With the improving weather, let your skills shine outside of the kitchen - and bask in the glory - with a barbecue. Richard Fox reports.
There's a lot to be said for the life of a chef during the winter months. While everyone else is traipsing home in the dark and the dusk, wet and windswept, with the exciting prospect of a night of further doom and despondency in front of EastEnders, you're ensconced in your blast furnace of a kitchen enjoying the friendly banter of fellow chefs with a bit of waitress baiting thrown in for good measure. Come summer, however, and it's a very different story. The kitchen has reached meltdown, and while you're sweating your proverbials off, the rest of the world and his dog seem to be chilling in the sun with a cool beer and a hot chick. But it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. The good news is, it's get-pay-andplay time for you "men in whites". By embracing the BBQ concept, you can take a hefty slice of hot summer action for yourself, without even leaving the workplace.
The prep's a stroll in the park and the BBQ is your very own spotlit stage. This is an opportunity to swap closed kitchen drudgery for TV chef-style notoriety, while you pout, pose, flip and flirt with an adoring audience of wannabe weekend barbecuists. They'll be like bread dough in your hands. In fact, why not knock up a bit of flat bread, with cumin and coriander seed. Simply roll it out into pitta-shaped ovals and then lob onto the BBQ with the panache of a Moroccan souk staller. Just don't tell anyone that it was as simple as chucking a handful of flour, a touch of baking powder and a slug of water into the food processor. You see, it's all really a case of how big a daddy you want to be, with the sky the only limit.
Talking of big daddies, you could do far worse than look across the pond for all sorts of barbie inspiration. While our American friends may not come out well in the international diplomacy stakes, they don't half score highly on the marinated barbecue steaks. Indeed, Texas is probably the barbecue capital of the world, closely followed by Louisiana, Mississippi and California. Each state has its own prized meat marinade (just check out the web), so why not combine the ideas and create your own signature piece of flame-grilled glory. Indeed, any country with a tradition of al-fresco cooking is going to be a great source of inspiration. Take Turkey for example, and the exotic spiciness of the Istanbul street markets; or the Moroccan souks with their towering tagines. And here's the thing, you don't have to be limited by bars and coal.
For a paltry few quid you can get an industrial-strength tabletop gas hob, connect to a bottle-gas supply and you can create any continental vibe you want from the paella-rich foothills of the Spanish Alpuharra to the heady, taginefilled nights of Marrakech. All that's left to do is bring out the Bacofoil, and the barbie doubles up as your very own coal-fired oven. Wrap anything, from garlic bread to cheese-stuffed chillies in a few layers of well-sealed foil, chuck straight on the glowing coals and you're as far away from the "processed, frozen burger and sausage" image of the British barbecue as you can go. If you do want to do British, then there are plenty of ways to achieve greatness without succumbing to the power of the freezer.
Try my very own sausage and mash burger for a real surprise meal-in-one. Just mix up some well-seasoned pork mince with a load of herbs, shape into half a patty and make a well in the middle. Put a spoonful of chilled mash into the well, place the other half patty on the top and seal well round the join. Pat back into shape and barbie away. When you cut into it, the mash oozes out in a buttery molten stream. Awesome! From an economic perspective, the barbie makes total sense. It's less labour intensive from both a FOH and BOH point of view; you'll sell a load more beer and have an absolute hoot in the process. Just one word of caution - don't forget the shades and sun cream.
Feeling groovy Barbecuing and barbecue food is always popular but not always practical for smaller pubs. But Maestrowave's grills and griddle plates mean operators can achieve the look and taste of barbecue food. The range includes ribbed and flat-plated grills in various sizes and a griddle plate, perfect for frying burgers and sausages. One of the features which makes Maestrowave grills a barbecue winner, is the ribbed contour on its panini/contact grills. These grooves create a chargrilled effect on burgers, steaks, chicken and sausages.
Fox's bbq recipe ideas
1. Lamb tagine skewers: Marinate cubes of lamb in oil, cumin, coriander, turmeric, honeyand lemon, and then alternate on skewers with onion and aubergine. 2. Piri piri chicken: Blitz a handful of red chillies with some smoked paprika and oil and coat chicken breast, leg or thigh. 3. Cod & pesto brochettes wrapped in pancetta: Coat chunks of cod in a loose pesto marinade; wrap each chunk with pancetta and then alternate on a skewer with sautéed button mushroom. 4. Mushrooms with parsley and garlic paste: Barbie some large open-cup field mushrooms and top with the paste made by whizzing up parsley, garlic and olive oil. 5. Tomato and herb brushetta: Toast thick slices of baguette on the barbie, rub with a cut clove of garlic and top with a tomato, herb and spring onion salsa. 6. Chicken tacos with salad and sour cream: Barbie chicken pieces on skewers, put into flour tortillas, heated through on the barbie, with chopped salad and sour cream. 7. BBQ bananas: Simply wrap the whole banana in foil, pop on the barbie and turn after a few minutes. To serve, cut lengthwise through the middle and pour over some rich butterscotch sauce. 8. BBQ'd pineapple with white chocolate sauce: Make the chocolate sauce in advance in a bain marie. Cut the pineapple into thick strips, skewer and grill on the barbecue on each side until nicely bar-marked. Marinate tuna in a lime, coriander and olive oil dressing. Sear on both sides and serve. 10. Whole baked red snapper: Stuff the cavity of the fish with a handful of herbs, wrap the whole fish in foil and cook on the barbie.
Fair weather trends Something of a DIY approach to barbecuing is taken at the Plume of Feathers in Tewin, Hertfordshire. When a customer orders a barbecue meal, chef Jason Fretwell prepares the order and then hands over to the customer who is given a bowl of salad, a plate of bread, cooking utensils, a chef's hat and apron and one of the pub's small barbecues, lit and ready to cook. The customer then cooks their own dinner.
At the Gin Trap Inn in Hunstanton, Norfolk, chef Andrew Bruce likes to keep things simple for barbecues. "So I tend to buy readymarinated cuts from the butcher", he says. Belly pork's also a winner on the barbie. "It has a lot of fat which retains moisture well and I think customers like to try something a bit different that they wouldn't cook on the barbecue at home. However, I will still be cooking a few good-quality sausages as they're always a favourite."
Paul Morgan, chef/proprietor of the Hampshire Arms in Crondall, Surrey, hosts plenty of barbecues. They're really popular, he says, and especially good for birthdays and special events with a large number of customers. "I like to give my customers a wide choice of food, so I prepare everything from paellas on the barbecue, to traditional sausages and burgers," he adds.
At the Bull & Butcher in Turville near Henleyon- Thames, barbecues have proved a hit - and helped the kitchen during busy times. Co-owner Lydia Botha explains: "We can serve up to 250 lunches on a summer weekend, and we designed the menu so that the majority of dishes can be cooked on the barbecue, which really takes the pressure off the kitchen. "We're planning to serve a wide range of foods this summer, with prime beef