Author: Gav

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Lamb Kofta with Baba Ganoush and Flat Bread

Another recipe by  young Aston Prideaux  that he cooked at Tea in the Park with Tom Kerridge. He is definitely one of the up and coming chefs in the BBQ world. He was asked by Chef Tom Kerridge to come along to Tea in the Park to cook with him, he has also cooked with DJ BBQ and demoed for Kamado Joe.

Lamb Kofta with Baba Ganoush and Flat Bread

  • Prep Time40 min
  • Cook Time29 min
  • Total Time1 hr 9 min
  • Yield4 Servings
  • Cuisine
    • Mediterranean
  • Course
  • Cooking Method
    • Direct / InDirect

Ingredients

Kofta

  • 500g lamb mince
  • 1 onion blitzed
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 tbsp chopped mint
  • 2 tsp sumac
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp Aleppo ( pul biber)
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp baking powder

Baba Ganoush

  • 2 large aubergine
  • 1 lemon
  • Bulb of garlic
  • 2-3 tbsp tahini
  • salt and pepper
  • 3-4 tbsp olive oil

Sumac Onions

  • 1 thinly sliced onion
  • Heaped tsp sumac
  • Juice half lemon
  • Drizzle of oil
  • Pinch of salt

Method

1

Set up grill for direct and indirect cooking

2

Pierce aubergine and place over direct side keep turning until charred all over, wrap garlic in foil with drop of oil and add to the grill

3

Mix all the kofta ingredients together and make sausage shape koftas ( you can place on blade skewers but will need to refrigerate inbetween) if you now put them in the fridge it will help firm up

4

Place the kofta’s on the indirect side of the grill until they get to about 60°C internal then move to the direct side to get a bit of colour and bring to 70°C

5

Whilst the kofta are indirect cut the aubergine lengthways then scrape out the flesh and rough chop, add juice of lemon, squeeze out roasted garlic bulb, add tahini, oil then season with salt and pepper

6

To serve spread baba ganoush on a flatbread, add sliced kofta garnish with sumac onions, chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds

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Giant Smoked Scotch Eggs

We’ve dug into the archives for this recipe from Kelly Bramill. Originally posted on her Dreaming of the Good Life blog back in 2017.

Regular, breaded Scotch eggs have been one of our family favourites since I was a child, with my mum always making her own for us to take on picnics.  When my BBQ obsession began however, I realised that people were smoking them….and it made perfect sense!  Credit here goes to James Lowe of JL Butchers for the inspiration.  He’s a master of the smoked Scotch egg, and I think it was his that I first saw on one of the BBQ and smoking forums, and I was blown away.

The thing I love about them, and this recipe in particular, is that they’re pretty much a meal in themselves.  With the addition of bacon and black pudding, they’re an all day breakfast wrapped up in a big, smokey, spherical package.  Grilled tomatoes and pit beans make great accompaniments, as does My Ultimate Mac ‘n’ Cheese.  Or why not go all sophisticated and pair it with a green salad and a nice glass of wine!

I first added black pudding to them back in September 2015, which seemed like the perfect addition (I’m sure it had been done before, so I don’t take credit).  Mixing it, either crumbled or cubed, through the sausage meat or adding an individual layer around the egg works equally as well, but choose a really good quality pudding.  The same goes for the sausage meat you use.  I originally opted for our favourite cumberland sausage, simply squeezed from the skins, but now we have a new favourite in Angus & Oink’s amazing Kielbasa sausage, and so that’s what I’ll be using in this recipe.

Large, fresh, free range hens eggs and a good quality dry cured streaky bacon are the only other ingredients you need, along with your favourite rub and BBQ sauce.  I’m not a fan of a runny yolk (I know, heathen!), so I don’t try and achieve that with these.  But I’ve added the method for if you prefer them that way.

As always, tweak my recipe to suit your own taste.  They can also be made up the day before if needs be.  It gives you less prep to do on the day you’ll be smoking them.

Giant Smoked Scotch Eggs

  • Prep Time30 min
  • Cook Time1 hr
  • Total Time1 hr 30 min
  • Yield4 Servings
  • Cuisine
    • British
  • Course
  • Cooking Method
    • Direct / Indirect

Ingredients

  • 4 large, free range eggs
  • 8 – 10 of your favourite sausages (I used A&O’s Kielbasa)
  • 4 thick slices of your favourite black pudding (I used my butcher’s own)
  • 16 slices of dry cured, smoked bacon
  • A few tbsp of your favourite rub
  • A few tbsp of your favourite BBQ sauce for glazing
  • Some cling film for shaping your sausage meat

Method

1

Prepare your eggs.  If you want a hard boiled egg, pop them in simmering water for 10 minutes, remove and place in a bowl of iced water to chill completely before peeling.  If you’d like a runny yolk repeat as above but reduce the time to about 6 minutes.  Take care when peeling, as the eggs will be delicate, and you don’t want to lose that yolk!

2

I used 2 large sausages per egg as the kielbasa I use are huge, but depending on the size of yours you may need a bit more.  It works out at roughly 220 – 250g of sausage meat per egg.  Using a sheet of cling film, press the sausage meat into a disc big enough to comfortably surround your egg.  You don’t want to be doing too much moulding and shaping when it comes to the softer eggs, so be generous.

3

Crumble/smoosh/cube a slice of black pudding and cover the surface of the sausage meat.  As I said earlier, you can also combine it with the sausage meat if you’d like, its entirely up to you.

4

Next, pop your egg onto the centre of the disc you’ve just made and bring up the corners of the cling film to completely cover the egg.  Gently twisting the cling film at the top also helps to seal all the edges, but be careful not to apply too much pressure.  Remove the cling and gently give it a final shaping.  Repeat this for the rest of your eggs and then give them a generous dusting with your rub.

5

Now lay out your bacon as shown in the image below, place your egg in the middle and bring up the ends to wrap it.

6

Set up your BBQ or smoker for indirect heat at about 280˚f.  I also like to have the option of giving the scotch eggs a quick flash of direct heat once they’re cooked to crisp up the bacon.  Add a couple of chunks of your favourite smoking wood (I went for a chunk of cherry from Smokewood Shack) and cook the eggs for approximately 50 minutes or until the sausage meat reaches a temperature of 70˚c/160˚f.  Check with an instant read thermometer and give them a little longer if necessary.

7

I like to paint them with my favourite BBQ sauce for the last 10 minutes.

8

Serve with your favourite sides!

Recipe from Kelly Bramill
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Asparagus and Cheese Tart

Asparagus and Cheese Tart

  • Prep Time30 min
  • Cook Time25 min
  • Total Time55 min
  • Yield4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pack ready rolled puff pastry
  • 300g fresh asparagus, washed and trimmed (ends cut off and if thick, sliced lengthways)
  • 250g soft cheese
  • 2 tbsp wild garlic pesto (adds flavour & colour) or use a green or basil pesto if you like
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 60g parmesan cheese, grated
  • Lemon zest
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Fresh thyme – few sprigs
  • Beaten egg to glaze

Method

1

Set up BBQ for indirect cooking at 170°C

2

Mix together the soft cheese, egg yolk, 50g parmesan, wild garlic pesto if using, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

3

Unroll the pastry. You can make one large tart or cut the pastry in half which is what I did to make two tarts.

4

Score a border around the edge. Spread the soft cheese mixture evenly in the middle.

5

Place the asparagus on the top, grate the remaining parmesan cheese and garnish with thyme sprigs.

6

Brush the edge of the pastry with the beaten egg.

7

I baked this in my Kamado Joe indirect heat at 170C for about 20-25 minutes until the edge of the pastry is golden. With most of my baking I put the tray on an upturned baking tin which will help prevent the base from getting over cooked. Serve warm with a watercress salad. It’s delicious cold too if you have any leftover.

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Rusty BBQ Company Black Angus Coffee Rub

I was sent a sample of this rub before it was launched, although charcoal sounds like a strange ingredient in a rub,
there are a few about.

This one was different, as soon as you opened the packet you would smell the garlic and herbs and a smokiness from the Ancho Chilli.
A finger dip test confirmed that there was a little hint of heat and some sweetness along with the perfect amount of salt

I decided to try it on a T-bone steak I had in the freezer and cook it over silver birch wood on the Ozpig.

The inclusion of charcoal and coffee created a great crust on the steak. This is definately a next level charcoal rub that I can recommend.

If you haven’t tried any of the Rusty BBQ Co rubs, check them out, they are different to the Generic American BBQ Rubs

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Ben’s Spiced Lamb Kebab Wraps

Another recipe from one of the ‘BBQ Kids’ upcoming grill masters and this ones an inspiration to us all.

Ben’s only 6 and has impaired function in his left arm  so sometimes needs a bit of help, but he’s super determined and always tries to do everything himself!
Ben was very excited to try out this new recipe and share it with you! 🙂

Ben’s Spiced Lamb Kebab Wraps

  • Prep Time15 min
  • Cook Time15 min
  • Total Time30 min
  • YieldAround 7 Kebabs

Ingredients

  • About 1kg Lamb, trimmed and cubed (we used a half leg of lamb)
  • 2 Bell Peppers cut into similar sized cubes (we used one red and one yellow)
  • 500g Greek yoghurt
  • 2tsp Garam Masala
  • 2tsp Ground Cumin
  • 2 Lemons
  • 1 Red Onion
  • 2 Limes
  • 1tsp Sugar
  • Fresh Mint
  • Flat Breads (we used Aldi’s naan wraps, they were delicious!)
  • Sliced cucumber and mixed salad leaves to serve

Method

1

We started off by making a marinade for the lamb by mixing half the yoghurt with the spices and the juice of 1 lemon, along with a bit of salt and pepper. Then my dad trimmed and cut up the lamb into bite-sized cubes, and I mixed it up in the marinade – getting my hands dirty is the best part! Once it was all mixed, we covered it up and put it in the fridge for a few hours to marinate.

2

Next, we made some pickled pink onions – Dad finely sliced the red onion into a little bowl, then we squeezed the juice from 2 limes over the onion and added the sugar and a good pinch of salt. We put that aside but kept mixing it every now and then to make sure all the onions had their share of pickling – that was my job.

3

Then we made a delicious minty yoghurt drizzling sauce by mixing the remaining yoghurt with some finely chopped mint, the juice of 1 lemon and some more salt and pepper. We put that in the fridge next to the lamb (Dad says lamb and mint are best buddies, so I knew they were happy!) and then we just had to wait for the marinade to do its work.

4

After what seemed like forever (we waited about 5 hours but it felt like 500!) we finally got the lamb out of the fridge and threaded it onto some skewers, alternating with the bell pepper pieces – remember to soak the skewers first if you’re using wooden ones so they don’t burn!

5

Dad made sure the bbq was nice and hot (he grew up in South Africa though, so he calls it a ‘braai’) and I helped him put all the kebabs onto the grill – he lets me borrow his special gloves when we bbq so i don’t burn myself. We turned the kebabs every few minutes until they were nicely browned and cooked through, then we took them off and quickly put the flat breads on the grill for a few minutes, just to warm them through.

6

Finally it was time to eat! I put a few baby salad leaves onto my flat bread first (baby spinach is my favourite), then some cucumber, and then the delicious lamb and bell pepper from the kebab – Mum had to help me get it off the skewer because Dad was already too busy eating his! Lastly I drizzled some of the minty yoghurt sauce over it all – no onions for me as I don’t like them but Mum and Dad say they’re the best part – and then I tucked in!

It was super messy and super yummy – I hope everyone gives this recipe a try and enjoys it as much as we did!

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Angus and Oink Cuban Rub

After watching the 2014 film Chef, which is the story about Chef Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) quitting his job at a major LA restaurant and launching a street food truck with the help of his son, I just knew I wanted to make a Cubano Sandwich.

Here’s were the helpful boys and girls at Angus and Oink came into their own. They have a cuban rub which has lots of citrus flavour, balanced with cumin, smoked paprika oregano and a light chilli hit. Exactly the flavour I was looking for.

I bought some shoulder steaks from the butcher which had already been tenderised. I added the rub to olive oil and lemon juice to make a paste
rubbed it onto the shoulder steaks and left for about an hour before grilling on the bbq. My recipe has been uploaded to the UK BBQ Web site if you want to take a look http://ukbbqweek.com/pork/cubanos/

I will definitely cook this again and already have my thinking hat on to use it in a few more recipes, possibly a chilli, grilled chicken or a few taco’s.

The thing I like about Angus and Oink rubs is the huge range they do and not just generic American BBQ flavours. Check out the range if you haven’t tried them  https://angusandoink.com/collections/bbq-rubs-injections

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Lexie’s Gooey Chocolate Puddings

Lexie is Nic Williams Niece. Nic is on Instagram as @meatsmokefire and he does live cooks every Saturday. Lexie has obviously picked up lots of tips

Lexie’s Gooey Chocolate Puddings

  • Prep Time10 min
  • Cook Time30 min
  • Total Time40 min
  • Yield6 Servings

Ingredients

  • 100g good quality dark chocolate
  • 100g Dairy Milk chocolate
  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 115g sugar
  • 2 tbsp plain flour

Method

1

Preheat your BBQ to 200°C with it setup for baking. Place the baking stone on top of the stainless grid, on top of your ConvEGGtor feet up. Allow 20 mins at this temperature for the baking stone to heat up.

2

Over a pan of simmering water, place a bowl containing your butter and chocolate. As this heats up, stir it frequently until the butter and chocolate has melted together.

3

In another bowl, whisk together your eggs, sugar and flour

4

Once the chocolate mixture has melted, gradually mix it into the egg mixture.

5

Once it is all combined, spoon it into ramekins. You can pre grease these but to be honest, it’s not necessary if you’re going to eat them out of the ramekins.

6

Place the ramekins on a baking tray, leaving a gap between them, and put into the BBQ. and cook for 15-20 minutes until the sides of the mixture have set but the middle is still wobbly

7

Take them from the BBQ and allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes

8

You can either serve them with some cream or crème fraîche, or just garnish with a raspberry and some mint.

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ProQ Digital Probe Thermometer

If you are in the market for an instant read thermometer then there is a new option to consider from the team at ProQ. Speak to most people in the BBQ world and they will say a thermometer is one piece of equipment they would recommend again and again. And forget the old school analogue ones your parents may have used to check a turkey once a year, these are the new school digital versions giving you an accurate read out in seconds. So, whether you are grilling steaks and looking for that pink perfection or smoking a brisket and looking for that finishing temperature as well as probe tenderness, the ProQ digital probe thermometer may well be the tool you need.

Coming in at a price point of £25.99, the ProQ model lands itself in a very competitive place in the market for this type of device. Especially considering the 2 year limited warranty they are offering too.

I have been using my ProQ model for the last few months before writing this review and have to say, for the cost of the unit I have been very impressed. Straight off the top, the feature I like most is being able to easily switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit on the display by simply holding down a button. Being from an age where I learnt all my recipes and cooks from American BBQ books, I am more familiar with Fahrenheit as a measurement than Celsius. But I appreciate that some people are the opposite way so it’s easy on this unit to switch between both. The actual probe section you use for checking temperatures folds away into the handheld section, keeping it safe and out of the way; and the very tip of the of the probe narrows, meaning the holes left in your food, when checking temps, can be kept to a minimum. The thin, tip end also means the unit reads temperatures very quickly, giving you an accurate reading in around 3-5 seconds; meaning the food does not have to be kept out of the cooker any longer than necessary when making those checks. Handily, the device is also IPX5 waterproof which certainly helps with the always changing UK weather, wiping it clean or spills from cooks etc. The screen is backlit, so can be used at night or in darker places too. And another handy feature is a USB charge cable is supplied in the box, so you can always keep it topped up as it has a lithium-ion. And finally, the unit has a magnet on the back to help you keep it somewhere safe, just not somewhere hot!

At this price, the unit is definitely worth a look and will help you to know exactly what the temps are, of whatever you are cooking, meaning you know you are at a safe temperature; so you don’t need to overcook food and dry it out, and overall you will be making more enjoyable meals.

I was gifted this unit to test, but am entitled to write my own opinions on the device. The link to the product on the ProQ website is noted below.

If you have used and have any feedback on one of these units or have any questions, let us know in the comments.

https://proqsmokers.co.uk/products/proq-instant-read-thermometer

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Sosij Sausages

Think you know your way round a decent sausage on the BBQ? It may be time to have a re-think. If you aren’t familiar with the name Sosij it may be worth looking them up. Whether that be because you fancy something a little different, or you want to see their collaborations sausages they have been coming up with of late.

Hailing out of Bristol, Ali is the sausage handling mastermind behind the company, and after 15 years of cheffing and running kitchens he turned his hand to street food and then making sausages. That turned out to be a very good move on his part as his products seemed to be an overnight social media success. He was selling out as word got around about the weird and wonderful flavours coming from the Sosij stable. The flavours kept coming and then Sosij bombs were born. Sausagemeat balls wrapped in bacon. Look them up.

After sitting back for a while, I saw a post pop up on Instagram saying there was a selection of the Sosij range available as a one off, so I decided it was time to part with some money and give them a go. The pack I bought included some of Sosij’s Irish Black butter pork and apple sausages, some Cajun peach pork sausages, some smokey bacon pork sausages, some cheddar jalapeno pork sausages and Texas hot links beef and pork sausages. Quite the collection.

Needless to say it hasn’t taken me long to get stuck in over the last few weeks cooking them in a variety of different ways from super low and slow smoking for a long time, to fast grilling, then back to normal smoking as part of a BBQ platter. Each time I have been impressed with what I have eaten and it leaves me wanting to cook the next pack. The first thing you notice is how plump these sausages are, not your usual banger by any means. The packaging catches the eye as do the variety of flavours. These sausages cook up so well and retain a good snap and the ones I have cooked to date always stay nice and juicy too. Favourites for me so far being the hot links as a part of a BBQ platter and the Irish black butter ones in a breakfast sandwich.

Then, only one week after placing my order Ali announces his latest idea, subscription boxes. So, having just had my order arrive should I be re-ordering so soon? Well when I heard the limited-edition flavours in the first box, I knew I had to try them. Birria beef cheek taco sausages??? Then Brazilian linguiça sausages? I am yet to try both of these so can’t comment but the feedback I have heard has been all good. In each subscription box you also get a pack from the range, a surprise pack, the box I had included some breakfast patties which were really good, I built a monster breakfast muffin with mine, and then this pack had a sauce in from the Upton Cheney chilli company and a big pack of rub. Delivered fresh and safely to your door for the princely sum of £45. There has been a second subscription box since where Sosij collaborated with Chef Thom Bateman from The Flintolock. It sounded amazing so I really can’t wait to see what the future boxes hold.

If you want to try some of the Sosij products you can find them being sold online by Village Butchers or wholesale by Longcroft and Old. The subscription boxes go straight onto the Sosij website as noted below. When you try them, let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Website – https://www.sosij.uk/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sosij_uk/?hl=en
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/sosijuk/

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Rotisserie

We were really pleased when Outback 365 lent us the Rottiserie attachment for the Monolith. Alan just loves Roast Chicken on the BBQ. Rubbed with some oil and a seasoning of your choice and stuffed with half a lemon and some butter, the chicken self bastes as it spins.

The good thing about the Monolith Rotisserie is that it is battery operated so there is no need to drag the extension lead into the garden either. The Rotisserie is well made and with 4 prongs it holds the chicken securely with no slipping as it turns.

We have also used a basket we bought to make wings on the rotisserie, Recipe can be found here and a porcetta that we bought from Lidl. The porcetta was moist with some perfect crackling. For it as it was a denser piece of meat than a chicken we set up half a basket of coal and put it to one side of the meat.

This ensure that it was cooked through without burning.

Below are some pictures of the cooks, what is really good about the rotisserie and bbq-ing at this time of year is you put the lid down and forget about it.
Both the chicken and the porcetta cooked in just over an hour. For some reason roasts on the bbq seem to taste much better than in the dry heat of an oven

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