An Ayrshire craftsman who transforms old whisky barrels into garden furniture has seen his latest invention become a hit amongst famous BBQ chefs.
Ross Weir's recycling idea to use ‘off cuts’ of the barrels soaked with the national drink has taken off.
Famous online chefs boasting more than 70,000 followers have embraced the idea using the aromatic chunks of a barrel to smoke their meats.
The exciting venture has formed a side project to his stunning creations produced at Dog House Studios in Troon, where Ross carves out incredible designs such as chairs, storage out of old whisky barrels.
After chipping his business into shape from its launch in 2020, Ross this year stumbled across another opportunity to get even more out of empty barrels.
The 34-year-old entrepreneur told Ayrshire Live: “The whisky barrels are at the end of their life.
“We have off cuts, soaked with whisky and they are charred which makes them quite good for smoking meats.
“These chunks are from authentic oak barrels sourced directly from the coopers and steeped in whisky for up to 30 years.”
A chance sale with one BBQ distributor from Wales sparked the masterplan to launch Dog House smoke chunks.
Bright and Shine stoves took an interest in the project and opened up a field of contacts interested in adding a unique flavour to their BBQ.
Ross said: “I was able to go round all the cooperages and get them on board, right now they would just get rid of barrels and they would go to waste.
“It only started with a few bags which then turned into a thousand bags and now two thousand bags.”
EMBED DJ bbq instagram Facebook post here: https://www.facebook.com/doghousestudiotroon/photos/pcb.307591527585517/307591440918859/
The off cuts took off just in time for BBQ season with the elite of professional outdoor chefs scrambling to get a taste.
One such megastar, Christian Stevenson – known as DJ BBQ – has the chunks available to order on his website.
Ross has been blown away by the interest as he is inundated with requests and positive feedback.
He added: “It has been quite brilliant, the wood is different, it gives a real whisky smell and just flavours food so well.
“People just keep saying you need to try this stuff, it's not just meat eaters, people are loving it with fish or vegetables. It is really great to see.”
Ross himself sampled the unique smokiness with lobsters sourced from Troon’s fish market and he hopes Ayrshire restaurants can drink it in.
He added: “It would be fantastic if local restaurants were interested in adding it to their money, locally-produced food with a local twist off whisky chunks would be great to see.”
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