Kevin Dundon has some tips for barbecues in the rain, he tells Catherine Cleary
This summer the diehards have fired up the barbecue and gone out with fish slice in one hand and umbrella in the other. But fairweather barbecuers are feeling a little deprived. No smokey sausage with lashings of ketchup, none of that pungent drip and hiss of steak fat dropped on white-hot coals. A little bit of summer has been missing and this holiday weekend is the time to make amends.
Dunbrody House chef Kevin Dundon runs day-long barbecue courses at his country house hotel in Arthurstown, Co Wexford. He even has ideas on how to get that barbecue flavour without having to step outdoors. "Just use an old roasting tray and put it on the heat of the stove with some hickory wood chips until the chips start to smoulder," he says, "then put it in the bottom of the oven, cook your meat on a hot griddle and put the cooked meat in the oven above the smoking wood chips."
Another tip he picked up was using apple juice to steam and flavour pork or chicken as it cooks on the barbecue. "Cook your meat as normal until it is nearly done. Fill a disposable tin foil tray with apple juice and sit it on top of the coals and then put your grill over the tray and your meat on top and brown it on all sides for about two minutes each side."
And what about those stereotypes about men and barbecues? "Yes it's manly but the barbecue is a great place to stand and chat with the lads and drink a beer. When I lived in Canada we would barbecue when it was minus 35 degrees outdoors."
To avoid undercooking food, Dundon recommends poaching meat before finishing it on the barbecue. "Poach chicken legs or sausages on the stove top. Then cool and marinade them, ready for finishing on the barbecue."
One of his barbecue favourites is scallops kebabed on a rosemary twig with prawns. "Marinade them with a little olive oil, lemon, flat leaf parsley and salt and pepper and then barbecue for just a minute on each side."
Another favourite is suckling pig. "A lot of barbecues have a rotating spit on them and it's just a matter of cooking it slowly for about four hours. We did it for both our girls' christenings. Suckling pigs are readily available. You just need to give your butcher notice. I keep it really simple, using salt and pepper inside and out, and then tie the pig onto the spit and let it cook slowly. As it cooks, baste it with a marinade of honey, tarragon, white wine and olive oil."
KEVIN'S BARBECUED LAMB BURGER
1kg minced lamb
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 heaped tsp ground coriander
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
1 heaped tsp cumin
1 egg
A good handful of Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Dijon mustard
Tomato relish (optional)
200g tomatoes, chopped
100ml white wine vinegar
50g white sugar
Chopped chilli, to taste
3-4 allspice berries, crushed
To serve:
6 white buns, lightly toasted
Lettuce leaves
Tomato slices
Sliced gherkins
Heat the vegetable oil in a small frying pan. Add the red onion and fry gently until it has softened. In a large bowl, mix together the minced lamb, fried onion, cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Break in the egg. Add the Parmesan and a dollop of mustard and mix well. Shape the mixture into six even-sized patties, using a clingfilm-lined jar lid or dish to get the shape. Chill the burgers until firm (two to three hours). The burgers won't keep chilled for longer than 12 hours, but can be frozen.
While the burgers are chilling, make the relish. Put the tomatoes, white wine vinegar, sugar, chilli and allspice in a heavy-based saucepan. Bring to the boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring now and then, until reduced and thickened to a jam-like consistency. This will take about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Barbecue the chilled burgers until cooked. Serve in lightly toasted white buns, with layers of lettuce, tomato and sliced gherkin, and the tomato relish.
BARBECUED BANANA IN KAHLUA WITH VANILLA ICE-CREAM Serves 4
4 bananas (peeled and sliced lengthways)
50g brown sugar
40g butter
100mls Kahlua
4 scoops of vanilla ice-cream
Place each banana in the centre of a medium-sized square of tinfoil and top with brown sugar, butter and Kahlua. Close the tinfoil like an envelope, so it is sealed to keep all the flavours inside. Put it on the barbecue for five minutes. Remove from the BBQ and open with a sissors. Drop in the ice-cream and serve the banana in the tinfoil.
u Dunbrody Country House Hotel & Spa hosts one-day barbecue courses at its cookery school on August 9th and 17th. The cost is €150 including lunch. www.dunbrodyhouse.com, 051-389600