BBQ Advice

[BobbyL]

I saw a decent BBQ (ÄPPLARÖ / KLASEN for 12,500THB) at Ikea however it is a charcoal one.

 

I know back home in England most people had charcoal BBQs as it was easy to buy the coal and fire lighters from a local shop to use throughout the summer. I don't really ever recall seeing those things on sale here in places like Foodland, Viila or Tesco. 

 

Might be an incredibly stupid question, but is it easy to buy bags of charcoal and fire lighters for a BBQ? 

[BritManToo]

the 'cheap plastic' shops and most 'mom and pop' stores sell bags of it.

Not sure they use firelighters but those bundles of 'extra sappy' wood they sell seems to work.

Edited May 10, 2020 by BritManToo

[Don Mega]

bags of charcoal are like 10b, very very common and surprised you have seen it around.

 

As for fire lighters, buy a pair of flip flops and cut them up... set them on fire using a ciggie lighter.

[BobbyL]

Haha great. Cheers for the info. 

[Crossy]

We get our charcoal from a local chap, burned in the traditional manner using sustainable wood (forestry thinnings) and delivered on his bicycle. Pretty well carbon-neutral.

 

Getting it going is far easier than those ruddy briquettes ever were, a few bits of split wood and the gas torch are most effective ????

 

Not sure I'd pay 12 grand for a barbie, 1/2 a small oil drum is quite effective ????

 

[Hank Gunn]

The local Home Pro and Makro, here in Buriram both sell preformed charcoal “logs”, about 6-8” long. Sort of the Thai version of briquettes. They typically have a hole down the center (core) so light relatively easily.

 

We also use the “natural” country made charcoal that we get from my mother in law. The crucial item though is a Weber charcoal chimney/starter. Has a chamber at the bottom for crumpled up paper, a larger main chamber where you place the charcoal (I stack those Thai charcoal logs vertically for easier starting) and vents at the bottom for air flow and where you can light the paper. I brought one back from a trip back to the US a couple of years ago and it’s been great.

[pineapple01]

And above all get Drunk.

[DPKANKAN]

2 hours ago, BobbyL said:

Haha great. Cheers for the info. 

Plus Homepro for weber style bbq or Thai Watsadu for rectangular. Lazada for spit roaster add-ons. Etc. ????????????????????????????????

[fredwiggy]

I left a good BBQ-Smoker I bought from Academy where I last worked in Texas because I thought I could buy a gas one here, until I saw how much they were and regretted not bringing ,y grill with me when I moved here. I didn't know they not only sold charcoal here but my family makes it. I'm now looking for the 1/2 oil drum kind because I do like BBQ chicken pork and whenever I can find it, beef.

[Surelynot]

Going to be a lone voice here, but never understood BBQ's......cooking on a BBQ with all the hassle it entails only 20' away from a perfectly good kitchen?.....Crazy.

[fredwiggy]

Just now, Surelynot said:

Going to be a lone voice here, but never understood BBQ's......cooking on a BBQ with all the hassle it entails only 20' away from a perfectly good kitchen?.....Crazy.

Taste from certain woods, sauces especially made for BBQ and cooking outside, where the heat goes.

[Crossy]

6 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

Going to be a lone voice here, but never understood BBQ's......cooking on a BBQ with all the hassle it entails only 20' away from a perfectly good kitchen?.....Crazy.

 

Madam has a charcoal fired hob. The amount of energy put out is incredible, far, far more than the poxy gas stove in the kitchen. It makes superb UK style chips as the oil really doesn't get cooled much when they go in.

 

[Surelynot]

15 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Taste from certain woods, sauces especially made for BBQ and cooking outside, where the heat goes.

Guess that could be root of my problem.....not a foody. Only think about food when I get hungry and then want to eat straight away.

[fredwiggy]

Just now, Surelynot said:

Guess that could be root of my problem.....not a foody. Only think about food when I get hungry and then want to eat straight away.

BBQ ing is quick if you have the grill loaded beforehand. If you've never tasted grilled fish, chicken, hamburgers and steak,you're missing out.

[Surelynot]

4 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

BBQ ing is quick if you have the grill loaded beforehand. If you've never tasted grilled fish, chicken, hamburgers and steak,you're missing out.

Will get she who must be obeyed to get her act together.......I'll supervise.

[sungod]

I use the local charcoal others are talking about.

 

The tip for lighting it is put a few good pieces on the grill part, then sit that over a gas hob for a few minutes so the coal starts to glow. This way no need for fire lighters.

[sungod]

2 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

Will get she who must be obeyed to get her act together.......I'll supervise.

Drink beer and watch.

[Sam Lin]

On 5/9/2020 at 11:31 PM, Hank Gunn said:

The local Home Pro and Makro, here in Buriram both sell preformed charcoal “logs”, about 6-8” long. Sort of the Thai version of briquettes. They typically have a hole down the center (core) so light relatively easily.

 

We also use the “natural” country made charcoal that we get from my mother in law. The crucial item though is a Weber charcoal chimney/starter. Has a chamber at the bottom for crumpled up paper, a larger main chamber where you place the charcoal (I stack those Thai charcoal logs vertically for easier starting) and vents at the bottom for air flow and where you can light the paper. I brought one back from a trip back to the US a couple of years ago and it’s been great.

 

The charcoal "logs" sold at Makro etc are coconut husk charcoal, they are very dense, slow to light but also slow to burn. Once you get them lit they provide heat for a very long time. They tend to provide a cooler, long/gentle heat profile. Depending on the fillers used, they can ash heavily or not. The smoke is a very light, neutral flavor - don't count on them to provide a smoked flavor at all. These are suitable for tabletop hibachi grilling (and that's where they are primarily used, yakiniku tabletop restaurants).

 

The natural wood lump charcoal that many villagers make at home is available everywhere, you may not see it openly displayed because it's so commonplace and dirty. Comes in big burlap sacks from the farm, then the retailer usually rebags it into smaller plastic bags. Ask a local Thai, I guarantee someone sells it within a block or 2 of you. Depending on the wood used, this charcoal varies in output. Large dense pieces are excellent for long/slow cooks, broken up small pieces burn fast and hot if you can keep them from clogging airflow. The amount of smoke and flavor also varies widely - if you're trying to do a long smoke, it pays to sort this charcoal carefully. There are always pieces of square cut construction lumber that is garbage for smoking, it burns very fast and who knows what chemicals are in the wood - use that for hot and fast searing.

 

For lighting, Makro sells Aro chafing dish alcohol cubes in single serve packs that provide a clean and simple way to light. I used to use cotton balls soaked in isopropyl alcohol, just keep a little jar of them. All you need is one. You really don't need a chimney starter, but if you want to use one, Lazada has cheaper knockoffs as well as the Weber name brand. I do use a chimney in the US when I start briquettes, but I've never needed it for lump charcoal here in Thailand (and I have 2 of them here, unused).

 

[pineapple01]

I dread them unless near paralytic drunk.

[Sam Lin]

For the grill itself, Weber (and Kamado Joe, and many others) is imported by BBQThai:

https://bbqthai.com/

 

TrueValue Thailand imports a variety of other grills as well as a large assortment of name brand Western charcoal briquettes. Make sure you're sitting down before reading the charcoal prices:

http://www.truevaluethailand.com/index.aspx?pid=28ed20ef-8e56-493f-be86-5faca7a62630

 

FFT is a newer company also bringing in kamado style cookers at a lower price point:

http://kamadothailand.com/

 

Lazada has a large number of charcoal options as well, search lump charcoal and look at related sellers and items.

Edited May 11, 2020 by Sam Lin
add lump charcoal info

[innosiem]

On 5/10/2020 at 3:21 PM, Surelynot said:

Guess that could be root of my problem.....not a foody. Only think about food when I get hungry and then want to eat straight away.

i am not a "foody" either
as i am carnivore and eat very few foods (meat, fish, eggs, cheese)
i got an offset smoker/BBQ
most of the time (since buying) i cook once a week
one big 10 hour smoke off????
then slice and vac pack
then i just eat when hungry straight away
which is usually 1-2kg of smoked meat OMAD

it just doesn't come out the same using the oven in kitchen

 

[Grumpy one]

I had a couple of charcoal fired BBQ's here.

I found the quality of the charcoal

For 10 grand I have a great 3 burner gas BBQ with a side burner for a pot.

No stink and great to cook on

[norfolkandchance]

This is what I use for a charcoal BBQ. 20 Baht from Mom and Pops. Impregnated coconut coir. Cut an inch off. Lie on charcoal, light, cover with charcoal. Away you go.

[bangsaenguy]

Check the website for bbqgrillsthai.com. He had some nice stuff