How to do a great BBQ
Vanessa Frida | The New Paper | Mon May 21 2012
by Vanessa FridaSingapore, May 21, 2012
Growing up, I always enjoyed a good barbecue.
The aroma of meat slow cooking on coals, the sweet anticipation of biting into a medium-rare steak, the tingle of the charred bits. Heavenly.
The barbecues I organise now are quite different from the ones I grew up with.
Then, it was a smorgasbord of fun, but plain fare – chicken wings, steaks, otah, prawns and crabs.
Now that I’m an adult, that just doesn’t hit the spot any more.
It’s not much fun reproducing something that you’ve been having for years on end.
As a foodie, my appetite for gourmet food has risen to another level.
I want as little processed food as possible – no sausages – and I want food that makes my tastebuds tingle.
So I decided to invite a couple of friends – 20 of them to be exact – over for my own version of a gourmet barbecue.
The challenge? No processed foods, yet, I wanted a hearty and succulent spread of meat and seafood, with a side of greens.
I reckon that since the school holidays are coming up, this gourmet barbecue idea is a perfect excuse for a family gathering.
By the way, if you can’t get access to a barbecue pit, fret not.
The items here will work nicely with the grill function in your oven too.
If you plan to cook your meal indoors with a grill, the best rule of thumb is to preheat your oven to 180 deg C.
Follow the same cooking time specified with the different meats in this column.
Just make sure you have the freshest possible produce, flavoured with some condiments and spices and it is a delicious meal your extended family can enjoy together on a Sunday.
Chicken
Chicken wings are tricky little things, aren’t they?
At many a barbecue, because they aren’t skewered properly, you get dried out charred bits on the outside but strips of uncooked meat on the inside.
Not a great thing from a health and safety point of view.
Instead of the usual chicken wings, which take ages to cook anyway, make some chicken kebabs.
Gets the kids involved. They will love getting their hands dirty.
Buy some boneless chicken legs and marinate them with some chicken marinade, honey and pepper.
Cut up some red, green and orange capsicums, and onions.
Skewer a piece of chicken, followed by a capsicum, then an onion slice, and repeat. It is easy as that.
They cook up in no time too.
On the grill, each skewer will take all of 10 minutes and you’re done.
Sometimes I like making a couple of extras and pop them into my freezer.
Defrost them before leaving for work, then pop them into the oven for 10 minutes when you get home. A great after-work dinner with some rice.
Garden greens
Grab a packet of garden salad and toss the contents in some cherry tomatoes and two big cups of fresh basil green in a basic balsamic vinaigrette.
BBQ/GRILLING TIPS:
Marinate the meats overnight if you can. It will help add a lot more flavour.
Get your fire started two hours before you plan to cook.
You want the coals bright amber but with hardly any fire when you start cooking. That way, your food will cook without getting burnt.
Your raw meats and seafood should sit on a bed of ice to prevent contamination.
Cook meats in the middle of the grill and keep delicate seafood on the edge so that it does not overcook.
When adding coals, always add the new coals to the middle of the barbecue because that is where it is hottest.
Once it has gone amber, you can move it to the side so that the heat is even.
If your grill is too hot due to the amount of fat feeding the flame, give it a generous spritz of water. It will help cool things down.
Beef Steak
Horror stories abound about dried up coal-like burgers emerging from barbecue pits.
Forget burgers, here’s my tip for great juicy meat: Slice up a nice lump of New Zealand sirloin.
The fat will add flavour without the meat drying out.
I cut the meat to 4cm thick.
Or get your butcher to cut it for you.
Marinate the steak with some salt, pepper, fresh thyme, two tablespoon of oyster sauce and a cup of red wine
.
While the coals are still very hot, throw the meat on the grill for four minutes on each side.
And you have a great medium rare steak.
Sambal stingray
Grab a big jar of sambal olek from the supermarket and lay a teaspoon of the sambal onto a small piece of foil with a 5cm by 5cm piece of fresh stingray on top.
Add another teaspoon of sambal, a small handful of minced onion, a generous pinch of salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of fresh minced laksa leaf.
Wrap it up and it can go on the coals.
Scallops
These are lovely barbecued.
And just so easy. They are among my favourites.
First, I get a bunch of half-shell scallops. They are usually found in the frozen section of the supermarket.
I melt half a slab of salted butter, add some fresh cracked pepper, zest of a lemon, the juice of half a lemon, and a generous amount of salt.
Add a tablespoon of this butter mixture to the defrosted scallops, throw them with their shell on onto the barbecue, and they are done in double quick time.
Crayfish (Slipper lobster)
These need a good scrub before putting them on the grill.
Split them in half, wrap them in foil with two tablespoons of the same butter mixture you have prepared for the scallops with a pinch of fresh minced basil.
On the grill, it goes for about 10 minutes.