Mr Christian Stevenson, aka DJ BBQ, explains how to up your barbecue game.

Mr Christian Stevenson, aka DJ BBQ, wants to revolutionise the way you grill. The food writer and festival food truck legend is known for his Lycra outfits and “rad” catchphrases (take a look at his YouTube channel for an insight), but when it comes to smoke-and-fire cookery, this playful chef means business. His latest book, Fire Food: The Ultimate BBQ Cookbook, is a barbecue bible. Don’t expect basic bangers and burgers. DJ BBQ’s approach suggests almost any dish can be improved when it’s cooked over coals, from mac and cheese to Japanese pork belly (check out the recipe, below) and oyster tacos to frittata. The food will elevate any backyard party, but before you try cooking it, read on for DJ BBQ’s expert grilling tips.

Rule number one, says Mr Stevenson, is to avoid modern gas barbecues in favour of charcoal. He recommends a standard kettle-style barbecue. “That’s how I cook the majority of my food,” he says. “There is no flavour in gas. Charcoal gives off a radiant heat and is more controllable.” Look out for single-species charcoal, such as chestnut or wild cherry. “Each will have a subtle influence on the flavour,” he says.

Mr Stevenson recommends a chimney starter to get your fire going. “It will revolutionise your cook-outs,” he says. “It’s basically an open-ended cylinder with a wire grate inside that allows you to pre-cook your coals.” Place the chimney starter on the grill and fill the hollow chamber with good-quality charcoal. Scrunch a couple of sheets of newspaper beneath the grate, set fire to the paper and, once the top coals glow red, pour the whole lot into your barbecue and get grilling.

There are nine barbecue set-ups in Fire Food, each suited to different recipes, from low and slow to intense, targeted heat. One of the key techniques to master, says Mr Stevenson, is the so-called half and half. “I use it most of the time,” he says. “It’s quick and easy.” When the coals are hot, spread them out over half of the base of the barbecue, so one half is left exposed. “This creates one zone with a medium direct heat, plus an area where food is cooked gently, which gets you out of trouble.”

Once you’ve mastered the basics, dirty cooking, where food is buried and cooked within the smouldering coals, will take your barbecue to the next level. “You need a solid bed of coals in a tight slab, so they don’t burn away too fast,” says Mr Stevenson. “Blow over the coals to dust away the ash before you cook.” This technique imparts an incredible smoky flavour. Think lobster placed directly on the coals then brushed with garlic butter to serve, or aubergine cooked skin-on before the flesh is mashed into an intensely savoury baba ganoush.

Mr Stevenson doesn’t recommend fancy gadgets, but there are some basic utensils that will radically improve your cooking. “Good quality lump-wood charcoal, a good set of metal tongs, two chopping boards – for raw and cooked meat – and a temperature probe.” Beyond these, consider a cast-iron griddle pan (for barbecue pancakes), a herb wand, made from woody herbs such as rosemary and thyme tied to a wooden spoon, for brushing on marinades and “a cooler full of cold beer and cider”.

This begins before you start cooking. “That thing is a muscle,” says Mr Stevenson. “It needs to relax, so don’t make it angry by taking it out of the fridge and throwing it straight on the heat.” Ensure your meat is at room temperature before you cook it. When you think it’s done, don’t cut into it to check it’s ready. Gently poke it. “If it’s squishy, it’ll be on the rare side,” says Mr Stevenson. “When it’s cooked to your liking, don’t spoil the fruits of your hard grilling – rest the meat. For about half the time you cooked it.”

“A combination of bacon and pork scratchings – two of the best inventions ever,” says Mr Stevenson. “If this dish were a song, it would be a floor filler. Pork belly can be a challenge to cook, as you need to render down the layers of fat. But I’m here to guide you through.”

Barbecue set-up Half and half technique

**Serves 6–8 **

1.2kg pork belly, rind removed, fat scored Tortilla wraps, to serve 4 spring onions, sliced, to serve

For the rub

1 tbsp sea salt 2 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp chilli flakes 2 tsp black pepper

For the glaze

100ml soy sauce 200ml mirin 2 tbsp white miso paste 100ml rice vinegar 1 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp honey

Get your cooker stupidly hot (250–275°C). Mix the rub ingredients together in a bowl, and the glaze ingredients together in a separate bowl. Measure 100ml of the glaze into the spice mix. Score the fat on the pork belly and rub the mix all over it.

Place the pork, fat side up, on the indirect side of the grill and get the lid on. After about 15–20 minutes, the glaze will start to char and you need to slow the cook down. Here’s where we challenge your fire management skills. Get your cooker to 115–130°C by closing the pinwheels (vents) to suffocate the fuel.

Leave the pork belly to cook, brushing the glaze on every 45 minutes. Keep the lid down and only open it when glazing or topping up fuel.

Timing depends on the animal and your cooker – it’s done when it’s done. I’ve cooked this recipe in two-and-a-half hours, and it’s taken six hours. You’ll know when it’s done by the meat wobble. It should jiggle like jelly to the touch. You can also use a spoon to press into the fat. When there’s a good amount of give, you are ready to feast. If it’s still tough and unforgiving, keep going. Once done, leave to rest for 20 minutes, then slice into slabs. Pop onto a tortilla and sprinkle with spring onions.

Fire Food: The Ultimate BBQ Cookbook (Quadrille) by DJ BBQ is out today

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