What is Northern Barbecue™
Everything You Need to Know About the Northern Barbecue™ Method by Chef Mike Belobradic
If you want to improve, enhance and grow your backyard barbecue skills, but aren’t sure how to do it, the Northern Barbecue™ Foundations in Fire course may be right for you.
Northern Barbecue™ is truly a global cultural journey. The courses are as much about research and understanding different cultures as they are about the actual cooking.
— Chef Mike Belobradic
What is the Northern Barbecue™ Method
Northern Barbecue™ is a barbecue learning curriculum. It brings structure through a barbecue course framework that will help you to improve and enhance your barbecue and grilling skills year-after-year, and have fun doing it. Northern Barbecue™ is more than just barbecue online courses. It is a way to bring structure to your barbecue skills enhancement and learning, to continually improve your live-fire cooking skills and confidence (all at your own pace).
Foundations in Fire is the flagship program of the Northern Barbecue™ Method.
Northern Barbecue™ is truly a global cultural culinary journey. It is as much about food research, learning and understanding different cultures, cuisines and methods as it is about the actual cooking.
Northern Barbecue™ is not about following recipes.
The Northern Barbecue™ Method is about:
Learning the stories and methods behind the live-fire foods of a culture or place,
understanding the nuances of how a dish is prepared in its original location,
understanding the spices and techniques used, and then
determining what you will need to do (and likely have to acquire) in order to create your own version of these dishes in your own backyard.
Northern Barbecue™ courses are a global culinary food adventure, developed through the lens of a Canadian Chef with a global cultural perspective on food and the world.
Who is Northern Barbecue™ For?
The Northern Barbecue™ Method Foundations in Fire course is suitable for any barbecue cook who enjoys grilling or smoking over hardwood lump charcoal or live fire, and who wants to improve their skills and be challenged with something new.
The Northern Barbecue™ Foundations in Fire course is not meant for beginners. It is not an entry-level or Barbecue 101 program.
Foundations in Fire is best suited for cooks who already have a good understanding and skill-set based on Southern BBQ methods and northern grilling style. It is for cooks who want to learn new things from around the globe and continue to expand their BBQ proficiency. It is for those who want to have fun with their barbecue in a new way, all in the comfort of their own backyard grilling space.
As a prerequisite for the Northern Barbecue™ Method, you should at least be able to, for example, smoke ribs to perfection over hardwood heat and grill a perfect 1.5” steak to order, in a repeatable and confident manner.
The skills from smoking and grilling are basic prerequisite skills needed to carry you through the Northern Barbecue™ Foundations in Fire journey into global barbecue. These core skills will are your baseline of knowledge as you discover and learn new ways to prepare, grill, smoke and cook dishes over live-fire sources from around the globe.
How Does Northern Barbecue™ Work
The Northern Barbecue™ Method was built on the premise that self-taught learning-and-doing is the optimal way to enhance your skills at the grill or fire pit. The Foundations in Fire course runs on a series of eight modules, with each module representing a new type of global barbecue to explore, learn and “master” (master being a relative term, meaning that you can prepare and repeat a dish with confidence and style—not that you are master in another culture’s cuisine).
One of the most important parts about the Northern Barbecue™ Method is the research and learning that you will do on your own (guided within the course). This is not a cookbook to follow, or a rigid course outline with assignments that will be marked. Rather, it is a guided path that will take you on a journey of global culinary discovery. The theory and understanding of the techniques of each far-off place should light a fire inside you to try to (as authentically as possible) recreate any dish emulating its original live-fire source (as close to it as you can get).
Northern Barbecue™ works for those who want to seek new experiences for their cooking and who have the drive and patience to perfect their art over time. Northern Barbecue™ Foundations in Fire is not a race or something you’re trying to finish in a month; it is a journey.
The old saying: “It is the journey, not the destination,” applies perfectly to the Northern Barbecue™ Method of barbecue skills enhancement.
Do I Have to Cook Over Charcoal to Follow the Northern Barbecue™ Method?
Yes. Cooking over live fire and hardwood charcoal is fundamental to the Northern Barbecue™ Method.
This program is designed for cooks who are drawn to the original and most universal form of cooking — fire — and who want to understand how it has been used, shaped, and refined across cultures around the world. Charcoal and wood fire are not restrictions within the method; they are the medium through which learning happens.
While many dishes can technically be prepared indoors or on modern, automated equipment, doing so removes the very element that defines these traditions. Live fire introduces variables — heat intensity, airflow, fuel choice, timing — that are central to how flavours develop and how techniques are learned. There is a meaningful difference between reproducing a recipe and engaging with a cooking method as it was originally practiced.
The Northern Barbecue™ Method: Foundations in Fire course exists to honour those traditions. Cooking over hardwood heat allows you to experience the aromas, textures, and flavour complexity that cannot be achieved in ovens, gas grills, or pellet systems. More importantly, it forces you to interact with fire itself — to read it, adjust to it, and work with it — which is how live-fire skill is truly developed.
Because the curriculum progresses in complexity, each module builds on what came before. You learn not just what to cook, but how fire behaves in the dishes of different regions and why certain techniques evolved the way they did. Over time, this deepens both technical ability and culinary understanding.
The Northern Barbecue™ Method is for those who value cooking as craft, tradition, and discovery — and who believe that to truly learn global barbecue, you must cook the way it has been done for generations: over real fire.
When Should You Start the Northern Barbecue™ Method?
Any time is a good time to start the Northern Barbecue™ Method, as long as you have access to your grills and cooking area.
The Northern Barbecue™ Method is based on an approach that allows you to sharpen your skills with a cooking sessions that follow a progressive scale of difficulty and techniques, based on modules. You can begin whenever you wish, as it is self-guided. If you live in a climate where your most comfortable grilling season is during the spring, summer and fall, then a good time to start cooking is in the spring. But remember, there will be a lot of research and possibly acquisition of accessories required for each module’s cooks, so you should factor this into your consideration.
The key is to maintain the Northern Barbecue™ Method year-after-year, once you begin. You will be building on learnings from past modules and your best improvement will come by challenging yourself each year with a new global cuisine.
I have posted a sample curriculum to give you more information about the path of the Northern Barbecue™ Method. The Foundations in Fire curriculum represents my own journey with global live-fire cooking and it is what became formalized as the the Northern Barbecue™ Method: Foundations in Fire course.
Northern Barbecue™ is designed to be both a personal journey and a shared framework for those who want to take their live-fire cooking beyond recipes and routines. As more cooks around the world explore the method and contribute their own experiences, common questions naturally arise about its origins, purpose, and practical application. The following answers clarify what the Northern Barbecue™ Method is, what it is not, and how it continues to evolve.
Northern Barbecue™ Method FAQs
Why Would I Follow the Northern Barbecue™ Method?
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The Northern Barbecue™ Method Foundations in Fire course helps barbecue cooks move beyond recipes and into true skill-building and cultural understanding. Instead of simply following instructions, you learn how and why dishes are prepared the way they are in different parts of the world.
By researching techniques, spices, fire sources, and traditions, you develop a deeper awareness of global barbecue methods and how to adapt them confidently in your own backyard. Over time, this process expands your taste, technique, and cultural knowledge, helping you become a more capable, creative, and well-rounded outdoor live-fire cook.
Is Northern Barbecue™ About Cold Weather or Northern Climate Cooking?
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No. Northern Barbecue™ is not related to climate, temperature, or seasonal cooking. The word “Northern” refers to the Canadian perspective from which the method was created, not to cold-weather grilling (just as Southern Barbecue is not about cooking in the heat).
The method reflects Canada’s globally welcoming food culture and its openness to learning from barbecue traditions around the world. It combines the foundational skills of Southern barbecue and Northern-style grilling techniques to create a framework for exploring global live-fire cooking, regardless of where or when you grill.
Do I Need Special Equipment to Follow the Northern Barbecue™ Method?
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You do not need brand-specific equipment to follow the Northern Barbecue™ Method, but you will need specialty equipment along the way in order to replicate authentic global dishes. You also need the ability to cook over live fire, hardwood lump charcoal, or wood.
The focus is on developing fire management, heat control, and technique. The addition of any new tools or accessories will be related to what you may need to acquire to authentically recreate a dish. Whether you use a charcoal grill, smoker, or fire pit, what matters most is your ability to work with real fire and apply what you learn from global barbecue traditions in a repeatable and confident way.
Is Northern Barbecue™ a Course, Certification, or Cooking Class?
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Northern Barbecue™ is not a cooking class with instructional videos that you follow. There are no assignments that will be graded (although there are module quizzes). It is a self-guided learning framework designed to give structure and purpose to your long-term development as a barbecue cook. However, you will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the program.
Think of it as a personal guided curriculum that encourages research, practice, and cultural exploration with each module. The goal is not to rush to complete a program or to get a high mark, but to continually refine your skills and deepen your understanding of live-fire cooking traditions from around the world.
Foundations in Fire is the first course in the program. Over time, as the Northern Barbecue™ community grows, this framework will likely evolve into a more formal learning path with formal certification for those who want to demonstrate a deeper level of mastery and cultural understanding in global live-fire cooking. Early participants will be grandfathered in this case.
Is there a cost to follow the Northern Barbecue™ Method?
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The online course framework is currently in development. The Northern Barbecue™ Method: Foundations in Fire course has a one time fee to enroll. Visit the course page at NorthernBarbecue.com for more details.
The Northern Barbecue™ Method is a trademarked system developed through more than a decade of hands-on cooking, global study, and refinement. Additional courses are in the works and will be introduced in the future.
Trademark Notice
Northern Barbecue™ and the Northern Barbecue™ Method are trademarks of Chef Mike Belobradic. Use of the name, method, or framework for commercial, instructional, or derivative purposes is prohibited without prior permission. All rights reserved.
About Chef Mike Belobradic
Chef Mike Belobradic is a Canadian live-fire and barbecue chef based in Ontario, Canada, and the creator of the Northern Barbecue™ Method.
Through SmokeFireGrill.ca, he explores hardwood grilling, low-and-slow barbecue, and global fire-cooking traditions adapted for the Canadian outdoor kitchen.
