BBQ season is coming

So spring is here and summer won't be far behind. I've always been interested in trying new ideas for my BBQ as we normally just get burnt sausages and burgers!! I've done some research on the humble BBQ sauce. Have a look and give it go when you get your BBQ out this season.

History of Barbecue Sauce

The precise origin of barbecue sauce is unclear. Some trace it to the end of the 15th century, when Christopher Columbus brought a primitive sauce used for cooking Alpaca meat back from Hispaniola, while others place it at the formation of the first American colonies in the 17th century. References to the substance start occurring in both English and French literature over the next two hundred years.

It does seem clear that the art of barbecuing meets was introduced to the Europeans by native tribes of North and South America.  Specifically, there are pictures showing the Native Americans slow cooking meats which is traditionally what barbecue is as compared to grilling which is cooking at much higher temperatures and very quickly.

The 4 Basic styles are:

Vinegar and Pepper

Mustard

Light Tomato (most popular)

Heavy Tomato

Basic Tomato Based BBQ Sauce:

1 onion finely chopped

1 tablespoons tomato purée

2 tablespoons wine vinegar

2 tablespoons soft brown sugar

1 heaped teaspoon mustard powder

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup water

Pour the oil into a saucepan, add the onions and fry for 3-4 minutes until the onions are translucent. Stir in the tomato purée (this ensures a smooth sauce) and then add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes.

Basic Vinegar and Pepper Based BBQ Sauce:

1 cup white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup of water

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes

Throw all the ingredients into a saucepan, warm over a gentle heat and stir until all the sugar has melted.

Basic Mustard Based BBQ Sauce: 
(This sauce has traditionally been best for pork)

200ml / 8 fl oz mustard

100ml / 4 fl oz balsamic vinegar

5 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Just mix the ingredients together in a saucepan and simmer for approximately 30 minutes.

Now to illustrate two well known regional styles we'll compare a traditional Kansas City BBQ Sauce with a St. Louis Barbecue Sauce recipe. This variation of the traditional Kansas City BBQ Sauce is a thick sweet sauce with a touch of heat to give it a little kick.

Traditional Kansas City BBQ Sauce: 

1 1/4 cup ketchup

1 cup water

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

teaspoon celery salt

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon cayenne

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over a medium heat.  Stir constantly for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce should be thick. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container.  Refrigerate.

The St. Louis Barbecue Sauce is thinner and has more of a tangy flavor than its Kansas City cousin. Being at the crossroads, St. Louis style barbecue has many influences, so there are a number of ways of making this style sauce.

St. Louis Barbecue Sauce: 

2 cups ketchup

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoon yellow mustard

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat.  Stirring occasionally and simmer for 20 minutes. Sauce should be thin, but not watery. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. Sauce is better if allow to sit for a day.

 

Different ideas for BBQ…

Leg of Lamb butterflied with rosemary, garlic, sun blushed tomatoes. This will take about an 1 hour and 15 minutes to cook

Jerk salmon

• 1/2 cup ground allspice berries
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 to 8 garlic cloves
• 4 to 6 Scotch bonnet peppers, seeded and cored (wear gloves!)
• 1 Tablespoon ground thyme or 2 Tablespoons thyme leaves
• 2 bunches spring onions
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce to moisten
• Simply put all the ingredients into a food processer and blitz to a paste and rub on the salmon. you could also use this recipe on beef...

BBQ Baby back ribs use the basic tomato base bbq sauce

Tandoori chicken kebabs

Lamb kofta – minced lamb with garlic, cumin, coriander

Pork apple and sage burgers

Moroccan chicken (breast) – cumin, coriander seeds, lemon zest only, saffron, chilli flakes & fresh coriander

Cous cous salad

Garlic new potatoes

BBQ sweet corn smoked paprika

BBQ tofu kebabs….marinade with lemon, chilli, garlic peppers & aubergine

Sea bass & Salsa

If you need any help with any of these ideas just add a comment and I will answer for you...

Happy cooking people!!

 

Tandoori chicken Done!

Well diner went down well tonight with the children....

The picture above is the finished chicken. It's been cooked for 1 hour and 50 minutes @ 160*c

This is the finished dish. I've served it with spinach and potato aloo, roasted baby parsnip, basmati rice and naan bread...

Spinach and potato aloo:

Ingredients;

• Spinach cooked with diced onion, chopped ginger, fresh chopped chilli cooked in ghee (clarified butter if you can not get ghee) first cook the ginger, garlic & chilli with a little oil and ghee once soft then add the spinach. Cook until wilted
• Boil the new potatoes then peel and cut in half
• Remove the spinach from the pan and add ground cumin, coriander, tumeric & garam masala to the pan along with the cut potatoes.
• Then add the spinach to the potatoes & heat through until hot!!

Curried baby parsnips

• Peel the parsnips and simply roast in a little oil with ground cumin, ground coriander and some tumeric

The rice was cooked as follows:

• Fry diced onion with a little butter and cardamon pods, bay leaf and a touch of tumeric
• Then add the rice and mix with the ingredients
• Add chicken stock and bring to the boil
• Simmer for a further 3-5 minutes then take off the heat, drain and serve

Happy cooking people!!

My Tandoori chicken

So I had diner last week with a good friend of mine who is a fellow foodie. We were talking recipes and decided to have a little friendly cook off! Tandoori chicken is the challenge. I'm going to cook a spinach and potato aloo side dish with roasted curried baby parsnips & homemade nann bread

So today I need to make the marinade for the chicken and get that marinading in the fridge for 24 hours..

Ingredients for my paste:

Fresh ingredients:
Garlic
Red chillies
Ginger
Coriander
Dried ingredients:
Paprika
Ground cumin
Ground coriander
Garlic salt
Other ingredients:
Tomato puree
Veg oil
Natural yogurt
Lemon juice
Red food colouring

Method:

1. Place the fresh ingredients in a food processer with the oil and yogurt and mix
2. Then add the rest of the ingredients apart from the food colouring
3. Then turn into bowl and add the food colouring
4. Rub the paste into the chicken

Im going to marinade this for 24 hours in the fridge. I sliced the chicken on the legs and breast and covered in the paste and now its doing it's stuff in the fridge....

It's National bread week this so lets get get baking....I've already given you a simple flat bread recipe lcheck it out. I will post a simple bread recipe tomorrow for a white loaf which I will be baking tomorrow and use for my baby girls pack lunch!!

Happy cooking people!