Summer BBQ Fun With Homebase

There is something about barbecued food that has always appealed to me. The eating outdoors aspect as well as the smokey taste enhances meals and even the simplest of food can be transformed by the charcoal. Peppers rubbed with a little oil and spice blackened and full of flavour and do not even get me started on S’mores.

Homebase have recently conducted a survey into the BBQ  habits of the British public and created an infographic to show the results, you can check it out here. They have also joined up with celebrity chef Aldo Zilli to create a gorgeous BBQ recipe and to talk about his BBQ tips. I particularly like this tip:

Par-boil your sausages for 5 minutes before you place them on the BBQ – you can’t go wrong as this will ensure they are cooked thoroughly when it comes to the eating. When they’re on the grill, they’ll get that lovely caramelised, char-grilled outside whilst being perfectly cooked on the inside.

A recent addition to my garden is this half drum BBQ, you can find similar BBQ’s here.

It is so much more than a standard BBQ letting you cook using direct and indirect heat, with the lid up or lid down. It also has loads of space for all of your meat and veggies. I recently used mine to cook sweet potatoes, it really takes them up a notch – I got this tip from DJ BBQ – the king of all thing cooked low and slow BBQ style. It is the perfect vessel to cook large joints of meat over a low heat and the flavour it gives them is just out of this world. You can see some similar versions here.I thought I would share some of my ideas for easy BBQ food:

1. Create a compound butter by adding the zest of 1 lime and a teaspoon of dried chill flakes to 250g of butter and whip until smooth. Roll into a sausage shape and wrap in clingfilm. Refrigerate until set. This can be used for all kinds of things on the BBQ but my favourite is to grill corn on the cob until browned and rub the butter all over. Zesty with a chilli kick.
2. S’mores – originally an American treat, we seem to have adopted it here in the UK and I love the digestive, marshmallow and chocolate combination, make it even easier by using chocolate digestives. You can even make BBQ’d banana boat s’mores, check out this recipe from my friend Claire of the Foodie Quine blog.
3. Rub slices of Halloumi in chilli oil and grill until golden, I adore this squeaky cheese and the addition of chilli makes it a little more interesting
4. Add chunks of courgette, peppers and chicken to skewers and cook over the charcoal. Minimum effort but so tasty, you can also make a dessert version by layering marshmallows and strawberries – add a small tub of melted chocolate to dip in and you will be in food heaven.
5. Jacket potatoes and sweet potatoes both take well to the BBQ creating a crispy skin with a soft and fluffy interior.
6. Side dishes can make a BBQ really special. I recently made a maple and mustard potato salad – I will share the recipe on the blog soon. Other sides which always make my garden table include homemade slaw, flavoured mayos and a large green salad.
7. It’s summertime and you are in the garden so it would be wrong to not have a cocktail..right? I normally opt for a Mojito but lately I have been enjoying this Rum Punch and this Gin, Elderflower and Lime cocktail.

Here are a few BBQ recipes from my fellow food bloggers:

BBQ Thai Chicken Thighs from Fab Food 4 All

BBQ Koftas from Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary

BBQ Sauce from Natural Kitchen Adventures

Summer Country Burger from The Petite Cook

Sticky Pulled Chicken from Eats Amazing

Maple Tofu Skewers from Tin & Thyme

What do you love about BBQ season?

• This post was commissioned by Homebase and I have been compensated for my time.