Nothing says summer more than the sights and smells of people cooking and enjoying great food outdoors. We just love dusting off the BBQ and garden furniture – inviting friends and family round, creating great times in the back garden! Heaven!

We asked some of our team for their barbequing tips, from cooking the perfect steak on the barbeque to taking the hassle out of summer entertaining. We thought it would be nice to share some of these with you.

 
Use a Meat Thermometer

Cooking on a BBQ can be unpredictable and with cooking meat you can’t rely on appearance alone. A meat thermometer is a simple to use, low cost tool to keep you and your loved ones safe and is a fool proof way of cooking to perfection on the BBQ.

Then the next question – is how long do you cook meat for on the BBQ? For grilling times, depending on how you like your steak cooked, or what type of meat you are cooking, we found this useful BBQ guide on the Weber website.

For other tips on cooking meat safely, safefood has some great tips on their website.

 
Preparation

When barbequing you are also entertaining so try and get as much prep work out of the way as possible, so you have time to spend with your guests. Marinating food in advance, the night before is preferable. Prepare salads or even better pop into your local deli or supermarket which will take the fuss and extra work out of the BBQ. Stock up the night before, get your drinks trolley ready – or how about going with the latest trend, getting your pallet bar stocked – and don’t forget to fill the ice trays in the freezer!

 
Avoid Fridge Chill

Another great tip when cooking meat – take raw meat out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before barbecuing until it reaches room temperature. If the meat is too cold when it hits the grill it could burn on the outside before it’s cooked through. This is especially important with sausages, burgers, and chicken. It’s also important with steaks to ensure it’s cooked as you like it.

 
Use the Skills of Your Butcher

BBQing should be enjoyable, not something that creates extra work, so consider using the skills of your local butcher and leave the meat prep to the expert – often it can be better value as well! Think of the time you will save on chopping, threading skewers, making burgers from scratch or marinating chicken.

Also when people prepare BBQ food from scratch there is a tendency to over-purchase and most butchers, including our good selves have a wide range of delicious meats made especially for the BBQ. All of our BBQ Collection is available in our shops including our online shop, with delivery right to your door.

 
Take Your Time

Allow plenty of time for the food to cook. Traditionally barbecuing is not meant to be as fast as grilling, it is a slower, more leisurely process although gas barbecues are faster than conventional ones. When executed properly this is what gives it that great, unique taste. It is also quite a healthy option as most of the fat drips off and into the flames during cooking. If you think about it barbecues are the original health grills as little is added to create the flavour.

 
Final Piece of Advice

Our final piece of advice is to always, always, always go for the best ingredients you can afford. Top quality burgers will always taste better than cheap, poor quality steak. Buy the best you can afford, forget the barbecue snobbery that abounds and just enjoy having your family and friends around, to break bread together – something we have all been missing.

At the end of the day it really is one of life’s simplest but greatest pleasures.

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, couples everywhere are wondering how best to celebrate this special day. For some, restaurants may be out of the question or too restrictive, and for others even the thought of cooking an elaborate meal from scratch at home is exhausting.

We can solve this problem with a simple solution with a very special signature dish of ours – Beef Wellington. The perfect Valentine’s Dine at Home Dinner for Two.

This limited edition Beef Wellington is hand prepared and comes oven ready, needing the minimum of preparation time. Ideal for people who are time poor, or who are culinary challenged, but who would like to create a wonderful restaurant quality meal for their loved one in the comfort of their own home to celebrate their love on this special day.

The dish serves two people generously, made with prime aged Irish beef fillet, wrapped in a mushroom duxelles, buttery puff pastry with fresh herbs and sea salt. The cooking instructions couldn’t be simpler – just pop it into a preheated oven at 200° C, for 45-50 minutes to achieve medium/ rare or 55-60 minutes for medium/ medium well – and rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

All that is left to do is to set the scene with some candles, soft chilling music and a table set for two.

Like all of the Dine at Home dishes, this signature dish is honest, simple, handmade from scratch using the freshest of ingredients, where you can taste the flavour and goodness that has gone into every single bite.

Available to order online from Tuesday 18th January through the Click and Collect Service and available for collection at any of the 12 James Whelan Butcher shops across the country.

Say it with Steak!

Another option to bring a little romance to the dinner table this Valentines, is a Sharing Steak. Simply cooked on a pan, it’s perfect for Valentines, bringing it to the table to share together with some delicious sides.

Our Salt Aged Sharing Steaks are wonderful cuts of meat of exceptional quality with a truly special flavour. All are exclusive to James Whelan Butchers and are part of a unique partnership with one of the great pioneers of the Irish Meat trade, Peter Hannan and Hannan Meats.

Matured over 35 days in Peter’s Salt Chamber, a 12ft solid wall of Hand cut Himalayan Rock Salt Bricks. This results in only one thing – beef of exceptional quality with a truly unique flavour.

Just chat to one of our butchers and they can hand cut to order the perfect Salt Aged Strip Loin for two, or one of our 100% Angus T- Bone, one of the most prized cuts of beef and known as the King of Steaks.

Starters Anyone?

One of our favourite starters, that is simple to prepare and works a treat, is a Warm Black Pudding & Bacon Salad. It is a wonderful start to a romantic meal, with the minimum of fuss and tastes delicious.

Savoury Dessert

We just love all things savoury, so naturally enough we love to finish a good meal with some wonderful cheese. Also keeping with the sharing theme, sharing a delightful cheeseboard is a lovely way to finish a romantic meal. For this we would recommend cheese from some of our good friends from the Tipperary Food Producers Network. The world famous Cashel Blue, Cooleeney Cheese from the farm of the same name, using milk from their pedigree Friesian dairy herd or Derg Farm Cheese, from the Cooney family who have been farming in the area for generations.

No matter what you choose to prepare for a romantic Valentine’s dinner at home, our last piece of advice is keep it simple, buy the best products you can afford and don’t spend hours slaving over a hot stove. Valentines is meant to be spent with the one you love, not inside a recipe book or tied to the cooker.