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| A mix of meat ideas for the barbecue, hopefully the list
will grow with the season. |
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| Rib Eye roast. |
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| This was a joint bought at Sainsbury. I
have to say that for Rib Eye roast or for Rib Eye steaks for some reason
we have always found that these are better at Sainsbury than any of the
other supermarkets or even the butcher in Reading (and I get no
'kickback' from them for saying that!). Having had a couple of
steaks on the grill (a good inch thick, and no more than 4.5 to 5
minutes for a medium steak), we had about 0.8 Kg left. |
| These should be done using indirect heat and
if you put a tray underneath the meat you can catch the fat and juices
from the meat. If you don't they make a mess in the bottom of the
grill. To add to the flavour of the meat I used mesquite wood
chips. These are soaked in water for at least half an hour before
using on the grill. If you don't soak them they will flare up and
flame when they go on the coals. If they are soaked they smoke and
really add flavour. be careful when using mesquite chips, a
handful of these gives much more effect than a handful of the more usual
hickory wood chips. If you use mesquite don't use more than two
moderate handfuls. Leave the lid on for the first 10 - 15
minutes, that lets the smoke really get to the meat and every time you
lift the lid you let more air get to the grill, that will make the wood
chips flare. |
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For a 'medium rare' result give no more than
30 - 35 minutes, then allow the meat to stand for at least 10 minutes
before carving. To go with the meat we skewered some vegetables
and grilled those.
As in the photo, sections of pepper and courgette, whole mushrooms
and half sections of new potatoes. The potatoes should be
par-boiled for about 10 minutes before they go on the skewer. The
'veggies' should be done before hand, then they can be marinated in oil,
garlic and whatever for an hour or so before going on the skewers.
They don't need long on the grill. When I took the meat off to
stand I put the skewers on in the middle of the grill for about 15
minutes with the lid on, turning once. That way the meat and veg
were ready at the same time. |
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1/2
leg of Lamb, butterflied |
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| Lamb is hard to beat on the BBQ, and one
advantage is that because a lot of the fat comes out of the meat and
into the drip tray, it is easier to eat for those who normally don't
like Lamb. We took a small joint from the top of the leg, you can
de-bone it yourself or have the butcher do it for you. The joint
is then butterflied and marinated in oil with seasoning and rosemary. |
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Lamb is a great opportunity for using rosemary if you have
any growing in the garden. Cut a good couple of handfuls and soak
in water for at least half an hour before the meat goes on. As
with the wood chips, this allows the herb to smoke rather than blaze up
and burn when it goes on the grill. I have my trusty half onions
ready for cleaning the grill. |
| Use indirect heat, if you put the lamb over the coals it
will 'smoke like hell' because all the fat from the meat will go
straight on to the coals. When the charcoal is up to heat put the
meat in the middle of the grill and put all the soaked rosemary directly
onto the charcoal, then get the lid on. The rosemary will smoke
for about 15 minutes and really flavours the meat. This joint was
about a kilo and I gave it 35 minutes on the grill, turning it round
occasionally. It then comes off to stand for a good 10 minutes
before carving. |
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The meat takes on a lovely colour from the smoking.
One good thing to do with this or any joint is potatoes in
packets. Par boil some small new potatoes, then slice them 'thinish'.
Take silver foil and drizzle some oil on the foil along with some herbs
(timian is very good). Put the slices of the potatoes in the
packets, try to get oil over most of them, close up the foil into little
parcels (like those on the left) and put them on the grill. I leave them on for about 30 minutes, so put them on about 20 minutes
before the meat is finished and they can stay on for the 10 minutes that
the meat has been taken off before carving. The potatoes crisp up
nicely, especially if you put the parcels over the top of the coals for
about 10 of the 30 minutes.
I leave you to choose the wine! |
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| Pork tenderloin |
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| I don't have a photo of this one, but as I do
it quite frequently, I'll take some next time. You need a good
whole tenderloin, remove any of the membrane they sometimes have on one
side. Take half a dozen thin slices of Italian smoked pancetta and
wrap these around the tenderloin, the prok can be dry if cooked on its
own. The pancetta stops the pork from burning and at the same time
keeps in the meat juices. There is no need to put sticks through
the pancetta to keep it in place, or to try using cooking string.
The pancetta slices, if they overlap a little, tend to bind to each
other and the heat from the BBQ quickly causes them to form into shape
around the pork. If you use thick slices they will come away from
the pork. You can cook the tenderloin over direct heat, but have
the underneath air vents pretty well closed off, and use the lid, this
way it will stop the pancetta burning. Depending on size and
thickness of the tenderloin I cook them for 14 - 17 minutes, then let
them stand for a good 5 minutes before carving up. As with other
pork joints, you can also use well soaked rosemary on the coals to give
the herb taste to the meat. |
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| Rolled Leg of Lamb |
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| A rolled leg of lamb, boned, about 1.2 Kg. Cook on
the grill with the coals at the side, for 50 minutes. The joint is
rubbed with oil and then covered with a 'rub' of thyme, garlic, salt
& pepper. Turn about every 15 minutes then allow it to stand
for 15 minutes after removing from the grill. |
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| Spatchcocked poussins. |
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These small chickens are good from Waitrose. When
you buy them they have wooden skewers through them to keep the legs
against the body, I always remove these, also, slit the skin between the
leg and the body. If you don't then the leg is held tight against
the body of the bird and may not cook through at the base of the
leg. Oil the birds and cover in spices to taste, then cook them
for 30 minutes over indirect heat, turning occasionally and with the lid
on the BBQ. Much better than just doing chicken legs, and good
'finger food. |
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| Lamb shanks |
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| Cook the shanks in a closed pot with water, red wine,
onion, bay leaves and rosemary etc for seasoning, for about 1hr 45mins
at 120 degrees.
Set up the grill for indirect heat and get it good an hot. I
then used an aluminium foil picnic plate with a couple of holes punched
in the bottom, put the shanks on this and put in the middle of the grill
with the lid on. Cooking like this for 20 minutes brings up a
lovely crisp outside to the meat, as in the photo. Not traditional
BBQ fare, but well worth ringing the changes. Serve one per person
and let them get on with it. |
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| Skirt or Flank, as the Americans call
it. |
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| Skirt is usually associated with steak and
kidney pie, and is normally something that takes a long slow cooking
time. I have to say, people don't tend to think of it as BBQ fare,
the butcher was a little surprised. It is a cut you don't see
often in a supermarket, but a traditional butcher will often have
some. the cut above is about a kilo. The joint has any
excess fat etc. trimmed off, then marinade in a bottle of Italian
dressing for an hour or so to help to tenderize it. Cook it over
direct heat on a good hot grill, you will probably need to have the lid
on for some of the time as the oil in the dressing will cause flames and
smoke. To cook medium rare as in the photo above, I cook for 14
minutes, turning occasionally, then take it out to stand for 10
minutes. Because this joint would normally take a long slow cook,
it will seem tough if you cut thick slice, what you need is a good sharp
knife and cut very thin slices. It is excellent! |
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