Eating outdoors is one of life’s luxuries: a crisp, cold glass of wine in hand, plenty of colourful salads on the table and perhaps a barbecue sizzling in the background… Could this be heaven? As ever, when the sun’s out it’s best to make the most of it before she disappears again! At Fine Food Specialist, we have plenty of tricks and tips up our sleeves for making outdoor dining and BBQ cooking a breeze. After all, the idea is to relax and have a good time, not run around a hot kitchen. Here we share our tips and tricks for maximising your fun time in the sunshine.
A Beginner’s Guide to Outdoor Dining
Get prepped!
Getting organised the day or morning before you eat will make all the difference, especially if you’re expecting a few people. Make your marinades in advance to give the flavours plenty of time to work their magic, and remember, marinades work just as well (if not better) on vegetables as they do on meat and poultry.
Be sure to carefully follow instructions when marinating fresh fish however, as strong ingredients such as citrus and even salt can ‘cook’ your fish, altering the texture. That said, seasoning thick fish fillets such as mahi-mahi 20 minutes in advance can firm up the texture nicely - a handy tip if you plan on grilling them.
Salad days
Prepare plentiful, colourful salads ahead of time, too, but always make sure to dress them at the last minute. Salad leaves will begin softening and wilting as soon as you add the dressing, so add it right before serving, or take it to the table in a jug or jar.
Take a look at our range of specialist vinegars and oils, which will add incredible flavour to your dressings with very little effort. Our honey vinegar is spectacular when mixed 50/50 with extra virgin olive oil and our fruit vinegars such as this quince vinegar will bring a fun twist to a regular salad - it works particularly well with ripe fruits and cheese.
Salad leaves can also struggle in the heat, so give them a quick dip in iced water if they’re looking limp and they will come back to life. This trick also works with herbs that are looking a little lacklustre.
Finally, think colour! Try different coloured tomatoes in all shapes and sizes to bring some wow factor to a simple platter. Try using fruits in a salad alongside salty ingredients such as cheese to add contrast, and maximise interest with toasted nuts, seeds or croutons. Our range of edible flowers will also add flair to your buffet table with very minimal effort. Try mixing different colours and shapes for maximum impact.
Keep things simple and let the ingredients speak for themselves
When ingredients are special, they need very little intervention to make them taste incredible! Try a Tomahawk steak for feeding a hungry crowd, for example - cooked on the BBQ then sliced whole and laid in the centre of the table, it makes a stunning focal and talking point. Your guests won’t be able to resist!
Remember: cooking for a crowd doesn’t mean you need to cook everything separately. It’s much simpler and more cost effective to buy larger pieces of meat such as steaks that can then be sliced and shared around. No one wants to try and cook 10 different steaks to varying levels of doneness. Those who like theirs more well done can choose a few slices from the thinner end of the cut and everyone is happy.
Take the stress out of cooking poultry too with a spatchcocked chicken or quail. These birds have been prepared for the BBQ by our in-house butcher, so that they lay flat on the grill and cook evenly all the way through. They will also cook faster. Chickens will take around 45 minutes if you cook them offset on a kettle BBQ - check out one of our favourite recipes for a herby spatchocked chicken with Caesar salad.
Try our delicious BBQ range!
We also have a large range of products designed to help you get the most out of your BBQ. Try something from our BBQ range, which includes burgers, specialist pork, seafood, offal, steaks… there’s so much to choose from.
Make sure you’re using good quality charcoal, too. Cheap charcoal is (unsurprisingly) low in cost and widely available, but it’s also pumped full of nasty chemicals. Good quality charcoal lights faster, is ready to cook over much sooner, burns evenly and won’t taint your ingredients with anything nasty. You won’t believe the difference.
Want more tips for easy summer grilling? Check out our guide.
Think seasonal
Following the food seasons and buying the best of what’s available makes it easy to eat well all the time. Not sure what’s good right now? We have a handy round up of the very best the season has to offer on our home page. Check out the products that you absolutely have to try before they disappear again for another year.
Summer is a great time for vegetables and fruit, so make sure to eat your fill of mixed berries, fresh herbs like red basil, fragrant strawberries and edible flowers, which are often strong flavoured, adding their own personality to a dish as well as looking very pretty. Use them to pep up salads, cakes and other desserts - even a bowl of fruit and cream can look a million dollars with a little extra garnish.
Have lots of cold drinks on hand
Big jugs of icy drinks will save you a lot of running back and forth to the kitchen and we have the perfect products to make them with - fruit nectars. Of course, all these flavours can be used to make cocktails, too!
The Best Recipes for Outdoor Dining from Drogo’s Kitchen
Dining outdoors isn’t always about cooking on the BBQ. We have lots of recipes for healthy salads that are full of flavour, such as this Merinda tomato salad with Nasturtium Flowers and Strawberry Vinegar Dressing, and this Baby Leaf Salad with Blue Cheese, Pears and Caramelised Walnuts.
Dips are great for keeping people happy while they wait for more food: try our Pea Shoot, Mint and Walnut Dip. Cold dishes that can be sliced and served as part of a buffet also work really well: this Spanakopita with Wild Garlic will do the trick or make a frittata, like this one with wild garlic, potato and peas.
If you are firing up the grill, this BBQ Wagyu Tomahawk will keep a lot of people happy, and we have lots of creative ideas for topping burgers that go beyond ketchup and a floppy pickle! Try our Chicken and Chillli Jam Burgers, our Wagyu Mushroom Burger with Caramelised Onions or our Veal and Truffle Burgers.
Explore our site now...
Browse our fantastic BBQ collection for more ideas and take a look at Drogo’s Kitchen for even more recipes and cooking advice. If you try out any of our ingredients or recipes please do tag us on social media! We love to see what you create.
