A sort of madness descends as we act differently from the way we do the rest of the year.
The thing is, we do it every year. It’s like a tradition.
But in terms of food, it seems that there aren’t many set traditions any more.
On a quick (and highly unscientific) study of conversations I’ve had recently, it’s clear that no two households do "it" the same way.
So here is what I decided. Sort of like a scattergun approach, I’ll include tips about several things in the hope that I’ll touch on something that might help you in whatever form of celebration and festivities take place in your world.
Barbecues
If I had to pick my top three tips for barbecue season, in no particular order, I would have to go for:
- Being prepared — By that I mean getting as much done before people arrive as possible.
Make the salads, marinades, sauces etc. Make sure that the fire is lit well in advance of when you want to use it.
It turns out that in barbecue season there is a spike in food poisoning so it is important to remember food safety.
Use separate boards, knives and plates for raw and cooked meats.
You want everyone to remember your barbecue for the fun, not the aftermath.
- Know when to stop — There is a saying I love about cooking, which is that "everyone can cook", the trick is knowing when to stop.
For me this means two things.
If you can’t make a salad or fry an egg then you may want to stop planning the barbecue event of the year. And even if you are comfy on the grill, there are limits on how much people can eat.
- Know how to treat the meat — Remember to remove the meat from the fridge a while before you’re cooking to remove the chill. Then don’t squish the meat on to the grill and squeeze out the juices.
If you’re not comfy with the prod method for telling when it’s at medium-rare rather than burnt to a crisp, get a cooking thermometer.
Finally, please, please, please remember to rest the meat after cooking.
Your diners will thank you for it.
Leftovers
Rather than just relying on sandwiches filled with miscellaneous leftovers, or sad plates of microwaved remnants of meals past, there are other things that you can do with the leftovers that make them feel like new again.
Use them as a topping for pizzas. Mix them through a risotto. Open a tin or two of chopped tomatoes and add in some chopped leftover vegetables and meat, thicken, and use as a pasta sauce.
Make them into a pie filling by adding in some thickened sauce (be it cheese sauce style or tomato based), bake them and keep them in the freezer for a quick meal option.
Enjoy the season and let’s hope the weather is good and sunny.
- Kevin Gilbert is a Dunedin city councillor and co-owner of Gilbert’s Fine Food in Dunedin.
If you have a question, email him at: kevin@gilbertsfinefood.co.nz
For the full version of this column, visit www.thestar.co.nz
