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.

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Going through the old iLoveMyBBQ.com pics for the site the other day I came across my favourite BBQ pic of all time.

Not entirely sure why I love this one so much, think it is the sunset and also the pink spotty apron!

It was taken during a BBQ at the Clims!

What is your favourite BBQ pic? Email it over to me at andy@petoba.com and the best ones will get on the site…

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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.

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So Friday is all about the BBQ Loving for me. Getting ready for firing up the BBQ, planning what animal is going to be gracing the grill and what salads will be made but not actually touched by my own fair lips.

We are off on an away-day BBQ this weekend at Cotswold Water Park with a load of friends and currently planning what to take with us. By The Way; Cotswold Water Park is great because they have full on BBQ hire service. For the Win!

Anyway, on our way over we are going to be picking up the meat for BBQ which leads me nicely on to my Friday loving… this week it goes to Over Farm Market in Gloucestershire.

For those of you reading this in far flung places this will mean very little, but for anyone Midlands or South West based, Over Farm Park is well worth a visit. Aside from the brilliant farm shop, amazing team working there (more of that in a sec) they also have an actual working farm where you can go and feed the animals (including a Buffalo).

If that isn’t enough to tempt you, when you consider that the Country’s most well respected County Magazine, Cotswold Life no less, has recently given it the Best Farm Shop Award then you should be racing to get there.

Going back to the shop, it stocks traditional fruit and veg (dull), some brilliant local ales, wines and cider (exciting) and my favourite; it has a brilliant meat counter (mega exciting!).

Pretty much all of the meat consumed by the iLoveMyBBQ.com tribe comes from Over Farm Market and having tried so much it is difficult to pick one thing out… but if I had to, their Chinese Marinade Pork Steaks are probably my favourite.

Situated on the A40, by the Toby Carvery and only a little distance from the M5, Over Farm Market is a great day out.

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Us BBQ Grillers, we are under a heap of pressure! Getting the food ready, getting it cooked, knowing when it is cooked and making sure everyone gets fed without a trace of food-poisoning.

I thought I would answer the age old BBQ Question of

“When do I know when my BBQ Meat is cooked” be it BBQ Chicken, BBQ Sausages, BBQ Burgers, or even BBQ Steak.

So here is a little guide, nothing definitive so don’t be trying to sue me if things still go wrong

BBQ Chicken

If a chicken breast or alike, there is a good chance that it will have some form of marinade on it that will stop you being able to see if the juice coming out of it are running clear (sign of being cooked), so I usually cheat and cut into the thickest end of the chicken breast to see if it is pink or white inside. If white, it is ready! I keep the one I have cut into for myself so no one can see my sneaky handy work.

If a whole chicken or alike the chances are you will not have put a marinade on it so you can simply prick with a fork once the cooking time has elapsed and if the juice runs clear it is usually a sign that it is cooked.

Remember, you cannot eat raw or pink chicken!

BBQ Burgers

Some burgers are ok to eat with a teency bit of pink inside, especially if they are made from steak mince or alike. The better the quality of the mince the more chance there is that you can (once again) prick them with a fork and if the juice runs clear, they are done.

The teency bit of pink only works with steak/beef mince though remember.

BBQ Sausages

These can be a real pain in the bottom! I always find that the better quality pork sausages take a bit longer because of the higher meat content. I pretty much always end up cutting the end of one in half to look inside and make sure there are no pink bits left. Once again, I keep the one I have cut open for myself so that no one can see I have cheated.

BBQ Steak

Similar to burgers, prick with a fork and if the juice is clear, they are done. Remember though, some people like steaks to be rare so check first. If you see blood starting to rise to the top of the steak when cooking, that is usually a sign that they are medium and nearly done.

Hope this helps!

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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.

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Side dishes are a really simple way to add something extra to your BBQ. One of our favourites is the Tzatziki (tsatziki). Most people buy these ready made from the supermarket but there is really no need as it is very simple to make.

So here you go, a step by step guide to making your own brilliant BBQ Side Dish, Tzatziki…

Tzatziki is best served with Lamb BBQ dishes…

Ingredients to Serve 4-6

1 Cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped into small-ish chunks

300ml Natural Greek Yoghurt, stirred well to make smooth

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

7 Spring Onions finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

Handful of mint leaves, chopped up

Step by Step Guide to Making Tzatziki BBQ Side Dish

1. Place all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix together well

2. Place in serving dish, cover, refridgerate

3. Done, it really is that simple!

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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?

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We have had some cracking BBQ recipe and BBQ tips and tricks sent in over the none BBQ season so I thought it would be a great idea to share them with everyone…

Thanks to everyone who sent in their suggestions:

S Whittington suggested this for a great BBQ Burger Recipe:
When making homemade burgers after you have added all the ingredients before making them into patties mix it all up with lots of tomato Sauce to hold them together,the taste is awesome!

Toniq suggested this for a great BBQ Pork Chops Recipe:
Be adventureous! Don’t forget to experiment! We often do Pork chops cubed with aubergine, courgette, pepper chuks, onions on soaked skewers, we alternate between, honey, mustard with cheese marinade to sweet chilli marinade!!! We accompany with some stuffed chiili pork rice peppers which are finished off on the barbie!

Natalie suggested the following Sweet potato BBQ Recipe idea:
Put some sweet potatoes wrapped in foil in the coals while you are cooking your meat – they go really well with ribs, steak and gammon and only take about 20 to 30 minutes.

Mr Crump suggested the following BBQ Cooking Tip for a great BBQ smell:
If you tie a bunch of herbs such as rosemary, sage, mint, on the outside of your BBQ as it warms up it gives off a lovely aroma.

Joolsy suggested a great Pork BBQ Recipe Tip:
Rub your pork with some garlic infused oil beforehand [ed - short and too the point!]

Bella had this brilliant Pork and Apple Stuffing Kebabs BBQ Recipe
The best way to have pork is to make pork and apple stuffing kebabs, just marinate the pork in 1/2pint of cider with 2tablespoons of honey for at least a hour {over night is better for flavour}make stuffing as per the pkt and leave to cool.
When ready for the bbq slice 4 apples and 4onions both cut into quarters {cut out core} and then roll stuffing in to balls, then arrange on a skewer {if using wooden ones the soak in water a hour before hand to stop it burning}.
Arrange pork apple stuffing and onion on the skewer{you can also add mushrooms or peppers} and then bbq for 15/20 mins turning often.
Theses are yummy yummy

Sarah suggested this nice sounding BBQ Pork Recipe idea:
I love marinating pork overnight in apple juice before bbq-ing – makes it sooo tender!

Ami had this tip for cooking BBQ Ribs
Never ever boil ribs first. Everyone always tells you that and effectively you’re making a broth, taking out all the flavour from the ribs!!
What you really want to do is sort of roast the meat. BBQ is a low heat method of roasting, and by dry roasting will concentrate the great flavors of the meat. Grill them slowly and lowly!

Kelly had this veggie BBQ Recipe idea:
I marinate Quorn with lemon, tandoori paste and yogurt and the BBQ and bbq a roti or Chapati, I do the same for my husband with chicken, it’s really tasty and much healthier than a takeaway.

We have had hundreds and hundreds of tips like these so please keep them coming and we will do another batch of BBQ recipe tips, tricks, recipes and BBQ advice shortly.

What are your thoughts? Why not post a comment below?

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Well, how was your winter? We had a manic one, what with the new addition to the family but hey, the new BBQ 2010 Season is nearly upon us and I am sure you are just as excited as we are.

This year we are planning to really take the site to new heights, largely because of the unprecedented success of last year. During the peak BBQ months of July, Aug and Sept we got over 1 million people coming to the site looking for the latest BBQ Tips, BBQ Tools, BBQ Recipes and basically, some BBQ fun.

We have spent much of the close season finding new and exciting BBQ recipes and BBQ gadgets and even found some really funky new meat providers who do a wide range of exotic meats…. but more of that to come.

This year we want to hear more about what you are getting up to with your BBQ’s, what BBQ recipes are your favourites and what BBQ tools are your favourites.

There are a few ways you can get in touch, hello@iLoveMyBBQ.com or http://twitter.com/ilovemybbq (@iLoveMyBBQ)

So come on, let us know what you want to see and how we can make the site (that has become the UK’s largest Independent BBQ site – meaning we can say what we want and are not tied to promoting any company!) even better.

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