G’day BBQ mates! My name is Andrew Jacoel Robertson and I have the honor of guest posting on this most awesome of BBQ pages. I am an Australian living in this beautiful land we know as Sweden. I am an entrepreneur, and in my spare time, I love to prepare food for friends and family (and myself). I was lucky enough to be one of the 10 finalists on Grillmästaren 2013, chosen out of 100 people. I had the pleasure of meeting Björn at the semi final and we have kept in touch ever since. Thanks Björn for letting me write on your site!
Andrew Jacoel Robertson behind the flame. Foto Ola Axman
What is a typical Australian BBQ? This is a question I get a lot of. Australia is such a diverse country, a melting pot of different cultures and our food culture is all the more richer for it. Our BBQ culture is constantly developing, drawing on influences from all around the world.
Growing up for me, it was more grilling than BBQ, although Australians will use the name BBQ (or barby) for both. Pork sausages, simple steaks and sallads were a staple at our kitchen table.
For my post today, I have grilled a rack of lamb with some home made mint sauce to give the guests something to nibble on whilst the main meal is being prepared, and then some BBQ Roasted Szechuan Pepper and Sticky Chicken to draw on the Asian influences in our BBQ culture. To be honest I was hoping to prepare some lamb rump (lammrostbiff) but despite going to 3 of my usual places to buy meat, they were all out. The rump is so flavoursome and tender and more economical than say the fillet or rack of lamb. Maybe for my next post I will manage to find it!
So, for the rack of lamb first trim off the excess fat.
Remove excess fat
Because this is going to be ”finger food”, I like to cut up the rack into individual chops.
Chop up the rack into ”chops”.
The mint sauce is so easy and once you have tasted this with lamb you will be addicted! Please try it, you won’t be disappointed.
So, here is a very simple, very tastey recipe
Grilling the lamb
Put your grill on up to a high temperature. Lighty brush some neutral tasing oil on the outside of the lamb and add lots of salt to each side. The oil helps the lamb get that brown grilled look.
Place lamb on the grill and and close the lid if you have one. Depending on the heat of the BBQ, I would grill for 1-2 minutes a side to get the lamb a nice medium.
Once these are done, add freshly ground pepper to taste and serve on a plate with your mint sauce for dipping! Enjoy. 🙂
BBQ Roasted Szechuan Pepper and Sticky Chicken
You may be interested to know that Szechuan pepper is not actual a pepper. Szechuan pepper actually consists of the pinkish-red dried outer husks of the prickly ash shrub. It is will known for its amazing aroma (not unlike lavender) as well as its ability to numb your lips 🙂
So for this recipe, you will need
A handful of szechuan pepper
Roasted sesame seed for garnish
600g chicken thighs
120 mls honey
120 mls soy sauce
120 mls hoisin
On a very hot fry pan roast the peppers to help develop the aroma. Then blitz these peppers in a blender until you get dust.
Combine your wet ingredients into a bowl. In a separate bowl, place your chicken thighs and add half the marinade to coat the chicken. The other half of the marinade you will use later when serving the chicken. Let the chicken sit in the fridge for an hour or so.
Turn your grill/BBQ up to high and place the chicken to the grill. I would recommend using a grill with a lid as the marinade will cause a lot of smoke and with a lid you trap the smoke and get that BBQ flavour!
Once done, serve immediately and add some more of the marinade, sprinkle the szechuan pepper and roasted sesame seeds. I would recommend warming the marinade to keep the chicken hot. Enjoy!
Please post in the comments what you think and send me photos of your result! Happy BBQ to you all 🙂
Jäger & Cherry Cokeribs Next Post:
Baconvävda ribs med coca-cola glaze
about the author: Andrew Jacoel-Robertson
