Good Meat = Good Barbecue

So you are organising a barbecue and you want it to be perfect. First base is to make sure your meat is good. This doesn’t have to cost the earth if you just think it through. It’s far classier and cheaper to make your own minced steak burgers than buying some tough dog end piece of steak. I love chicken but I would not prepare food that’s been kept in a confined prison to make it cheap - Only happy food at my B-B-Q! Free range chicken tastes fantastic and is a million miles away from the pale limp concentration camp victims that can be served as food.

Always give a good choice of meat and think of making each offering an exciting experience – give them the wow factor! Beef should be mature to ensure it’s tender ‘n tasty and thick enough for those that love their meat cooked perfectly (Rare). This will allow an opportunity for a decent burn to the edges but maintaining a juicy centre.

There are loads of exciting barbecue rubs to make or buy that will tantalise the taste buds and when applied thickly will also add a wonderful crusty coating. For best results apply at least 6 hours before use to allow the flavours to permeate.
Some barbecue rubs I use are:
1. brown sugar & paprika to add a rich colour;
2. onion and garlic powder to flavour the meat.
I particularly like to add a bit of smoked paprika that kick starts that smoky BBQ taste.

I must finish with my favourite BBQ dish:

Take 1 happy chicken, skin and quarter and slice into flesh with a sharp knife.
In a bowl put 500mls natural yogurt, squeeze half a lemon, add three crushed garlic cloves, and 1tbsp curry powder, 1 tsp salt & pepper, 1 tsp paprika.
Marinade the chicken in the fridge for 12 hours in this mixture. Stir a couple of times during this time.
After marinading put the chicken onto a plate, dispose of excess marinade.
Cook chicken pieces on a low heat on the barbecue until fully cooked through to the bone. - It will be awsome!
Happy days.