In lieu of current bbq activity, I thought it best to raise the spirits with the memories of a proper SA braai from earlier in the year. First off a fillet or two for the extended family - here's one in close up:
Most would say that fillet is not as tasy as other beef steak cuts, but when seared whole with an olive oil, mustard and black pepper baste, served rare, the discovery of fire makes a whole lot more sense.
Continue reading "Rain delay, previous highlights: Fillet " »
Old favourite this one , and really quick. Using the Weber to grill/roast this time..
The steak
First off pop off to the local butchers and ask whats good today (we're lucky to live in a village where the local butcher will cut steaks to order, and even better than that they're just across the road! A good butcher makes all the difference - questions about quality and provenance should be welcomed). Result: three thick cut sirloin steaks. Marinaded for about an hour or so in teriyaki sauce and coarse ground black pepper, the sauce caramelises and sweetens on the bbq and tastes great.
Once the coals are ready, white and still fairly hot, whip the steaks on. I prefer them rare so did them for about 1.5 minute a side. Any longer than that and they will quickly cook to medium - and even when taken off they will continue to cook, so I always take the steak off before I think its done (this time around I probably over did it a bit and they weren't quite as bloody as they should have been)
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None the less they went down a treat.
The Chicken
One whole large organic chicken, cut into bbq sized pieces. If you cut them up yourself you can decide exactly how large each piece can be. When cooking for two small I just cut a small chicken in half, flatten it out, bbq it and serve half each.
Slash the chicken across the meatier parts of the flesh to speed up cooking time and help the marinade. Then marinaded in Mary Berry's All Season Sauce (www.maryberry.co.uk) for about 2 hours, cooked indirectly, coals on one side of the kettle, lid on for about 25mins, then finished off directly over the coals to make sure everything is browned (blackened) up well.
The Sausages
Merguez and Pork and Leek from across the road. Half way into the chicken cooking time, nestled these in between the chicken pieces. Kept the lid on as with the chicken above and then finished off directly over the coals.
Neglected to mention that steak only goes on once both chicken and sausages done. This was a really quick bbq, but more than enough for teenage triplets and three adults. Who needs an oven when its not raining?
