Barbecued Char Siu is one of the great recipes of Cantonese cuisine. Char Siu means ‘fork roasted’. Char Siu is sometimes referred to as Chinese BBQ Pork. Traditionally cuts of pork are roasted over a fire or in an oven on long forks. It’s a great way to liven up pork, especially fillet (also called tenderloin). Char Siu leftovers can be used in fried rice or other dishes. This recipe creates Char Siu pork that is exactly like that from a takeaway. It is a very simple way to cook Pork on the barbecue. It relies more on the right ingredients than on complicated cooking, and a good quality piece ..read more

Is the Kamado Joe Charcoal Basket worth it? This is an expensive accessory compared given its limited intended functionality. I think it’s well worth it, especially if you have a Joetisserie. In short, if you’re into longer cooks I the basket makes a noticeable difference to airflow. Its benefits in terms of cleaning are overrated though. The KJ Charcoal Basket Let’s look at the construction of the charcoal basket and the advantages and disadvantages I’ve found when using in on the Kamado Joe. The basket itself can be found here, it only seems to have been available in the UK for a s ..read more

Smoked meat and sweeter barbecue sauces often benefit from vinegary pickle. Pickles cut through smokey or fatty flavours and cleanse the palette. You don’t have to buy pickles in a jar. They’re really quick and simple to make and go well alongside most traditional barbecue foods. These pickles work brilliantly for a quick dinner. They take only a few minutes to prepare and then sitting to pickle for an hour. The Recipe This recipe is quick and easy to make. You can have these pickles on the table within an hour, about as long as it takes to do some steaks and sides on the barbecue. Pickled cuc ..read more

Good steaks need very little accompaniment. A fatty rump steak can coat the mouth, which a vinegary béarnaise sauce cuts through. Sweet honeyed carrots and parsnips, with charred asparagus turn a barbecued steak into a special meal. Béarnaise sauce can be a little daunting, and there are plenty of shortcut recipes that get close to the real deal. I prefer the traditional method, with its multiple pans and slight complication. The Recipe This recipe will take about 45 minutes to make. The béarnaise sauce is the most complicated element, but only takes about 20 minutes if you’re careful. Carrots ..read more

A slice of onion on a burger gives great taste and texture. There’s a time and place for that kind of burger, and another for a melting oozing mess. This Guinness Onion Jam takes caramelised onions to the next level, providing a malty beer base with sweetness from the onions and sugar. The jam is good with burgers, especially when paired with a sharp fatty cheese such as a mature cheddar. It’s inspired by recipes for Sticky Onion Marmalade from Riverford and David Lebovitz’s Shallot Marmalade. The Recipe All onion recipes are deceptively simple, with a single main ingredient. The secret is pat ..read more

I recently ordered a forged pig tail flipper from ProSmoke. I’m always on the lookout for tools that make cooking life easier, or that move away from the barbecue standards of tongs and spatula. They have their place, but can be a little boring and a pig tail flipper isn’t something you see often in the UK. The forged metal makes a nice change from stainless steel and wood variants I’ve seen before, this version looks like it belongs in proximity to fire. The flipper is about 30cm long which is long enough to keep you away from the heat of the coals but not so much you feel like you’re going ..read more

There is nothing better than really sweet, soft onions paired with barbecued meats. These onions are really simple to make, and can be added alongside any direct cook, or made separately. They go especially well on a homemade burger or with sausages such as smokey bockwurst. A splash of barbecue sauce added at the end gives them a delicious flavour. These aren’t caramelised onions. Any recipe that has onions caramelised in under an hour should, I think, be treated with suspicion. These onions are sautéed (cooked quickly in a little fat). They provide more bite and a lighter colour than caramel ..read more

These are mini because sometimes that’s all you can get! I’m a huge supporter of local butchers, and you get the best range and quality from them. That said, the COVID pandemic means I’ll take what I can get – in this case supermarket pork ribs from Waitrose. Quality ingredients alway increases the potential tastes and textures we get from food. In this case the ribs are already lacking in available meat before they hit the grill. That shouldn’t stop us giving them the proper treatment that can be applied to meatier ribs in the future. The Recipe This recipe combines the main techniques of goo ..read more

Seizing the first warm day of the year (but not the first cook) I went for a Brown Sugar, Garlic and Tarragon brined chicken, cooked on the Joetisserie over applewood. Sides were Hand and Flowers carrots as adapted by the Le Cordon Bong and some classic roast potatoes. I’m a big fan of pairing barbecue with tastes and techniques from fine dining, and Tom Kerridge’s two Michelin-starred pub The Hand and Flowers doesn’t disappoint. This kind of pairing can be as simple as a béarnaise sauce or more developed as with this side. The Recipe This cook is simple but a little time-consuming. The s ..read more

This brine goes well with chicken or other white meat on the barbecue . Its gives a subtle flavour to the meat with extra brown sugar helping balance our the cider vinegar. The tarragon and gives some subtle flavour. I use this brine with a whole chicken, cooked on the rotisserie with a small amount of applewood smoke. The Recipe This is a very simple brine. Like most brines it takes less than 5 minutes to prepare. It uses a simple process, if you’d like more detail and some hints and tips see my short guide to brining here. The colour of the finished Brown Sugar, Tarragon, Garlic and Cider Vi ..read more