BEEF UP YOUR BBQ GAME
A man with arguably Britain’s coolest job title – pitmaster at Grillstock’s Bristol and Leicester restaurants – Australian Mike Phillips has red-hot opinions about BBQ. ‘It’s in my blood,’ says this self-confessed ‘purist’ who has little time for gas BBQS. ‘For me, it’s all about fire, wood and smoke,’ says Mike.
For beginners, Mike recommends Weber’s Master-touch (£269, weber.com), on which you can cook burgers directly, hot-smoke meats using indirect heat or jazz up with a pizza stone or rotisserie spit. Meanwhile, Weber’s Summit (from £1,499) is: ‘Weber’s top charcoal
BBQ. It’s a real backyard centrepiece.’ Us-style low ‘n’ slow BBQ and the smokers it uses (which expose meat to smoke and indirect heat from an offset, wood-pellet-fed hotbox), is a whole hip, geeky subculture of its own, and one fast gaining ground here. ‘BBQS are getting more technical,’ says Vicky Angell, John Lewis’s outdoor living buyer. ‘We’ve seen a real growth in smoking, and gourmet BBQ sales are up 132%.’ Traeger’s smokers light Mike’s fire: ‘They’re electronic and drop the pellets in automatically, so you can cook over long periods without constant monitoring.’ The Traeger Pro Series 34 (£899; riversidegardencentre.co.uk) is, ‘a good entry level’ smoker but tech-lovers should check Traeger’s Timberline 850. ‘WIFIRE’ technology enables you to remotely control it from your phone – albeit at a cost of almost £2,000.
For aspiring pitmasters, the Us-made Cookshack BBQS used at Grillstock are, for Mike, the best multifunctional machines available in the UK. ‘You can fill the PG1000 (£2,799 + VAT, americanbbq. co.uk) with pellets, fire it up to cook a tomahawk steak and cold-smoke some salmon in the warming draw. It’s great.’ Not that you have to spend the earth to juice up your BBQ. Here are three bits of kit that Mike loves: Thermapen (from £48; thermapen.co.uk). ‘A temperature probe is a must. At 76C ribs will be tough, but once they reach 92C, you’ll have a moist tender rib.’ Pro Q Chimney Starter (£26.99. macsbbq.com). ‘Load it with charcoal, pop some firelighters underneath and 15 minutes later, you’re ready to grill.’ Lastly, Slotdog (£20, amazon.com) ‘A great gadget. It cuts into your hotdog [creating a lattice pattern] and lets all that great smoked taste in. It looks epic.’
Grillstock Festival, Bristol, 30 June & 1 July, visit grillstock.co.uk for tickets.