Tag Archives: BBQ

FROST’S FOODIE FAVOURITE – BIG EASY

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A taste of the Deep South and a damn good night!

Big Easy is a favourite across the London foodie scene. Good, honest grub and a relaxed atmosphere to match, these Bar B.Q houses and Crabshacks don’t disappoint and with three spots throughout London, you’re never too far away from a Big Easy style, belly busting feast.

Last month, we were invited to try out the renovated Kings Road hut – the home of the original Big Easy restaurant – and it didn’t disappoint.

Authentic, southern décor and melt in the mouth meats, there’s nothing not to love. We opted for the Bar B.Q Blowout for Two which basically means we got to try a bit of everything! All of the meats are cooked the traditional way – low and slow –  over wood. Included on this plate of perfection was Baby Back Ribs, Bar.B.Q Chicken, Chips, Pulled Pork, Cornbread Muffin, Coleslaw & Bar.B.Q Beans and Texas Hot Links Sausage. All for just £22.50 per person!

If you fancy having a food focus as opposed to a little bit of everything, ribs are an absolute highlight at Big Easy and the team take their rib rubs and sauces seriously. “Wet“ ribs are dry rubbed and sauced throughout their entire cook and the “dry ribs” are rubbed and cooked and are just sans sauce. On these, the rub and smoke work their magic to create a “bark” ensuring a crispy exterior with a succulent interior.

Happy hours and live bands make an appearance on the daily, as do fantastic foodie specials from bottomless fajitas (£20pp every Wednesday) to the Monday classic of the ‘Big Pig Gig’, offering diners unlimited Bar B.Q and a 2 pint stein of Big Easy Brew (£20pp).

To book a table at Big Easy Kings Road, visit the Big Easy website.

‘Bye-Bye BBQs’ – Brits opt out of the classic soiree and you won’t believe why…

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It’s a time honoured classic – the Great British BBQ. Turns out though, we’d swap marinated meats on the ‘cue for a traditional tea indoors in a heartbeat. Why? Because, according to kitchen roll brand Regina, the mess that these succulent meat-fuelled sessions create is too much for us to bear.

Over three quarters of us in the UK have been known to steer clear of the barby because we can’t handle the chaos they create. To add more fuel to the fire (or char to the grill) sticky fingers and cleaning the beastly gadget afterwards are also turn-offs for any BBQ host.

If you think you can brave the BBQ though, parenting coach and spokesperson for Regina, Judy Reith, has shared her top tips for throwing a stress-free BBQ.

MAKE A PLAN 

BBQs work best when you share the load. Agree in advance with your family who’s coming, timings, what to eat, who’s shopping and cooking, and who is clearing up. Test and clean the BBQ the night before to eliminate any pre-BBQ stress – rubbing the grill with half a cut onion followed by a strong, durable kitchen towel is a great way to remove any grit or grease before use.

KEEP IT CLEAN
Use bio-degradable disposable plates to save time on the washing up and bring the recycling bin outside so you can tidy as you go. Encourage your guests to scrap leftovers into the food bin and make sure you have some kitchen towel on hand for any spillages – and to clean up sticky fingers!

MAKE IT EASY

Outdoor eating should be fun and relaxed. It’s not MasterChef!  Take the stress out by preparing things like salads, marinades and desserts in advance and make sure the menu is easy to prepare and cook so everyone can enjoy it.  Keep experimental items as optional sides and encourage kids to try something new. Honey dipped prawns anyone?

KEEP IT SAFE

Eating outside? Think safety. Insects will join you for dinner, so keep mozzie repellent or light Citronella candles nearby and encourage kids to stay calm around wasps and flies. Make sure food is cooked thoroughly; using a thermometer helps. Keep little ones away from the BBQ.

HAVE FUN

Summer outdoor eating only lasts a few weeks, so keep FUN front and centre.  You have the chance to create warm and wonderful family memories if you focus on the fun, not the fuss. Who takes photos of ordinary family meals compared to relaxing in the garden with a BBQ and friends round?

So, what’s it going to be? Mess, or making the most of the final throes of the British Summer? We know what we’re going to do *said whilst collecting kitchen roll and heading for the back door*

Köld Unveil Single Cocktail Pouches – Just in Time for Picnic Season

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We love a good lunch al fresco and this summer, Köld have given us a good reason to chill out and enjoy the sunshine with their genius frozen cocktail pouches. With four different cocktails to choose from, Köld pouches are a game changer using only the finest natural ingredients. We think that this is going to be your number one picnic item this summer!

The range of cocktails currently include; Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Lychee Martini and Elderflower Martini which are sold in double measure pouches (8% abv), ready to pop in your freeze and enjoy wherever you like.

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Out of all the ready-to-serve cocktails we have tried, Köld have really gone above expectations to ensure that they are serving up a really authentic and delicious, cocktail. You would be fooled into thinking a bartender had mixed these up in a flash as the cocktails retain their flavour and freshness and we enjoy the generous serving. The ingredients are undoubtedly premium as you can taste the quality flavours of the triple-distilled grain vodka and barrel aged rum on the first sip. Personally, the fact that a ready-to-serve can retain such a high quality as Köld have, makes it a top product.

Our favourite was Lychee Martini and it’s no surprise having won the great taste award. Köld have outdone themselves bringing your cocktail favourites into these handy pouches perfect for parties, picnics and BBQ’s and it’s no surprise that they are already in high demand. We’re sure to hear more wonderful things from Köld soon and here’s hoping for some more tasty cocktails from Köld in the future, (hints massively at Margarita?)

Köld is available now from Whole Foods Market, Ocado and Amazon and are sold as a pack of 2 for £6.99 or 1 for £3.00.

For more info visit www.koldcocktails.com

Meat Porter Online Artisan Butcher Review

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Meat Porter Online Artisan Butcher Review

 

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Online shopping has really taken off in recent years. Now, finally, food has caught up with the trend. Our busy lives demand convenience and our good taste demands quality. Enter Meat Porter. An online artisan butcher who source their meat from the same place as the high end restaurants in London. High end meat delivered straight to your door, sounds good to us.

I can’t pretend I wasn’t excited when our box of meat came. I was even more excited when I opened the box. The meat comes in an insulated box and in the box is a good range of well-packaged meat. There is also a sheet of paper with lots of meat tips on.

Now for the meat: it is delicious. It keeps us going for weeks and is very high quality. The burgers are sublime, the sausages tasty. There is chicken in a delicious sauce that makes everything easy; some glorious rump steaks and some diced pork and pork belly to round it off. There are a number of different boxes to choose from on the Meat Porter site, or you can make up your own. They even do gluten free options.

The box that we reviewed was their BBQ box which costs £50 and has 30 serving. It contains

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    I cannot recommend Meat Porter enough. The idea is brilliant, the website is easy to navigate and the food is delicious. It may seem expensive but the meat is free range and the price is very reasonable if you consider it on a per meal basis. Get shopping, now.

There is a lot of great recipes on their website.

Meat Porter. www.meatporter.com

 

 

Busan BBQ Summer Pop-Up at Old Bengal Bar

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This August, AmeriKorean street food van, Busan BBQ, will pop-up at Old Bengal Bar for a series of summer BBQ evenings.

Busan BBQ Summer Pop-Up at Old Bengal Bar

Popping up every Monday and Tuesday evening through August in Old Bengal Bar’s courtyard, Busan BBQ will be serving a selection of dishes from their American-meets-Korean menu. Served from their bright red Busan tent, the menu will include Busan’s staple Busan Burger with 28 day-aged rare breed British beef burger covered in Bulgogi soy marinade and topped with mustard-pickled onions, Sweet and spicy pork belly bun with gochujang sauce and mooli slaw and Korean style oven baked chicken wings with sticky garlic soy marinade. Busan have also teamed up with head chef Barry Macmillan to create a bespoke Old Bengal Prawn Po Boy sub-sandwich; cooked on the Big Green Egg and fusing Busan’s Asian flavours with New Street Grill’s traditional British ingredients, this dish will be available to enjoy Monday through Saturday at Old Bengal Bar in August.

 

Additionally, Old Bengal Bar’s manager, Milos Popovic, and his team have created a range of Korean-inspired cocktails to go alongside especially for the pop-up, which will be available throughout the month.

 

Located in the City’s oldest surviving warehouse built by the East India Trading Company, Old Bengal Bar’s heritage nods to Asia. Exploring the East further this August, Old Bengal Bar’s Busan BBQ AmeriKorean pop-up is sure to be a sweet and spicy street-food experience, perfect for post-work barbeque bites and al fresco summer dinners alike.

 

Busan BBQ will be at Old Bengal Bar on Monday 4th, Tuesday 5th, Monday 11th, Tuesday 12th, Monday 18th, Tuesday 19th and Tuesday 25th August.

 

 

 

 

Texas Joe Pop Up Restaurant At Brewdog Shoreditch Review

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We traveled to Shoreditch for a taste of the US: The Texas Joe food is proper American food from the heart of Texas. Well, almost. Quite a lot of it is spicy, there is a lot of meat, and it all tastes and looks authentic.

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I had the sampler; beef brisket- cooked perfectly and very tender, smoked chicken-very tasty and well-smoked, Brewdog Shoreditch had to remove two doors to get the smoking machine in, hot link sausages- proper meaty sausages, taste great and slightly spicy, beef rib-the rib was huge and very well done. The sampler also comes with beans, chilli and sauce.

On the side we had chilli cheese fries and jalapenos stuffed with brisket and cheese and then wrapped in bacon. Rather stupidly, I underestimated how hot the jalapenos would be. The chilli is also hot (I know, obviously). My colleague had the hot link sausages, he pointed left to right to the food (chilli cheese fries, hot link sausages and stuffed jalapenos) hot, hot and hotter he said.

If you love meat and you love spice you will love the Texas Joe pop up restaurant. There are things that are not spicy though. Like the smoked chicken. The food is good and authentic. It is hearty, filling and very American. Very different.

On the side we had beer from Brewdog. I don’t like beer but I had a raspberry fruit beer which was actually nice. My colleague loved the beer he had, which can be seen below. Brewdogs ‘punk’ beer is anti the big brand generic lagers. Brewdog refuses to compromise on ingredients for its beer to save on costs just to boost profits. It shows in the taste as well. The beer is excellent and noticeably better.

photo 4 (4)Dragon’s Den star Joe Walters has today announced the launch of his pop-up Texan BBQ at BrewDog Shoreditch. The maverick cowboy will be cooking up a storm in the East London venue, following his standout pitch for his beef jerky company on the BBC 2 entrepreneurial show in August. Texas Joe’s BBQ will serve a full range of smokin’ Southern delights including slow-cooked brisket, beef ribs, chili-dogs and fresh cornbread.

The first Texas Joe’s BBQ will be hosted at BrewDog Shoreditch, and the company plans to open a series of standalone restaurants in the coming months.

The opening of his first pop-up BBQ joint completes a rollercoaster period for the cowboy, which saw him officially launch his jerky company and secure a nationwide deal with Sainsbury’s to stock his product.

photo 1 (6)Millions of viewers watched Joe pitch his beef jerky company in a rhinestone suit and Stetson this summer on the Den– a pitch that included a performance of the song ‘Put that jerky in your mouth’ by Sunday Best’s recording artists Kitty, Daisy and Lewis.

Joe secured a £50,000 investment from Peter Jones of immediate edge, although the Texan is now operating without the assistance of the ‘Dragon’.
However, BrewDog co-founder James Watt saw the potential in the Texas Joe’s brand and invested.

Watt was recently named Scottish Entrepreneur of the Year and BrewDog beers have previously been used in Texas Joe’s jerky recipes.

Texas Joe’s founder Joe Walters commented:

“Since appearing on the show, the response to our Texan jerky has been so phenomenal that we knew we had to expand our offering and bring a little South hospitality to London. With our first pop-up BBQ joint we’re giving people a taste of authentic Texan BBQ and we know they are going to love it.”

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