If you are cooking big cuts of BBQ frequently it’s likely you will end up with leftovers, and I used to stuff these into freezer bags and stick them in the freezer ready to reheat.
Audew Vacuum Sealer
Blazaball
Ever lit a fire and in your usual way using wax coils or firelighters just to come back and find it’s snuffed out? Especially if you are dumping more unlit fuel on top which can just starve all the oxygen and suffocate the flames. Well there is an answer and you’d be surprised how simple it is but, as with many simple things it’s also super effective. Well let us introduce you to the Blazaball.
[Read more…]La Hacienda Swing Grill
Get Swinging…
A swing grill is a very useful bit of kit to cook with, you can cook over a range of heat sources, a firepit as above, a campfire, or a grill, having a good height makes all the difference and gives you plenty of options for cooking at a range of heights.
[Read more…]EcoFlares
Lighting BBQ’s and fires always used to be about pieces of scrunched up newspaper and lighter fluid or even those little white cubes you got from the petrol station. But, things have changed in recent years with new ways of getting the BBQ going including electric gadgets to fan hot air onto the coals. But just as all these things became popular people also started looking for cleaner and more eco friendly ways to light the fires.
So along comes Ecoflares. Essentially small strips of wood wool wound together into a sort of coil shape and then covered in wax to help with both ignition and to make them semi waterproof. Similar products have popped up in a few stores now under different brand names but with little detail on origin etc but, Ecoflares could be considered to be a kind of premium version. I’ve opened other brands bags before and found some coils that have unraveled and some that look like they have been put on a diet and are too small. And a lot that have completely fallen apart and sit in the bottom of the bag as unusable strips of wood.
With Ecoflares you get nice big fat bundles mostly of a similar size and you can see immediately that you are going to get a better burn time from them which is what it’s all about. The longer and bigger the initial flame the quicker the fuel around them will ignite and the fire will spread. I have used these for a number of cooks now and have been impressed with the way they burn and how long for. They even burnt for long enough to get some briquettes going in a chimney starter which I was really pleased with. Ecoflares are a UK based company and they use locally sourced FSC certified wood from renewable and sustainable sources and their product is 100% biodegradable.
The guys at Ecoflares have been very kind in offering a discount code for anyone who wants to give them a try and, at time of writing, there is already a reduction on the boxes of 200 on their site whilst they wait for stock of the small pack; but the code ECOFLARES110 will bag you an additional 10% off the already reduced price. Not bad. Head over to their website for more information and to take advantage of the discounts www.eco-flares.com
All codes live at time of writing. The Ecoflares product was supplied free of charge to be used and reviewed but I am free to voice my own and honest opinions on them.
Artust
Twitter : @ArtustBBQ
Instagram: @artustbbq
Inkbird IBT-2X Bluetooth BBQ Thermometer
Inkbird Dual Probe Thermometer
I’ve tired out plenty of wireless thermometers, and often the build quality lets them down, for me the simpler the better with a bit of kit like this, and let the software on the device do the majority of stuff. The Inkbird IBT-2X is certainly a good price for a bluetooth thermometer, coming in at £23.95 including delivery, simple, easy to use, very easy to connect to your bluetooth enabled device. [Read more…]
Flame Boss 300 and Smokeware Kamado Joe Upgrades
Flame Boss 300 arrives in UK
I like to try to keep up with new bits of outdoor cooking and BBQ kit arriving in the UK, so when I was asked to review the Flame Boss 300 that has just come out, I jumped at the opportunity. It is a WiFi enabled pit controller, that monitors the smoker temperature and adjusts a fan accordingly, it has a smoker temperature probe, and a meat probe, but the great thing about the Flame Boss 300 is that an extra 2, so a total of 3 meat probes and a smoker probe can be used, by utilising the extra Y-splitters available.
I’m looking at tidying up my old and well used Kamado Joe, so was very happy to try out the Smokeware Chimney Cap, a matt 304 grade stainless replacement for the Kamado Joe daisywheel assembly, mine has seen better days. Also a nomex Kamado Joe gasket replacement, mine is well overdue to be replaced.
I will be adding to this review as I get this all set up, so make sure to check back….
All now available in the UK from BBQ and Smoke https://www.bbqandsmoke.co.uk
Ok so I’ve been using the upgrades now for a few smokes, and I’m loving them, they have given a tired old Kamado Joe a new lease of life, the new seals and cap make temperatures more stable and keep efficiency, and the Flame Boss 300 with it’s Wifi control and monitoring bring the KJ right up to date. Here’s the latest vid of my thoughts and experiences so far, look out for more updates to this review as I use it further.
Hellfire Pizza Cooker and Grill Set
Hellfire Pizza and Grill Set – Bringing the Outdoors In
As much as I am a huge outdoor cooking nut, I enjoy cozy evenings in front of the indoor BBQ – AKA the Lounge WoodStove, in the depths of winter, sometimes it’s just too tempting to snuggle down in front of the woodstove. I always look at the fire, and think, well if it’s going I may as well cook on it, usually something simple like some marshmallows or chestnuts with the kids, or a nice grown up steak in a cast iron skillet on the embers. But I recently heard about a bit of kit that may well just change how I do cook in the woodstove.
The wonderful indoor Hellfire Pizza and Grill Set from Natural Heating in Norfolk is an inspired idea, you have the fire going so why not cook on it… I love these people…
The set is a cast iron bridge with a grate on top, that comes with a cast iron plate, a pizza stone, a cute little peel and some welders gloves.
I placed the pizza stone on the bridge and placed in my raging hot wood stove. I allowed it to come up to temperature and raked some hot coals underneath which was easy to do.
The temperature of the stone easily reached 350 deg C which I checked with a laser thermometer, and the pizza stone was ready to cook on. I made up some pizza dough, and popped a little 7″ pizza onto the stone. It cooked very quickly in about 2 minutes and had a lovely crisp base. I was amazed how well it worked. The pizzas were lovely.
I’m looking forward to cooking plenty of other things such as steaks and seafood on this lovely bit of kit. There’s two sizes a 7″ at £43.99 and a 9″ for larger stoves at £63.99.
Visit the Natural Heating Website for more info.
How to light a BBQ
Kit to make lighting your BBQ easy
In the video above, I run through a selection of kit available to make lighting your BBQ a bit easier, hopefully there is something here that will be right for you, whether you are home or away. [Read more…]
Green Olive Firewood Co.
Green Olive Firewood Co. Charcoal and cooking wood
I’ve been going through a bit of a different phase in the charcoal I use to BBQ with this year, In previous years I’d always used Booker Restaurant Grade lumpwood, but have really struggled using it earlier in the year, finding bits of rubber and other rubbish in the bags, and finding the charcoal itself has an off smoke, and spits a lot. So I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting, and am certainly now in love with the different woods of Oxford Charcoal, and the clean burning, steady temperature of ProQ cocoa briquettes. I was contacted by the Green Olive Firewood Co. earlier in the year, to see if I’d like to try some of their products. [Read more…]
ThermaQ Digital Thermometer
Unboxing of the ThermaQ from ETI
