Adelaide chefs spill their summer barbecue recipe secrets

NOTHING says summer like the delicious aroma of meats and vegetables being seared and chargrilled in our backyards, parks and on beaches. So we asked local chefs to inspire us with some of their favourite barbecue recipes.

NOTHING says summer quite like the delicious aroma of meats and vegetables being seared, sealed, chargrilled and smoked in our backyards, parks and on beaches across the city. So we asked local chefs to inspire us with some of their favourite barbecue recipes to try out over summer.

Barbecued eggplant and haloumi salad

Emily Raven, My Kingdom for a Horse

Chef Emily Raven’s Char Grilled Halloumi Salad. Picture: AAP/Emma Brassier

“I’ve always enjoyed the rich Greek and Cypriot food heritage shared by migrants living in the Mile End area, where I lived for many years,” Emily says. This salad is one of her favourite dishes on a warm night. It can be prepared on a simple char or flat-grill style barbecue.

Emily Raven with her Char Grilled Halloumi Salad.

Ingredients:

2 black eggplants, medium

1 red capsicum, large

1 chunk (approx. 200g) of sheep’s or cow’s milk haloumi cheese

2 spring onions

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

100ml EVO oil

Sea salt flakes

Handful of basil leaves

Method:

1. Finely slice spring onions and combine in a large mixing bowl with sherry vinegar. Put aside.

2. Cut the capsicum into quarters, lengthwise, and remove seeds. Slice the eggplants into 5mm thick slices lengthwise. Cut the haloumi into 1cm thick slices.

3. Crush garlic and combine with oil.

4. Put the capsicum skin side down on a hot grill and cook until the skin is puffed and cracking. Put aside and cover with cling film.

5. Place the eggplant slices on the hot grill and brush the tops with the oil mixture. Sprinkle a little salt on top. As the slices start to puff up and colour, turn them over. Cook until they are soft with a clear grill pattern on each side. Put the cooked eggplant aside with the capsicums.

6. Lightly brush the haloumi with oil and place them on the hot char or flat grill. Cook until soft with a brown, crispy grill pattern.

7. When the capsicums are cool enough to handle, peel off their skins and slice into strips. Also slice the eggplant and haloumi into strips and combine all three together with the sherry vinegar and spring onion. Toss through the basil leaves and serve piled high in a low-sided dish.

Reverse sear bone-in rib eye

Dan Mendelson, Burger Theory

Dan Mendelson's reverse sear bone-in rib eye.

Dan believes cooking quality beef on the bone gives your meal much more flavour than a boneless cut of meat. His technique uses both the oven and a charcoal barbecue. “Finishing on charcoal gives a unique smoky flavour that is worth the effort for special occasions,” he says.

Dan Mendelson from Burger Theory. Picture: Calum Robertson

You will need:

Whole lump charcoal

Hickory, ironbark, or fruit wood (optional)

Ingredients:

1-1.2kg Coorong Angus bone-in rib eye (about 5cm thick)

1 tbsp Murray River salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:

1. The night before you plan to serve the steak, take it out of any wrapping and put it on a wire rack in the fridge. This will allow the outside to slightly dry out, which gives you a better sear the next day.

2. Preheat your oven to 110C.

3. Heavily season the steak on all sides (don’t forget the edges) with Murray River salt and freshly ground pepper. Place back on the wire rack and put in the oven for about 25-35 minutes.

4. The best way to accurately cook your steak is to use a thermometer and remove the meat at the following internal temperature: 48C for rare, 52C for medium-rare, 56C for medium, 60C for medium-well.

5. Meanwhile, use a chimney starter to get your charcoal as hot as possible, place in your barbecue and add wood for even more flavour if desired. You want a raging hot bed of coals. Alternatively, get a cast iron pan as hot as you possibly can (forewarning: there will be smoke).

6. When your steak is at your desired internal temperature, place it on the barbecue directly over the coals andsear it on all sides, turning frequently, for about 2 minutes. The goal is to have a deep mahogany brown all over (don’t forget the edges, especially where the fat cap is).

7. Rest the meat for a few minutes and slice into 1-1.5cm pieces.

Pulled pork taco

Todd Lemmer, Texas Coleslaw Massacre

Pulled pork taco by Todd Lemmer.

Todd Lemmer from Texas Coleslaw Massacre.

Todd says this dish is always a crowd pleaser when the sun comes out. “It’s a fresh, summer meal that can be shared with friends over a couple of beers,” he says. “The fresh salsa provides great contrast and balance to the rich, slow-cooked pork.”

Ingredients:

1 pork shoulder

2 tbsp American mustard

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

Pork rub

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp sweet paprika

1 tbsp dried sage

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp kosher salt or flaked salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp cumin powder

Salsa

1/2 cup finely diced red onion

1/2 cup finely diced green capsicum

1/4 cup finely diced cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup finely diced yellow heirloom tomatoes

1/4 cup charred corn

2 bunches cos lettuce, roughly chopped

Handful of coriander to taste

Tortilla

2 cups maize flour

300 ml warm water

Method:

1. Remove skin from pork shoulder and cover with thin layer of American mustard to help bind the rub to the meat.

2. Combine all rub ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle on pork.

3. Place pork in a barbecue smoker over indirect heat, with cherry wood chunks, at 225-250F or 107-121C.

4. Leave pork to cook for 12 hours, spraying every hour with apple cider vinegar and water mix.

5. When the internal temperature reaches 170F or 76C, wrap pork in foil to continue cooking until temperature reaches 198F or 92C.

6. Place pork in an Esky to rest for at least an hour before pulling it apart.

7. Meanwhile, mix maize flour with warm water to make a firm dough, then insert into a tortilla press to create the shape. Fry in a hot pan until golden and crispy.

8. Salsa: On your stovetop, char grill corn for 2-4 minutes. Finely dice red onion, green capsicum, cherry tomatoes, yellow heirloom tomatoes and mix into a bowl. Roughly chop lettuce and coriander and add to the mix.

9. Once all elements are ready to go and the meat has rested, use fork to pull pork into strands.

10. Assemble taco by layering the ingredients and top with your favourite hot sauce (optional).

NOTES:

■ Cherry wood allows the flavours to develop and the meat muscles to break down

■ Any good, store-bought corn tortilla will do the same job.

Barbecue yellowfin whiting, roasted broccolini, sesame and miso emulsion

Emma McCaskill, The Pot

Barbecue yellowfin whiting.

When it comes to cooking on a Webber barbecue, Emma’s go-to dish is whole fish. “The whiting in particular is great because of the delicate flesh, and they are a great size to have one to yourself,” she says. “I love the combination of lemon with broccolini so it compliments the fish very nicely. This will make for a great barbecue meal.”

The Pot head chef Emma McCaskill. Picture: Matt Loxton

Ingredients:

Fish

4 whole yellowfin whiting, gilled, gutted and scaled

150g softened butter

50g shio koji (fermented rice) — available at Pasadena Foodland or Adelaide Central Market

1 lemon, juiced

2 tbsp capers

Broccolini

4 broccolini bunches

2 lemons, juiced

Sea salt

Miso emulsion

250ml sweet white miso (Miko brand is best)

25ml white vinegar

200ml boiling hot water

200ml vegetable oil

200g roasted sesame seeds

Sea salt

Method:

1. Preheat Webber to 250C.

2. Using a stick blender, blend miso, hot water and vinegar until smooth.

3. Emulsify very slowly with vegetable oil. It will be similar to a mayonnaise.

4. Add sesame seeds and season with salt.

5. Allow to chill in refrigerator. (It’s hard to make this in a small batch, so there will be some left over, which is fine because it will last for three weeks if kept refrigerated).

6. Mix softened butter (reserve tbsp) and shio koji and set aside.

7. Open barbecue lid, lay fish over the centre and the broccolini around the outside and brush the fish with half the rice butter. Drizzle oil over broccolini. Close lid for about 4 minutes.

8. Open lid, turn fish and broccolini over, repeat process for a further 4 minutes, brushing the fish again with butter.

9. In the meantime, brown remaining butter in a pan, add capers, juice from 1 lemon and reduce to honey consistency.

10. Arrange on a plate, pour sauce over fish and serve broccolini with sesame and miso dressing.