Jamie Oliver
Following the announcement of a new partnership between Jamie Oliver and Weber, RUPERT BATES asks the BBQ questions, as the chef and restaurateur shares his passion for outdoor cooking.
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What attracted you to Weber?
Partnering with Weber was an amazing opportunity to get British people into barbecuing, and understanding the world of flavours you can create, whether that’s through direct and indirect cooking, the dry heat of charcoal, fruit woods… It’s about celebrating the barbecue and seeing it as a really useful piece of cooking kit, an extension of your kitchen, whatever the weather. And the more people who get involved, the better. It was also a chance to work with one of the most iconic brands in the world, which have brilliant quality products that I love to use. It's really exciting.
What are you looking forward to, working with this iconic brand?
Using some brilliant Weber kit to help people understand all the different ways you can cook on a barbecue, because I don’t think a lot of my audience have fallen in love with cooking over fire yet. I want to show just how versatile barbecues are, that they’re not just for the summer – they can be used all year round. Ok, you’re not always going to want burgers and hot dogs, but I want to demonstrate that it’s also amazing for things like roasts and even Yorkshire puddings. And Weber’s products make it so much easier because you can easily control the temperature and heat.
What do you love about barbecuing?
I've always loved barbecues, but my love affair ramped up while I was on tour in the US making Jamie’s America. The people I met, the pitmasters who really lived and breathed barbecue, were such an inspiration. In fact, I entered a globally renowned barbecue competition and came second in chicken and fourth in pot-luck!
It inspired me to open Barbecoa in 2011. It was a homage to fire, with ash pits, Texan smokers, Indian tandoors, Japanese robatas, with every cooking source powered by wood or charcoal. It was incredible and hope to open another one day.
I also love the fact that there’s a way to cook everything over an open fire, and that even in its simplest form – with just a little salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon – the dry heat is all you need to make something utterly delicious. I also love the history behind it all, which I imagine when I’m cooking. There’s barbecue culture in every country, which is fascinating. In North Africa nomads carry around tagines to cook over open fires. I admire that resourcefulness, and the ability to always be able to cook a good dinner, even when you’re on the move.
I’ve always been a barbecue geek. I used to just dig a hole in the ground and put a cake rack on top, until my wife Jools complained about all the black holes in the garden! I currently have a small collection of well-loved barbecues all in a circle, like a mad professor's corner!
But now I’ve teamed up with Weber, their breadth of quality products will mean I can really get creative with my cooking. Whether it’s fruit woods, herbs, the efficiency of good coal, I’m going to love experimenting with different fuels to give food that secret smoky seasoning that no conventional hob or oven could give.
What Weber grills are you particularly looking forward to cooking on and why?
I’ve always been about the classic barbecues in all different shapes and sizes, but I was cynical about pellet-fed ones – until I tried the Weber SmokeFire Pellet barbecue. Now I’m a complete convert. I use it at least three times a week, for both slow and quick cooking. It’s a really useful addition to my conventional kitchen, and if I’m cooking for larger groups of people, it’s a godsend.
What are your first memories of barbecuing?
The barbecues of my childhood were in open welded barrels at village fetes, fuelled with the wrong charcoal, with pints of petrol poured on top to get it going! It was a fairly smoky, dangerous affair. It was pure direct grilling – hundreds of sausages, burgers, steaks – but for British people, that’s what we think BBQ is.
But when you cook the Weber way – with the lid down, understanding direct and indirect heat, using the right fuel – that’s when you can achieve extraordinary layers of deliciousness. Dad was pretty good though.
Do you find cooking outside over the grill a natural escape from the pressures of the commercial kitchen?
There’s something deeply natural about cooking food outside over flames that you’ve made yourself. Smelling the smoke in the air, hearing and feeling the heat of the fire; you connect with the elements and it’s a very relaxing, grounding, beautiful feeling. Conventional cooking has been designed to be effortless, clean and predictable – it’s like almost all of
the thinking has been removed from it. But this convenience comes at the expense of a whole population who doesn’t understand heat, fire, smoke control… We’ve unprogrammed ourselves from wood and fire.
Cooking over fire isn’t hard, but it requires you to tune into your primitive instincts of cooking that are in all of us, that all our ancestors had – I love that. Trying to forward-think temperature control, what to cook where and for how long, how you can protect it or burn it – such fascinating things and so much more exciting than you can imagine. Honestly, it makes us feel more human and connected.
There’s an awesomeness to creating fire, controlling and using it. It’s a beautiful thing, even just as something to sit around and watch, let alone cooking humble veg and transforming it into something extraordinary.
What are your favourite things to cook?
I do enjoy burning things! Using the natural layers of veg – like a whole cauliflower or cabbage – to protect it, that are then peeled away to reveal immaculate, concentrated, smoky, cooked veg, which can then be dressed with herbs, spices, oil and vinegars and turned into the most delicious thing on the planet. It has such a magical flavour.
Is a great chef automatically a master of open fire, or does it require different skills and disciplines to tame the flames?
No, understanding fire is something you have to learn. When I first opened Barbecoa, the challenge for the team was fire management over so many cooking apparatus. And so many left at the beginning because the ability to control heat is tricky. Then we got our processes down and had a fire man, who would make sure all the fires were okay. But with my tips and Weber’s kit, you’ll quickly become an expert. It’s not difficult, it’s just about tuning into your caveman instincts!
What would you cook and why for your ultimate barbecue meal on a Weber?
A surf and turf bonanza, with all the salads and salsas. It would all be cooked while drinking a beer and serving people, giving them pinches of this and that when it’s ready. For me, it’s not just about cooking it – I like thinking about it, preparing it, doing it. It’s the whole ritual for me.
I just love cooking a whole pork shoulder from a free-range, organic pig. I’ll spend time and care doing zig-zag cuts, setting the Stanley knife to the depth of the fat. Then I’ll make a bay, fennel, lemon and chilli rub and rub it into every cut.
I’d put it in the biggest tray, with lots of whole onions in their skins in the base, so they ‘jammify’ and I can squeeze them out later. It would then go into a fairly
hot barbecue, starting off at about 200°C for an hour or so, then I’d let the temperature come down, with the lid on. I’d keep an eye on it, get crackling going, and put water in the bottom of the tray for humidity.
As the temperature subsides, I’d maintain it at 130-140°C for six to seven hours, basting as I go, until the meat is pullable and delicious. Once that’s good to go, I can get the temperature back up to do some quick-cook items – crabs, which I’ll then pick myself (I love them on the barbecue), shellfish, oysters, humble fish like sardines and mackerel, butterflied; minute-steaks brushed with smashed up herbs and lemon juice. I’ll also roast a whole chicken and make beautiful kebabs, from meat and fish, pancetta and bread, interlayered with bay, fennel and onion, marinated on long rosemary sticks. Just a delightful thing.
What are your top tips for barbecuing?
Sourcing really good briquettes is key, and Weber has great ones. That makes a huge difference. Using different fruit woods for flavour and having different sized chunks of it, so you can maintain the heat. I tend to have a second barbecue on the go as a log burner to make cinders, which I’ll then use to top up the main barbecue. But you can use Weber’s chimney, which I use too. I also like to set up a prep table, like a proper kitchen, with big herb brushes, utensils, herbs, spices and all my kit. Also, safety is so important, especially with kids around. It’s all part of barbecue life.
Plant herbs right next to your barbecue area, so you don’t have to go far to add delicious flavour. And find your corner, knowing where the sun sets, so it’s the perfect place; that’s where I set up camp. That’s the great thing about using a Weber, you can move it anywhere – in the shade, in the sun, sunrise and sunset. I get so excited about all that.
