What is it about outdoor cooking that appeals to you so much?
I’ve always been drawn to the outside. If I’m not cooking and I’m not at work, I’ll be walking on the South Downs or out in the garden. It’s the sense of smell, the freedom, the whole feeling. Cooking outdoors is a perfect distraction – more so than cooking inside. You have to be a bit more thoughtful, you have to be a bit more prepared, so you just get more immersed in it. It’s an escape from work. It’s an escape from everything.
What led to you buy a Big Green Egg?
I’d coveted one for ages. A friend of mine had one. He got one a couple of years ago for his 50th birthday. Before that, I think I’d discounted it because of the cost and because I felt I was quite happy with what I’d got. But seeing his helped me understand what they’re capable of. And then I started doing a bit more investigation – looking at recipes, seeing some of the things people do, reading about its heat retention, understanding how it’s so stable with its temperatures. After turning 50, having had a significant birthday with a zero on the end, I felt I was able to justify treating myself!
How long did it take you to master its many modes?
I’d done so much research that by the time it arrived I was straight into cooking all sorts of things. There wasn’t a slow build up. The first thing I did was a beer can chicken, but after that it escalated quickly: baking, braising, roasting, getting flames up and charring. I could slow cook nine-hour bits of pork. I could cold smoke a side of salmon. I think the trick is not to be intimidated. Just think of it as an outdoor oven – there’s nothing you can do in a kitchen that can’t be done on there; it just adds a different depth and complexity to the flavour.
What’s your favourite accessory?
I use the EGGspander System a lot. It means I can cook plenty of food for a family of four, or several different dishes at once: do the vegetables, do the meat, do all of it. I try to use it to the max. I can honestly say, since I’ve had the EGG, my oven utilisation has probably dropped by about 80 per cent. I’m getting through some charcoal!
Are you someone who cares a lot about the quality of ingredients?
If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. I’ve got a vegetable patch in the garden – that’s partly why my recipe has beetroot in it: I’ve got a plot of beetroot. Picking a courgette and putting it straight on the EGG, taking potatoes from the ground and putting them straight on there – there’s something really quite fulfilling about it. I make as much effort as I can to buy good ingredients. On a Saturday afternoon, I might have cut the grass, harvested some vegetables. I’ll go to the fishmongers on the seafront or the butchers in the village, all East Sussex stuff, then it’s time to open a beer and really create something really special. But equally, on a Tuesday evening I might look in the fridge, find a pack of sausages and make a toad in the hole, just to feed the family.
Do you follow recipes or are you more of a freestyler?
I would say I’m a bit of a freestyler. I take inspiration from all over. I actually carry one of those little field notebooks with me pretty much everywhere I go. When we’re on holiday I’ll make a few notes, and then freestyle it when I come back. When I’m reading food magazines or flipping through social media, I’ll get an idea of something and then improvise. I went to Meatopia and the Smoke & Fire Festival at Ascot, and the people you meet at those things are always really happy to talk, chatting through how they do things, what they use. I’ll take that inspiration as well. Also, we’ve got a group of friends down here, including my best friend who’s also got an EGG, and we’re often sharing what we do, chatting about how we do it.
The hot-smoked salmon recipe you shared with us is apparently your biggest hit. What other crowd-pleasers do you cook?
Pulled pork is a staple because the boys love that and if we’ve got other people coming round with their kids, a load of pulled pork is always great. I play around with the rubs or the barbecue sauces to mix it up a bit. I do a cold-smoked salmon on there, which will last us weeks because you just slice bits off it. Another go-to is a curry. I put my Dutch oven in the EGG to make the sauce, I’ll grill the chicken separately, then add the grilled chicken in. That’s probably my second-biggest hit.
How often do you use it?
On average, I’ve cooked on it about three times a week. It’s funny because on different forums I saw posts in May with people going: “Time to clean up the Big Green Egg and get it ready for the summer.” And I’m like, no, I’m doing this all year round! Currently, I’ve got the barbecue just outside the conservatory, but I’ve got plans drawn up for a gazebo and then a proper outdoor cooking area. I’ll be lost to my EGG even more regularly once I’ve got that built!
The good news is, it’s one of those hobbies that absolutely no one that you know will ever complain about.
Well, exactly. I’m just waiting for the time when my wife says: “Can we have something that’s not got that smoky flavour to it?” I’ll say: “Well, I’m still going to do it on the EGG. I’ll just use a slightly lighter charcoal.”
