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!

Mackerel
with Tomatoes, Pesto and Onions on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Pesto Mackerel with Tomatoes & Onions on the Braai

July 04, 2013 by Larry Susman in Baking, Big Green Egg, Braai, Fish, Food Websites, Recipes, Vegetables

Mackerel with Tomatoes, Pesto and Onions on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Well, it's very nearly the end of my year cooking on the BigGreenEgg and we are going to run a competition for somebody to win £50 in gift vouchers to use on our web site www.biltong.co.uk . All you have to do is go to our FaceBook Fan Page and leave a suggestion of what you would like to see me cook on the last Blog of the year. If I decide to use your suggestion you will be the lucky winner, entries will close on the 10th July 2013.

In the meantime I'm going to be cooking a very under rated fish that is in season this week, Mackerel! Many people consider this to be the lowest of the low in the fish world but if cooked from fresh and served with a good sauce or smoked they are absolutely fantastic. This is a very quick simple Italian recipe that I'm going to make this week and I'm sure that you will love it.

Rich oily fish like mackerel needs a sharp, fresh tasting sauce to go with it and this aromatic pesto is just the ticket when drizzled over the top of it with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

SERVES 4: PREP: 10MINS: COOK TIME:10-20MINS

Ingredients for the Mackerel and Sauce:

4-6 x mackerel, cleaned and gutted (get your fish monger to do this for you)
30ml x Olive oil
2 x large onions roughly chopped
450g x tomatoes roughly chopped
1 x Slice of fresh lemon per person
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Pesto:

50g pine nuts
30g fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
30ml freshly grated Parmesan cheese
150ml extra virgin olive oil

How to prepare the whole dish:

To make the pesto, place the pine nuts, fresh basil leaves and garlic in a food processor and blend to a rough paste.
Add the Parmesan and with the blades running, gradually add the oil.
It's as simple as that, set aside until needed.
Season the mackerel with loads of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook on the braai on a med-hot heat for 5 minutes on each side, turn them only once if you haven’t got a fish basket. Fish baskets really help when it comes to turning the fish without them falling apart!
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and sauté the chopped onions until soft and golden brown.
Stir the chopped tomatoes into the contents of the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes.
Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Serve the fish on top of the tomato mixture and top with a generous spoonful of pesto.
Squeeze the fresh lemon all over.

All you need to do is plate up 1-3 mackerel, depending on size and appetite. Serve with a slice of fresh lemon and some new potatoes or some freshly baked bread. There you have it, a great summer dish with fish that is cheap and in season, enjoy.

Don’t for get 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 Blog of the year.

Wors, Pap en Sous on the Braai!

June 27, 2013 by Larry Susman in Beef, Big Green Egg, Braai, Food Websites, Hot & Spicy, Meat, Potjiekos, Recipes

Wors, pap en sous on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Mielie meal is a staple food in much of Africa. Unlike European polenta, mielie meal is normally white in colour and quite coarse textured. It makes a delicious side dish or it can be the centre point of a meal. Pap (pronounced pup) means "porridge" in Afrikaans and the consistency can vary considerably from a smooth and quite loose porridge which needs to be eaten with a spoon (slap pap). Through to a stiff paste which can be broken off with the fingers to act as a scoop or spoon for stews and sauces (stywe – pronounced STAY-ver - pap), to a crumbly and dry texture a bit like couscous (krummel – pronounced CROO-mel - pap).

I’m going to be cooking the latter, as I once served up Slap Pap to my wife Jan, many years ago and she said that if I ever made her eat that again she would divorce me lol!!! The method and ingredients are the same but the ratio of pap and water differ depending on which type of pap you wish to end up with.

You can make the Boerewors and Sous(sauce) yourself from scratch. But why bother doing this when we sell what we think is some of the finest Boerewors in the country and a tin of All Gold Tomato & Onion which you can just add a few ingredients to, to lift the sous to something that you would be proud to make.

We are going to give away the main ingredients to make this meal to one lucky person this week, see details at the end.　

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

Ingredients for Krummel (braai) (stywe pap) Pap:

1/2 litre water
500g Braai Pap (Iwisa or Premier Braai or Maize pap)
1tsp salt

Method how to make Krummel (braai) (stywe pap) Pap:

Preheat the Braai to 300°C (570°F).
Bring the water to boiling point in a large, heavy-based saucepan or potjie pot.
Add salt.
Then slowly add the maize meal and stir briefly.
Turn the heat down or move off to the side whichever you can do on your braai.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Using a large fork (such as a carving fork), stir it up until its crumbly and cover again with the lid.
Simmer for a further 20 – 30 minute on a low heat until cooked.
Set aside until you are ready to serve.

Ingredients for Sous(sauce):

1 x Tin All Gold Tomato & Onion (which we sell)
2 x Onions, halved and sliced
20g x Fresh chopped coriander
Salt and Pepper to taste

How to make Sous:

Preheat the Braai to 300°C (570°F).
Place a knob of butter in a frying pan and sauté the onions for a few moments until soft.
Empty the tin of Tomato & Onion sauce into the pan and stir.
Bring to the boil and then simmer for 5mins.
Remove from the heat until you’re ready to use, sprinkle the coriander into the sous just before serving.

All that’s left to do is now braai your Boerewors which you have already brought from us, we hope! You will need roughly 250g per person or one pack per South African, heehee.

Tips on what to do or not to do, when braaiing our boerewors:

Never prick the skins of the wors as this just allows all the juice to drain from the sausage and you will end up with dry, tasteless wors.
Always cook in a coil and cut after you have cooked it.
Cook at a high temperature so that it crisps the skin and leaves the middle succulent.
Cook on one side and then turn over and cook the other, hopefully you will not split the skins when turning as I did. If you do, blast it with some heat and eat before all that lekker juice spills out.
Don’t over cook as we only make our boerewors from whole muscle fresh meat with no other additives other than spices. So our wors will not shrink or swell and split the skins whilst cooking.
It’s best to eat your wors straight off the braai piping hot, absolutely lekker, even if I say so myself.

That’s just like I remember it back home in the old days, when I would return from school and it would be sitting on the table waiting from me, Lekker!

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 2 packs of Boerewors, pack of Braai Pap and a tin of All Gold tomato & Onion Sauce for themselves. Entries will close on the 12th July 2013, please check back to see if you were the lucky winner.

Sweet Potato Crush on the Braai

June 07, 2013 by Larry Susman in Baking, Big Green Egg, Food Websites, Hot & Spicy, Recipes, Smoking, Vegetables

Sweet Potato Crush on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Last week I cooked a rack of spring lamb and served it with this dish and so many of you have asked how to make this. Please forgive me, I should have given you the recipe last week but just took it for granted that the meat is what you were interested in. This was a mistake as there are many of you who are interested in everything that I’ve cooked. This is such a easy recipe and it takes sweet potatoes to a new level, so give it a try, you don’t even have to use the braai if you don’t want to.

Also don’t forget that once again we will be giving away a great prize of a pack of smoking planks to one lucky reader which we used to cook this recipe, see the end of the blog for details.

SERVES 4: PREP: 10MINS: COOK TIME: 20-25MINS

Ingredients Sweet Potato Crush:

2 x Sweet Potatoes
30g x Fresh Mint
30g x Fresh Coriander
2 x Limes
1 x Fresh red chilli

Method how to prepare Sweet Potato Crush:

Cut the sweet potatoes in half and place in a oven proof dish.
Slice the limes in half and place on top of sweet potatoes.
Finely chop the chilli, mint and coriander ready to add to the sweet potatoes once they are cooked.

Method of cooking Sweet Potato Crush:

Preheat the Braai to 300°C (570°F).
Cover the dish with cling film and baking foil if you are placing in the braai or just cling film if you are going to use a micro wave.
Place the dish the braai for 20mins and close the lid.
Or if you want, you can place the dish in a microwave for 15mins on high.
Remove from the heat and uncover.
You will notice that the limes have kept the sweet potatoes moist.
Add the chopped chilli, mint and coriander and using a potato masher lightly crush the potatoes and herbs together.
Place back in the braai for a further 5mins, if you used the microwave you can miss this step out.

I cooked this dish when I made last week’s blog and the cedar planks just gave it a slight smoke flavour and they were divine.

Don’t forget that 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.

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.