Weber cookery course

Recently we had the pleasure of hosting a cooking course in our Llantrisant store, showcasing all Weber barbeque products. Hosted by American chef Shane who was trained by Le Cordon Bleu school in San Francisco, members of the public were treated to a 3-hour interactive course where they learnt how to make 7 separate dishes, all on BBQs.

Here, we have highlighted the main tips and tools needed to recreate these recipes so you can make them yourself at home.

First, you need to know the 3 Golden Rules of BBQ cooking :

• Always cook with the lid down
• Know the difference between cooking on direct and indirect heat
• Always use a temperature probe

Follow these rules and you will have perfect dishes every time.

The first course was a Smoked Sausage, Mozzarella and Basil Pizza. Shane used a Smokey Mountain Cooker to demonstrate this dish but the Smokey Joe works just as well. Start by cooking the sausages on the barbeque, creating a lovely smokey flavour. Once these are cooked you can slice them and add them to your pizza base, whether that be home-made or ready-made, along with passata, herbs, cheese and basil along with any extras of your favourite topping. Next, place the pizza the Weber pizza stone and place on the Genesis 11 S-310 GBS gas BBQ. One pizza will take about 6 minutes to cook. This is a great way to get the whole family involved with making food on the BBQ.

Next, we had Smoked Salmon with wasabi creme fraiche. Carefully oil a salmon fillet with rapeseed oil with a drizzle of lemon juice seasoning. The fillets were cooked on the Spirit 11 gas BBQ for 15 minutes. Cooking salmon on a BBQ creates a lovely smokey flavour and ensures it is nice and flakey. The sauce is super easy to make, just add a spoonful of wasabi, or horseradish if you prefer to creme fraiche. Add as much or as little as you like. The heat of the wasabi will compliment your smokey salmon perfectly.

Sure to be a family favourite is the rotisserie slow roasted shoulder of lamb. Season the meat with garlic, rosemary and salt. This will infuse the meat whilst cooking. Place the shoulder on the Weber BBQ Roaster and place over the Master Touch GBS E-5750 charcoal BBQ. Cook this for about 75 minutes at medium heat and baste every half an hour with olive oil and more rosemary. Cooking lamb on a barbeque will create an extra depth of flavour that will taste exactly like summer.

The fourth recipe of the day was beer can chicken. To do this you will need the  Poultry Roaster. On the day the recipe included ginger beer and lime but you can choose whichever flavours you like. Place your choice of beer or liquid in the roaster and firmly sit the chicken on top. Depending on your chosen beer, add a seasoned rub such as turmeric and curry powder to the outside of the chicken to add more flavour. Shane recommended cooking the chicken for about an hour for perfectly crispy skin and tender meat. Serve with a salad and roast potatoes for a 10/10 dish.

Vegetarians can also enjoy bbq cooking. Garlic and Parmesan stuffed mushrooms are a delicious main course or side dish. First, create a garlic paste by crushing and mixing a garlic clove. Next, mix dried parsley with cream cheese and a handful of grated parmesan. Brush the mushrooms with the garlic paste and fill with the cream cheese mixture. For extra cheesiness, add another handful of grated Parmesan over the top. Place the mushrooms on a grilling basket over the grill to cook with indirect heat. The mushrooms are super quick and will be cooked in 15 minutes.

The final meat dish of the day was a bavette steak. For best results, use the Pulse 1000 electric barbeque. Cooking steak on a BBQ can really enhance its flavour. Add simple seasoning, olive oil, salt and pepper to the meat and place directly onto the grate. It should be about 250 degrees. At this heat, the steak will be perfect after 5 minutes. This can be served with barbeque staples such as potato salad or corn on the cob.

Last but not least we have a chocolate cake with grilled orange mascarpone cream. Now you are probably thinking, cake on a bbq, surely not? Trust us, it works. You will need the Deluxe Poultry Roaster base and layer up 150g of sugar, 130g dark chocolate and 100g butter and place on the barbeque until its all melted together. Next, add 50g of flour and 4 eggs and keep on the bbq for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, split an orange and place it cut side down onto the grill to caramelise it. When ready, add the oranges slices to the whipped mascarpone cream.

Who knew there were so many different recipes and dishes you could make using barbeques and their accessories. For more inspiration, you can head to the Weber website. Bon appetit!