Five exciting recipes for Australia Day – go beyond the barbeque!

January 19th, 2015

Appliance Talk BBQs Ovens & Cooking

Planning a barbeque this Australia Day? What if I told you that it’s been done before?

Sure, it’s a tradition, but taking the same old snags, steaks and onions and grilling the lot until they’re charred to a uniform brown is, well, a bit dull. Where’s the entrepreneurial Aussie spirit?

Here are five exciting recipes for the barbeque and beyond this Australia Day, courtesy of the Appliances Online Facebook community:

Moroccan Lamb Chops

A certain long-running advertising campaign would have you believe that Aussies eat nothing but lamb on Australia Day. Not true, but you’ve got to admit, lamb can be quite tasty.

Lamb also plays major parts in the culinary traditions of many different nations, making it an ideal multicultural food ambassador.

Moroccan Lamb Chops

I’ve been known to prepare the odd piece of lamb using a store-bought “Moroccan” seasoning, but this combination of herbs and spices can create a fresher taste.

Here’s the recipe:

Mix together 1/4 cup chopped mint, 1/4 cup chopped coriander, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp cumin, 2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp dried ginger, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/2 tsp chilli powder.

Coat 1.5 kg lamb chops in the mixture and then refrigerate for as long as possible – for best results leave overnight. Fire up the BBQ and enjoy!

You could even tweak the final flavour by adding a pinch more of this or a dash less of that.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Bites

One of thing that’s been known to put people off barbeques is the bland charcoal-y taste of so much of its cooking. At best, it’s savoury, at worst, it’s dry and bitter.

If you’d prefer something sweeter from your barbeque, or something with just a bit of bite, check out these Sweet & Spicy Chicken Bites:

sweet and spicy chicken bites

Combining brown sugar for sweetness, chilli powder and cayenne pepper for spiciness, and the natural juiciness of chicken and bacon, every bite is a veritable smorgasbord of flavour.

Here’s how they’re made:

3 lbs chicken tenderloin or boneless skinless breasts
2 lbs bacon
2 cups brown sugar
3 TBS chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Cut the chicken into ping-pong ball sized cubes. Mix the dry ingredients and put into a bowl to dredge the chicken. Cut the bacon slices into 1/3’s.
Roll the chicken piece in the dry mixture. Wrap with the bacon. Secure by stitching the bacon into the chicken with a toothpick. Roll again in the sugar mixture.

Grill for about 25 minutes until the bacon is cooked and crisp. If you don’t have access to grill, bake at 350 for 30 – 35 minutes until bacon is crisp.

Serve with Ranch dressing or Blue Cheese for dipping. sauces.

What’s that? You like bacon? Then read on…

Smoked Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings with Sriracha Mayo Dipping Sauce

If there’s one thing The Internet loves more than hilarious cats, dogs, and hilariously doctored celebrity photos, it’s bacon.

Sriracha hot sauce seems to be enjoying something of a surge in popularity too, with this Thai “rooster sauce” being represented more and more often as a paragon of flavour. Personally, I blame The Oatmeal (who also inspired a singalong video about properly loading dishwashers).

So, let’s combine these wondrous ingredients!

Smoked Bacon Wrapped Onion Rings with Sriracha Mayo Dipping Sauce

Here’s how to make it!

Cut onions into 1/2 inch thick rings and pop the internal rings out until you have a nice sturdy onion ring.
Brush onion with hot sauce.
Wrap each onion ring with bacon and secure with a skewer or toothpick.
Heavily cover the onion rings with pepper and smoke, grill or bake for about 90 minutes at 250-350 degrees.

To make the spicy Sriracha mayo, combine 2 T of mayo, 1 T of Sriracha sauce, and 1 tsp of lime juice. Mix well.

Be warned; this is not a dish for everyday meals – it’s very much a sometimes food. While not as terrifying as the Bacon Explosion, this is still a combination of some relatively unhealthy ingredients – but hey, it’s a special occasion, right?

Summer Drink

When you’ve been hard at work behind the barbeque, you’ll want to keep a refreshing drink or two handy.

While the cleansing amber fluid and the odd glass of chardy may be the order of the day at many an Australia Day celebration, you should probably have a few alcohol-free options available for refreshment.

Summer Drink

Combining watermelon, sugar, lime and ice, this cool drink delivers a summery taste, with some extra sweetness and a hint of citrus tang.

All you need is: 5 cups diced seedless watermelon, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup of ice, juice of 1 lime (optional).
Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Enjoy.

Not a sweet tooth? Leave out the sugar.

Ice Cream Slice

Picture this – the meal is over, and everyone’s pushed back from their plates, claiming they couldn’t eat another bite.

Then, you open the freezer to reveal a tray full of these:

Ice Cream Slice

Suddenly, the table springs back to life, with each diner searching deep within themselves for that elusive bit of room known as the Dessert Stomach… it’s about to get a treat!

Whip together 395g can of sweetened condensed milk and 600mL whipping cream in a bowl until nice and thick. Crush 400g chocolate bars of your choosing, and stir into the cream mixture.

Cover a shallow dish with a layer of plain biscuits. Cover biscuits with a layer of the cream mixture, making sure that it’s flat on top. Then add another layer of malt biscuits. Freeze the mixture, and cut into big or small slices – depending on how hungry you are!

Om nom nom!

Over to you:

What exciting recipes will you be barbequing this Australia Day? What flavours will you combine? What traditions will you defy? What cultures will you jam?

If you’re after some more Australia Day barbeque resources, check out these classic blog posts:

Mark joined Appliances Online in November 2011 and has since learned more than he ever expected to know about appliances. He enjoys looking for new and unusual ways for to solve everyday problems using typical household appliances. When he’s not toiling at the desks of Appliances Online and Big Brown Box, he tries to find time to write the next big bestseller and draw satirical cartoons, but is too easily distracted by TV, music and video games. Mark’s favourite appliance is the Dyson Groom Tool, as he loves the concept of vacuuming your dog. Google+

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