Butterfly Lamb, Mrs Balls Chutney & Coke Marinade on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Braai Butterfly Lamb with Mrs Balls Chutney & Coke Marinade!

July 11, 2013 by Larry Susman in Big Green Egg, Braai, Food Websites, Hot & Spicy, Lamb, Meat, Recipes

Butterfly Lamb, Mrs Balls Chutney & Coke Marinade on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Well, welcome to another braai blog, it's almost come to the end of the challenge that I set my self a year ago "To braai every week for a year". I can't say that it's been easy but it has been a great deal of fun and "Man" have I learnt a lot over this year. Thanks for all your support and comments, this will not be the end of this blog but I will be branching out a bit and bringing reviews on other peoples cooking, restaurants and blogs and a few from me as well. So don't think this is the end, it will continue just not every week, on the other hand it might be!

I've also decide to extend the entry to the competition for suggestions of what to cook in my last week so entries will now close on our FaceBook Fan page on the 17th July so follow this link, make a recommendation and you could win £50 in gift vouchers to use on our website www.biltong.co.uk .

SERVES 4-6: PREP: 1HR: COOK TIME: 1HR

Ingredients for the Lamb & Pre-Rub:

Large leg of lamb (ask you butcher to butterfly it if you are not confident in doing this)
7tbs x Sea Salt
3tbs x Black Pepper
1.5tbs x Cayenne pepper

Method of preparing lamb:

Take you boned butterflied lamb and score the fat side in 2cm diamonds, this helps the spice rub to penetrate the lamb that bit better.
To make the rube all you need to do is put the ingredients into a pestle and mortar to grind into a medium mixture. Then sprinkle it all over the lamb and rub it in on both sides. Set aside while you make the marinade/baste.

Ingredients for the Marinade:

6 x cloves garlic finely chopped
30g x Fresh Rosemary chopped
170g x Mrs Balls Chutney (I used original but its your choice)
1 X Can Coke
3tbs x Worcestershire Sauce (I used Lea & Perrins but we have just got Lazenby's in from SA)

Place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together, its that simple, pour over the lamb after you have rubbed in the spice rub and leave it to marinate for 1-2hrs. Don't discard this marinade when you take the lamb out as you will need it to baste the meat, whilst it's cooking

Method of cooking the lamb:

PREHEAT the braai to 200°c/400°F
Take the meat out of the marinade and place on the braai directly over the medium coals.
Cook for 20 mins without opening the lid of the braai or turning the meat.
After 20mins open and baste the lamb with the marinade and turn over, cook for another 20mins and repeat the basting.
This time, turn and cook for only 10mins, repeat once more and this should be the perfect length of time to cook the lamb to medium rare, pinkish.

All that's left to do is take it off the braai and leave to rest for 10mins minimum, I think this helps it to relax and it seems to be a lot more tender when eating for this process. As you can see I only just managed to not over cook the lamb, this is the trick. It's so easy to leave it in the braai for an extra couple mins as you try to decide if its cooked enough. Remember while it's resting it's still cooking, so don’t be tempted to leave it in the braai for that bit longer.

Serve with fresh salads and even some rice or baked potatoes, it's just a great summer meal thats doesn't take long to prepare or cook.

Please feel free to like and share this blog with other like minded nuts who enjoy Braaiing all year long. Don’t forget to enter the competition to win those gift vouchers, just go to our FaceBook Fan Page and leave a suggestion of what you would like to see me cook on the last Challenge Blog of the year. Entries will now close on our facebook page on the 17th July 2013, good luck!

Rack of Spring Lamb on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Rack Lamb with Sweet Potato Crush on the Braai

May 31, 2013 by Larry Susman in Big Green Egg, Braai, Food Websites, Lamb, Meat, Recipes, Smoking

Rack of Spring Lamb on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Well spring has sprung and there are lambs all out in the fields around us in the south of England, so what better time to have a braai with some. I will be using a rack of best end lamb chops, which will be French trimmed, just for appearances, much to my sons dismay. He protested that I was wasting the best bits and I’m afraid that I have to agree, but needs must. I will be serving this with Sweet Potato crush.

How to French Trim Lamb:

First remove most of the fat from the back of the rack, leaving a little bit to flavour the meat as it cooks. French-trim the bones by cutting the fat out around each bone down to the meat. Scrape the bones of all sinew and fat. Cut between the bones and through the eye of the lamb, leaving 1cm of meat still attached at the bottom.

This recipe is very simple and quick and I will be lightly smoking it as it cooks, with BigGreenEgg Cedar Wood smoking planks (which we sell) and fresh rosemary. This is only lightly smoked, as you don’t want to loose the great taste of the lamb. Once again we will be giving away a great prize of one of these packs of smoking planks to one lucky reader, see the end of the blog for details.

SERVES 4: PREP: 15MINS: MARINATE 1HR: COOK TIME: 25MINS

Ingredients for Rack & the Marinade:

2 x Racks Spring Lamb (French Trimmed)
1/2 x Finely chopper Shallot/white onion
4 x Sprigs of Rosemary
2tbsp Olive Oil
2tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
100g Bunch of Rosemary for smoking
1 x Pack BigGreenEgg Cedar Wood Planks

Method how to prepare Marinade:

Mix the oil and vinegar together in a bowl.
Finely chop the onion and sprigs of rosemary and add to the oil and vinegar.
This is now ready to be brushed onto the racks of lamb.

Method how to prepare & cook the Lamb:

Brush the marinade onto the lamb and leave to marinate out of the fridge for 1hr.
Meat is always better if it’s left to come to room temperature before cooking.
Place the Rosemary & Cedar Wood Planks into water to soak for 1hr.
Preheat the Braai to 300°C (570°F).
Cover the ends of the chops with baking foil to stop them from burning when you sear the lamb fat.
Place the smoking planks in the braai for 5mins to warm up and then turn them over ready to place the meat on them.
Sear the lamb racks on their fat side first for 5mins be careful not to burn them.
I like to take the foil off the end of the chops to colour when cooking but others don’t, it’s really up to you.
Place the pre-soaked rosemary on the coals so they start to smoulder.
Place the racks of lamb on the smoking planks and cook for 20mins.
This should be the perfect length of time to cook these to medium rare, pink in colour.
If you have cut the racks (3-4 chops per rack) up into smaller portions then you only need to cook them for 15mins.

Take them off the braai and rest them on the planks for 5mins so that they relax before cutting and serving with salad, rice of potatoes.

This was the first of the Spring Lamb for this year and it so absolutely fantastic. The cedar planks just gave it a slight sweet taste that just added to the smoke from the rosemary and together they were divine.

If you would like to try to cook this for yourselves then why not leave some feedback in the comments area below and one lucky reader will win a pack of these smoking planks for themselves. Entries will close on the 22nd June 2013, please check back to see if you were the lucky winner.

Tomato Bredie cooked in a potjie,
served with Tastic Rice.

Tomato Bredie, in a potjie on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

February 01, 2013 by Larry Susman in Meat, Braai, Vegetables, Food Websites, Hot & Spicy, Big Green Egg, Recipes, Lamb, Potjiekos

Tomato Bredie cooked in a potjie, served with Tastic Rice.

Howzit, well it seems like the weather is never going to get any better in this country for the foreseeable future so we will just have to get used to the water around our ankles. This week I'm going to cook a South African favourite “Tomato Bredie” this is a Cape Malay dish and I got this recipe from one of South Africa’s most famous chefs "Cass Abrahams". I was fortunate enough to spend a day with Cass back in February 2000, how time flies, it only seems like yesterday that we were jawing in the sunshine.

Firstly here are a few tips from Cass to making a Good Bredie:

Always braise the meat with onions and spices before adding the vegetables.
Never boil meat in stock or water – this tends to dry out and toughen the meat.
Always keep the cooking temperature constant – medium heat – allowing the bredie to simmer gently for a few hours.
Don't add liquid. The juices from the vegetables are sufficient to make a loverly thick gravy.
Bredies are best served with Tastic Rice (click here to see on our shopping site)

SERVES 8: PREP: 25MINS: COOK TIME:2-3HR

Ingredients for the Tomato Bredie:
1kg x Mutton rib or chump chops
2 x large onions sliced
½tsp x peppercorns
½tsp x ground cloves
125ml x water
25ml x vegetable oil
2 x sticks of cinnamon
3cm x pice of fresh root ginger finely chopped
2-3 x cardamon pods
2-3 x cloves fresh garlic chopped (optional)
1kg x very ripe tomatoes chopped (or 3 tins)
1-3 x green chilli chopped (to taste)
6 x medium potatoes, peeled and halved
salt, pepper and sugar to taste (I used ½tsp salt, ½tsp pepper and 2 tsp sugar) with some chopped parsley for a garnish.

Method of cooking the Tomato Bredie:

Preheat the Braai/BigGreenEgg to 180°C (356°F)

Place the onions, peppercorns, cloves and water in the potjie or large saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until all the water has been absorbed. Then add the oil and cinnamon and braise until the onions are golden. Add the mutton, ginger and cardamon pods and stir thoroughly. Turn down the heat, cover the potjie with a tightly fitting lid and simmer gently for 30 mins. Then add the tomatoes and chilli (garlic if you want) and close the lid and simmer for a further 20 mins. Now add the potatoes, salt freshly ground pepper and sugar to taste. Replace the lid and simmer for as long as you can, I cooked mine for a further 2hrs, the longer you can leave it the better it will taste.

Garnish with some chopped parsley and serve on a bed of freshly cooked Tastic Rice. Note, this is not a curry so don’t expect it to taste like one, its a classic South African Stew and boy was this great!

We are going to be giving away 2 x 1kg Packs of Tastic Rice this week. If you would like to win one of the lucky winners then please leave some feed back and it could be you that gets a chance to make this really traditional South African recipe with some Tastic Rice. Also I love to hear what you think about what i'm cooking, feel free to leave suggestions what you would like to see me cook. All the best until next week “Alles van die beste tot volgende week”.

Chicken Sosaties

December 07, 2012 by Larry Susman in Meat, Braai, Hot & Spicy, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Big Green Egg, Recipes, Lamb, Curries

Chicken Sosaties Braaied on the Big Green Egg

Sosaties (skewered meat) marinated in a curry sauce – traditionally formed part of the rijsttafel of java, an elaborate banquet which always included at least two meat dishes, one fish course and a curry dish, as well as several vegetables, served on cooked rice and mixed with a strong curry sauce. Today we tend to cook sosaties over the coals, and any braai cook worth his or her salt has a 'secret recipe 'for the marinade. Traditionally its made with lamb but you can use any meat that you prefer and I'm going to use chicken today. I will give you my recipe and this is the same recipe that we use in the Sosaties that we sell in out shop. So if you don’t want to make this yourself you can just click here and you can add them to your shopping basket on our website www.biltong.co.uk . You can also buy the ingredients for this recipe from us if you want to make this yourself.

SERVES 4-6: PREP: 15MINS: MARINATE 1HR: COOK TIME:10-15MINS

Marinade for Sosaties

125g smooth All gold or Koo apricot jam

3 x cloves garlic, crushed

1 x piece fresh ginger crushed

2 x bay or lemon leaves

2 tbs Rajh curry powder (choose your own strength) I used hot

25 ml wine vinegar

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp milled pepper

1 x Green pepper chopped

1 x Red pepper chopped

1 x medium onions chopped

Ingredients for the Sosaties

1 kg chicken/leg of lamb or any meat you prefer, cut into 2,5 cm cubes
6 x bamboo Skewers
2 x medium onions, quartered and separated
250 g dried apricots
1 x Green pepper cubed
1 x Red pepper cubed

Method for making Sosatie Marinade

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and use a blender to make into a paste. Add the mixture to a saucepan and bring to the boil and boil for 1 minutes, stirring occasionally, leave to cool. Transfer the marinade to a large dish and add the chicken, peppers and onion and marinate for at least 1 hour (or overnight preferably) in the fridge, turning 2-3 times. Remove the meat from the marinade and thread it onto skewers alternating with the peppers, apricots and onion.

Method for cooking the Sosaties

Preheat the Braai to 300°C (570°F)
Pre soak your skewers for at least an hour before hand, unlike myself who forgot ;-) this will stop them from burning.
Braai the sosaties over moderate/hot coals, or grill in the oven, turning frequently, for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked. On the BigGreenEgg believe it or not you only need to cook them for 2 mins on each side. The heat is so intense that it cooks then quickly but leaves them so moist and tender.

Serve with some Tastic rice and a fresh salad and there it is, a fantastic taste of home. Give them a try chicken, lamb, beef or pork they all work really well with this recipe. Enjoy until next week weather permitting, SNOW on the way!!!!

Bobotie
cooked on the Big Green Egg / Braai

Bobotie on the Braai!

November 23, 2012 by Larry Susman in Meat, Braai, Beef, Big Green Egg, Recipes, Curries, Lamb, Potjiekos

Bobotie cooked on the Big Green Egg in storm force winds!

I think I must be nearly more English now than South African because all I do is go on about the weather it seems! It's been one of those weeks again, if you live or lived in Cape Town during the winter on a really bad day you might have experienced this. But it nearly 5 weeks now and I think we might have seen the sun only a handful of time and I have to braai again. So its more of that home comfort food this week “Bobotie” and I've never made this either. It's been a great learning curve so far this mad thing I decided to do after a few dop's and Jan is loving every bit of it.

We are going to be using one of Weners's Original spice packs again and we will have 5 free packs to give away again this week, to 5 lucky people who leave a comment at the end of this weeks blog.

This dish is a very traditional one and contrary to what is widely believed, bobotie did not come with the slaves from Indonesia. It was actually brought from Holland by founding father Jan van Riebeeck in 1652. Why then are the spices, so typical of Indonesian and Sri Lankan cooking? Because through the Dutch East India Company who sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, the Netherlands had a lively spice trade with the East in those days. However we can assume that the original dish was probably much simpler and that the slaves who brought with them their distinctive and popular way of cooking must have improved on the Dutch recipe … The final result should be soft but firm, spicy and with just a hint of curry but this is not a curry dish.

I am going to make this with a beef mince, mainly because I haven’t got any lamb in lol. This dish is quite quick to prepare and cook and the end result is fantastic, it just reminds me so much of times back home in SA. Ok lets crack on....

SERVES 4-6 - PREP: 10 MINS - COOK TIME: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients for the Bobotie and topping

500g / 1lbs beef or lamb mince
1 x medium onion chopped
1 x large slice of stale bread
25g / ¼ cup seedless raisins
1 tbsp apricot jam / chutney
1-2 cloves of garlic chopped
25g ¼ cup flaked or chopped almond (optional)
½ tsp grated fresh ginger (optional)
250ml / 1 cup milk
2 x eggs (3 would be better I think)
juice ¼ lemon

Method for cooking Bobotie

Preheat the Braai to 180°C (360°F).
Soak the bread in the half the milk.
Butter a 25cm / 10” casserole dish.
Gently squeeze the milk out of the bread but don't throw it away keep and add back with the rest of the milk.
Crumble the bread with your hand or a fork and mix into the mince.
Lightly fry of the onions, garlic and ginger in some olive oil stirring continually.
Add the mince and brown off.
Add the main pack of spices from the Werner's kit and mix in well, cook for another couple of minutes and remove from the heat.
Beat up one of the eggs and mix into the meat mixture along with the raisins, lemon juice apricot jam / chutney and almonds.
Add ½ the milk and add pepper to taste.
Mix thoroughly and then spoon into the casserole dish.
Finally smooth off the top of the mince so that it really flat.

Method for cooking topping

Beat the two remaining eggs (I only used one but I think two would be better) and add the balance of the milk. Don't be tempted to add more milk otherwise it will not set properly.
Gently pour onto the top of the meat mixture.
Lay the cinnamon bark in the middle and push it just below the mixture.
Float the bay leaves on the top
Bake in the braai / oven for 30-40 minutes or until it golden and brown.

Unfortunately I'm afraid that we had to carry out the first part of this recipe inside on the stove as the wind was blowing so hard the fire just could not be controlled with the lid open. However I did put it in the braai to cook as you can see and it was just magical. To be honest as a laaitie I never really liked the look of this dish but I remember that aroma and it was exactly as I remembered. But as I'm now grown up now (Jan doesn’t think so) so I thought I better try it tonight, especially as if I did not eat it there was “niks anders om te eet” nothing else to eat. Serve this with some yellow (saffron) rice and a fresh salad and man that's great, just add a dollop of Mrs Balls Chutney and your set to go.

Amazing “Ongelooflike” it's was truly great, I had been missing out on this fantastic dish for the last 50 years what a doos! If you have never tried to cook this don’t be scared, if I can do it then I promise you will be able too, give it a go.

5 Free Packs of Bobotie Spice to be won

If you would like to win one of the Werner's Bobotie spice packs then please leave some feed back and you could be 1 of 5 lucky people that get a chance to make this really traditional South African recipe (entry closes 7th December 2012). Also I love to hear what you think about what i'm cooking, feel free to leave suggestions what you would like to see me cook.

All the best until next week “Alles van die beste tot volgende week” Larry