Photography by James Gabriel Martin
Joe’s Smokehouse in North County Dublin is bringing the fire to Irish barbecue
From the pit masters in the United States through to Japanese yakitori and Argentinian asado, diverse cultures all over the world feature passionate experts cooking with fire and smoke. Now, one Irish man is striving to perfect his skills with a take on barbecue and low and slow cooking that champions hyper local high quality ingredients. James Gabriel Martin of Leviathan spoke to Joe Savage about his project.
I arrive at Joe’s Smokehouse on a dull and dreary afternoon, the clouds spitting lazily overhead, coating the surrounding fields of North County Dublin in a light misty dew. Despite this, spirits are high. The smokehouse door opens and Joe appears with a warm smile. A steady plume of soft white smoke billows from the frame up towards the grey sky, and I can already smell the alluring promise of a good time.
Inside, the smokers are jam packed with a collection of surprises that are indicative of Joe’s interests and experience. There’s whole spatchcocked chickens served Alabama Yard Bird style, as the menu calls it, served with a deliciously tangy and vinegary white sauce. Thick pork chops sizzle on the grill, while below, nestled right amongst the coals are whole onions. Cooked until the outsides are charred and blackened, when pressed the insides of the onions shoot out, steamed perfectly, and have a delicate, sweet taste. My mouth waters as Joe opens yet another smoker and pulls out a large piece of beef short rib and begins carving it with precision. The bark on the outside is dark and peppered, while the inside has a perfect red smoke ring crowning the moist meat. It’s an impressive display of cookery.
Joe is no stranger to the world of hospitality and food. His father JC Savage set up the well-known and widely celebrated JC’s supermarket in Swords, and Joe helped run the family business, The Lord Mayor’s pub before it was sold. Throughout that time he had a hand in the food and was in and out of the kitchen, but it was only a few years ago that Joe decided to fully commit to his passion for food, enrolling in Ballymaloe Cookery School. Being fully immersed in the kitchen every day not only allowed him to pick up new skills, but it stoked a flame that had always been there, even since childhood.
“Growing up my mother was a fantastic cook, I was always interested in what she was making, and she was also quite strict with us in terms of what we ate. We were allowed sweets on a Sunday, but apart from that we would have to eat clean. So if for example we saw the likes of chicken goujons on a fast food menu and wanted them, our mother would always reply that she could make them at home. And she would, and they would be awesome,” Joe tells me.
That idea of doing things correctly as well as sourcing the right ingredients and cooking from scratch with integrity is at the forefront of what Joe does now with his business. Following Ballymaloe he travelled home and built a smokehouse in his backyard, complete with special ventilation, a prep kitchen, and a collection of grills and smokers, all built on a portable rigging system that can be brought to festivals and events. This was custom built by Smokin Soul in Wexford, fabricators and barbecue educators who Joe also worked with in order to gain experience.
Less than three minutes up the road is Old Stonewall Farm, where Joe sources all of his high welfare meat from. He insists that we hop in the car and go up to meet Teresa and Joe Collins, farmers and caretakers of turkeys, chickens, pigs and a herd of Hereford prime cattle. What they do is beyond impressive, it’s inspiring, and shows how intelligent and intuitive approaches to farming can be beneficial across the board.
They implement strict guidelines for the treatment of animals on the farm. No raised voices, no herding sticks, no stress. The idea is to raise animals in an ethical manner that are as content and relaxed as possible, which yields meat that is of high quality. use clover and multispecies swards in their fields and fertiliser to help organically and naturally nourish the livestock and the lands.
Because he is so familiar with where his meat comes from, Joe is conscious to treat it with respect. The art of smoking low and slow facilitates this, and calls for attention. Briskets and ribs can take several hours, and heat must be maintained in order to get the correct cook. Customers pre-order barbecue plates online for collection on Fridays and Saturdays. The menu can change from week to week, depending on what’s freshest and at its best, an can include things like Texan smoked beef, pork belly with crispy crackling, and sausages. Orders come with sides that can include things like bread freshly baked on the smoker, slaw, pickles and hasselback potatoes.
The idea of being able to experiment appeals to Joe, who gets the chance to trial different dishes on his menu. Because Ireland can have so much cold and wet weather, the methods of cooking differ a bit from other places in the world. Joe uses charcoal to maintain a constant temperature, adding wood here and there to add some flavour. Through experimentation and speaking to industry peers he has worked out how to cook a wide selection of different offerings.
I’m lucky enough to get to taste one of the barbecue plates, and it’s impressive. It’s Irish soul food, and leaves me with a full belly and the feeling that I have been taken care of. Before I go, I ask Joe about his plans for the future. Although he has only been open a short time, he has already built up a loyal customer base, and I wonder if expansion is on the cards.
“I’m not trying to take over the world. I love cooking and I love cooking over fire. As long as I can be here, offering this up to people then I am happy. I love that people in this area get to appreciate just how lucky we all are to have access to the produce we have in North County Dublin. This is one of the best places in the world in terms of eating well, and I want to continue to lean into that as much as I can,” Joe says.
Photography by James Gabriel Martin.
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