The B B Q part one

The weather would make a massive change when I decide to write about BBQ'S, but for us Nolans it is an all year round way to cook! I remember when we lived in the Hamptons Phil digging a path to the bbq thru at least 9" of snow! There is no taste for a simple dinner like a pure Irish beef or turkey burger, Lavistown sausages & grilled veggies all year round!
My biggest piece of advice is keep it simple, so I am going to give a few "cheating" ideas & then for the purist in us regular recipes. There is always a debate over charcoal or gas. At Rosquil we are fully converted to gas having struggled with charcoal for years.
Phil & I catered a party where we nearly had to call the Larchmont fire brigade The butterfly leg of lamb caught fire - the charcoal was too hot. The most hilarious thing was not the black smoke that rose over the back of the house but that many guests said it was the best lamb they had ever tasted, after we cut off the incinerated part!!


Rhoda's quick marinaded chicken pieces
250m bottled of Italian dressing
I large lemon
Irish chicken pieces (6 drumsticks, 6 thighs, 3 breast on the bone cut in half)

Cut any excess fat & skin from the chicken pieces, but do not skin it completely.
Place in a large bowl that will fit in your fridge if you intend to marinade overnight.
In a jug mix the Italian dressing with the juice of the lemon, cut the peel in to quarters, this should make 8 pieces of lemon as you have 2 halves put this in with the chicken
Whisk the Italian dressing and lemon juice together and pour over chicken & lemon pieces, Give it a good stir about. Turn the chicken in the marinade a couple of times before cooking. If you are marinading the chicken on the day, do it a couple of hours before your planned meal time and leave to come to room temp but obviously not in a sunny window or right beside the cooker!

That's it!

You can do this the day before, remove from the fridge a couple of hours before you intend to cook. The biggest mistake made is cooking straight from the fridge, All foods for the BBQ need to start at room temp to ensure they cook all the way thru.
Drain the chicken pieces and cook over a medium grill turning regularly. Check for doneness by cutting into one of the pieces the juice must run clear allow 20-25minutes to cook.
Turkey Burgers (makes 8)

1 kilo minced turkey
2 tbs grated onion,
2 tbs olive oil
salt & pepper
8 sesame burger buns
8 slices of cheese
Mayo, lettuce & tomato slices.

I mince my own turkey in the food processor, a mixture of dark & white meat because just breast makes a much tougher drier burger. You can buy ready minced at you local butcher.
Mix all the ingredients together and form into 8 burgers.
Cook like regular burgers over medium grill, cut one in the centre to make sure they are cooked thru. Usually takes 5 mins per side, add a slice of your favourite cheese on the top this melts in seconds and serve on a toasted sesame bun with mayo lettuce & tomato
The raw burgers freeze very well my advice is to wrap individually, having been faced with a block of burgers when I only wanted one.
To make beef burgers substitute organic Irish beef for the turkey 90% lean, a little fat is needed in the mince to keep them juicy, and omit the olive oil. Guys, don't keep prodding them and squashing the burger as they cook, this dries them out, cooking time depends on how you like your beef

NewPotato Salad

1k of new potatoes
4 tbs of Italian dressing
2 boiled eggs chopped
2 scallions chopped
Mayo
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Boil the potatoes until cooked, drain & cut in half mix in the Italian dressing whilst hot. Allow to cool and then add the rest of the ingredients giving it a good stir, cover & fridge until need
If you want to serve with baked potatoes, wash & prod them all over with a fork and semi cook in the microwaive. Cut an individual square of foil for every potato, place a semi cooked potato on each square liberally salt & pepper & dribble a little olive oil. Now rub this all over the skin, you have to be quick as they are hot! Wrap the foil tightly around the potato and put on the hot bbq at the same time as the chicken turn a couple of times.