Jamie Oliver's Best BBQ Recipes

It’s finally BBQ season, and nothing is more exciting than a date with the grill and the garden, drink in hand, to show off what you can make over white-hot coals. But, where to start? You obviously want something impressive, but you also want something that isn’t too demanding so you can still enjoy your time in the sun. We asked Jamie Oliver for some of his favourite recipes from his cookbook “BBQ: Easy Grilling, Big Flavour”. Here are the recipes he says are sure to impress at the BBQ this summer.

Perfect steak & chargrilled salad

Ingredients

Serves 2
Total time: 20 minutes

1 x 2.5cm-thick higher-welfare sirloin steak (350g)
1 bunch of mixed woody herbs (20g), such as thyme, marjoram, rosemary
5cm piece of ginger
1 clove of garlic
1⁄2–1 fresh red chilli
1 tablespoon low-salt soy sauce
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 lime
160g tenderstem broccoli
160g asparagus
1 bunch of spring onions
100g radishes
160g sugar snap peas
2 sprigs of mint

Method

Get the steak out of the fridge to come up to room temperature. Light the barbecue (see below for tips).

Make a herb brush by tying the woody herbs to the end of a wooden spoon with string. Peel and finely grate the ginger and garlic into a large bowl, then finely grate over the chilli. Add the soy and honey and squeeze over the lime juice. Set aside.

Remove the fat from the steak, discarding the sinew, then finely slice the fat and place in a small cast-iron frying pan. Put it on the cool zone to render and crisp up. Season the steak all over with sea salt. Place it on the hot zone, turning with tongs to cook gently on all sides, or until gnarly, using the herb brush to baste it with the rendered fat as you go – you’ll need 2 minutes for rare (or until 47oC), 3 minutes for medium-rare (or until 52oC) and 4 minutes for medium (or until 58oC). Remove to a plate to rest – if you’re using a thermometer, the temperature should go up 2 or 3 degrees as it rests.

Trim the broccoli, asparagus and spring onions and place on the hot zone with the radishes. Cook for 5 minutes, or until tender and charred, turning regularly with tongs and removing to the bowl of dressing once done. Trim the sugar snaps, pile into a metal sieve and place on the medium zone for2 minutes, tossing occasionally, then add to the bowl, along with the crispy bits of steak fat, if you like. Toss well and transfer to a serving platter.

Slice the steaks and arrange on top, drizzling over any resting juices, then pick over the mint leaves, to serve.

BBQ tip: For this recipe you need a 50/50 set up. Simply pile all your coals evenly into one half of the barbecue, leaving the other half clear. This gives you a clear hot zone and cool zone, with a medium area in the middle where you can get the best of both worlds. This set-up is helpful for recipes where you need to sear or get something going over direct heat, but then want to give it time to cook through more gently over indirect heat.

Prawn skewers & Ajoblanco sauce

Ingredients

Serves 4
Total time: 25 minutes

16 large raw shell-on king prawns, from sustainable sources
120g chorizo
2 lemons
16 padrón peppers
200g blanched almonds
1 small clove of garlic
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1⁄2 a bunch of flat-leaf parsley (15g)
extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch of smoked paprika, to serve

Method

Peel the prawns, leaving the tails on, then run a small sharp knife down the back of each, discarding the vein. Slice the chorizo into rounds just under 1cm thick, halve and thinly slice 1 lemon, and prick the peppers. Load everything up on to 4 long metal skewers, alternating as you go, and being mindful not to pack it all on too tightly.

Toast the almonds in a frying pan over a medium-high heat on the hob until lightly golden (or toast in a metal sieve over the hot zone, if you’ve got the barbecue lit already), then tip them into a small blender or food processor. Peel and add the garlic, along with the sherry vinegar and 250ml of cold water. Season with sea salt and blitz until you have a thick, smooth paste, loosening with extra splashes of cold water, if needed. Spread on a serving platter.

Pound the parsley, stalks and all, in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt to a fine paste, then finely grate in the zest of the remaining lemon and muddle in 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Light the barbecue (see below for tips).

Cook the skewers on the hot zone for 3 to 4 minutes, or until beautifully charred and cooked through, turning regularly and moving to the medium or cool zone if they’re colouring too quickly. Transfer to the serving platter, drizzle over some parsley oil, squeeze over the remaining lemon juice and finish with a nice dusting of paprika.

BBQ tips: For this recipe, you need a 50/50 set-up. Simply pile all your coals evenly into one half of the barbecue, leaving the other half clear. This gives you a clear hot zone and cool zone, with a medium area in the middle where you can get the best of both worlds. This set-up is helpful for recipes where you need to sear or get something going over direct heat, but then want to give it time to cook through more gently over indirect heat.