There's something about barbecues, especially British ones. Perhaps it's childhood memories of singed burgers and the novelty of al fresco dining. Or it could be the brevity of our barbecue season and the unspoken promise that as soon as there's so much as a whiff of summer the barbecue will be dusted off, tongs dug out and there'll be a mad Supermarket Sweep-style dash for the meat aisle.
Whatever it is, it's here (hurrah!) and to celebrate we've teamed up with Great British Chefs to bring you some mouth-wateringly easy barbecue recipes.
Whether it's a last-minute dinner or a summer celebration, these recipes are bound to impress.
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JOSH EGGLETON'S BARBECUED STICKY RIBS
Serves 4
1 rack of pork spare ribs
1 banana shallot, diced
2.5l of water, or more, depending on the size of rack
2 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
50g of ginger, peeled and diced
1 chilli, diced
100g of ketchup
100ml of soy sauce
50ml of Worcestershire sauce
50g of black treacle
150g of soft brown sugar
- Depending on the size of your saucepan, cut the rack into 2 or 3 pieces so that it fits inside. Put the ribs in the pot and cover with water.
- Add the garlic, ginger, shallots and chilli to the pot, along with the soy sauce, ketchup, black treacle and Worcestershire sauce.
- Bring the pot up to a simmer, then cover and leave to cook for about 1 hour or until the ribs are tender. Once tender, remove the ribs from the cooking liquid and set aside to cool, leaving the pot on the heat.
- Add the brown sugar to the liquid and cook down until there is about ½ cm left at the bottom of the pan (it should resemble a glaze).
- Use a blender to blend the glaze until smooth. Once smooth, pour back into the pan and reduce until the glaze coats the back of a spoon.
- When the ribs are cool, cut away from the bone so that you have individual ribs. Use a pastry brush to paint the glaze onto the ribs.
- Put the ribs on a hot barbecue. Turn the ribs over after a few minutes and glaze again. Repeat until nicely glazed and then serve.
ALFRED PRASAD'S PANEER AND RED PEPPER SKEWERS
Serves 4
300g of paneer
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 red onion, roughly chopped
2 tbsp of Greek yoghurt
0.5 tsp of ground turmeric
0.5 tsp of paprika
1 tsp of garam masala
1 tsp of fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp of garlic paste
1 tbsp of cumin seeds
1 pinch of salt
2 tsp of olive oil
To serve
1/2 lemon, juice only
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Cut the paneer into small cubes, roughly 2cm squares
- To make the marinade, whisk together the spices, yoghurt, garlic paste and salt
- Mix the yoghurt marinade with the paneer, pepper and onion in a bowl. Pour in 2 teaspoons of olive oil and mix gently
- Cover the mixture and leave in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 30 mins and a maximum of 12 hours - the longer you leave it to marinade the more intense the flavour will be
- Soak the skewers in cold water for 30 minutes before use
- Place onto skewers in the following order: onion, paneer, pepper, and paneer again
- Cook the skewers under a hot grill until gently browned around the edges. Serve hot with a touch of lemon juice.
ADAM GRAY'S BARBECUED JERK TURKEY STEAKS
Serves 8
Jerk turkey
1 turkey breast, boneless
1/2 bunch of fresh thyme
4 tbsp of clear runny honey
8 tsp of ground cinnamon
2 scotch bonnet chillies, chopped
8 tbsp of allspice
4 tbsp of dark rum
Celeriac and apple coleslaw
1 celeriac
3 Braeburn apples, peeled and cored
150g of mayonnaise
2 tbsp of English mustard
1/2 bunch of chives
salt
ground white pepper
- Take the leaves off the fresh thyme and finely chop
- Mix together the chopped thyme leaves, clear honey, ground cinnamon, chopped chillies, allspice and rum
- Cut the turkey into 1.5cm thick steaks and place in a shallow tray
- Rub the jerk seasoning mix thoroughly into the steaks, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for a minimum of 12 hours - ideally 24 hours
- To make the coleslaw, peel and finely shred the celeriac
- Cut the apples into 1/2cm wide discs and then slice into thin matchsticks. Mix the apple with the celeriac
- In another bowl, mix the mustard and mayonnaise together. Gradually add the mustard mayonnaise to the celeriac and apple, ensuring that final mix is not too wet
- Finely chop the chives and add them to the coleslaw. Season with salt and white pepper to taste
- For the turkey, place the marinated turkey steaks on a hot barbecue, turning over every 4–5 minutes until cooked all the way through
- When the steaks are cooked, remove from the barbecue and leave to rest on a serving tray for 3–4 minutes, to ensure they are moist and tender
- Serve the turkey steaks with the apple and celeriac coleslaw as an accompaniment.
FRANCES ATKINS' BARBECUED PIZZA TOPED WITH ASPARAGUS, BROAD BEANS AND FENNEL
Serves 6
Pizza base
350g of plain flour
7g of dried yeast
60ml of olive oil, plus more for greasing
20g of honey
20ml of water
Tomato sauce
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
100g of sugar
1 tsp of Pernod
1 dash of lemon juice
Pizza toppings
150g of sheep milk cheese
12 asparagus
1 fennel bulb
75g of green olive
1 tbsp of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tbsp of fresh thyme, chopped
salt
pepper
1 tbsp of chives, chopped
1 tbsp of chervil, chopped
75g of broad beans, removed from shells
- To make the pizza, start by preparing the base. Heat the water, oil and honey until lukewarm. Crumble in the yeast and leave to stand for 10 minutes, so that the yeast activates
- Gradually mix in the plain flour and knead for 10 minutes to form a smooth dough. Rest the dough in a bowl lined with some olive oil and cover with a tea towel until doubled in size (this will take around 45 minutes)
- In the meantime, make the tomato sauce. Add the chopped tomatoes and shallot to a saucepan. Add the Pernod, sugar and lemon juice. Bring the ingredients to the boil, then take the pan off the heat. Place the tomato mixture in a blender and purée. Set aside
- Next, prepare the beans and asparagus. Put the broad beans in a saucepan of salted water, and boil for 1 minute. Then place the asparagus in the water with the beans and boil for another minute until tender. Remove from the salted water and refresh in ice water until cool. Drain, then cut the asparagus spears in half
- To prepare the fennel bulb cut it into quarters and remove the pieces of the bottom core. Peel shavings of fennel from the cut side of each quarter with a mandolin or peeler
- When the dough has doubled, knead again and divide the dough evenly into 6 small rounds. Roll out each round of dough to approximately 12cm diameter. The dough should be fairly thin. Spread on the tomato sauce
- Use the sheep’s milk cheese, asparagus, shaved fennel and garden herbs as pizza toppings. Season with salt and pepper to taste
- Using a large wooden cutting board/pizza peel, place each pizza on a barbecue or in a wood fired oven, on a pizza stone or skillet if possible. Cook until the base is crisp, for about 8 minutes. Serve the pizzas warm.
For more tasty barbecue recipes, check out Great British Chefs.