Fun fact. Luke was our first customer at Pickle & Rye. We met Luke years ago in a bar in Marleybone over the love of NFL and good wings. Years later, this has never changed. Luke has always had an eye for BBQ and smoking, we never know what tasty things we would be eating at his house!
Name: Luke Potter
Originally from: London
Lives now: Fulham
Day Job: Operations Manager for Pub group
Hobby: Grilling & Smoking
What’s the story behind your bbq/grilling passion? I’ve always had a love all things smoked and grilled. Nothing beats being outside in the sun, drinking beer and cooking with Fire.
Where is your favorite city/ location that you have traveled that has the best BBQ? My favourite bbq joint I’ve eaten at was actually in Philadelphia. Mikes BBQ. Outrageously good.
Favorite cut of meat to grill/bbq? I’m a pork man myself. Ribs of all sort and pork belly are probably my favourite to do. Hard to beat a steak on the grill though.
Best advice for a beginner griller? Start of simple! Don’t go crazy and try and do a hog roast on your first attempt. Build up your knowledge and experiment with flavours.
You were Pickle & Rye’s first customer. What did you eat? I had the Reuben. Best in the city! I’m still hoping the dark rye bread makes a comeback…. ahem ALEX!?!
Strangest thing you have tried to grill? I’ve not gone too wild but I do have a Haggis sitting in the fridge waiting to go on the smoker. I’ll be sure to share the results.
Think outside the steak, what non-meat item do you recommend to grill? I’m a massive fan of asparagus and corn on the grill. Grill them and cover in garlic and butter. Hard to beat that!
Where do you grill and chill? No better place than in my garden with some friends. A grill, a cooler of beer and nice weather. I’d take that any day!
Luke and his friend Olly have turned their hobby into a profession and started a business called Two Smoking Barrels. They are in the process of crowdfunding for a food truck, so consider donating to their cause and getting some free BBQ in the process!
Feel like trying out some smoking??? Here’s a teqnique from Luke:
Luke’s Pickle Brined Smoked Chicken Wings
Place the chicken wings in the pickle brine the night before. We recommend 12-24 hours in the brine. Make sure you use good brine or of a brand of pickles you enjoy.
Get your smoker up to temp. We usually do ours at 250f. Make sure you use subtle wood like apple or cherry. Hickory etc is way too strong!
While you are waiting for the smoker to get up to temperature, dust your wings in your favourite bbq rub. Again play around with your own or there are plenty of great off the shelf rubs that work great.
Once the smoker is up to temp and there is a good roll of smoke from the wood chunks, place your wings skin side up on the grill.
After 45 minutes turn the wings over and maintain the temperature of 250f-275f.
After another 45 minutes remove from the smoker.
These are ready to eat now but if you want to really up the ante, fire up the grill, baste them in your favourite bbq or hot sauce and give them a blast over the direct heat of the coals for a couple minutes. Careful not to burn them as the sauce will have a high sugar content. Keep turning them over the 2 minutes until good colour and glazed.
