I was very fortunate to spend a day at Grillstream HQ in Hertfordshire, and was able to cook on the Grillstream Gourmet Grill, I’ve cooked on a fair few gas grills with variable results, and the biggest issue I usually have with them, especially the cheaper models is the heat is uneven and the fats often flare up when they hit the hot surfaces same as the spreader bars above the burners. [Read more…]
As the BBQ scene grows in the UK plenty of new brands are appearing, some from large faceless companies, others from smaller BBQ enthusiasts who are passionate about launching their brand. Quinta Kamado is defintely the latter, and is BBQ fanatic James Mitchell’s entry into the ceramic kamado market. [Read more…]
Pit Barrel Cooker ReviewBBQ’ers tend to fall into two groups, those who like to fiddle with vents and temperatures/timings, and those who like to set their BBQ up nice and simple and leave it running doing “it’s own thing”. [Read more…]
uuni 2 pizza
I recently got the chance to have a play with a friends Uuni 2 Wood Fired Pizza Oven, and thought I’d write up a quick review of my thoughts, having cooked on it. [Read more…]
Big Green Egg Mini Maxi
I’m grateful to Neil Clifton of Pit Smoked BBQ for sharing his thoughts on the Big Green Egg Mini Maxi.
A few have asked for feedback so based on 1 cook – these are my thoughts.
For reference, at home I cook on a Primo Oval XL so I have a couple of years experience of cooking on ceramic bbq’s.
Delivery from Alfresco Concepts was 4 days including a weekend.
Assembly – 25 minutes.
Build Quality – superb finish on the metal brackets. Good solid gauge material and nice finish with the wooden handle on The Egg itself.
Big Green Egg Mini Maxi
Lighting – my preferred method is chimney starter so no influence from The Egg, however, I did start by lighting some restaurant grade charcoal in the The Egg and ironically it was the largest chunks of the last 12 months so did take a little to get going in a smaller firebox.
Big Green Egg Mini Maxi
Temperature stability – Just as easy as the Primo to hold at a specific temperature and really easy to ramp up the temp if required.
Portability – It is fairly heavy which is what you would expect from ceramic BBQ but not so much that it would prevent it being mobile. While it would be too heavy to take to the beach – it certainly shouldn’t deter you if you plan to use it when caravanning (several have suggested their purchase may be for this reason)
Re-action from non-bbqers (you are on this forum because you love BBQ but, unbelievably there are some people whose world doesn’t revolve around it! – my business partner, who, by his own admission isn’t a cook loved the idea of the minimax – he felt the size would be ideal for a family get together but may put off by the price for an occasion ‘que.
In conclusion, the look is better than the Primo, the build quality is just as good. For midweek BBQing I will be using The Egg – less fuel needed and gets to temp quicker. Otherwise it has all the other benefits of a ceramic BBQ.
Price : £550 RRP
Thanks Neil, looks a great bit of kit, feel free to visit Pit Smoked BBQ Facebook Page
Hibachi Grill
One of the many questions that gets asked in the CountryWoodSmoke Facebook Group by people new to BBQ and smoking is should I get a gas BBQ or a charcoal BBQ, and many people in the UK use both.
For a great majority of people looking to cook up the traditional BBQ food here in the UK of sausages, burgers and chicken, then either will work ok, there are ways you can achieve a smokiness to your food, see this article on turning your gas BBQ into a smoker. Many people find the ease of lighting a gas BBQ attractive, and this is a choice.
But to achieve the best results, I believe there is only one real choice for most of us, cooking with charcoal, the dry heat you get with charcoal, crisps meat, fish and veg beautifully, you can smoke and get results that have a magic gas just can’t reproduce. And these days there are plenty of quick lighting options such as chimney starters and blower starters such as the looftlighter that can have your charcoal BBQ up and running in a few minutes.
At the end of the day, the choice is yours, but once you try a few smoky recipes, you’ll want to get cooking on charcoal and produce BBQ with real magic…..
There’s many different types of BBQ and Grill available Charcoal, Gas, Electric.
Here you will find advice and reviews on some of the equipment available here in the U.K.
