It was a decade ago that I heard of a new form of barbecue which was just being introduced to the UK at the time and, being an avid outdoor cookery enthusiast, I was one of the first to purchase a kamado-style cooker. It was fairly expensive, but I was delighted with the results and have cooked many hundreds of meals on it since, including numerous Christmas dinners.

A modern kamado is basically a new-take on a form of ancient Japanese clay-lined oven. You may have seen the egg-shaped wonders at garden centres or outdoor foodie events and in some posh food-pub gardens, or you might have bought one. If, like me, you believe that quality charcoal is the very best fuel with which to cook food, then the kamado really is the ultimate outdoor cooker. The temperature is easy to regulate - you can cook low and slow as well as extremely fast and hot - so there really is no excuse to burn anything, which is the downside of so many barbecues.

There is also the bonus that kamados tend to be well-made and heavy, which might contribute towards their cost but means they offer more-or-less maintenance-free cooking for many years. 

Loving my new Kamado Joe Classic

As I say, our old model has served us well for a decade. But… There is always a ‘but’. Mine came in the friendly form of Brixham-based Ben Forte, who is global marketing manager for the premier kamado manufacturer, Kamado Joe. I was at an event where Ben was demonstrating the amazing capabilities of one of the latest products, the Kamado Joe Classic - and I could see the difference between my old model and a new kamado was something akin to a Sopwith Camel taking on a modern Eurofighter. 

It was enough for me to take the plunge and invest in a Kamado Joe Classic II, which arrived a few weeks ago. I have used it almost every day since. My wife would tell you that I am head-over-heels in love with the big red appliance. I am out there experimenting with it until after dark almost every night. Of course, I barbecue on it, but I also bake things like quiches. And the thing I really love is spinning endless savoury morsels of all shapes and sizes, round and round and round on the ingenious rotisserie device known as the JoeTisserie. 

A plump organic chicken rotisseried slowly over good quality charcoal is a thing of wonderment, I promise you. Especially if you have injected its breasts and thighs with some kind of mix of oil or butter and wine and garlic, which is a new trick I’ve just learned. I start drooling just typing the words. An al-fresco meal like this, paired with a pint of Sanford Orchards Red Devon cider or a glass of Salcombe Brewery’s session lager, Salcombe Breeze, is my idea of heaven. 

The new Kamado Joe has, for me, become a sort of shrine. It is the altar upon which I prepare great local seasonal food. It is, quite simply, the best cooking device I have ever owned.  

Just now, though, I did say there was always a “but”. And there is with my charcoal-fired wonder-machine. Although I cannot actually pick a single fault with it - I would not want to move it more than a few inches, despite the fact that it has wheels. It weighs a ton. It took five big blokes to get the Kamado Joe up the path to my cottage and then up again around the steps which lead to the outdoor kitchen in our back garden. 

So that is the ‘but’. I love the Classic II, BUT it ain’t going nowhere. It is very much NOT the kind of barbecue you are going to want to take on a picnic. No quick beach visits or a trip to the high moors this summer with my Kamado Joe.

Love my kamado, but it’s too heavy to lug around

“No problem,” shrugged Ben Forte. “Why not try one of our new Masterbuilt Portable Charcoal Grills?”

I’d better explain that a few years ago Masterbuilt and Kamado Joe joined forces to provide a wider range of outdoor cooking and grilling products. Masterbuilt is known for producing high quality smokers and grills that are very user-friendly and the portable grill is their latest model.

“It is truly portable,” said Ben. “As summer heads heads our way, this suitcase-sized grill is ideal for anyone who wants to get out and about - you can easily load it into the back of a car, wheel it across the moors, carry it across beaches or set up next to lakes and rivers.  It comes with an easy to transport collapsible cart, for effortless grilling on the move and, with its tough shell, it is durable enough to withstand expeditions.”

Fantastic if, like me, you abhor the idea of those awful disposable barbecues which really should be banned - or the sight of ugly scorched areas where people have lit cooking fires directly on the grass. The design of the Masterbuilt Portable Grill (RRP from £279 (£399 with cart) - uk.masterbuilt.com) means you can barbecue safely without scarring the landscape or causing forest fires and you’ll be able to leave the countryside looking just how you found it. It even features a lockable lid, allowing picnickers to take the inevitable ash and debris home so they don’t need to worry about disposal on site.

The Masterbuilt Portable Grill

The grill has a cooking area large enough to feed a small family and is as simple as cooking on gas, with the added benefits of the authentic barbecue flavour you get from charcoal. You simply light a fire lighter under the charcoal, then turn a dial to control a fan for a consistent temperature. The charcoal hopper can supply heat for up to four hours, from 130c to 260c – hot enough to sear steak and eggs for the ultimate camping breakfast and ideal for grilling mackerel fresh caught from the sea. You can also turn it down to slow-cook something like a shoulder of lamb - the perfect reward at the end of a long hike. 

Modern technology… I love it! Especially when it embraces something truly ancient like the act of cooking over a live flame. 

My only regret is that I wish I’d had a Masterbuilt Portable Grill during all those years we spent camping with the kids down in Cornwall. The Hesp family holiday meals would have gone from semi-edible Boy Scout campfire disasters to gourmet standard offerings in as long as it would have taken to light a lump of charcoal.

RECIPES

Cedar Plank Salmon

Michelin-starred Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s cedar plank salmon is from her new menu at St James’s luxury 5-star hotel The Stafford in London. All dishes from the American Bar’s BBQ menu are cooked on Kamado Joe’s premium ceramic grills.

Ingredients 

100ml extra virgin olive oil

50ml sunflower oil

30ml lemon juice

720g salmon (cut in to 4 x 180g portions)

25g dill

Cedar wood plank

Method

1. Pre-soak the cedar wood plank

2. 2. Take a bowl and whisk together the olive oil, sunflower oil and lemon juice.

3. 3. To the bowl add your salmon portions and the dill. Allow to marinate

4. 4. When ready to cook, remove the salmon from the marinade and place on the cedar wood plank on your Kamado Joe. If possible, try to shift the coals to one side to create a cooler spot, this will allow the wood to burn at a slower rate

5. The time to cook the salmon will differ according to the temperature of the BBQ and the thickness of the cedar plank. Therefore, we recommend that you use a probe and once the salmon has reached 46c remove it from the heat and allow it to rest for 3 minutes before serving.

Claypot chicken

Serves 4

1kg chicken thighs, skin on, bone in

2 tbsp vegetable oil

4 cloves grated garlic

150g ginger, peeled and sliced

50ml water

Marinade

1 head (approx 10 cloves) grated garlic

2 shallots, chopped

3 tbsp vegetable oil

4 tbsp caster sugar

120ml fish sauce

2 tbsp ground black pepper

1 tsp sea salt

Method

In a large bowl, massage marinade ingredients into the chicken thighs. Cover and leave in fridge for an hour. Put vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed casserole pan on a high heat and add the crushed garlic and ginger. Toss until aromatic - it’ll only need a few minutes. Add the marinated chicken with all the juices and cook for a further couple of minutes. Add water. Cover with a lid and cook over a BBQ heat diffuser (creating a low heat) for about an hour. 

Remove the chicken from the sauce and place skin side down on a rack over the fire. Allow the skin to crisp up beautifully, before adding back to the residual sauce as a glaze. Delicious with sticky rice, chopped coriander and spring onions.

Blackpool Sands Cafe and Takeaway’s Firecracker Chicken Wings

Down at the famous beach cafe in South Devon new head chef Grant Holloway is preparing lots of wonderful barbecue dishes for the summer season. Simplicity is key to Grant’s dishes, with the addition of herbs and spices adding a tonne of flavour, while sustainability and the environment are at the forefront of everything he prepares.

10 chicken wings whole

Siracusa sauce

Smoked paprika

Honey

Soy sauce

Pepper salt

Chilli powder

Garlic powder

Onion powder

For the marinade, in a bowl add 100ml Siracusa sauce, pinch smoked paprika, squeeze of honey (more or less depending how hot you’d like the sauce) 2 tsp soy sauce, season with salt and pepper, pinch chilli powder and a pinch of garlic and onion powder.

Add chicken wings and mix together, clingfilm and rest in the fridge for a minimum of 2hrs. Once ready to cook, place on the bbq and cook through thoroughly, turning regularly as the sauce can burn quite easily