditions and shall conform to the applicable requirements in 7.4, 7.5, and 7.6_._"_

They are being very specific here about the hazards associated with a number of metals (including lead) but there is no mention of  zinc or galvanisation being one of them. It does however say where zinc coated materials _cannot_ be used - which suggests that in other situations it can be....

_"7.4.2 Zinc coated materials. Galvanized materials and other zinc coated materials shall not be used on surfaces intended for direct food contact"_

This is what is referred to as the "Food Zone" which is defined as

_"3.5 food zone: Equipment surfaces intended to be in direct contact with food and equipment surfaces that food may contact and then drain drip, or splash back into food or onto surfaces that are
intended to be in direct contact with food."_

Yes, there are limitations as to where zinc can be used with food, however this is not a basis upon which we should recommend it not to be used when it is used appropriately.


----------



## kc5tpy

We won't argue my friend.  I am in total agreement with you and the scientific evidence you use to back your opinion.  You CAN use galvanized metal in a smoker.  I said it.  I have a good idea.  This is the wrong place for this discussion.  I'll post a thread on the open forum and then you, I and others can discuss this and offer our explanations and opinions.  This has been going on for a long time and I think there should be an agreement as to how we as a Forum should handle this question.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


----------



## ecocottagewales

Thanks everyone. I am only using the galvanised bid as a cold smoking chamber. The meat was suspended from stainless steel butchers hooks from a stainless steel threaded bar bolted through the top of the bin. The Pro Q smoker was then put in the bottom of the bin and provided smoke for 10hours with no noticeable increase in the ambient temperature of the bin, and no evidence of any condensation. The bacon tasted great but I may try 20 hours next time. The 2nd picture shows the difference in siz and colour of the smoked and unsmoked part of the loin.













20161008_141911.jpg



__ ecocottagewales
__ Nov 21, 2016


















20161009_090212.jpg



__ ecocottagewales
__ Nov 21, 2016


----------



## wrinklymedic

Thank you Smoking Monkey. Been a long time away from Smoking. I'm in the UK and I only Cold Smoke in the winter, so cooling is not a problem.

Realised the mesh was galvanised, so did blowtorch it, should have mentioned that - Important SAFETY NOTE!. It was like a firework display - great fun!

Now waiting for the Whole Salmons to be at the 'Special' price and away we go...


----------



## wrinklymedic

Thank you Smoking Monkey. Been a long time away from Smoking. I'm in the UK and I only Cold Smoke in the winter, so cooling is not a problem.

Realised the mesh was galvanised, so did blowtorch it, should have mentioned that - Important SAFETY NOTE!. It was like a firework display - great fun!

Now waiting for the Whole Salmons to be at the 'Special' price and away we go...


----------



## wrinklymedic

Thank you Wade. Being in the UK and only Cold Smoking (CS) in the autumn to spring, for that simple reason cooling is not normally a problem for me. For anyone starting out, my cabinet was home made with untreated timber, so quite cheap to build for a lot of space - you can tailor-make one to suit your space. As the cabinet is permanently outside, the exposed outer wood is carefully treated (with an animal friendly one) so as not to let any treatment seep inside. I have added a 'Shelter' from the fence, which helps keep me dry when it rains and does protect the Smokers from the worst of the weather.

I modified it to use the Metal Ducting which helps conduct heat away from the smoke more effectively. Also, being flexible, it allows for a decent length for smoke cooling. With the Firebox just below the level of the Cabinet, but NOT underneath it, the 'hot' smoke rises into the ducting and pushes the smoke along the transverse ducting, cooling it, until finally turning up into the base of the cabinet. Inside the cabinet there is a raised board to spread the smoke evenly around the cabinet.

My suggestion of using ice bags was to place them along the metal ducting, cooling the metal, to assist cooling the smoke as it passes through, if the ambient air temperature is above 68f (20c). We have those Ice Cube Bags you fill from the tap in the freezer, if they were needed. Not thought about putting it inside the cabinet though. Personally I've not needed to do that yet. In my video, the air temperature that day was 54f (12c) and inside the top of the cabinet was 59f (15c) after several hours.  I bought a Ground Thermometer and inserted that at the top of my cabinet, as another modification, to monitor the cabinet temperature and aim for around 60f (15c).

Using the 'Maze' system for the shavings & sawdust (a combination) in the Firebox has definitely made Cold Smoking more efficient. There is a longer constant smoke with less 'topping-up'. I do have to keep an eye on the fire-box occasionally, just in case it goes out - it does sometimes, other times it burns perfectly - must be just getting the right amount of pressure on the fuels when loading it. A 'clip-on' computer fan (using bit of stiff wire) is useful if the firebox needs some encouragement. Starting early in the morning lets me sleep that night...  Even if it goes out there is cold smoke in the cabinet for quite a while. 

The cabinets are in the shade and you're right, I don't normally CS and HS at the same time, so won't worry about a screen between them.

With the Hot Smoker (HS), I now use the meat cooking thermometer pushed through the lid joint at the top. The default one, as you say, is pointless. I inherited both these Smokers from my father-in-law and only do a small amount of HS Smoking, mainly with sausages and chicken, or small meat portions and would agree that it would be wise for a serious HS user to invest in something more efficient. Definitely agree not a good idea to cold smoke bought sausages.

---  For anyone who's not seen it, the video is at:

   ---

When Dry Curing the Salmon (for CS), after brining it is pressed (using a wooden board and kitchen weights) and 'fridge' chilled on grill trays that allow water to drain away into the drip tray overnight. So far it has been quite firm and nicely moist but not wet. So, I guess I: 1-Increase the salt levels, 2-reduce the free water content and 3-reduce the bacteria with the smoke. When thinly sliced and vacuum bagged, it freezes well.  All consumers still upright!

The cheeses were popular and were kept for a week or two before using. Had to try a taster straight away, but agree smoked cheese needs to rest for at least a week and absorb flavours before tasting. Froze some and that seemed to work well.

Thank you for the tip on shellfish - I might give some a try this winter.

On the *Sawdust and Shavings* - From our open fire indoors, I know a local Tree Surgeon/Log Supplier. I give him a few packs of frozen Smoked Salmon and I get Oak, Maple and Alder trunk logs (40cm dia. x 25cm length), for me to plane or circular saw. I use an electric planer (Lidl-Parkside) which is brilliantly adjustable. Attach an old vacuum cleaner hose to the planer and the shavings are fed into a closed bin, which I empty into labelled individual tree type tins for storing until required. Sorry! commercial suppliers...













Trunks01.jpg



__ wrinklymedic
__ Dec 8, 2016






IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. The cut surfaces of the trunks are discarded to avoid using any possible contamination from any chainsaw oil. Never use chainsawed sawdust - it will contain oil.
2. The bark is discarded to avoid any contaminants that the tree has kept outside of its nice inner wood. Bark collects all sorts of nasties we don't want smoked.

Obvious, but thought it good to post that.

Hope this is helpful to others starting out.


----------



## wade

Great video and helpful tips


----------



## smokin monkey

Yeah, great video and some good tips!
Points!


----------



## timneo

Hey, Tim from Essex

Building a UDS hopefully this weekend if the weather is good!

Nice to see a community - shame the next smoke out is on the same weekend as my son's birthday! :(


----------



## stringman

Hi all

Like many before me I started off on the main site and was directed here. (got to fly the flag)

Ive already had some really helpful advice  so things are looking good.

So a bit about me.

I am Andy.

Live in a place called Wateringbury in kent  (briefly famous for flooding one Christmas)

A few years ago I had a traditional (very cheap) barrel smoker (as per pic above) but it wasn't looked after very well and didn't make the move from our old house.

I have had a couple of Cobb bbq ovens which I dabbled with smoking  with- worked great  but was a bugger to clean.

This past year I managed to pick up a frontier stove cheap at an auction (I was intending to sell it at a profit but decided I wanted to keep it lol)

For Christmas I was given a cold smoker from my fiancé. Its made in Poland and seems to meet favour on here!

For my birthday I was given a La Hacienda Genoa pizza oven/BBq/smoker which was a bit embarrassing as I had bought myself (from the auction) a Uuni pizza oven.

so I think with 6 outdoor cooking appliances I should stop buying and start cooking.

I am very easily side tracked by my latest fad  so will no doubt dip in and out (I am not being rude honest)

This weekend is going to be Uuni pizza time.

I am hoping half term will be smoking time!

I work in AV so any questions on that feel free to ask.

that's enough waffling


----------



## smokin monkey

timneo said:


> Hey, Tim from Essex
> 
> Building a UDS hopefully this weekend if the weather is good!
> 
> Nice to see a community - shame the next smoke out is on the same weekend as my son's birthday! :(



Welcome to the forum Tim, pity about the Smokers Weekend!


----------



## smokin monkey

stringman said:


> Hi all
> 
> Like many before me I started off on the main site and was directed here. (got to fly the flag)
> 
> Ive already had some really helpful advice  so things are looking good.
> 
> So a bit about me.
> 
> I am Andy.
> Live in a place called Wateringbury in kent  (briefly famous for flooding one Christmas)
> 
> A few years ago I had a traditional (very cheap) barrel smoker (as per pic above) but it wasn't looked after very well and didn't make the move from our old house.
> 
> I have had a couple of Cobb bbq ovens which I dabbled with smoking  with- worked great  but was a bugger to clean.
> 
> This past year I managed to pick up a frontier stove cheap at an auction (I was intending to sell it at a profit but decided I wanted to keep it lol)
> For Christmas I was given a cold smoker from my fiancé. Its made in Poland and seems to meet favour on here!
> 
> For my birthday I was given a La Hacienda Genoa pizza oven/BBq/smoker which was a bit embarrassing as I had bought myself (from the auction) a Uuni pizza oven.
> 
> so I think with 6 outdoor cooking appliances I should stop buying and start cooking.
> 
> I am very easily side tracked by my latest fad  so will no doubt dip in and out (I am not being rude honest)
> 
> This weekend is going to be Uuni pizza time.
> 
> I am hoping half term will be smoking time!
> 
> I work in AV so any questions on that feel free to ask.
> 
> that's enough waffling



Hi Andy welcome to the forum.

So you think you have enough cooking appliances, we will watch this space!!!!

The Uuni Pizza oven is a great little oven, that's making its mark on the UK market.


----------



## timneo

Added my UDS build for the UK http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/258334/timneos-uk-uds-build-lots-of-pics

Hope to get it finished next weekend so I can season it.  Then in a couple of weeks actually smoke something in it!


----------



## 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!


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## steve johnson

That looks awesome bud welcome to the group


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## wade

They look good HF.


----------



## haloodieefoodie

Steve Johnson said:


> That looks awesome bud welcome to the group


Thanks Steve!!


----------



## haloodieefoodie

Wade said:


> 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

Smokin Monkey said:


> 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

sotv said:


> 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

sotv said:


> 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


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## 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


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## 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


----------



## agent75

Thanks for the response guys. 

It's called a Deuba, can't find a website, purchased on Amazon. There's no bottom air vent, there is a significant gap around the bottom. I'm not sure how this will affect temp control, will need to butn it a few times to see. If I were to fit an air vent, would I need to seal this gap up?

Hopefully these pictures will give you an idea of what I mean. There is a water pan. 













IMG_6855.JPG



__ agent75
__ Feb 14, 2017


















IMG_6854.JPG



__ agent75
__ Feb 14, 2017






Cheers

Keith


----------



## agent75

Having checked out some of the youtube mod videos, here are my thoughts. 

For better access to the coal pan, I would need to mount this on it's own legs and turn the existing legs on the body to the outside, in order to be able to lift the whole smoker away from the coal pan. However, as the main body is in two parts, and only the upper body part has handles, I would need to source and fit another two handles to the lower body part. 

For improved airflow, I should drill holes or fit an airflow controller to the coal pan. Having not used the smoker yet, I may hold off on this mod until I've run a few loads of charcoal in it and also wait until my digi thermometer is here to take an accurate grate reading. 

Sounds right? 

Keith.


----------



## smokin monkey

Hi Keith, the one I have has a large gap around the charcoal pan.

Give it a couple of runs and see how it controls.


----------



## agent75

Thanks Steve

I'll start a new thread where I can mebbes pick your brain some more?

Cheers

Keith.


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## smokin monkey

Starting a new thread is a good idea.

That way you will have your answers in one place.


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## smokin monkey

HI Keith, cooked a chicken today on smoker similar to yours. Running @ 200'C.













image.jpeg



__ smokin monkey
__ Feb 19, 2017


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## joel75

Hi,I'm jo, I from the south of England just outside of sunny Bognor Regis!..totally new to smoking but have had a keen interest for along time. I work in the NHS..so nothing to do with food or smoking!..I have lots of questions to ask and advice to soak up,I have purchased a callow vertical smoker on seeing wades review on YouTube , thought it would make a good smoker for the family!..jo..


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## smokin monkey

Once again Jo, welcome to the forum and the UK Group.


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## joel75

So, a question , I think I'm going to start with some ribs,wings, something small to start?..what's a good all round rub for ribs and wings?..


----------



## smokin monkey

Ribs can be labour intensive for your first cook. 
Go chicken, whole chicken or parts, wing legs, drums etc.
Chicken is cheaper to practice on than ribs.
As for rubs, commercial bought rubs are a good start. Rubs are a personal thing, some like them sweet, some like them hot.

Don't worry, we will have you on Ribs and more soon!!!


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## joel75

Thank you, I'm collecting rub recipes!.


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## wade

joel75 said:


> Hi,I'm jo, I from the south of England just outside of sunny Bognor Regis!..totally new to smoking but have had a keen interest for along time. I work in the NHS..so nothing to do with food or smoking!..I have lots of questions to ask and advice to soak up,I have purchased a callow vertical smoker on seeing wades review on YouTube , thought it would make a good smoker for the family!..jo..


I used to commute from Ashford to Bognor most days in a previous job


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## joel75

That's a long old commute!..what's a good make of briquette wade?..


----------



## wade

Luckily I was in a fully expensed company car then - those were the days 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I only use Heat Bead briquettes but the Nature, Coco and Weber premium briquettes are fine too. These are easily sourced online, often with free next day delivery. Avoid the cheap supermarket/DIY store brands.


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## joel75

Cheers wade!..


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## bigsoftmoose

Hi Folks

I'm Pete , as i said on the main forum roll call, I'm just starting smoking because its a confluence of my various other interests, work - I'm a ranger team leader with the National Trust and have access to lots of wood and charcoal from coppice burns, I'm a turner - gives me lots of shavings and off cuts, plus a workshop to build stuff, and i'm just about to start small holding - lots of meat, cheese, and other stuff to smoke

I'm just about to embark on a UDS, a mini WSM, and a  Venturi gun and cabinet for cold smoking.  As you may gather from this building stuff, especially from recycled materials, is also a major hobby

I'll look forward to sharing some builds and recipes and stuff


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## steve johnson

Welcome Pete there's a wealth oh knowledge on here, looking forward to seeing some of your builds and smokes :grilling_smilie:


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## smokin monkey

Once again, welcome Pete.


----------



## wade

Hi Pete - Welcome to the forum and also the UK Group

It sounds as if you do very similar things to the Forest Schools. I am from Kent and I have helped them out out with cooking and food smoking as part of some of their courses.

The biscuit tin on the hot plate was a good place to begin but I can see why you want to develop further. There are a number of inexpensive options for hot and cold smoking moving forward depending on what and how much you are looking to smoke. The WSM and ProQ bullet smokers can seem quite expensive when you are first looking and I can see why you are looking at something cheaper. Most of the "cheap" smokers that are advertised leave a lot to be desired there is one that has just been released that comes in at about £85 which is great for people starting out. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/259901/callow-smoker-review. This gives you a full featured bullet smoker for only about £20 more than the standard Smokey Joe.













Callow 2.JPG



__ wade
__ Mar 24, 2017






Cabinets work well as cold smokers and I adapted a commercial upright freezer carcass for mine. What has made you settle on the venturi smoke generator? These can be a little temprimental sometimes and I gave up on them fairly early on. One of the most reliable cold smoke generators is the "mailbox mod" which you can find a lot of information about on here. Mine I just bolted to the outside of the smoker cabinet but many connect it using a length of flexible tubing













Smoker with smoke box.jpg



__ wade
__ Jan 9, 2016






Below I am using an AMNPS generator - ~ 12 hours of smoke per charge













AMNPS burn small.jpg



__ wade
__ Dec 22, 2016






And here I am using a tube smoke generator - <£3 from Ebay and ~ 6 hours of smoke per charge













Tubes compare 6.jpg



__ wade
__ Feb 22, 2017






Whatever you decide to go don't forget to keep us updated and that we love photos here


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## bigsoftmoose

thanks for the welcome wade - I love building stuff so the ready made options aren't really my thing - I just scored a second hand smokey joe on ebay for about 30 notes, so I'm definitely going the Mini route first ... although i suspect it could be the first of many ... i just need to find a suitable pot or other option

WRT the venturi gun - i really want to be able to burn shavings from my wood turning, so it seemed like a better bet than the APNS types which seem to need finer chip ... also the venturi looks like a cool build and something i can  tinker with.  that said i may well look at mail box mods etc as well.


----------



## londonfog

Hey all!!

New here! Greetings from London UK! I gave an introduction on the Roll Call section of the forum, and _Smokin Monkey _directed me here! Great to see so many in the UK on here with a passion for BBQ! 

We are 26 year old twin brothers who have a huge passion for American style BBQ. We are on a huge journey to achieve PITMASTER STATUS!

We love American BBQ culture and everything about it! We also love cured meats / charcuterie, although have never attempted making our own salamis etc (would love to in the future).

I would say we are both pretty new/intermediate at smoking meats, having taken the hobby seriously for about 8 months now. We still feel like we have A LOT to learn! 

We decided to join this forum and learn as much as possible.
 

Unfortunately, the smoker we use at the moment is a pretty cheap drum BBQ, we keep the coals and wood on one side and the meat on the other. As you can imagine, it's very inconsistent. But we keep on trying and make best with what we have! We really hope to invest in an off-set smoker when we can.

We so far have smoked:
 

Beef Ribs
Beef Brisket
Baby Back Ribs
Ox Tails
Proscuitto Wrapped Camembert Cheese
Chicken
Here are some of our photos:

Bologna:












Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 18.05.09.png



__ londonfog
__ Apr 6, 2017


















Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 18.30.43.png



__ londonfog
__ Apr 6, 2017






Beech Smoked Beef Brisket:













Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 18.31.52.png



__ londonfog
__ Apr 6, 2017






Smoked Ox Tails:












Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 18.32.15.png



__ londonfog
__ Apr 6, 2017






Beef Rib:












Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 18.34.10.png



__ londonfog
__ Apr 6, 2017






Baby Back Pork Ribs:












Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 18.33.47.png



__ londonfog
__ Apr 6, 2017






Smoked Sausages (for snacking with beer!!)












Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 18.35.00.png



__ londonfog
__ Apr 6, 2017






Pleasure to meet all of you, loving this forum already and can't wait to check out what everyone has to offer!


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## joel75

Hello and welcome along,pretty new on here myself lots to learn!..Really professional looking photos!..jo


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## bigsoftmoose

Some good looking scran there... welcome

I would warn you that this site is addictive... so many good things to eat, and so much stuff to build

I made atomic buffallo turds for the first time the other day ... except that i couldnt get any big jalepenos so i use sweet peppers, and they were more like non atomic... so NABTs :D

and my friends  look at me very strangely when i tell them i'm rolling a fatty - opinion seems split on whether its recreation drug abuse i'm talking about, or mugging overweight people  :D


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## joel75

Love it!..Atomic buffalo turds??..Is there a link..


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## bigsoftmoose

better than that - there's a whole board

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/176/abts


----------



## kitobi

hi all

I'm Andy and have recently joined after taking the plunge and bought a new BBQ/smoker when our old barrel type died a rusty death.

im 46 married with a young son, varied career so far 10 years military, 19 years NHS and about to commence a new role in local law enforcement  in about 2 weeks time.

I currently have a new char griller super pro sat in the back patio with the optional side fire box attached but it has yet to be used or seasoned until I can get a break in my work schedule to do it properly and add the important chimney mods before I light it up.

I'm interested in making my own bacon as well as the massive variety of long slow smoked/cooked meats I have been reading about.

that's it for now, I'm sure I will be thinking up plenty of questions very soon

Andy


----------



## smokin monkey

Andy, be warned, once you start making your own Bacon, there's no going back!

Here's a link to my Cook Book, this has my attempt at Bacon.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/253497/the-smokin-monkey-cook-book


----------



## kitobi

thank you mate ill take a very close look at that info.

cant wait to try a "proper" piece of bacon instead of the water and chemical injected rubbish that passes for food these days

ooh and I get to leave the rind on, the BEST bit by far


----------



## smokin monkey

Try it, and you will not buy Supermarket Bacon again.


----------



## wade

You may also find this helpful


----------



## kitobi

thank you wade

that was a fantastic read and I cant wait for payday to get experimenting. I have just hot smoked some chicken with Applewood and a rub from here it is divine.

some tweaks need to be made to the smoker before I also try again need to be made.

all in all I'm very happy :)


----------



## kitobi

duplicate oops


----------



## daz shadforth

.


----------



## chriss5471

Good Afternoon all!

I am Chris and I'm from Staffordshire, I live in a house with no mains gas so I am use to controlling real fires including having a Rayburn that takes solid fuel to cook on!  I wanted to get into smoking a year ago so I got myself an Aldi offset smoker BBQ only to find this was a mistake as getting up to temperature and maintaining temp is near impossible due to leakage. 

So now my adventure starts again and I am looking to get something reasonably priced to start on (would prefer it to be charcoal based) although I'm guessing for my budget that would be the only place to start!  

In the future my journey will take me to a more permanent garden solution however I know I will be moving house at least twice over the next few years then for now I want something a bit more flexible!


----------



## smokin monkey

HI Chris, Welcome to the UK Group.

What are your DIY skills like?


----------



## scottex

Texan living in Scotland(Aberdeenshire) for over 35 years and have been the goto BBQ dude by friends and family and work colleagues. Have done many different events from small friends & family events to larger company does! Have done the gammet - whole gog, ribs - beef & pork, steak of course(although have moved to a cast iron for the amazing grass fed beef here in Scotland - both Black Angus & Highland Cues (doric for cows - wife is a Scottish Lassie / Quine) - the highland breed is an amazing taste sensation if you ever get a chance to try it. Done fish, seafood, game, turkey, chicken(we hav great availabilty of free range poultry, and duck!

Currently have a "homemade" grill / BBQ / smoker, 12' long made from 32" casing with a smoke box for large events, A weber for a quick grill and an original Bradley 4 rack smoker with add on PID that i use for most of the smoking I do now! The only hassle over here is getting easy availability of different wood types especially mesquite!

Anyway doing smoked meatloaf this weekend!


----------



## smokin monkey

HI Scotex, welcome to the forum, and especially the UK Group.

Looks like you have a long history of BBQ! Look forward to seeing some of your Q's.


----------



## fubarphill

Hi all, just joined so thought I would introduce myself.

I'm Phill and I'm living in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs.

I'm fresh meat (pun intended) when it comes to smoking and looking to get my first smoker in the next few days/weeks. Been researching for a while but it's a bit of a minefield - I think I have decided on a vertical smoker as opposed to offset as I've read they are simpler for a novice to maintain temps etc. Been looking at the ProQ stuff and almost set on one of them but I have been wondering if the Callow is worth a punt considering how cheap it is and Wade's (mostly) positive review and would give me more funds with the difference to splurge on a good wireless thermometer and other accessories.

This forum has already proved very useful with my research so thanks everyone for that!


----------



## smokin monkey

Hi Phil , 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.

Lots of members use vertical smokers, so plenty of advice available here.

We are getting close to our annual UK Smokes weekend, where members attend and cooked over the weekend. The dates are 21st - 23rd July 2017.  Please use the link below to view the website.

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

From what Wade has informed me Callow might be attending the event.
Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]


----------



## thorne uk

Hello all

Smokin Monkey pointed me in the direction of this UK roll call. So thought i'd say hello.

Looking to get an 'entry level' offset smoker within a week or two and get started.

Based in Southend, Essex


----------



## smokin monkey

Once again welcome Thorne.


----------



## davidbondy

Hello (again) everyone!

I discovered Texas BBQ when I lived in Austin about thirty years ago and used to go to Poke-e-Joe's frequently. Since then I've spent a lot of time in Raleigh and discovered NC BBQ but I'm not so keen on the BBQ sauce from that part of the world. On a business trip to Overland Park, KS, I had burnt ends at Jack Stack and they were so delicious!

I've been BBQ'ing myself for years on a Cypriot Foukou rotisserie barbecue. I mainly cook pork souvla in the Greek style but also chicken and even goose over charcoal.

I've recently bought an 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in to cooking outdoors for the summer. So far, I have made pork belly burnt ends (Malcolm Reed's recipe) and Meathead's Last Meal Ribs.  All came out absolutely first class.

I have pimped my WSM somewhat and it just gets better and better!

Thanks for reading this!


----------



## smokin monkey

Welcome David.


----------



## the big fella

hello all. i found the smoking forum from a facebook link that was pushed over to me. from there i found the uk side of it.  sorry boss but when i first saw the americian side front page i discounted the forum, i appoligise for that one.

any waay i am a fifty year old newbie, i have never done anything other than burn sausages and frozen cheap and nasty burgers ontop of self lighting petrol filled charcoal bricks and never enjoyed any of it ever.

a friend recently gave me a very grotty old lift shelf type charcoal grill with a lid and that started me on the slippery slope towards bbq  heaven.

i still only have that grill and its a small one at that but suits the two person cooking i want to do.

i do have a decent bag of charcoal to go in it and a couple of small lumps of oak blocks to go in with those as well.

i would like to get a seperate smoke box bbq but at the moment we mainly grill every thing and have not the equipment to go slow and low

as a newbie i wont be spending out on any thing just yet, rubs and sauces will be small quantity home made ones and i wont be buying any million pound bbqs for a while yet as i dont know what i want from it or the different styles.

as for future posts for now i shall wander off and start in the search button sections and do some research and then come back once i know what i want to get.

burnt offerings for now pete


----------



## wade

DavidBondy said:


> Hello (again) everyone!
> 
> I discovered Texas BBQ when I lived in Austin about thirty years ago and used to go to Poke-e-Joe's frequently. Since then I've spent a lot of time in Raleigh and discovered NC BBQ but I'm not so keen on the BBQ sauce from that part of the world. On a business trip to Overland Park, KS, I had burnt ends at Jack Stack and they were so delicious!
> 
> I've been BBQ'ing myself for years on a Cypriot Foukou rotisserie barbecue. I mainly cook pork souvla in the Greek style but also chicken and even goose over charcoal.
> 
> I've recently bought an 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in to cooking outdoors for the summer. So far, I have made pork belly burnt ends (Malcolm Reed's recipe) and Meathead's Last Meal Ribs.  All came out absolutely first class.
> 
> I have pimped my WSM somewhat and it just gets better and better!
> 
> Thanks for reading this!


Hi David. Welcome to the forum from another Kent smoker


----------



## wade

the big fella said:


> hello all. i found the smoking forum from a facebook link that was pushed over to me. from there i found the uk side of it.  sorry boss but when i first saw the americian side front page i discounted the forum, i appoligise for that one.
> 
> any waay i am a fifty year old newbie, i have never done anything other than burn sausages and frozen cheap and nasty burgers ontop of self lighting petrol filled charcoal bricks and never enjoyed any of it ever.
> 
> a friend recently gave me a very grotty old lift shelf type charcoal grill with a lid and that started me on the slippery slope towards bbq  heaven.
> 
> i still only have that grill and its a small one at that but suits the two person cooking i want to do.
> 
> i do have a decent bag of charcoal to go in it and a couple of small lumps of oak blocks to go in with those as well.
> 
> i would like to get a seperate smoke box bbq but at the moment we mainly grill every thing and have not the equipment to go slow and low
> 
> as a newbie i wont be spending out on any thing just yet, rubs and sauces will be small quantity home made ones and i wont be buying any million pound bbqs for a while yet as i dont know what i want from it or the different styles.
> 
> as for future posts for now i shall wander off and start in the search button sections and do some research and then come back once i know what i want to get.
> 
> burnt offerings for now pete


Hi Pete

It is always best to start out slowly. The two things I would suggest that you invest in first are:

A Weber 57cm Kettle BBQ (or equivalent. This is great for grilling and also for low and slow smoking too. The Weber has excellent temperature control and is a good size for 2 people.
A twin probe digital thermometer - maybe an ET-732. These really help you to keep manage your BBQ cooking.
Cheers

Wade

p.s. The ET-732s do to taste very good when they are smoked !!!













ET-732 (2).jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 11, 2017


















ET-732 (1).jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 11, 2017


----------



## mjm75

Hi,
I'm martin, I live near a small town called Bourne in LINCOLNSHIRE.

I have been bbqing for many years but smoking is a new venture, I went straight in the deep end with a Oklahoma joe, which I have been furiously modifying.

2nd cook this weekend with some ribs for a Father's Day BBQ. And I have a brisket and butt on order from T&G.

Looking forward to picking your brains as I make my mistakes.....

M.


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## mjm75

Hi,

I know this is an old post, but you can buy that charcoal in bookers for the same price!

And know minimum order quantities.

I was going to get a bag today but wasn't sure of the quality, I've been using big k up till now, how does it compare?


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## davidbondy

Hi Martin and a very warm welcome from sunny Kent! 

David


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## wade

We just need someone else from Kent and we will have a quorum


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## tbyrd2000

Hi, 

New to the group (and whole forum).

I'm David, live just outside Bristol in a town few people have heard of but with a famous neighbour. 

I have a Bradley digital smoker, (a gift for my 50th), which seemed the right choice for a lazy man like me. Done a few things in it so aware of its drawbacks but have had some very pleasant results so far.

I'm also into meat curing and have built my own curing chamber which I'm having fun keeping the humidity levels right on in our current 'summer' weather.

Always open to advice and suggestions and constantly looking for good recipes for both smoking and curing and looking forward to seeing the discussions going on in here.


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## valve90210

Wade said:


> We just need someone else from Kent and we will have a quorum


Another new member from Kent here!! :)

I've signed up having been pointed in this direction by none other than Wade!

I'm Scott, I'm a beginner in the world of smoking having done a two day course last year run by Wade and having had my eyes opened to world of low and slow and the joys of smoking.

I got myself a Callow smoker earlier in the  year and have been dabbling since then with a view to doing a lot more with it as the summer rolls on.

I'm using a ThermoPro TP-08 for my temperatures and am considering also picking up a Inkbird IBT-2X to allow me to measure additional meats.


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## wade

Hi Scott - Good to see you and welcome to the forum. I am glad that you were inspired on the course 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. Looking forward to seeing posts of some of your cooks. Don't forget that we like lots of photos...


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## smokin monkey

HI Scott, welcome to the Group. Not sure it's a good or bad thing knowing Wade, and being instructed by him?! :-))


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## wade

You are only jealous Steve because you failed the entrance exam


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## smokin monkey

I turned up at the address you gave me, but they had never heard of you or your courses. It was the Vegan Society HQ though.


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## smokin monkey

tbyrd2000 said:


> Hi,
> 
> New to the group (and whole forum).
> 
> I'm David, live just outside Bristol in a town few people have heard of but with a famous neighbour.



Hi David welcome to the UK Group


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## stuarty84

Hi Guys,

New member here from Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland. I'm no expert at smoking but I can do a pretty good job on my UDS!

Any other NI members on here?

Stu


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## tomtit

Hi all
Really pleased to have found this group! I'm from Birmingham uk and am a huge fan of smoked food, I bought myself a basic Brinkman charcoal smoker a few years ago and have made some nice food with it, but I always fail with low and slow pieces like pulled pork and brisket, always way too dry and burnt, I have very little spare time due to work and family commitments and have been looking into electric smokers for convenience but not sure which way to turn, I know my prep work needs improving but I'm not sure where to start


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## smokin monkey

Hi Tomtit, first of all welcome to the UK Group.

I do not own or used the type of smoker you are talking about, but, it's seems to me that you are having trouble keeping a steady temperature.

When you cook you Pork and Brisket, what temperature are you running at? Are you using the fitted temperature gauge.

Are you taking the IT (internal temperature) of the meat to see if it's cooked, or are you cooking to a time?

All the questions will help us, to get you cooking perfect meat.


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## tomtit

I'm afraid I started with very little knowledge and have been putting a basic rub on the meat and hoping for the best, my smoker has a simple temperature gauge that basically reads "too cold" "ideal" and "too hot", I think I need to start again from scratch, think I may have come to the right place!


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## smokin monkey

First off, forget the built in gauge they can be 20-30'C out, plus they are not reading the temperature at the point of cooking.

Get yourself a dual probe thermometer, something like a Maverick. On probe goes on the grate for the pit temperature and the other inserted into the meat for meat temperature.

Are you managing to control the temperature?

Do a search in the search not for Jeffs 5 day course, this will give you a good insight into Low & Slow.


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## tomtit

I've done no temperature control at all, just keep topping charcoal up, I've signed up for the 5 day course and will have a look at the thermometer you mentioned, looking forward to doing it properly!


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## smokin monkey

Over cooked dry meats, burning lots of fuel, is a sure indication that your vents are wide open and running too hot.

The course will help you, then we can advise you.


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## tomtit

No vents on it as far as I know? I'll follow the course and report back, cheers


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## wade

Is it the Brinkmann Smoke and Grill? That is the one most commonly bought here in the UK. If so, it is not really a smoker that lends itself to smoking low and slow out of the box and requires some significant mods to make the temperature controllable. If it is the model it has no air real management other than some have a top vent - the air intake is a gap all around the bottom of the fire box. They are really designed for hot smoke roasting and by using the top vent will maintain a temperature of about 160-180 C without too much effort.

Without that air control you cannot sufficiently regulate the smoker internal temperature. If you look online you will see that there are mods that you can make to the smoker to give you more control for the Low and Slow cooking but you have to really ask yourself if it is worth the effort. 

The most effective way to progress with your smoking is really to replace your smoker - or more accurately add an additional smoker to the one you already own. For versatility a good quality 57cm kettle BBQ will give you what you are looking for at a very reasonable price. Look on ebay and you can often pick up a second hand Weber for £30-£40 and some of the larger garden centres often sell them off cheap at the end of the season. One of the guys who was at the smoking weekend this weekend picked up a second hand no-name kettle BBQ for £10 and cooked some great pulled pork on it.

Another option is the Callow bullet smoker at about £85. The guy who designed and imports the Callow actually used to sell Brinkmann smokers and so he has designed an entry level smoker that is aimed as a similar price point - but without the Brinkmann limitations.

With the Kettle BBQ you can obviously grill.

By putting the lit coals at either side of the coal grate and cooking using over the middle using indirect heat you can hot roast - similar to the Brinkmann

By making a snake of unlit coals at one side if the coal grate and letting it slowly smolder you can easily maintain a cooking temperature of about 110 C for 6-8+ hours for your brisket, ribs or pulled pork.













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A couple of tips when cooking any meat low and slow...

You only really benefit from the smoke for the first 3 hours or so. After about 3 hours wrap the meat in foil for the remainder of the cook and it will stay moist inside.

At the end of the cooking time leave it to rest in several layers of foil for at least an hour. It will continue to cook and will be very moist when it is cut.


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## tomtit

Hi Wade
Thanks for your reply! I am willing to upgrade my smoker and try whatever advice I am lucky enough to be given


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## smokin monkey

I knew Wade, would be able to point you in the right direction.


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## milkybardave

Hi All

Pointed in this direction by Smokin Monkey (Thanks for the warm welcome)

Dave here, new to the smoking scene, but looking to pick up some tips and ideas.

Using a Landman offset smoker, Jumbuck 57cm Kettle, Jumbuck rotisserie & Swiss Grill gas BBQ.

Interested in hot & cold smoking (the problem with this is that I want to try everything... NOW)!

Also have the added advantage of working for a wholesale & catering butchers.

Based in Southampton, Hampshire.

Regards

Dave


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## docgreen

Finally managed to work out how to post here. Swinging by after saying hi in main 
Page then got redirected here. 

So hello I'm Marcus. Smoked food for a while on a three draw filing cabinet then upgraded to 
A Bradley digital. Ok yes I know an obs would of been cheaper but that was my only option 
And I'm an impatient sof at the best of times. 

Smoke most weekends since I got it six weeks ago. All the usua stuff for freinds and family. 
Loving the learning curve. Could already cook this has just added a new dimension too
The whole cooking thing we all do. 

Wonderful way to cook food. Never liked paying for it when we went out but now I have a whole 
New outlook on what goes into making good smoked food in a little less tight. Lol. 

Seems I have to work this place out can't even see how to post pics right now. 

Have a smokey day people. Peace [emoji]9996[/emoji]️[emoji]9996[/emoji]️


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## docgreen

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A few pics I was told you love a picture so here is a welcoming few from the many I have. Lol


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## smokin monkey

Milkybardave said:


> Hi All
> 
> Pointed in this direction by Smokin Monkey (Thanks for the warm welcome)
> 
> Dave here, new to the smoking scene, but looking to pick up some tips and ideas.
> Using a Landman offset smoker, Jumbuck 57cm Kettle, Jumbuck rotisserie & Swiss Grill gas BBQ.
> 
> Interested in hot & cold smoking (the problem with this is that I want to try everything... NOW)!
> 
> Also have the added advantage of working for a wholesale & catering butchers.
> 
> Based in Southampton, Hampshire.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Dave



HI Dave welcome to the UK Group.

Plenty of time to try all aspects of smoking.

You certainly have an advantage over most, working for a catering butcher!


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## smokin monkey

Hi Doc, we certainly do like Pictures and your look great. Turning out some good looking food from the Bradley!


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## amy may

Hi everyone again! I seem to have posted my intro in the wrong place! Sorry! I will try again!

I am from Hampshire originally and have lived in Tokyo for decades. I came to bacon making as I was unable to eat the disgusting stuff they called bacon available in supermarkets here. (that's also the reason I became a baker -- couldn't eat the soft spongy stuff they called English Bread and needed to make hot cross buns!)

I almost exclusively smoke streaky bacon. I have developed my own method over the years, which is basically a dry rub consisting of roughly a level tablespoon of salt to each 400g of meat, a little less than half the quantity of sugar and these days sometimes the appropriate amount of prague powder. I used to add different types of dried herbs , juniper berries etc, but I don't find a significant difference in taste. I apply the rub, wrap the meat and leave in the fridge for a week. Then I unwrap it, and let it dry for a day or so before smoking on a tall stove top smoker for about 40 mins for the smoky flavour. I have to smoke at night, as I live on the ground floor of an apartment building, and don't want to risk complaints about smoky laundry! 

I  want to make back bacon. I have experimented but it usually comes out rather dry.Any tips would be welcome!

I also want to move on to small hams.. One of the challenges here is that it is impossible to get meat on the bone, or meat with the skin still on. I am always looking for good recipes for small pieces of meat. 

Current mission -- find a bacon slicer which is not too expensive, not massive, and is easy to use. I had a hand driven foldable one, but it didn't do the job very well.

Amy May


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## homeruk

Welcome to the forum Amy


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## Sam Shepherd

Would just like to say hi from not so sunny Devon!


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## RandyinNI

Hi my name is Randy.  I live in Northern Ireland.  I am originally from the states (Kansas).  I started out with a charcoal grill and would add wood chunks.  Then I upgraded to a green mountain pellet smoker but had to sell since moved to uk.  I just recently bought an offset smoker from amazon and trying to master it now.  The main thing is maintaining heat and keep fore going.  Any tips would be appreciated.  I am using ash wood logs and charcoal.


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## smokin monkey

RandyinNI said:


> Hi my name is Randy.  I live in Northern Ireland.  I am originally from the states (Kansas).  I started out with a charcoal grill and would add wood chunks.  Then I upgraded to a green mountain pellet smoker but had to sell since moved to uk.  I just recently bought an offset smoker from amazon and trying to master it now.  The main thing is maintaining heat and keep fore going.  Any tips would be appreciated.  I am using ash wood logs and charcoal.



Hi Randy welcome to the UK Group!


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## mooneh

Hi guys
UK south west here.
Pretty new to smoking - with a 47 WSM purchased a couple of months ago. Lots of youtube has been viewed.
I've run quite a few (probably about 10?) smokes on it, mostly minion with apple wood chunks and some chips sometimes.
Have done quite a few sets of ribs, pork shoulder, chicken thighs, beef hot dogs, beans, wings and a few packer briskets I've got from bookers.
I've a remote probe for temps which is a godsend.
Still learning the ropes to be honest - I think I've got it down but then next time comes around and I get some different (worse) results!

More practice required.

Currently looking (wifey knows...) for an offset to compliment the grill, and thinking of either a modified okie joe (that budget is about £500), a real high-end job from the guys in Essex (this would be £2K+) or a hand-made reverse offset from someone on Facebook.... which I'm leaning towards...

Pic or it didn't happen







Nice to meet you all :)


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## homeruk

hi and welcome to the forum
looks like some pretty tasty food you have cooked up there!
do you get the packer cut of brisket as a special from bookers as i have only seen flats or points separate and never actually get to see a butcher when there or have them answer the phone when i call..guess this is a regional thing..ie useless in london :)
have you looked into importing your own smoker from the manufacturer in china..same gear just no brand badge?
im importing a kamado at the moment..tracking the ship onlineo_O from the manufacturer that make them for wallmart/costco, is a huge saving on the rrp


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## mooneh

Hiya! thanks for the reply.
It was tasty but didn't last long hahah

I asked the butcher in Bookers - they can order pretty much anything. I had to purchase a whole box of briskets to get them whole - they are called 'flat brisket' instead of the usual rolled kind. 

I think they were £6.50 a kilo - and a box was about £120 or so - with 4 briskets in there... so they're pretty sizable. Not great marbling though.

I haven't looked into importing - how would you go about that!? any sites with info?

Cheers :)


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## homeruk

sent you a message


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## mooneh

Cheers a bunch!!


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## wade

mooneh said:


> I asked the butcher in Bookers - they can order pretty much anything.



The butcher in our local Bookers in Folkestone is always very helpful too. I usually buy their rolled brisket as they are quite large and, if you give them notice, they will watch out for the thickest one and put it by. When they were unrolled they have been excellent so far.


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## wade

Hi Mooneh and welcome to the forum. The WSM is a great smoker and you will cook a lot of good food on there.


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## Artroy

Hi all Roy from Hampshire calling in. First year doing a more serious BBQ thing, and loving it. Owner of a beat up old Webber kettle that was rotting in a relitives back garden, and amazed at the results I’m getting out of it! Also the owner of a damn fine Dutch oven! Quite adventurous food wise so always on the look out for the odd and unusual cuts of meat!


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## homeruk

Hi Roy and welcome to the forum
Think you made some typos there ..rotting beat up and old..did you mean well used loved, seasoned and upcycled


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## Artroy

Well it is much loved now and that’s the great thing and looking at a cheep bullet smoker ( perhaps a callow bbq smoker ) so always looking for advice! Also do you guys cook out all year round and if so how should I prepare, winter as they say is coming


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## homeruk

i personally  have a metal bbq pergola type shack to keep the rain off set up in front of a 7ft fence and next to a large shed so keeps some of the cold wind off which helps keeps the temps up and cuts back on the fuel needed, decent range bluetooth thermometer..there are a lot of crap ones out there also sadly, couple of 10 watt led flood lights rigged up and one of those warm tracker hats with the floppy ears as the smokers are at the end of the garden :), been trying to install an intercom to the house from there but the other half is not having it:oops:
thermometer ive found good so far with good range and a decent price ...


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## wade

Hi Roy and welcome to the forum. The Weber Kettle is a great versatile smoker and, as you have found, you can smoke some great food on there. I started off with a couple of Weber kettles and I have only just lost one of them after 17 years of faithful use. Our Christmas turkey has been cooked on the Weber each year for the past 15+ years.
What have you cooked so far and what have you been most pleased with? Any photos?


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## smokin monkey

Hi Roy, welcome to the Forum.


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