With only slight glimmers of sunshine appearing now, why not prolong the holiday vibe with some outdoor cooking?
Aberdeen-based sauce manufacturing company, Angus & Oink, has partnered with four of Aberdeen’s finest local food retailers to showcase the best in meat and fish with four fabulously fiery recipes to complement their range of sauces.
Malissa Fraser of Angus & Oink said: “BBQ flavour is really at the soul of our sauces so we were very excited to support local food retailers, who offer the finest meats and fish, to complement our own range on the grill. Being selective about the meats and fish you use makes all the difference in terms of taste, texture and flavour.”
RED DAWG APACHE PULLED PORK BELLY
Using pork belly from Davidson’s Specialist Butchers, Inverurie
SERVES 6
2kg pork belly ribs, bone in
1-2tbsp each of sea salt, coarse black pepper and fennel seeds
2tbsp each of Red Dawg Apache hot sauce and cider vinegar
Brioche rolls, pickles, slaw etc.
Red Dawg Apache sauce to serve
Set up your BBQ for low to moderate temperature direct cooking with the lid on. You can also do this in the oven when it’s raining.
Score the skin of the pork belly with a sharp knife, and rub all over with the salt, pepper and fennel. Place on the BBQ with the lid on, skin side down. You can add a few smoking wood chips to the coals if you want a smoky flavour, I added cherry wood.
Leave for an hour or two until the skin starts to puff up and form crackling, depends on how hot your coals are, but do not allow to burn. Turn over so the ribs are facing down and cook until meat in the centre of the belly has reached 95C, use a digital temperature probe to check this.
This is the temperature the meat pulls apart at.
Allow to rest for 10-15 minutes with a cover of foil. Then remove the crackling with a sharp knife. Pull the meat apart with two forks. Mix up the Red Dawg Apache and vinegar, and dress through the pulled pork.
Load up a toasted brioche roll with pulled pork, add a slice of the crackling, add further sauce, pickles etc.
RAMPANT BURGER
Using lean Aberdeen Angus steak mince from Andrew Gordon Butchery & Fine Foods, Aberdeen
150-200g of quality lean Aberdeen Angus steak mince per burger
Pinch of good quality flaky sea salt, and a pinch of fresh ground black pepper
Good tablespoon of Rampant Angus Scotch Bonnet Ketchup
Good quality brioche bun
1tbsp of good quality mayonnaise
Your choice of add ins, tomato slices, pickles, slaw, green stuff etc.
Season your mince with the salt and pepper, and stir through the Rampant Angus until well mixed.
Using a burger mould ( I use a large metal ring), spoon in the burger mix and press down with the back of a spoon. Make up all your burgers and leave in the fridge for an hour to set and allow the flavours of the sauce to mingle.
Set up a charcoal grill to a low to medium heat with a little oak smoke from oak smoking chips. Brush your grates with a little rapeseed oil to stop the burger sticking.
Place your burger on the grill grates for around 4-5 minutes then turn and cook for the same length of time on the other side. Cook the burger how you like it, we like ours cooked to medium around 55-60C internal temperature. Allow the burger to rest for a few minutes.
While resting, toast your brioche buns quickly over the charcoal,
and load up with your add ins – we
went for lettuce, mayo, tomato, the burger, a slice of juicy pickle, and lashings of Rampant Angus over
the top.
Lean Aberdeen Angus steak mince has 6.7g of fat per 100g and is ideal for making any beef steak burger. Available fresh everyday and also in a 3kg pack deal for £19.99.
VOODOO CRISPY FISH TACOS
From award-winning chef and sea salt & sole take-away owner Rikki Pirie, Dyce, Aberdeen
SERVES 4
500g firm white fish, Hake is perfect
2 eggs gently beaten
100g panko breadcrumbs adding a pinch each of sea salt, black pepper and paprika
Vegetable oil for frying
8 soft taco shells (flour tortilla)
2 avocados, sliced
Homemade sour cream apple and carrot slaw
Crisp lettuce leaves
Lime, coriander leaf, and slices of red chilli to garnish
To make the crispy fish, cut the Hake fillets into 2cm thick slices, dip each into the egg mixture, and then into the seasoned breadcrumbs.
Heat up a large frying pan with a thin layer of the oil until medium-hot, add the breaded fish slices, cook in a couple of batches rather than squeeze in the fish. Cook a couple of minutes and turn over, until the panko is crisp and the fish cooked.
Load up each taco with green lettuce, slaw, and avocado, then garnish as you wish, but drizzle generously with Voodoo Mango sauce.
Enjoy with a nice cold beer.
PULLED SKIRT STEAK CHILLI
Using skirt steak from The Store, Foveran, Ellon
SERVES 4-6
2kg skirt steak, ask your butcher for this cut
Half each of a red/yellow pepper and green pepper cut into slices
1 red onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 squares of dark chocolate
1 double espresso, or a teaspoon of dark roast coffee
2tbsp maple syrup to taste
1 tin of tomato passata
1 tin of black beans
2tbsp each of Pitboss BBQ sauce and Red Dawg Apache sauce
500ml rich beef stock
Flour tortillas to serve
Sour cream, avocado, sliced red chilli, lettuce and grated cheddar to serve
Ideally smoke the skirt steak for an hour on the BBQ with a lid on at low temp 120-140C with a hickory or pecan smoke. Wrap with foil and cook for a couple more hours until falling apart into juicy strands. This can be cooked in an oven at a push.
Place the veg, chocolate, coffee and black beans in the base of a casserole dish, and place the skirt steak on top. Spoon over the hot sauces, and the passata, add the maple syrup for a slightly sweeter chilli. Top up the dish with half the stock and place back on the BBQ, or in the oven. Keep topping up with beef stock so it doesn’t dry out, and cook for 4-5 hours at low to medium until the sauce is rich and thick, and the steak is falling apart. Feel free to cover with foil to stop the chilli drying out.
Serve in flour tortillas, loaded up with the chilli, and the toppings of your choice, drizzled over with plenty of hot sauce.