It's that time of year when men who wouldn't normally show an interest in cooking suddenly become masterchef with the mere utter of the word barbecue.
And there begins a summer long, macho love affair between man and meat, which usually involves a lot of standing around appearing busy while everyone else does the running around preparing salads, laying tables and serving drinks.
But as we all behold this special caveman relationship, we are also aware that chucking a sausage on the barbie and hoping for the best just doesn't cut it these days….leading the way to the battle of the BBQ, minus the masculine chest beating.
Firstly, of course, the better the ingredients the better the results so be sure to source your meats wisely. Naturally, you’ll not go wrong choosing from our online meat and fish selection or one of our four BBQ packs!
Once you’ve decided what you’re going to cook, you have to decide how you’re going to cook it to get the best flavours to really impress your family and friends.
We grabbed a couple of good tips from Paul Whitecross, head chef at Trump International. He said: “The key to a good barbecue is about marinades and seasoning and leaving it for a couple of days so the meat really soaks up all the fabulous flavours. Preparation is key and Asian and Indian spices are always a winner.
“It's always fun to get the kids involved too, so let them stuff or wrap the fish or rub spices into the meats as a good barbie is a family affair.
“Looking at something lighter, try cooking fish in tin foil on the BBQ with chilli or lemon butters, fresh herbs and lots of seasoning with a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. Score the fish too as the seasons penetrate better and the fish cooks quicker on the grill.”
Here are a few JK recommended recipes to try out over the summer.
Barbecue venison steaks
(Serves four)
JK Fine Foods venison steaks
150ml (¼ pint) of red wine
1 x tablespoon soft brown sugar
2 x tablespoons tomato puree.
2 x tablespoons French wholegrain mustard
1 x tablespoon chilli powder
1 small onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and black pepper
Pop all the marinade ingredients in to a blender and blitz until smooth. Place the venison steaks in a bowl and pour the mixture over them, cover the dish with cling film and leave it in the fridge for at least two hours. Once you're ready to cook, drain the steaks from the marinade, season and cook on a hot grill.
Barbecue grilled king prawns
JK Fine Foods Vannamei king prawns
Fresh parsley sprigs
¼ cup olive oil
2 x tablespoons barbecue sauce
2 x tablespoons lemon juice
1 x tablespoon honey
3 x garlic cloves, crushed
2 x tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Chop up the parsley and mix together with the oil, barbecue sauce, lemon juice, honey, garlic and chives. Throw in the prawns, mix well and leave in the fridge to marinade for an hour or so.
After marinating, pop a few onto pre-soaked wooden skewers and cook in the BBQ grill for three minutes or until cooked through, turning once.
Jamaican Barbecue Chicken
(Serves six)
JK Fine Foods chicken fillets
1 spring onion, minced
4 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon minced green chilli
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
Again, blitz all the marinade ingredients in a blender, pour over chicken fillets and leave to marinade in the fridge for 4-6 hours. Preheat the barbecue to a medium heat and cook on the grill until the juices run clear.
Or if all that still sounds a little too much like hard work, just buy one of our four BBQ packs, cook and enjoy!
Love, the JK Team
