I have been waited for this moment for what feels like years! its finally just about hot enough to get the bbq out. I think its probably my favourite way to cook. Being outside surrounded by friends and family, cooking over open fire whilst sipping on a newly discovered craft beer makes me VERY happy.
The key to cooking a beautiful feast on the bbq is PREPARATION! Just make sure that you have your meat marinading the night before, salads made before you start cooking and beers are in the fridge.
The first recipe is for 'Honey BBQ Ribs'. For me this is the BEST meat that you can cook on a bbq. Tender, slow cooked ribs with a sweet and smokey char on the outside is perfection. I do recommend that you have plenty of napkins to hand, as you tend to get very messy eating these.
HONEY BBQ RIBS.
Marinade the night before the bbq
- 3x Racks of Free Range Baby Back Ribs (ask your butcher to remove the membrane)
- 5 tbsp Local Honey
- 2 tsp Chipole Paste
- 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Five Spice
- 1/2 tsp Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- 2 tsp Salt
ribs in marinade
Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl until you have a nice, smooth paste.
Rip off two large pieces of kitchen foil (long enough to fit the ribs in) and place one on top of the other, put your ribs onto the foil and tip on the marinade, get your hands dirty and massage the paste all over the ribs, making sure everything is covered.
Stack your ribs on top of each other in the middle of the foil and wrap tightly, being careful not to make any holes, now put this on a tray on the bottom shelf of your fridge overnight.
Morning of BBQ.
Pre heat your oven to 180c, take your ribs out of the fridge and place in the oven (still wrapped in foil) & cook for 2 hours. In the meantime you can get on with making the bbq glaze.
- 4cm piece of ginger (peeled)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 125ml organic tomato ketchup
- 60ml whiskey or water
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Colemans mustard
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
Finely grate the garlic & ginger and to a pan along with the rest of the ingredients, bring to boil then lower the heat and simmer until thickened. Put to one side and leave to cool.
After 2 hours in the oven, the ribs should be nice and tender. Take the ribs out of the foil and place on a tray & using a sharp knife, cut each rack into 3 and start to paint your bbq glaze over all the ribs.
As the ribs are already cooked and you only really want to char the outside of them, they should be one of the last things you put on your bbq. Just make sure that you keep painting on your glaze as you turn the ribs. You want them to be lightly charred in places but not burnt! Enjoy
ribs from in the oven but waiting to be bbq'd
BUTTERMILK CHICKEN.
The most important thing with this recipe is that you get hold of a Free Range Chicken, not only for the obvious ethical reasons, but the overall quality of the meat is 100x better.
This was actually the first time i've ever marinated chicken in buttermilk, but it's the only way I will ever cook chicken on the bbq now, it's a foolproof way of ending up with perfect, tender & moist chicken. I bought a whole bird and portioned it up and deboned it all myself but buying it already done from your butcher is ideal if you're not confident enough to do it yourself.
This is a very simple recipe so feel free to change the herbs or add spices but again make sure you get it in the marinade the night before.
- 1 free range chicken (cut into 8 portions and deboned)
- 300ml buttermilk,
- 2x sprigs of oregano (leaves picked)
- 1 tbsp local honey
- salt/pepper
buttermilk chicken
Finely chop the oregano and put in a good sized bowl along with the buttermilk, paprika & honey, season with salt and pepper. Give it all a good mix until everything is combined then add your chicken. Now get your hands in and massage that chicken. Cover the bowl with cling film, place on the bottom shelf of your fridge and leave over night.
On the day of your bbq, take out the chicken and shake away any excess buttermilk, place the chicken on a tray and now your ready to cook on the bbq.
You have to be careful when cooking chicken on the bbq, there is nothing worse than serving it raw, to check it's cooked through just take a piece off the bbq, slice it open and if its still pink it needs longer. Make sure you turn the chicken a few times so its cooks evenly, simple.
One last quick note on the beautiful craft beer I found the other day in my local deli. Brewed in my hometown of Norwich, Redwell Steam Lager is an easy drinking, smooth amber lager, It's the perfect drink to have along side your bbq. Head over to their website (www.redwellbrewing.com) to see where you can get your hands on some.
S x
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