3x warming stews in autumn

1. Bring your barbecue to a heat of 200 degrees Celsius 2. Wash and peel the baby potatoes, garlic and shallots. Shred the shallot, pepper, tomato, garlic and cut the baby potatoes into small pieces. 3. Cut the lamb into cubes of about 3×3 cm.

4. Cut the pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds.

5. Season both pumpkin halves inside with salt and pepper.

6. Add the fire herbs to the smouldering coals as soon as the fire is off. 7. Prick the lamb shoulder on a skewer, season with half of the STEW HERBS (the ratio is 20 grams per kilo of meat) and roast the meat all around until brown and lightly cooked.

     

8. Remove the lamb from the skewer and mix with the baby potatoes, diced tomatoes and peppers and the remaining STEW HERBS.

9. Spoon all the ingredients into the two pumpkin halves.

10. Put the squash on the grill with indirect heat and smoke for about 90-120 minutes on medium heat.

Serve the two pumpkin halves on our beautiful wooden serving boards. The flesh of the pumpkin can be scooped onto each plate along with the filling. Give it an extra kick with one of the five chilli sauces from the Chilli Challenge Pack. Tasty!

 

3. Boeuf Bourguignon stew

This slow-cooked stew is a classic French dish packed with flavour. It is made of beef simmered in red wine, enriched with bacon, onions and mushrooms. It really is one of those family-style ‘just ladle it on’ stews.

> > WATCH THE HOW-TO VIDEO < <

Ingredients

• Not Just BBQ Boeuf Bourguignon Mix
• Not Just BBQ Firestarters
• 10 g bacon, diced,
• 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 kg lean stew meat (preferably pork chops), diced and pat dry
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 750 ml bottle of full-bodied, young red wine (*read post for alternatives)
• 2 to 3 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 18 to 24 small white pearl onions (or a jar of pearl onions rinsed with water and drained)
• Chopped parsley
• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, cut into quarters
• 2 tablespoons butter

Preparation

1. Light the bbq with Firestarters, ensure direct heat 250 degrees. Let the pan get warm along with it.
2. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the bacon. Cook for 10 minutes, drain and dry with kitchen paper. (This step removes excess salt/smoky flavour and removes some of the fat).
3. Fry the bacon for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown in a large pan on the grill. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve.
4. Fry the beef on all sides in the hot oil and bacon fat. Remove the browned beef and set aside.
5. In the same fat, add the onion and fry until it starts to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and carrots and fry for a few more minutes.
6. Put the bacon and beef back into the pan and ADD THE STEW MIX.
7. Then sprinkle the flour on top and coat the meat. Let cook for 4 minutes as the flour needs some time to cook!
8. After 4 minutes, toss the meat again and cook for another 4 minutes. (This process browns the flour and gives the meat a light crust).
9. Add the tomato puree.
10. Stir in the wine and water so that the beef is barely covered. Now is a good time to use a wooden spoon to scrape any remaining brown bits from the bottom of the pan!
11. Bring the barbecue to indirect cooking through heat shield, and temp may drop to 120 degrees.
12. As soon as it starts to simmer, put lid on. Simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until meat is tender. The meat is done when a fork pricks it easily.
13. While the meat cooks, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
14. Peeling pearl onions can be tricky, so here’s a trick: bring a pan full of water to the boil. While the water is boiling, cut the roots of the onions. Then add the onions and blanch them for about a minute. Transfer them to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Squeeze each onion at the stem end and it should just slide out of its skin. If not, use a paring knife to remove the skin. (We couldn’t find fresh pearl onions and used pearl onions from a jar that we first rinsed with water and let drain. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pan over medium heat until bubbling. Add the onions and fry for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned. Be careful not to break the skin! Add the mushrooms cut into quarters and stir-fry briefly.
15. Add pearl onion and mushroom to the meat after it has simmered for 2 hours.
16. After 3 hours, check if the meat is cooked. If not, turn back for 15 minutes each time and check.
17. Remove from the grill and separate the sauce from the meat, bacon and carrots.
18. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve over a saucepan. Skim off the fat from the sauce and simmer for another minute or two, skimming off any extra fat as it rises. Cook until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add a few tablespoons of water if the sauce is too thick

Are you going to make one or more stew dishes? Let us know how the end result was! TAG #notjustbbq in your social media. Then we’ll share it with barbecue fans. And don’t forget to watch AND subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.