Healthy Barbecue Recipes for Summer

The backyard barbecue is synonymous with the Australian summer. Whether you have a simple charcoal grille or a modern beast with an in-built oven, it doesn’t quite feel like summer until you’ve indulged in this honoured Aussie tradition.

We asked some of the most talented chefs, nutritionists and food bloggers around Australia for their top picks for healthy and delicious barbecue recipes.

BBQ Freshwater Prawns in a Herb & Spice Paste by Neil Perry

Ingredients

• Freshwater prawn in half lengthways
• 2 tablespoons fresh Rosemary
• 2 tablespoons fresh Sage
• 3 tablespoons fresh Thyme
• 4 fresh Chilli's
• 2 Lemons peel only
• 2 mandarins peel only
• 2 tablespoons Ginger
• 0.5 teaspoon Paprika
• 1 bulb Fennel sliced
• Olive Oil to blend

Method

Prawns:

1. Coat the prawns liberally in the paste and BBQ.

2. Serve on a large platter as part of a shared BBQ meal.

Paste:

1. Make the paste by simply blending all the paste ingredients together with olive oil.

Learn more about this recipe here .

Beef Tagliata with Rocket and Parmagiano Reggiano by Tobie Puttock

Ingredients

• 2 bistecca fiorentina
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 2 small handfuls baby or wild Rocket
• Small block of parmigiano reggiano
• Cold pressed Olive Oil
• Lemon cut in half

Method

1. Lightly season the two pieces of beef with salt and then place onto the grill and cook for five minutes on each side and then allow to rest for another five minutes.
2. Once rested slice the meat diagonally with a sharp knife into about five pieces, drizzle a little olive oil over the meat and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over and use your hands to massage the oil and salt into the meat into the meat.
3. Arrange the beef between two plates. Pop the rocket into a bowl and dress with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper and then scatter the leaves around and over the beef.
4. Finally use a small knife to flake the Parmesan into little chunks and sprinkle over the beef. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with a half lemon.

Learn more about this recipe here

BBQ Salmon by Charlie McKenna

Ingredients

• 4 ea 6 OZ(170 grams) Center Cut Salmon filets
• 8 OZ Lillie’s Q Gold
• 1 ea Lime Juiced
• 1 tsp Peanut oil
• 1.5 Tbsp Worcestershire
• Salt-Fine Sea Salt
• Cracked Pepper

Method

1. Make sure the skin is removed from each Salmon Filet. I like to cook salmon like a steak on the grill a little hotter and faster.
2. Season with the fine sea salt and cracked pepper preferably straight from a pepper mill.
3. Mix the Gold, lime juice, peanut oil, worcestershire together.
4. Brush with a pastry brush all over the salmon.
5. Make sure your grill is set to Medium heat around 325 (165 Celsius).  (Can't have it blazing because the glaze will burn too quickly.)
6. Place presentation side down on the grill, remember the fish won’t stick to grates when it is ready to flip.
7. Continue to brush with the marinade as you cook the fish.  You should have a nice beautiful grill color as it comes off.
8. The temperature of the fish internally should be 135 degrees(57 celsius).  

"This recipe makes the best of two essential summer BBQ ingredients - fish and a great BBQ sauce. Pairing the peppery, mustard style of Lillie's Q Gold with a lighter choice of protein like salmon is a great way to keep everyone happy from the healthy eaters to the traditional BBQ lovers.” - Charlie McKenna

Tarzan Lamb by Anthony Bianco

Image via The Travel Tart

Ingredients

• 1 leg of lamb – 2.5 to 3 kg
• 5+ shallots (spring onions)
• 10 large sprigs of rosemary,
• 1 whole bulb of garlic
• 5-10 cm long piece of ginger
• A handful of mint
• A handful of oregano
• 1 lemon
• 1 chilli
• Sweet soy sauce of some sort

Method

1. Marinate The Meat. Flood the meat via an injector with either Japanese Sweet Soy, or something similar like Kecap Manis. I use a whole 600ml bottle for 1 leg. Stab the leg like a voodoo doll. Using the meat injector makes the flavour spread throughout all of the meat and makes an enormous difference to the taste.
2. Stuff the leg of lamb silly with: garlic, ginger, shallots, mint, rosemary, oregano, and chilli.
3. Squeeze 1 lemon all over leg of lamb. The acid helps transport the flavour into the meat and sort of ‘pre-cooks’ it.
4. Cook using charcoal. 50 heat beads (25 each side), and cook it to medium at 1 minute per millimeter thickness of meat.
5. Let the leg rest for around 10 to 15 minutes, then carve it up and serve.

“My Tarzan Lamb is an essential part of your BBQ arsenal because I've lost count how many times I've cooked it where my guests have asked me to cook it again! What I like about it is that you have a different flavour depending on what part of the lamb you receive. For example, in one part, you'll have a rosemary hit, while others will have a garlic or ginger flavour. And flooding the meat with Japanese sweet soy ties it all together. To finish it off, cooking it via a charcoal method (eg. pizza oven or charcoal kettle) adds more flavour.” - Anthony Bianco

Thanks to our BBQ experts!

Neil Perry

Neil Perry is one of Australia’s leading and most influential chefs and is founder of the successful “Rockpool” Empire. Neil’s career in hospitality began at Sails restaurant at McMahons Point and in Rose Bay, starting at front house – Neil’s love of great food saw him quickly move backstage. By the time he was 24, he found himself gravitating towards the kitchen and realised his passion for cooking by working with, and learning from over the ensuing years, chefs such as Damien Pignolet, Gay Bilson, Stephanie Alexander, Steve Manfredi and David Thompson.

Tobie Puttock

Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Puttock trained at Box Hill Institute of TAFE, his love affair with Italian food began when he was 18 working in Melbourne's acclaimed Caffe e Cucina. Tobie's cookbook Daily Italian, released in 2006, sticks to guiding principle of great Italian cuisine: that cooking is, if nothing else, an act of love.

Charlie McKenna

Recognised as one of the best BBQ Chefs in the world, Charlie names Lillie’s Q for his South Carolinian grandmother, Lillie and his father, Quito, who taught him the art of southern cooking.

As a young boy, Charlie McKenna was taught the secrets of his grandmother Lillie’s special sauces. Years later, these unique blends and three generations of southern-style barbecue mastery has netted Charlie numerous national awards including winner of the coveted Memphis-In-May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.

Anthony Bianco

Anthony is a travel blogger based in Brisbane, Australia. He began TheTravelTart.com in 2009, travelling the world and discovering many incredible cuisines.