Team aiming to be barbecue champs (From Swindon Advertiser)

Team aiming to be barbecue champs

9:00am Monday 15th June 2009 in

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A SWINDON family is aiming to be named the best barbecue team in the world.

Alvin Harris, his wife Amanda, their children Sean and Kelsie and family friend Cliff Grace have formed Doctor Sweetsmoke’s Smooth and Slow Barbecue Team.

The five-strong group picked up the southern title for the British Barbecue Society Championships in Surrey in May.

They now plan to book their place at the World Championship International Barbecue in Lynchburg, Tennessee, by lifting the British title during an overnight cook-off in Sheffield next month.

Alvin, 41, from Rodbourne Road, Rodbourne, said: “You can’t keep a good man down.

“I cook on the barbecue in the rain and in the snow. It’s an obsession.”

The amateur chef, who originally hails from Los Angeles, California, has converted a 250-gallon water bowser trailer to create a mobile barbecue which he drags along behind his Vauxhall Combo van. He cooks in the car park of his favourite pub, The Dolphin, in Rodbourne Road, once a fortnight where fellow regulars give him feedback on his homemade sauces and succulent meat.

Last June the team picked up the British Barbecue Championship award in Somerset.

Alvin said his family cooks on the barbecue about four times a week.

He said “The barbecue is what keeps us together. It keeps the kids doing things and keeps us together. They absolutely love it.

“They get to share my passion and learn how to cook and how to compete. I am very proud.”

He said he remained confident about lifting the British title this year.

He said: “If we don’t take it I would be highly surprised.

“I’d have to make some mistakes – or not turn up.”

Sean, 14, said: “I do as much helping as I can, I want to be a chef when I’m older.

“I think we will do really well– we will probably win again.”

• Use the right sauce for the right meat. Chicken needs a deep rich flavour, ribs need something really sticky and dark, and pork should have a light and fruity sauce.

• Don’t rush it – it is ready when it is ready. You can’t put on a barbecue and expect to have a serving time.”

• The wood is where the flavour comes from. He smoulders fruit and nut wood on top of the charcoal.

• Always serve your barbecue meat with a fresh garden salad. It needs to be very heavy and chunky, a bit like a Greek salad.

• Never re-cook meet on a barbecue. All that does is take the flavour out of the food. And invest in a probe thermometer.