USING YOUR BBQ LODGE

Lighting your BBQ

The central BBQs are designed to use good quality charcoal or small kindling. Prior to lighting, close doors and windows to eliminate any draught and  fully open the damper plate (air vent) beneath the grate. Using a small amount of BBQ charcoal or kindling, create a small fire in the centre of the grill. Allow the fire to build and, once established add more small dry wood or charcoal as required.

Download our full maintenance and lighting instructions here.

Maintaining your BBQ Lodge

Recipe ideas

We think, cooking on a BBQ Lodge is a real joy. There's nothing better than having your nearest and dearest sat around you whilst you light the fire and get on with the busy business of grilling. The central BBQ is much wider than your typical free standing BBQ so there's a handy list of recommended equipment such as long handled utensils and safety gloves here for you to read through. Scroll on for some mouth watering recipe inspiration.

Garlic Mushrooms on Toast

Serving things on toast is a very simple, practical and delicious way of feeding your friends sat round the fire in your BBQ lodge.

These mushrooms were foraged by one of our lovely guests for the evening.

2 good handfuls of interesting/wild mushrooms

1 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic finely chopped

Pinch of good sea salt and coarse black pepper to season

2 tbsp sour cream or creme fraiche

Thick slices of good bread, sourdough, ciabatta or focaccia

A couple of sprigs of finely chopped fresh herbs, I used dill, but thyme or flat leaf parsley good

In a heavy duty pan over moderate heat add the chopped mushrooms, garlic and butter.

Cook for 3 or 4 minutes until the mushrooms softened and lightly browned. Season, add the sour cream and stir, allow to cook for a minute or two. Toast thick slices of bread direct over the heat. Stir in the fresh herbs (keep back a pinch of these to sprinkle on top at the end)

Venison Burgers

Simple but delicious food that's easy to eat sat on the bench seats in a BBQ lodge is the way forward, this recipe is a very simple open faced venison hache (burger)

Serves 4

600g venison mince

A couple of good pinches coarse sea salt flakes and coarse black pepper

1 tsp coarse mustard

2 tbsp sour cream, creme fraiche or mayo

A handful or rocket leaves

Good bread sliced thickly to serve on

Shape your mince into 4 thick patties, and season the outside generously with the sea salt and black pepper. Place the patties on your BBQ Lodge grill over moderate to high heat and grill until the outside is browned and the inside is cooked to 74c internal temperature.

Mix your mustard and sour cream together. Toast your bread over the coals. Make up your open sandwich with the toast, leaves, mustard sauce and the venison patty.

Smoked Cherry Wood Salmon

Serving fish off a grill is delicious, but can be fraught with the anxiety of the fish sticking to the grill and falling apart, a great way to avoid this is with plank cooking. Or in this case log cooking, with the fire and smoke licking the salmon and cooking it slowly. You will need a wide log split, I used cherry but silver birch, ash, oak or apple will all work well, or even a traditional cedar plank. I used a whole side of salmon, but you could use smaller individual fillets too.

1 side of salmon

1 lemon cut to thin slices

A bunch of fresh thyme

A pinch of quality coarse sea salt flakes and coarse black pepper

3-4 tbsps runny honey

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp vodka

2 tbsp each of mayonnaise and mustard

Salad leaves to serve.

Place a few slices of lemon, and a couple of sprigs of thyme on the log, place the salmon fillet on top of these, so that the log and the salmon faces towards a medium heat fire, you should be able to hold you hand near the salmon for 3 or 4 seconds before it gets too hot.

Allow to cook slowly for 30 minutes approximately, turning the log occasionally to cook evenly, the edges of the log will smoulder and smoke adding flavour to the salmon. The edges of the salmon should start to crisp up too. Make up a glaze with the honey, vodka and lemon juice, at around 50c internal temperature of the salmon, start to brush on the glaze using the remaining thyme sprigs as a brush. Brush a few times. Cook until the salmon reaches 55c internal temperature. Mix the mustard and mayonnaise, and add a squeeze of lemon juice.

Barbecued Figs

At the end of an evening with friends and family in your BBQ lodge, you want something simple, sweet and delicious, the fire has turned to embers, it's a perfect time to cook some figs in the embers.

The figs are protected a little by their thick outer skin, and cooking like this makes them soft and sweet.

1 fig per person

1 tsp runny honey

1 sprig of thyme

Cream to serve

Aim for your embers to be still moderately hot (so you can hold your hand over them for a few seconds) and place your figs directly into the embers for around 6 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally.

The figs will soften and you will see bubbles coming from the cut top, they will also char on the outside, this is ok, indeed it's good.

Serve your fig on a plate, cut in half, with honey drizzled over the top, thyme leaves sprinkled over, and served with cream.

Accessories

Having somewhere to pop your utensils, extra little storage units and the right pots and pans let's you get on with the important task of simply enjoying your BBQ Lodge. Please note: links take you to third party sites and we are not responsible for their delivery or service standards.

Magnetic trays

Magnetic cup holder

BBQ grill brush

Natural eco firelighters

Cast iron dutch oven set