Wow! A quick blog as we have just had chance to try the Jack Daniel’s BBQ Sauce and I could not wait to share our verdict!

It is ace… You may remember that we road-tested the Weber BBQ sauce and one of the major plus points was that it had a more original/home- made taste to it.

Well, the Jack Daniel’s BBQ Sauce also has this by the bucket load.

We had it over butterflied chicken and although we only had 20 mins or so marinade time, it did the job perfectly.

As you would expect from a Jack Daniels product, it has the famous kick to it, but nowhere near as harsh as the Bourbon (or is it Whisky?).

Available in packs of three large bottles from Amazon for just £13.35 you still have time to order some today and get it in time for the weekend, which we are reliably informed by the weather people is going to be another warm one.

At this rate, we will run out of BBQ Sauce’s to road-test, but so far, this one is neck and neck with the Weber BBQ Sauce and definitely one to try.

Popularity: unranked [?]

The previous weekend saw us going for an “away-day” BBQ at Cotswold Park and Beach. Being tasked with BBQ’ing comes with enough pressure when you do it on home turf, so doing it away from home adds extra pressure.

Remembering the essentials is pretty easy, i.e. Charcoal, Meat and some BBQ Tong’s but it is all the silly BBQ gadgets and gizmo’s that make a BBQ go smoothly, so here are the iLoveMyBBQ.com Top 5 Essential Gadgets, Tips and Recipes for away BBQ’s.

Top 5 Tips

- Make sure you take matches or a lighter. The Park and beach we went to last weekend did not sell matches or lighters for Health and Safety reasons. Mad I know… luckily (given our group are all none smokers) one of our friends had a blow torch in the back of his 4×4 (I don’t know why either, you will have to ask him).

- Take a BBQ Mitt (Weber, £9.70 Amazon). When using someone else’s BBQ or an industrial BBQ you never know how it will work or what will need moving at a crucial point. Having a BBQ Mitt nearby can prevent any nasty food burns and also enable you to “work the grill” a little easier.

- Have a bottle of water nearby. This is an essential one for a number of reasons. 1, to immediately apply to any rogue burns you may endure. 2, To prevent any rogue sparks or bit of charcoal causing the nearby grassland or woods to catch alight. 3, it gets hot!

- Take a Kilner Jar with some Cajun Rub in it. Some away-day BBQ’s call on visitors and guest to bring their own meat. Whilst you should never be so rude as to just shake some of your rub onto their plain meat, you may want to encourage them to have a bit of extra flavour. BBQ’ing is about sharing remember

- Don’t forget a sharp knife. Now, I don’t really know the laws about driving around with a kitchen knife in yiour boot, but I am sure that if the police see the rest of your BBQ equipment they will apply a bit of common sense. A sharp kitchen knife is essential to make sure food is cooked and to (as funny as it sounds), cut up people’s strings of sausages! ps, a simple veg or pairing knife will do. Avoid the Crocodile Dundee knives!

Those are my Top 5 Essential Tips for BBQ Away Matches… why not share yours below in the comments section.

Popularity: unranked [?]

BBQ’ing is all about sharing recipes and I make no secret of the fact that we have hundreds of books that we use to get ideas and inspiration from.

With this in mind, here are my favourite, Top 5 BBQ Books…

1. Blistering Barbecues (£12.71 Amazon)
By Kate Weatherell, Nigel Tunnicliff and Time Reeves. I love love love this book. This is the book that introduced me to BBQ Pizza’s! The people behind this book have their own Pro BBQ Cooking Company.

2. The BBQ Bible (£23.94 Amazon)

By Steven Raichlen. one of the best Xmas present I have ever had. Worth it just for the BBQ rub recipes and more exotic meat dishes.

3. Weber’s Complete Barbecue Book (£9.43 Amazon)

Weber is a leading BBQ product and sauce company so having their book is a must have.

4. BBQ 25 (£8.95 Amazon)

Adam Perry and part of the Richard and Judy 2007 Book Club. A really interesting, back to basics BBQ book. As you can guess, it is 25 classic BBQ recipes.

5. Jamie’s America (£14.99 Amazon)

A brilliant book that you would not initially realise is a BBQ book. I absolutely love it and it is packed with unusual, but traditional, American BBQ recipes.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Many people arrive at this site looking for quick and easy BBQ Recipes and this is one of the easiest.

This is a Steak and Veg roll with a twist, the twist is that the veg is shredded thinly and packed inside the steak. It takes minutes to prepare and minutes to cook.

Ingredients needed for the Steak and Vegetable roll BBQ Recipe (feeds 4-6)

4 Steaks (Rump, Sirloin, up to you, 8oz)

3 Medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced (length ways – long thin batons)

3 peppers (any colour) thinly sliced

2 Onions thinly sliced

A load of soaked in water cocktail sticks

Step By Step Guide to Making the Steak and Vegetable Rolls BBQ Recipe

1. Prepare all the veg

2. Flatten the steak with a meat hammer or rolling pin and cut in half width ways

3. Arrange a selection of each of the veg along the edge of one of the halves of steak and roll

4. Secure the rolls using the cocktail sticks

5. Grill on a medium heat BBQ for 5-10mins, or to your choice

6. Slice in half to serve…

6. Enjoy…

A quick and simple BBQ Recipe that we hope you enjoy.

Popularity: 3% [?]

As we near the official start of the 2011 BBQ season we are getting a load of questions about Barrel BBQ’s. There is no doubt in my mind that were we forced to not use a Kettle BBQ we would go for a barrel style charcoal bbq.

The ones with the lids have always been a firm favourite of mine, largely because they generate a load of heat and ensure food is cooked thoroughly and quickly.

The lids also mean that, in theory, you can roast meat in there, maybe the beer can up the bum chicken, or even the herb crusted lamb recipes. The BBQ recipes for these two meals can be found in the, erm, BBQ recipes section of the site.

Anyway, in light of the questions from readers about Barrel BBQ’s, I have had a look across the web to find the best ones currently available.

At this time of year the choices are limited so I have stuck to Amazon as they are reliable, cheap and great quality.

First up is the Budweiser Barrel BBQ. It is the Landmann Budweiser Big Barrel Charcoal BBQ and it costs just £89.99. It has a massive 71x35cm grill, pimp my ride esque chrome grills and carries the famous Budweiser Logo.

Second is the Lifestyle Half Barrel Charcoal BBQ. This is a half barrell BBQ but it comes with a huge windshield meaning that the heat is kept in and your coals will cook for longer. Costing just £69.99Th this is a real bargain for a BBQ of such size and stature.

The third and final Barrel BBQ is a portable on called the Premier BC99035. A catchy title! Portable BBQ’s were all the rage in 2009 and two BBQ seasons on it looks like they are still in demand. A cute silver “desktop Barrel BBQ” that you can use anywhere that permits the grilling of meat. Costing just £34.99, this is a bargain BBQ.

Popularity: unranked [?]

The lovely people from Young’s brewery have been kind enough to share a great BBQ recipe with us that incorporates one of their range of Bitters.

The recipe is BBQ Spatchcocked Poussin and it not only tastes great but is also brilliantly easy to make. For those not familiar with how to spatchcock a chicken or poussin, we have done a handy spatchcock guide here.

To read more about Young’s range of bitters and where you can find your local supplier, visit their funky website.

Moving on, here is the recipe for BBQ Spatchcocked Poussin Recipe

Ingredients:
Serves 4

4 poussin (buy ready spatchcocked if preferred)

Marinade:
1 bottle Young’s Bitter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp clear honey
1 tsp paprika
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
2 star anise, crushed
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp cornflour

To Prepare

place a poussin breast side down, on a board for raw meat use. Using poultry shears or strong kitchen scissors, cut along each side of the backbone and remove it. Either snip the wishbone with the shears, or push down on the wishbone to snap it. Snip of any excess bits of skin, the wing tips and any other ragged bits.

To keep them in shape insert wooden or short metal skewers through the bird, diagonally in a criss-cross shape. Place in a large glass or china dish.

For the marinade, pour the Young’s beer into a large jug, once it has settled, add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together. Pour half of the marinade over the poussin reserving the rest for the sauce. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Bring the poussin out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Pour the marinade into a pan, boil rapidly until reduced to about 100ml, this will be used to baste the poussin while cooking.

To finish the sauce, strain the reserved marinade into a clean pan, add the tomato ketchup and sugar, bring to the boil. Blend the cornflour with a little water, stir into the sauce and simmer to thicken.

Prepare the barbecue, lightly oil the rack and place the poussin bone side down first. Grill for 5 minutes, turning every 3-4 minutes and brushing with the baste. Time to cook through will depend on size of the birds and intensity of the heat from the barbecue, should be approximately 15-20 minutes. Test by inserting the point of a small knife. Transfer to a serving platter.

Reheat the sauce before serving.

Have you tried this recipe? If so, why not share your thoughts below?

Popularity: unranked [?]