Tag: bbq

November 18, 2022
September 21, 2017
February 25, 2013
Yesterday, I had friends round to play boardgames, and I planned to cook some burgers, as it is fairly effortless with the pellet grill, and doesn’t keep me away from the games table.

Mindful of what I said on Saturday, I visited my butcher, only to be told they had had a big run on their beef burgers, presumably by others defecting from the supermarkets. I could come back later when they had made some more; I could buy some mince and make my own; or they had some pork and apple burgers.

December 2, 2012
There’s been a couple of nice days lately, but I’ve either been working, or – if not – haven’t gotten up and about in time to make the most of it.

Today was predicted to be sunny, so I had an early night, and was up by 8:45.

Job number one was to put two pork shoulders on the smoker.

November 22, 2012
Well, disaster is not quite accurate – back in September, I mentioned that I had been disappointed by some pulled pork I’d cooked, which turned out too salty. I froze it in 3 pouches, and decided to leave it for another day to worry about.

On Tuesday night, I took a pouch out to defrost overnight in the fridge, planning to do something with it for Wednesday tea. However, Wednesday lunchtime found me with nothing else in the fridge, and it was pouring outside, so a trip to the shops was out of the question.

September 5, 2012
So I finished cooking the pulled pork last night, and it pulled fine. However, I soon ran into a problem. On first taste, it seemed ok, but then I was reaching for a drink. Somehow, I had managed to overseason it – not hot, but just very salty.

I suspect it is a (commercial) rub that I used, that I hadn’t used previously. Had another roll for lunch, after an overnight in the fridge, and it is no different. Pleasant tasting at first, but overbearingly salty.

September 4, 2012
I haven’t done much recreational cooking recently. A mixture of being busy, bad weather and not having a working fridge-freezer.

I finally got my act together last week and made some pulled pork, using a couple of inexpensive rolled pork shoulders from Tescos, rather than the bone in joint that my recipe calls for. I adjusted a few things, and foil-wrapped the joints once they had had a good six hours exposure to smoke, and they came out very good. I ate quite a bit – in rolls, with salad, on pizza, but I also gave away some good-sized portions to some of my board-gaming pals.

July 16, 2012
A while back (before I bought the cheap ceramic) I said that I really didn’t need another grill.

But I was in the local Van Hage garden centre today, and they had 25% off everything. Including the Weber Smokey Joe Premium, at £40.50. It is a neat little grill, perfect for cooking just a couple of burgers or steaks.

June 25, 2012
As those of you who know me will know, I hang out on a couple of BBQ forums. Generally speaking they are a source of good information, but there are two kinds of posters who I find frustating.

1) Someone who comes on asking for advice on buying a decent grill on a budget. They get lots of good suggestions, from a variety of knowledgeable posters, all which meet their budget. They then later post that they went to B&Q or Homebase and bought a piece of crap that you know isn’t going to make it through the summer. Why did they post asking for advice in the first time? I’m not sure.

June 1, 2012
I am just off on a little road trip, what makes it exciting is it is the first proper outing for the Berlingo.

First a trip down to Wiltshire, to visit and for the afternoon, and exchange a guitar for some gaming books; then a drive back to Reading to collect another “Lil’ Tex” Pellet Cooker, just like my own.

May 24, 2012
I cooked some ribs yesterday, and they were awful – nice flavour, but just too tough. I tried a couple and gave up on them.

This may sound heretical for someone who plays with BBQ, but I am actually not a fan of ribs – or anything that you nibble from a bone, for that matter; such as wings or drumsticks. If I can’t put it in a bun, or stick a fork in it, I’m not really interested.

April 18, 2012
News about my new Kamado ceramic grill.

Had friends round for boardgaming on Saturday, so enlisted some help on lifting the heavy main unit onto the wheeled stand. Completed the rest of the assembly last night, and poured in some charcoal to give it a first burn – not cooking anything, as the purpose of this is to burn off any nasties from the manufacturing process and season it.