National BBQ Week has been and gone - but the heat means we should be dining al-fresco

As July got into gear the weather probably wasn’t up to it, but now it seems we are due to enter a warmer more sunny period - which will mean National BBQ Week really can take off. Barbecuing has certainly come of age. It’s no longer a matter of incinerating a few sausages on a wire grill - nowadays we’re slow-cooking over a low flame, we are hot-smoking, barbecue-steaming, using a slow-turning rotisserie and generally heating up just about any edible thing imaginable. 

Hot-smoked salmon

My latest craze is to make cheese toasties in a barbecue dotted loaded with charcoal and a few wood chips to give those melting hot sandwiches a hit of smoky savouriness. Talk about quick, cheap and cheerful! The stove-top toastie-maker cost less than 20 quid and, filled with a slice or two of Quicke’s Double Devon wrapped in my own homemade sourdough bread, we are talking about a lunch fit for kings, especially when served with a spoonful of freshly made gooseberry and chilli chutney. 

Cheese on toast on the BBQ

I can hear some readers cry: “You light a barbecue specially so you can make a melted cheese sandwich…?”  

Well, yes, I can see that may seem a little excessive or make it appear I’ve too much time on my hands. But I light my Japanese style kamado barbecue at least three times a week in summer and often it will be an all day affair, cooking something like beef brisket. So the two minutes it takes to make the ultimate cheese-toastie doesn’t really cost much time or extra charcoal. 

Kamados are just one of the amazing devices on the market which can unleash barbecue heaven for even the most reluctant of outdoor cooks. And partly what I love about these ceramic lined ovens, by the way, is that they are extremely frugal when it comes to burning charcoal - which makes them good for your purse and for the planet. 

And talking of these dome-lidded barbecues, I was talking to the West Country’s very own kamado-guru the other day - Ben Forte is global marketing manager for the Kamado Joe brand which makes all manner of exciting products related to outdoor cooking - and I asked him for his thoughts on the rapid evolution that has been fuelling the development of the ancient art of preparing food over a live flame.  

Ben Forte of Kamado Joe

“It used to be the area in our lives in which ‘barbecue’ meat products of uncertain origin would be bought and thrown on the grill for the purpose of sizzle and theatre - and many people would do it just so they could tick the box that declared they cooked outside,” smiled Ben.  “But as barbecuing has evolved, so has the quality of the ingredients we’re using.

“Take burgers, for instance. If you want to make out-of-the-world burgers, a pack of supermarket mince won’t cut it. But nowadays - especially here in the South West - it is possible to find farmer-shops and butchers who put all the science, care and attention into producing the best possible meat that will taste phenomenal when cooked on charcoal.

“There is no doubt that a well-made smash-burger reins supreme over pre-formed patties. Simply place a chilled ball of beef mince onto the flat side of a cast-iron griddle and cover with greaseproof paper. Press down as flat as possible with a spatula for maximum caramelisation, juiciness and that incredible beefy flavour. Cook it by feel and instinct – maybe 90 seconds each side.”

Ben continued: “As charcoal barbecues have become more advanced, so more people are playing about with the artistry of flame, heat and smoke. Nothing beats slow and low cooking to render the fat down and leave you with tender, soft meat. Rotating meat on a rotisserie gives the most incredible results and it’s a fun focal point of a party too. 

“Look out for Kamado Joe’s JoeTisserie. This bit of kit simply fits inside your firebox and slowly, mesmerisingly, rotates your skewered meat, veg or fish above the charcoal. It’s been cleverly designed so the kamado lid will still close, so you keep all the heat right where you want it. If you’re going for a low and slow spit-roast, the thick ceramic walls helps retain moisture, so you get a juicy, tender result. Best of all, you can bung the whole lot in the dishwasher when you’ve finished.”

One man who knows his way around any kind of cooking flame is Devon-based Marcus Bawdon of the UK Barbecue School - an old friend of these pages and author of Skewered which recently won the Best BBQ Book in the World at the Gourmand International Cookbook Awards... 

“So many people are getting into barbecue at the moment,” he told me this week. “In all the years I’ve been barbecuing, I’ve never witnessed the popularity of cooking outdoors increase so much. Of course, it’s not all plain-sailing - the thing most people want to cook is a smoked brisket, but that is pretty challenging. 

“Short ribs are also popular - and maybe easier. My current favourite way to cook them is ‘flanken’ style, in which the short rib is thin cut - about 1/2-inch thick - across the bones so that each slice contains a few pieces of bone. You grill this over a high heat to crisp up,” said Marcus whose next barbecue book BBQ For All will be published next spring. 

Marcus Bawdon at the UK BBQ School in Devon

“It is designed to give people plenty of barbecue inspiration with meat, fish and veg all playing a really important part of a balanced meal,” he told me.

Marcus Bawdon’s short-ribs

Susan Stoneman’s BBQ vegetables

Another expert I turn to when discussing barbecue is award winning home-cook Susan Stoneman, also based in Devon. Sue loves to cook over fire as well as in the kitchen and she kindly supplied one of our recipes this week. “Food tastes better when cooked, eaten and shared outside with friends,” says Sue.  “But barbecue should not be just all about meat - I often bake bread, cakes, chocolate brownies and even a pavlova in my Kamado Joe.”

Susan Stoneman

Sue will be demonstrating her live-flame cooking skills at the Dorset Chilli Festival in August and at Abbfest at the Fermoys Garden Centre, Ipplepen, in September.

As I write these words I have hot-smoked an organic chicken in my kamado. Preparing the bird took all of two minutes, as did lighting the charcoal. It’s been slow cooking over a low flame and some lemon wood chips from Devon-based Hot Smoked for the past couple of hours. I’ll check the interior temperature with a digital meat thermometer before allowing it to cool, after which the smoked chicken will be served with an extensive summer salad  and Sue’s roasted red pepper and onion salsa. 

Not a lot of work, but one hell of a lot of flavour. Which is how like to celebrate National BBQ Week…. 

RECIPES

Susan Stoneman’s Roasted Red Pepper & Onion Salsa

“This is a tasty colourful dish making the most of seasonal fresh vegetables” says Sue. “Use it as a dip or a dressing on salads or roasted vegetables.” 

Ingredients

2 romano or red peppers

2 onions

2 lemons

3 cloves garlic

1 fresh chilli

5 sundried tomatoes in oil or use freshly grilled tomatoes

150g almonds (omit if nut allergy)

2 tsp smoked paprika

Salt & Pepper 

Good quality olive oil

Get your fire going and into the embers place the peppers, onions and lemons. Let them char and cook until soft. Remove the red peppers from the fire and place in a bowl. Cover with cling film to allow them to steam. This makes removing the skin easier.

Place the whole peppers into a blender including the seeds and juice along with the juice of both lemons. Take off the charred onion skin and put the whole onions into the blender. Add in the chilli, garlic, smoked paprika and blitz. Drizzle in olive oil until you get to the desired consistency you want. Season to taste. Serve with your favourite grilled vegetables or dive in with a chunk of crusty bread.

Herb crusted rack of lamb with courgettes - by MasterChef semi-finalist Mike Tomkins for Kamado Joe

Nothing will impress friends more than serving barbecued rack of lamb fresh from the charcoal. This delicate cut delivers rich and tender meat, only made better when gnawed straight off the bone like a smoky lamb lollipop. The trick to getting perfectly pink medium rare lamb while allowing the fat to render and the crust become nice and crisp, is to slowly bring it up to a temperature of 55c.

MasterChef semi-finalist Mike Tomkins with his Kamado Joe

1 rack of lamb, French trimmed

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

85g breadcrumbs

1 bunch of fresh leaf parsley

1 half a bunch of basil

2 sprigs of rosemary

55g Parmesan

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and Pepper

1 Lemon

2 courgettes

50g salted butter

Olive oil

Set up your kamado for direct cooking at 150-170C. Score the lamb deep into the fat, taking care not to pierce the flesh. Score a diagonal pattern and then repeat so the fat is criss-crossed. Season generously with salt.

Add 1 tsp of olive oil to a cast iron pan. Place the rack of lamb fat-side down directly onto the grill grates for around 10 minutes. While the fat is rendering, blend or finely chop the garlic, basil, parsley, rosemary, breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Empty the mixture onto a plate that is at least the same size as the rack of lamb.

Monitor the lamb’s core temperature using a meat thermometer until the internal temperature reaches 43 – 45°C - this should take between 8-10 minutes.

Remove the lamb from the BBQ, flip the rack of lamb and brush the fat with Dijon mustard before rolling in the herb and breadcrumb mixture. Transfer the lamb back to the grill with the herb-crusted fat facing upwards. Place back in the BBQ and continue to roast. The internal temperature should read 55°C. This should take around another 8-10 minutes to achieve. Remove the lamb and allow it to rest on a rack or tray for approximately 10 minutes for melt-in-the-mouth lamb when you carve.

Slice courgettes into ½ cm slices, melt butter and a splash of olive oil to the grill and cook direct until the courgettes are soft, dress with fresh lemon juice and roughly chopped mint.

Mike Tomkins herb crusted lamb, cooked in a Kamado Joe