Hot to trot
The best grills for your barbecue this Bank Holiday season…
Hinton Marsh Farm: for great tasting BBQ meat, it’s got to be Hinton Marsh Farm. Rebecca Jones and her family practise traditional farming techniques, feeding their cattle and pigs on home-grown diets for full traceability and fabulous quality meat. The sheep are grazed on chalk downlands and Rebecca’s experience in animal husbandry means that they can produce lambs all year round. As well as a range of sausages, look out for the homemade burgers which include jalapeno beef, pork and apple and a new jerk pork burger for summer. And, if you don’t have time to BBQ for yourself, pick up a freshly grilled spit roast lamb pitta bread this summer (filled with mint from The Garlic Farm and yoghurt from Jess’s Ladies Organic Farm Milk), hot from the stall.
Good to grill: try Hinton Marsh Farm’s special BBQ packs which include sausages, handmade burgers, marinated spare ribs and lamb chops, all put together in a reusable cool bag.
Adeys Organic: for those who prefer organic, Adeys has a mouth-watering range of joints for the BBQ. To be labelled organic, animals are fed on a diet of oats, grass and hay with no added fertilisers, to produce natural, slow-growing meat. Adeys is run by Caroline Wilson whose son Albert can be seen on the market every week selling their organic handmade burgers and sausages, including gluten-free options too. For a really quick BBQ, Caroline recommends beef minute or lamb steaks, marinated then flash-fried so they are charred on the outside and still pink on the inside, or pork tenderloin or lamb fillet, marinated and cubed onto a kebab.
Good to grill: Caroline’s favourite grill is a lamb rack with French trim, marinated in garlic and oil. It looks really spectacular served up and cut once cooked.
Madgetts Farm: if you want something really different for your BBQ this season, how about a duck burger? This is just one of the innovative products available on Derek and Jan Williams’ stall every Saturday. Poultry is at the heart of Madgett’s Farm so as well as the duck burger, you can find duck sausages, flavoured with orange and cranberry, and all manner of chicken pieces, including breast, thighs, wings and drumsticks. These can be marinated in a Chinese spice marinade if pre-ordered, and Jan always recommends cooking chicken legs and wings in the oven before finishing them off on the BBQ. Another speciality is the game burger, a blend of Forest of Dean venison and wild boar, flavoured with garlic and mushroom.
Good to grill: made specially for the summer, the homemade duck burgers, flavoured with honey and rosemary, are a novel addition to any BBQ.
The Stowe Herd: specialising in Gloucester Old Spot pigs, Kelly and Steve Turley are rather renowned for their great-tasting sausages. This special breed is slow grown and produces meat with a unique flavour that lends itself extremely well to sausages. As well as plain sausages, flavoured varieties include chilli, pork and leek, cracked black pepper and cheese and onion. Other pork joints that are good to try include fabulous pork belly, pancetta, bacon and tenderloin, as well as pork ribs by request.
Good to grill: if you like hog roast, try grilling pork belly on the barbie. Use a rub to add flavour then cook long and slow for six hours under a kettle BBQ until the meat falls apart.
Frocester Fayre: for great value BBQ meats, visit Nikki Hawkin’s stall this Saturday. From minted lamb chops and Chinese spare ribs to home-made sausages, burgers and steaks, there’s enough to keep you going for the next few Bank Holidays and more! With an on-site butcher, Frocester Fayre can take BBQ orders, whether that’s for minted lamb kebabs or a marinated and butterflied leg of lamb. Frocester Fayre cattle and pigs are reared on the farm and fed a diet of home-grown grass, silage and barley while the lamb is brought in from neighbouring Court Farm.
Good to grill: the minty lamb chops add a different twist to BBQ food. Marinated in a special home-made minty marinade, just grill at a high temperature for a charred outside and lovely tender inside.
On the side: every good BBQ needs good accompaniments so make sure you visit the following stalls before thinking about lighting that grill!
David’s Chilli Oil: the secret to these fantastic chilli oils is the blend of over 20 chillis and other ingredients in each jar. Whether you go for the medium or hot version, the finely balanced heat and flavour in these chilli oils make for easy marinades – just add to your raw meat mix if making burgers or drizzle over your food when it’s cooked – it’s great splashed onto BBQ prawns, chicken and vegetables!
Tubby Tom’s Marinades: these little flavour bombs were invented for BBQs with their slow-cooked, deep flavours. The Smokey Schweet BBQ sauce, with its cooked molasses and honey flavours is great on just about everything while the Hot & Smokey BBQ sauce, with its fresh and dried spices gives a bit more of a kick. If you’re feeling brave, hold onto your (Scotch) bonnet and give The Squealer a go!
Lishkins Preserves: see this month’s Have you met feature for more on Lishkins great range of chutneys.
