Saturday, 21 March 2015 00:00
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Communal, smoky, delicious and best taken with more than a pinch of alcohol - barbeques have been enjoyed since time immemorial by people from all parts of the world.
Huddled around outdoor grills, mittens and tongs in hand, this leisure time activity has an amazing way of breaking the ice at group settings, especially trips in which one or more people are new to the group. And if you’re the man/woman behind the grill, more power to you for churning out the amazing food slathered in yummy sauces and getting people helping and eventually bonding!qw
Novice or veteran in the skills that go into this activity, there are a few fundamental things you need to keep in mind before planning a BBQ on vacation. Of course each country would have its own way of doing things but here’s a list of what a typical Sri Lankan BBQ on holidays would require.
Get the right meat
After taking into account your friends’ dietary norms, you can go ahead and add these essential meat to your menu.
Chicken wings (skin on) – An absolute essential part of the chicken which tastes wonderful once barbequed, especially when the sauce crusts up very close to the bone. This will have your party members licking their lips in delight!
Chicken thighs (skin on) – With more meatiness, chicken thighs are like the well needed oasis of chicken essence you’ll need at any BBQ. They do take time to cook through but the wait is worth it!
Chicken drumsticks (skin on) – Who can picture a BBQ without a guy holding a juicy drumstick in one hand and a beer in the other? Drumsticks are both easy to eat and delicious. Just like with all the other chicken parts, the skin gives that extra crunch and flavour from the sauce.
Pork – Get a cut of pork that is both juicy, soft and has a nice blend of fat in it. There’s nothing tastier than pork fat once BBQed. Pork chops and leg pork are some of the best choices to go for.
Minced beef – Minced beef can be the sort of side dish, the sprinkling of olive oil on a perfect salad. You can use them as patties (in which case you can cook them also over the grill) or even spoon in a generous helping over hot-dogs.
Sausages – Sausages are usually the meat everybody will want more and more of, mainly coz they absorb the flavours of the sauces and the smoky grill so well. You can never have too much of sausages!
Seafood: If you want to spice things up, you can add a few kinds of seafood to your net as well, like prawns and thick steaks such as tuna, swordfish and salmon which fare well on the grill.
Get the right sauces
What you’ll need for a mouth-watering BBQ sauce is tomato sauce or puree, chillie and garlic sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pineapple sauce (the Dad’s brand if possible which is available at all supermarkets), brown sugar and garlic paste. Combine them together and keep tasting till you get the right balance of flavours. You can add a dash of Tabasco sauce and lime as well. If you get some apple cider vinegar, you can add a bit of that in there too.
Your BBQ grill
Your BBQ grill is your workstation, your master class bench so to speak. It is an absolute must that you put a lot of thought into this. Your grill has to be cleaned thoroughly before use, slathered in oil and brought to a good and consistent heat before you lay the meaty goodness on top of it. Make sure to add a consistent layer of oil after each batch of meat. Also make sure enough smoke from the coals below reaches the meat, just to add that smoky texture. But don’t overdo it! Keep fanning the coals to make the heat spread evenly through them and for consistent temperature.
If you’re an especially neat person, lay down a carpet or some form of cloth below the grill so you won’t get any spills from the sauces on the floor. There’s nothing worse than cleaning up burnt and over dried sauces off surfaces after the fun is over!
Gas stove
Second in your work bench essentials is a good old gas stove (it can be a kerosene oil stove or even a mini-gas stove), to heat your coals. Of course you’d need to position this mini-workstation right next to your grill for easy transfer of heated coals to your grill. Your first batch of coals need to get to that right temperate of past furnace orange to almost charcoal colour before they are transferred to your grill. The next batches can be anywhere in between (a few beers down and you won’t be worrying about colour but you get what I’m saying!)
Utensils
There are some absolute must utensils any BBQ needs. They are:
Mittens – From transferring hot coals on to your grill, moving your grill to make way for the coals to picking up flaming pieces of chicken that accidentally slip from your grasp, mittens are an absolute must if you want to retain the normalcy of your fingers till the next day.
Tongs – Again for reasons of heat and also sanitary cooking, tongs are a must.
Paper cups and paper plates – You can never run short of paper cups or paper plates, mainly because most people will eventually forget where they kept their last cup/plate!
Napkins – From wiping embarrassing spills on your t-shirt to strategically covering your mouth while excavating a bone piece from in between your teeth, napkins comes in all types of handy.
Serving trays – Once you get the grill going, you won’t have time to go running for dishes to put the grilled meat in. So make sure you have enough serving trays washed and wiped right beside you.
Veges
It’s not everybody who’d look for that side dish of vegetables that go well with a BBQ but you just might find a few. Eggplants, corn and tomatoes are some of the most favourites. You can either grill them whole and plain or flavour them with butter, salt or sauces!
Garlic bread
Garlic bread will stand alone in all its glory and not fail to impress, if done the correct way. Melt some butter and combine the garlic paste with it, making sure to infuse both well. Spread on bread slices and place on grill, making sure to carefully turn over once done. Yum!
And finally, make the BBQ a group activity. Assign tasks to those willing and before you know it, you’ll be on your way to the most pleasant of experiences.
(Trekurious together with DailyFT explores Sri Lanka for the curious traveller. Trekurious works with talented individuals and great brands to create amazing experiential tours, activities, and events in Sri Lanka. You can find out more at www.Trekurious.com.)
