Tag: Barbecue

Rupert’s Beach BBQ Tips

Posted on July 20, 2022July 20, 2022

Summer has hit good and proper, so if you’re cooking up at the beach over the next few weeks, here are Rupert’s top tips for an easy and delicious experience:

Take a reusable BBQ (check out the ProQ Smokers Flatdog, but don’t overfill it with charcoal because this piece of kit gets super hot, so it’s better to start small and top-up). They’re more efficient, great value for money over the course of their lifetime, and cool down quickly enough that you can carry it back to the car after finishing your beers.

Take a paper bag of good quality lumpwood charcoal and a couple of (natural) firelighters. There’s no waste, no flavour taint from synthetic firelighters, and it’s one less thing to carry back to the car! You can check out our guide to different charcoals for barbecuing here.

Try cooked lobsters – easy, no packaging, no faff and super tasty. Just warm them up with butter on the BBQ. Eat as-is or follow our recipe for home-made tartare sauce or cucumber salsa and take them in jars to make these lobster rolls on the beach.

Kebabs and koftas… prepared and ready to go… bang them on a ready-made flatbread and you’re winning. Check out our recipe here.

Portobello mushrooms with butter and herbs. Prepare them at home and they’re ready to put straight on the grill.

Ice cold beers, of course.

Enjoy the sun, be careful and sensible when cooking outside over fire given the recent dry conditions (this article is about barbecuing at the beach, but you might be barbecuing in your back garden), and if you’re cooking and eating in a public space then leave no trace.

Recipe: Baked & Burnt Asparagus & Mozzarella

Posted on April 28, 2021April 28, 2021

The short season for English asparagus is now underway, and because this incredible produce is only available for six weeks or so I’d encourage you to eat as much of it as you can whilst you have the chance!

This recipe makes a great light lunch and if you don’t have a lidded barbecue or don’t want to light a fire to cook over then you can also cook it in your kitchen under the grill. The main thing is that you cook it in a sealed or covered environment (such as a smoker or lidded barbecue) so that the steam and smoke can cook and flavour the asparagus and mozzarella.

With a long weekend coming up, it’s definitely time to dust off your barbecue if you haven’t already. Pick up a bunch of new season English asparagus and some good mozzarella, and treat yourself.

rupert cooper of philleigh way cooking baked and burnt asparagus and mozzarella

INGREDIENTS

Bunch of English asparagus

2 balls of mozzarella

Good quality EV olive oil or rapeseed oil

Pomegranate molasses

Red wine vinegar or juice of one lemon

Pinch dried chilli flakes

METHOD

Light your barbecue and allow the fire to burn down until you have a bed of hot coals.

Snap the woody ends off the asparagus spears (hold the bottom end and mid point and bend, and the spear will snap at the right place). Keep two back and place the rest of them on the grill.

Cook until beginning to char, then turn the asparagus spears over. Bunch them together on the grill and place the two balls of mozzarella on top of the asparagus, then place the lid on your barbecue (or cover with foil if you don’t have a lid). The idea is that the moisture steams the asparagus and mozzarella and it takes on a bit of the smokey flavour.

Use a speed peeler to peel the two reserved raw asparagus spears lengthways into strips.

Check after three minutes, and once the asparagus has charred on the other side and the mozzarella is starting to melt, use a spatula to remove it to a serving dish.

Place the peeled asparagus strips on top of the mozzarella.

Dress with a good slug each of olive or rapeseed oil, pomegranate molasses and red wine vinegar or lemon juice. If you like an element of heat then sprinkle over a pinch of dried chilli flakes.

rupert cooper dressing baked and burnt asparagus and mozzarella with olive oil

You can serve this as it is, or with charred ice gem lettuce or on a piece of toasted focaccia. If you want to take yourself to dairy heaven then you could even spread cream cheese on the toasted focaccia before piling it high with your baked and burnt asparagus and mozzarella.

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Italian Beans and Steak Recipe Video

Posted on December 2, 2020December 2, 2020

Comforting Italian beans and sirloin steak, topped with a green salsa. I cooked this outside in the farm yard on the BBQ because it was such a beautiful autumn day, but it’s just as easy on the hob.

You will need:

Sirloin steak (any steak will do)
Tin of cannellini beans
Celery (half stick)
Carrot (half)
Shallot (half)
Garlic
Rosemary
Parsley
Red wine vinegar
Chicken stock or water
Dijon mustard (optional)
Cornichons or gherkins

Beach (or Backyard) Feast Tips

Posted on May 27, 2020May 27, 2020

As summer hits and the evenings draw out, many of us are spending more time cooking and eating outside. Whether that means barbecuing in your backyard or (as lockdown measures ease) a day trip to a beach, here are a few of my top tips for eating well outside and making sure that cooking and clearing up after yourself is as easy as possible.

The One Essential Bit of BBQ Kit

A fish clamp or grill basket is the only piece of kit that you need to cook over fire at the beach, or over your bbq at home. Use it for grilling veg, sausages or meat as well as fish over a fire or bbq, and simply flip it over – no more chasing sausages around a grill with tongs, or dropping them on the coals!

Cracking Crab

Buy cooked crab from a fishmonger – lots of fisherman and fish merchants have been selling direct or online (for delivery) during lockdown. You can find a comprehensive list of Cornish fish and shellfish options for local collection and nationwide delivery here. Then either cook some chips or French fries at home and take them with you, or stop off to pick up some chips from a takeaway (many of them are now re-opening with physical distancing policies in place) on your way to the beach for an amazing, messy, seafood feast on the sand. Don’t forget some crab cracking and picking tools, though! I’d recommend a small pin hammer to crack the shell and then use the handle of a teaspoon to remove the white meat.

How To Barbecue at The Beach

If you want to barbecue at the beach, then get yourself a bucket bbq, wood and charcoal, rather than a disposable bbq. Light a fire in it, add charcoal, then cook over it, thus avoiding the flavour taint of firelighters. It’s also tidier and better value for money because you can reuse it. Just be sure to clear up after yourselves and leave only your footprints on the sand!

Other ways that we might be able to help…

Philleigh Way BBQ Packs

If you’re in Cornwall then let us help shoulder some of your BBQ burden with one of our BBQ packs – everything that you need for a classic, Middle Eastern inspired or luxury BBQ including meats, spice mixes, steak rubs, artisan breads and salads.

Outside Cookery Courses

If you’re interested in improving your outside cooking skills, then as soon as it’s safe, sensible and permitted for us to start teaching our courses again we’ll likely be starting with our outside cookery courses (with physical distancing and appropriate health and hygiene measures in place). Choose from Better Barbecuing or an Argentian Asado Masterclass. Dates have yet to be updated, and as yet we’re unsure when we will be phasing some of our courses back in, but e-mail to express an interest and we’ll get in touch to let you know.