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LIFE OUTSIDE The Lab

For those that don’t know, I’m a dead keen BBQ fan. In fact, it’s a bit of an obsession, to the point that I will BBQ a minimum of 5 times a week and that’s in sun, rain, snow and hail. I was asked to write an article about something personal so I thought an article on the art of BBQ could be a popular one.

MY LOVE OF A BBQ!

By Ashley Byrne

So I have 5 BBQ’s and I have my heart set on a monster smoker which would take the total to 6 - which could be considered madness but there is method to this. At work I have a gas BBQ and whilst I am a charcoal crazy BBQ’er, sometimes gas just suits the situation. At work I need the BBQ quick, it needs to cater for nearly 40 people, and I need to do this in my lunch hour. So for this purpose gas works, but it’s not real BBQ in my eyes.

Charcoal or wood BBQ is real BBQ and no gas and lava rocks will flavour a brisket with the same woody smokey flavour you get over charcoal. My charcoal BBQ’s at home range in size and shape, and I use them for many different ways to BBQ, however my go to is the Kamado type and in my case, it’s a Kamado Joe. I also have a BBQ for kebabs, one for camping and one diddy one for on the table street food but 95% of the time it’s the Kamado Joe.

A good quality Kamado Joe will set you back £1,500 and that’s without the accessories but we’ll come to that later. Many will think that is eye watering for a BBQ but it is vastly more than your normal BBQ - you need to think of this as an outdoor oven, BBQ, smoker, grill and much more. If you get the pizza insert, it’s a proper pizza oven; the rotisserie will make the greatest chicken you’ve ever eaten; and although I’m not a dessert person, finishing with a rotisserie rum soaked roasted pineapple is out of this world (trust me).

A Kamado BBQ has a ceramic base and lid and weighs a tonne - which is key to it holding its heat. It has an adjustable vent at the top and bottom allowing you to control the air flow. It can run at 450ºC for mind blowing seared steaks, but also down to 100ºC for an incredible 18 hour slow smoked brisket on just one batch of charcoal. The higher the air flow, the hotter the temperature and the faster you burn your charcoal.

When it comes to charcoal, never ever ever ever buy cheap charcoal or even worse, briquettes. It’s full of chemicals and will taint your food to give it that firefighter taste. Do not use lighter fluid! You want sustainable good quality lump wood charcoal and get yourself some eco lighters, which are cheap and work vastly better. Good charcoal is super easy to light. My go to is Big K restaurant grade and if I’m feeling very fancy, companies like Whittle and Flame make world class charcoal using niche types of wood which will change the flavours of what you cook. Oak is epic for steaks but I prefer apple wood for pulled pork.

Boards make a great presentation for a BBQ

Back to the BBQ! You then have two main types of cooking - direct or indirect. Direct is your classic open charcoal and a grill plate on top, where the flames will lick the bottom of your steak and give a charred exterior and a pink middle. Indirect has a heat deflector in place which allows the BBQ to become more of an oven. That does crispy wings which are juicy and tender inside, and the most perfect BBQ sausage you have ever had. Indirect also allows you drop the temperatures for low and slow cooking like ribs, pulled pork and brisket. I cook indirect nearly all the time for everything except steaks. It gives you control, so I promise you won't see a burnt sausage at the Byrne’s house!

Also remember that BBQ isn’t just about meat. I have cooked many a BBQ for vegans and vegetarians and at no point have I missed meat at that meal. One of the best BBQ and open fire chefs at the moment is a lady called Genevieve Taylor and her books are filled with vegetable options that will honestly blow your mind. She even has a completely vegetarian BBQ book called Charred, which is packed of stunning dishes for vegetarians and vegans.

I am however a meat eater and whilst I do vegetarian a few days a week, meat is what I love to cook but again, go quality over quantity. My beef is grass fed from the cattle that roam around my lab (Hollands farm beef); my rare breed hogget (not lamb) is from one of the villagers; my free range pork is from the village up the road (Orchard View Farm); and I try to get seasonal veg from Bucksum farm near the lab. I’m not perfect and sometimes I have to dash to ASDA but you can always tell the difference in quality.

So I think I should leave you with two recipes to try: (1) my fall off the bone ribs which are a doddle to make, and (2) my smoked cabbage coleslaw which is fine for any meat eater or vegetarian (if you used vegan mayo, the dish can be vegan).

RIBS

Take a rack of ribs from your local butcher and remove the membrane off the back of the ribs by sliding a butter knife under it and using kitchen towel to grip it and remove it. Add a BBQ rub (my go to is IRN-BBQ which is a chipotle, honey based rub) and leave to marinate for at least half an hour, ideally over night. Place the rack on indirect charcoal and smoke at 110ºC for 2 hours. Wrap the ribs in foil with a can of cider. Double wrap as you don’t want the side leaking and watch the bones don’t break the foil. Smoke again for 3 hours. Carefully remove and then add your favourite BBQ sauce, grill for 10 mins at direct heat and then serve! The meat will literally fall off the bone.

Ribs post smoking Preparation is key to a good BBQ

A smokey Thai

‘SLAW

For smoked cabbage coleslaw I must give Chef Eric the praise for this one. Take a white cabbage and cut out the core so you have a well inside the cabbage. Fill that well with 3 chopped up garlic gloves, two or three glugs of oil and a bbq rub of your choice but it can just be a teaspoon of paprika and salt and pepper. Place the cabbage on the indirect BBQ and smoke for 3 hours at 110ºC. If it rolls over, place a ring of foil and keep it well side up so the mixture will slowly work its way into the cabbage. Once smoked, remove the black outer leaves and then chop up, mix with half a chopped red onion, half a banana shallot and then dress with 750ml of Mayo, 3 tablespoons of wholegrain mustard and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Mix it up and serve.

So that’s a small insight into my world of BBQ! If you have never seen a Kamado BBQ check it out and if you want some BBQ recipe inspiration, check out Genevieve Taylor’s range of books for meat ands veg inspiration that’s a long way from your burnt burger and sausage BBQ’s the Brits are known for.