10 Family-Friendly BBQ Recipes For A Hot Summer Weekend (2024)

Food / 10 August, 2023 / My Baba

Get ready for BBQ weather (finally!) this weekend! It’s time to crack open the BBQ and enjoy al fresco dining in your own back garden. We’ve pulled some of the most delicious family BBQ recipes we could find – hold the chilli where the kids are concerned!

Family BBQ recipes

Method

1. To make the meatballs, combine the lamb mince with the garlic, lemon zest, mint, honey, some sunflower oil and a little seasoning. Shape into 16 walnut-sized balls and put in the fridge to chill.
2. Thread the onion chunks, meatballs and halloumi cubes onto 8 wooden skewers ones (soak them in water for 30 minutes first, to stop them burning).
3. Mix together the olive oil and lemon juice and use the rosemary sprig to brush the marinade over the kebabs. Cook on the grill of a preheated barbecue for 4-5 mins on each side until cooked through and lightly charred.

Texas-Style Ribs, BBQ Sauce and Slaw

For the slaw

• 300g white cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
• 200g carrots, coarsely grated
• 1¼ tbsp white wine vinegar
• 225g mayonnaise
• ½ tsp cracked black pepper
• ¼ tbsp granulated sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C. Combine the sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion granules and paprika in a deep roasting tin and evenly coat the ribs. Add 230ml water and cover tightly with a double layer of foil, then cook for 3 hrs.
2. Meanwhile, make the BBQ sauce. Put the onion, pepper and celery in a large, deep pan with 70ml water, cover, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for 30 mins. Add the garlic cloves, re-cover and cook for 30 mins more, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, allow to cool a little and blitz with a stick blender until smooth. Add the remaining sauce ingredients and 85ml water, mix well and return to the heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring regularly so that the sugar dissolves. Continue to simmer for 1½ hrs until reduced by a quarter and thickened. Remove the lemon slices with a slotted spoon and discard.
3. Mix the slaw ingredients together in a large bowl. Cover and transfer to the fridge for 1 hr.
4. Heat the barbecue until the flames have died down and the coals are white and ashy, or a griddle pan until smoking. Spoon 1 tbsp of the BBQ sauce over each cooked rib. Finish the ribs on the barbecue or griddle for 15-20 mins, turning occasionally, until they are sticky and glazed. Serve with extra BBQ sauce and the slaw on the side.

Jack Daniel’s BBQ Shrimps

4. Thread the prawns onto 4 skewers and barbecue or grill for 4 minutes, turning once until cooked through. The shell should change from grey to bright red with the prawn meat white and opaque. Serve with the barbecue rice.

Method

1. Preheat the barbecue or light and leave until the flames have died down and the coals have turned grey. For the chimichurri sauce, place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until you have a finely chopped yet coarse mixture – be careful not to over process. Set aside, seasoning with a little salt and a good grinding of black pepper.

2. To prepare the chicken, place on a chopping board and, with a sawing motion, slice through each fillet horizontally, making sure not to cut all the way through, then open out.

3. In a bowl, combine the garlic, sweet paprika and lemon zest with the olive oil and rub all over the chicken pieces.

4. Place the chicken in the centreof the barbecue and grill for 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through with no pink meat. Serve with the chimichurri sauce.

Method

1. For the best burger, go to your butcher and ask them to mince 800g of chuck steak for you – this cut has a really good balance of fat and flavoursome meat.
2. Divide it into 4 and, with wet hands, roll each piece into a ball, then press into flat patties roughly 12cm wide and about 2cm wider than your buns. Place on an oiled plate and chill in the fridge.
   Next, finely slice the red onion, then dress in a bowl with the vinegar and a pinch of sea salt. Slice the gherkins and halve the buns. Finely chop the lettuce and mix with the rest of the burger sauce ingredients in a bowl, then season to taste.
3. I like to only cook 2 burgers at a time to achieve perfection, so get two pans on the go – a large non-stick pan on a high heat for your burgers and another on a medium heat for the bacon.
   Pat the burgers with oil and season them with salt and pepper. Put 2 burgers into the first pan, pressing down on them with a fish slice, then put half the bacon into the other pan.
   After 1 minute, flip the burgers and brush each cooked side with ½ a teaspoon of mustard and a dash of Tabasco. After another minute, flip onto the mustard side and brush again with another ½ teaspoon of mustard and a second dash of Tabasco on the other side.
4. Cook for one more minute, by which point you can place some crispy bacon on top of each burger with a slice of cheese. Add a tiny splash of water to the pan and place a heatproof bowl over the burgers to melt the cheese – 30 seconds should do it.
5. At the same time, toast 2 split buns in the bacon fat in the other pan until lightly golden.
6. Repeat with the remaining two burgers.
7. To build each burger, add a quarter of the burger sauce to the bun base, then top with a cheesy bacon burger, a quarter of the onions and gherkins. Rub the bun top with a teaspoon of ketchup, then gently press together.
8. As the burger rests, juices will soak into the bun, so serve right away, which is great, or for an extra filthy experience, wrap each one in greaseproof paper, then give it a minute to go gorgeous and sloppy.

Sticky Hoisin Ribs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/gas 3.
2. Sprinkle the ribs with the five-spice and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then rub all over. Arrange the ribs in a large roasting tray. Break apart the garlic bulb and scatter over the unpeeled cloves, then halve and add the oranges.
3. Cover the tray tightly with tin foil, and roast in the middle of the oven for 3 hours, or until tender and cooked through.
4. Meanwhile, for the salad, trim the spring onions, radishes and fennel, and deseed the chillies, then finely slice it all lengthways and place into a bowl of ice-cold water to make it super-crisp. Pick in the coriander leaves and put aside.
5. Make a quick salad dressing by mixing the sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and soy together. Peel and finely grate in the ginger, then taste and season to perfection with black pepper.
6. Remove the tray from the oven and move the ribs to a board. Carefully squeeze the sticky orange juice back into the tray. Squeeze the soft garlic flesh out of the skins and mash it up, scraping up all the sticky bits from the tray.
7. Place the tray over a medium heat on the hob or over your barbecue, let it start to bubble, then pour in the hoisin sauce. Let it tick away for a few minutes, or until thick and shiny, then remove.
8. Now, dunk each rack of ribs in the glaze, using your woody herbs as a brush to generously coat them all over, and transferring to the cool side of the barbecue as you go. Cook for another 10 minutes or so, covered with the air valve open.
9. Meanwhile, cook the jasmine rice according to the packet instructions, then fluff up and divide between your plates. Drain and dry the salad veg, then toss with the dressing and plate up. Pile the sticky ribs on top, get stuck in, and get messy!

Oven-BBQ Brisket with Blue Cheese Slaw

Method

1. Untie the brisket if tied. Pat dry with kitchen paper then put in a ceramic dish. Mix together the rub ingredients and sprinkle all over the meat, rubbing it in. Chill overnight and remove the brisket from the fridge an hour before you want to cook it.
2. Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Put two large sheets of foil in a baking tin in the shape of a cross. Sit the brisket in the middle and pour 300ml of water in the bottom. Bring the foil up and around the brisket to make a snug tent and cook for 4 hours
3. While the brisket is in the oven, make the slaw. Put the veg in a large bowl and sprinkle over the vinegar and salt. Toss together. Mash the cheese in a bowl then gradually mix in the mayo, soured cream and chives. Add to the slaw and toss together. Season with white pepper.
4. Mix together the glaze ingredients. Take out the brisket tin and turn the oven up to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Fold back the foil and spoon over the glaze. Cook for another hour, spooning over the juices every 20 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, you are aiming for an internal temperature of 94C, which will make the brisket really tender.
5. Rest for 20 minutes under loose foil. Slice and serve with slaw, fries, pickles and any juices from the pan.

Corn on the Cob

2. Heat the barbecue or a griddle pan. Brush the corn cobs with a little bit of oil and grill for 8-10 minutes (or 15-20 minutes on a griddle pan), turning occasionally so they’re charred all over. Dunk them straight into the sauce, turning the cobs to coat them all over. Sprinkle with the parmesan and serve with lime wedges and any leftover sauce.

3. Allow to marinate in the fridge for around 2hrs, or you can leave them to marinate over night if you prefer.

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