Best barbecue recipes for summer 2022
We Britons love a barbecue, but it’s fair to say that, for all our bravery when grilling in the rain, we can be a little timid when it comes to what we cook.
With the upcoming heatwave set to reach the UK, it’s not a bad idea to start planning your garden party menu – and be a little adventurous while you’re at it.
Whereas in some countries a barbecue will probably include something like a slow-cooked brisket, a large cut of beef or a whole fish, in Britain you’ll often turn up to find sausages and burgers – drumsticks, skewers or halloumi at a push.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Almost anything can be cooked over hot coals, and it’s time to up our collective barbecue games.
Fillet with dill béarnaise, charred asparagus
As a general rule fillet steak is a rather expensive case of style over substance. Sure, it’s very, very tender, but for that you sacrifice flavour. One truly glorious day, beef-master Olly Woolnough of Meatmatters fed me a fillet from an ex-dairy cow that he’d dry-aged for 14 days. Game. Changer. Full of rich ribbons of fat marbling, both tender and ludicrously tasty. If I couldn’t get a fillet this good, I would probably use hanger/onglet instead. Fraction of the cost, way more flavour.
A dry-aged fillet steak can be a game changer CREDIT: Jason Ingram
Timings
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus dry-brining time
Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
Serves
Two
Ingredients
- 400g fillet steak, in one piece (ideally cut from the fat end)
- 2 tsp flaked sea salt
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- Bunch of asparagus, trimmed
For the béarnaise
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- Handful of dill, stems and fronds
- Black peppercorns
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 heaped tsp English mustard
- 100g butter, diced into 1cm cubes
Method
- Begin by dry-brining the steak – simply sprinkle the salt all over and place on a rack set over a tray. Slide into the fridge for 24 hours if you have time, but even a couple of hours would be good.
- Fire up your barbecue ready for direct grilling, but piling the coals to one side so you can cook the béarnaise slightly away from the heat.
- To make the sauce, take a small fireproof pan, pour in the vinegar and set over the heat. Add the shallot, garlic, dill stems (reserve the fronds) and a few peppercorns. Bring up to the boil and simmer gently for a few minutes until the liquid has reduced to a tablespoon. Strain into a small bowl and set aside.
- Wash the pan and add a couple of centimetres of water, setting back onto your grill, this time away from the fire so it warms gently. Put the egg yolks into a heatproof glass or ceramic bowl and sit it over the saucepan, making sure the base is well away from the water or it’ll get too hot. Add the mustard and, using a balloon whisk, mix it through over a low heat until it starts to thicken a little. Pour in the vinegar reduction and whisk until smooth. Start to add butter a couple of cubes at a time, whisking as it melts. Keep adding and whisking in the butter until you are left with a smooth, glossy sauce the consistency of double cream. Finely chop the dill fronds and stir through. Add a little salt and pepper to taste and remove from the heat, keeping the bowl over the pan of hot water to keep warm while you cook the steak and asparagus.
- Make sure your fire is good and hot, adding a little more fuel if necessary, but (as always) keeping the fuel to one side, so you have room to manoeuvre your food should things get too hot.
- Drizzle a little oil all over the steak and rest the steak directly over the fire. Cook over a really hot heat, keeping the lid up and turning every 30 seconds or so until you reach your desired internal temperature – 52C for rare, 56C for medium-rare.
- Drizzle a little oil over the asparagus and set onto the grill over the fire. Cook for just a few minutes until lightly charred all over, turning frequently. If you’re pretty nifty with the tongs it’s possible to cook the steak and asparagus at the same time, constantly turning both. If you are a little less confident, cook the steak first, take the temperature a little lower, and rest for a few minutes while you grill the asparagus. Serve the steak and asparagus with the béarnaise.
Jerk chicken
Many older Jamaicans I talk to are bemused about the stratospheric rise of jerk as the poster child of Jamaican food globally. A life without jerk pork or chicken seems a million times more tenable than a life without oxtail, brown stew chicken or saltfish.
I can only speak for my family but jerk, while a street food favourite, was never a home staple, most obviously because you’d be hard pressed to fit a jerk drum, no less a jerk pit, on a London council flat balcony. But it can be made on a regular barbecue with delicious results.
Timings
Prep time: 10 minutes plus marinating time
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves
Four
Ingredients
- 1¼–2 tbsp all-purpose seasoning
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce or browning
- 1 tbsp minced garlic, or garlic powder (optional)
- 1 tbsp minced fresh root ginger, or ginger powder
- 2–3 tbsp jerk seasoning
- 1 spring onion, chopped
- 1 sprig of thyme
- 2 tbsp barbecue sauce
- 4 whole chicken leg quarters, or 700g pork shoulder, ribs or loin roast
To serve
- Hardo bread, plantain and lime wedges (optional)
Method
- Mix the all-purpose seasoning, salt, pepper, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, jerk seasoning, spring onion and thyme with 1 tablespoon of the barbecue sauce in a large flat-bottomed bowl or casserole dish. Add the chicken (or pork) and, using your hands, turn it in the marinade until coated. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, better 4 hours, or ideally overnight.
- Light your barbecue (it should be one with a lid). When ready, add the meat and grill for 50 minutes to 1 hour with the lid closed. Every 10–15 minutes, open the lid and turn the meat, basting with the marinade.
- After 40 minutes, brush with the barbecue sauce if you like a sweeter jerk and continue cooking for a final 10–20 minutes, until charred in places.