Meet Linden Mack, also known as @MacksBBQ. Linden has joined the Orbie family at the very start of our journey as our first Orbie Ambassador and we couldn’t be more excited to have him onboard.
From the home of his BBQ Shack in Northern Ireland we’ll be getting an insight into his way of cooking, with Orbie by his side, and he’ll be sharing ways in which he uses his Orbie.
Family in any sense of the word is always paramount when making memories and enjoying great food. For Linden, his Dad played an important part in his love for and confidence around the BBQ. We wanted to learn a bit more…
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m Linden Mack, AKA Macks BBQ Shack from Donaghadee, Northern Ireland.
And what inspired you to start sharing your BBQ cooks as MacksBBQ?
I started sharing some of my cooks with friends and family via facebook and a few of them suggested i start a bbq page on Instagram, to be honest it's something I'd never thought about doing before, but thought sure why not, I'll give it a go and see what happens and Macks BBQ Shack was formed.
Love it. So what’s your favourite thing about outdoor cooking and barbecuing? What keeps you coming back to the grill?
There’s a few answers to this question, but two that spring to mind are…
- Growing up as a child we always went camping with our parents, my Dad would always cook our dinners on the bbq at night and he often let me cook with him. Unfortunately I lost my Dad 2 years ago, but when I'm standing beside my grill, cooking away, I often think of those happy childhood memories, cooking with my Dad and that always brings a smile to my face.
- The flavours you get from cooking on fire and smoke there’s just nothing better.
So it sounds like your Dad probably played an important part in your love for BBQing. Looking back, what’s your favourite BBQ memory?
My favourite memories of BBQ is being with my family, growing up as a child, cooking bbq with my Dad on camping trips, then doing the same thing with my kids on camping trips, teaching them to cook over fire and spending time with them is something special, i want them to have the same memories i have with my dad when they look back in years to come.
BBQ has always been a big part of our family life, but one that stands out was the first Christmas i decided to cook the Turkey on the BBQ, think we had 12 - 14 people coming that Christmas for dinner and i remember my dad arriving and coming into the kitchen, normally he was greeted with the smell of the turkey cooking in the oven, he looked at me and asked where's the turkey is it cooked already? I said “No Dad, it's still cooking, it's on the BBQ”, you could see the shocked look and horror on his face but he never said anything else, later that night we were chatting and he said you know son, when you told me the turkey was on the BBQ i thought your head was gone, but i have to admit it was the best turkey I've ever tasted. Dad made sure I had the turkey on the BBQ every year after that and it is all those memories that I cherish the most.
Well I’m being tasked with cooking the turkey on the BBQ myself this year, so I’ll have to pinch your recipe as it sounds like a success. So what about outside of barbecuing then. If you’re not standing at your grill, where will we find you?
If I'm not cooking on a BBQ , then I'm most likely selling a BBQ. I work for a company called Creative Gardens in Donaghadee, and we specialise in Weber and Kamado Joe. I love chatting to our customers about all things bbq. It's nice to meet people that have similar interests to myself, especially when that interest is barbecue. I like to get to know all my customers on a personal level and it's even better when those customers become your friends.
Wow, so you really are all in on the BBQ front. It must mean you spend your days thinking about what to cook next. What's your go-to dish for a crowd when you’re hosting? Any tips for nailing it every time?
There's a few, if I'm cooking for a crowd then I normally have 3 or 4 bbqs going at once. You can't go wrong with a Leg of Lamb, it's definitely a crowd pleaser, especially slowly smoked on the Kamado Joe. Another favourite one is lots of Chicken thighs slowly cooked on the Rotisserie, but if you want to try something a little different, then it's Picanha Steak. Again cooked on the rotisserie, the flavours are amazing when that fat cap melts down into the steak.
And what’s your go-to dish for a midweek dinner when time’s tight?
If it's on the BBQ then it has to be a good burger , a double cheese with bacon is hard to beat, my main concern normally is what to put on top , a fried egg or a pickle? If it's in the house then it's most likely my Spaghetti Bolognese or a good Curry.
This is the one we’ve been waiting for… Can you show us your BBQ shack and tell us a bit about it? Where does your Orbie live?
Well basically, I bought a Summer House that you would normally have in your garden and turned it into an outdoor kitchen. It's nothing special but it's nice to have a place where you can prep food while cooking on the BBQ.
Last summer we built a gazebo over the patio, it's nice to have a space outdoors where the family can relax. Now that the winter months are coming i've moved my Joe Jr and my Big Joe 3 in there so I can still cook in all weather conditions throughout the year.
What a set-up. You must have some “go-tos” amongst the outdoor kitchen. What’s one underrated BBQ tool that you think more people should know about?
The rotisserie... Everyone should have one, if you have a bbq and you love bbq cooking then you need to buy a rotisserie , you just can't understand how good the food is on the rotisserie until you have used one yourself.
And how does the Orbie Cooler fit into your bbq routine? How do you use Orbie?
The Orbie has made a massive difference to my routine. I can now collect meat from the butchers first thing in the morning and drive to work, do a full day's work knowing the meat will still be as cold as it was when I placed it in the cooler that morning.
The Orbie is also brilliant for resting meat after a cook. I can simply wrap the meat and place it inside my Orbie and I know it will remain warm until it's rested properly and ready to serve.
And kit aside… What's your favourite ingredient to work with on the grill, and why? Any secret sauces or rubs you'd recommend?
A leg of lamb is my favourite, closely followed by a Tomahawk steak. As for rubs then it's definitely Angus & Oink for me, they have loads of rubs in the range but my top 3 would be Montreal Steak and Burger, it's amazing, you can use it on just about any type of meat. The next would be Honey Chilli again it's brilliant on Chicken, Pork and Beef and 3rd it would have to be Feather Duster which is amazing on Chicken. I would definitely recommend the Angus & Oink rubs.
What advice would you give to someone who’s just getting started with outdoor cooking or barbecuing?
Don't feel intimidated, just give it a go, you will love it. I tell my customers, you just have to trust yourself, if I can do it anyone can, don't get me wrong there will be times that you will burn things, we all do that, even i still burn things, but don't let that put you off, because when you get it right there's no better feeling in the world…
What does the future hold for MacksBBQ? What should we look out for?
There are a few things in the pipeline but unfortunately I can't mention them at the moment… but I will keep you all posted.
Lastly, is there anything you would like to ask us?!
The coolers and apparel are amazing , but what’s next for Orbie? Have you any plans to extend into other fields under the Orbie Brand?
Linden, thanks so much for helping us introduce you to everyone. We really are excited to have you onboard and we can’t wait to see more of your grilling as time goes on.
