Tag: bbq

June 4, 2011
Earlier, I posted about my plans to build a digital controller for my Traeger pellet grill using the Arduino open source microcontroller board.

I’m new to the Arduino (although not to programming), so my first step was to buy a simple Arduino experimenter’s kit and do some general non-BBQ projects, to familiarise myself with the kit and its capabilities. This is still ongoing. I made a point only to buy the Arduino kit, and not the add-ons I might later require, such as the WiFi and LCD Screen options – doing so means I will learn to walk before I run, and limits my spend, in case the project doesn’t fly.

May 28, 2011
Had 4 of my board gaming buddies around today for an all day session of Android. It’s a wonderful but complex game, set in a “Blade Runner” type world. I was providing lunch, but I wanted something that I could prepare in advance, and require a minimum of attention while we were playing.

I read a nice recipe for loin of pork, where it is cooked on a bed of cooking apples, which go to make the sauce. I liked the sound of this, so I looked for a loin yesterday, but they were all quite small. In the end I bought one that might feed a family of 4, so I also bought a tenderloin, which was on offer.

May 15, 2011
Yesterday was the first time I used my pellet grill to cater for my board-game group. It was the regular “Second Saturday” meet, and we had 11 people attend.

I had planned to do just bangers and burgers, the usual fare, but instead of grilling, I was going to slow cook them on “smoke” setting. This would be a bit different from what I had served before from my Weber kettle, and should also mean that when we broke for lunch, the food would all be ready.

May 11, 2011
Is anyone else (who reads this) playing with Arduino? It’s a kind of open source electronics kit.

I’ve just ordered the StartFun Inventor’s Kit to get me going, which is a heap of varied components together with an Arduino Uno controller – an easily programmable microcontroller. It looks a lot of fun, and it is possible to build quite a bit of stuff with a minimum of soldering, which suits me. It means I can play away developing my prototype, then call in a friend with a steadier hand when I have something worth building.

April 21, 2011
I realised at lunchtime that I had sausagemeat in the fridge that needed to be used up, and I am away for the weekend.

So I thought I would have a try at making a fatty. A fatty is a large sausage-like object, made from sausage or luncheon meat, and smoked. They can be as simple as a log of sausage covered in rub, or wrapped in bacon, or they can have all sorts of fillings.

April 21, 2011
I may have mentioned, that while I was in San Francisco, I went on a sourdough hunt. I’ve baked my own version of sourdough before, but to have the genuine article would be wonderful.

[caption id="attachment_860" align="alignright" width="320" caption="Proved Loaves Ready For Baking"][/caption]
April 18, 2011
On a brighter note, I took my smoker out of storage this weekend, and found it a semi-permanent home in the garden, which means I will get a whole lot more use out of it.

Although I have used it quite a bit for smoking and slow cooking, I haven’t done a lot of straight grilling on it. So this weekend I experimented with all manner of burgers, sausages and chicken, until I got a feel for the temperature ranges and timings.

April 10, 2011
I love how different hobbies come together in your life.

I’ve been going through papers and stuff from my trip to Consonance and I came across this filk, which I had forgotten about. Early on at the convention, I mentioned that I was interested in barbecue, and after that, it became a popular topic of conversation.

October 7, 2010
October 2, 2010
September 29, 2010
After lunch, I wasn’t feeling too bad, and it was quite a nice day, so I thought I would take a look at the grill.

I got it assembled without too many problems. Noticed a couple of spots that need touching up with paint, but nothing horrendous. These grills are basically ex-demo – they have never been cooked on, but they have been standing around, and to be honest, I expected more dings than there are. Of course, that is what got me the superb price, and I won’t obsess about scratching/denting my new toy, because it comes already christened. This is good – with my Weber kettle, I’ve been wanting to fit a dome thermometer for a couple of years, but couldn’t bring myself to drill the shiny new(ish) thing. With this, I’ll have no hesitation about making any minor changes I think of.

September 28, 2010
Having postponed my trip down to Kent on Friday, due to being ill, I decided to give it a go yesterday, as I was feeling a little better.

Ashford looks a lot closer on the map, than it is – 3 hours drive there, and 3 hours back. But it was mostly motorway, and easy driving. Having got on the road just belfore 11am, I arrived at the American BBQ Company just after 2, and Jackie had my new pellet grill out ready to show me. It is mostly preassembled, all I have to do is fix the pellet hopper to the BBQ unit (4 bolts), and fix on the chimney (4 bolts) and I am ready.