As we step into the long weekend - our first since way back in June, when the days were short and cold - we know exactly what to do. Yes, Labour Weekend, it's the time to drag out the barbecue.
Throughout the country, the tantalising smoky waft of barbecue cooking drifts on the wind, the alchemy of wood, smoke and meat infusing our thoughts with ideas of holidays, freedom, lazy long evenings and relaxed outdoor gatherings. We've been dreaming about this moment. Summer is coming.
No other device symbolises summer's freedoms quite like a barbecue. But, for all the speed and ease of a gas barbecue, it's often difficult to get that highly desirable smoky flavour into the food.
Inject an authentic barbecue taste to gas-cooked barbecue food simply by placing a small metal dish with a couple of tablespoons of untreated wet woodchips or smoker sawdust on the grill over the heat before you start cooking the food. Once it starts to smoke, add the food, cover the barbecue and, after just a few minutes, the resulting smoke and aroma will permeate whatever you are cooking to add that wonderful "real barbecue" flavour.
If there's one thing home barbecuers often manage to get wrong, it's cooking their food at too high a temperature. Yes, the barbecue needs to be hot before you start cooking but not so hot that the meat chars on the outside before it's cooked in the middle. If I'm cooking a butterfly chicken or a butterfly leg of lamb, I will often set it on a thick bed of rosemary (this acts as a heat buffer and also achieves the same effect in delivering a smoky aromatic barbecue flavour as woodchips and sawdust).
Fattier cuts of meat and things like chicken wings often cause flare-ups when their hot fat drips down on to the heat source, so for these it's best to use a lower heat. Managing heat is the key to preventing flare-ups and charring.
If you are working over coals, stack the hot coals to one side or around the edge of the barbecue and cook the food in the indirect heat on the other side or the middle. On a gas barbecue with a cover, light the hobs on the outside and leave the middle element unlit.
Sear your meats over the hot direct heat and then move over away from direct heat and cover with the lid. In this way, you can treat the barbecue more like an oven and cook large tougher cuts of meat long and slow.
Butterfly lamb leg with Greek lemon and rosemary marinade
This easy barbecue recipe also works really well with venison, beef or chicken.
Ready in 30 mins + marinating
Serves 6-8
1.2kg boneless butterflied lamb leg
Parsley leaves or sprigs, to garnish
Greek lemon and rosemary marinade
½ cup lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp chopped rosemary leaves or 1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp oregano leaves or 1 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
Combine the ingredients for marinade in a clean plastic bag or bowl. Add the lamb and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
Preheat a barbecue hotplate. Place lamb on barbecue and, if possible, weight down with a clean brick or rock covered in tinfoil. ( this pressure helps cook the lamb evenly). Cook, turning once, until golden brown all over and medium-rare inside (about 8-9 minutes each side).
Transfer to a carving board, cover with baking paper and a clean tea towel and allow to rest for about 10 minutes before carving across the grain. Season to taste with extra salt and pepper and garnish with parsley to serve.
Balsamic and rosemary barbecue chicken
If you're cooking for a crowd or worry about the nibbles not being cooked thoroughly, place them in a pot with their marinade and half a cup of water, cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. They can also be steamed for 10 minutes or microwaved on full power for 10 minutes. If not using at once, cool, cover and chill. When ready to eat, grill or barbecue for about 5 minutes each side just until golden all over.
Ready in 30 minutes + marinating
Serves 4-6
1kg chicken nibbles (approx)
1 fat clove garlic, crushed to a paste with 1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves, plus extra sprigs to serve
Flaky salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a clean plastic bag or bowl. Seal or cover and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
When ready to cook, preheat a little oil on a barbecue hotplate, or preheat a grill. Cook chicken over medium heat until golden all over and cooked through (20-25 minutes). To serve, pile on a plate and garnish with rosemary sprigs.
Chimichurri grilled steak
Cheaper beef cuts such as hanger steak, flatiron, flank and skirt have loads of flavour and are excellent barbecued, provided you don't overcook them beyond medium-rare . Always slice the meat very thinly across the grain to serve.
Ready in 20 minutes + marinating
Cook time 10-12 mins
Serves 4
2 x 300g pieces skirt, flank or hangar steak
2 Tbsp orange juice
½ cup parsley or coriander leaves
Chimichurri marinade/sauce
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 spring onion, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp each olive oil and wine vinegar
2 tsp each smoked paprika, ground cumin and black pepper
1 tsp each dried oregano, soft brown sugar and salt
½ cup each coriander and parsley leaves
Place steak in a bowl or clean plastic bag. To make the marinade, whizz all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Mix half through the steak and marinate for at least 1 hour, or up to 12 hours in the fridge.
Up to 1 hour before serving, make a serving sauce by adding orange juice and extra parsley or coriander to the other half of the marinade and whizzing until smooth.
Preheat barbecue and cook meat over medium-high heat (about 5-6 minutes each side for medium-rare). Rest for 5-10 minutes then thinly angle-slice and top with the serving sauce.
Tomato and olive salad
If you don't have time to make the Mediterranean dressing you can just thin down some pesto to a drizzling consistency with a little extra virgin olive oil. I often toss grilled chicken, prawns, fish or squid through this salad to make a light summer lunch or dinner.
Ready in 15 mins
Serves 4-6
600g (about 8 medium) tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges, or cherry tomatoes, halved
16-20 pitted kalamata olives
½ small red onion, very finely sliced
120g rocket leaves
¼ cup Mediterranean dressing (see below)
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
When ready to serve, combine all the salad ingredients in a serving bowl. Drizzle with dressing, season to taste with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
Mediterranean dressing
This is such a useful dressing. Toss through pasta or rice, over grilled vegetables, green beans, or meats or in any salad. If fresh basil is hard to find, use mint or coriander instead, or all parsley. The flavour profile will be different but equally good.
Ready in 5 mins
Makes 1¼ cups
½ packed cup basil leaves
½ packed cup parsley leaves
Greens of 1 small spring onion or a handful chives
1 Tbsp capers
1 clove garlic
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and whizz until smooth. If not using at once, cover and chill for up to 24 hours until ready to serve.
Pea, mint and avocado salad
This lovely spring salad is a perfect side dish for any barbecue.
Ready in 10 mins
Serves 6-8
120g baby spinach leaves
2 just-ripe avocados, cut into chunks
1 ½ cups frozen peas or fresh peas, or broad beans with their tough white skins removed
12-15 mint leaves, finely shredded or torn
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Honey mustard dressing
1 tsp light honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
¼ cup neutral oil
½ clove garlic, crushed
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Juice of ½ lemon
Place all ingredients for the dressing in a small jar and shake to combine.
Place spinach leaves on a big serving platter and top with avocado chunks, peas or broad beans and mint.
Just before serving, drizzle with dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss lightly to serve.
Annabel Langbein's new memoir, Bella, My Life In Food, is now due Friday 6 November, due to shipping delays.