Smoke & Sear – BBQ Recipes, Tips, and Outdoor Cooking Inspiration

When the kids asked for smash-burgers for dinner again I knew I had to level them up a little:

- @stpierreuk Spicy Chilli Brioche Buns
- 2 x Smashed Patties with chilli cheese slices
- Bacon Jam
- Cherry smoked pulled pork
- Homemade mac and cheese
- Crispy onions
- Homemade bourbon BBQ sauce

All served with smoked pit beans and skin on fries.

Needless to say there is no way my two youngest kids finished theirs but they made a considerable effort . . . My eldest . . . he did me proud and tucked it all away!

The icing on the cake?!? They were so good apparently the three kids are now cleaning the house for me so I can put my feet up 😂 #dadlife

When brisket night becomes Birria round two 🔥🌮

Last week’s brisket? We gave it a proper go . . . but there was way more than me and the kids could handle. So I vacuum packed and froze some of the point and flat – knew future me would appreciate it.

Today, asked the kids what they fancied for dinner . . . unanimous shout: Birria tacos (again 😅). No complaints from me.

Out came the brisket, into the @ninjakitchenuk 15-in-1 to slow cook while I popped out car shopping – just fancy a change, ha! Picked the kids up, fired up the Blackstone, and boom – crispy, cheesy tacos dunked in that rich consommé.

Clean plates. Happy faces. Dad points in the bag 💪🔥

👉 As always, the full step-by-step recipe is up on my website if you fancy giving it a go yourself.

#BrisketBirria #BBQDad #LeftoverLegend #Ninja15in1 #BlackstoneUK #SmokeAndSear #BirriaTacos #TacoTakeover #BBQGoals #DadModeActivated

Overnight Brisket Madness 🔥🥱

So . . . a member of my UK BBQ WhatsApp community – @idevour.meat – casually drops a message saying:

“Anyone fancy a full packer, grass-fed brisket for £68?”

Limited supply, only for the community.

Me: Checkout ✅ within minutes.

I’ve only done one full packer before . . . turned out alright. Thought I’d follow the same method again (it’s all up on the site btw). But at 9pm, after a couple of beers, I thought – sod it, let’s do an overnight cook.

Brisket had already been dry brining in salt & pepper for hours in the fridge. The Kamado Joe? Rock solid reliable.

The MEATER Pro XL? Multiple probes, custom alerts – she had my back.

🕛 Midnight: brisket on, iPad beside me in bed, CCTV ready if I needed a sneaky check on the shack.

🕓 4am: spritz and a shuffle.

🕡 6:30am: into a foil boat.

🕦 11:30am: probing like butter – wrapped in foil, into the cooler to rest.

Am I tired? . . . I’ve got three kids. This was a holiday. No last-minute dinner panic. No stress. Just vibes.

The result?

Best brisket I’ve ever done.

Tender as hell, beautiful smoke ring, juicy, flavour-packed.

Flat was sliced – we ate what we could, vac packed the rest.

Point: sliced half, vac packed the rest whole (with a little tallow too) for future treats.

Massive thanks to @idevour.meat for the hookup – absolute legend for sharing that with the community!

🔥 Brisket: From @idevour.meat
🔥 Kamado Joe: From @bbqs2u
🔥 Temp tracking saviour: @meatermade

If you’re into BBQ and don’t want to miss these kinds of deals, join the UK BBQ WhatsApp community.

Start in the HOLDING PEN (we like to suss people out first – keeps the spammy knobheads at bay 😅).

Details on my website.

🔥 First cook on the Bradley Raven!

Kept it simple with some pulled pork to get a feel for the smoker . . . and honestly? It was an absolute breeze.

The pork came out insanely juicy, packed with flavour, a nice kiss of cherry smoke, and just downright irresistible in a soft roll.

Standout feature so far? Once paired with my iPhone, I could monitor and control temps from my PC . . . while sat in a speed awareness course 🚗 💨 (Don’t speed kids)

No stress, just low ‘n’ slow cooking in the background.

Excited to see what this thing can really do . . Watch this space.

Bradley Raven: Gifted by @bradleysmoker_europe
Pork: Bought from @villagebutchers

As usual, full step-by-step recipe can be found over on my website.

How far would you go for some decent BBQ food? Me? 200+ miles it seems . . .

The second I heard that @pitmasterpearse was putting on his first class at @rodeosbarbecue I bought a ticket and today, in the glorious sunshine, I made the 200+ mile round trip to spend a few hours with a great bunch of people, having a laugh, learning some tricks and enjoying some fantastic smoked food!

Rodeos is hands down one of the best BBQ destinations out there . . . They’ve got it all going on! A great stocked shop, an @ariateurope showroom, a coffee shop and much more. I would say it’s even more enjoyable in the sunshine . . . But the deep red sunburn on one side of my face is currently telling me something else 😂

Amongst bacon rolls, smashburgers and more we also enjoyed:

Dino beef ribs with chilli crisp
Smoked & confit beef cheeks
Texas style pork spare ribs
Pork belly burnt ends
Pit beans
Pickles
. . . and some fancy arse healthy carrot thing! Ha

What a day! Well worth the hours behind the wheel!

After enjoying a few hours swimming today the kids asked for smashburgers . . . well, who am I to argue!

Nothing fancy . . . the kids are the bosses today but they were absolutely lovely . . . went down a treat!

Plus, I get to try out my new custom made heavy duty (1kg) burger press . . . it’s a beast!

Grill: @blackstoneproducts_uk I bought from @bbqs2u
Mince: @villagebutchers
Buns: The one and only @stpierreuk

#smashburger