Need a replacement Grid for your Braai/BigGreenEgg

Well I've had a week off from blogging but not braaiing and I'm back in the groove again but as I mentioned, with a twist. This week I'm going to review a replacement Braai Grid that was kindly sent to me by the good people at Craycourt. If your braai has suffered over the winter or you've just not looked after it and it's seen better days then help is at hand. I came across Craycourt some time ago and I've recommended them to others but it struck me that there must be plenty of you who could do with a new grid!

They specialise in replacement Cast Iron Grids for pretty much all sizes and types of braai. Even for gas braais (god forbid) as well as charcoal with ranges for Webber and BigGreenEgg as well as others. Their pre-seasoned grill grids take your braaiing to the next level and with a little care they will last you a lifetime. Another great reason for having a cast iron grid is that they heat up quickly and they will hold the heat much longer than stainless or aluminium grids. See them here!

They sent me one for my XL BigGreeEgg Braai and it arrived quickly and was packed very well. What I like about these grids is that they are in quarters, which makes lifting them out so much easier and you can lift just one piece if you need to add more coals or some wood chipping for smoking. You can see from the photos that it's so simple to set up that any "doos" can do it.

I gave it a quick wash before using and that's all. On firing up there were no smells or nasty tastes coming off the grid as Craycourt had done a great job in pre-seasoning it. I chucked some PeriPeri chicken wings, Sosaties and some lamb chops on it and before you can say Braai they were ready. Because the cast iron gets a lot hotter and holds the heat better your meat will cook that bit quicker and leave those fantastic searing marks that make you look like a professional chef!

Before you say "why did I need a new grid" I didn't but the time will come when you and I will. Most people just throw their old braais away and buy a new one, when really all that's wrong with them is that the grid has burnt away or gone rusty beyond repair. This is when this company will save you a load of bucks. Their prices start at £27 for a 14.5inch grid up to £69.00 for the 27inch one I received. They even have lifters for £6.53 and you can also convert some of the quarters to flat grills (flat on one side and ribbed on the other) so that you can cook eggs, onions etc. There's also a pizza stone and a wok in the range, there's no limit to what you can do now. What great ideas these are and they will make your braai that bit more versatile as an all year round cooker for a very reasonable price. This is great if you're a braai nut like myself.

Cleaning is easy, just fire up the braai to max for a couple of minutes and then brush the grate clean in seconds! Once it's cooled down just wipe over with a little olive oil and its ready to go next time you want to braai. Keep it clean, a clean braai cooks better, that's a fact and you don't get as many flare-ups with a clean grill. So if your braai needs a revamp these are the guys that can do it for you and I can highly recommend them, buy direct from their web site http://www.cast-iron-grate.com/uk/.

Until next time, happy braaiing.

Slow Roasted and Smoked with Rosemary

It feels like winter is about to set in here in the UK, summer lasted all of one week and my stomach is telling me it's time to bring back Roast Suppers! So this week i'm cooking a leg of lamb, unfortunately not spring lamb as we are slipping into autumn but this half a leg of Welsh Lamb is as good as it gets.

Ingredients

Leg of Lamb or half (serves 2-6)
10 cloves of garlic
Loads of Rosemary
Mixed vegetables to stir fry
Tastic rice mixed with wild rice

Method

Peal the cloves of garlic and leave whole
Wash and leave rosemary in sprigs
Take a sharp knife and push into the lamb to about 2-3cm
Push garlic into the cuts
Push rosemary into cuts on top of the garlic leave heads to poke out (looks great)
Cut all your veg up into julienne strips, as you are just going to stir fry these quickly with a little olive oil at the end. Two carrots, 6 asparagus, 1 courgettes , 12 mange too and t baby leeks. Make sure to put you rice on to cook and then to steam for at least 30 minutes (makes the rice fluffy and light) this will stop it being just a stodgy mess
Take the remainder of the rosemary and place in a tray that you can place under the leg of lamb, so that it smoulders and smokes it to perfection
Cook the lamb for about 3 hrs at 160°C (320°F) for half a leg, 4-5 hrs for a whole leg. The internal temp of the lamb should reach 82°C (180°F) for Medium, a bit higher if you want it well done or less for rare. I like mine rare so I took it out at 77°C (100°F). Tip, when you place your temperature probe into the meat, make sure it's not touching the bone as this will give you a false reading.
Make sure that you cover it and leave it to rest for at least 20 minutes, this always seems like to longest 20 minutes in history. Especially when it smells so great

It may sound like a load of garlic but when you slow roast it it mellows and just infuses a fantastic flavour throughout the lamb. Just don't eat the cloves when you cut the meat if you want anybody to come close to you later! Slow roasting and smoking the meat will give it such a fantastic colour and flavour, only cooking for 3hrs will mean that the smoke flavour is not to intense either.

Once you have taken the lamb off the braai and set it aside to rest for 20 minuets you can then start to stir fry your veg. You could have slow roasted them with the meat but I wanted them to be fresh and al dente, with vibrant colours to go along side the meat. They will only take 4-5 minutes to cook depending on how you like them. Taste one occasionally, perks of being the Chef!

Please make sure that you leave the meat to rest for 20 minutes, this will make all the deference between a nice bit of meat and a fantastic moist piece of meat. Its a long time to wait but its worth every minute. Carve into generous slices and serve on a bed of rice with vegetables and mint sauce, just look how simple and great it looks.

P.S. I did not season the meat or vegetables with salt or pepper as they just don't need it. Enjoy!

Need a replacement Grid for your Braai?