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Pitmaster Harry Soo visits Ireland

Pitmaster Harry Soo visits Ireland

We had the pleasure of hosting Pitmaster Harry Soo on his recent visit to Ireland. Harry is a legendary YouTuber and competition BBQer with over 150 trophies to his name. He arrived in Ireland from LAX to spend a few days learning about food and BBQ culture in Ireland.

I will let the photos do the talking!

Day 1 - Dundalk and The Spotted Dog Restaurant

We wouldn't bring anyone to Dundalk without bringing them to visit Brendan and Vincent in The Spotted Dog. At this point Harry hadn't slept in 24 hours, but he wasn't about to miss this meal!
We will have plenty of food photos in this blog, so take a moment to enjoy this hunk of meat first.
Five Mile Town goat cheese, chicory, red onion jam, roast beetroot, caramelised walnuts, French dressing and croutons.
Local Irish mussels were a big favourite around the table. Served with sourdough from Matilda's bakery.
Clogherhead Crab claws and prawn pil pil served with smoked paprika, cherry tomatoes, roasted red pepper & olive oil with toasted sourdough.
Pan seared hake with crushed baby potatoes, cherry tomatoes, steamed long stem broccoli & lemon butter sauce.
The 1st special for the night was pan fried scallops and they were unreal!
The 2nd special was slow cooked beef cheek. It was cooked to perfection and was some of the best beef I have ever tasted.
Vanilla pannacotta with local O’Neill’s Strawberries & cookie crumble.
Warm lemon sponge cake with lemon curd, whipped cream & blackberries
You can't have an American pitmaster visit without having a cheesy thumbs up photo.
Our good friend Ian from Elk Studios in Dundalk who will be doing some fancy pants editing on the videos we made with Harry.
We started on a hunk of meat, so we should end on a sweet dessert.

Day 2 - Kerrigan's Butchers in Malahide and Ballymakenny Potatoes

If you need a man to talk to your American visitor about Irish beef, then Barry Kerrigan is that very man. He blew Harry away with his love for local Irish meat and his endless knowledge of the various cuts.
You can spot quality in everything Kerrigan's Butchers put their hand to.
Laura's favourite cut of meat and a reminder that everything we are photographing here will soon be (or already is) up on Harry's YouTube channel.
On the way back to Dundalk we stopped at Ballymakenny Potato Farm where the best heritage potatoes are grown for Ireland's restaurants and food lovers.
Maria in Ballymakenny knows her onions, but that is nothing compared to how well she knows her spuds.
If you haven't been then you should visit the Ballymakenny Spud Shack and pick up a few poppies for the dinner.
With his gentlemanly demeanour, passion for food, and endless curiosity it never takes long for people to become very fond of Mr Soo.

Day 3 - Dé Róistes Smokehouse

On Saturday we visited the famous Dé Róiste's Smokehouse in Ballinderry. Mark Irwin is the chef there and he couldn't have done us prouder with his showcase of Irish game and beef through the medium of US style BBQ.
Mark's pit is designed, engineered, and built in Wexford, Ireland by Smokin' Soul.
The platter for 6 could easily feed 12! All the classics and one of the best sausages I have ever eaten.
Venison tacos - probably the best meal on the menu in my humble opinion. Even the tacos were mind blowing.
Head brewer in Ballykilcavan Joe O'Driscoll joined us in tow to his wife the legendary BBQer Kate O'D.
I honestly think every dish should be served on enamel!
Laura is still talking about how good this smoked wild duck was!
Smoked wild pheasant terrine! Have you noticed that this is no normal BBQ shack yet?
Harry, Leon from BBQ Life, and owner DJ Dé Róiste observe Mark cooking 3 rib-eye steaks we picked up in Kerrigan's on Day 1.
Concentration and passion.
A Japanese A5 Wagyu, an Irish Wagyu, and proper good Irish beef! No prize guessing which was my fave :-)

Day 4 - Breakfast in Dublin

Before saying goodbye, we headed for Gallagher's Boxty House in Dublin for a proper full Irish. Thank you so much Harry for a wonderful weekend.

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