Let's Talk BBQ
Welcome Center => New Member Introductions => Topic started by: Gentleknight on April 19, 2016, 09:23:53 AM
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I guess these opening introductions are standard here.... I am an American from Chicago area that has been living in the Netherlands (my wife is Dutch) for 4 years. Yes, the land of tulips (hundreds of acres blooming right now as I write this), windmills (both vintage and modern), and wooden shoes (not much worn any more), and where there are more bicycles than residents. I enjoy making mead, gardening and of course, grilling/smoking.
My principal tool has been a Weber kettle grill, but I just ordered a Pit Barrel Cooker yesterday from a place in UK, although it's not as affordable as it is in the USA. Am anxious to try a duck on it. Have done a few brined and spatchcocked ducks on grill, and even tried one years ago on an indoor electric rotisserie but the drip pan overflowed. Will be interesting to see how the PBC does with it and all that fat that inevitably drips from it. Their video says it turns out great.
I also enjoy doing brisket. Originally, it took me 4 or 5 attempts while I was still in America to get it right, and Meathead Goldwyn became something of my guru when (at the time), he was the only one that mentioned "the stall". Since then, I've had many successes, but it is a challenge to find a brisket here where the typical meat servings are about 4 ounces. Before you laugh, know that the Dutch are the tallest people in the world, and my 77 year old female neighbor rides a bike 20 miles, so they're quite healthy. But, when I first looked at the meat counter(s) over here, I didn't recognize anything except rib steaks (very thinly cut), and entrecote (filet). Everything is cut differently, and into smaller pieces. Most BBQ here is kabobs, although the Dutch are starting to "up their game" and have a TV series now. http://www.rtl.nl/grillmasters-wie-is-de-beste-bbqer-van-nederland/#!/342009/ (Google Translate is my friend).
Have been making some widely appreciated burgers here (about 1/3 lb, nicely seasoned and with a cheddar slice), but it has taken years to find some butchers that have or will do large American cuts. Even that is somewhat limited as they don't want to do an entire cow or piggie in American style cuts, but I can get a few cuts. Turkey (regular ones, not the big breasted american supermarket kind) is available on special order (about 9 lbs), and I can special order brisket (took 2 or 3 attempts and multiple print out diagrams to get it cut right); sometimes a beef rib roast or thick rib steaks, and some nice pork ribs are available from a butcher that raises pigs. I have never seen a cured ham here (except thin sliced lunch meat) but they have some outstanding lamb from the island of Texel on the north coast. And of course, the range of beers, Belgian and otherwise, to wash it down is awesome. The big cuts are out there if you know where to go.
Can't wait for my 18 guage porcelin lined 30 gallon beauty to arrive.
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Welcome from North Carolina. I've lived and worked in Europe and understand your frustrations. PBC's are great cookers but don't get rid of your Weber, either.
Hub
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Here's another North Carolina welcome. Glad you could join us.
Art
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Welcome from SE Georgia!
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Welcome from Southern California
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Thanks for the welcomes. Yes, I plan to keep the Weber; it has done everything from burgers to briskets, though not as easily and elegantly as the PBC seems to do, for brisket and pulled pork anyway. Ribs will probably go to PBC, esp when doing more than 3 or 4 racks, and burgers and chops for 2 of us will stay on Weber. The right tool for the job!
Thanks again gents.
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Welcome from sw Washington. Love the Netherlands. Go there from time to time for work. Eindhoven. Have yet to go this time of year to see the tulips.
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Welcome from Alabama :D
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Welcome from So Cal. Even if you paid a bit more for the PBC it is so worth it 8)
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Welcome from Lower Alabama. We like pictures so get your camera out... Look forward to seeing you here.
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Have lots of before and after pics of previous cooks, tig, esp ones from before I moved here.
You should try to catch tulip season fishing....pretty spectacular. We have lots of cars stopping in front of house the year the field across the street was all tulips. I should have opened a stand to sell ribs and Mead !!! LOL
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Hello and welcome from NW Ohio..I bet it is just beautiful there now.. Pam .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.
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Welcome from Wisconsin :)
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Greetings from North Texas.
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Thanks Pam, Tom and Billy. I lived in the Cincinnati-Dayton area for a lot of years, and then in Cleveland-Akron area too. Dallas for 3 years as a kid.
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Welcome from Minnesota
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Welcome from N. Ontario Canada.
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Thanks Pappy (isn't that avatar a character from WKRP in Cincinnati?) and N Ontario. I appreciate it and hope to get to know you soon.
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Thanks Pappy (isn't that avatar a character from WKRP in Cincinnati?) and N Ontario. I appreciate it and hope to get to know you soon.
That ain't Pappy? >:( You mean all this time I been seeing that picture and thinking it was him?
Boy howdy ;) Thought you could trust what you read and seen on the net :D :D :D :D :D :D
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Welcome from Savannah, GA.
We use to hit the flee markets and shop in the Netherlands while station in Germany.
Always had a good time , eat some great food, drink lot's of beer, got some great buys and everyone spoke English as well.
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Thanks Pappy (isn't that avatar a character from WKRP in Cincinnati?) and N Ontario. I appreciate it and hope to get to know you soon.
That ain't Pappy? >:( You mean all this time I been seeing that picture and thinking it was him?
Boy howdy ;) Thought you could trust what you read and seen on the net :D :D :D :D :D :D
I'll never tell
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Welcome from Manitoba ;D Canada
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Thanks Savannah and CDN. In the cities, most folks speak English as well as Dutch, although in the more rural area where I live, only about half speak English, and most of them want you to speak Dutch. There is also Friesian in the northeast of the country, so if you were to drive from Leeuwarden to Paris (a 5 hour drive) you'd hit 4 or 5 different languages. To hear Dutch, it sounds like German, with a bit of French, and some totally unfamiliar language, with some English words tossed in here and there. Despite attempts, I have a very rough time with trying to learn the language, despite being here for 4 years now.
They say my PBC will be here on Friday, although I am skeptical. Have often had problems lately with getting stuff from there despite being a member of the EU (at least until the Brexit vote in June).
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Welcome from Houston.
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Yay !! The PBC arrived today.....even a day early !!! Might try a skinless turkey breast I bought today.... Need to figure out some kind of fat for top so it doesn't dry out.
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Here's another Ohio welcome!
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Welcome from northern Cali.
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Thanks TH and Sparky. Just hung the boneless, skinless 1.4 kg turkey breast with 4 strips of bacon through the hooks. Hung it from the grate as I also want to do some chicken wings a bit later. No Kingsford over here, so I am using some briquettes that are a bit smaller. Put a (admittedly cheap) thermometer on the grate to see what the temps look like in a half hour or so. Here's hoping !! (Have some pics, but don't have a photo bucket account.... yet). And the meat goes on......
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At a half hour into the cook, the temp at the grate shows 400 F. Might be the smaller briquettes, or might be that we are 4 meters below sea level. Will try closing the vent to less than 1/4 for future cooks. Might try putting some foil partially over the vent as a stopgap measure.
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Temp at one point wet up to 425 F. Cut a bigger piece of foil to cover vent, which got the temp down to 350 at one hour. The turkey breast was at 140 F, and the bacon was crispy, so no longer dripping down the turkey. Put the chicken wings on at hour and 15 minutes into cook. The provided Pit Barrel All Purpose Rub seemed rather salty (as one reviewer commented) so I only used a small amount and mainly used Meathead's Simon & Garfunkel rub. Made a nice blue cheese dip from some Stilton Blue we have. Supervised by Grimbergen Dubbel.
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At an hour and 50 minutes, I sauced, turned, and sauced the wings. Temp was back up to 400, but I noticed my foil plug had fallen out. I can see that this below sea level/smaller briquette thing is going to require some adaptations....
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Another Alabama welcome.
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Greetings TwoPockets. A half ton of cast iron? I have a "Dutch oven" (the Dutch never heard of Dutch oven, Dutch door, Dutch chocolate and lots of other stuff), and a skillet that I brought from USA. Haven't really seen it sold new or in resale shops over here.
First cook conclusion.... Wings were done im about 90 minutes, despite temp fluctuation. Turkey breast was done in about 2 1/2 hours, but was a bit dry, although, in all fairness, it also tends to be dry when done in the oven. Pretty good for a new grill. Will adjust that vent today before I do the next cook.
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Another Minnesota welcome.
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Greetings drholly. That's quite an array of equipment you have listed there !!!
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Greetings drholly. That's quite an array of equipment you have listed there !!!
Hey Gentleknight - that's not quite how my wife puts it... ??? ??? ::) ::)