Episode 8 - PITNICK BBQ

Dan - Host: 0:04

Welcome to another episode of the meat & Greet BBQ podcast. This episode we are lucky to have a pet Nick barbecue on Instagram and Nick has joined us to talk about his experience of modding his own barbecues and also some great conversations about not only his love of different types of meat and grilling, but also his love of IPAs.

Owen - Host: 0:31

So welcome to the show. Nick. How are you today?

Nick- Pit Nick BBQ: 0:34

Good Yeah, good. Thank you. We're looking forward to this great to chat to you basically to meet you both be a part of Israel because I've listened to like five five of the previous ones I didn't listen to last week's yet I have no chance but that the previous one Yeah. Be really entertaining. really thoroughly enjoyed listening. I learned a few things. Try the rice potatoes in the fridge or the potatoes in the fridge to get to get good rice potatoes.

Dan - Host: 1:01

I haven't had a chance yet. Does that make a huge difference? Yeah, it

Unknown: 1:04

did work actually. No, it was it did make a difference. Yeah. Did improve it. So now it's been good. Brilliant. So happy to be happy to be part of it. Thank you for inviting me along.

Owen - Host: 1:13

No worries at all. Let's do a little introduction then Nick. Do you want to tell us who you are and we know you from social media but just sort of tell our listeners a bit about yourself?

Unknown: 1:24

Yeah, so Nick, picnic BBQ is my instagram name will come on to Instagram and my experiences on there. How long I've been on there in a little bit. But so I'm 49 have two children, a son who's 24 getting married next year. And a daughter who's six so a little bit of an age difference between them. I live just north of Bristol been lifting this part of the world for 20 odd years from from Shropshire originally in the Midlands in terms of barbecue I think I got into it I mean what it's not a lockdown thing for me for a lot of people I know that lockdown has been a real catalyst for getting into cooking sector idle cooking. But for me it kind of started probably six or seven years ago haven't really owned a barbecue before then kind of been living in shared houses often not much of a garden difficult kind of environment to to own that kind of kit and develop an interest in it but there was a guess six or seven years ago perhaps even longer ago than that pool pork started appearing everywhere. Yeah, go to restaurants pour pour could be on the menu. You could buy it in Sainsbury's Tesco impacts Burger King started putting pull pork burgers and things like that and it just seemed to be everywhere and kind of you know tried it liked it didn't really know how it was made or you know what part of the picket had come from and then I was used to walk to work then so I had a bad you know, good a good half an hour walk to work in Bristol. Past loads of kind of bus bus shelters and on then they obviously have advertising for Burger King KFC and then KFC started in a pool chicken sandwich. Yeah, sorry, mostly as they're as they're kind of trying to crack that that pulls market I guess try and compete with those that were doing pool ports. So I just, you know, walking past those pictures every day, just like that it was really good. I'd always kind of liked anything that said flame grilled on it. So it was a bit of a circuit for flame grilled on the menu and things like that. So I always enjoyed that kind of food that thought okay, well pull pork I can't go to restaurants all the time just to have pulled pork. Let me see how you find out how it's made. And then obviously discover, oh, it's smoked. You know, it's a smoked pork shoulder. Well, how can I do that? How can I do that at home and it just kind of my research into Taiwan? How I could make pull pork for myself without having to go to restaurants and what have you to to do it how can I make it myself and it all sort of spiralled from there really discovering I didn't really even know what smoking was in terms of being able to do at home obviously you can buy smoked bacon and and what have you. I didn't realise that you could get the you know, the the apparatus, the equipment to do it at home. But that kind of where it started. I went we went to America and my son went to a bit of a sightseeing trip to the States finally for five or six days. So we went to New York and we went to Washington. It wasn't a BBQ trip. But we were you know we were both both keen to eat as much as we could. We went to a shopping mall in Washington. I think it was by it was in Pentagon City. Just we wanted to pick up some stuff here souvenirs and what have you. Then within the food court and the shopping mall was a barbecue restaurant. Probably wasn't very good. It was probably a chain but you know we stuffed ourselves with brisket pulled pork Wings until you know I need to be making this stuff at home you know I need to this is so good. I can't just come to New York

Dan - Host: 5:07

and watch it again they're not flavours that you find often over here in like restaurants or anything so you have to be able to create them yourselves if you want that level of flavour in the UK or at least that's what I found personally.

Unknown: 5:23

Yeah, obviously we had you could get barber to things that sort of sub flame grill or barbecue I don't know probably wasn't authentic or genuine by any stretch it was probably the barbecue sauce tipped on the SUP of any old meat that they took to the kitchen. But and then the other thing on that trip was we had we had wings in in New York recopying a buffalo hot wings sort of thing. They were amazing. They were so good spot, you know, spicy. He was sweating like a lawn sprinkler eating them but he thought I you know, I need this is the kind of food I want to eat at home, you know, I want to I want to do this stuff at home. So I started researching, I didn't do an awful lot of research into the barbecues. For me, it was kind of looked at a few videos and focused in on offsets and thought and the noise around offsets was it was all Americans you know this is that this is the way to do it. I probably looked at our Franklin video and thought you know, we've all done and I just thought offsets it feels a little bit more authentic to some of the other things that were on the market. And I kind of focused in on that on getting an offset so I did it was cheap, thin nasty. Bought it as a bundle with with a chimney star to bag a bag of lumpwood chicken holder to do which I've never used a couple of other other accessories Oh, some meat claws for for pulling pork, etc. And I saw as you do I bought book I thought I buy a book rather than YouTube. I did have watched a lot of YouTube since then. And a lot of the Americans I still I still do so what was the book he purchased? So it was I can't remember the title. It was guy got by a guy called Gary with it. I googled him earlier because you don't hear of him at all on the scene or on the on the circuit but he's he's a good guy He's described as no guru or was that effect but it was it was quite an amusing book I'll I'll take it out and post it so you can see because you can get it on Amazon. It was really funny. It was really quite a quite a good read in terms of what barbecue is. And that barbecue is a is a it's not it's a cuisine you know it's a style of food. You know so you cook barbecue, you eat barbecue, you don't have a barbecue in the you know in the way he was he was putting it across and it made it there was a quite a lot of amusing anecdotes in there and comments. So he started you off on just chicken basically just doing a couple of half chicken I don't think they were spatchcocking a half chickens and there was instruction that there's kind of a process to follow if you had a Smoky Mountain if you had an offset and if you had a kettle so he would he would do he went through each which is quite good. But I this this offset it I still got it I still use it to grill on when I need extra real estate but as an offset it was awful, you know thin leaked in terms of smoke, a lot of guys that buy them in the states modify them. So watch loads of YouTube videos on modding or modding this this offset to improve it. I think I spent more on trying to modify it than I did on actually buying it. You know and I was like a ventilation tube you know one of those constants in the silver things are put clamp to that to the bottom of the chimney to to bring the stack right down to the to the grates, put more gasket tape on and you can you could imagine trying to block every leak of foil I was just stuffing in tin foil around the around the edges of the of the lid to try and keep the smoke in really not having a clue about clean in a good clean burning fires at this stage at all. Probably over smoked the first couple of chickens because the first couple of cutters but I thought I thought I'll follow this book because he said he says in it you know don't don't leap ahead things go to brisket. Just follow this through because you won't you'll just mess it up. So I followed it through failure. I probably over smoked the first few chickens. I think the first one was you know it tasted like it had 40 Wood binds before it had been killed it it was fine. You know it was an in there A couple more and then tried to do that other bits and pieces. But really the one thing I struggled with which is probably something when I moved from leaf BBQ fails was just getting the thing lit really struggled and I realised probably not until a good year later why I was struggling getting it lit for one reason or another. My chimney starter had no holes in the side

Dan - Host: 10:27

it was just so ventilation whatsoever from the bottom

Unknown: 10:31

of the bottom and they have no holes in the side at all. It is one of the worst chimney started You could of course came with the offset because as a bundle

Owen - Host: 10:43

I'm looking to get an offset smoker you're really selling it to me the brand I'm gonna go on Amazon right now

Unknown: 10:52

better reveal the brand in the book this This is Gary Webb it says oh, you can you can roll up three pieces of newspaper, put them in the bottom light it and in 10 minutes you'll have it'll be it'll be raging you know you'll have an inferno going in your stuff I watched people on YouTube do it and yes that apparently they did it in 1015 minutes was ridiculous you know and even even now even now I don't it's probably 20 minutes the best and with a good chimney starter with natural fire lighters and with good quality lumpwood But back then I was it was literally 45 minutes to get the chimney style it and I was you know, doing all sorts of things to try and to try and get it lit the paper would just instantly burn away and it would it would there was no way it was going to light what was above it. Yeah. It was, you know, choking wood in the top of it wood chips, tipping woodchips into the top of the stars. Of course, all the effects that had was to fill the garden with smoke because there was a little bit of heat down right down in the bottom. Everything just smouldered. And you know we lived in a small small terraced house there was a small garden and there just the whole street was just full of my smoke from tried to get the thing lit with simple

Dan - Host: 12:11

dirty smoke. Well I imagine

Unknown: 12:15

Yeah, so and then I kind of kept it slowly and it wasn't barbecuing an awful lot maybe a couple of times a month maybe two or three times a month then we moved on to where we are now much bigger garden and for New Year's Eve I did a I did my first pull pork so it taken me that long to get to build up so anyway you're trying to attempt to pull a pork shoulder so got got a pork shoulder for New Year's Eve and flipped it to be honest it was a complete fluke nine hours it's just nine hours of pork shoulders take 20 hours yeah took nine hours and it was fine and it was pulled out beautifully and but it was a complete fluke you know I didn't I don't know how I managed it just that the gods were was smiling down on me that day I think it even timing it was even like you know half past six in the evening when the family around for New Year's Eve would want it feeding it was ready you know even after it was a rest built in as well and it was and I think that gave me a false sense of security this I could

Dan - Host: 13:22

do I completely agree with you. So the first time I did brisket I really had no rough idea what I was doing I'd watch videos I talked to own about what he'd done before but I was using different equipment completely because the kettle I've got it's worked really good for me the like fire mounting one I've got but it's not a big brand it's not well insulated. And it was fairly cheap but somehow that first brisket I did fantastic and it was nowhere near as long as other ones I've done it like had the proper like if you lift it up like the proper bend and everything that it should had it would have it was great but like you've said if that first important cook hadn't gone right I don't know what would have happened if I would have kept up with it but sometimes just clicks into place and you take off you get excited don't you?

Unknown: 14:11

Yeah no absolutely and and I suppose the the net even then I didn't really know how to build a nice clean fire. I was just it was it was you know, it was more luck than judgement. You know things Things took much longer than they should have done. Probably a lot of snow Come on cooks you know probably over smoking and quite accurate flavours. And then we're in Bristol, we used to have a festival called grill stock, which is an annual barbecue festival. There was also some some grill stock restaurants. There's one in Bristol bar, there's one in Leicester they're all kind of folded there. See so me and my son went to went to the grill stock. This is when I just had still had the offset. And there was there was obviously competent competition teams there. So who's DJ barbecue there he might have been there so there's gonna be an A and country with smoke and big names so it's Marcus here and the and the competition teams and wandering rang they all had Smoky Mountains all of them were the Smoky Mountains at least at least to each PR team they had none of them were cooking offsets and I'd looked at whether Smoky Mountain you know briefly before I got my offset was probably a little bit pricey for what we know for me starting out at that point then I thought okay all the comp teams using Weber Smokey May and I've got to get one of those that's because I'm really struggling with this offset it got it got slightly damaged in the movie got bent slightly evenly and it was yeah, it was just it was it needs I mean we all know offsets need massive amount of time during a cook if you want to if you want to do it properly and just just burn would be a stick burner. You have to be with it all day and you know personal circumstances I just just didn't have the time to attend the fire all day and so I needed a little bit more of a not a set and forget but something a little bit more that you didn't need to be sat with it the whole time tinkering with the fire etc. And I think he will if the competition teams are using where the Smoky Mountains then it must be getting good results you must get good flavour off it you know so the plans got the full the biggest 157 in not I didn't need it but I thought you know

Dan - Host: 16:34

go harder go home right well yeah, I mean Yeah, exactly. I

Unknown: 16:37

mean it was wait waited a few few weeks for an offer I think to come along. Got that so and that kind of started getting a bit better with with the longer could see the the bigger joints and the bigger pieces of the bigger pieces of pork and turkeys and what have you ribs obviously. So it is a little it's quite reliable piece of piece of kit isn't it once you've got the temp the temperature set really it's in you've got enough enough coals in there. It's pretty good and you don't have to do much much to it during a cook really just if you still got it. Yeah, absolutely yeah. So I use it for pool pork occasional brisket. I haven't done many briskets I did a turkey the other day Turkey crane on it. I still wanted to do I tend to do ribs ribs on it. Probably baby backs I probably do my cattle but some Louis cut ribs and Jacob's ladders I'll do on the boat the smoky man.

Owen - Host: 17:41

I've also got the 57 centimetre Smoky Mountain and actually cooked on it today I cook some spare ribs which probably the best ribs I've ever cooked actually on my own back and do you feel you're talking about leaking on the offset Do you do you have on your Smoky Mountain just around the tip top of the door you find it it leaks a fair amount for you.

Unknown: 18:07

It didn't start off with I don't know whether the door got bent a little bit because they're really thin on the those doors they it didn't start off with any it started to leak quite quite appreciably and also ran the room where the lid the lid sits as well. So I and you can buy kits to change the handle and whatnot but I just bought some gasket tape and just you know with a self adhesive strip on that you stick it on and that ran around the door and that's really improved it and also some some around the top I still got a little bit of leak but nothing like I had before I put that gasket tape on so and that wasn't that wasn't the least expensive just to buy a strip of that roll of that and put that on and it's held pretty well actually, sometimes it peels off, but it's made a big difference.

Owen - Host: 18:57

So I haven't done that yet. I haven't bothered to and it was one of the first things I did so I actually consider taking it back but then kind of read that actually it just seems to be part of that setup. Yeah, but I haven't gone to the trouble of actually putting gasket tape or anything around it. I'm not sure it affects me enough or it will affect the cook enough. Yeah, warranty. I don't know how much how much you gain by having that tape around there. I don't know.

Unknown: 19:25

I think I it was taking a long time to get up to temp. I don't know whether that was because it was a bit leakier than when I first got it. But it did seem to be taking you know a good hour even more to get to get to sort of 250 Fahrenheit I kind of use Fahrenheit because of all the the American videos on YouTube that I watched originally kind of 250 is just the kind of the temperature isn't it? Yeah, trying to hit for most cooks if you're doing if you don't learn slow. I don't know whether it's that but it just seemed to be taking a lot longer than it I think it should have done to to come up to temp. And on some cooks, it didn't even get to 10 Even though I was putting a lot of fuel in, for whatever reason, that's one of the things about the whoever smoke you may it's a bit of a faff if you need to do something to the fire, you have to take it all apart. Because the door isn't, it doesn't really give you once you've opened the door, there's not actually that much access, if you've got the your water pan in, and your other way there actually isn't a lot of room to do much with the fire. So

Owen - Host: 20:32

I just throw it in. Yeah, just stick my hand in and throw it probably not safe.

Unknown: 20:40

I don't know that that in the last couple of cooks I've done I've been much better. So I don't know whether that the two things are connected. Certainly, I didn't feel that I was losing anything in flavour in terms of you know, smoke getting into the meat cooks were taking aside from it taking a lot longer to get to the temperature we wanted to in some cases didn't cook times were as you as you expect. So I don't know whether that that helped with that that issue I was having, but it kind of it doesn't make you wonder isn't that when you see all that kind of a lot of smoke billowing out from the door. Actually what is it really the most efficient cooker you can have if you are trying to smoke a bit joint up top and actually be more efficient. If you didn't try and close those those gaps a little bit.

Dan - Host: 21:31

I always think if you've got that sort of leakage, it's probably the longer cooks that you're more going to notice it you know, if you've got something that needs to stay on for like 20 hours 18 hours or something that amount of time then you probably are going to see more of a difference compared to if you're doing something like six eight jahmene But it's interesting you say about kind of the keeping the temperature because the kettle that I've got the moment I've got to be really precise on not only how I close it but like the angle of the lead and everything is if I wait to stay I've got it down to a knack now but for whilst like the temperature is all over the place it's either jumping up or it's coming down I can't keep a stable I literally have to have it at a certain angle. Otherwise you will see the leakage around the sides and the top so from my experience I haven't modelled mine at all. And I have to say I love the fact we're talking to you the first person we've spoken to who's properly Inspector Gadget ID their equipment but I love it because you're making the most

Unknown: 22:31

of the one I'll come on to my my kettle in a sec but the one the one mod it wasn't really a mod on the offset it was it was more a try to improve heat flow or the flow of the smoke through the cooking chamber from the from the firebox was that a lot of people were using baffle plates to try and you know, funnel the smoke through a certain direction through the cooking chamber. You know and and these guys are all they're basically metal fabricators they were coming up with these amazing things that they did at home with all their chips in them and I'm like well what can I do? So we used to have a parrot back in those days or my partner did fortunately she couldn't cope with a parrot and when my daughter was born was too much current went that we had we had a small with two cages. So I took the smaller of the two parrot cages and and basically cut it was quite thin metal was a cutout of baffle plates from the boss of parrot cage and my boss and my metal snippets from from b&q and cut these plates say to fit so they would go across the cooking chamber covered them in foil I never clean I mean I'm not going to put some it was covered in corner in some way.

Owen - Host: 23:52

Probably add to the flavour though

Unknown: 23:55

more exotic. You know I'm doing this because I've seen people on YouTube do it and they say we asked what you need to do without really understanding if that's makes any difference at all but those those were the kind of links that I was prepared to go to to get a good cook I have that thing. But I still got it and I still do use just the grill just to use it for some direct grilling really, if I need need the extra but once I got the Smoky Mountain I was then left with a bit of a gap and it's a bit like the offsets of big old unit it's a bit of a pain to try and get in and out of where I keep the grills it's really quite heavy. Not particularly practical. So I went and bought and I thought well I need I need a grill I just need something to I can just do burgers on sort of smaller cuts chops and things like that and so went and got a master touch that was in a in a sale as well. So I hung around for for a good deal on that. And to be honest now 70% 75% of my cooks are on the are on the webmaster search and it's it's just solid It's just a great a good entry. Good entry grill, I'd recommend it to anyone. I watched a lot of there's a guy on YouTube, right? Why cooking with rye his his his channels called and he does a lot on cattle, he does a lot of a lot of stuff on on the Holly's cattle and that really helps me sort of just understand that actually, there's no there is no real limitation to it. And you can do passing people do briskets hot and fast on it. So you can pretty much do do a lot you know most most cooks on on a cattle like that. And it's so easy just to fire up really quick. So with the decent Sydney starter now that I have which is which is a which is a Weber one proper holes, I could have just drilled holes in the side of the old one, it's just kind of I don't know how and when I won that in the starter it came it might have come with the Master Touch, I know he didn't buy it on its own, I think it might have come with a master search as part of the deal. So with a decent with decent starter that the natural firelighters didn't know that the wax cylinders of shavings really don't I don't know what the right term thing. So so once I discovered those just put two of those at the bottom, you know, half full chimney, you know, even that sometimes depending on what I'm doing. And it's you know, if, if I use lumpwood is 20 minutes to get it going. Heat Beads, which is what I use for longer cooks, the Australian Heat Beads. And generally, as the briquettes are used, they take a bit longer. So that might be 2530 minutes before they're, they're firing. But it is a you know, just a really good dependable grill. You know, I know kind of how it behaves now. And which is obviously when you buy a new a new pet, you need to understand how it behaves and what it can do in terms of temperature spikes, obviously, Dan, you're talking about yours is a little bit up and down. And it's it can be frustrating, isn't it when it's the spikes right at the beginning, and it's too high at the beginning. And you're trying to think it's really difficult to bring it down, it seems to almost be a bit more conservative. And

Dan - Host: 27:10

that's why they start really, really low. Once you've got to go in the chimney star and everything, turn the vent right the way down, not off but slightly. Get it so you're consistent and then slowly build it by using the vents to get where you want to be. And I find if I do it that way, and I'm careful, it can hold consistently. But because the early experience I have or had, I'm still checking it every like 1520 minutes, I can't like you were saying with some of the other grills and the Smoky Mountain I don't feel confident to leave it for like two hours. germane or even an hour I feel like I constantly checking it even with like wireless thermometers, I'm still like that just because it's it's in my OCD back of my head now with the way that I'm barbecuing with that equipment. And I also I love the fact that you say with a kettle, you can still do all different types of cooks, which is the great thing about kettle The one thing I find that limits me is the size. Because although I've got like the large kind of grill spaces where I don't have the dimension of levels, that's why I feel like I'm struggling well that in the heat tension.

Owen - Host: 28:22

Because the good thing about the kettles and especially weather is if you've got the the GPS system as well, there's just so many accessories that yeah, you could legitimately make, you wouldn't need an oven because they have all of the accessories to legitimately cook pretty much every single thing that you would need to cook using an oven in that kettle. And it was the best buy that I did you know with Weber sort of seven, seven or eight years ago, which I've already mentioned, but you know, since then I've added rotisseries have got the part, you know, like a griddle play. I've got pizza stones of you know the lot, really and I think it just gives so much versatility to it now. And it's like you said Nick, there's so dependable and actually down what i've what I found with the kettle with the Weber kettle. Honestly, I can't speak for your barbecue. But you can leave it you know, you can do some ribs and you can go away for two hours if you've got some decent charcoal and it's set up right you've got the vents right, you can leave it for an hour and a half and you just know that that temperature is not going to go anywhere.

Dan - Host: 29:30

It's my confidence on it because I'll go back and I won't have to change anything at all. But because of those early cooks I still haven't got that checking out of my system at all. It drives my wife insane from doing a six hour cook and I'm out there every 15 minutes check.

Unknown: 29:45

Are you are you checking off a pet level probe temperature probe that you've got in terms of the temp?

Dan - Host: 29:53

So I've got obviously I've got the built in thermometer, but then I also at the moment have Like inkbird Wireless thermometers, which are two separate ones, which I'll actually put in the meat, but you can put one in the metre and leave one out to check the actual air temperature as well. And then I also have a instant stick thermometer as well. So it's like a combination of those three things. But the point is, as long as at the moment now I'm confident with what I'm doing as long as that top kind of thermometer on the top of that barbecue is holding. I know where I am. Because the other thing is, the more you open and close that grill, the harder it is to keep that temperature, which is the other mistake I was making early on.

Unknown: 30:38

Yeah, that was one of the things that that was in that book said no, do not open to chair do not just don't of course, you you want to you want to make sure it's not is not still roar or burnt to a crisp because you don't you don't have that experience to call upon, don't you and you're taking someone else's word for it. Don't open the grill though open. Now I just got a peek. And, yeah, I mean, the I mean, I've got an ink bird, the I don't use the wireless setup on it. Because where I've got everything is done in the back of a garden, and it's well arranged, yeah, drops, I don't even get to the trampoline, and it's gone.

Dan - Host: 31:20

That's one thing. I, I like it. But the range on it isn't long enough for I'd like luckily for me, and this is something which I was going to say earlier in the podcast, a lot of our foreign listeners might not realise most British homes have tiny gardens, compared to the rest of the world, absolutely minute gardens. So even though my garden is very, very small, and you'll be able to see from my Instagram kind of how close the barbecue is to the house. If I step further away, then my kitchen, it will drop. So like in a straight line, you're probably looking at like five metres, six metres, and it will drop. Whereas, you know, you hear about other ones where you can pretty much go to town. It'll be fine through the wireless.

Unknown: 32:08

Yeah, I mean, I don't know, whether it was Mr. Beads was when he was talking about, you know, he'd go shopping or I can't remember who it was. I don't know whether I

Dan - Host: 32:18

think it was wrong. Was it? 256 Yeah, yeah.

Unknown: 32:21

And, you know, he'd be in a shopping and checking his phone to make sure you know, and I and I don't know whether I can't do that. So I can't I can't say whether I would I would like to do it or not. I know I can't technology wise it wouldn't work. But I don't know whether that kind of takes a little bit of the mystery out of barbecue. There's a lot of technology these days and I'm I kind of feel that I've got all the technology I want in terms of apps and think well I can't use it. So I just I just have to wander down the garden and just take a peek at what it says it looks about right just walk back walk off again with the cattle because I'd watch this cooking with Roy if he's doing something that's going to take maybe four hours on there he will he will open it he may maybe put a little little chunk on and but he will basically shake the ash the cold basket to clear it out a little bit and to make a little bit more airflow in that so he will just get his tongs and he will shake the side of it to sort of knock the excess ash off so I do that and that works and it helps to to clear the clear the flow a little bit so I don't I don't know opening it opening it for the right reasons. Yeah, he's fine I think it's just yeah. If you're if you're playing with it for no other reason than you just want to see see what's happening is that that's that's the bad habit I think. Yeah,

Dan - Host: 33:50

if I need to pull something to wrap it I try not open it kind of less than like a lever at least 90 minutes where possible and then I can add bits and put back down but you know occasionally you will have to open it for different reasons

Unknown: 34:04

while spritzing because you know if you want to if you're not wrapping the rims on and I don't always wrap ribs you want to make you want to do a quote regular spritz. You obviously have to custom own clothes then but it's yeah, it's doing it for the right reasons. Yeah. Yeah. Habits tie

Owen - Host: 34:25

to similar similar thing today. So smoking some macaroni cheese on the Smoky Mountain once had finished the ribs. Just put another piece of cherry wood on just to kind of give it a nice sheen before I took it off. And rather than opening it while the smoke was still going. I got my torch and through the top exhaust vent, I was kind of shining through it. I didn't want to lose any lose any of that split.

Dan - Host: 34:53

firing torpedoes down.

Unknown: 34:57

spy cameras. Yeah, I've done that forum when I've done Yorkshire puddings because if you open and you're trying to do Yorkshire puddings it's game over. Yeah, so I have I have shone a torch down the down the vent for you when I'm doing Yorkshire puddings to see just try and see what's happening.

Owen - Host: 35:15

I'm glad I'm not the only one. Actually talking about the Smoky Mountain, and we've talked about mods and the gasket tape and things, Nick, I don't know what your opinion is on this. But for me, it's a pain in the ass is that the lid? Lot unlike the cat, Weber kettle where it's got the little hook and you can just hook it on to the side. I really wish they'd either built it to its proper kind of lever ID or it's hooked so that you could just hook it onto the edge whilst Yeah, always having to put it on the floor or hold it up.

Unknown: 35:51

Because you can you can buy a hinge. But it's not obviously doesn't come as standard. I'm not sure it's a web, its web produced either. And I don't trust myself enough for the drill to start messing with my Weber Smokey Mountain other than sticking gasket tape on it. I'll be honest, I've seen guy I mean, I know people that have got hinges. And you know, it's great, but I just I'm just not that good with the drill. You know? If I, if I ended up wrecking it, then I you know, be pretty upset, I think. So the only thing I'm careful of is that obviously I put it down. And he's not going to chip the chip the coating when I'm when I'm putting it on the floor, because it's just gonna It's just goes on patio slams. So yeah, I used to put bass to have would have been able to board down just to stick it on or or just two pieces of it to before or something to just arrested on wireless. So it's not not there's no danger of getting chipped, but is it is a little bit of a pain. But it's it's kind of it's just something I've been just live with, really, as I said that the thought of drilling into my

Owen - Host: 37:05

arm the same, I've just complained about it. But I won't, I won't drill into the other barbecues that I've got are either hooked or hinged. And it just makes your life a little bit easier. And that's probably just a little bit of a disappointment for me around this plug in. Yeah, I

Unknown: 37:21

mean that there are a couple of things on it design wise, like the door. I mean, better doors are available, people make better doors for it. And, you know, I think it was a, I think I've read or listened to someone talking on it that it was just it's just a cost thing

Dan - Host: 37:36

to say if you're gonna invest in the extra door, then it's extra money on top. So to keep the price at a certain price point. That's probably where these things come in play.

Unknown: 37:46

Exactly. Exactly. That done. Yeah, it was the it was the retail price that would be impacted. And that I think they felt it was that it was where they wanted it to be in the market. And putting all these other things on would really take it to the maybe out of reach of some consumers. It's an annoyance, isn't it, but it's

Owen - Host: 38:06

still a good is still a great smoker. Don't get me wrong, I do absolutely love it. But it's just you know, one, I've had mine for just over a year now. And I'm starting to use it less because I've got a broken keg, which I smoke on more. But it's just those little, little things now I've been using it for years. Just it's just faff, you know, and the two, what do you do feel the same about the two level cooking as well that you have to reach the second, the lower great, you have to take the top one out to reach it. But if you're mid Cook, and you say you've got brisket on top of pour pork on the bottom or vice versa, you literally have to take the top great out with the meat on to access the second one which is also a bit of a

Unknown: 38:53

faff yeah, I've never I've actually never used both at the same time. Okay, the one thing I haven't explained that most of the things that you guys see me cook, I eat to myself. My, my partner's vegetarian, right? Most of my son doesn't live with me anymore. My six year old won't switch anything that's got more colour in it and anything beige. Something something is slightly charred. She was burnt on my eating that's burnt. Even even toast. Yeah. You have to scrape toasts to get the darkest bits off. So yeah, she will eat She will eat sausages but only cooked in the oven. They don't get any and I got a char on the bottle. So I'm basically, you know, feeding myself with the cooks that I do. And obviously we haven't had guests for a long time. Yeah. If I hadn't had to really do press brisket, pulled pork. I wouldn't to be honest. Because I'm just I'm just you know, there's nothing I just don't have the need to do To cook that much at one time so, the one thing I do and I noticed I think on your your photos for your ribs cook today that you have water in the water pan. Do you have you ever put sand in

Owen - Host: 40:16

Now I always use water is it using sand? Well, I

Unknown: 40:21

think I don't know to be honest I mean I someone again it was a someone on YouTube said oh, you know no one puts water in it, you know, all the cop the US competition too. There'll be placed and in the boy place and because it's been cleaned and filtered in a sandpit sand basically. And it's just I don't know whether it made a difference on I use it for a long time. I've still got some I haven't got I think the last one was water when I did the turkey praying just before Easter every storm. I don't know whether it makes difference I'm just curious as to but not many people here seem to seem to use sand

Dan - Host: 40:57

or two I've never heard of it. I've never heard of the idea of using sand at all. And I've I don't think I've watched as many YouTube videos as you but particularly over the last like three or four weeks and I've been talking on the podcast I'm getting more and more desperate to get a second barbecue. And Owens been bullying me for the last week about just bite the bullet and buy one and stop talking to me about it your sword but it's not something I've seen I mean I watched like a 40 minute video yesterday evening about it was something like top 13 mistakes people make when cooking a brisket by I think the guys called like the food scientist or something really, really interesting video absolutely loved it. But again, never heard anyone mentioned sound before but now you've said it it makes sense because not so much in cooking. But I've heard sand used in other kind of professions to regulate heat in all sorts of ways. Again, kind of coming from Wales being not that far from per Talbert where the steel works and stuff like that you sand in all sorts of different ways to kind of regulate the heat and different things they're doing there. So it makes sense but um, yes not a lot of like,

Owen - Host: 42:13

think about it from the water having liquid as that heats up and create steam that steam is then going up to the me isn't it and and in theory should be then keeping helping to keep the meat moist.

Unknown: 42:27

The moisture Yeah, I think the argument is that the it's more efficient because there's a lot of heat lost because it's taking the water.

Dan - Host: 42:37

Yes, yeah.

Unknown: 42:38

Processing started Yeah, and I don't I haven't done scientific analysis in time really all that why is another one related to to Smoky Mountains, one next to each other to zero? Because there are so many other things that can influence that on there in the I mean, we've done we've all probably done pull shoulders that one takes a day the other takes us nine hours in the case of New Year's Eve and they're all even if you think you've got something identical to try and do a comparison like that there'll be some there'll be some external force that there perhaps means it's the what the analysis at the end is isn't particularly accurate but I just curious I mean, I don't have asked the question of the few people that own them aim Smoky Mountains and they just use water in the water plan.

Owen - Host: 43:33

I suppose this is a perfect time to sort of say if any of our listeners do us sand in a Weber Smokey Mountain, get in touch with us via social media channels or email us at meat & Greet BBQ podcast@gmail.com and let us know how the sound effects are cooking in a Weber Smokey Mountain

Dan - Host: 43:50

Kyle also put this out there I want to start a hashtag for this sandal no send hashtag sand or no sand.

Owen - Host: 43:58

To see more content on our social media channels follow that hashtag meat & Greet BBQ podcast and for our cooking challenges we set our guests each week hashtag BBQ pink

Dan - Host: 44:12

I'd love to speak to you more Nick about pulled pork. I mentioned it I think in the last episode. So I've only really done two pulled porks on my barbecue. And both of them I've enjoyed but neither of them have pulled in the same way that I see online. Love the flavour I've got both of them pulled but some of the videos you see online people literally with one finger yeah stick it in the thing like evaporates. Basically. Do you get that sort of effect on yours? And what guides you in how long you cook yours for? Because I've always done mine by temp I say always twice and both times mine seems to hit temp much earlier than what you read people talking about why and people attempt to take it to, I cannot remember, I will literally google it on the day. That makes sense. And then I'll just keep an eye out, keep an eye out, keep an eye out, well, I set it on my inkbird. So the inkbird alarm will go off when it hits that temperature, as it were, and then I know to wrap it, and then when it hits the next temperature, I know to pull it,

Unknown: 45:18

I think, I think that's fine. I think with something like that, you also have to probe it with with, have you got a firmer pen or something similar?

Dan - Host: 45:29

I do have something that it's not third a pen, but I do have something I use, I should get a pen. To be honest, it's not as intuitive as I'd like it to be. You've got an

Unknown: 45:39

idea of where it should be probably Yeah. 190 between 195 and 205 Fahrenheit, something something in that area.

Owen - Host: 45:47

It's about 90 degrees, isn't it? And so yeah, but, but still

Unknown: 45:51

still probe it with you your instant read. And if it's still, if you still feel a little bit of resistance, or it's not, it's not going in like butter, then then leave it on, just leave it on for another 2020 to 25 minutes. So even if the temperature you know, seems to be climbing higher than you would have expected, still, still still probit and if it still feels a little bit resistant, then then just leave it on for a little bit longer. Because with the Pol Pot you don't think you'd you're going to do any any harm by taking it a little bit further with brisket is different. isn't like three briskets you do that I think there's a much pull pork is a little bit it's very forgiving, isn't it? There's a little bit more windows of opportunity in terms of you know when to take it off. And it doesn't really matter if you're going to leave on for a little bit longer to make sure that you're happy with the wait probes I think that's that would be my my advice on that. But I for simple projects lost patience. You know, I've just I've just said look, I'm happy with the way as probing I probably could probably get better, but I'm starving. It's midnight. It's still got two hours to rest. You know, I've eaten pork sandwiches in the middle of the night just so I can say I've eaten eaten some of it on the day I've cooked it.

Dan - Host: 47:17

Resting I think is interesting as well. Because when it comes to resting, I'll go right I need to rest it for at least an hour and a half. And then it's as long as I am willing to wait before I'm hungry. Do you have a certain time that you wait for or do you even go by temperature? When you're when you're resting? Do you wait for it to drop to a certain level? How would you judge the rest?

Owen - Host: 47:41

I would Yeah, I

Unknown: 47:43

would probably leave try and leave pull plug if I could an hour and a half at least I think and and right then this book that kind of teaches you to think backwards really? And sort of say what what time do you really want to eat this? Okay, I want to be to eight o'clock something in the evening. Okay, you're going to leave at least an hour and a half rest. So pull it to your half six. Okay, a little bit of faffing around so it's quarter past six in experience that this could take 15 hours this this thing and a new thought I think crikey I'm gonna have to get up at three in the morning but at least it at least it you're factoring that in because resting and we all met when we it's kind of something we learned isn't it that I didn't you know, I always thought crikey don't don't rest it gets served straight away it's gonna go cold you know what Yeah, my mom My mom during the Christmas turkey we learned put it No, we're not eating for our mom getting back in. But it's kind of one of the one of the fundamentals that you learn when you're when you're doing barbecue is to rest from you know, might need to be 10 minutes 15 minutes for for a steak or it could be several hours for something much bigger, but it's it's just something that you do and then obviously the benefits are clear. I think it is important to factor that in for the time that you actually want to eat, particularly if you've got family and you know and I and I kind of learned that actually just do it the day before something like that because it's you know, I've had hungry people giving me grief

Owen - Host: 49:33

yeah there's nothing worse

Unknown: 49:35

there isn't finding out the takeaways you know and I'm

Owen - Host: 49:41

I'm actually interested to know Nick come in which episode it was but we were talking to another guest about pork pork and he was Cirque du Soleil social pork or do you or do you go plain?

Unknown: 49:53

I don't I think over source anything really. I think I I kind of put a little bit Not masses, so poop I will put a little bit in purple. The other thing I do want to try to swap on that topic is someone recommended pickle juice when you're pulling pork jars of jars of bread and butter pickles gherkins and that sort of thing in the in the liquid is, is apparently really good for pool pork in particular. So I haven't tried that yet, but I would a little bit of source, not masses and maybe try and almost start pulling maybe move a little bit off to the side and then add sauce to see what's left. I think we sometimes over complicate, and put too much flavour into what we're trying to do. And we've got rubs, you might have injections, you've got the smoke, the meat itself in there, let's not forget that's you know, we need to be able to taste that. Pudding, sweet sticky. Generally barbecue sauce sweet and sticky on it. It's we're going to lose something, I think in the overall flavour and you're just gonna you're just going to perhaps not taste the rub or not taste something else that we've we've worked hard to get into that piece of meat by tipping a layer of sauce on it so I will some but not Not really.

Dan - Host: 51:22

Yeah, yeah, a keeper catch trend and econ I'm doing pulled pork try and catch and retain as much of the juice as possible. And then once it gets to pull it in, I'll try to add that back into the pool by otherwise, I never saw it, I'll let the people who are eating it source it because the last thing I want to do is add too much or too little flavour and it's not to what people want. If I can say to people, there's the pork, add what you want to after it's his 456 different sources, fill your boots, I would prefer to do that and then get it wrong for someone's taste. Because people are so different when it comes to taste. If you're in a situation where you've got four or five people eating it, all of them are gonna want it differently. All of them. And I'm all I'm always fearful of that.

Unknown: 52:05

So ribs as well, I think I don't always source ribs sometimes I'll just let them go and just to see just out of curiosity or just do something different. So sometimes I wrapped ribs sometimes I don't. It kind of kind of just whatever takes my fancy on the day really. But I mean there's some really good sources sources out there. But often, maybe just in a burger is where they where they where they go. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, yeah, I think it plays ribs from I mean, today I did pork balls. Basically my expert with no beef, so just pure pork.

Owen - Host: 52:45

They did look amazing, by the way. Oh, thanks.

Unknown: 52:48

Simple, but I just glazed those with Jack Daniels barbecue sauce. Yeah, with it but added a little bit of maple syrup to it to make it even sweeter. But something like that. I think it works quite well and you just let the glaze set a little bit. And then for another 15 minutes on the on the grill.

Owen - Host: 53:09

How was those peppers the char that you managed to get on those peppers? They look so

Unknown: 53:13

that happens? Yeah, no, I there's a greengrocer in breasts I mentioned earlier that I'd been to consumer spending lives in Bristol as a green grocer not far from where we live written quite a really quality quality green grocer get anything there. And they do these these Padron peppers I'd seen people do them just like as appetisers or was for TAP pass or something like that. And you just put just sprayed a little bit of of olive oil on you just put them on the direct heat to start blistering up. only takes a couple of minutes to get that char and then just take them off literally probably five minutes altogether and then just put some some good good salts on. And just you can have it as a bit of finger food while you're waiting for the main event. Or as I did, I just had them on the side of everything else. But whenever I go to, you know, to Bristol, I pop into that green goes to get because I've never seen them anywhere else to buy so it was picked pick a bargain. Yeah, nice. Yeah, that just you just sit them on top of the coals and they just blister up really quickly.

Dan - Host: 54:32

So this is the part of the podcast we like to call the cut, where we have a fantastic of butcher on board who's going to talk about great cuts of meat that everyone should go out and try doing something with. So would you like to introduce yourself to everyone listening?

Burnt Island Butcher: 54:45

My name is Tom Cortes. I'm a second generation master butcher based unbuttoned Thailand and faith in Scotland, which is meant to be between Edinburgh and St. Andrews islands a lovely little town on Face course that used to be fondly known as the playground to faith. And that's a traditional holiday destination where people visit attempt during the summer, very busy last year with walk them over. So people couldn't really go away, people stayed local. I took the on a small butcher shop there. And 2016 It was quite ironic I started my trade and a different shop further down the high street, many many years ago was my father's shop and he retired me all the different things. But he started again elsewhere. And I joined the business again in 2003. Retired in 2015, for a year, and now the small shop and bond power and just as a hobby really, and things kind of took off again for us say a year later, we won Britain's best new picture business at the butcher shop of the Year Award stone in London. And you know, since I'm have won a few other major awards, including the holy grail award of the Scottish haggis champion, and it's only a small short that we have, but punches we above it sweet. And we've recently had to open a production factory just about half a mile away, because, you know, have a website for haggis, which is a branded on the bottom tail and haggis, you see that they are on the World Wide Web and we can deliver that to you next day interview in the UK. And we're just about to launch a retail meat website, as well Tom cooks quality foods, I'm not allowed to say the date of the launch, but as a Third of May, they don't tell anybody. And they're looking forward to that I don't know how that will go before be snowed under my life or working 20 hours a day instead of the usual 18 But

Dan - Host: 56:41

one of the things that's been really popular probably for the last 10 years seven to 10 years or so, is this movement in the UK across to pulled pork come over from America. If people are looking to achieve that sort of thing themselves, where should they start?

Unknown: 56:57

Well, what you would use as a classic grilled pork is use a shoulder report but not just any part in any partnership there has to be this specific what we call the abort piece of the shoulder which is like the ribeye from from a shoulder of pork as sort of the neck for that muscle that runs through into the Dubai and you know that that is a great sharing meal as well but it does take quite a low along and loose for cook so that's something that you know you couldn't just put on a barbecue at three o'clock and expect to have to put By four o'clock you'd want to have that really lawyer barbecue or controlled heat for maybe a good six hours beforehand you know pre pre season or pre Robert with whatever you like to use some sort of barbecue rub again and as a super meal as well and I've noticed a lot of people you know not only put the Dooku brisket as well brisket of beef which does the same sort of job and you know, pure pork is again not just used on its own and see maybe Flatbed or tacos but people use as a topping on top of a parka and about a stock worker again it's really really nice

Owen - Host: 58:06

to hear a big fan of pork pork is that something you cook personally yourself?

Unknown: 58:09

Yeah, we do that quite regular you know even if it's not in a barbecue if it's raining outside you know something you would stick in the oven for six hours if you'd the whole family you know you could take out a one kilo piece of you know the Bob piece of pork sugar and then five six people you know with you know five blades of tacos and it's so lovely meal simple prepared as well stick it out and forget about it prepare some salad 10 minutes job done

Owen - Host: 58:34

and again it's a quite popular with your with your customers.

Unknown: 58:37

Absolutely yeah we've actually got a nice coffee called the FX just down the road from our shop and they go through kills and kills and kills us every single week they do it on a Tuesday actually and so they have a job that they do with it you know really nice again but over the counter as well particularly at the weekends fader Saturday, we go through a lot of you know put butts we actually take called pork shoulders we we enter shot we've won the Scottish sausage championship multiple times as one of the biggest parts of our traders pork sausages and we actually use the shoulder for that so we buy a lot of pork shoulders independently just for that but we take the you know the buck piece out and set that aside for the people the customers that want to make cool pork.

Dan - Host: 59:22

Tom, thank you so much for your time again, and we look forward to speaking to you again next time on the cut

Owen - Host: 59:38

so tell the world Nick, what is your barbecue failed?

Unknown: 59:44

So I've mentioned some of the equipment sales that I had with the offset lighting just started a couple of disasters pizza my first try at Pizza mommy only tried pizza on the Master Touch was a disaster really? Because it just burned the bottom it just it just cremated the bottom but I didn't know that until 10 minutes and I thought it should be you know, probably over over over done this a little bit possibly but I'll have a look. It was like Black is a tire underneath in the piece to stay was wrecked I mean it is it is still black now and that's never getting back to its original colour. But topping was okay, so I had to sort of scrape the topping off this charred base so that I haven't done it again. I'm just gonna, you know, one day I'm going to get a new knee or a gozney or something and do pizzas properly but toad in the hole tried to determine the hole and it didn't rise at all, but I think I know why it wasn't hot enough. And then I did some pork belly burnt ends which were inedible that's probably the only thing I think I've cooked that I really struggled to eat. may even eat the bean at the burned pizza. We're just scraping the top off but a something that these pork belly burn ends. I don't know what I did to them, but they were they were awful. They were just I couldn't show them I don't know. Yeah, they were just resistant to chewing. So I did I've done them a couple of times and they've been fine but this this time, they just were just awful. But that's probably the only thing that I've been without, you know getting getting through by why I've no idea. No clue.

Owen - Host: 1:01:26

Did not a quick thing really was a real disappointment because

Unknown: 1:01:29

that takes a long time. Yeah, that was an you know everyone likes pink candy daily. Yeah, yeah, looking forward soon. It was just those I don't know what I did to it was just, it was tough. Wouldn't it wouldn't shoe in 20 minutes don't worry on the side of the one cube

Owen - Host: 1:01:50

probably burn more calories. And

Unknown: 1:01:53

yeah, I've had a few things that as I said have ended up in the oven just to finish off. I've not I've not enjoyed doing that. I feel like I've kind of failed. Even though at that point smokes not penetrating to me. It's all we've long since stopped taking on smoke. But I've just I've just said I can't I've got to go to bed. I just have to, and I can't leave it because it'll be done in an hour. I just need to bring it in and, and so I know some people that that do that. But I just think it's I feel less of a pitmaster and Derek call myself that path for doing that. But sometimes it's needs most because the timings just on those big pieces, you just you just don't know how long they're gonna take. No, no. But the other burnt pizza was a and inedible pork. But other than that as I eat my bar is very, very low in terms of expectation. That's one thing I would like to do is in some way benchmark myself against the people that barbecue so you know, taste some of their food and vice versa and see see kind of where I am in terms of whether I'm what I'm cooking is any good on I people when we do a family and guests over there was complimentary and and how they were asked just being nice or, or not. But that would be really good to kind of because you have no sense of what you're cooking this if actually it's someone else cooks if it's tasting the same as theirs better. Why is it better? As it got as he got more? Is it juicy? Or is it got more better smoke penetration is but I know but so that that would be interesting, but I haven't you know what circumstances just haven't haven't allowed that to happen. But that would be nice to you know to do some some hookups with fellow enthusiasts. Yeah. Because you know, it's it's everyone you know, works hard to do nice photos on Instagram but actually what what does it taste like? And is it on my photos aren't as on as good but flavour wise which is what you know, I want nice, nice tasting barbecue rookie now my level with them and like, Have I got more work to do or I'm you know, am I am I kind of hitting the mark so to speak, so they'll just be interesting. So hopefully that will happen at some point.

Owen - Host: 1:04:27

We should try and organise is essentially like a Glastonbury of barbecue and just get all of the kind of British barbecue is from on Instagram and just get more in the field. Yeah, we just have a massive cook off.

Dan - Host: 1:04:38

Also, don't try and compare yourself to someone else's burn ends either if you've had a balance so well, comparing yourself but don't pick your worst cook against other people either. Barbecue fails, I always give my own. If the guests are I think that's only fair. So I have two different ones. Tonight, one way is when I was a teenager, and it was over someone else's house. And they were the actual main person cooking, but I was helping out. And luckily for us at the time, and the parents still don't know, this is what happened. So, our friend's parents went away to Glastonbury. And didn't take my friend. I won't name him, because the parents might listen. But he was annoyed. So he's like, Well, I'm gonna have a house pie, I don't care, I'm gonna have a house party. They said, Don't I'm gonna do it. And he decided that he wants to do barbecue. But you know, we would have been 15 No idea, really. And we got the instant ones. And he set them up on the wooden table they had, God knows how I didn't set a light. And so we had like four or five disposable ones on there. And we cooked a load of stuff. And, you know, it was classic kind of kids first time barbecuing outside and black. The insides were read and no one complains and ate it as if it was, we were in our own world, because there was no adults around you. I mean, I reckon there's probably about 30 people at this house party, because when Glastonbury's, we just had a load of like mock exams, I think we're in year nine. And the parents went away. And he basically said, the whole class just go over on this Saturday. And he was like, oh, we need to get everything off the table. So we can sit on the table and have a drink. So move them all onto the side table, forgot about it, the next morning, because we said we'd stay and help him clean up, there's four of us left, went out there, and we'd put it on this effectively was like a column a decorative column style table, we didn't realise it was made of plastic. Five barbecues, had dropped about six inches, and it was the perfect intent. And we took the thing to the dump. And when his parents came back, he told them that it'd be nicked. So that's one the other one he was just talking about where you said you failed with Yorkshire puddings. So the first time that I did, or tried to do toad in the hole on my, my kettle that I've got at the moment, it was probably the third cooker that I did on it. And it was before I was really doing Instagram at the time. And it was just me being stupid, really. So I was like, Well, I want to get the oil as hot as I can before I add the stuff so I did that direct and whole point was direct heat that get the battery and stick it in direct and I forgot to move it across. So left it came out. This thing was giant. I was like nailed it. Perfect. Start eating it. And like the lower down on getting the worst it's tasting what's going on. And then like the Black was the bottom was charcoal, basically because it just had this fire screaming underneath it. And yeah, it was just it looked good. The further down you got the worse and worse it was and the bottom was absolutely terrible. And had to actually like Chuck out the pan that originally because I couldn't it wasn't salvageable. But I always think Yorkshire puddings are an interesting one to gauge what level you're barbecuing that because there is quite a science to it. Once you once you get the technique down. Simple is a strong word, but you know what you're doing but the first few times on a barbecue is a minefield absolute minefield.

Unknown: 1:08:30

Yeah, it does help if you've got a in them from his infrared sauna, you know with a beam. Yeah, yeah. So you can you can gauge the temperature of the oil. So the other ones I did tend to hold on, because I didn't Yorkshire puddings before and they were fine. But yeah, it was just it just wasn't hot enough. But it looked they were smoking. It looked hot enough. But it probably had another 10 minutes to to heat up in all honesty. But there's some guys use of those infrared thermometers, which are handy because they do measure that they're planches with them as well, to make sure that planters are up to up to temperature to me. Yeah, we'll try we'll try that again. So in the whole country a good classic dish.

Owen - Host: 1:09:11

I had a go at trying to do some cheese and Marmite scones on the barbecue.

Dan - Host: 1:09:17

That sounds interesting.

Owen - Host: 1:09:19

Yeah, it was a hairy bikers recipe from a book they launched towards the end of last year and Joe on Instagram ran this because the Six Nations got delayed and there was that six nations baseline festival that was going on the virtual vest festival. So I tried to get involved in that and I did a homemade Scotch egg and a number of different things and I thought I'd try some that I've never done before so I went for some cheese and Marmite scones and the top half lemon beautiful. They tasted lovely. The bottom half was as black as you like the grease proof paper it got so hot that it actually kind of like cooked into the dough. I couldn't separate the baking paper from the bottom of these scones so literally all of them were I ended up I could only eat half of every single one so I managed to have you know, okay what do for decent half's they were really black

Unknown: 1:10:18

I haven't done I've done I've done a blondie on the offset that was just using it as a grill I think that's the only sort of baking I've done done on the barbecue which basically like a brownie but with what a chocolate and pecans that was that was really nice to take a while because of cooking it interactions are so fearful of you know, burning it to a crisp it do taste for hours cooking the indirect is okay. Yeah. Guys cook brain isn't one of the barbecue bingos was cake wasn't it? Yeah, he did really did very impressive job without I don't help when

Dan - Host: 1:10:57

you're a professional chef. Yeah.

Unknown: 1:11:00

I don't my baking isn't isn't the best. And I can't do I do dabble with a bit of try make sourdough. My and my last sourdough which was yesterday was just as disaster. I think my starter died. But it Yeah, no, it's just that sounds getting in the bin. So baking, I'm not Yeah, I'm quite happy to do some vegetables. I'm not just pure go. Obviously, my partner's vegetarian we do. I do do some some veggies. It's a bit difficult. Actually, I probably need another good good excuse to get another master touch because just just mindful of cooking vegetables on grills that I've cooked meat on. Just out of respect for for her in that respect. And she can buy things to put them in. But sometimes you just want to put them on the on the grapes.

Owen - Host: 1:11:49

But ultimately, the veggie does taste better when it's sat with meat juices.

Unknown: 1:11:57

Lately, we do. Yeah, and I find it quite hard to get the veggies right. So I've done a couple of sort of salary acts, cauliflower and quite easy to over smoke or just not cook. So the tender will keep going because it's not all necessarily about the meat. And I'm trying to do some interesting sides whenever I can. But it's quite difficult. Yeah, it's not it's not any easier.

Dan - Host: 1:12:28

I'm laughing because we own and I work together. And about three weeks ago, we had a group chat, like meeting with a load of people from work just like a coffee morning type thing. And one of the women we work with was saying I've got a live with a vegetarian. It's absolute nightmare, like trying to separate stuff and be like righteous. I've just stopped doing it. So what do you mean? She's like, Yeah, so the other day I said I was gonna make everyone a pie. So I made a pie. And I just she said it was one of the ones that like obviously you don't get the full case you get a slice. She said here's I just removed the bits of meat from I gave it to her and she said this is the best pie I've ever had. Like it's phenomenal. But she was like Yeah, yeah Betty looks like yeah, we did our stuff in the other day I just left the meat in she didn't know so it's fine. It's that fine you're right in the juices right

Unknown: 1:13:23

yeah, sure I could get away with pacer something that I actually just putting, putting a rub on a vegetable can make a difference. So that was just on parsnips that was I didn't even cook those parsnips on barbecue I was in just a bacon rub. That was it was heavily sugar based it was Kansas rub by Firefly which the meaning or the first ingredient is muscovado sugar so it's it's it is a lot of sugar in there so obviously in a good way of cooking passing honey or something over yeah sorry but that may work well. And we put Perry Perry on cauliflower just to give it

Dan - Host: 1:14:04

cauliflower and eat works so well together so well.

Unknown: 1:14:09

I'd like to do more of that. But my partner's not she's not first if you you know cook in the oven or cook on the barbecue to be honest.

Dan - Host: 1:14:17

I don't know if you've ever tried this or smoked cauliflower cheese is phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. I mean, I love cauliflower. Like just anything with cauliflower is good and anything with cheese is good. So when you bring those two things together and add smoke, it's magical. It just there's something about that vegetable that just absorbs flavour when when you smoke it with the cheese as well and it all just absorbs that flavour it's I'd highly recommend

Owen - Host: 1:14:53

to see more content on our social media channels follow the hashtag meat & Greet BBQ podcast and for our cooking challenge We set our guests each week, hashtag barbecue Bing. We've talked quite a lot about me. So let's go on to one of our regular conversations. And actually, Nick, I'm quite excited to talk to you about this side of things. But we normally talk about what we're drinking a right now, but also kind of generally what we drink when we barbecue. And actually one thing about your page is, you've got quite a lot of beer content on there, actually, as well as your cooks, haven't you? Yeah.

Unknown: 1:15:32

And that wasn't was a lockdown thing, I think for me. So whilst my Instagram pages are than 18 months old, maybe barbecue, as I sort of mentioned, wasn't something I started in in lockdown. It was before that, but I think my interest in craft beer has been particularly IPA, because you've seen it's dominated by IPA really started sort of the beginning of 2020. And kind of continued, really. So I started in just interested in how many different IPAs I could that were actually out there. And to drink, you know, 100 different IPAs in 2020. And that's not Wow, that's not drinking heavily. That's just a couple of the weekend. And just one

Owen - Host: 1:16:19

bench as it

Unknown: 1:16:22

was it was it was a week I'm not.

Dan - Host: 1:16:25

The thing is, you're completely right about how bloated the market is at the moment with IPAs. It's not necessarily a bad thing. But there's so many of them around. I imagine if you did 100 Different IPAs. In theory, you could have done that across a maybe eight different breweries. I'm sure you did more. But there's Yeah, that many IPAs, everyone's got like lots of different touches and different versions and slightly different flavours of them.

Unknown: 1:16:53

I think I could do another different 100 painting this year. I'm not counting I am I am trying to drink different ones that I have not tried before. But I'm not counting this year, but I could easily do 100 Different ones again, the one I've got on the West Coast, Sun medallion from Pomona Island brewery, which is based in Salford as West Coast. So I think I prefer the cloudy ones. And they're kind of really thick, juicy IPAs that you can get rather than clear West Coast horns. But a kind of yeah, this kind of posting on Instagram is really a way of me being able to count them while I was counting how many different ones I could drink 2020 And I just keep Yeah, just keep keep putting them on really is there is a little bit of a kind of a subculture within the barbecue community. And you've probably seen that then there are some craft beer. Enthusiastic fanatics, basically. So it's good to just kind of share, share what you're drinking really because there was some some some gems out there and there's also probably some ones to avoid. And now if I'm drinking something from a supermarket shelf, it's kind of moved out from a bit of a snob now I probably am craft beer. God I've evolved but I feel like I should be you know, it's something I would want to drink more craft beer and and kind of support the smaller breweries and experiment a bit more so if him cracking him something that's that I would have just drunk as as as normal three or four years ago. You kind of think well, what am I missing out on something cool. So yes, mainly IPAs. Occasional kind of Porter of Christmas trying to use something like a porter. I had my partner's polish and we went to Poland. Last January 1 Before lockdown. We went to get Danks which we had never been to before. And it was still Christmas. They don't they don't show Christmas time until right at the end of January. So I was like we landed and there's like Christmas trees. Really nice. I had we went to one restaurant there and I had a I think it was like a 12% Porter. It was good stuff. I can't really it was cool.

Owen - Host: 1:19:12

Cuz you've drunk 12% beer. That's why I couldn't remember. It was

Unknown: 1:19:17

like that was a good drop. Yeah. So yeah, occasionally, I'll dabble outside of IPAs. And occasionally I like to have a bottle of single malt.

Dan - Host: 1:19:27

Yeah. Music to my ears. May I May I recommend two Instagram accounts to you. So I don't think I've mentioned this on here before. So since lockdown started, me and a group of university friends every Friday do a video call, which we've named drinking rate. And the whole point is you're meant to have a different alcoholic beverage every single drink you have. Then you rate it and then one of my friends put it up on our website. So you can go back and check and the whole point was we thought the First lockdowns can be three weeks. And after those three weeks, we were all going to meet up and you'd know what your favourite drinks were. So we've kept that going. You know, other people can have the same drinks you've had. But the whole point is you have a different drink every single time. So like, I'm on like, something like 300 different drinks over the course of the last year or so. But there's two Instagram accounts of it, which are amazing, but also give you very different types of beers. Because the whole point they're trying to highlight stuff that they didn't even know existed before they started looking. So one of them is just called drink and rate, you'll be able to find it. And the photos on there phenomenal. Like the guy runs it, Jason's done a really good job on that. And the other one is DNR, London, which is one of the other guys on there, Anthony runs that. And because of how much of a back catalogue we've had over the last year, they try and put either their favourite stuff on there, or something that's completely different. So if you're someone who's out there looking for different types of drinks, I'd highly recommend looking at those two accounts. It's also why Oh, in probably laughs at me, every single time I'm asked what I'm drinking, I go into depth. He's like, I'm not gonna go into that much there. I like this beer, it tasted

Owen - Host: 1:21:19

exactly what I'm going to do.

Dan - Host: 1:21:22

But, um, everyone's reacted to lockdown differently across the world. And I think that it's opened up a lot of different passions and interests in people. And one of the things that I found is just trying different alcohols. I've enjoyed it. And it means that in theory, once this is over, I'll just stick to my favourites. I actually think what it means is, once this is over, I'm going to keep trying different things, because I'm enjoying that experience. But it is getting harder and harder to find different alcohols out there. I think, when you say different

Unknown: 1:21:56

drinks, Don't you mean? It could be you know, a different IPA or you're you're literally drinking a 111 day you're drinking Sherry, the next day you're drinking out of the car.

Dan - Host: 1:22:06

So it could be different IPs. But as Oh, and we'll tell you, I am the type that I like to try and have literally a different alcohol each drink or have each night. So some nights I've done like, if we're on we'll start at 10. And because we've got friends who went to university with who now live in like Canada, and America, sometimes will be on there until three or four in the morning. In which case, I might have 678 different drinks. And normally I try and make them every single different thing. So I'll have a single malt, I'll have a blended whiskey, I'll have an IPA or have a porter, I'll have vise beer, which you know, the only thing is when you're rating the further in a night you get the happier you are with every drink you have. Exactly. But it's been a great experience for me. And I'd highly recommend people when you can start seeing each other again, each of you go get a load of different types of alcohols. If you're alcohol drinkers if you're not just get different types of drinks, sit together in a group and just try different things. Because not only is it a great experience, it's fun. But you're going to experience something you've not experienced before. So in what's your current dream, and how are you writing it?

Owen - Host: 1:23:25

Oh, strap in. This is going to be a half hour talk. So I've ran out of my Flavourly subscription box for the month. So I just picked up some Tescos today and I've got a Whitstable Bay Pale Ale. Just kind of a citrusy Pale Ale. I don't know if you've heard this before. I think it's quite quite a well known brand. Yeah, I enjoy it. That's That's my rating.

Dan - Host: 1:23:56

If you enjoy us the most important thing, right? Most important thing. Yeah.

Owen - Host: 1:24:00

I mean, if I did it, you know, I had maybe four or five other ones while I was cooking this afternoon. So I mean, I don't know it could be drinking water now it's fine.

Dan - Host: 1:24:09

Knowing you as I do, I'm proud that you're not asleep. Well done.

Unknown: 1:24:14

So you do I mean, do you guys when you're cooking generally are you? Are you drinking at the same time?

Owen - Host: 1:24:20

Are you any during the weekend? No dry week.

Dan - Host: 1:24:23

Yeah, that's true. Actually. What I tend to do is if I'm cooking midweek, I'm more likely to have one beer that's tall or even I will say if I've got like a tall can. I'll water it down like lemonade and I'll make it last two or three Brewfest the weekend and it's a six hour cook. When I put it on, I'll have my first drink and then I'll just see how the day goes basic. But at the same time, I know if I'm cooking, how to pace myself if I'm in a pub different question altogether. You know over a six hour cook I might only have two have three different drinks, but I just enjoy it, if it's a weekend that I unwind if I can be outdoors, with something like a brisket on for a few hours with family around, and I've just got like a beer on the go. Or even if it's like a whiskey that I'm just sipping slowly, I can't think of much better. I cannot think of much better than that sort of relaxing atmosphere. It's part of the reason that I keep looking at the ceramic barbecues at the moment, and knowing keeps laughing at me, I found an offer that I'm keeping an eye on, because I think the price is going to drop on it soon. And if it does, I'll end up with a a Kamado Joe. But but but we'll see. But um, when it gets hotter, my deal Saturday would be going outside at like eight or 9am firing that up putting a brisket or some like ribs on it. Being in the UK. For any foreign listeners, it's gonna be a much smaller brisket than you guys are used to, you know, if there's like three of us, and my daughter's for that it might be like a kilo or two kilo brisket. And if I can be literally outdoors from that time until like eight or 9pm. With a drink in my hand without going crazy. That is the perfect Saturday for me.

Unknown: 1:26:18

Does that ever happen? Do you know what laws you don't have a list of jobs to do by your commander in chief.

Dan - Host: 1:26:27

That's what somebody do. That's what suddenly a lot of people think Sunday's a day of rest, not for me.

Unknown: 1:26:35

Right? So you're different from the previous day. Yeah,

Owen - Host: 1:26:40

I might have a list, I might have a list of jobs, but at the top of it is to sit there and keep annoying a barbecue. And I can't leave because I don't want to ruin that piece of meat. Therefore I have to sit there and I'm going to get thirsty. So I might as well.

Unknown: 1:26:55

Do the other half's like the food that you cook.

Dan - Host: 1:26:59

Yeah, so my wife was really sceptical when I first got the bar, this barbecue in kind of August, which I was almost unfair because I'd previously was using a gas BBQ and I had been doing for years and we got it because we liked the idea of cooking outside. But we were always fearful of how long it would take to fire up and everything. So the gas barbecue, I'd get home from work at about six. And you know, we could be having food by TAF six, seven o'clock. So she was used to be cooking outdoors. But originally she was like, I don't know, I don't know. And then two or three weeks in she was fine with it. And now she's asking me what I'm going to be doing. For example today. I hadn't intended necessarily to actually barbecue anything I ordered on Friday, I ordered some beef short ribs, which I've never cooked before. And I'm excited for them to arrive and a brisket. And I'm expecting them to arrive tomorrow. So if they arrived in the morning, then I might have tried to rush together and do something to be ready for like literally late evening. But otherwise I wasn't really intending to do much this this weekend. But again, this is an example of how quick it can be. Got to quarter five. And Steph was like to have something on the barbecue. And that was when I decided to do this at a burgers because thinking right? Well if I do burgers, I'll be quick I can put together I've got mints ready, it'll be fine. But I want to do something different or fancy something Asian. That's how I did it. But you know that that conversation happened at quarter to five. And Steph had hers first because I did hers without the Sufi mix. And she probably had his latest half five. It's very easy impossible to do, particularly with a planter if you do in Smash burgers. I keep saying it every week or have done for last three. I cannot recommend a puncher enough to change the cooking experience on a kettle if you've never used one before. Just opens up the versatility particularly with how hot you can get our plate.

Unknown: 1:28:55

You your ribs that you did today. What did you I saw your play tip kind of had two or three quite modest domain did. Everyone else got them?

Owen - Host: 1:29:06

So yeah, my family are massively supportive of the barbecue. They love barbecue food. My wife's not even bothered the amount of barbecue that I've gotten the extra ones that I want to buy. And she's all for all for that my kids really like barbecue food as well. So I did two racks of ribs today. And I think I've got to two pieces of two original ribs left. Yeah. My son is six my daughter's eight. And between them they're a rack of spare ribs. It's my son's It's my son's favourite and he just yeah, he had five ribs on his own. So yeah, I get I get no trouble at all. My daughter likes to barbecue with me and she's got her own barbecue. So it's quite a Yes. Quite a family experience, I guess. Yeah. What about what about your your partner? Does she like getting involved or like

Unknown: 1:29:58

No, I said she's vegetarian. So She could

Dan - Host: 1:30:00

chuck veggies on the side when you're doing your cookies No

Unknown: 1:30:04

she's not No not at all. Yeah I do get to get some comments now and again but you know I can I can manage that terms of how much I'm you know spent because I mean there is spending time outside of doing it everyone else's inside the weekend maybe you haven't seen me at all during the week anyway in my my aside a lot of the weekend cooking, but you know, we try and do things together, they'll always be that list of jobs that she wants me to do. For me it is a bit of a lone wolf experience. My daughter's not normally interested in squat got limited interest in food other than quavers and KitKats nothing there is every day though. So yeah, it is it is a bit of a solo experience for me, which is fine, really only pleasing, pleasing myself I just have to make sure that if I am down to do that the family cook as well that there is something for them to be at the same time that you know so it's a little bit different from from others the from yourselves and you know, you see people with their kids or in their videos and or getting stuck in and the whole family's tucking into their barbecue but slightly different, different for me. So a lot of what I do in the summer in the last few days, some of it goes in the freezer, try not to waste waste any of it any of those pork belly burnt ends, which is do you guys cook recipes a lot are you tending to try and make your own your own

Owen - Host: 1:31:39

dishes. If I'm trying something new, I will generally follow a recipe and I've got a number of barbecue recipe books, you know a few of the Webber recipe books. So I tend to kind of follow those. Although I'm one of those people if I don't have all of the ingredients if I can't be bothered to go get it I will just kind of do it without and just make it to the best of my abilities when you know it won't necessarily taste the same. A lot of what I do actually with cooking I will just end even if I'm not in the barbecue you know if I make a chilli or spaghetti bolognese or whatever it is, I don't measure I just free pour and just just doing my own taste really just

Unknown: 1:32:22

because people have asked me about certain things I've done not very often but now and again and I have no idea how much stuff I put in I just said I haven't I haven't weighed it out thinking I need to tell someone that someone will be interested in this. I've just chucked it in and it's just it's just come out how it hasn't. I used to write stuff down when I was learning and I was I did I didn't roll on the barbecue kind of core so James and if you've if you know James from barbecue.com So he kind of did that or does a kind of a barbecue course for beginners I didn't join as a beginner I just like joined for other reasons but one of the things he advocates is make take notes is right write everything down and I did start to do that and I can't we just got out of the habit but it would be useful we have someone actually said Well hey did you make that if you've major in rub for example, or you've made a source or so I made I made I made a source last year with just with windfall apples from a farm and hedgerow blackberries and I just made that up it was just you know just on the stove made it up I don't know how much of what I put in it there was a little bit habanero sauce went in there and sugar and I don't know quantities I used it so soon that really well you know it was really good and I managed to make enough for a couple of bowls. Try and do it again. No sort of in the autumn when those fruits are around but if see if someone asked me you know what what went in here I'm gonna be able to tell you I was just curious as to because I know some people do they do buy cookbooks and they go through them quite religiously cooking on you know the dishes on the barbecue and it's not it's not something I do I kind of like you know, I've got a few tools to reference if I want to remind myself how I did something before or or to check on something I'm doing new for generally I don't I'm not following recipes and a lot of the similar will have one pot cooks I do is very much just to taste if I think it's if it's not spicy enough I'll just show some more chilli sauce in there.

Dan - Host: 1:34:33

Taste is so important because you can be following any recipe. If you if you are so inclined for a few taste then it's alright for you. That doesn't mean that you have to stop because the book says otherwise you have to make it to the best of to your flavour because everyone's palates different does what would say to us kind of define recipe so I have a load of cookbooks that I like to read and I take ideas from my will. I'm not the type of person to have that page open As I'm doing what I'm doing, but similarly if I'm doing something low and slow apart from chicken where I use the rule of 75 Stay alive. I will always check the temperatures of what you need to be online. And if you're doing something like a brisket and you decide to I'm just going to salt and pepper but then you're checking online for temperatures to kind of cook to when you're going to wrap and stuff does that count as far as following a recipe?

Unknown: 1:35:24

No, the question was was if you've got a want to cook a dish Yeah, I don't know like, what's that? That I can't pronounce it that dish with tomatoes and eggs in it?

Dan - Host: 1:35:34

Tomato eggs.

Unknown: 1:35:35

Yes it's quite it's quite vogue to do it people have it for breakfast. I can't know what it's called. But it would be I wouldn't know how to make it so I would I would go to a recipe and I would follow it through you know, X grammes of this y grammes of that and and so that's what I would mean going natural specific dish to to follow it through you know, I check on temperatures all the time. And then and then it will throw up something with pork the porks internal temperature say it has dropped you know, the the US have dropped it to 145 Fahrenheit now and I don't know it just kind of a bit of slightly confusing report, with shops and what have you, and things like that, but no, I do all the time. Check. Check. remind myself what the safe internal tempo of something is.

Owen - Host: 1:36:24

Yeah, me too. It's we do a bit of barbecue. Bingo.

Dan - Host: 1:36:27

I think it's that time, isn't it? I think it's our time. To me, from what you've been saying. I think a signature dish is pulled pork, but correct me if I'm wrong, please do

Unknown: 1:36:36

that for me. I don't think I don't think I have one. I don't do pull pull.

Dan - Host: 1:36:44

And may I suggest something? If signature dish comes up. I want you to do a bread and butter pudding on the barbecue.

Owen - Host: 1:36:51

Okay. Can you see the wheel?

Unknown: 1:36:54

Veggie meal will be like a busman's holiday.

Owen - Host: 1:37:00

Okay, so I'm gonna spin the wheel. And if you're not if you're not familiar with the barbecue, bingo, so we'll spin this wherever it lands on if you could then take that challenge. Go away. cook something for us. Tag us in on on Instagram and for Facebook. Use the hashtag barbecue bingo. And yeah, we've had some fantastic cooks so far, and I'm really excited to see what you get. Are you ready? Yep. Yep, far away. Let's click to Spain Mom, I

Dan - Host: 1:37:38

love it. I love it.

Owen - Host: 1:37:41

It says, Winter. Winter with that. Are you a lover or a hater?

Unknown: 1:37:46

I don't eat it. But I will do I will do that challenge. That's fine. It's not. That's that's really interesting, because that's gonna need some thought. Yeah, that's very interesting.

Owen - Host: 1:37:58

Chicken. Yeah, if I might check that. I think I didn't know that was Yeah, yeah, I've eaten a Chinese restaurant before. Just okay, chicken breasts in like a Marmite sauce is really good.

Dan - Host: 1:38:08

I regularly cook with Marmite. I think a teaspoon of Marmite is really good in a chilli. Okay.

Unknown: 1:38:16

Well, yeah, that's interesting one. That's quite good. Let's give some thought to that. Well,

Dan - Host: 1:38:21

we've been asking you questions for last two hours. But do you have any questions that you'd like to ask us at all? Or even? Do you have a question that you think people should be talking about more in the barbecue community, which no one seems to be doing?

Unknown: 1:38:37

I'm just gonna is his community kind of orientated? How would you see the community evolving? And, Dan, you've sort of said on one of the previous broadcast about, you don't think there's enough talk and conversation? And do you think that would need to take a different medium to say Instagram lives? And how do you see the need for that conversation fitting in and evolving as the community grows?

Dan - Host: 1:39:08

Recently in the UK, there was an article in The Guardian about a British barbecuing, and it was with John torode. And the other guy from MasterChef kind of saying British barbecue is awful. It's all about kind of black on the outside Ronnie inside plastic utensils. It's not good stick to what you're doing. Now, I felt that was done a bit tongue in cheek and it was also done to sell a magazine, magazine and newspaper and salaried. But what I liked about it was that it actually got people talking passionately for about a week. Now it wasn't even necessarily an Instagram lives, loads of people put up posts talking about how amazing British barbecue is, how the community has been growing how they've been so inspired over the last year. and some people got so passionate and angry about it, that later dates, they took their posts down. And I personally loved the passion in the original posts, I won't name names because they obviously took them down for a reason. And some of them were quite big profiles. But that was an example of where there was a wider discussion about barbecue rather than just look what I've done here. Look how pretty this picture is. I really enjoyed that. And it surprised me because if you'd asked me that two weeks ago, I would have probably said, I think it needs more Instagram lives, I think it needs more forums where people are actively talking. And that's a big reason why we did the podcast. However, that opened up my eyes to the fact that people can have discussions on Instagram, through posts, which I hadn't considered before, because it is such an image heavy social media format. But conversations were opened up there. I just I can't quite see how you start those conversations without that type of new story first grade. Exactly. But I do think that's the next evolution. So people are being inspired by what they're seeing people cook and how they're cooking it. They're learning from what people are doing. By personally think the next step is people almost just saying, What are you cooking the Sunday? What meat have you got? How are you looking to cook it? What's your favourite setup? How just just those kind of open questions and more of a form going on whether Instagram is the correct social media outlet for that type of conversation is yet to be seen. But I think that's the next step. Personally, what are you on?

Owen - Host: 1:41:46

Yeah, I kind of agree with what you're saying. And I think this this summer is going to be quite interesting. Because obviously, a lot of the growth of the community has happened over the last 12 months. And I think as our freedoms become or come back to us, I think actually, conversations will naturally happen when people can start meeting up again, and start having cooks together, you know, festival, you know, smoke, cooking festivals, barbecue competitions and stuff, start to get back on on track. Actually, there's going to be a bit more physical interaction, which will naturally then spill over into social media, into podcasting into into newspapers and magazines. And also, obviously, there is a great magazine at the moment, isn't there? The barbecue magazine? Yeah. Which is a UK based magazine. And if you've seen it now, yeah, yeah. So again, I subscribe to that. But again, it's it's just another medium of a way of kind of getting more people interested into into barbecue. So that's also another format, I think, do you

Unknown: 1:42:51

think excited. Conversation may also, or the whole community may also evolve when there are more products available in our market, whether that's, you know, barbecue, specific cuts of meat more readily available in butchers or doing that as kind of standard, whether there's more, you know, competitive price decent lumpwood. On the market, we have quite limited choices, I think, and whether whether suppliers will see an opportunity, and we're looking at certain types of I mean, we're, we're not short of rubs, rubs is fine. I think sources, I think it's fine. The choice of barbecues is pretty extensive as well.

Dan - Host: 1:43:38

Do you know what I think? That's a great question. The point that you just said about barbecues, I slightly disagree with, because I've been doing research recently on ceramic barbecues, and until I started looking in depth that that I was only really aware of two, maybe three brands. Not only that, I didn't realise that the one that Aldi had been doing which a lot of people been ranting and raving about because of the price point is a garden line. Ceramic. But before I started actually looking into it, only knew about Big Green Egg and Kamado Joe, I didn't know about monolith. I didn't know about Primeau. I've seen quite a few French brands that I'd never heard

Unknown: 1:44:23

of before. See ovo ones well, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah.

Dan - Host: 1:44:27

But some of those are very hard to come across in okay. And if you do, there's not that much information on some of the sites have found them. It's just this grill doesn't tell you what accessories it comes with. It doesn't you can see on those websites, particularly if you go on Google with Google Translate now some of the French ones and they talk and boast about the fact they've got some of them we've got five different kind of cooking areas and that's how or cooking domes that's how they separate themselves from Kamado Joe and Big Green Egg that have like for two, depending on the setups, but if you went on some of these websites and had a look, you wouldn't get that it just says this green.

Unknown: 1:45:10

It's interesting. So maybe then maybe then the market in, in grills as well needs to needs to react to the, to the surge in interest that we have. But I was just thinking that animate Yeah, maybe my, my comment was, because I haven't really looked for a new, a new bit of kit at all, since getting the massive search, in terms of some of the sort of consumable products that we need to use all the time. I'm thinking, you know, smoking wood, and limp wood, in particular weather. And also, you know, butchers reacting, and being a bit more barbecue savvy as well, whether that will further kind of help help support the evolution of barbecue in this country, and whether whether they'll, you know, there are suppliers out there that will see that as an opportunity or not,

Dan - Host: 1:46:03

oh, it's definitely more of an expert on the meat front for me, because I know, he's been looking at a few different places. And again, being in Suffolk, I don't get access to some of the online butchers that sorts everything through some of the London markets that sometimes have some of the best, particularly the imports from America. And I know Owens been looking around at the kind of different meat types more than me, I'd argue. So you've probably got a better understanding on that side going.

Owen - Host: 1:46:29

Yeah, I think the biggest frustration at the moment is stock because of this surge in interest, which is fantastic, because more people are, are interested in barbecuing, and more people are getting into it as a as a hobby and that style of cooking, which is only a good thing. But actually, when you when you're consistently barbecuing three or four times a week, and like you said these consumable goods, stock is a real pain in the backside of the moment, everything's, you know, everything's out of stock, it's actually quite difficult to get some of the things that you need. So I think we just just need more stock of things. You know, like, we've spoke about a few few of these podcasts about the only fire rotisseries they're like, it's like winning the lottery, getting one of those, you know, at the moment, and we were talking again, not necessarily barbecue related, but about beer machines last week, they can you can't get them for love nor money. So, that's, I think, an issue that we just because there is that surge we just need to have our retailers have more stock, or we just protocol perhaps and we're not looking around hard enough for them. But in terms of the meat side of things, yes. If butchers are more aware of the kind of American style cuts of meat that tradition is associated with low and slow and having that readily available is only going to encourage people don't want to try it. I usually go to a local butcher but here's a traditional English butchers and it's actually very difficult to come by you know the Boston but you know, the flat point and you know, Packer briskets you know the big huge pieces of meat which then makes it difficult then I'm then trying to search online for other things. I mean, just location wise, I'm quite lucky that I'm in Essex so that Ford Ford and sons can go to London, you know, Smithfield market every morning and get the meet. I do get to have that American style meet and it's quite easily accessible for me. But obviously they couldn't deliver to you and perhaps your local butcher doesn't have it. Therefore you're always you're always looking for online opportunities. So it just take away the sort of support local element of it. Yeah, a little

Unknown: 1:48:51

bit I kind of I kind of done a lot of other kind of joints sort of more more English I guess you say more English term haven't done ribs for a long time. Ribs just you just don't walk into butchers here and find some Louis rooms on the counter eat no matter how good your butcher is. They just they just don't you know they just don't seem to do ribs a great deal. So I've been doing doing a lot of punishment joints and sort of more classic English stuff. I guess I used to do I mean I have bought online last year, possibly do that again, pretty much it's interesting to sort of look at how we feel that the you know that the retailers and and whatnot the supply chain is is meeting demand. It's just interest. Interesting. What your perspective on that.

Dan - Host: 1:49:41

I think that compared to America, even Australia, Canada again, if you walk into a supermarket in the UK, you are really limited in your options. When you're looking at barbecuing and low and slow. You'll be very lucky to find a brisket. in a supermarket in the UK, if you do, it's very much lower end budget, there's not much fat on it, it's a much, much smaller cut. The beef isn't fed in the same way. Not only that, it's quite often rolled as well. So if you want like a decent brisket to cook with, you need to either speak to butcher to order it in order online. Again, with ribs, as you've said yourself, I find it quite hard to actually track down decent beef ribs, I need to order them online or I need to speak to a butcher and ask for them almost two weeks in advance, which might even sound like comical if you're in a different country, and you see the type of cooks that people are regularly doing. But I do think that will improve in the next maybe 18 months, because of what we're seeing at the moment, there is definitely you know, we'll set this compared to the population of the UK, it's probably a mini boom, in barbecuing, but there's definitely something going on, which I think will transform the amount of meats available to us in the next 18 months.

Owen - Host: 1:51:05

I suppose what we should say as well really is there are still plenty of butchers and yeah, retailers that will do those cuts of meat. But perhaps we've just not sourced the muscle, you know, we've not found us

Dan - Host: 1:51:18

not even that it's I think a normal butcher will do it for you. But it's not high in demand. So you need to give them notice.

Unknown: 1:51:26

Yeah, exactly. And you can't you can't just wake up and say, You know what, it's fancy rack of ribs. So even the farm my farm shops, great, you know, as a really quite good quality purchase counter. But I would I couldn't walk in. If they wouldn't have, you know, a nice rack of St. Louis ribs. They're waiting for me to just to buy, you know, which is? I'm not sure we perhaps wouldn't mean that never get to that point, then I don't know, just just kind of Yeah, how there's an IP, whether that whether they think there's an opportunity there, or what have you said is that this is just a mini boom. And perhaps it's it's it's peaked, would be interesting to see.

Dan - Host: 1:52:07

Everyone has a different opinion. But I think because of the way that I think work throughout the UK will probably change in the next six to 10 months. If more people are working from home, they'll have more time and opportunity to do the type of cooks. That low and slow barbecue is, particularly as our weather is very different from some of the other countries that we're talking about. But if you're working from home more, you've got the opportunity to chuck something on at lunch. And it'd be low and slow. And then I'll be ready for you after you finished work. Which, if you're in the office Monday to Friday, you just don't have time to do.

Owen - Host: 1:52:44

Yeah, yeah. Yes. I think I think that what you've mentioned earlier about, will we ever get to that point where it is just readily available everywhere? I probably think not. I think I just don't think the interest will be the core interest, you know, for like us, you know, where we're constantly barbecuing doesn't matter this way winch snow, hail or whatever, we will get out there. We will cook if it's a Monday, Sunday, whatever. I suppose fundamentally, probably not enough people in the country would be willing to do that three or four times a week, you know, every single month of the year. So you know, naturally bigger retailers, let's say at Tescos you know Waitrose, etc. Their focus for barbecue is probably May through to to August. And that's that's when the demand is highest. That's when they cater for it most.

Dan - Host: 1:53:43

So yeah, yeah. Well, Nick for the mood. I think it's a good conversation. And I also want to say thank you for taking two and a half hours out of your Saturday to spend the time to sit down and talk to two grumpy guys who love barbecue. We can be and give your two pence on it. It's been great speaking to you. And not only do I wish you all the best in the future, but I'm sure we'll probably have you on again because there's still so many things that

Unknown: 1:54:21

that because it'd be good to have a bit of a catch up. Yeah,

Dan - Host: 1:54:24

thank you so much. And do you want to give yourself one last one last plug to anyone who's listening how to find you and see what you do? Oh, yes,

Unknown: 1:54:30

I am. So I'm really only on Instagram, picnic, BBQ. Mostly weekend cooks. So most of my activities of the weekend. But as we've spoken, mainly post on my on my grid. They call it pasted my beers as well. So yeah, do get in touch always good to get get feedback and conversation going. Even if it's just on on posts. That's where you'll find me.

Owen - Host: 1:54:54

Really well. Thanks for your time, Nick, and we look forward to seeing what you do in Marmite.

Unknown: 1:54:59

Oh yeah. sleepless night first

Owen - Host: 1:55:04

hashtag barbecue bingo.

Unknown: 1:55:07

Great. Thank you both. Right cheers Nick

Owen - Host: 1:55:13

That's it for another episode of the meat & Greet BBQ podcast. Thanks to Nick for joining us from picnic barbecue. You can find him on Instagram. And we'd love to hear from you on the show. So if you could contact us to let us know about anything that you'd like to discuss on the podcast or anything we've discussed that you have some questions around or you'd love us to explain in more detail. Please get in contact through our social media channels such as meat & Greet BBQ podcast on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can email us on meat & Greet BBQ podcast@gmail.com And check out our new website meat & Greet BBQ podcast.com. Also, we'd love any reviews for you to like and subscribe and until next time, keep on grilling