Tag: bbq

Matt Preston’s Best Ever Tomato Sauce (Ketchup) recipe

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Makes: 2x 750ml bottles

There is an argument for not cooking the staples: bread, pasta, ketchup.

Until you do.

Example one? A pita bread Nat cooked a few months back for a Lebanese dinner we cooked. A texture, a taste in superior, pale comparison to the stuff we get in the bread aisle.

Example two? A good friend Kieran, locked down in isolation though with the skills and technology to make crumpets… did so. Not only was it easy he said, though again… the texture and taste where so vastly better than the stuff at Coles that he now refuses to look at them at Coles.

And then there is this example from Nat. Ketchup.

True, we are a family that makes it own sausages and so perhaps it isn’t to much of a jump to make our own ketchup. Except that as per paragraph one of this blog, it wasn’t until we made our own ketchup that we knew why you should.

This ketchup by Matt Preston has a warmth and depth you just cannot find in a store-bought ketchup. With a good sausage (and I am a believer that ketchup should be exclusively used for sausages, hamburgers and meatloaf only and definitely not chips), it is the equal hero with the sausage.

So good, Nat has made three batches which have been delivered in empty gin and vodka bottles to neighbours, parents and sisters. (We have discovered that access to suitable bottling has not been at all an issue in this lockdown!)

Not only because it’s isolation and you’re looking for something to do… make your own ketchup because it’s like the homemade pasta, freshly-baked crumpets of condiments.

Ingredients

2.5kg ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
10 Whole Cloves
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups (clear) white malt vinegar

Method

  1. Put the chopped tomato + onion, cloves, berries, paprika, garlic, cinnamon and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Simmer, uncovered, stirring every now and then, until the tomato breaks down and is tender. It takes about 1 hour. 
  2. Add the sugar and vinegar. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for a further hour and 15 minutes or until mixture reduces, thickens and is of a saucy consistency. Adjust seasoning.
  3. Strain mixture through a coarse sieve into a large bowl, in batches, pressing down strongly to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard solids or use as a relish. Pour hot mixture into (Vodka, Gin or Tequilla) bottles. Store in the fridge.

Chimichurri

.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Chimichurri is one of our favourite sauces for beef – or chicken or pork – and this classic recipe is right down the line.

As well as serving as a side, there is something quite wonderful about marinating a piece of rump steak in this before you grill.

With more Chimichurri by the side of course.

If you haven’t made/had this before, read the ingredients and please consider!

Ingredients

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
4 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 eschallot, finely chopped
1 red jalapeño finely chopped
1/2 cup minced fresh coriander
1/4 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method

  1. Combine the ingredients.
  2. If marinating meat, marinate over night.

BBQ Thai Basil and Ginger Pork Chops (with Tomato Salad)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

There is this wonderful website (well, Instagram) I follow called What to Cook.

It is by a father/daughter team where he cooks really simple, fresh and fun food and she takes great photos of the food. They look like they have so much doing it and they are obviously eating well.

I have only cooked one of their recipes (this one) though I have a bunch more lined up. Its modern, bistro-quality food and during the week, that’s just fine.

I let this marinate for two nights before BBQing and together with the salad, a bottle of white we opened and my favourite travelling companion Nat, we had a perfect weeknight in.

Ingredients

4 large pork chops,
1 Thai chilli, finely diced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
½ c fresh thai basil leaves
Pinch of salt
Juice of 1 lime

Tomato salad

1 bunch butter lettuce, leaves torn
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
1 oxheart tomato, sliced
2 baby cucumbers, sliced
½ cup bean sprouts
¼ cup fresh mint leaves

Salad dressing

3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp palm sugar, grated

Method

  1. Place the chops in a dish, then add the chilli, ginger, garlic, salt Thai basil, lime juice, cover and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours (or as long as you want).
  2. Preheat your BBQ over a high heat. Once preheated, BBQ the chops until cooked and then cover with foil and rest for 5 miutes.
  3. To serve; assemble the salad on the plates and drizzle with the dressing. Add the chops and (in their words) “enjoy”!

Neil Perry’s ‘Hamburger’

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Serves 4

Whilst the 2013/2014/2015 Sydney hamburger craze will probably go the direction of the 2013/2014/2015 Sydney dumpling craze, for me at least, it has given me cause to reconsider the roots of a good – a great burger – and what it is all about.

Because if you have a burger at Chur Burger, or Neil Perry’s Burger Project or Sean Connolly’s Parlour Burger (with the one-day viral wonder, the Black Widow Burger), their core burger is about simplicity and quality of ingredient.

And that is perhaps where I have gone astray.

For years, my signature burger dish has been about two things:

  1. The paddy:
    1. 1kg Beef Mince
    1. 1 egg
    1. (Red) online, diced
    1. Handful of parsley, chopped
    1. A number of really good splashes of Worcestershire Sauce (and therefore the flavour)
    1. A heaped teaspoon of Horseradish
    1. Seasoning
  9. The balance:Grilled (BBQ) slices of white toast
    1. Torn cos lettuce
    1. Sliced tomato
    1. Sliced cheddar cheese to melt on the BBQed paddies
    1. Ketchup (not tomato sauce), good egg mayo and American Mustard

And whilst, if really flame grilled over a high heat and served medium-rare, this is a cracker burger, it isn’t the essence of burger. It is like customising mac and cheese when the purity of proper mac and cheese needs no improvement. It is like adding bacon to a Big Mac. There isn’t necessarily a need.

Worst still, I was using crappy mince from the supermarket. And the mince is where the flavour is!

Indeed, reflecting back on all the burgers I have cooked over the years – including the Tuscan Burger than won me a gong at a Wiliam food day – they have all been about stuffing ingredients into the patty. And using crudolla mince.

This burger recipe by Neil Perry is your classic mac and cheese. It will surprise nobody except that freshness of the meat makes the difference. Here, you MUST instruct your butcher to find his finest, most marbled piece of chuck steak. And then to grind it, fresh, on his coarsest setting.

At which point, you need to sprint home to cook it.

Get back to basics, invest in the meat, buy some really good buns (not that crap at Woolies), open a Corona with some lime and eat this bad boy in the sun. Seriously, this is good!

Oh, and if you can BBQ your buns and especially bacon on the BBQ as well, the taste simply gets even better by a factor of 10: Neil Perry says so himself!

I have slightly adjusted his recipe.

Ingredients

1kg of freshly ground chuck steak
½ – ¾ tsp sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted (ideally grilled on the BBQ)
Ketchup, American Mustard and egg mayonnaise
4 slices gruyere (or sliced cheddar if gruyere not on tap)
8 rashes of good bacon
Lettuce and tomato slices
Sliced, picked cucumber (optional)
Freshly ground pepper

Method

  1. The bacon needs to be really, really crispy and this will take time. Depending on timings, start cooking the bacon in a pan or prepare it ready for the BBQ, ensuring that in either event, it is cooked to the point of snapping in two.
  2. Place the meat in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Mix gentle and divide into 4. Move each portion between your hands for a minute to make a firm, though not overworked patty. Shape into a ball. Gently flatten to form patties around 3cm thick. (If you are refrigerating, cover in cling wrap and ensure that they are bought back to room temperature prior to cooking).
  3. Heat your BBQ (or pan) to very hot. Grill the burger for 2 minutes on one side, flip and another 3 minutes, placing a slice of cheese on top of each paddy for the final minute of cooking. Let the patties rest for 5 minutes and whilst doing so, grill your buns, taking note of your bacon depending on however you are cooking it.
  4. Assemble your bad boy; bottom of bun, mayo and mustard, patty, lettuce and tomato, bacon, ketchup, grind of pepper, top of bun.
  5. Close your eyes and eat.

Chophouse’s BBQ Glazed Short Ribs

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves 4

My favourite source of meat in Sydney is Haverick Meats. They’re the best butcher in town and their Saturday store is borderline theatre; dozens and dozens of customers in the cool room, hundreds of cuts of meat, a non-stop BBQ for the kids.

And the best meat in town.

Peter, their MD has been pushing me to try his Short Ribs since I have known him, though I’ve never really thought of how to cook them and so have always left them on hold.

I found this short rib recipe via Haverick Meats; it is from the Chophouse, one of Haverick Meat’s many restaurant clients. The Chophouse did a cooking presentation at Haverick Meats for selected food bloggers – one of whom kindly reproduced the recipe.

I’ve cooked ribs plenty of times and they’re always a party winner; though just those boring pork and beef ribs you can find at Woolies with a BBQ sauce.

These Short Ribs are simply a different level altogether.

This is restaurant grade stuff. From the cut of meat to the process to the flavour.

Head to Haverick Meats on a Saturday morning, grab the Short Rib and say hello to Saturday night’s dinner and improved friendships/admiration/adoration.

Ingredients

2kg piece short rib (grain fed ideally), trimmed, bone in

Dry Rub Ingredients

2 sticks lemongrass
3 birds eye chilli
100gm ginger (about 2 cups!)
1 bunch coriander

BBQ Sauce Ingredients

200gm tomato paste
300ml apple cider vinegar
20ml sweet chilli sauce
5ml tabasco sauce
7gm ground ginger
10gm hot English mustard
20ml dark soy sauce
40ml light soy sauce
10g ground black pepper
400ml honey
100ml water

Method

  1. Steam the short rib for three hours; I left the ribs in the oven for a few hours after this to cool and as with all cuts of meat like this, the longer the cooking time, the better.
  2. Place the dry rub ingredients in a food processor and blend to a rough paste.
  3. Once the meat has cooled, scrape the excess fat and apply the dry rub to it; allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
  4. For the BBQ sauce, add all the ingredients to a large pot and bring to the boil. Mix regularly to stop the sauce from sticking to the bottom. Reduce to a simmer and continue to stir for 20 minutes. Cool and strain.
  5. Heat an oven to 160c. Scrape the marinade off of the meat and transfer the meat to a baking tray. Pour over the BBQ sauce and slow cook for 30 minutes, basting the meat every 5 or so minutes. Add water to the sauce if it starts to caramelise.
  6. Serve with slaw, baked potato and corn.