Fire up the BBQ
Make the most of the warmer weather and move dinner outdoors with these brilliant recipes
bbq buffalo chicken with blue cheese slaw
Cayenne-based, vinegary hot sauce such as Frank’s RedHot is the secret to buffalo chicken. You could also barbecue a classic batch of wings before tossing them in the sauce for a finger-licking feast. Traditionally served with celery sticks and blue cheese sauce for dunking, we’ve combined those elements in a standout slaw to cut through the chilli heat. If you’d rather get ahead, cook the spatchcock chicken in the oven and finish off on the barbecue.
1 HOUR 20 MINUTES + MARINATING | SERVES 4 | EASY
whole chicken 1.2kg
MARINADE
cider vinegar 4 tbsp
olive oil 2 tbsp
garlic 1 clove, crushed
black peppercorns ground to make 1/2 tsp
sea salt flakes 1 tbsp
cayenne pepper 1 tsp
smoked paprika 1 tbsp
BUFFALO SAUCE
butter 50g
garlic 1 clove
cayenne-based hot sauce (we used Frank’s RedHot) 148ml BLUE CHEESE SLAW
hard blue cheese 75g
soured cream 100g
mayonnaise 50g
english mustard 1 tsp
lemon a squeeze of juice
celery 4-6 sticks, shredded
green pepper 1, finely sliced
red onion ½, finely sliced
chives ½ a small bunch, finely chopped
1 Using a pair of kitchen scissors, flip the chicken over so it’s breast-side down and cut along either side of the backbone to remove it. Turn the chicken over so it’s skin-side up and open it out. Press on both sides with the palm of your hand to flatten.
2 Whisk together the marinade ingredients, then massage into both sides of the chicken. Put, skin-side down, in a non-reactive dish, cover and chill for 1 hour while you light the barbecue (don’t marinate any longer than 2 hours or the vinegar could over-tenderise the meat). Heat the barbecue for 40 minutes1 hour before cooking to allow the large flames to die down and coals to turn ashen – this will prevent flare-ups and allow you to control the heat, rather than burning the food.
3 Remove the chicken from the marinade and transfer to the barbecue. Cook, skin-side down, in the centre of the barbecue over a medium heat for 10 minutes until golden and crisp, then flip using a large pair of tongs and transfer to the indirect heat on the side of the grill. Cover with the barbecue’s lid or a scrunched-up piece of foil and cook for 40-50 minutes or until the juices run clear or the centre of the chicken reads 70C on a meat thermometer.
4 Meanwhile, make the slaw. Crumble the blue cheese into a large bowl, breaking up any large chunks with a fork. Stir in the soured cream, mayo and mustard. Season and add a squeeze of lemon juice. If you prefer a creamier slaw, blitz until smooth using a hand blender. Fold in the celery, pepper and onion. Scatter with the chives and chill until needed.
5 Heat the buffalo sauce ingredients in a small pan on the hob or barbecue until smooth and shiny. Remove the chicken to a platter or plate and generously brush with the buffalo sauce. Rest for 10 minutes before serving with any remaining buffalo sauce and the blue cheese slaw.
PER SERVING 698 kcals | fat 54.7G saturates 19.8G | carbs 5.7G | sugars 4.4G fibre 2.8G | protein 44.4G | salt 6.5G
cook’s notes
Rainy day? Cook in the oven at 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 for 40-50 minutes or until the juices run clear. Brush with some of the buffalo sauce in the final 5 minutes of cooking.
A one-pan full English means less washing up, which is perfect for cooking outdoors when you’re further from the sink. The smokiness from the fire adds a depth to these beans that a full English at the table can’t compare with. 25 MINUTES | SERVES 2 | EASY
vegetable oil 1 tbsp, plus a drizzle
chipolata sausages 4
bacon 4 rashers
mushrooms 4 large, sliced or torn into pieces
cannellini beans 400g tin, undrained
plum tomatoes 400g tin
garlic granules 1 tsp (see cook’s notes)
dried thyme ½ tsp
smoked paprika 1 tsp
brown sugar 1-2 tsp
worcestershire sauce a few dashes
Tabasco a few dashes (optional)
eggs
1 Put a skillet or heavy-based, deep frying pan on a trivet, grate or tripod over the medium flames of a campfire. Or, put the skillet in the cooler coals of a barbecue if you feel comfortable doing so, but make sure the handle is easily accessible and heatproof so you can remove it quickly if the pan gets too hot. Alternatively, cook on the hob over a medium heat.
2 Heat the oil in the skillet, then fry the sausages for 5 minutes until golden. Push the sausages to one side, add the bacon to the other and cook until golden and crisp. When both the sausages and bacon are cooked through, remove them to a plate.
3 Add the mushrooms and a drizzle more oil to the pan, and fry, scraping up any bacon fat, until golden. Remove to the plate with the sausages and bacon. Tip the cannellini beans and the liquid from the can into the pan along with the plum tomatoes, garlic and thyme. Bring to a simmer, breaking up the tomatoes roughly with a spoon. Move the pan closer to the flames or turn up the heat, if needed, to reach a simmer. Add the paprika, sugar, worcestershire sauce and some seasoning, and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the beans have reduced slightly and thickened. Nestle the sausages into the beans, make two gaps in the mixture using the back of a spoon, and crack in the eggs. Cover with foil, a tray or the pan lid and cook for 5-8 minutes or until the eggs have set. Top with the bacon and serve with extra worcestershire sauce and a few dashes of Tabasco, if you like.
PER SERVING 850 kcals | fat 53.9G | saturates 16.7G | carbs 36.6G sugars 12.6G | fibre 11.9G | protein 48.7G | salt 4.5G
cook’s notes
Garlic granules and dried thyme are campfire essentials. They’re kept at room temperature, which means more space in your cool box for drinks, and no preparation means no garlicky fingers. If you’re cooking at home, feel free to use fresh herbs and garlic, but for outdoor skillet breakfasts, dried herbs are much easier. If needed, make a small parcel of measured-out herbs so you don’t have to measure anything fireside.