Summer is here and that means three things, dry trails, terrible tan lines, and most importantly BBQ’s. Around the world, cobwebbed BBQ’s are being dragged out of sheds and garages, dusted off for their month of glory.
It seems crazy to choose the hottest months of the year to stand round a roaring fire, but we just can’t get enough of a beer fuelled grill session. Gardens ring with drunken laughter as friends gather round to enthusiastically dine on carbonised sausages, burnt burgers while trying to poison each other with chicken tartare. No matter if you’re a grill virgin, or have the BBQ tong wielding skills of a samurai, our international team of ENDURO editors bring you their favourite showstoppers to make you King Of The Grill this summer.
Spiced Beer Butt Chicken
To me, the best BBQ dishes are the showstoppers, the ones that bring some theater, especially those that give you time for a quick ride or a chance to talk shit with buddies while it cooks. My favourite is Spiced Beer Butt Chicken, it’s so simple and the recipe starts with the best line to ever grace a cookbook! ‘Open a can of your favourite beer, drink half of it’ – boom! While drinking, get the BBQ started and heating up. To a bowl, add smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, garlic powder (a good tablespoon of each) and two tablespoons of olive oil, mix to a paste. Rub this paste all over the chicken inside and out then carefully insert the half-full beer can into the chicken cavity. Arrange the, now hot, BBQ coals so they are at the sides and not directly under the middle and carefully place the chicken in the centre standing up. Cover and leave for an hour and a half while you head out for a quick shred, or smash some more beers. While it cooks the beer will steam the chicken, moistening the meat and adding incredible flavour. It’s so simple, tastes amazing and everyone will think you’re a BBQ legend! Win win. [Trev Worsey UK Editor]
Veggie Breakfast Bap
While Trev shows off with his beer enema chicken, I’ll share the not-so-secret formula for amazing barbeque food: pick two complimentary ingredients, buy the best that you can find and cook simply. Think Chorizo and halloumi, bacon and scallops or lamb and sea salt. However, my current favourite is not only the easiest to prepare, cook and eat, it’s also happens to be vegetarian. Born from the need for an easy and nutritious breakfast while bikepacking also it’s a fantastic camping hack. To start, you need a big mushroom, the bigger the better! Portobello or field ‘shrooms work best. Take a sharp knife and cut the stalk out, ideally leaving a decent size hollow bowl in the centre of the fungi. Next spoon and spread two or three tablespoons of baked beans onto the ‘shroom, then get a nice, egg from a happy chicken and crack it straight into the middle of the mushroom.To cook, place over a grill, tin foil or even straight onto coals and cook until the yolk is cooked to your ideal consistency. It’s definitely easiest to eat in a bap or roll but it can be eaten straight from the fire with just your fingers if you don’t want the bread. Bear Grylls, eat your heart out! [Tom Corfield UK Editor]
The all time classic – Steak
Yes, it’s a classic, but you can make something good even better. When preparing a steak, the most important thing is to get the basics right. Life’s too short to eat bad food, so don’t buy cheap meat in the supermarket. Go to a butcher and treat yourself to premium meat from a happy cow, choose a great cut like a Porterhouse or Rib eye. Before you grill it, take time to prepare it properly. Rub the meat with olive oil with some thyme and pepper – no salt at this point! Heat up your grill to the max and throw it on. It’s crucial to not overcook it. Just 2-3 minutes per side should be enough – depending on the thickness of the steak. You can check if its done but pushing on the meat, does it feel as firm as the flesh under your thumb? If so, it should be medium rare and now is the perfect moment to take the steak off the grill. Put it on a plate, add some good fresh grinded salt and enjoy this legendary classic. The best side dishes for me are simply fresh potato salad and green leaves. When your steak is cooked to perfection, you don’t want to kill the amazing flavor with some heavy sauces – that’s a no go! [Christoph Bayer Chief Editor]
Plucked Cheese – Warning Highly Addictive
How about something completely different, you don’t even need to use the BBQ for this one. If you like to keep things simple and effective, here’s a recipe for a spread that guarantees zero leftovers … you need to like garlic though. Grab two packs of good quality cream cheese (350 g) and half a pack of high quality (full fat, low water content) butter (125 g) and roughly mix both in a bowl of your choosing using a fork. Peel 7–9 garlic cloves and press them into the mix using a garlic crusher. Pressing the garlic is crucial as it’s the only way it mixes properly with the cheese. Work the fork for a good amount of time until the mix is homogenous and looks fluffy. Put it in the fridge overnight to maximise permeation, decorate with fresh herb leafs of your choice and serve with any type of white bread, preferably fresh baguette. Just make sure that there’s enough to go around – otherwise your friendly BBQ will turn into a battle between two groups, those with garlic breath and those without. [Andreas Maschke German Editor]
Sides as the main attraction!
It’s not that I don’t like a good steak, but sometimes the sides are even better! I’m a huge fan of grilled vegetables. You can use eggplants, zucchini and peppers on the grill, and if you have a granite stone grill you can go crazy using tomatoes, sweet potato, broccoli and onions. Grilled vegetables are super simple to prepare, but just like any good piece of meat they love the company of a good marinade so don’t make the mistake of lazily throwing your vegetables on the grill. Prepare them a few hours in advance adding a serious amount of olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper or, if you’re in a hurry, just use a pre-packed French spice mix. Give the vegetables some time to soak in the flavours and oil. When putting the marinated vegetables on the grill, be careful you don’t burn your eyebrows off dripping oil onto the coals! If I had to choose between a steak and eggplants, I’d go for the latter. But the best option is to enjoy both! [Robin Schmitt, Founder]
This article is from ENDURO issue #034
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Words: diverse Photos: Valentin Rühl, Christoph Bayer
