When it comes to food, do you love to go low, slow and dirty? Because if you do, 2017 is set to be a smokin’ year for you! We may not always be blessed with buckets of sunshine, but we Brits certainly love a barbecue and over the last few years a spark has ignited that has taken our love beyond the simple burger and banger. From new restaurants on the high street to popular products on supermarket shelves, a barbecue revolution is burning, with growing interest in barbecue foods from all over the world. Sticking your food on the barbecue and hoping for the best is no longer enough as slow cooking and smoking have come to the fore. And, if all of this has somehow passed you by, it’s time to wake up and smell the burgers, sizzling away on the grill!
What’s Hot on the Street
If you’ve noticed that a lot of the new eateries in your area have a very casual look and feel and plenty of meat on the menu, you certainly wouldn’t be alone. Whether it be a burger joint or a rib place, casual dining restaurants with both meat and vegetarian substitutes on the menu have been sprouting up here, there and everywhere in the UK, with some of the most popular sprouting into mini chains.
Many of these joints have honed in on Texan style barbecue – with plenty of rubbed, blackened, smoked and wood-fired food to get your fingers stuck into. If you’re already a regular on the barbecue food scene, you could soon be seeing your meal prepared a little more close up when you dine out, as the processes of grilling and smoking are tipped to take ‘centre stage’ as part of an interior design trend coming this way from the US, according to the Morning Advertiser.
According to the experts, this year we’re also set to see the barbecue scene diversify even further, with Argentinian, Brazilian and even Thai barbecue restaurants, recipes and methods very much in vogue. You can also enjoy some grilled meat or vegetables as part of this year’s taco trend, and you may also find more duck on the menu too, reports the Evening Standard. Also very much still enjoying heat is the local sourcing and eating movement, which has in part contributed to a growing interest in traditional preservation methods such as curing and – you guessed it – smoking! Finally, whether you’re a meat lover or not, you could soon be spit roasting food from cauliflower through to whole pineapple, with tips from barbecue aficionado Steven Raichlen.
Soak up Some Barbecue Culture
Did you know that along with paying a visit to your local high street’s specialist barbecue restaurants such as Bodeans, Pitt Cue, Red’s Barbecue, Fazenda, Longhorns etc, you could also get deep in grill culture by going to British festival dedicated to all things barbecue? Grillstock is an annual music and food festival that takes place in Bristol. Head to Bristol Harbour the first weekend in July and you’ll be rewarded with all manner of low, slow and smoked food, plus live music and barbecue themed entertainment. Salivating at the thought? This event is undoubtedly a tasty proposition for any barbecue devotee in the making.
Get Your Apron on!
Fancy getting your grill and smoke on at home? Alongside a barbecue, you could consider investing in your own smokehouse, which can be used to add flavour to fish, meat and even vegetables. You could go down the traditional route and choose – or even build – your own fire fuelled smokehouse. If you do, you’ll find a good basic guide to smoking on the Jamie Oliver website. And lets not forget the vegetarians too, for us veggie lovers, a delicious smoked cheese or vegetable dish should liven up the party!
For a fuss-free way to add that smoky flavour you can opt to use an electric smoker. Groom and Style has some good tips for buying the best electric smoker. Whatever tools of the trade you choose, don’t forget to swot up on your basic and advanced barbecue techniques with the help of classic barbecue bibles such as A Meat-Smoking Manifesto by Aaron Franklin and Project Smoke by Steven Raichlem. Or, if you fancy exploring Brazilian barbecue, check out recently published Churrasco: Grilling the Brazilian way by Evandro Caregnato. The latter is a tome dedicated to the Brazilian technique of grilling meats over an open fire – a method that creates soft, succulent food with a true smoke infusion.
Are you looking forward to a smokin’ 2017? Do you love to get grilling in all weather or do you put your apron on for special family occasions only? If you prefer eating finger-licking smoky barbecue foods when you’re dining out, so that someone else gets all hot and sweaty and does the dishes, which is your favourite speciality barbecue restaurant?
*Collaborative Post
Yum food! Noticed a lot of takeaways but will have to look for this too x
Cool! We have a smoker at home and used it for New Years. Made so much bbq. so delicious!
We love BBQs in the summer I also love my slow cooker. We are invested in a new BBQ this year that has a spit toast function to it so may give it a do.
I absolutely love barbecued meat, it’s something I always look forward to when I go abroad! We definitely need to focus on using our bbqs in england!
Your fashion sense is always so impeccable! Love it!! 🙂 And yes 2017 has gotta be smokin!
I didn’t know that Brits are crazy for barbecue! Ever since I was a little girl I’ve watched my grandpa making barbecue and all sorts of soups on my days of vacation.
In Canada, we enjoy a good barbecue whenever possible. At a restaurant, I enjoy eating ribs, both wet and dry rubbed. At home, we love making our own barbecue sauce and dressing our meat with it. We also like grilling our veggies on the grill.
I know someone with their own smoke house and they love it but I’d rather just grill stuff inside, or go to a restaurant and get someone to cook for me
Grilled, smokey, barbecue food is some of the best! I’m glad it’s big stuff right now!
I don’t have a favorite restaurant of this type, I prefer my hubby’s bar b q to anything else I have tried so far. He cooks whatever meat he’s using on the grill and then puts it in the oven for a while. It’s amazing.
There is something really great about a good plate of barbeque. When I do eat meat once or twice a week, I’ll usually go for a korean bbq which is really tasty.
Kebabs are the best on a barbeque. Its the best and healthy way to eat. Plus it’s probably the original way of cooking. I’ve never used a smokehouse or smoker before but I’d like to try. Thanks for sharing.
Yes I am looking forward to a fab 2017. Cant wait to see what the year brings.
Great to find out about the food trends of 2017. Bring out the BBQ! I love smoked food, especially meat and veg.
I love barbeques! Every summer we do many on the beach 🙂
I am Brazilian, so naturally I love a good old churrasco! Yum! 🙂
I love bbq in the summer! I wouldn’t mind eating bbq anytime of the year. Shabu Shabu Koren BBQ, Benny & CO and Baton Rouge are some of our favorite places to dine.
Not really a fan of BBQ flavouring although I would be interested to try the thai version
It indeed is going to be a hot and smokin 2017 with the wide range of Barbecue options. The smoky floavour has really blown a breeze of change in food preferences.
I love my BBQ all year round and though not noticed much of change in the restaurants locally I have seen the trend in Oxford.
I love a good BBQ! I don’t think you can beat it!
I just love a bbq and eateries that specialise in that kind of texan food its just so good!!!
Got so many new places to try in 2017, and have to say lady, in that outfit you look smokin hot too.
I absolutely love BBQ food and I can’t wait until it’s warm enough to have a little BBQ myself x
I love BBQ especially in the summer. BBQ is a tradition in my country, we gonna have a really big one when we go to Cyprus this summer. And omg that outfit girl, you look smoking hot!!! xxx
Before Christmas I’ve tried Buffalo Wings for the first time (honestly? not sold).
You look like a mob boss in that suit/hat combo. But in a good way.
Looking lovely, I love that jumpsuit! I love BBQ’s and always wish we had more in the Summer! Hopefully 2017 will be the year of more BBQ’s! xo
A good bbq sounds wonderful right about now. I didn’t know about Grillstock, that sounds like a fun festival x
I absolutely love BBQ food so can’t wait to have my first one of the year x
This sounds great. I do love bbq food. Thanks for sharing x
We do love BBQ’s and have them quite often. It’s great as you can cook a range of yummy foods.