Satay Burgers

Some nights there are too many comings and goings to allow us to sit down and eat dinner together.

Those nights the boys cook their dinner on the bbq and burgers are a favourite.

I’ve used pork in this recipe but minced chicken is delicious too. As the gluten rolls that we like are long and skinny, I just make the patties to fit the roll.

Makes six burgers.

Ingredients

500g minced Pork

3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

3 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

30g fresh coriander chopped

Salt and pepper

Method

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and form into burgers.

Heat your bbq or pan over a medium flame.

Once hot cook the burgers, as it is pork, you need to cook it all the way through.

Roast Chicken With Maple Syrup and Mustard

When I made this recently I stupidly left all of the chicken on the dinner table without saving some for myself, my three boys and a friend ate the lot so it must be good!

Serves 4-6 depending on sides and appetites!

Ingredients

2.4kg chicken, cut into 10pieces or chicken pieces, skin on and bone in

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Combine the syrup, mustard, salt and pepper and then pour onto the chicken, covering it completely.

Place the chicken pieces, skin side up on the roasting tin.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, basting regularly until cooked through and crispy.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Rub

It’s always handy to have a rub recipe up your sleeve!

This is one of my favourites, not too spicy and the boys love the sweetness.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon oregano, rubbed

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon chipotle chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Freshly ground pepper

2kgs chicken wings, tips removed

Method

Combine all of the rub ingredients together.

Sprinkle the rub over all of the chicken and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Centigrade and line a baking tray with parchment.

Place the wings in the prepared tin, skin side up.

Bake for 60 minutes, basting regularly.

Green Chicken Burgers

You always need a good chicken burger recipe and this one is a cracker.

Made on the BBQ or in a pan it works well both ways.

Makes 6 burgers.

Ingredients

500g minced chicken

75g chickpea flour

30g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks chopped

2 spring onions/green onions, sliced finely

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 jalapeño, deseeded and finely diced

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and place in the fridge for at least two hours.

Heat a little olive oil in a non stick pan over a medium to high heat.

Form the meat into six patties.

Place the patties into the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes and then turn and cook for a further 4-6 minutes until cooked through and golden.

Serve with some fresh aioli in a gluten free or regular bun.

Lemon Infused Salt And Pepper

One of the best cheats to have in your pantry here! Fantastic on fish, prawns, chicken and summery salads.

I make this quantity and then store the extra in an airtight spice jar for another day.

Ingredients

6 teaspoons salt flakes

Zest of 4 lemons

20 peppercorns

Method

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Centigrade. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Measure the salt and lemon zest onto the baking parchment.

Bake for 15 minutes until the lemon has dried out and is really fragrant.

Allow to cool a little and then pour into a mortar, add the peppercorns and grind to a powder.

Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Brisket

This photo really doesn’t do this recipe justice but to be honest the beef was eaten so quickly I only got the one shot!

I’ve taken the principles of using a rub with herbs and spices to coat the meat and then allowing it to sit for 12-24 hours in the fridge. Then, instead of using the BBQ, the slow cooker has stepped in and worked its magic! Finally, I take the meat out and pop it in a hot oven just to crisp up the fatty bits for a fab tortilla filling or serve with lots of salads to cut through the richness of the meat.

Serves 8-10. Leftovers keep well in the fridge, freeze well and are very popular in wraps for school with my boys.

Ingredients

2.2kg beef brisket, cut into 8-10 large pieces

5 tablespoons sweet smoked paprika

3 tablespoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon chipotle chilli powder

1 teaspoon cayenne powder

1 teaspoon ground all spice

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons salt

Pepper

375mls passata

100mls gluten free Worcestershire sauce

100g brown sugar

2 teaspoons liquid smoke

Method

I leave the fat on the top of the brisket, cut it into large chunks, around 5-8cm square. Take a sharp knife and score the fat to create a crisscross pattern.

Combine the spice rub in a bowl.

Tip the meat into the rub and cover completely.

Place the meat and any excess rub into a zip lock bag and refrigerate for 12-24 hours. 24 hours is better if you can!

Tip the meat into your slow cooker, I use a 6.5l Cooker.

Add the wet ingredients and sugar and using your hands massage the sauce all over the meat.

Turn the cooker on and set to nine hours on low.

After nine hours the meat should be falling apart a little if you push it with the back of a spoon.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Gently spoon the meat into a roasting tray, scored fat side up, and slide it into the oven, roast for 30-45 minutes to let the fat crisp up.

Pull the meat apart with forks to serve so everyone gets a little of the crispy fat as well as the delicious, sticky sauce covered meat.

Peanut And Lime Chicken Wings

In my house the boys go through real fads with what they will eat on their toast!

One of them went through a spell where lime marmalade was his spread of choice but it has gone out of favour so I wanted to use the leftovers up, coupled with peanut butter, garlic and soy sauce it makes a very tasty marinade!

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1.8kgs chicken wings, tips removed and jointed

120g peanut butter

80g lime marmalade 

50mls gluten free soy sauce

4 garlic cloves, crushed

Method

Combine all of the ingredients and leave to marinade for 2-8 hours.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade, line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Tip the wings and marinade onto the sheet, turn them skin side up.

Bake for 45 minutes, marinating with the pan juices regularly.

Teriyaki Salmon

This is a nice quick dinner that my boys love. 

By scoring the fish the marinade goes deeper into the flesh and it reduces the cooking time, these fillets were 5+cm thick so if yours are thinner reduce the cooking time!

Serves 4.

Ingredients

2 x 300g salmon fillets, skin on

75mls gluten free soy sauce

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon sake

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Method

In a non reactive dish, combine the soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, sugar and sake.

Take each fillet and lightly score with a knife, but not through to the skin.

Place the salmon, flesh side down, into the marinade and marinade for 20 minutes.

While the fish marinades preheat the oven to 220 degrees Centigrade or get you BBQ heated. If using the oven, line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Gently remove the salmon from the marinade, place skin side down on the baking parchment, drizzle over a little more marinade and then sprinkle over the sesame seeds. If using a BBQ, I just pop the salmon skin side down onto the flat plate, sprinkle over the seeds and close the BBQ, it’s normally done within 5 minutes.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to rest for five minutes before serving.

Chicken With Saffron And Thyme

The colour of this chicken is amazing, and the taste is just as good!

The quantity of saffron may seem a little odd, the saffron I buy, comes in a tiny box and weighs 0.5g so I use half a box, a really good pinch would be an equivalent. By chopping the saffron you get more colour but it is as light as a feather so be careful not to lose any.

Also, don’t wear your favourite white top, it’s guaranteed to get stained as will your hands so metal spoons and tongs are the go here!

Serves 6.

Ingredients

30mls boiling water

0.25g saffron, chopped 

800g chicken breast, sliced 

2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme leaves

Salt and pepper

A little oil for the pan

Method

Pour the water into a non staining bowl, add the saffron and swirl around.

Once the colour has been released by the saffron add the chicken, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper to the bowl, stir with a metal spoon and then pop into the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Heat a large frying pan, I use a 32cm pan, over a medium to high heat and add a little oil. 

Using tongs, lift individual strips of chicken out of the bowl and lay them in the pan, don’t overcrowd them.

Cook for 4-5 minutes and then turn them, cook until cooked all the way through. Set aside somewhere warm and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Texan Breakfast Sausage

One of the most versatile skinless sausages I know.

Here I’ve made the sausage into a pattie and used it in the Texan gravy too with a gluten free buttermilk biscuit to keep it company.

Makes 14 patties. The raw sausage meat freezes really well.

Ingredients

1kg minced pork

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried marjoram

2 teaspoons dried sage

1 teaspoon ground chipotle chilli

1-2 teaspoons salt

1/2-1 teaspoon freshly ground coarse pepper

Method

Combine all of the ingredients to make your sausage meat.

Form into patties, heat a non stick pan over high heat or get your BBQ nice and hot and then cook until cooked through.