Videographer: Melissa Tapper
With new ideas on what's hot, we've asked Marty Shanahan, a.k.a.The Backyard Cook, to inspire us with delicious ways to cook on the barbecue. Find out his tips and tricks for creating flavoursome food over the flames, and try his mouth-watering charred broccolini for a vibrant vegetable dish that the whole family will enjoy.
Why are you known as 'The Backyard Cook'?
One night, my wife and I were out having a few wines with an old friend who's a right laugh, not to mention a creative genius. It wasn't long after sprucing up our back garden and putting in a pizza oven and I was thinking of leaving my job and pursuing my passion - which is food. After a few glasses of red wine and some healthy banter, we decided that I'd call myself 'The Backyard Cook' and just get out there and do it. We scribbled it down on a piece of paper (which I still have tucked away) and that night I got home, set up a Facebook, Instagram and website and, as they say, the rest is history. Moral of the story: "Alcohol, because no great story ever started with a salad."
One night, my wife and I were out having a few wines with an old friend who's a right laugh, not to mention a creative genius. It wasn't long after sprucing up our back garden and putting in a pizza oven and I was thinking of leaving my job and pursuing my passion - which is food. After a few glasses of red wine and some healthy banter, we decided that I'd call myself 'The Backyard Cook' and just get out there and do it. We scribbled it down on a piece of paper (which I still have tucked away) and that night I got home, set up a Facebook, Instagram and website and, as they say, the rest is history. Moral of the story: "Alcohol, because no great story ever started with a salad."
Is barbecuing all about meat?
If I was going to teach you one thing, it would be that vegetables and seafood are just as at home on a BBQ as meat, if not more so. Don't think of a BBQ as just a meat-cooking tool, but as a source of heat that can be applied to whatever it is you want to cook.
If I was going to teach you one thing, it would be that vegetables and seafood are just as at home on a BBQ as meat, if not more so. Don't think of a BBQ as just a meat-cooking tool, but as a source of heat that can be applied to whatever it is you want to cook.
Fire, heat and smoke can add colour, texture and flavour to all manner of ingredients. Using the flames, fire and heat to transform the ingredients and take them from zero to hero is what it's all about. Take my charred broccolini with lemon pepper mayo for example; yes you can boil or steam broccolini, but char them up on the BBQ and I'm telling you, it's next level. You have to give it a crack!
Or just take your favourite vegetable, get it onto your BBQ, cook it how you like it and try telling me it's not delicious!
What are your tips and tricks for cooking on a barbecue?
The most important thing is to learn to control and understand the heat. Don't just crank it up to eleven, throw the food on and hope for the best. That works ten percent of the time, but if you can control and understand the fire (gas or charcoal), then you can cook things lower and slower, or hard and fast. For example, when cooking pork and chicken you need to be a little more delicate so they will turn out juicier and more tender.
The most important thing is to learn to control and understand the heat. Don't just crank it up to eleven, throw the food on and hope for the best. That works ten percent of the time, but if you can control and understand the fire (gas or charcoal), then you can cook things lower and slower, or hard and fast. For example, when cooking pork and chicken you need to be a little more delicate so they will turn out juicier and more tender.
Are there any food safety issues we should consider when barbecuing?
Just be smart about it.
Just be smart about it.
- Make sure your food is cooked all the way through, especially chicken.
- Keep your BBQ clean - if it's dirty and covered in cooking fat, flare-ups and fires are inevitable.
- If you marinate something, don't pour the marinating juices or marinade used in the raw food over the cooked food afterwards. You're just asking for trouble.
- Don't walk away from a BBQ when cooking something on a high heat for any length of time, especially if the hood is down - that's how fires start. Speaking from experience here - see, I told you I've made mistakes!
For more of Marty's tips, tricks and recipes visit his website,The Backyard Cook. Keep scrolling to find his irresistibly easy recipe for charred broccolini with lemon pepper mayo!
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Charred Broccolini with Lemon Pepper Mayo
This might sound a ridiculously simple recipe, and it is, but trust me - the combo of charred tender stem broccolini with the lemon pepper mayo is a seriously good one. And besides, the best things in life are usually the simplest.
Happy cooking, Marty.
