4:58 PM Aug 23rd
Just laid out a trial run base camp with Scott & decided to camp tonight as well as Tuesday. It’s time to start… #SurvivalSunday

5:02 PM Aug 23rd
#Survival Sunday

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6:01 PM Aug 23rd
Spots of rain and dark skies call for some quick tarping! #SurvivalSunday

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6:17 PM Aug 23rd
Basecamp is complete, supplies enroute

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7:27 PM Aug 23rd
Supply drop complete – camp fully operational as of 1900hrs. Weather deteriorating. #SurvivalSunday

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7:56 PM Aug 23rd
Even in survival situations the AWBC must have their BBQs! Camp location is now public: http://bit.ly/qcLXk #SurvivalSunday

8:03 PM Aug 23rd
True American Bud to go with our burgers: Not Ray, but still Redneck #SurvivalSunday

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8:19 PM Aug 23rd
Our last public coord. may have put us on a road – how dare Maps suggest such a thing! We’re literally yards from anywhere! #SurvivalSunday

8:34 PM Aug 23rd
It’s getting dark here in the wilderness: we’re emulating a fresh kill by eating ribs #SurvivalSunday

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9:41 PM Aug 23rd
Dark now: BBQ has been made into a fire and foxes are barking across the river on #SurvivalSunday

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10:37 PM Aug 23rd
#SurvivalSunday

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10:50 PM Aug 23rd
#SurvivalSunday

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11:54 PM Aug 23rd
Set up a Shoestick prior to bedding down… When we return #SurvivalSunday becomes #MearsMonday

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6:53 AM Aug 24th
Just woken up on #MearsMonday Far too early though, time for a lie in with nature!

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9:34 AM Aug 24th
Time to get a brew on – a bit chilly this morning so hopefully this will banish the cold! #MearsMonday

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9:57 AM Aug 24th
After the morning brew it’s time for a spot of breakfast, #MearsMonday style…

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10:28 AM Aug 24th
Rain! Perfect as we laze around waiting for another billy of water to boil… #MearsMonday

11:15 AM Aug 24th
Relaxing in the hammock with a brazier-made Staffordshire long brew for elevensies #MearsMonday

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12:13 PM Aug 24th
All you need for a good night’s sleep outdoors (Plus a tree and a sleeping bag!)… #MearsMonday

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12:34 PM Aug 24th
#SurvivalSunday & #MearsMonday draws to a close as we pack up camp. Tarp is still up for further use tho!

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Scott and Dawson settle in for the long haul once again; although the joint will disappear under the kettle’s lid during daylight, this time it will most likely emerge in the dark…

They continue to monitor the joint’s condition throughout the evening, and at one hour and fifty minutes call time; the meat thermometer shows a perfectly cooked roast yet again.

During a brief rest period soft baps are sliced and extra mature cheddar is roughly chopped ready to sprinkle on top of the still-warm beef; yet again these simple ingredients help to build up a well-rounded dish with the BBQ-roasted beef still occupying the centre stage.

By utilising their new Kettle BBQ and by separating the coals out in order to cook “indirectly”, Scott and Dawson hope to slow roast a well-seasoned beef joint over the course of a few hours. Unphased by the experimentation with new cooking methods, they also offer to cook some gammon steaks and BBQ wedges for Dawson’s family once the joint is finished. It is a tall order, but the co-founders are ready and raring to go.

An unwanted piece of MG Midget front outrigger from Dawson’s garage is used to separate the coals…

… and with the BBQ lit and officially “H”, the beef joint is placed into the centre of the grill and the lid is replaced.

With the meat now enclosed within the kettle there is little to do around the BBQ until the roast is fully cooked, prompting both Scott and Dawson to remark on the strangeness of leaving a BBQ to it’s own devices for so long. Throughout the cooking time however they are still drawn into the cooking process by the smells and sizzles of the slowly roasting beef, occasionally lifting the lid to check the joint with a meat thermometer, a purchase the AWBC deemed vital for the success of their first foray into indirect cooking. Just over an hour and a half later they pull back the lid and plunge the meat thermometer into the middle of the joint for the last time. It is ready.

Whilst the BBQ is re-jigged and the onions reduce down the meat is rested and cut…

Such is the co-founders excitement  that “rough ends” or “bits that won’t fit into the baguette” are imagined into being for tasting purposes.

Both Scott and Dawson are blown away by the tenderness and tastiness of their first BBQ’d beef joint and proclaim this to be a landmark event in the AWBC’s history. Although both co-founders agree the beef is succulent and tasty enough to be eaten as-is they prep half-baguettes and add hot onions straight from the BBQ; a pedestal of complimentary foodstuffs ready to show off the AWBC’s latest creation.

Turning back to the grill to cook the gammon steaks and BBQ wedges, the co-founders are over the moon with their first indirect BBQ and discuss the possibilities gifted to them by this new method of BBQing. Above everything else however, they agree two things; next time the joint will be bigger, and next time will be very soon indeed!

With the rolls baking nicely, eggs are cracked onto the remaining griddle space and bacon is prepped on the BBQ ready for a truly superfresh bacon & egg bap. As if that was not enough, Scott and Dawson throw their old favourite, BBQ beans, into the mix and reduce them down for the perfect filling topper.

Soon after the chequered flag is taken there is activity in the kitchen. Whilst Scott mixes, proves, rolls, cuts and then shapes a ciabatta dough into miniature flatbread pizza bases, Dawson creates a thick BBQ baked bean sauce and readies the cheese and bacon which will be used to complete the recipe. With the BBQ lit, the coals ready and the griddle hot, they begin the cooking process on the second of their new Christmas BBQs, a truly portable and foldable grille which they are eager to test out for the future…

Whilst the BBQ bean sauce reduces down to form the “tomato sauce” for their rustic pizzas, the flatbreads are placed on the griddle and turned at regular intervals to ensure an even bake.

Adding bacon to the grille at the last minute, they begin to construct their flatbread pizzas. The now syrup-thick BBQ baked bean sauce is generously spread over the miniature pizza bases, sprinkled with small chunks of cheese and topped with a folded rasher of bacon direct from the BBQ. The AWBC’s Iron-Baked BBQ Bean Pizzas with Cheese and Bacon are complete.

Getting back into things in true AWBC style – BBQing at night in a steady drizzle – they settle down and thrash out these difficult questions while the simple ingredients for some tasty AWBC burgers sizzle on the grill. They agree early on that the ferocious timetable of BBQing over the last year has been a double-edged sword; whilst the sheer number of BBQs in all sorts of conditions, as well as the achievements born through this packed timetable of BBQs has been impressive to say the least, both Scott and Dawson also feel that this current model of AWBC BBQing has brought about a “grill fatigue” which first caused the innovation so core to the AWBC to disappear and, eventually, brought about the apathy towards BBQing seen over the past few months.

Whilst both co-founders admit there is much to be glum about, they decide that this is not – cannot – be the end of the AWBC and set about discussing it’s evolution from the champion of all weather grilling to something even greater. From their long and illustrious list of past BBQs Scott and Dawson pick out the more unusual and innovative BBQs as their proudest moments in the Committee’s history, agreeing that they point the way forward  for the AWBC. Both also decide that a more relaxed pace of BBQing will give them more time away from the grille to discover new foodstuffs, create more complex recipes unique to the AWBC and prepare food in advance ready for these more important BBQ occasions.

Their freshly cooked burgers are no longer the impending swansong of the AWBC, but the last page in the successful first chapter of the Committee’s history. It will not be long before Chapter Two begins…