Posted on December 5, 2016 at 1:06 am.
Keep checking back on the BBQ video recipes page of the website to learn how to cook the perfect Christmas banquet on your Lifestyle BBQ.
Here's a quick video recipe on how to prepare slow cooked BBQ Lamb Cutlets on your barbeque. Enjoy!
Posted on December 5, 2016 at 1:05 am.
A lot of customers have been asking me for the best method for lighting one of our charcoal BBQs.
I thought I might seek some expert advice so I contacted Nazih from Organic BBQ Charcoal to see if I could get a few tips.
Naz was good enough to come over to the Lifestyle BBQs factory at Padstow to give us a hand.
Basically there are two methods for lighting a charcoal BBQ.
If you're using firelighters simply place a reasonable mound of charcoal into the charcoal bed and position the firelighters on top.
Light the firelighters and if you have a roasting hood on your BBQ leave it in the upright position so that the charcoal has plenty of air intake.
Once the charcoal is well alight (about 15-20 minutes) you can add more Charcoal and use your long handled tongs to spread the charcoal around the bed to suit.
If you have a Chimney BBQ starter and some sort of wok/side burner then it'll be even easier to get your charcoal BBQ started.
First you fill the Chimney BBQ starter to about full. Next turn on your wok burner and set it to high. Then you just place the BBQ starter on top of the wok burner and in about 5 minutes the charcoal will be well alight.
Once the Charcoal is well alight then you just tip it into the BBQ. Repeat the process until you have the desired amount of Charcoal in the tray of the BBQ.
Use long handled tongs to spread the Charcoal around until you are satisfied that you have enough charcoal for the afternoon or evening of cooking that you have planned.
The most important thing now is to wait until the fire has died down enough so that you can cook your food properly without causing unnecessary flare ups and burning the outside.
When I did the cook up in the attached pictures I filled the tray with about 8kg of charcoal so I had to wait 2 hours before I started cooking. There's no rush though because the coals were good to cook on for 3 hours after that. If you want to keep the BBQ going all day just add charcoal as needed.
From lighting the charcoal to being ready to cook the time will vary between 30 minutes and 2 hours depending on the amount of charcoal used and the type of food you are cooking and the result you're after.
The most important thing is that by using a Lifestyle Charcoal BBQ you will enjoy wonderful flavours with this traditional style of barbequing.
Don't forget that you can combine the traditional flavour of Charcoal with the convenience of gas by installing a Lifestyle gas and a separate Lifestyle Charcoal BBQ in your Outdoor Kitchen.
Just measure your available area and then talk to us about an Outdoor Kitchen to suit your needs.
If you'd like to purchase some top quality BBQ Charcoal then talk to Nazih from Organic BBQ Charcoal.
All that's left to do now is get your friends and family together to enjoy a traditional Charcoal BBQ cooked on an Australian Made Lifestyle Charcoal BBQ.
Two roasts on one Lifesyle BBQ…….Too Easy!
Because of the generous cooking area on a Lifestyle BBQ it's easy to cater for special occasions at home.
How about cooking two beautiful roasts for Christmas day and keeping all the heat outside?
I've chosen a boneless leg of pork & a bone in leg of lamb.
For the pork I'll use the Roasta Prong to elevate the pork off the tray and make sure that we get a really nice crackling all over. Score the rind and then rub some sea salt into it. Drizzle with olive oil and put some water into the alfoil or baking tray that you're going to sit it in.
A standard roast holder will do the job for the lamb. Again put some water into the tray and some olive oil onto the lamb. If you've got some fresh rosemary you can sprinkle some over the top and a few wedges of fresh garlic would be good to.
We are using a four burner BBQ so just take the plate out & move the grill/s into the centre. Then put burner number 1 and burner number 4 on high and pre-heat the BBQ for about 10 minutes.
The pork will take a little longer than the lamb and needs high heat for the first 20-30 minutes to get a really good crackling so put the pork in on it's own for that first 20-30 minutes.
Keep an eye on it and when you're happy with the progress of the crackling turn the burners down to medium-high and put the lamb on. The best way to test the progress of the crackling is to tap it with a fork on spoon.
Throughout the cooking process you can baste both of the roasts with the juices from the pans to keep plenty of moisture in the meat.
The lamb will take aroung 45 minutes per kilo and the pork will be 50-55 minutes per kilo. Make sure you've got a meat thermometer on hand as they are the best way to check if the roasts are cooked and take the guess work out of it.
Once the meat thermometer tells you that the roasts are ready all that's left to do is carve them up and serve.
You can use the juices left in the pans to make an unbeatable gravy. Keep checking back on the blog for more recipes.
Posted on December 5, 2016 at 1:04 am.
A couple of weeks ago I decided I better test out the fish grilling basket. It's a great accessory for cooking a whole fish on the BBQ.
I choose a Queensland Red Snapper (just because it looked good at the fish market) and found a Mediterranean Marinade recipe on the internet.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and season for taste.
You will cook the fish using the indirect cooking method so first take the solid hotplate out and move the grill/s into the middle of the cook top. Put the two outside burners of your BBQ on medium to high (depending on the size of your BBQ) and leave the middle burners off. The temperature should reach 180 to 200 degrees Celsius.
Prepare the fish by cleaning and scaling it (unless it's already done) and score the fish with three incisions along the fillet about half way through to the spine.
Add the marinade to the incisions and the centre of the fish and season both sides with salt and pepper. Put the fish into the fish grilling basket.
Put a bit of alfoil down on the grill/s to avoid making an unnecessary mess of your BBQ. You can also use an alfoil baking tray.
Now just put the fish into the centre of the BBQ and lower the hood.
Cooking time is around 25-30 minutes per kg. You can remove the alfoil and put the burners on underneath the fish for the last couple of minutes to give it a little bit of colour.
When the fish is ready it will be tender to touch and its eyes will be pearl white.
Posted on December 5, 2016 at 1:03 am.
You will need: Haloumi cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper.
Turn on the bbq side burner. Put a little olive oil in the base of a fry pan. Cook the haloumi cheese slices for a couple of minutes on each side, or until golden. Remove from the pan. Place on a serving plate. Drizzle over lemon juice and some black pepper (or chopped red chilli for a bit of heat) garnish and serve immediately.
Haloumi can be cooked on the bbq plate, but the side burner is used here because the chickens are cooking on the rotisserie.
Remove all plates and grills from the bbq. Turn the two end burners on leaving the centre burners off. Lower the hood and allow the bbq to heat up. The temperature should reach around 150-160 degrees. Cut two lemons into quarters. Place the cut up lemon into the cavities of two whole chickens. Rub the chickens in olive oil and salt and pepper. Place the two chickens on the rotisserie so that the legs are at the ends and can be secured with the rotisserie prongs. For best results use some kitchen skewers or string to hold the wings tightly in place. Cook with the hood down. Cooking time will vary, but allow approximately one and a half hours. Use a meat thermometer for a perfect result every time. Remove from the bbq, carve and serve.
In a foil oven tray, make a layer of thinly sliced potato. Sprinkle on some ground coriander and salt and pepper and drizzle over some cream. Top with another layer of potatoes and repeat with the coriander, salt and pepper and cream. Continue until you fill the tray. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Place in the centre of the bbq. The potato dish and the rotisserie chickens require the same amount of time to cook.
Remove the plates and grills from the bbq & the flare cap sets from the two centre burners. Turn the two end burners on. Lower the hood and allow the bbq to heat up to 150-160 degrees. Peel the pears and place in the bbq's porcelain enamel slow cook bbq baking dish. Drizzle the pears with the melted butter and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Lower the baking dish into the centre of the bbq without its lid, and close the bbq hood. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Lift the bbq hood and pour the cream over the pears. At this stage you can coat the pears in the sauce and lay them on their sides. Lower the bbq hood and leave to cook for approx 25 mins or until tender when tested with a skewer. Serve with ice cream.
If you don't have the porcelain enamel baking dish, just use an oven proof baking dish on the grill positioned in the centre of the bbq with the two end burners on.
I hope you enjoy this meal; it really is too easy. Charlotte.
It's a tradition at lifestyle BBQs factory & showroom, that whoever pulls the Saturday shift gets to cook up something for lunch.
Today I've found a chook in the fridge and decided to cook it on the Roasta Prong.
The Roasta Prong is one of the best little BBQ accessories you will ever own. It's not just good for chooks you can cook any piece of meat that will fit on it.
It's simple to use and easy to wash up and a BBQ should be easy and that's why it's so perfect.
First thing is to wash the chook under cold water and dry with paper towels.
Next get a baking pan or even just an alfoil tray like I've used and put about a cup of water in it. The water just helps keep the moisture in the chook while you're cooking it.
Next is to slide the Roasta Prong through the chook.
You'll find that the wings and legs hang down so just grab a couple of bamboo skewers to pierce through the chook and hold them in place.
It's a good idea to soak the skewers in water first so that the tips don't burn during the cooking process.
On a 4 burner BBQ you'll want to put the two outside burners on medium heat and leave the two middle ones off. Position the chook right in the middle as show in the picture below. Drizzle it will olive oil and add some sea salt.
It should take about an hour and twenty minutes in a 4 burner depending on the size of the chook. You can follow exactly the same procedure for a 3 or 5 burner BBQ it will just cook a little faster in the 3 burner and take a little longer in the 5 burner.
When you think its ready the best idea is to use a meat thermometer to test it. They are a really simple device and they work a treat.
Posted on December 5, 2016 at 1:02 am.
Marinate lamb shanks in massaman paste, cover with glad wrap and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight if possible.
Put one or two burners under the baking dish on low to medium heat and brown the lamb shanks for a few minutes.
Once the shanks are browned you can add some chopped potatoes and pumpkin.
Then add half a litre of beef or chicken stock and half a tin of coconut cream or milk. Turn down to low and cook for an hour to an hour and a half.
You don't have to use a burner directly under the baking dish. If you have a hood on your BBQ then just put a burner off to the side of the baking dish on and lower the hood. That technique is called indirect cooking and will ensure that all the liquid in the dish doesn't evaporate.
Then add the other half of the stock and the remainder of the coconut cream/milk and cook for another hour to hour and a half on low.
At any time during the cooking process you can top up the liquid in the dish by just adding some water.
After three hours the meat should be falling off the bone.
Serve with some jasmine rice and Enjoy.
The question of how to BBQ steak is asked so often. It is one of those things that once you know how to do it properly you can reproduce it time and time again and wow! your family or barbecue guests. Many people get BBQing steak totally wrong. There are core elements to cooking the perfect steak that you have to take into account, from properly seasoning the meat to searing it and locking in those gorgeous juices. But that's just the start of it. In the short video below I outline the exact method I use to BBQ the perfect steak each and every time. Watch this video once and you'll be able to master one of the largest crowd-pleasers that you can possibly cook on a barbecue.
Enjoy cooking the perfect steak on your barbecue this summer!
We've set up the Lifestyle BBQs blog so that you too can master the art of BBQ cooking. From the finest barbecue recipes to tips on how to perfectly bbq different kinds of meat, this blog will be an invaluable resource on how to make best use of your Lifestyle BBQ.
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