:: Fire Food: The Ultimate BBQ Cookbook by DJ BBQ is published by Quadrille, priced £15. Photography David Loftus.
LOVE music? Love barbecuing? Then you might have heard of 'king of the grill' Christian Stevenson, aka DJ BBQ. The former telly presenter-turned chef and foodie YouTuber has more than 175K subscribers and stars on Jamie Oliver's Foodtube channel, so he must be grilling something right. His new cookbook is Fire Food: The Ultimate BBQ Cookbook.
:: Who will love it?
People who think that during summer, food should solely be cooked outside, over hot coals. Also, anyone who can handle a couple of veg skewers and a few sausages on the barbecue, but wants to start upping their grill game with smoking, straight-on-the-coal cooking and experimenting with low and slow roasting on the barbie.
:: What is it trying to get us cooking?
What's immediately obvious is that this isn't just a book for meat eaters. Sure, you've got your marinated chicken wings, tender pulled pork and beef burgers stacked high with molten cheese and crispy shards of bacon, but in fact, it's often the veggie sides and fish dishes that win on pizzazz. Soupy beer steamed clams, a green slaw spiked with pear and fennel, DJ BBQ's signature dirty onions (whole roasted on coal), grilled halloumi burgers with smashed avocado, and the crab cake sandwich bejewelled with corn – they all appear way more exciting than a standard hot dog.
:: How easy is it to use?
If you're a seasoned barbecuer, you'll be away without too much faffing, but if you're brand new to fire cooking and are used to gas barbecues, thoroughly read Christian's intro, which breaks down the kit you'll need, they types of heat you'll be using and why you always need to rest your meat. Plus, he's included his ultimate cookout tunes to get you in the mood.
:: The best recipe is...
The dirty loaded lobster rolls – yes, they're pretty extravagant for a barbie supper, but these ones, cooked flesh-side down straight on the coals, look ridiculously delicious.
:: Overall rating: 8/10
