There’s a general rule in life that says that if something is well worth the while but a little tricky to achieve, then someone somewhere will find a way of making the job easy. In the world of food and drink, nowhere is this more true than within the barbecue scene.

We’ve come a long way since the days when barbecuing meant placing a wire grill over some lumps of smouldering driftwood on a beach. Now the burnt offerings of 40 years ago have been replaced by all manner of wondrous items such as ultra-slow-cooked pulled-pork or fancy pilaus cooked in those Japanese clay-ovens called kamados, prepared and proudly presented by highly experienced ‘pit-masters’ who’ve spent years learning the intricate nuances of smoke and flame.

Many of us will have seen entire TV programmes dedicated to barbecue competitions and similar themes in which master cooks sweat blood and tears producing beautifully burnished masterpieces.

Certainly, just about everyone I know loves the taste of barbecued food, but… And it is a big BUT! A great many of those people will also say: “Yum indeed… But who can be bothered to go through all that fuss?”

I was talking about this very issue the other day to a friend of mine who is an expert in such matters, and this is what Ben Forte replied… “Yes, that is often the perception with charcoal barbecuing, but things have changed!”

In answer to my obvious bewilderment, Ben invited me to his South Devon home in Brixham where he promised to teach me a whole new way of barbecuing and smoking which, in many cases, really does solely rely on the press of a button.

I’d better explain that Ben happens to be global marketing manager for a company called Masterbuilt (https://uk.masterbuilt.com), which specialises in making the art of barbecuing and hot-smoking a great deal more straightforward and simple than it’s been since Neanderthals kept fires in caves 60,000 years ago.

“I imagine a lot of your readers are busy people but would love the idea of astonishing and delighting their friends with, perhaps, some sizzling hot-smoked venison, or some delicious lightly smoked pork chops.

“Until recently you’d need to have been an experienced chef with a lot of equipment to achieve such dishes, now you can just plug in one of our digital electric smokers and off you go.

“It really is as easy as pressing the button. All you need do is place your game meat, or chops, or fish, or anything else on one of the interior shelves and load a few wood chips (ideally, supplied by Devon’s own specialist company, Hot Smoked - https://hotsmoked.co.uk) into our patented wood-chip loading system. It allows you to add more oak, apple, or whatever wood you’re using, without opening the main door of the smoker.”  

“Then it is just a matter of pressing the button and waiting while your meat, fish or veg gently cooks in the fragrant smoke.”

Ben and I hung some fresh Brixham whiting in the Masterbuilt digital electric smoker and they were quick to cook and smoke - and, the Hot Smoked apricot wood chips having done their work, they were absolutely delicious. 

I must also add that I was relieved to see that any potentially smelly oil dripping from the fish was caught in the special water bowl underneath, so there was nothing much to clean when we were done. 

At this point Ben said “let’s take things up a level” as he introduced me to the Masterbuilt 40-inch digital charcoal smoker. This impressive beast is one of the ultimate cooking appliances you could have adorning the patio or the garden. Indeed, it is the first of its kind to offer that much-sought after smoked charcoal flavour, but with all the ease of digitised controls to look after the all-important temperature and cooking speed. 

“You just set the temperature on the digital control panel or your smart-phone and our new specially designed digital fan maintains the desired cooking temperature,” explained Ben. “The charcoal tray holds 7kgs of briquette charcoal or 5.5kgs of lump charcoal for up to 13 hours. So you really can master the art of charcoal smoking with this innovation.”

This charcoal smoker is large enough to cook and smoke enough food for a party of a dozen or more. You could, for example, put a large turkey in the glass fronted oven to cook and gently smoke - and all at the touch of a button or with a quick glance at your smart-phone. 

But Ben wasn’t finished yet - he wanted to show me the Rolls Royce of the Masterbuilt fleet - the Gravity Series 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill and Smoker. 

“You can smoke, grill, sear, bake, roast on this device and do a great deal more besides,” said the enthusiastic 35 year old. “As with our charcoal smoker, you simply set the temperature on the digital control panel or your smart device and our trademark Digital Fan maintains the desired cooking temperature. 

“The GravityFed charcoal hopper holds up to eight hours of charcoal and, as the name suggests, it’s a simple case of gravity ensuring you have constant fuel added to the fire. The reversible smoke and sear cast-iron grates and our own patented fold-away warming and smoking racks add up to a total of 1050 square inches of cooking space.”

It was the Gravity Series 1050 that Ben was using when I arrived at his home in Brixham, a thing which was music to my eyes because I soon discovered he had used the mighty device to cook me a massive full-English breakfast.

So there you go… Forget the kind of smoke and mirrors which those alchemists known as pit-masters insist you must acquire if you wish to serve perfect barbecue food. It always was going to be the case that someone somewhere would make the art of cooking with smoke and flame a great deal more simple - and, as this particular food writer has discovered, it was happening not in a Neanderthal cave but in a garden in Brixham and, indeed, at https://uk.masterbuilt.com

RECIPES FROM BEN FORTE -

Ranch Cheese Burger

Makes 4 burgers

480g beef mince, 20% fat

Your favourite brand Ranch Dressing

Your call - Mature Cheddar cheese

1tbsp Your favourite smoky BBQ rub

Ketchup

Brioche buns

Method

Mix the rub into the mince, combine well. Form into four equal sized patties of approx. 120g in

weight. Do not over-compact the patties, or they’ll be dense.

You can chill them if you need to, but cook patties from room temperature to avoid shrinkage.

Prepare grill to searing temperature – approx. 300c. Grill burgers, flipping regularly until internal

temperature reaches 70c for a fully cooked through burger. Cover with cheese until melted. Remove

and leave to rest.

Toast up your brioche buns if desired. Smother with ranch dressing and tomato ketchup.

Sausage, cheese and chimichurri skewers

Ingredients

12 sausages

2 handfuls mature cheddar, grated

Chimichurri

100ml olive oil

4 cloves garlic, grated

60ml red wine vinegar

1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped

1 small bunch coriander, finely chopped

2 small red chillies

15g dried oregano

Healthy pinch sea salt and ground black pepper

Method

Set barbecue to approx. 170c. You could add a bit of apple, cherry or hickory if you like a heavier smoke.

Pound all the chimichurri ingredients vigorously in a mortar and pestle for the best results, but for ease, pulse it in a blender. Season to taste, then set aside.

Skewer 12 sausages onto two or three fairly thick skewers. Sear direct for a couple of minutes each side to gain colour. Finish off sausages indirect for 20 – 25 minutes until they’re cooked, probing a minimum of 75c. Remove sausages from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Sprinkle cheese over the top and finish with the poky chimichurri.