Beer & food pairing.

4 x cobs corn in the husks

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tbls lime juice (about half a lime)

1 tbls BBQ sauce

1 tsp dried oregano

Sea salt and pepper

Grated parmesan cheese

Zest of 1 lime

Peel back husks, taking care not to break off the corn cobs. Remove silk from corn, then wrap husks back around corn. Tie with string. Soak cobs in water for 30 mins.

Place corn on indirect grill (about 180°C). Turn every 5 minutes or so for 30-40 minutes until done. Meanwhile, combine mayo, lime juice, BBQ sauce, oregano, salt and pepper to taste in a blender and mix until smooth.

When corn is ready, remove husks and cut cobs in half. Brush with chipotle mayo, roll in parmesan and sprinkle with lime zest. Serve, and revel in the compliments!

Chilli Lime Prawns (serves 4 as a starter)

2 tbls olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 medium-sized green chilli, finely chopped

Finely grated zest of 1 lime (use about half)

Juice of 1 lime, plus wedges to serve

500g green king prawns, peeled (tails intact) and deveined

Chipotle mayonnaise (below)

Chipotle Mayonnaise (makes 1.5 cups)

1 egg yolk

2 tbls lime juice

1 tbls white vinegar

1 cup light olive oil

2 canned chipotle chillies in adobo sauce, plus 1 tbls sauce*

1 tbls BBQ sauce

Prawns

Place the oil in a frypan over medium heat. Cook garlic and chilli, stirring, for 1-2 minutes until softened. Stir in the lime zest and half the lime juice, then increase the heat to medium-high. Add prawns and cook, turning, for 3-4 minutes or until just cooked, squeezing the remaining lime juice over them as they cook. Place prawns on a serving plate and drizzle over a little garlic oil from the pan. Serve with the chipotle mayo, and lime wedges.

Chipotle Mayo

Place the yolk, lime juice, vinegar and a good pinch of sea salt in a food processor and whiz to combine. With the motor running, add the light olive oil until you have a thick, glossy mayonnaise. Add the chipotle chillies, adobo sauce and BBQ sauce then whiz until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.

* Tip for new players: If you're not going to use the rest of the chipotle chillies anytime soon, whiz the chillies and adobo sauce up into a paste then roll in cling film and freeze (or even whack into an ice cube tray). Then you can just cut off what you need next time.

Chicken

1 chicken

1 (or 2) cans Deadbeat Boyfriend

Basic BBQ Rub (below)

Basic BBQ Rub (makes about a cup and lasts for ages)

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup sweet paprika

3 tablespoons black pepper

3 tablespoons coarse salt

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons celery seeds

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Just whack all of the above into a bowl and mix it together, being sure to break up any lumps. Bang… that’s your rub!

Crack a can of Deadbeat and drain off half. If you have a gas grill, you could use the beer to soak some wood chips for 20 mins, then wrap them in foil and poke some holes in top to add some smoke flavour). Or you could just drink it. ;-)

Poke some extra holes in the top of the can. One of those little blades on a waiter’s friend does the trick. Set your grill up for indirect grilling and pre-heat to medium (about 180-190°C).

Make your BBQ Rub (below) and apply liberally to the chicken. Don’t be shy. You can even gently separate the skin from the chook and get some of that rub up under the skin.

Sprinkle a little of the rub into the beer can. Tidy up your chicken, rinse and dry.

Now comes the fun part. Gently slide the chicken on top of the beer can, using the legs to form a tripod. Bang it on the grill, throw the wood chips on, and you’re smoking!

Cover the grill and cook for about 90 mins until crisp and golden, and the internal temp is 80°C. Serve with chargrilled corn, mash, beans or whatever you like!

1 ½ cups water, warm

1 tbls salt

1 tbls sugar

1 packet active dry yeast

4 ½ cups flour

3 tbls oil, divided

⅔ cup baking soda

2 eggs, beaten

Coarse salt

In a bowl, mix water, salt, and sugar until combined. Add yeast, and let rest 5 minutes until yeast starts to foam.

Add flour and 2 tablespoons of oil, and mix thoroughly until a dough forms.

Remove the dough and use the remaining oil to cover the bowl.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 230°C.

Cut dough into 8 pieces and roll them out into thin ropes, twisting the two ends to form a pretzel shape.

Add baking soda to a large pot of water, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil each pretzel for 30 seconds per side.

Transfer pretzels to a baking sheet, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with a spicy mustard and a big hoppy beer, and enjoy!

Ingredients

750g premium ground beef

2 tbls canola oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 slices blue cheese

6 tbls unsalted butter, softened

4 hamburger buns

3 tbls Dijon mustard

1 cup rocket leaves

Red Wine & Onion Jam (below)

Method

Heat grill to high. Shape the meat into four patties, 1 inch thick. Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Grill until golden brown and cooked. During the last minute of cooking, place a slice of cheese on top of each burger and close the hood to allow cheese to melt. Remove the burgers and rest.

Cut the buns and butter the inside, season with salt and pepper. Grill butter side down for 30 seconds or so. Spread some of the mustard on the bottom and top half of each bun and top with some of the leaves. Place the burgers on top, then some of the onion jam. Top with the buns and serve.

Ingredients (makes 3/4 cup, serves 4-6)

2 tbls olive oil

2 medium red onions, halved and thinly sliced*

1 cup dry red wine

2 tbls red wine vinegar

1 tbls honey

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a medium frypan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally (about 10 mins). Add the wine, vinegar, honey and thyme, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated (about 5 to 7 mins). Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Can be made 2 days in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temp before serving. And if you have any leftovers, also goes very well with the blue cheese on its own!

* Tip for new players: There's a trick to chopping red onions. Most people seem to halve them top to bottom, lay them on the flat side, then cut slices from one end of the onion to the other. Trouble is, you then get all these little bits from the middle of the onion. Once you've halved the onion and laid it on the flat side, better to cut it in segments (like thin wedges of an orange) all the way around. You'll get evenly sized, and better looking, slices of tasty red onion. And no little white bits!

2 tbls extra-virgin olive oil

2 green peppers, thinly sliced

2 red peppers, thinly sliced

1 large yellow onion, sliced

Sea salt

1 big ass sirloin steak, thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

8 slices provolone

4 hoagie rolls

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add peppers and onion and season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until caramelized, 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove onions and peppers from skillet and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon oil and cook steak until it has almost reached your preferred doneness, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Return veggies to skillet and toss to combine with steak. Blanket mixture with provolone and cook, covered, until the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes more. Divide mixture among hoagie rolls and serve.

500g fresh strawberries, plus extra for serving

125g fresh raspberries, plus extra for serving

1 ½ tablespoons caster sugar

360ml thickened cream

120ml mascarpone cheese

70g meringues

Quarter and hull strawberries and place in a large bowl. Add raspberries. Sprinkle over sugar and stir until all the fruit is coated. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whip cream using an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Stir through mascarpone cheese.

Crush meringues, using your hands. In a large bowl, gently fold together the fruit, whipped cream and crushed meringue.

Serve Eton Mess in individuals bowls, and top with extra fresh fruit.

Souvlaki

12 skinless chicken thighs

Pita wraps

Marinade

4 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried mint

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp sweet paprika

½ tsp ground cinnamon

Zest and juice 1 lemon, plus 1 lemon cut into wedges to serve

4 garlic cloves, crushed

Tzatziki

½ cucumber

200g Greek yogurt

Small bunch mint, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, crushed

Juice ½ lemon

To serve

1 butter or round lettuce

4 large tomatoes, seeds removed, chopped

1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced

Tip the chicken into a large bowl and add the marinade ingredients, along with 1 tsp salt and plenty of black pepper. Mix well, ensuring each thigh is well coated. Cover and chill for at least 3 hrs, or up to 48 hrs if you have time.

To make the tzatziki, halve the cucumber lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Finely chop, then combine with the remaining ingredients, along with a pinch of salt. Chill until ready to serve.

Heat the grill to its highest setting. Line a roasting tin with foil and find 4 metal skewers long enough to sit across the top with a little space underneath. Remove the chicken from the fridge, take one thigh and thread it over 2 skewers, so it has a skewer through either side. Thread another piece of chicken on top, leaving a slight gap between each piece; you should fit 6 thighs on each pair of skewers. Position the skewers on top of the roasting tin and set aside.

Put the chicken under the hot grill and cook for 15-20 mins, brushing with oil and any juices from the bottom of the tin regularly, and turning halfway through cooking. Once cooked, remove from the oven and rest for 5 mins.

Cut through each pair of skewers to make four kebabs and serve in the warm bread, with lettuce, tomato, red onion, lemon wedges and tzatziki.

Beef Picanha Tacos

1 x beef rump cap (say 2.kg), scored across fat cap

American mustard

BBQ rub of your choice

White flour tortillas

Garlic dip (eg. Pilpel)

Chipotle sauce

Burnt Corn & Lemon Salsa

2 cobs corn

1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes, diced

1 red onion, diced

2 bunches coriander, washed, picked & chopped

2 lemons, segmented & diced (remove all pith)

Dressing

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1-2 lemons

Pinch dried oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

Beef Picanha

Slather pichanha with American mustard sauce and then coat meat liberally with BBQ rub of choice.

Preheat smoker (or oven) to 135-150C (275-300F). Place meat on smoker tray fat side up and smoke until it has an internal temperature of 63C (145F).

Heat a flat grill bbq on the highest setting and sear the pichanha for approximately 1 minute each side or until you are happy with the crust.

Remove, cover with foil and rest for 10 minutes. Slice thin.

Serve with tortillas, a smear of garlic dip, lemon and burnt corn salsa (see below) and sauce of choice.

Burnt Corn & Lemon Salsa

Cook corn on the bbq until black and charred. Don’t be afraid to burn it, the corn will still be juicy and the acidity of the lemon will cut through the charred corn.

Whilst waiting for the corn to cook crack a beer and prep your salsa ingredients and dressing.

Place all ingredients into a bowl and toss until evenly combined.

Remove kernels from corn with a sharp knife, add to slaw, add dressing, and toss to combine.

Enjoy!

1 ½ cups plain flour

1 tsp Cajun seasoning

1 tbsp ground black pepper

½ tsp sea salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 x 300g chicken breasts, halved horizontally

1 garlic clove, crushed

⅓ cup whole egg mayonnaise

1 tsp tabasco sauce

½ small red onion, thinly sliced

1 long green chilli, seeded, thinly sliced

¼ red cabbage, finely shredded

¼ green cabbage, finely shredded

1 small carrot, coarsely grated

Juice and zest of 1 lime

Vegetable or canola oil, for deep frying

4 brioche rolls, split

1 baby cos lettuce, leaves separated

4 dill pickles, thinly sliced

Shoestring fries, to serve

Whisk flour, Cajun seasoning, pepper, and salt in a shallow bowl. Combine buttermilk and eggs in another shallow bowl.

Working with 1 piece at a time, coat chicken in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Dip in buttermilk, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Coat again in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Set aside on a plate lined with baking paper.

Combine garlic, mayonnaise, and tabasco in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine onion, chilli, cabbage, carrot and lime juice and zest.

Pour oil into a large heavy frying pan to a depth of 1 ½ cm. Heat over medium heat until oil is hot (test with a small piece of bread – when bread bubbles and turns golden brown the oil is ready). Fry the chicken, in batches, until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking tray; season lightly with extra salt.

Spread rolls with spicy mayonnaise. Top with lettuce, pickles, cabbage slaw and chicken. Serve with shoestring fries.

Dough

21g fresh yeast

1 tbsp honey

250mL water

500g all-purpose flour

10g sea salt

30mL olive oil

Rocket Pesto

50g walnuts

100g rocket leaves

1 garlic clove

1 red chilli

20g parmesan cheese

6 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

TOPPING

250g beetroot

200g goat cheese

2 tbsp pine nuts

Rocket leaves

Sea salt

For the dough, mix the yeast, honey and water in a bowl.

Then add a fifth of the flour, stir to a liquid, homogeneous mass and let rest for around 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the flour, salt and olive oil, knead into an elastic dough and leave the dough covered for around 2 hours.

Once rested, knead the dough again, cut in half and shape into 2 balls. Cover the balls again and let rise for about 30 minutes.

For the pesto, roast the walnuts in a pan without oil. Then let cool and roughly chop. Wash and shake dry the rocket, and chop it roughly. Peel garlic and chop finely. Wash the chilli, cut in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Finely chop the pulp. Grate the parmesan.

Puree the walnuts with rocket, garlic, chilli, parmesan and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cut the beetroot into thin slices.

Preheat the oven to 230 ºC. On a floured work surface, flatten the dough with your hands from the center until it is the desired thickness.

Spread the pesto over the pizza crust, and add the sliced beetroots and crumbled goat’s cheese. Sprinkle over a pinch of salt and pepper.

Place the dough in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Then take it out and scatter over the pine nuts, put it back in the oven and bake until golden brown.

Serve topped with plenty of fresh rocket.