I feel quite concerned about the amount of smoke my BBQ gives off. My neighbours are lovely, but I'm not sure how long it'll last!
First problem is starting the Chimney Starter. I use newspaper and it gives off a load of smoke for several minutes. I've done some brief reading on using firelighters/gel. Mostly American. Can anyone recommend some from the UK? Or should I just use a blowtorch/gun? Will it help with reducing smoke?
Second is smoke from fat. Burgers etc. Any way of reducing this? Leaner meat?
The only way to reduce the fat splatter/flareup from burgers and sausages is to have contrail of your bbq. I don't mean this to sound obnoxious or condescending and my apologies if it does. Yes you could spray with water but all that does is cool everything, including the food, down. Far better to have a 2 or even better 3 zone fire and move your food around the zones, one searingly hot, one medium and one with few or no coals in it at all. With practice you will be able to anticipate flare-ups and move the food accordingly. Adverts don't help when they show kettle bbqs full to the brim of lovely searingly hot coals, but where is the cool zone?
Using a full meat i.e. no fat burger or sausage only reduces the flavour of the food IMHO. 15%-20% fat is about as far as I would go 10%-15% is my preference, but this is buying a huge chunk of chuck and rump and trimming and blending it myself. Have a look at bbqu.net and the linked sites, they have great tips and videos of using charcoal bbqs.
keith157 wrote:The only way to reduce the fat splatter/flareup from burgers and sausages is to have contrail of your bbq. I don't mean this to sound obnoxious or condescending and my apologies if it does. Yes you could spray with water but all that does is cool everything, including the food, down. Far better to have a 2 or even better 3 zone fire and move your food around the zones, one searingly hot, one medium and one with few or no coals in it at all. With practice you will be able to anticipate flare-ups and move the food accordingly. Adverts don't help when they show kettle bbqs full to the brim of lovely searingly hot coals, but where is the cool zone?
Using a full meat i.e. no fat burger or sausage only reduces the flavour of the food IMHO. 15%-20% fat is about as far as I would go 10%-15% is my preference, but this is buying a huge chunk of chuck and rump and trimming and blending it myself. Have a look at bbqu.net and the linked sites, they have great tips and videos of using charcoal bbqs.
Hi Keith
I'm not offended by your comments. I understand what you're saying. It was my fault, I got in a bit of a flap. After I took the pork off, I had to add some additional coals and should have waited for everything to stabilise. Unfortunately, people were showing up (hungry).
Aww shucks t'aint nuthin, if'n y'all gets older and ya don'ts lurn nuthink youse wasted that time.
Glad I could be of help, it's supposed to be fun so "make it so"
As Keith says. If you don't want fat flare ups then cook indirect. Also even if you're cooking direct cook with the lid on, that reduces the airflow into the BBQ and in turn will reduce the ferocity of flare ups and smoke. I personally don't bother with a 3 zone setup when grilling, I find that positioning the food closer (but not over) the hot coals gives me a sufficient medium zone. I only cook food over direct heat until it has a crust/colour that I'm happy with then its cooked indirect until it reaches a level of doneness I'm after.
keith157 wrote:Horses for courses Robin, I use your setup for wings, thighs, kievs, sausages etc but a 3 zoner for sheer grilling. They both work
Sure they do. I think with all this things there's always more than one method to get good results and its as much about find a waying of cooking that suits you.
