Maximum taste, minimum effort. If there was a tagline for roasted peppers, that would be it. Roasted peppers are perfectly suited to a BBQing or grilling. They’re quick to prepare, and simple to cook, and did I mention smokey delicious? Many people who dislike peppers raw, love them roasted. Roasting replaces the sharp bite with a pepper’s natural sweetness and aromatics.
Roasted peppers keep well in the fridge and you can use them to pep up sandwiches, burritos, salads, or just for general snacking and munching. I tend to buy a large amount when I see them on sale, there is no extra work and they are nice to have in the fridge for a week or so.
I’ve tried lots of different methods and techniques. You can oven roast them, foil them, oil them, foil and oil them.
What I don’t do is pop the peppers on whole. It looks impressive, and works for peppers where you would eat the seeds, but for bell peppers it’s much easier to de-seed them before they’re cooked.
Bell Peppers, red peppers, yellow pepper, green peppers.
1. Quarter, and de-seed and remove stalks of the peppers.
2. Pop them skin side down on the grill over medium high heat. Don’t turn them, leave them until the skin is very charred and burnt looking, but the flesh is tender and soft. About 10 minutes.
3. Take them off the grill and pop them in a bowl. Cover the peppers for about 10 minutes to steam them. This allows the skin to come off a lot easier and saves quite a lot of time.
4. Peel them and eat them.
5. Any leftovers are good for a week. Covering them in olive oil will help them to keep a little longer, and garlic cloves are a nice touch too. Enjoy.
David B. February 17th, 2014
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
In the digital world that we live in, it’s always a little bit odd when you don’t have any electricity. Especially the unplanned, multi day kind on the back of a wind storm. That’s where I ended up, twiddling my thumbs (the physical kind), wondering what to do with myself. Barbecuing pizza is my go to recipe, but I’ve always been a bit reluctant to try calzones. This time, armed with with candles and the whole evening to spare, I cranked up my charcoal barbecue for some good clean fun.
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1 envelope instant yeast
1 1/4 cups water; at room temperature
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
7.5 ounces of fine semolina flour (1 1/2 cups) + 14.5 ounces of bread flour (2 1/2 cups), OR 22 ounces bread flour (4 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
Instructions for preparing the pizza dough are located here: BBQ Pizza – Revisted and Perfected
Fillings/toppings:
Pizza sauce (made or store bought)
Cheese
A variety of pizza toppings: pepperoni, peppers, mushrooms, pineapple, etc
You’ll also need:
A barbecue or grill with a lid
A pizza stone
Pizza peel – or a plate with some skill and/or luck
1. Preheat your grill or barbecue. Make sure your pizza stone is placed inside the barbecue before it warms up, otherwise you risk the stone cracking.
2. A calzone is a lot denser than a pizza, and you’ll need to be careful not to burn your calzone. You’ll want an even temperature of approx 475 to 500 degrees.
3. Prepare the calzone. Roll out your dough to a pizza like size and shape. On the pizza peel, spread out some cornmeal, then pop your soon to be calzone onto the pizza peel.
Put your ingredients (cheese, vegetables, meat, etc) on one side. Leave an inch around the outside, just as you would with a regular pizza. Close the lid, seal, and fold the seam over. This stops juices from the calzone running out. Don’t pierce the calzone, just leave it the way it is.
4. Warm your pizza sauce in a pot, infuse with olive oil, garlic, etc to give it more punch.
5. Slide the calzone onto the pizza stone and close the lid. Cook for about 6 minutes, and peak regularly, using a spatula to check the underside to make sure it’s not burning.
6. At about 6 minutes, or if you see any traces of burning, flip the calzone and cook for another 6 or so minutes.
7. Remove the calzone from the barbecue, and spread hot pizza sauce on top in excessive quantities.
8. Enjoy.
David B. October 15th, 2013
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
Spring is in the air (well mostly!), and there’s never a better time for fajitas, especially smokey grilled ones. These are incredibly easy to prepare, and versatile enough to skip or fudge ingredients if you don’t have them readily available. I think fajitas require an excessive amount of bell peppers, they really make or break a good fajita, so I use 6 peppers and store any extras in the fridge for throwing on sandwiches or tossing with some pasta.
Combine the chilli powder, ground coriander, cumin, garlic powder, salt and black pepper in a small bowl.
Rub the spice mix into the meat, and let sit for 20 minutes.
Squeeze the 3 limes over meat and spices, and let sit for at least 30 mins, preferably 1-2 hours.
Light up your barbecue or grill. You want a moderately high heat for this, firstly to char up the peppers, then the meat, and finally to soften the tortillas.
Cut the bell peppers in half, core and deseed. Cook directly on the bbq grid. Make a pouch with aluminium foil for the onions and cook beside the bell peppers.
You want the pepper’s skin to go black and charred. Cook until the onions and peppers both feel soft. Remove from the grill, and pop the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the peppers steam in the bowl for 15 minutes.
After the peppers have steamed, the charred skin should peel easily off. Remove all the skin, and slice the peppers into strips lengthwise, and set aside for serving.
Now that the vegetables are finished, it’s time to grill up the beef.
If you have wood chips available, throw a small handful of unsoaked woodchips on your coals, or add to your smoke box.
Grill the steaks to taste. 1 to 2 minutes per side, for thin steaks at med-rare, for example.
The best way to make tortillas soft and pliable (and a little smokey) is to warm them on your cooking grid. It’s very quick to do, and you can usually do a number of tortillas at once. You don’t want to burn the tortillas, but only to warm them. 15 seconds per side is normally enough, but keep a close eye on them so they don’t start getting crispy.
Each guest can prepare their own fajita by adding spoon full of cilantro, jalapenos, sour cream, beef, onions, and bell peppers. A squeeze of lime juice is a nice finishing touch. Enjoy!
David B. May 6th, 2013
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
Meatloaf is one of those infamous recipes that can be fantastically moreish or bland as catfood. Smoking meatloaf and adding a dollop of spicy BBQ sauce puts this firmly in the can’t-stop-eating-better-put-on-my-stretchy-pants camp.
This recipe is fast to prepare and easy to cook.
This recipe was cooked with lump charcoal, on a Chargriller Kamodo Acorn. Weber kettles, Big Green Egg, etc, also work great for smoking. But not to worry, this will taste great even on gas grills that can indirect cook.
Set your BBQ up for indirect grilling. You want a low-medium cooking temperature of about 300 degrees.
Optional: Add a handful of wood chips to some water, allow 30 minutes to soak so the wood chips don’t burn. You’ll want to add the wood chips at the same time as you add the meatloaf for maximum smokey goodness.
In a large bowl mix all the ingredients together. Divide the recipe in half. Mold each half meatloaf into logs, about 7 or 8 inches long, and 4 inches wide. Mix the sauce ingredients. Set aside half the BBQ sauce for serving. Spread half the sauce mixture onto the formed loafs.
Put the meat onto the grill, and close the lid for about 60 minutes. The internal temperature of the meatloaf needs to hit 160 degrees, so take the meatloaf out when the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees, and rest the meat for a good 10 minutes.
Serve with the remaining BBQ sauce and mayo if you’re that way inclined–and enjoy!
David B. February 13th, 2013
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
A quick and easy recipe that doesn’t sacrifice deliciousness. Great for a quick meal or cut into fingers and have as a finger food starter. BBQ sauce adds a fantastic depth to standard grill cheese sandwiches. I used Grumpy’s Private Reserve Black Label which had a perfect spicy smokiness, really delicious with the cheese, but other BBQ sauces are great too.
Sliced bread, for as many sandwiches are you want – I used a thick sliced sourdough bread which gave a nice chewy bite to the sandwich.
Cheese, sliced – There are a variety of cheeses you could be used, but you’ll get the best results from one that melts well. (Pre-sliced cheese may be easy, but it never has as good of flavor)
BBQ Sauce – I used Grumpy’s Private Reserve Black Label.
Butter, room temperature for spreading.
Turn one burner to medium and another to low. You’ll cook the sandwiches on medium heat, but can move them to the cooler area if they start to burn.
Butter one side of each bread slice. Lay half the slices butter side down and spread with a generous helping of bbq sauce. The quality depends on how sloppy and spicy you like your food. Layer on the sliced cheese, in another generous helping. Top with a slice of bread, buttered side up. Squish them down a little.
Use a tray or plate to bring the sandwiches to the grill, place them over the burner turned to medium. Press them slightly with a metal spatula while they’re cooking to ensure they adhere together. If the bread starts to burn before they’re done, move them over the burner that’s on low. The sandwiches are done with the cheese is nicely melted and the bread is golden.
David B. June 20th, 2012
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
This recipe is not a breaded lemon chicken recipe that you might expect from your local chinese restaurant. It is a fantastic zesty marinade. Low calorie too, if you’re into that type of thing. The calories come from only the chicken breast itself and the olive oil to marinade it in.
Mix all the ingredients except the chicken in a bowl. Set aside about 1/3 cup of the marinade that you will use to baste the chicken while it cooks. Add chicken to the bowl, and place in the fridge for 30 mins.
Start up your BBQ, and preheat on high until it is nice and roasty. Discard marinade, and place chicken breasts directly on the grill. Cook for 6 or 7 minutes on each side, until fully cooked. Baste occasionally with the marinade you reserved. The internal temperature should be about 165 degrees or the juices run clear. Chicken breast can easily dry out, so be careful not to leave it on too long. Enjoy!
David B. October 31st, 2011
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
DIRECTIONS: Wash your fillets in cool water and set aside. Butter Mixture: Melt butter in a bowl and add the juice of one lemon and mix well. Dip your fillets in the butter mixture then generously “slap em’” with “Slap Ya Mama” Cajun seasoning on both sides. Heat a black iron skillet or sauce pan until it’s very hot. Place the fillets in the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes on each side while moving the fillets around to prevent sticking. Remove fillets from skillet and remove the skillet from the burner. While your skillet is still hot, pour the butter mixture and the white wine into the skillet and mix well. Then pour the mixture over the fillets and serve. Source: Slap Ya Mama Recipes.
David B. September 12th, 2011
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
Here are four ways to prepare your barbecued food. The tips are simple, but should be considered essential to properly grilling food. Once mastered, they will improve your ability to cook barbecued meat beyond mere mortals.
1. Salt your food properlyIt is given top-spot in this list for a reason, and probably the most important tip for any form of cooking. Meat needs a lot of salt, probably a lot more than you normally use. Probably a whole lot more. Be generous and experiment. It makes an enormous difference to barbecued meat, and enhances seasonings and the charred flavor enjoyed by any grill lover.
2. Use freshly ground pepperLike any spice, preground pepper loses it’s flavor, and particularly it’s aromatic properties, very quickly. I would recommend you try preground pepper and freshly cracked pepper side by side, the difference is huge. Be generous with pepper as well, you don’t need to be subtle when you barbecue.
3. Spice RubsSpice rubs add lots of flavor, you can really let out your creative beast. Same deal here, use whole spices and grind them as late as possible. Food should be spiced strongly and with much gusto to balance the grilled taste.
4. Glazes and SaucesGlazes and sauces are great, and the sweetness does a lot for the charred meat. Just make sure not to make the Cardinal Sin of Glazes and Sauces – putting it on too early. Because of the sugar content it is very easy to burn the glaze and you end up with a sticky burnt mess. Glazes and sauces should only be put on the meat at the end of cooking, such as the last few minutes, or when the meat is taken off.
David B. May 30th, 2011
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
Rinse the shrimp in some fresh water, and you’re done.
Leave shrimp intact, don’t peel them. The shell protects the meat from overcooking. Leaving the shrimp in their shells not only looks better, but retains the moisture in the meat. Shrimp are the ultimate finger food, which is why you need to rip them apart with your fingers as you eat them. It sounds barbaric, but well, you are eating cooked meat – why not enjoy it?
Brining shrimp takes about 20 minutes.
Pour 1 quart of cold water into a gallon size zip-lock bag. Add two tablespoons of salt. Stir.
Add about 2 lbs of shrimp into the bag, and leave to sit for 20 minutes.
Sometime soon might be a good time to turn your BBQ on to heat up. The barbecue should be on high.
After 20 minutes, drain and rinse the shrimp thoroughly. I recommend you devein your shrimp as it can often give the shrimp a disturbingly gritty texture. To devein while keeping the shell relatively intact, cut the along the back with scissors after brining, and pull out the vein.
Just a couple of tablespoons of olive oil are enough to cover the shrimp.
My current favorite marinade for shrimp:
Just combine in a bowl and mix with the shrimp
Cook the shrimp on high for about 4 to 6 minutes. Turning the shrimp once during the cooking process. This is going to depend a lot on how hot your grill is, and how big the shrimp are. The easiest way to tell if they are ready is when they are barely charred, and bright pink. Enjoy! It’s about time I went to the store to pick up some more shrimp.
David B. February 7th, 2011
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
Last time I wrote, I posted about Tips about BBQing Chicken. Number 2 on that list was about brining. I received some questions after that post about brining, and I thought it would be worthwhile elaborating on it.
So here goes!
First things first, a brine is essentially a salt bath. It marinates the meat far more efficiently than a typical marinade.
In case you are still curious about the process of brining, Wikipedia says:
Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking, via the process of osmosis, and by allowing the cells to hold on to the water while they are cooked, via the process of denaturation.The brine surrounding the cells has a higher concentration of salt than the fluid within the cells, but the cell fluid has a higher concentration of other solutes. This leads salt ions to diffuse into the cell, whilst the solutes in the cells cannot diffuse through the cell membranes into the brine. The increased salinity of the cell fluid causes the cell to absorb water from the brine via osmosis. The salt introduced into the cell also denatures its proteins. The proteins coagulate, forming a matrix that traps water molecules and holds them during cooking. This prevents the meat from dehydrating.
Did you get all that? Basically brining allows you to quickly and efficiently add more moisture into your meat, and creates juicier, more delicious grilled meat.
Sounds great right? But too good to be true? Well no.. kind of. The only caveat is that you need to be really careful with cooking. Meat quickly overcooks, and I’ve found you really need to keep an eye on your thermometer for the first few times until you have more experience with the cooking. After a few times cooking brined meat though, you will quickly understand why brining has become one of my goto BBQ techniques. Really do give it a try.
Here is our basic brining recipe again:
Simple brine recipe:
Dissolve salt into water in a gallon zip-lock bag. Add chicken, remove air and seal.
Make sure to use a deep dish, as you want to make sure that the meat is completely submerged.
| Food | Brine Time |
| Shrimp | 30 minutes |
| Whole Chicken (4 pounds) | 8 to 12 hours |
| Chicken Parts | 1 1/2 hours |
| Chicken Breasts | 1 hour |
| Cornish Game Hens | 2 hours |
| Whole Turkey | 24 hours |
| Pork Chops | 12 to 24 hours |
| Whole Pork Loins | 2 to 4 days |
David B. January 12th, 2011
Posted In: BBQ Maintenance
4.7