The Men and Women behind UK BBQ – DJ BBQ AKA Christian Stevenson

DJ BBQ (aka Christian Stevenson) is a live fire chef and a leading name in the world of BBQ. After a successful broadcasting career fronting shows for MTV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 (including award-winning Rad), he harnessed his passion for cooking over fire and now has his own YouTube channel with more than 175K subscribers (he’s also a regular big-hitter on Jamie Oliver’s FoodTube). DJ BBQ stars in and hosts festivals including Meatopia, The Big Feastival, Camp Bestival, Grilltopia and The Big Grill. He is a chef on Food.com, and has contributed to This Morning, FHM, Independent, Daily Mail and the Chris Evans Breakfast Show among many others. He has a BBQ spice rub range with US brand Spiceology, and his brand affiliations include Hellmann’s, Renault, B&Q and Kid Rock’s American Bad Ass Grill.

What got you into BBQ’ng?
I come from the Mid-West in America, my dad and grandfather cooked BBQ. IOWA is cattle and corn country and we had steamed corn nearly every night. BBQ was traditionally cheaper cuts of meat, my mum and dad divorced when I was in year 2 and I shuttled back and forth between them. Basically, my dad was a solo dad raising 2 kids, so he asked me to help with the cooking. He cooked outside and my mum cooked inside. I also got taught some great dishes by my grandparents such as Meatloaf and Tomato Pie

How many BBQ’s do you have at home and what is your favourite method of cooking?
I only have 3 grills at home 2 Weber 57cm Kettles and a Pit Barrel Kamado. I have 3 smokers in storage that I use for festivals. My favourite bbq to cook on is Weber as that’s where I started, I used a 47cm Kettle for a long time before I upgraded. Kamados are too expensive for many and can take a while to come up to temp.

What is your favourite piece of BBQ equipment? This can be a BBQ or an accessory and we want to know why.
I use my Weber Tongs for most things they are just very versatile.

What was the best BBQ food you have ever eaten?
The BBQ food that surprised me the most was at a cattle herding station barn in Brazil where the gauchos had their coffee and food. I was travelling with Giles Coren and Monica Galetti and we had lamb skewered on big swords with pools of fat dripping onto the hot coals. It was easily the best lamb ribs I have had.

Tell us about your worst BBQ disaster?
When I first started cooking, I was cooking Pulled Pork on a langman 36 and I kept checking the food. As they say “If your looking its not cooking” It took a while!

Name a dish you have never cooked but would love to try?
I would love to try Marilyn Muskrat. When I was snowboarding in Ecuador in the 1990’s they ate guinea pig. I was always curious.

Who is the person you would most like to cook with?
When at home I love cooking with my sons. I want to pass down to them an enthusiasm for BBQ in the same way my dad and grandfather did to me. When I am cooking at Festivals I love cooking with T-Bone Chops, Sam Jones and Dave Jennings. It’s such a blast!

What is your favourite song to cook to?
I haven’t got one favourite song. If cooking with T-Bone Chops its always Rock, if at festivals its Funk and Soul or Hip Hop, when at home I like Indie or Alternative and I love my mix tapes

Best toppings for a BBQ burger?
For myself my favourite topping is caramelised onion and mushroom. My go to cook for others is an Oklahoma burger.

What’s your favourite non-BBQ food?
Everything is BBQ Food, LOL. No if I am out to eat, I like a curry or South East Asian Food
What is your favourite dish from the new book?
Maple Bacon Lardy Cake, my friends 2 year old couldn’t get enough of it, or my Aunts Goulash Recipe

The Book is available here :- DJ BBQ’s Backyard Baking

DJ BBQ Books – Amazon Books

28/05/202204/04/2023

Japanese Style BBQ King Scallops

An easy seafood recipe from @SMOKE_SHACK_NI
Check them out on Instagram –

https://www.instagram.com/smoke_shack_ni/

Japanese Style BBQ King Scallops

Yield2 Servings

Cooking Method
- Direct

Ingredients

10 large king scallops, cleaned
1 tb sp oyster sauce
1 tb sp light soy sauce
1 tb sp yuzu kosho paste (available at most asian supermarkets)

Method

Marinate the scallops with the oyster sauce, soy & yuzu paste for 1-2 hours.

Light up bbq and heat until reading approx. 250°C

Skewer the scallops ensuring the flat surface can contact the grill bars..

BBQ for approx. 3 minutes each side until cooked and nicely coloured.

28/05/2022

Tandoori Coronation Chicken Pizza

Here’s a pizza recipe kindly donated by Kelly Bramill. Perfect for the Queens Platinum Jubilee

Tandoori Coronation Chicken Pizza

Yield4 Pizzas

Cuisine
- Fusion
Cooking Method
- Pizza Oven

Ingredients

For the Pizza Dough (Makes enough for 6 pizzas, but surplus can be frozen)

600ml Cold Water
1g fresh yeast (Supermarkets with a bakery will give you this for free if you ask)
1kg ‘00’ Flour
25g Fine Sea Salt

For the Coronation Sauce (Makes enough for at least 4 pizzas)

4 tbsp Mayonnaise
4 tbsp Greek Yoghurt
2 tbsp Smooth Mango Chutney
1 tbsp Angus & Oink Tandoori seasoning (or your favourite curry powder)
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Chicken

1 large or 2 small boneless, skinless chicken thighs per pizza (but grill up extra for fridge raiding)
Angus & Oink Tandoori seasoning (or your favourite curry paste/seasoning)
A little vegetable oil

Method

For The Pizza Dough

Into a large bowl add the water and, while rubbing it between your fingers, dissolve the yeast thoroughly in the water.

Add half the flour to the bowl and begin to combine. Add the rest of the flour and the salt and mix until you have a rough dough. Place the dough on a clean surface and knead well for about 10 minutes.

Leave the dough to rest, covered with a bowl or a clean towel, for about 10 minutes.

Now divide the dough into 6 equal balls. There are lots of videos out there on how to do this, but just aim for nice smooth balls of dough, using your work surface to help you, pinching the bottom of each ball to tighten the surface of the dough. This is the point where you can freeze any dough you won’t be using straight away.

Space out the dough balls you intend to use on a tray, giving them each a little space as they’re going to spread out. Cover them and leave at room temperature for at least 5 or 6 hours.

For the Coronation Sauce (Makes enough for at least 4 pizzas)

Add all the ingredients to a bowl, combine thoroughly and refrigerate until needed.

For the Chicken

Marinade the chicken thighs in the seasoning/paste, using a little oil if using a dry seasoning or rub.

BBQ, or cook however you like, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 75°C.

Assembly

Your dough balls should be lovely and relaxed and doubled in size. If using a domestic oven, preheat to 250 degrees centigrade, using a pizza stone if you have one. If not, a flat pizza pan or baking tray will work just fine. If using a specific pizza oven, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Sprinkle a generous amount of flour or fine semolina onto a clean work surface. Gently scoop up a piece of dough and place it on your floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top and dust your fingers too. Now begin, with flattened fingers, to shape your dough by gently pressing and stretching from the centre of the dough ball outwards. Again there are lots of videos covering this technique, but it really doesn’t have to be perfect. Making homemade pizza should be fun!

Once your dough resembles a pizza base, sprinkle on the mozzarella, cooked chicken and drizzle on a few sprinkles of the garlic butter oil. Gently slide the pizza onto your peel or baking tray and transfer to the oven.

Bake your pizza in the oven for 7 – 10 minutes until golden and crispy, or if using a specific pizza oven, as per the manufacturer’s instructions for that oven.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle with a little coriander, brush the crust with the garlic butter oil and drizzle on a couple of tablespoons of the coronation sauce.

Other Toppings

A handful of low moisture mozzarella per pizza. Smoked mozzarella is fabulous here

1 tsp Angus & Oink Garlic Butter seasoning, mixed with 1 tbsp olive oil (optional)

A small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked

28/05/202202/06/2022

Lamb Chops with Charred Chilli Sauce

Here’s a recipe kindly provided by Helen Graves from her book
LIVE FIRE: Seasonal Barbecue Recipes and Stories of Live Fire Traditions Old and New

We eat a lot of lamb chops in this house; in fact, they’re
probably our number-one speedy dinner option, with a big salad
on the side. If there’s no time to marinate them, then we rub
them with loads of big flavours – crackling spices and lip-jolting
acidity – then cook them hot and fast until their fat drips and
frizzles. There’s a lot of fun to be had in nibbling around the
bones. I love the drama of taking a big plate of chops and a stack
of napkins to the table and watching the carnage unfold.

Serves: 2 as a main dish,
4 with other dishes

Lamb Chops with Charred Chilli Sauce

Prep Time1 hr 10 min
Cook Time10 min
Total Time1 hr 20 min
Yield2 Servings

Course
- Main Course
Cooking Method
- In-Direct

Ingredients

8 lamb chops

Charred Chilli Sauce

5 red chillies
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 garlic clove, peeled
6 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons red wine
vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
large handful of coriander
(cilantro) stalks and leaves
small handful of mint leaves
sea salt

Method

I like to use half of this sauce to marinate the lamb chops,
so tend to char the chillies indoors (as I’m probably not going to
light the barbecue just to char some chillies). There are several
ways to do this – either in a dry pan over a high heat, under a hot
grill or directly over a gas flame. Char them until blackened,
then put into a bowl and cover for a minute. Remove and slip
off the skins (it’s up to you whether or not you keep the seeds).

Lightly toast the cumin, coriander and caraway seeds in a dry
pan over medium-low heat until fragrant, giving the pan a shake
every now and then to ensure they don’t burn.

Place the charred chillies in a blender with the toasted
spices and all the other ingredients except the lamb chops,
plus a generous pinch of salt, and blend until you have
a smooth-ish sauce.

Use half the sauce to marinate the lamb chops for at least
1 hour (leave them for a few hours in the fridge, covered,
if you can).

When you’re ready to eat, prepare a barbecue for indirect
cooking over medium heat.

Grill the lamb chops over direct heat, moving them a little
offset to cook if they start to burn. The cooking time will depend
on the thickness of the chops, but a few minutes on each side for
small chops should do it.

Serve with the remaining sauce.

To Cook Indoors: Cook the marinated chops under a hot grill
for about 5 minutes on each side.

LIVE FIRE: Seasonal Barbecue Recipes and Stories of Live Fire Traditions Old and New by Helen Graves (Hardie Grant, £26) Photography: Rob Billington
Helen’s book can be bought through any reputable bookstore including –
Amazon

Hive.co.uk

Waterstones

28/05/2022

Buba BBQ Pork Belly, Honey, Preserved Lemon & Salted Pistachio

Prep Time20 min
Cook Time40 min
Total Time1 hr
Yield2 Servings

Course
- Main Course
Cooking Method
- Direct

Ingredients

For The Pork

1kg square cut pork belly, rind scored
3 tb sp ras el hanout
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tb sp grd black pepper
2 tb sp extra virgin olive oil
2 tb sp sea salt

For the Dressing

75g shelled pistachios
2 tb sp finely chopped preserved lemon
75mls runny honey
Sea salt flakes to finish

Method

Set BBQ to 180°C and coat the pork with the oil before rubbing on the spices, garlic and salt.

Allow to cook skin side up indirect until beginning to render and reaching internal temp of 65°C.

In the meantime roast the pistachio nuts gently before chopping roughly, add the lemon, honey & season lightly with sea salt.

Once the pork has came up to temp flip it skin side down directly over the coals and allow to form a caramelised crust.

Once nicely coloured and reading 75°C remove from the heat, carve into strips and dress with the honey.

Sprinkle over a little sea salt flakes to finish.

Tip: This works well the next day cubed and turned into burnt ends with your favourite bbq sauce

Recipe kindly donated by BUBA Belfast
https://www.bubabelfast.com/

28/05/2022

Lamb Kofta with Baba Ganoush and Flat Bread

Another recipe by young Aston Prideaux that he cooked at Tea in the Park with Tom Kerridge. He is definitely one of the up and coming chefs in the BBQ world. He was asked by Chef Tom Kerridge to come along to Tea in the Park to cook with him, he has also cooked with DJ BBQ and demoed for Kamado Joe.

Lamb Kofta with Baba Ganoush and Flat Bread

Prep Time40 min
Cook Time29 min
Total Time1 hr 9 min
Yield4 Servings

Cuisine
- Mediterranean
Course
- Main Course
Cooking Method
- Direct / InDirect

Ingredients

Kofta

500g lamb mince
1 onion blitzed
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped mint
2 tsp sumac
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp Aleppo ( pul biber)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder

Baba Ganoush

2 large aubergine
1 lemon
Bulb of garlic
2-3 tbsp tahini
salt and pepper
3-4 tbsp olive oil

Sumac Onions

1 thinly sliced onion
Heaped tsp sumac
Juice half lemon
Drizzle of oil
Pinch of salt

Method

Set up grill for direct and indirect cooking

Pierce aubergine and place over direct side keep turning until charred all over, wrap garlic in foil with drop of oil and add to the grill

Mix all the kofta ingredients together and make sausage shape koftas ( you can place on blade skewers but will need to refrigerate inbetween) if you now put them in the fridge it will help firm up

Place the kofta’s on the indirect side of the grill until they get to about 60°C internal then move to the direct side to get a bit of colour and bring to 70°C

Whilst the kofta are indirect cut the aubergine lengthways then scrape out the flesh and rough chop, add juice of lemon, squeeze out roasted garlic bulb, add tahini, oil then season with salt and pepper

To serve spread baba ganoush on a flatbread, add sliced kofta garnish with sumac onions, chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds

28/05/2022

Giant Smoked Scotch Eggs

We’ve dug into the archives for this recipe from Kelly Bramill. Originally posted on her Dreaming of the Good Life blog back in 2017.

Regular, breaded Scotch eggs have been one of our family favourites since I was a child, with my mum always making her own for us to take on picnics. When my BBQ obsession began however, I realised that people were smoking them….and it made perfect sense! Credit here goes to James Lowe of JL Butchers for the inspiration. He’s a master of the smoked Scotch egg, and I think it was his that I first saw on one of the BBQ and smoking forums, and I was blown away.

The thing I love about them, and this recipe in particular, is that they’re pretty much a meal in themselves. With the addition of bacon and black pudding, they’re an all day breakfast wrapped up in a big, smokey, spherical package. Grilled tomatoes and pit beans make great accompaniments, as does My Ultimate Mac ‘n’ Cheese. Or why not go all sophisticated and pair it with a green salad and a nice glass of wine!

I first added black pudding to them back in September 2015, which seemed like the perfect addition (I’m sure it had been done before, so I don’t take credit). Mixing it, either crumbled or cubed, through the sausage meat or adding an individual layer around the egg works equally as well, but choose a really good quality pudding. The same goes for the sausage meat you use. I originally opted for our favourite cumberland sausage, simply squeezed from the skins, but now we have a new favourite in Angus & Oink’s amazing Kielbasa sausage, and so that’s what I’ll be using in this recipe.

Large, fresh, free range hens eggs and a good quality dry cured streaky bacon are the only other ingredients you need, along with your favourite rub and BBQ sauce. I’m not a fan of a runny yolk (I know, heathen!), so I don’t try and achieve that with these. But I’ve added the method for if you prefer them that way.

As always, tweak my recipe to suit your own taste. They can also be made up the day before if needs be. It gives you less prep to do on the day you’ll be smoking them.

Giant Smoked Scotch Eggs

Prep Time30 min
Cook Time1 hr
Total Time1 hr 30 min
Yield4 Servings

Cuisine
- British
Course
- Main Course
Cooking Method
- Direct / Indirect

Ingredients

4 large, free range eggs
8 – 10 of your favourite sausages (I used A&O’s Kielbasa)
4 thick slices of your favourite black pudding (I used my butcher’s own)
16 slices of dry cured, smoked bacon
A few tbsp of your favourite rub
A few tbsp of your favourite BBQ sauce for glazing
Some cling film for shaping your sausage meat

Method

Prepare your eggs. If you want a hard boiled egg, pop them in simmering water for 10 minutes, remove and place in a bowl of iced water to chill completely before peeling. If you’d like a runny yolk repeat as above but reduce the time to about 6 minutes. Take care when peeling, as the eggs will be delicate, and you don’t want to lose that yolk!

I used 2 large sausages per egg as the kielbasa I use are huge, but depending on the size of yours you may need a bit more. It works out at roughly 220 – 250g of sausage meat per egg. Using a sheet of cling film, press the sausage meat into a disc big enough to comfortably surround your egg. You don’t want to be doing too much moulding and shaping when it comes to the softer eggs, so be generous.

Crumble/smoosh/cube a slice of black pudding and cover the surface of the sausage meat. As I said earlier, you can also combine it with the sausage meat if you’d like, its entirely up to you.

Next, pop your egg onto the centre of the disc you’ve just made and bring up the corners of the cling film to completely cover the egg. Gently twisting the cling film at the top also helps to seal all the edges, but be careful not to apply too much pressure. Remove the cling and gently give it a final shaping. Repeat this for the rest of your eggs and then give them a generous dusting with your rub.

Now lay out your bacon as shown in the image below, place your egg in the middle and bring up the ends to wrap it.

Set up your BBQ or smoker for indirect heat at about 280˚f. I also like to have the option of giving the scotch eggs a quick flash of direct heat once they’re cooked to crisp up the bacon. Add a couple of chunks of your favourite smoking wood (I went for a chunk of cherry from Smokewood Shack) and cook the eggs for approximately 50 minutes or until the sausage meat reaches a temperature of 70˚c/160˚f. Check with an instant read thermometer and give them a little longer if necessary.

I like to paint them with my favourite BBQ sauce for the last 10 minutes.

Serve with your favourite sides!

Recipe from Kelly Bramill

26/05/202228/05/2022

Asparagus and Cheese Tart

Prep Time30 min
Cook Time25 min
Total Time55 min
Yield4 Servings

Cooking Method
- Direct

Ingredients

1 pack ready rolled puff pastry
300g fresh asparagus, washed and trimmed (ends cut off and if thick, sliced lengthways)
250g soft cheese
2 tbsp wild garlic pesto (adds flavour & colour) or use a green or basil pesto if you like
2 egg yolks
60g parmesan cheese, grated
Lemon zest
Salt & Pepper
Fresh thyme – few sprigs
Beaten egg to glaze

Method

Set up BBQ for indirect cooking at 170°C

Mix together the soft cheese, egg yolk, 50g parmesan, wild garlic pesto if using, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Unroll the pastry. You can make one large tart or cut the pastry in half which is what I did to make two tarts.

Score a border around the edge. Spread the soft cheese mixture evenly in the middle.

Place the asparagus on the top, grate the remaining parmesan cheese and garnish with thyme sprigs.

Brush the edge of the pastry with the beaten egg.

I baked this in my Kamado Joe indirect heat at 170C for about 20-25 minutes until the edge of the pastry is golden. With most of my baking I put the tray on an upturned baking tin which will help prevent the base from getting over cooked. Serve warm with a watercress salad. It’s delicious cold too if you have any leftover.

26/09/202103/02/2022

Rusty BBQ Company Black Angus Coffee Rub

I was sent a sample of this rub before it was launched, although charcoal sounds like a strange ingredient in a rub,
there are a few about.

This one was different, as soon as you opened the packet you would smell the garlic and herbs and a smokiness from the Ancho Chilli.
A finger dip test confirmed that there was a little hint of heat and some sweetness along with the perfect amount of salt

I decided to try it on a T-bone steak I had in the freezer and cook it over silver birch wood on the Ozpig.

The inclusion of charcoal and coffee created a great crust on the steak. This is definately a next level charcoal rub that I can recommend.

If you haven’t tried any of the Rusty BBQ Co rubs, check them out, they are different to the Generic American BBQ Rubs

28/08/202103/02/2022

Ben’s Spiced Lamb Kebab Wraps

Another recipe from one of the ‘BBQ Kids’ upcoming grill masters and this ones an inspiration to us all.

Ben’s only 6 and has impaired function in his left arm so sometimes needs a bit of help, but he’s super determined and always tries to do everything himself!
Ben was very excited to try out this new recipe and share it with you! 🙂

Ben’s Spiced Lamb Kebab Wraps

Prep Time15 min
Cook Time15 min
Total Time30 min
YieldAround 7 Kebabs

Cuisine
- Mediterranean
Course
- Main Course
Cooking Method
- Direct

Ingredients

About 1kg Lamb, trimmed and cubed (we used a half leg of lamb)
2 Bell Peppers cut into similar sized cubes (we used one red and one yellow)
500g Greek yoghurt
2tsp Garam Masala
2tsp Ground Cumin
2 Lemons
1 Red Onion
2 Limes
1tsp Sugar
Fresh Mint
Flat Breads (we used Aldi’s naan wraps, they were delicious!)
Sliced cucumber and mixed salad leaves to serve

Method

We started off by making a marinade for the lamb by mixing half the yoghurt with the spices and the juice of 1 lemon, along with a bit of salt and pepper. Then my dad trimmed and cut up the lamb into bite-sized cubes, and I mixed it up in the marinade – getting my hands dirty is the best part! Once it was all mixed, we covered it up and put it in the fridge for a few hours to marinate.

Next, we made some pickled pink onions – Dad finely sliced the red onion into a little bowl, then we squeezed the juice from 2 limes over the onion and added the sugar and a good pinch of salt. We put that aside but kept mixing it every now and then to make sure all the onions had their share of pickling – that was my job.

Then we made a delicious minty yoghurt drizzling sauce by mixing the remaining yoghurt with some finely chopped mint, the juice of 1 lemon and some more salt and pepper. We put that in the fridge next to the lamb (Dad says lamb and mint are best buddies, so I knew they were happy!) and then we just had to wait for the marinade to do its work.

After what seemed like forever (we waited about 5 hours but it felt like 500!) we finally got the lamb out of the fridge and threaded it onto some skewers, alternating with the bell pepper pieces – remember to soak the skewers first if you’re using wooden ones so they don’t burn!

Dad made sure the bbq was nice and hot (he grew up in South Africa though, so he calls it a ‘braai’) and I helped him put all the kebabs onto the grill – he lets me borrow his special gloves when we bbq so i don’t burn myself. We turned the kebabs every few minutes until they were nicely browned and cooked through, then we took them off and quickly put the flat breads on the grill for a few minutes, just to warm them through.

Finally it was time to eat! I put a few baby salad leaves onto my flat bread first (baby spinach is my favourite), then some cucumber, and then the delicious lamb and bell pepper from the kebab – Mum had to help me get it off the skewer because Dad was already too busy eating his! Lastly I drizzled some of the minty yoghurt sauce over it all – no onions for me as I don’t like them but Mum and Dad say they’re the best part – and then I tucked in!

It was super messy and super yummy – I hope everyone gives this recipe a try and enjoys it as much as we did!