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Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
What Britain needs to learn from American barbecues
Sizzling racks of ribs in sticky sauces, smoky tender brisket, huge tomahawk steaks which melt in your mouth with a buttery tang. No one barbecues like the Americans. If you've visited the southern states, it can be hard to look at the British tradition of charred sausages and burgers in quite the same way. The uninitiated might find themselves perplexed by the announcement that a Texas Michelin-starred barbecue joint, Interstellar, will be landing at one of London's swankiest hotels, The Ned, in September. Is Michelin-starred barbecue an oxymoron? Not so, says Shauna Guinn, a barbecue expert, outdoor cookery tutor and (with her wife and business partner Sam Evans) co-author of Hang Fire: Adventures in American BBQ. In 2013, the pair took a pilgrimage to the Deep South to study its barbecue secrets, and brought the quintessentially American brand of cooking to the UK. 'For Americans, barbecue is not a verb, it's a noun. It's not something they do, it's a specific style, a genre, a culture of food,' explains Guinn. 'If you were in North or South Carolina, it means pork with a vinegar or mustard mop sauce. In Texas, it's brisket or short beef rib. If you're in Arkansas or Kansas City, it's all about sweet and sticky barbecue sauce, but it's all about food cooked on a low and slow heat.' By contrast, the typical British barbecue, according to Guinn, is characterised mostly by a state of panic. 'In Britain, we are constrained by the elements,' Guinn laughs. 'The sun comes out on a Thursday, we check the weather forecast, see it's going to be nice on Saturday, then run to the supermarket to buy some cheap charcoal and sausages. We cook them as fast as we can on the hottest grill possible so we can finish up while the sun lasts.' This method results in that most quintessential British delicacy: the burnt-yet-raw sausage. 'If there's one thing I'd like to encourage British people to learn from American barbecue it's that taking your time will yield great results,' says Guinn. Here is Guinn's advice on what Britain must learn from American barbecue culture. Invest in good quality (chemical-free) charcoal If you're cooking on fire, then the foundation of your meal is the fuel and the smoke it produces. So why settle for something lesser? 'Do not panic-buy cheap charcoal at supermarkets or petrol stations,' warns Guinn. 'The vast majority comes from sub-Saharan Africa or South America. It comes to this country covered in chemicals to prevent it from burning in transit, then they have to spray it with even more chemicals so you can light it.' It's an old wives tale that you need to make sure your coals have turned white before you cook on them. That's mostly a side-effect of the chemicals, says Guinn. 'If you buy really good quality British charcoal (which is the by-product of maintaining our woodlands) you can light that barbecue and be cooking in about 10-15 minutes, which is much easier.' Another advantage of chemical-free charcoal is you can cook things straight on the coals, giving vegetables with skins like peppers and tomatoes a smoky taste. Good, sustainable British options include The Oxford Charcoal Compan y and Whittle and Flame. Start your barbecue early 'In America, barbecuing is about taking your time and things taking as long as they take,' says Guinn. 'The best barbecue food is cooked on a low heat very slowly. Light your barbecue first thing in the morning, close the lid and let it warm up. You want to cook on embers and hot coals, not on open fire.' Take advantage of two-zone grilling American pitmasters build their barbecues in a specific way to ensure everything is thoroughly cooked at the same time. 'You need much less fuel than you think, especially if you have a kettle barbecue with a lid,' says Guinn. 'When you put the lid down on a barbecue it creates a convection oven.' The idea is to set up your barbecue to take advantage of 'two-zone grilling'. 'Flood your barbecue with charcoal on one side,' explains Guinn. 'The other half should be empty. That means when you put something over the coals and it looks like it's cooking too quickly, you've got the option of moving it to the cooler side of the grill, then you put the lid down. It'll still cook and absorb all those smoky flavours, but much more slowly and delicately.' Choose your meats wisely (but cheaply) 'Things like brisket, wings and ribs, staples of American barbecue, were all, once upon a time, very cheap cuts of meat which would have often gone into landfill and pet mince,' explains Guinn. 'Barbecue is a great place to use meats that you otherwise wouldn't and it can be very good value.' Guinn suggests befriending your local butcher to see if you can get larger cuts of meat from them, which you can carve up yourself. 'You're looking for meats with a high fat content (hanger steak, flank, skirt, bavette, pork shoulders, chicken thighs). All the fat renders out but as you cook it slowly over a low heat, it'll absorb the smoky flavours really well and it'll be much tastier than a sausage sealed in a skin,' explains Guinn. 'If you're a total beginner, I'd recommend chicken thighs on the bone or even spatchcocking a whole chicken.' Don't be afraid to barbecue your vegetables 'We love to make side-dishes in the UK, but nobody eats them,' chuckles Guinn. 'But anything you can cook in your oven, you can cook on the barbecue, so experiment.' Anything with a skin can be cooked directly in the coals: tomato, pepper, onions, chillies, beetroots or potatoes. 'That's a good way of using up your charcoal too,' says Guinn. 'A lovely vegetable kebab is a great idea; celeriac chopped into steaks are great on the grill. A real American favourite is brining watermelon with a soy sauce brine. The whole texture of the melon becomes a bit harder, then when you grill it you get something with the texture of steak but with a real sweetness.' Experiment with rubs, marinades, and brines If you've ever followed a Nigella Lawson turkey recipe at Christmas, you'll know the benefits of brining meat, but you can use the same technique to enhance your barbecue. 'If you're barbecuing a whole chicken, the breast and legs will cook quicker, but if you brine it overnight in water with a bit of salt, sugar and aromatics, it'll lock in the moisture, which will help it cook more evenly over your charcoal,' says Guinn. 'Brining will help the meat stay moist. Remember, the saltier the brine, the less time you need to brine it for.' American barbecue is also characterised by rubs and marinades. 'In Texas, they'll do a lot of dry rubs,' explains Guinn. 'A Texan brisket usually uses a Dalmatian rub, which is essentially salt and pepper and maybe garlic. As a general rule of thumb for rubs use equal parts brown sugar and paprika (for colour) and then a fifth part of salt. Then it's all about where you want to take it in terms of flavour: it's lovely to add a bit of spice, a bit of cinnamon, and maybe some herbs. 'You need your meat to be dry on the outside before you apply a rub, so leave it in the fridge for at least an hour first,' Guinn adds. 'The most important thing with a rub, despite the name, is that you apply it by patting, not rubbing. Shake the rub on then pat it down. As soon as you start massaging the rub into it, you block the pores of the meat which makes it much more difficult for the smoke to penetrate and you lose a lot of flavour.' While the Deep South typically uses rubs, other regions prefer a marinade. 'The trick is to use something with an enzyme: live yogurt, lime, lemon. Those will help break down the fibres in the meat so that it'll cook quicker, retain more moisture, and be a lot more tender,' explains Guinn. Slather a marinade on your meat, leave it for a few hours before you start barbecuing and you're set. Get an instant-read thermometer If you write off everything else on this list as American nonsense, Guinn begs you to follow this one tip. 'Get an instant-read thermometer. It costs a tenner and it'll stop you from ever serving burnt-on-the-outside-raw-in-the-middle barbecue food ever again. It's a fact that barbecue food gets charred, but that doesn't mean it's cooked, so goof-proof yourself, make sure what you're eating is safe, and just get a thermometer.'
Wales Online
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
You can get tickets to a four-course fire feast from Hang Fire BBQ in Wales next month
You can get tickets to a four-course fire feast from Hang Fire BBQ in Wales next month The new annual fire-cooking festival, titled Mabon, aims to celebrate feasting, fire and folklore associated with the autumn equinox in September The new annual fire-cooking festival, titled Mabon, aims to celebrate feasting, fire and folklore associated with the autumn equinox in September The award winning Hang Fire BBQ is making a return to Wales for a street food festival in Monmouthshire. Chefs Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn of Hang Fire BBQ - who brought authentic southern states of the US barbecue cooking to Wales - will bring their distinctive style of cooking to Caldicot Castle this September, in collaboration with Street Food Circus.. The new annual fire-cooking festival, titled Mabon, aims to celebrate feasting, fire and folklore associated with the autumn equinox in September. The event will take place on Friday, September 26, until Sunday, September 28. The Hang Fire four-course feasts will take place during each of the event days According to Street Food Circus, Mabon will be a weekend food festival bringing together a diverse line-up of chefs who all have one thing in common - a love of cooking with fire. Mabon, which is also known as the autumn equinox, is a pagan festival that is celebrated at the end of September and marks the midpoint between the summer and winter solstices. Taking inspiration from these celebrations, the new festival will make the most of Wales' harvest time, bringing together the smoke and flames with the best Welsh produce, while drinks will come from a natural wine bar supplied by Wright's Wines. And even better, the festival will be hosted within the medieval walls of Caldicot Castle in Monmouthshire. At the event, attendees will see chefs cooking outdoors around a central dining space under cover of a large canopy. Sam and Shauna will host an exclusive four-course fire feast and will be joined by guest chefs under the canvas. For the latest restaurant news and reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here . Additionally, the event will include theatrical performances and storytelling around communal fire pits, as well as Smoke & Fire Demo stage. Street Food Circus has confirmed there will also be a programme of food talks from chefs, producers and writers all curated by restaurateur Simon Wright. Ahead of the event, Shauna Guinn, the co-founder of Hang Fire BBQ said: "The first food festival we cooked at was also the first ever Street Food Circus in Cardiff - so we're thrilled to be back to celebrate ten years with them. (L-R): Shauna Guinn and Sam Evans of Hang Fire BBQ will host an exclusive four-course fire feast and will be joined by guest chefs at the Mabon event (Image: Street Food Circus / Hang Fire BBQ) "We've always wanted to create an event which celebrates our home here in Wales and our great passion for cooking over fire. And importantly, one where everyone is welcome, a truly inclusive event where the focus is all about great chefs cooking with the best - ideally Welsh - produce. "We also know how hard everyone in the food industry works throughout the festival season in the summer, so we'll be extending a very warm welcome to anyone who wants to join us for an end-of-the-season get-together". The event will take place at Caldicot Castle, which has been hosting Street Food Circus' The Big Banquet for the kast three years (Image: Street Food Circus) As food lovers in the south Wales area will know, Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn made their name with Hang Fire BBQ, that was fully booked for seven years, and won the prestigious title of best restaurant in the UK at the Observer Food Monthly Awards, until the decided to close the Hang Fire Southern Kitchen smokehouse in Barry in 2021. The cooking duo have also become familiar faces on the small screen, having appeared on BBC's Saturday Kitchen as guest chefs and helping change the way people barbecue with their own TV series - Sam and Shauna's Big Cook Out. They have also published a series of cookbooks and made regular appearances at food festivals. Over the last three years, Street Food Circus has been holding their Big Banquet events at Caldicot Castle. This year, the Big Banquet took place over the Spring Bank Holiday in May. Mabon will be the ninth event out of ten in the 2025 Street Food Circus programme, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The event will take place on Friday, September 26, until Sunday, September 28 (Image: Street Food Circus / Hang Fire BBQ) Matt the Hat, founder of Street Food Circus said: "This is a bit of a departure from our usual family-focused feastival events. We're leaning into the fire and folklore, creating something more grown-up, and uniquely Welsh with Mabon. It's a time to enjoy the richness of our harvest in Wales, gather together around the fire and take the opportunity for one last outdoor event before the nights draw in. Article continues below "We're celebrating ten years of Street Food Circus and all the food businesses that have joined us along the way, many of whom have gone on to open restaurants, appear on TV or win major awards. So, it's really special to welcome back Sam & Shauna who've done all of those things! We can't wait to launch this new annual venture with them". Camper van parking with toilet facilities will also be available for people to stay on site overnight for the event. The first release of tickets are on sale now, which you can find on the Mabon website here.
